Rise of a Warrior is book five in your Immortal Warriors series. Has the series developed as you had planned or has the series arc changed as you’ve published the books?
I had a general idea where I wanted the series to go when I started, but it has developed into something far more complex than originally planned. I started out just wanting to write a simple fantasy romance, but I soon found myself growing bored with the characters and story. In my mind they needed more. More action, more adventure, more danger, growth, and an underlying mystery to connect one book to the next. I love the challenge of creating a standalone story involving threads that will connect one book to another. Each book is centered around one particular couple, their journey as they face difficulties in their new relationship. Though we are left with unanswered questions at the end, I shy away from cliffhangers. The reader should feel as though they’ve been given a full story, but with a desire to learn more about what is going on behind the scenes.
What is something that you’ve learned as an author that has drastically changed your writing since book one?
Book one was a learning experience. I was still trying to find my own voice, my own style. Romance novels can be extremely difficult to get right, especially if there is an erotic element involved, and I worried about it coming across as shallow. In trying to keep the conflict and action at the forefront, I unintentionally shied away from the romantic aspect of the story, and I think it suffered for it, especially where romance readers were concerned. It made it hard to know what genre to place it under, action/adventure, paranormal romance, or science fiction. I knew I wanted to combine paranormal with science fiction romance, but I don’t think I quite pulled it off in book one, “Soul of a Warrior.” I found my stride with the romance in book two “Ghost Warrior.” It was here that the continuing threads of my plot really began. I only had a vague notion of it in book one, but book two doesn’t work as well without seeing where it all started. In book 3, “A Warrior’s Nightmare,” I began to figure out how to make them stand alone without losing the threads that will eventually tie them all together.
What is one romance trope that you try hard to break in your novels?
Rescue the damsel in distress trope. I started with this in book one and have been struggling to break away from it ever since. I want my female characters to stand on their own, as equals to their powerful mates. I think I succeeded with “Rise of a Warrior.” In my first four books, the female lead starts out coming across as frightened, weak, unsure of herself, and then finds her strength during her struggles. Carla starts out strong, knowing what she wants, and only grows stronger as they go along. Her mate must work hard to earn her love, trust and respect.
What can readers expect in book six of your Immortal Warriors series?
At the end of “Rise of a Warrior,” we bring in Jada Talbot, Bryce’s fated mate. Bryce plays a fairly large part in “Rise of a Warrior.” We first met Jada and Bryce in “Dark Warrior,” a novella. They did not have a happy first meeting and Jada has been fighting against their mating ever since. As we follow Jada and Bryce, we will learn more about the Djinn and Fae, more about their past relationships with the shifters and vampires, and where this all might be headed. I have a second series “Raiden Warriors” that is set in the same universe. Raiden warriors were allies to the Laizahlian when they first drove Djinn from Earth. In this next book, I plan to start drawing these two series together because they will need to join forces again if they want any chance of defeating the Djinn.
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Azrael, an ancient Hunter for the Laizahlian Council, is sent to Earth to track down three rogues from their world. What he doesn’t expect is to run into his lifemate. Azrael senses there is more than vampire blood running through Carla’s veins. He suspects a Djinn is involved, placing them both in great danger.
Their journey will thrust them both into the Fae realm, where Carla must rise up and fight the cruel queen who means to take Azrael as her own.
