Were you an avid reader while you were growing up?

Very much so. I’m dual-natured, so have always had dichotomous tastes when it comes to reading. I loved fairy tales, fantasies and world mythology, as well as horror—which I think is quite evident when you read Blood & Silk. My mum always fostered my love of words, and books were always my favourite kind of gift.

Did you always want to be an author?

Aside from a few hair-brained, and random, fleeting notions that struck my fancy, yes. Loving to read as much as I always have naturally led to my wanting to be the one to tell stories of my own. I’ve always done exceedingly well in literature studies and English, so it seemed natural desire and skill fell hand-in-hand so that I might pursue my dreams.

What sparked the idea for this book?

As I mentioned, the genres and styles of tales that I personally enjoy came into play for the creation of this story. I am not really a ‘Happily Ever After’, or a true tragedy writer…I have my own niche that I like to call ‘Darkly Ever After’ (which is incidentally the title of my debut short story collection). It’s the concept of something in-between the two. It’s not all pretty rainbows and glass slippers, and it’s not all death and gore; it’s a beautiful marriage of both.

Blood & Silk is my own reimagining of a Japanese rendition of Beauty & the Beast—with a role reversal.

Is there a particular message that you hope readers will take from the book?

It’s not something I thought of plastering into my tale consciously, but I think we all impart messages into our work that are meaningful to ourselves. I think for me the take away is that ‘love is more than skin deep’, as well as ‘not everything is as it appears’.

Not everything in life that appears innocent, is. And not everything that seems evil, is. Life isn’t as simple as black and white. It’s full of grey. And I think it’s to our peril that we make rash judgements, or judge prima facie—that is—at face value, or on the face of things, assuming it is the truth. You know what they say about assumptions…

What’s brewing? What projects are you working on?

I’m working on a handful of interconnected same-world based novelettes for Limited Edition eBook anthologies. These are tales, approximately 10k in length that all take place in my The Nine Realms Saga universe, which I hope to set a series of novels in, in future. For me, I guess these are warm-ups. It’s world-building, and getting to know the key players who I’ll eventually be spending a lot of time with in future.

Outside of that, I’m working on a secret project that I will be keeping under wraps until release. It’ll be dark, romantic and steeped in magic. The rest, you’ll just have to speculate about.

What is a little-known fact about you?

I love danger. Anything that’s exciting, and physically dangerous, or mentally taxing, I want to try! I love the rush of fear, and of pushing myself to my limits. Whether it’s heights, confined spaces, hot, exotic foods, or enduring something others would not tolerate, I love it. If someone says I can’t? I’ll prove them wrong.