Tag: author interview

Back in 2025, I did an Authoriview interview, but I never bothered putting it on here. Maybe you want to read it, maybe you don’t. Still, I thought it was interesting, so I’ve decided to bring it on over.

(Or maybe I just wanted a break from writing content because I wrote like five articles in a week and I’m tired. No one can prove that.)

Tell us a little about yourself and your background?

My love of writing runs deep, stretching back to my early childhood. I have always loved disappearing into fantasy worlds like Redwall, which I adore thanks to the rich landscape descriptions and strong sense of place. In addition to this fascination with environmental characterization, I infuse my work with themes of sexual identity, international relations, and post-traumatic growth.

Which book have you read the most in your lifetime?

I have read Moby Dick three times and intend to start my fourth reread soon. Every time I read it, I find something new to love.

Do you have any unique or quirky writing habits?

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?

My favorite hero changes frequently, but right now, it is Lan Wangji from Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. He’s an excellent example of a stoic badass who feels deeply, even if it’s not obvious to everyone else.

Give us an interesting fun fact about your book.

Pretty much every named background character will return in some form, even if it’s several books later. For example, the minor villain Paint from 9 Years Yearning reappears in the fourth book, What Is Cannot Be Unwritten, as yet another antagonist!

Glarus, the bartender in Pride Before a Fall, also shows up in the seventh book, Sword and Shadow, as a hero for the struggling protagonists. No named individual is ever forgotten; always be sure to keep them in mind, as they may show up in places you don’t expect!

How long does it take you to write a book?

What do you think about the role of readers?

I started writing mostly with fanfic, which is a very collaborative process between readers and writers. There’s greater interaction between everyone involved, and writers get a lot more feedback about their work.

From this experience, I have learned that not everything needs to be spelled out; readers need autonomy to get invested. As such, I think carefully about all the details I place in my books and try not to get too bogged down in describing things. I want my readers to feel they have the freedom to remix my characters, come up with their own side stories, or even do reader inserts if they so choose.

Have you experienced writer’s block? How did you get through it?

Writer’s block comes from the fact that writing is one of the most cognitively demanding forms of higher order thinking (HOT). To write, you need to process, deconstruct, and remix a lot of information while also recalling things like grammar, syntax, and spelling.

This is on top of the fact that you have to envision an interesting story, create multidimensional characters, and infuse symbolism and themes. There’s so much that goes into writing an exciting story that demands a lot of mental energy.

As such, if you’re not firing on all cylinders, things will get gunked up, and you’ll experience writer’s block. Everything from illness, disorganization, emotional distress, and interpersonal conflict can make it hard to focus.

So, when I experience writer’s block, I try to figure out what may be blocking me from putting all my cognitive energy toward my work. I ask myself a barrage of questions, like:

• Am I eating healthfully? Am I taking my multivitamins and medications? Do I have enough protein, fats, carbs, fiber, and nutrients in my diet?
• Am I getting enough rest? Am I taking time to destress and relax every day?
• How is my physical health? Am I getting enough exercise? Am I stretching and drinking enough water?
• Are my social and emotional needs being met? Am I processing difficult things in therapy or experiencing conflict in my close relationships?
• Is my home environment safe and neat? Am I keeping on top of my chores?
• Are there sociopolitical, environmental, or societal issues that are bothering me? Are they causing me significant distress or anxiety?

If I identify issues with any of these life factors, I set my writing aside and work on them as best I can. Of course, it’s not always possible to remedy everything, especially those outside of my control, but when I take some time to fix my real life, I often find that my internal creative world shifts back into balance.

I do not ascribe to the idea that writers must be martyr-artists who suffer for creativity. The most prolific and beloved authors were those who also strove for balance and self-fulfillment outside of the book margins. A happy author can do more, for longer, than those who are miserable. I always take care of my real life first and remind myself that I am more important as a person than I am as an author. By doing so, I can get back to writing with more fervor than ever before.

What is your most treasured possession?

Who or what has been the greatest love of your life?

My dog Clark is the greatest love of my life. I adopted him after I was sexually assaulted in 2017, and he helped me recover from PTSD and get through the trial process, where the attacker was charged with rape and placed on the sex offender registry.

Though he is of course illiterate, I dedicated my first book to him as a thank-you for all his hard work in making me so happy.

Which living person do you most dislike?

To avoid getting political, the living person I most personally dislike is the lady down the street from me who yells at my dogs every time they step on her lawn.

What is your greatest fear?

I don’t fear death as a whole, but I’m terrified of dying before The Eirenic Verses is finished. It’s a ten-part series, and humans are pretty fragile, so there’s a lot that could go wrong before it’s done (hopefully by 2028 or 2029). But I’m doing my best to avoid anything that could kill me before Plexity, the final book, is completed!

What is your greatest regret?

If you could choose to be a character in a book, who would it be?

I would love to be one of the background characters in Redwall. All I would have to do is live in an abbey, eat delicious cheeses, and watch everyone else have the worst days of their lives!

What is your favorite journey?

My favorite journey, literature-wise, is Dr. Ben Givens’ journey in East of the Mountains by David Guterson. I read it while hospitalized after a suicide attempt at age 16, so Ben’s story struck my most vulnerable places. I recognized that if even a man with terminal cancer could find something worthwhile to hang onto, even if only for a few months, then I had no excuse to feel sorry for myself. I credit that book and many others for giving me the courage to continue going despite severe bipolar depression.

Personally, my favorite journey I’ve ever taken was studying at the University of Scotland on a Gilman Scholarship. It was a real challenge because I was struggling with a lot of mental health issues, including severe side effects from an antipsychotic, but I still managed to get all As in my three courses and see a lot of the beautiful Scottish countryside.

What do you do as a hobby?

Give us an interesting fun fact about your book.

The country of Breme in The Eirenic Verses is geographically based on Mongolia, but the culture is Celtic. I imagine that Uileac Korviridi sounds exactly like Hozier.

Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

I find it exceptionally hard not to infodump, which is something many authors struggle with. Thankfully, I’m getting much better at this with help from some awesome beta readers.

What do you like to do when you are not writing?

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Write at least a million words before you attempt to publish. Do not fall into the trap of believing that your very first project is perfect and should be immediately published; you’ll come back years later and realize that it was actually pretty bad.

Get space from your writing before you publish it. Let it rest for at least a month before coming back to revise it. When you try to edit right after you finish, your mind will just auto-fill in what you think should be there, and you won’t be presenting your best work.

Finally, know that no writing is ever wasted. Just because you’re not publishing something doesn’t mean that it wasn’t worthwhile. The idea that your writing is pointless unless it’s producing profit will burn you out and destroy your love of the process. Write because you enjoy doing it; share because you want others to enjoy it too.

As a reminder, my next book, Absent All Light, comes out in just under two weeks! You can read the first chapter, preorder, or join the review campaign (there’s still a bit of time). I hope you enjoy the fifth book in the Eirenic Verses series as much as I enjoyed writing it.