Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
Publication Date: December 14, 2018
Pages: 273
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​Follow Peter and Fi as they work together, each searching for something uniquely special to them through the four kingdoms of their known world. It’s a tale of fantastical beasts, peculiar characters, remarkable settings, and a unique brand of biochemistry-based magic. A story that focuses on meaningful character interactions, delicate world building, and intense action battles.

​Hi, my name is Kelvyn Fernandes. I'm a Canadian author with a Bachelors in Biochemistry. I use all the knowledge I gained in that field to fuel the magic system in my fantasy world. I enjoy going on adventures, especially back-country canoeing in Algonquin Park!

Where do you get your ideas for your books? Who or what inspired your idea? 
KF: I've always had a running magical adventure ongoing in the back of my mind since I was a child. Peter and Fi is the one that stuck and the one I wanted to share with the world. The characters grabbed hold of me and dragged me along with them, I'm just documenting the situations my imagination puts them in!

How did you develop the plot and your characters? Are your characters based on anyone? 
KF: I derive inspiration from all walks of my life. From my friends, my family, myself. From movies, video games, books, and anime. Everything is an amalgamation of my experiences or my own take on how I'd tell someone else's story.

Do you write when you're inspired? Or do you have a schedule you keep to? 
KF: Both! One necessitates the other. I used to wait for inspiration, but I soon learned that once you push yourself to start writing without, the inspiration comes naturally.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? Maybe a piece of advice that stuck with you from your adventure into the world of publishing? 
KF: Just write. You can't know if you'll be good, or if you'll be successful, or even if you suck, if you don't try and write. Keep it to yourself if you need to, for as long as possible. But then share it with your friends, family, and strangers and let them help you grow!

Tell us a bit more about yourself. How did you know you wanted to be a writer? Who or what inspires you to write? 
KF: I love telling stories. I love experiencing others' stories. I greatly enjoy critiquing and giving my take on how I'd tell another's story better. And I decided to try it out myself!

How much of yourself goes into your writing? Or do you keep yourself separate and base the character on someone else entirely? 
KF: Everything about me is presented through the lens of my characters. I pick and choose which aspects I want to present, but the souls behind the characters are based on all of my thoughts and experiences.

What has helped shape and improve your writing? 
KF: Reading! All genres, not just fantasy. Learning to read and appreciate stories from all walks (history, mystery, thriller, non-fiction, biography) can all have a major effect when writing in your own genre

What are you reading right now? Do you recommend it or have any other recommendations? 
KF: I, Claudius by Robert Graves. I can't say I'm enjoying the way he presents the story, but the story itself is funny, suspenseful, and full of unique and interesting characters. Definitely worth the read.

Genre: ​Science Fiction, Post Apocalyptic
Publication Date: November 27, 2018
Pages: 288
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Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction
Publisher: Daw Books
Publication Date: September 10, 2019
Pages: 384
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Shawna Keys has fled the world she only recently discovered she Shaped, narrowly escaping death at the hands of the Adversary who seized control of it...and losing her only guide, Karl Yatsar, in the process.

Now she finds herself alone in some other Shaper's world, where, in her first two hours, she's rescued from a disintegrating island by an improbable flying machine she recognizes from Jules Verne's Robur the Conqueror, then seized from it by raiders flying tiny personal helicopters, and finally taken to a submarine that bears a strong resemblance to Captain Nemo's Nautilus. Oh, and accused of being both a spy and a witch.

Shawna expects--hopes!--Karl Yatsar will eventually follow her into this new steampunky realm, but exactly where and when he'll show up, she hasn't a clue.

In the meantime, she has to navigate a world where two factions fanatically devoted to their respective leaders are locked in perpetual combat, figure out who the Shaper of the world is, find him or her, and obtain the secret knowledge of this world's Shaping. Then she has to somehow reconnect with Karl Yatsar, and escape to the next Shaped world in the Labyrinth...through a Portal she has no idea how to open. ​

Where do you get your ideas for your books? Who or what inspired your idea? 
EW: Ideas come from everywhere. For example, my science-fiction novel The Cityborn began with a mental image of a towering city, squatting over a canyon filled with a massive garbage dump, in which there are people scavenging to survive. My YA science-fiction novel Andy Nebula: Interstellar Rock Star came out of an exhibit at the Saskatchewan Science Centre about how memory works, combined with a news item about teenaged Japanese pop stars who were one-hit wonders. In the book, there are aliens whose memory works differently, and Andy is plucked off the street to become a one-hit superstar—it’s drugs, rock and roll, and aliens for teenagers. For Worldshaper, the trigger was wondering what it would be like if the creators of fictional worlds could actually live in them. So, it can be a mental image, something I've read, or simply sitting and thinking, "What if...?"

How did you develop the plot and your characters? Are your characters based on anyone? 
EW: My process of developing a story is to ask myself questions. In The Cityborn, for exampe, I asked myself, "Who are those people living in the garbage dump? Why are they there? Why has this city been fouling its environment for so long? Where did it come from? Who lives inside it?" Conflict, and hence plot, arises from the answers to those questions: the people in the garbage want into the city. What would they do if someone from the top of the city, where the rich people would logically live, ended up down in the garbage dump? Every answered question presents other questions that must be answered. I typically write writes a synopsis of maybe ten pages, not a chapter-by-chapter outline, just a rough description. I don't follow that synopsis particularly closely, though. The overall shape of the book is there, but the writing process may take me in a very different direction. For instance, in Terra Insegura, sequel to Marseguro, a character introduced only because a viewpoint character was needed in space while everyone else was on the surface of the planet became so important that I had to replot everything about two-thirds of the way in. A lot of this happens organically. I write fast, and the process feels seamless--things come out of my had through my fingers into the story. One sentence leads to another, which leads to new characters, new problems, new solutions. Characters arise from the story. Who'd be hurt? Who benefits? How are they in conflict with each other? Sometimes there are purely technical reasons for a character to be introduced (like the one mentioned in Terra Insegura, above). In Worldshaper, much of the story is written in first-person, but there were things I needed to reader to know my first-person character couldn't know, so I wrote a few third-person scenes, as well.

Do you write when you're inspired? Or do you have a schedule you keep to? 
EW: I write all the time. If I'm not working on fiction, I have non-fiction to work on. So I write every day, but I'm not necessarily working on a novel every day. I type a LOT.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? Maybe a piece of advice that stuck with you from your adventure into the world of publishing? 
EW: My advice to writers is always the same: read a lot, write a lot. You have to read (especially in your chosen genre) to understand how stories are put together, and to discover how other authors have solved the same problems you're trying to solve, of plotting and pacing and dialogue and description and more. And then you have to try to put it into practice. You learn to do by doing; you learn to write by writing, and by letting people read what you wrote (so you can find out if it's working or not) and then by revising and writing more. Try to make everything you write better than the last thing you wrote. Being a writer, someone once said, is like having homework every day of your life for the rest of your life.

Tell us a bit more about yourself. How did you know you wanted to be a writer? Who or what inspires you to write? 
EW: I decided to be a writer in high school (where I wrote three novels, after having written shorter things before that). It came out of my voracious reading. I wanted to tell stories that would entertain and move other people the way my favorite books moved and entertained me. My other interests were music and art and science, but by about age sixteen I knew I wanted to be a writer. I went into journalism out of practicality: I figured I would be writing and getting paid for it, even if it wasn't the fiction I wanted to write, and then could write fiction on the side. Eventually, I quit my job and became a full-time writer. I still write as much non-fiction (or more) than fiction, because I have to make a living. It's all of a piece: using words to communicate with other people, to put your ideas into someone else's head. It's quite magical, when you think about it.

How much of yourself goes into your writing? Or do you keep yourself separate and base the character on someone else entirely? 
EW: All my characters contain a piece of me because I'm the only human being whose inner workings I have access to. That said, I've never been a fifteen-year-old girl with magical powers or an alien with wings or a woman genetically modified to breathe under water, all of whom I number among the characters I've created. Still, at core, the only reason fiction works is that human beings are human beings. I start with the human being I know best, me, and then imagine how I might be different if I were an alien or a magical girl or a genetically modified mer-woman.

What has helped shape and improve your writing? 
EW: Reading, as mentioned. Insightful editorial comment from the many editors I've worked with. And conversations with other writers (as in my podcast, The Worldshapers--one reason I started it).

What are you reading right now? Do you recommend it or have any other recommendations? 
EW: I'm currently reading The Core, the final book in Peter V. Brett's Demon Cycle. I recommend that series highly, as I do the books of all the authors I've talked to in my podcast (currently, my fiction reading is largely dictated by which author I'm interviewing next, since I like to be prepared).

Do your novels carry a message or do you feel it's subjective?
EW: Messages arise organically from the fiction. I never preach, but of course my view of how the world works infuses my stories. But the message readers take from a work can be different from what an author thinks he or she put in there, anyway.

What works best for you: Typewriters, fountain pen, dictate, computer or longhand?
​EW: I write on a laptop computer, but when I started, I wrote on a typewriter. I don't miss it.

Genre: Mystery, Historical, Thriller
Publisher: Whiskey Creek Press LLC
Publication Date: January 14, 2015
Pages: 368


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Who knew a reading challenge would do wonders for one's TBR block. I read a total of 73 books in 2019. Whew. 

French novelist Charlotte-Rose de la Force has been banished from the court of Versailles by the Sun King, Louis XIV, after a series of scandalous love affairs. At the convent, she is comforted by an old nun, Sœur Seraphina, who tells her the tale of a young girl who, a hundred years earlier, is sold by her parents for a handful of bitter greens...

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This is a world divided by blood - red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power. 

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Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. 

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Genre: Historical
Publisher: Medina Publishing
Publication Date: January 19, 2020
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​In the early 1920's, immaculate gentleman, Jacques Doucet descends into the world of anarchist art, the occult and the dark turmoil of his past - involving the death of his beloved Madame R.
A disastrous journey leads the couturier and patron of the arts to confront the celebrated bohemians of the city, including Max Jacob, André Breton and Pablo Picasso. When troubled Doucet acquires the world's most dangerous painting, it causes him to hack at the root of Picasso's darkest secrets. Doucet showcases a fabulous art collection with such frenzied energy he destroys himself. Unwittingly in the process he discovers modern art's incredible genesis.

Where do you get your ideas for your books? Who or what inspired your idea?
CF: My dad Ray is an inspirational person who has worked on a wide range of amazing projects and I have worked alongside him for many years. He is a polymath, practical as well as academic. He wrote a thesis on the great collector Jacques Doucet in the eighties. Every now and again a story comes along that is so powerful it has to be told and this is one of them.The subject propelled us into working on it for more than 10 years firstly as a screenplay and then as a novel. For a time Ray was a collector of art deco furniture - reaching great heights with his acquisitions and exhibitions of items by top French designers. The quality and value of French furniture from around this period is staggering. Ray discovered that the strand of art deco commissioned by and designed for Jacques Doucet, was prized above all the rest. Doucet was also the first buyer of 'Les Demoiselles d’Avignon', known as the first cubist painting and this is the focus and most fascinating part of our story.

How did you develop the plot and your characters? Are your characters based on anyone? 
CF: Our characters are taken from real life. We have tried to follow true history as far as we possibly can. Certain characters, most particularly Picasso is so well documented that it is imperative to stay faithful to what is known and recorded, to a high degree of 'accuracy.' Where there are blanks in the history we have attempted to fill them in.

Do you write when you're inspired? Or do you have a schedule you keep to? 
CF: We bounce ideas off each other all the time. There has been times when our creative discussions last for hours and it becomes a really meditative thing, so that we barely stop for breaks even. We work regularly together during office hours and separately at home the rest of the time but inspiration is fickle beast and can come day or night or not at all.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? Maybe a piece of advice that stuck with you from your adventure into the world of publishing? 
​CF: Just keep writing. Really don't worry about the quality of it if you are in practice mode. Give yourself freedom to explore. When writing for others raise your game and be as fastidious as you can bear to be.

Tell us a bit more about yourself. How did you know you wanted to be a writer? Who or what inspires you to write?
CF: I have an identical twin . She and I shared everything as children - classes, hobbies, friends as well as being room mates.The only thing that distinguished us was the day that I was selected to attend 'the Rosebuds' - a group of elite writers. This changed my relationship with the world and made me wonder if I was a writer.

How much of yourself goes into your writing? Or do you keep yourself separate and base the character on someone else entirely? 
CF: There is for me a big part of myself in it. You wouldn't necessarily recognise me though. Sometimes I am presenting a self I explore rarely, or aspire to being, or used to be. My compatriots are there too; my children pop up, as well as friends, relatives and acquaintances.

What has helped shape and improve your writing? 
CF: Masses and masses of reading (in my youth particularly ) and writing practice. Careful critical consideration of anything and everything I have written previously. A fascination with poetry and song lyrics. Being a child of the sixties helped. It was a very creative period. An early inspiration for me was Bob Dylan, who led me into exploring loads of different writers and poets.

What are you reading right now? Do you recommend it or have any other recommendations? 
CF: 'Selling Hitler' by Robert Harris. Yes its a great read. It is fascinating to see in microcosm how much people will believe if they really want to, especially when large sums of money beckon.

Do your novels carry a message or do you feel it's subjective?
CF: Most stories have some kind of moral premise, 'Picasso's Revenge' too. It wasn't especially intentional but ours developed around the notion that money and talent cannot necessarily buy you happiness. Also that you can search in all the wrong places for love and find it may be there under your nose all the time. There are others in there too but I must not give too much away.

What works best for you: Typewriters, fountain pen, dictate, computer or longhand?
CF: A combination. Largely the computer these days. I fractured my hand during the writing of the novel and discovered dictation to the computer is very user-friendly these days.

So this year has just absolutely been difficult, to say the least. 

If anyone is wondering: yes, bloggers do get writer's block even when they're just blogging or reviewing. 
I lost MAJOR interest this year in my blog, which absolutely tore at me every day. I kept up with my reading but I just could not, for the life of me, write a review without it being so difficult to do. Sigh, it's nice to be able to admit this finally. I think I reached burn out levels and writer's block. I finally feel that all lifting and I'm starting to gain interest in doing my blog again. 

I also faced some computer issues. 
I bought a new graphic's card (used, but new to me) in the summer. I am PC gamer, love my video games (thank you Sims 4 and other games for eating up my depression and writer's block). I had issues with the fans on this, but my computer savvy best friend figured out the issue. However, my case was just too small for the bigger card. I laid BlackBird case to rest (RIP 2014-2019) and have introduced Black Widow (because I like spiders). So far, it's been all happy. 

Then my hard drive died. 
Which was so stressful and terrifying. And expensive. Two SSD's later, and I'm up and running again. Saving for an exhaust fan and a hard drive now. 

Then all my blog stuff on my USB memory stick is gone because it up and died last night. Good thing I was feeling like my blog could use some new graphics. The loss of the banner is a bit sucky though :( but I might still be able to recover it if it hasn't corrupted. 

So there you have it, my year in a nutshell. 

Many apologies to the authors awaiting posts, I am going to do my best to work on those as much as I can. I won't burn myself out to do it but patience is greatly appreciated. My main focus now is reviews, to squish as many as I can into December and January as I can. No more of this falling behind deal!

2020 Blogging
I'm going to stick with the PopSugar Reading Challenges. It makes reading so much less of a task. I will still make time and room for reviews, never to worry. I will even squeeze a couple into the reading challenge prompts where I can. 

I will be cutting back author interviews to once a month. These spots are very limited. 

Featured Books will remain the same, twice a month (sometimes three if the month allows it.) 
The authors who I missed in my author interviews (Featured Author) and my Featured Books will get first spot. 

I will also be posting my favourite book(s) from the month, this will include review books and my reading prompts. And we'll throw updates and fun posts about as I feel up to it. 

Again, thank you to those who have been patiently waiting. I'm slow as turtle but I am determined too. 

​
Genre: Thriller, Short Story, Anthology
Publication Date: January 2018
Pages: 33
Format: Mobi
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Unfortunately, I was pretty torn about this book. While the stories are definitely decently written, I had a hard time distinguishing them as short stories because they seemed to skip and end too quickly. However, the first story was very heart breaking, so maybe I was hung up on that (book hangover situation), but even going back to it as a refresher, I still just did not connect with the story. 

Regardless, it's still written well and while it isn't my cuppa tea, doesn't mean it won't be a cuppa tea for others. 

Genre: Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Romance
Publication Date: April 5, 2019
Pages: 324
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1. Where do you get your ideas for your books? Who or what inspired your idea? 
While aliens, the weird and unexplained, tend to be our topics, we often inspire each other. Michelle has a love of science while Amanda heavily researches conspiracy theories. Then we put our heads together, bouncing our ideas back and forth until something sticks.

2. How did you develop the plot and your characters? Are your characters based on anyone? 
Our characters are like real people in our heads. For Amanda, Riley was the first to appear. She popped up in her metaphysical shop and two very different men wanted a reading. Of course she fell for both of them. Even though this never made it to the final cut of the book - we've developed these characters from this inception.

3. Do you write when you're inspired? Or do you have a schedule you keep to? 
Michelle- I write when I can get a moment to breathe without the children using me as playground equipment, but typically when I am inspired and have a good jam playing. I'm NOT good at schedules.
Amanda- Both! I'm inspired all the time. I tend to have multiple manuscripts in different stages of development, but it's a matter of sitting down and scheduling. I try and clear big chunks of time to sit and write, even though having three kids makes that hard, I prioritize writing as a necessity in life.

4. Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? Maybe a piece of advice that stuck with you from your adventure into the world of publishing? 
Amanda's advice- I'm not big on giving other advice. Everything you do in life only works because you want to make it work. If you want it so bad, then what are you doing each day to build towards your goal. Writing is one of those things that has to have other elements around it other than the actual writing. For me, its eating healthy, making sure I get off the computer, finding new music, reading widely, and making sure I spend heaps of time with my family. If I neglect these things, then I find my writing falls short and flat. So having a balance lifts me up and the writing becomes rewarding.
Michelle- Keep writing. If it sucks. Write it again. The first draft is never great, and even the 30th will need polishing. Just. Keep. Writing.

5. Tell us a bit more about yourself. How did you know you wanted to be a writer? Who or what inspires you to write? 
Amanda- I've always been an artist. Growing up I painted everything - bedroom walls, old furniture, whatever I could get my hands on. But when I became a mom, my art was too hard. A friend gave me a book to read - Twilight! By the end of the series, my dreams changed - I was dreaming of stories that I could write myself.
Michelle- I started out by doodling on every blank space of paper I could. Homework...doodled. Notebooks...doodled. I drew, colored, painted, and apparently (discovered recently) was writing stories even before I knew it was what I wanted to do 'when I grew up.' In my teens I wrote poetry, probably wouldn't want them to see the light of day now though, and still drew on every edge of paper I had in sight. I suppose I have always wanted to be a writer, but it wasn't until I sat down and wrote my first novel for a client as a ghostwriter that I realized I could actually do it.

6. How much of yourself goes into your writing? Or do you keep yourself separate and base the character on someone else entirely? 
Amanda- that's a hard question. I tend to not put myself into a character. But is there clear separation? Hard to say. I find that I follow the characters in my head a clearly as I see them. Or perhaps they are just personas of my subconscious.
Michelle- The characters decide for themselves. I just write their stories. Do I sometimes see myself in my characters? Probably. I have one character that is a vegan...and I am a vegan...so there is that? lol.

7. What has helped shape and improve your writing? 
Amanda- Michelle! having someone by your side pointing out the good, the bad and the ugly parts of writing has made me jump from pretending to be a writer to an actual writer. And I'm just so lucky to be able to have a book out there with her.
Michelle- Amanda has been a great soundboard, cheerleader, and soul sister from across the planet. I think that just like language, writing is ever evolving. It's a living entity and I don't think I will ever stop working on improving my writing. And the only way to keep improving the writing is...writing. This book wouldn't even be if it wasn't for her pushing and motivating me to keep going and encouraging me when I wasn't at my best.

8. What are you reading right now? Do you recommend it or have any other recommendations? 
Amanda- I recently just finished The Discovery of Witches. But generally I read lots of non-fiction. Currently I'm in the last chapter of Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Däniken. Michelle- Oh jeebus. Okay. Asunder by Liz Steinworth. Always Darkest by Jessica Flaherty. Storm Front by Jim Butcher. Eye of the World by Robert Jordan (second reading). And whatever new gems I find at the Library my next visit lol.

9. Do your novels carry a message or do you feel it's subjective?
Amanda- Not intentional. Michelle researches so much of science whereas I heavily research in conspiracy theories. I guess if the reader doesn't know these fields, they might take messages out from the book, although this is unintentional.
Michelle- I want to write novels that carry a message of my own devising, but I haven't decided on what message to send. Writing with Amanda, we definitely aren't sending a message intentionally, but it could be there. Writing on my own...well, I am a romance writer by nature, so I guess my message is love.

10. What works best for you: Typewriters, fountain pen, dictate, computer or longhand?
Amanda- I tend to go back and forth between computer and long hand. Sitting on the computer for most of the day can be a drain, so I like to get out, into the sunshine and write by hand. All of my summaries, and research is done by hand, but if my brain goes into overdrive, then I have to be at a keyboard to keep up
Michelle- Definitely my Chromebook. My handwriting is atrocious. I can't even decipher that scratch. I would love a typewriter, but I feel my patience level wouldn't be able to stand it. Also, I love having the internet at the ready for anything I need to look up mid writing.

Genre: Horror, Thriller, Novella
Publisher: Black Hill Press
Publication Date: November 11, 2015
Pages: 120
Format: Mobi
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4.75 Stars

Don't let the synopsis of this story fool you, it's vague for a reason. Behind the vagueness is a really awesome story, but shh, I didn't tell you that! 

This is a dystopian world where meat is non-existent. However, a cult claims to be consuming meat. Howard, a detective and his partner Linda are sent to investigate the cult and its Leader, who calls himself "God", ironically. 

Howard has proven, in the past, not to have had the best track record. He's very reactive to what is around him, which isn't a bad thing per say. But he lets his emotions get out control. However Linda is definitely more level-headed, which evens out Howard's unpredictability. But even she falls for the excitement of the Cult and its claims, so Howard remains the most clear-headed throughout.
The other main character would be the cult leader, the aforementioned "God." Like most cult leaders, he is charismatic enough to pull a congregation of followers into the hundreds. But he's also crazy, cruel and very violent which makes him unpredictable. 

Eventually we learn the secrets of the church and it's mystery as to how it's obtaining meat. This story, no pun intended, is raw, visceral and yet it is very intriguing. Once it picks up, though. It was a bit of a slow start for me. But it takes you on one helluva Dystopian Carnival of Horrors ride. 

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing
Publication Date: February 2, 2019
Pages: 344
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Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Limitless Publishing, LLC
Publication Date: April 26, 2019
Pages: 260
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K.H. Kate is a University student, occasional painter and author of Contemporary and Paranormal romance books. She loves to venture into the world of action, dark romance, give happy endings with a little bit of tragedy and paint a world full of raw emotions. Born and raised AS A DREAMER, she has been writing for four years. She started writing to give life to her imaginary characters until they become stories themselves. ​​

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Riversong Books
Publication Date: November 15, 2017
Pages: 295
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​Sixteen-year-old Niena wants nothing more than to attend an elite bardic college, but when the dragon that shattered the empire awakens again she finds herself on the run, through the fey realm of Fairhome, to the city where she was born. On her trail are her army veteran grandfather, thrown into a commander's role he doesn't want, the lord of the fairies, trying to steer her to his own ends, and the husband she won't meet for fifteen years. If she kills the dragon, she'll save everyone she holds dear. But if she kills the dragon, she's cursed instead to become it.

Stephen Reeves was born in 1980 in Huntsville, Alabama, but grew up in a small community just on the edge called Madison. His writing career began during a boring math class in college and has blossomed over the last couple of decades into something decidedly not boring. His works have been published in numerous zines including The Blotter, Chantwood, Yellow Chair Review, and The Writers Drawer. Stephen has also reviewed books for Oxford University Press, including Micheal Newtons Victorian Fairy Tales.

Curses of Scale is his debut novel, written over the course of four years in the inspirational country of Switzerland, where he now resides with his wife, two cats, and an obsessive Pomeranian. ​

Where do you get your ideas for your books? Who or what inspired your idea? 
S.D.R: Seems to be rather a mishmash of things. Characters? Often are inspired by people that stand out to me. Locations? Moving to Switzerland has definitely helped with inspirational landscapes. The city of Shenan for instance, is loosely based off the Bellazona. As far as the plot, part of me wants to be silly here and say 'Alcohol,' but the reality is usually the development of the characters drive the creation of my plot.

How did you develop the plot and your characters? Are your characters based on anyone? 
S.D.R: It may sound a bit strange, but I tend to have conversations with my characters. Imagining them to be real, flesh and blood beings helps me to get to the meat of who they are. Thankfully my wife is around to keep me from being locked away. Beyond that, they have pieces pulled from regular folk I encounter, and my own madness. Marny for instance, was based off one of my wife's friends whom I met during a early Empire period (1805) re-enactment, his particular personality of the old-gruff-captain just struck me. The plot just, sort of develops along side. Sure, I often have a general idea of where I am going, but how I get there is a bit of a journey.

Do you write when you're inspired? Or do you have a schedule you keep to? 
S.D.R: Most of the time I write when I feel like it, however lately I've been writing a lot during my lunch breaks where I work.

Do you have any advice for aspiring authors? Maybe a piece of advice that stuck with you from your adventure into the world of publishing? 
S.D.R: I have found when trying to market my book that while researching similar novels was helpful, it always came down to trial-and-error. So keep that in mind when you get emails promising to help you sell thousands of books, and what not.

Tell us a bit more about yourself. How did you know you wanted to be a writer? Who or what inspires you to write? 
S.D.R: This is a bit harder to explain. I just feel a need to do it. Some writers will say that they have so many stories they want to tell. For me, it is a bit different. I have some many characters I would like to put to a story.

How much of yourself goes into your writing? Or do you keep yourself separate and base the character on someone else entirely? 
S.D.R: I try to keep myself separate, but there is always going to be some cross over.

What has helped shape and improve your writing? 
S.D.R: Reading critiques, not of my own writing, but of others. Beyond this I would say writing, has helped my writing.

What are you reading right now? Do you recommend it or have any other recommendations? 
S.D.R: Right now I am reading a piece of literature for another author. Can't say that I would recommend it yet, but I am very picky. Personally I would suggest "The Bear and the Nightingale," by Katherine Arden, if you like historical fantasy.

Do your novels carry a message or do you feel it's subjective?
S.D.R: My novels tend to not carry a specific, singular message. At least not intentionally.

What works best for you: Typewriters, fountain pen, dictate, computer or longhand?
S.D.R: A laptop, with a mechanical keyboard if I can.

Genre: Dark Fantasy, Sci-fi, Thriller, Erotica
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Publication Date: December 1st, 2018
Pages: 82
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​"Sugar Plum'd" is Leon Mauvais' debut! He's a beret-wearing sprite who fell asleep in the cornfields of Pennsylvania. He dreams in the husks, hoping his tales taste like taffy, but help build crystallized armor. Once, he lingered in the corners of the last used bookstores searching for forbidden adventures on exotic worlds.

Genre: Legal Thriller
Publisher: Roundfire Books
Publication Date: February 22, 2019
Pages: 336
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Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Waterstones