When the White Knight Falls follows a young classical musician who meets and falls in love with a rocker and has to decide if their relationship can work. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The overarching premise was fairly simple: I wanted two people from completely different worlds to develop an attraction for each other, so that I could explore both the conflicts and complimentary traits that might develop. Heavy metal is my favorite musical genre, and the interesting thing about metal is this: It was created by guitarist Tony Iommi using classical chord structures. So there are often similarities even in apparent polar opposites, which struck me as a solid theme.​

Were you able to achieve everything you wanted with the characters in the novel?

I think so. It’s odd that my heroine Kate is very much like me. She’s shy, introverted, and a very deep thinker. Yet somehow, my hero Alec is also me. He’s light-hearted—at least at a glance—and very charismatic. I can be that if I choose, but only for a short while. If I’m Alec for too long, Kate takes back over with a vengeance. I think this novel comes across as fairly heartfelt because for me, it is. I was in my early twenties when I wrote the original draft, so I think it was very much about me trying to figure myself out.

What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?

Relationships require effort and commitment, even when they don’t feel good. Anything worth having is worth waiting for. Solid relationships are built on mutual regard and trust, not sexual attraction. And lastly, trust is something that a couple builds by protecting their relationship, not by testing it. I think, in hindsight, that my goal was to tell a rock-solid love story while simultaneously dispelling some of what I see as romantic myths. To me, a story has to be realistic in order to be good. ‘Love at first sight’ doesn’t feel real to me, although it can be fun as a storytelling device. ‘True love’ takes a lot of work, plain and simple!

What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?

This year I hope to release two dark fantasy novels. The working titles are The Children of Apep and The Angel and the Beast. They’ll be books one and two in a series entitled Genesis Rising.

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