What kind of fantasy stories do you write?

I write fantasy stories that focus on character evolution. I’m not sure if that qualifies as “character-driven,” but my greatest priority is that the protagonist learns something while striving for his / her goal, and that he / she is a different person by the story’s end.

As to what specific subgenres of fantasy, The Keeper’s Curse is a YA epic fantasy with elements of high fantasy. In other words, a medieval-esque world with swordfights, magic, invented languages, and otherworldly creatures (both humanoid and animal). Ideas for other types of fantasy (contemporary / urban, dark) are simmering on the backburner. I’d also like to write for both YA and adult audiences, depending on which audience is better suited for the story at hand.

What inspired you to write The Keeper’s Curse?

I got the original idea for the story after watching “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” in December 2012. I was already a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings as well as Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings film trilogy, and seeing Middle-Earth on the big screen again was like going home again. That special spark of inspiration was still there days later… and the gears started turning in my head. What if I wrote my own quest story? How could I make it different from The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings? What if it had a female protagonist? And still more questions followed, to the point that I created a general outline for the story to get everything under control. *ha ha*

Why did you decide to write about fairies? 

It’s funny, because I never actually set out to write a story about fairies. 🙂 The idea naturally arose as I entertained that series of “what if” questions I mentioned above. I wanted to have a protagonist from a humanoid race without repeating species that had popped up frequently in YA fantasies I’d read, and somehow fairies came to mind. Maybe it’s because I love Jessica Galbreth’s fairy art, or because I’ve often wondered what it would be like to fly. But once Eva and her fellow Faeries were in the story, I was so excited about what I could do with them as characters and from a world-building standpoint that there was no turning back.

How would you compare the Faeries in The Keeper’s Curse to other famous fairy characters?

They’re a blend of fairy species you may be familiar with while offering something fresh. They’re life-size, like the fey in Julie Kagawa’s The Iron King. However, they can fly like Tinkerbell or the Dreamdark faeries from Laini Taylor’s Blackbringer. These Faeries also have magical powers, live in split-level dwellings they call kagenden, and follow a nature-centric religion with Mother Nature (Tovana, in their language) as a sort of deity. If you’re interested, you can read more about the Faerie race and culture as well as their magic system.

Where can I read more about The Keeper’s Curse?

You can learn more about the book through the Chronicling The Craft series, which follows my journey while writing and revising TKC; or through Beautiful People, a monthly meme where writers fill out character questionnaires.

Anything else you’d like to know or should be included here? Let me know in the Comments section!