Zodak: The Last Shielder follows a teenage orphan who grows up in a cruel household where he’s treated like a curse, his life is bleak and miserable, till a water sprite calls his name and beckons him toward a greater purpose.

In many contemporary coming-of-age fiction novels, authors often add their own life experiences to the story. Are there any bits of you in this story?

This book is about relationships. While the dynamic between Zodak and his bully of a step-brother Ergis is drawn from childhood experience, thankfully, most of the horrible hardships, loss and abuse are not drawn from my story, but my life experience definitely fills gaps and let’s me juxtapose healthy relationships against unhealthy ones. My personal family is 100% the opposite of Zodak’s (again, thankfully), but the redemption in the story is drawn from truth I see and have experienced.

Also, since I was a boy, I was always enthralled with adventure.

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

Choice, redemption, love and sacrifice were all themes I wanted to explore in the book.

Choice was one theme. Life happens to us all, sometimes in unusual and unexpected ways, but we’re the sum of the thousands of choices we make every day. Zodak made choices (and failed to choose at times) that made the difference.

Redemption is another theme I wanted to explore here, both redemption of a seemingly worthless and insignificant life, but also redemption of broken relationships. Alana is one of the characters who experienced a life-changing about-face in her character arc.

Love – I hoped that the love found in the tuk family, in Ardon and in Daen would shine through the slog of trouble and trial Zodak faces.

Sacrifice – like the focus on choice, the emphasis on sacrifice was an important element in the book. The culmination of Book 1 sees lots of hard choices demanding sacrifice from characters, some intentionally and some not.

Can you tell us a little about where the story goes in book two and when the novel will be available?

I’m really excited about book 2. We will continue to follow Zodak’s journey, but book two weaves in the primary POV storylines of Alana and Daen. I can’t wait to share it. The expected release is in the first half of 2026.

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