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Q: How did you come up with the title of Zaria Fierce and the Enchanted Drakeland Sword?

I’ve said before that Zaria Fierce went through different plot ideas before she and I settled on the story arc we have today. (Yes, I do believe Zaria helped shape her story.) She was very stubborn and didn’t want to be in a Beauty and the Beast retelling or go to the Drakeland Institute for the Elite with other misfit fairy tale creatures. I kept all the original world-building documents on these ideas and as you can see Drakeland was a name I kept.

The title for the school plot line would have been Zaria Fierce and the Enchantment of the Drakeland Sword and with a small tweak it became the title for this book. I did for a brief time consider Zaria Fierce and the Acquisition of the Drakeland Sword, but that was a bit of a mouthful. I also considered just before publishing book one changing the title for book two to Drakelord Sword, but the connotation was different than I wanted and would have required changing Drakeland to Drakelord everywhere it was mentioned.

Q: Was the second book easier to write than the first book?

Yes and no. Yes, because a lot of the world, characters, and story arc had been defined in the first book. No, because I wanted to ensure the second book counted as much as the first and third in the trilogy. As a reader and blogger, I know a lot of trilogies and series fail to be as gripping in the second book as the first. I didn’t want the second book to fail readers’ expectations. I’m happy to say that if the reactions from my beta readers are any indication, then Zaria Fierce and the Enchanted Drakeland Sword is as good if not better than the first book.

Q: Where do your ideas come from?

I get them from everywhere! I save online articles about things that intrigue me, I follow tourism accounts on social media for settings I liked to place a story in, I research and dive into things various topics, and READING! It’s kind of like the rule of the internet – if you can think of it and can’t find it, make it… or in this case write it.

Q: Who has been your favorite character to write and why?

For the Zaria Fierce trilogy it’s Zaria of course. She came into being long before her story arc came to me. It’s been such a pleasure to go on this journey all over magical Norway with her. I think her message is special and important. Girls can be the heroines of their own stories and lives. It doesn’t mean you have to be alone and it doesn’t mean you have to be brave from the start. It’s about finding out that growing up happens when you take risks and when you keep true to yourself.

Q: Why did you decide to write?

I love reading and I’ve always been creative and had an outlet for that creativity. You could say it started in elementary school writing tons of little illustrated books, then in high school and college I focused on writing poetry, and then I turned to writing fanfic about my favorite stories… and then eventually my own stories. That was a pretty interesting leap for me and a difficult one, not because I couldn’t write, but because I was always second guessing the story ideas. In that way, Zaria Fierce has given me the courage I spoke about in the last question. It’s been thrilling to present my writing to the world.