BLURB:

I have only ever wanted a normal life. A life where I could have friends, go on dates, have a career, you know, the boring stuff. But, what if my life was never meant to be normal? What if I was meant to be extraordinary?

My fate was put on hold the day I was born, but all of that changed when I met Brogan. He made me feel things I didn't know possible, and awoke something I didn't know existed. He set my fate back into motion. My name is Alya, and this was when my life really began.

This book contains sexual situations and some strong language, so 18+ is recommended.
It is the first book in the Aurelia Chronicles series.

MY REVIEW:

Queen of the Fireflies is the first book in the Aurelia Chronicles, and if you're expecting a new world straight away, then prepare to be disappointed. 99% of this book take place on good old Earth! Alya has just split up from her boyfriend and decides to spend the summer with her mother. Whilst she's there, she meets Brogan and they have a hot, summer fling. They both know it has an expiry date on it, but neither are prepared to stop seeing the other before they absolutely have to.

This is NOT at young adult fantasy as there are some very steamy bits in it. They are an essential part of the story though and I loved every scene. It is heartbreaking, joyful, hopeful, and sad - the perfect blend of summer romance for a young couple. 

It does end on a cliffhanger though, so fair warning! I can't wait to continue with this series, and have no hesitation in recommending it.

Personal
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I’m a New Orleans native, but I relocated to the hills of Central Maryland after Hurricane Katrina. I live there with my husband and fellow author, J.P. Sloan, my son and our crazy German Shepherd pup. I’m a lover of way too many fandoms, and of gaming. In my “spare time”, I also love crafting. I feel from blankets to jams to stories, it’s always better homemade.


What do you do when you’re not writing?
Gaming (table top, video, board, I’m down for it all), martial arts (just made my red belt), hanging with friends and family (would be lost without my pack).


Do you have a day job as well?
I’m the Tutoring & Writing Center Coordinator for a local college. I love working with students on their writing and learning from them. Even have some who come to me specifically for creative writing/publishing help. Love it!


What was your favourite book as a child? Is there any particular author or book that influenced you in any way either growing up or as an adult?
Jack Prelutsky’s Nightmares. Coupling that with my New Orleans upbringing has left me with a deep love for the macabre and a flare for the next-to-normal.


What book do you wish you had written?
The Martian or the Harry Potter series.
 
Writing
How did you choose the genre you write in?
I guess this goes back to New Orleans and loving everything a little twisted, a little dark and a whole lot sexy.


Where do you get your ideas?
Um…everywhere. I walk around looking at everything from news articles to my students to science to history and say “What if?” Those what-ifs lead me to whole new ideas and sometimes whole new worlds.


Do you ever experience writer’s block?
Sometimes I will be blocked in a scene. I know where it needs to go and what needs to happen, but the characters just aren’t feeling it yet. Generally, I do one of two things: I’ll free-write and see what the characters are feeling/thinking, or I’ll actually skip the scene (leaving a place marker) and catch it back around on revisions. The worst thing I find is to just wait. That stops the momentum of everything.


Are you a planner or a pantser?
Actually, I call myself a plotser. I plan a writing W for the general outline so I know I have what I need for the book, but then I just write. Sometimes the outline stays the same, sometimes the characters find a better way. What that original outline gives me, though, is I never have just a blank page staring at me. I always have something to plug in and play with in the manuscript.


Have you written a book you love that you have not been able to get published?
Yes, I wrote a sci-fi horror based in a deep space station where vampires were the ones who funded the space program (no sun in deep space). I was told over and over that it was good but that it should have been in 1st person and that it is too hard to sell a female sci-fi author. I was sad to hear that reasoning so much, and still hope to pull Black Sun out of moth balls and show women can do sci-fi.


Is anything in your book based on real life experiences or purely all imagination?
For the first book, Of Scions and Men, I really took a stab at female empowerment. I used vampires, who have been a very male centred mythology ever since old Bram wrote Dracula. I had them stand for the patriarchal nature of our society. They are literally running the government, with or without qualifications. Rowan and the scions are turning the mythology on its ear.


How did you come up with the title?
All of my titles for this series are plays on classic literature. Of Scions and Men. The Scions of Wrath. The Once and Future Scion. It brings something alien to something familiar, rather like the books.


What has been the best compliment?
Hmm, one gentleman said I really handled politics and vampires well together, like chocolate and peanut butter. He said it was like a James Patterson novel got lost in 30 Days of Night. Loved that.
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What is your least favourite part of the writing or publishing process?
Marketing, hands down.