Q. Which should I read first, the Swords & Fire trilogy (starting with The Tethered Mage) or the Rooks & Ruin trilogy (starting with The Obsidian Tower)?

A. You can read them in either order! The two trilogies take place 150 years apart with different characters, and are largely unrelated aside from taking place in the same world. I did everything I could to keep Rooks & Ruin free of spoilers for Swords & Fire and to make sure it didn’t rely on the reader coming in with any knowledge about the previous trilogy. Swords & Fire is a bit more political intrigue and fancy balls, while Rooks & Ruin is a bit more magical secrets and spooky castles (though all those things appear in both trilogies); if you don’t have a personal preference and definitely intend to read both, I might start with Swords & Fire, but either order works fine.

Q. Do the Swords & Fire characters show up in Rooks & Ruin, and will you write more about the Swords & Fire characters?

A. Well, Rooks & Ruin takes place 150 years after Swords & Fire, so there aren’t many characters who could still be around! Rooks & Ruin is a new story focused on new characters. There are a few references and easter eggs for Swords & Fire readers, and a few descendants of Swords & Fire characters make appearances, and in The Ivory Tomb there just might be a cameo by a Swords & Fire character. But the focus is very much on the new story and the new cast. As for more about the Swords & Fire characters, I love them and certainly would enjoy writing more about them someday, but I also have lots of other stories to tell! If you want a bit more of a sense of what happened to the Swords & Fire characters after The Unbound Empire, I do have some little vignettes and silly extras up on my Patreon at the Heartguard level.

Q. Will there be an audiobook for THE UNBOUND EMPIRE?

A. Actually, there finally is one! It’s out now!!!

Q. Are your books okay for kids/teens?

A. My books are published as adult fantasy (not YA or kid/teen fantasy) in English. That said, there’s nothing in them I’d personally consider inappropriate for teens, and some of them are published as Young Adult in other countries. Whether they’re a good fit for any given kid or teen will vary. (For instance, Swords & Fire is full of political intrigue, which some kids may find compelling and others may not.) To get more specific, there are some dark moments, violence, and character death, but nothing I’d consider beyond the scope of what you’d find in YA books. The romance doesn’t go beyond kissing and there’s no sexual assault in any of my books.

Q. What LGBT+ rep do your books have?

A. They all take place in a queernorm world with multiple queer characters. Swords & Fire has major bi rep and assorted other LGBT+ supporting characters. Rooks & Ruin has a bi main character and major lesbian, ace, and nonbinary characters, among others.

Q. How can I get a signed book?

A. Right now, I occasionally sign books at events I attend, and I sometimes donate signed books to charity auctions and the like. Sometimes other opportunities will arise, and I’ll usually post about them on Twitter and sometimes here as well.