Tempest of Bravoure follows a runaway mage who must face a false king while also facing her own demons. What was the inspiration for the setup to this thrilling story?

My first, almost innate answer is Star Wars. I loved the movie Rogue One and wrote my story around the same emotions that I got from the movie. I wanted Star Wars in a D&D-inspired setting. I am a huge fan of “fighting is the only choice we’ve got.” I love to see heroes go through hell and back, develop bonds, fight side by side for a cause bigger than them. There is a certain selflessness to it that I admire, being ready to give your life for the freedom of your sisters and brothers.

Ahna is an intriguing and well developed character. What were some driving ideals behind her character development?

I wanted to create a powerful yet vulnerable heroine. There are not enough epic fantasy books where a woman with that kind of history takes on such a crucial mission. Ahna’s past makes her who she is today, the good and the bad. She carries a lot of shame, but she keeps on fighting, because her moral compass and ideals are stronger than the pain she endured. Ahna relies on logic and knowledge to solve most of her problems today, but she does become emotional when things get too difficult. Despite what she’s been through, she has an unending curiosity for everything mysterious. She gets a kick from the unknown. Though she will never admit it to herself, Ahna wouldn’t be able to live without the thrill of adventure.

What were some themes that you wanted to focus on in this book?

Fighting for a doomed cause while still having the hopes to succeed. The rebels knew the chances they’d win were close to none, yet they kept on going, because it was better than not fighting. We live brave. We die free. That is Kingdom Ascent’s motto. One other theme was dragging your past and owning it. We all have secrets. We all have done things we regret. Some of us carry a history we loathe. But it doesn’t define who we are. We make our own identity, and there is always a way to redemption. Well, maybe not for Xandor!

This is book one in your Tempest of Bravoure series. What can readers expect in book two?

Book Two, which is coming out next week, will follow Ahna on her next quest to find the lost magi. She believed them and her husband to be dead after the war, but she has just found evidence that they might have saved themselves. This story will be very different from the first one. Kingdom Ascent was about unity and freedom, while Castaway is much more about moving on, inner conflict, finding a way back home and all the challenges that come with it. There is a stronger focus on the characters and what they have to deal with after the end of a war that tore thousands apart.

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