Welcome to 7 Questions from the Serrulata Saga Desk, my blog feature that boosts fellow indie authors! This week, I chat with Katherine Shaw.

Introduce your current favorite character – who are they and why do you prefer them above all others at the moment?

From my own writing, I am really enjoying writing a Medusa retelling, and portraying Medusa as the sympathetic woman she deserves to be. I have a bit of a thing for feeling empathy for misrepresented characters from mythology (I have a Narcissus retelling coming up in an anthology being released soon), and I love giving them some depth and humanity. Medusa is more than just a monster in Perseus’ story, she’s a woman who was abused and unfairly punished, with her own backstory, personality and, in my version, a sapphic romance. She’s a little naïve, having lived a life in the shadow of her brother whilst being groomed for a future as a bargaining chip for her father’s ambitions, but she’s also graceful, knowledgeable, charming and beautiful. I love her, and I hate that I’m going to have to make her suffer as the book goes on!
 
From other books, I recently read A. E. Bennett’s first book – yes, I’m doing a shout out to the Serrulata Saga on its own website! – and have become obsessed with Leopold, one of the main characters from Gathering of the Four. I’m a sucker for a broken, grizzled tough guy with a tragic past, and I just want to wrap my arms around him and tell him everything’s going to be okay. 

Who is harder to write – an interesting hero or an interesting villain? 

Generally, for me, it’s the hero. You have to make your hero interesting, likeable (or at least worthy of being rooted for), and motivated enough to keep the reader invested in their success. It’s a tough line to walk, and it can be hard to get the balance right. There’s less pressure when writing villains – you just have to make your reader hate them! It isn’t easy, but your reader won’t be in their heads the whole time like they will the hero, so you just make sure the times when the villain is on the page really count. In both cases, what really makes or breaks them is the motivation. If you have a solid motivation behind their actions, it’ll work. 

You’re trapped in an elevator with your main character. What are you discussing?

With Medusa, we’re having a good old fashioned feminist rant. She’s living in ancient Ionia, where women have virtually no rights, and have one main purpose: to get a good husband. This sort of story is intrinsically feminist, as it’s impossible to write women in this setting without touching on the equality at play within society. 

What is the most challenging aspect of writing for you? How do you conquer it?

There are two things I struggle with: world-building and detailed descriptions. 

I love fantasy and sci-fi, but the main reason I stick to short stories in these genres is that I suck at world-building. Give me a ready-made fantasy world, and I will be inspired to write all sorts of exciting stories, but ask me to make a world from scratch and I will cry. I have a short attention span, and too much time focused on creating all of the details for a new world will just switch off my creativity, and the story will never get written. It’s something I’m trying to get better at, especially since I have a dystopian novel in the works and I need to work on the world before it goes out to beta readers!

Descriptions challenge me in a slightly different way. I like fast-paced books – both to read, and to write – and I often get swept up in writing the action and completely forget to describe anything! Most writers complain of having to cut words when they’re revising their first drafts, but I’m the complete opposite – I have to go back and add descriptions of everything, from characters to settings. 

If you could write a cross-over with another book/series, what would it be and why? (Or, if cross-overs don’t interest you, why?)

This is a tough one! I think it would be super fun to writer my characters from GLORIA in the world of Jamie Jackson’s Adventures of a Villain-Leaning Humanoid series. Not only would it be great to see the characters bouncing off one another (I can’t decide if Meg and Katie would love or hate each other), but I’d also get to give each of them super powers – how fun would that be? Meryl already gives strong Edna Mode from The Incredibles vibes, and I would really enjoy weaving her into this world.

In your opinion, what is the purpose of storytelling?

For me, personally, the core purpose of any story is to make you feel something. Tragic stories that pull at my heart strings, characters I fall in love with, villains that fill me with hatred – I need something that heightens my emotions to really enjoy a book, and my goal with any story is to do the same for the reader. Something can have the best-written plot set in the most rich and enchanting world I’ve ever read, but if I don’t care about the characters and what is happening to them, it just won’t land with me. It’s all about connections to the characters, the need to see them prevail and the utter heart-wrenching grief if they don’t, that makes stories truly special. 

Ok, last but not least… Tell us a bit about what made you want to become a writer and why you write what you write.

I’ve always written stories, and I literally can’t remember I time when I didn’t want to be a writer. It’s like some sort of primal need I have, and even in the years where I had to give it up to focus on university and starting a career, it was always in the back of my mind, itching away at me until I had to scratch it. As I lost that teenage confidence I used to have, it took me a while to properly go for it and write seriously again, because I had a crippling fear of failure. I convinced myself that if I didn’t write anything, I couldn’t write anything bad, and it held me back for years. Finally, as my thirties loomed over me, I decided to stop the self-sabotage and just go for it, and not long after that, I got a few short story acceptances, and the confidence boost convinced me to finally write the novel that became GLORIA.
 
In terms of what I write, it reflects what I like to read. Even though it would probably be better for my author career, I just can’t stick to one genre. I enjoy most speculative fiction – fantasy, sci-fi, horror, dystopia – but I also love a fast-paced, gripping story, so this is what drew me to thrillers for my debut novel. I love a book that hooks me so I can’t stop reading, and that’s what I try to achieve with my own writing. At the end of the day, I want to write things that people like me will enjoy reading. One of the great things about being an indie author is that I don’t have to stick to market or genre conventions too strictly, so my thrillers can have a sprinkle of spec-fic or romance, my sci-fi and fantasy can have grisly murders, and I can write stories that are equally romantic and tragic. I can explore my own journeys with mental illness, sexuality and chronic illness, while taking the reader on a wild adventure at the same time. The sky is the limit, and I love that. 
 
There are also some themes that organically find their way into my work, because they’re true to the core of who I am. Oppression, justice (or the lack of it), equality and autonomy often feature, simply because they are topics I care strongly about, and that passion bleeds into my writing. This can manifest in a variety of ways, from victims gaining the courage take on their abusers to an oppressed people rising up against a dystopian government, but it’s always there. 

Here's where to find Katherine:

Website: www.katherineshawwrites.com
Facebook: www.facebooks.com/katherineshawwrites 
Twitter: @katheroony (on hiatus – find me on BlueSky @katheroony.bsky.social)
Instagram: @katherineshawwrites

Are you an indie author who wants to be featured on 7 Questions? Send me an email!

I’m of a certain age. Of course today’s blog post is going to reference 90s pop. 
 
Moving right along…
 
I had hoped to begin this blog post with awesome news about my progress on Book Three, but alas. 2024 has thrown a few curveballs at me which has made it nearly impossible for my brain to be able to focus on The Four. 
 
I am in the process of re-reading Gathering of the Four and Test of the Four, however, in the hopes of jump starting my brain. 
 
A reminder that Hollow Cry is now available to pre-order. Also, there might be ARC info coming in May’s newsletter… but you’ll have to subscribe in order to find out. (grin)
 
Oh, if you (like me) have recently read any of my books, would you mind leaving a rating or review? It would mean the absolute world to me! Thanks, lovely readers!
 
Bennett’s Indie Book Reviews – April Wrap-Up
 
…with links to my Goodreads reviews:
 
The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher – E.M. Anderson
The Crown and the Collar (Kingdom of Claws, #1) – Dominic N. Ashen
A Fire In Her Bones (A Feral Spark Book 2) – JD Cadmon
His Forevermore (Unexpected, #3) – Bailey Elizabeth
The Truth About Hollowood: A MM Shifter Romance Novella (Hollowood Falls Book 4) – Will Forrest (ARC)
Sentence for Life – Maxime Jaz (ARC)
Into That Darkness Peering – A.A. Rubin
 
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Welcome to 7 Questions from the Serrulata Saga Desk, my blog feature that boosts fellow indie authors! This week, I chat with Willo Glenn.

Introduce your current favorite character – who are they and why do you prefer them above all others at the moment?

Oh gosh, this is hard. I’m currently in the middle of revising Tempered in Ash, so it’s definitely going to be one of my girls from that. If I had to choose, it would probably be my favorite himbo lady, Joyanna. She’s been a ton of fun to write and flesh out. She’s big and strong, loyal to a fault, and rarely serious. Tempered in Ash is a rough story, especially towards the end, and Joyanna brings a lot of brevity to the situation (even though she probably shouldn’t). She has so much capacity for love, and she’s not afraid to show it. All of my beta readers have completely fallen in love with her, and that’s really validating because I’m honestly in love with her, too.

Who is harder to write – an interesting hero or an interesting villain? 

I think they’re both hard, but I would lean more towards villains being more difficult. Crazy is fun, but I think villains that challenge my view of the setting or plot are really exciting. I like being forced to question whether they’re really the bad guy or not. It’s difficult to do, but when it’s done right?  *chef’s kiss*

You’re trapped in an elevator with your main character. What are you discussing?

If I were trapped in an elevator with Ilde, she’d probably kill me on the spot, considering everything I’ve put her through. Trauma aside, the conversation would probably be about mental health. I think both of us would benefit from a pragmatic discussion about our poor coping skills.

What is the most challenging aspect of writing for you? How do you conquer it?

Definitely maintaining momentum and motivation. I’ve had to work really hard to overcome my habit of waiting to write until I’m in the mood to do so. I do a lot of staring at a blank word doc, but I made sitting down to write part of my routine. I try to sit at my desk for at least a few hours a day to crank something out, and if I don’t manage to get any words down, I will take time to do some social media work or outlining—that way, I’ve at least contributed to my overall success every day. It’s not always super fruitful, but it keeps me in the mindset of consistently thinking about my novels, and that helps keep the ideas simmering in my brain.

If you could write a cross-over with another book/series, what would it be and why? (Or, if cross-overs don’t interest you, why?)

Not sure if it counts, but I’d love to write a module or campaign setting based in The Terrain for D&D. I have plans to run a homebrew campaign for some friends, and if it goes well (and there’s enough interest in my books overall), it might be something I dip my toes into one of these days. Tempered in Ash is inspired by D&D, so it only seems fitting that I give people a way to experience The Terrain for themselves.

In your opinion, what is the purpose of storytelling?

For me, the purpose of storytelling has always been joy and escapism. I’ve read fantasy my entire life, and it has gotten me through some really tough times. Writing does the same thing, only it allows me to hopefully share that joy with other people. Storytelling is all about helping people persevere.

Ok, last but not least… Tell us a bit about what made you want to become a writer and why you write what you write.

I’ve always been super imaginative, especially as a child. I wrote a lot of little stories in notebooks as a kid. I didn’t even consider that I could make it a true hobby until I was a teenager when I started writing fanfiction. I slowly transitioned from fanfiction to original works and have been writing ever since. I’ve just always really loved making things up and being creative—writing fantasy was a way I could continue to play pretend as an adult  :)

Here's where to find Willo:

Website: http://www.willoglenn.com/
Twitter: @willoglenn
Instagram: @willo_glenn
TikTok: @willoglenn

​Are you an indie author who wants to be featured on 7 Questions? Send me an email!

Hello and happy April!
 
—which I can’t believe I’m saying. The first three months of this year absolutely flew by.
 
My annual Peak Bloom sale wrapped up a few days ago, and to all of the wonderful folks who snagged Test of the Fourfor only $0.99 – thank you! Every sale makes me super happy!
 
(And – psssst – if you like my books, please leave a rating or a review. Obligatory reminder, haha.)
 
If you haven’t already seen my social posts, Hollow Cry is now available to pre-order. This is a companion novella to Test of the Four, so while I suppose you could read it as a stand-alone, it will make much more sense if you read it after Book Two.
 
In other news…I’ve finished the outline for Book Three. It took me six hours to figure out where everyone was and where they’re going to be, and y’all I was sweating by the end—but it is complete and now I’m ready to get started on the first draft. 
 
Lots to do. Gotta just find the time to do it. 
 
Much more to come, including another installment of 7 Questions from The Serrulata Saga Desk! 
 
Have a great week!
 
Bennett’s Indie Book Reviews – March Wrap-Up
 
…with links to my Goodreads reviews:

Double Zero: An Anthology (The Zero Anthologies) – Daniel Aegan
The Devil Walks in Blood – David Green
The Modern Mythos Anomaly – Juniper Lake Fitzgerald
Gay Love and Other Fairy Tales (Jordan and Benjamin Forever #1) – Dylan James 
Mr Warren's Profession (Aubrey & Lindsey, #1) – Sebastian Nothwell
The Gentleman's Gentleman (His Lordship's Realm Book 1) – Samantha SoRelle
Among Thorns and Stardust – Various Authors (ARC copy)
Blooms at Midnight: An Anthology on Grief and Motherhood – Olivia Kay Washington
 
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Welcome to 7 Questions from the Serrulata Saga Desk, my blog feature that boosts fellow indie authors! This week, I chat with Talli L. Morgan, who is not just an amazing author but a fantastic pal!

Pen Name: Talli L. Morgan
Pronouns: They/Them
Book Series/Latest Book Published: Faded Moon

Introduce your current favorite character – who are they and why do you prefer them above all others at the moment?  

I wish I could say it was hard for me to pick favorites among my characters, but… it’s not, haha. Currently it’s Cyrus, the main character of my vampire book. The youngest in an elite family of vampire hunters, he’s the black sheep of the lot since he (gasp) doesn’t really want to hunt vampires, nor is he very good at it. As for why he’s my favorite right now –– other than simply because I’m working on his book –– I think what compels me about Cyrus is how multi-faceted he is. The grumpy, pessimistic, prickly persona he often exhibits is a vast contrast to his true inner personality, which is fiercely driven by hope. But he’s so terrified of losing that hope that he’s reluctant to fight for it, so he runs from the plot until it (literally) bites him. It’s not until he finds something worth fighting for –– because to him, his mere life isn’t reason enough –– that he really steps into the protagonist shoes, and that’s been super interesting to explore.  

Who is harder to write – an interesting hero or an interesting villain?  

An interesting villain, for sure. I fully admit this is one of my weak points in my writing; I forget to make the antagonists dimensional! The best villains, in my opinion, are the ones with so many conflicting layers and nuances to them that you find yourself understanding them even if you ultimately disagree with them. That’s truly not easy to accomplish, especially in books –– like I tend to write –– where the antagonist isn’t directly interacting with the characters all that much.   

You’re trapped in an elevator with your main character. What are you discussing?  

I think I would end up giving Cyrus a much-needed, long-time-coming therapy session. We’re stuck there, he’s got twenty-one years of crap to work through, and he can’t run away. What better time?  

What is the most challenging aspect of writing for you? How do you conquer it?  

Honestly, battling the doubt. Yes, there’s aspects of the craft itself that trip me up with every draft, but overall the hardest part is ignoring the imposter syndrome. I’m still trying to get better at being unflinchingly proud of my work rather than constantly worrying if it’s good enough. I have a few little rituals that help with this: one is my final read-through after publication, which I think of as a sort of farewell to the book now that it’s truly finished and out in the world. I use this time with it to reflect on how far I’ve come with the story, and I intentionally let myself be proud of it. Another tradition I started with my first book is writing a “love letter” to the book the night before its release date. It’s another way to reflect on my journey with the story and characters and sort of wish it good luck.  

If you could write a cross-over with another book/series, what would it be and why? (Or, if cross-overs don’t interest you, why?)  

Someday Rita Rubin and I will write a crossover of The Windermere Tales and Chronicles of the Guardians and it’ll be chaotic and beautiful. Our series have perfectly complementary vibes with high-fantasy settings, grand adventures, cursed artifacts, and to top it all off, disaster characters. It’d be so much fun.  

In your opinion, what is the purpose of storytelling?  

Oh, gosh, this one is hard. I feel that stories are meant to take us somewhere. Whether that journey is physical or emotional or both, I believe we’re meant to leave behind our lives for a few hundred pages and step into a different world –– even if that world is just a different angle of our own. The best books I’ve read have been the ones whose worlds and settings and characters seem so viscerally real that I forgot where I was while wrapped in their pages.  

Ok, last but not least… Tell us a bit about what made you want to become a writer and why you write what you write.  

I don’t remember if there was a specific moment when I decided I wanted to be a serious writer, but once I started I knew I never wanted to stop. My first foray into creative writing was through fanfictions, which were born because I couldn’t get the characters out of my head and I needed to give them more stories than what the source material provided. In a lot of ways, that’s still what drives my writing: characters chattering away in my head until I get their stories out of my brain and onto the page.  

I also don’t remember consciously choosing fantasy; some of the first original fiction I wrote was actually contemporary. But then in high school I started writing a sort of portal fantasy, where the main character fell from our world into a magical one, and I guess I never left the magical worlds behind after that!  

Here's where to find Talli:

Website: https://tallimorgan.com
Instagram: @tallimorgan.books 

​Are you an indie author who wants to be featured on 7 Questions? Send me an email!

Hey y’all! I’m welcoming March with open arms because it means every day is getting longer and warmer weather is on the horizon.
 
I am diving into the final edits of my next Serrulata Saga book and, more importantly, will be doing a cover reveal next week. Make sure you’re signed up for my newsletter so you can see it before anyone else!
 
I’m also excited to share that I’ve actually really truly started on Book Three. I have a rough draft of the prologue down on paper. I need to do a full outline next, but it feels amazing to have gotten started. 
 
I’ll leave things here for now – stay safe and well!
 
Bennett’s Indie Book Reviews – February Wrap-Up
 
…with links to my Goodreads reviews:
 
Snowed in with the Vampire Prince – Jay Castle
Blood in the Water – Carolina Cruz
Umbrate – A.D. Jones
More to Love: A M/M Plus Size Interracial Romance – Georgina Kiersten
Evan and the Alpha – Cherry Pickett
My Alchemical Romance – Andrew Slinde
Marrying Bluebeard – E.P. Stavs (ARC copy)
The Demon Inside Me (Loved by The Demon #4) – Chace Verity
 
Are you signed up for my newsletter? Make sure you whitelist me!

Welcome to 7 Questions from the Serrulata Saga Desk, my blog feature that boosts fellow indie authors! This week, y'all are getting a bonus interview because my schedule is shifting later this month. Say hi to ML Stevens!

Pen Name: ML Stevens
Pronouns: They/Them
Book Series/Latest Book Published: The Messages We Send Each Other

Introduce your current favorite character – who are they and why do you prefer them above all others at the moment?  

My current favorite character at the moment is the main character in my most recent wip. Loup, the most morally gray con man I have ever written, haha. He’ll hold the door open for you while robbing you of your life savings and you’ll never even know it was him who did it because he wears identities like socks.

Who is harder to write – an interesting hero or an interesting villain?

I’m not really sure. I think it’s pretty evened up for me when it comes to writing interesting characters in general.

You’re trapped in an elevator with your main character. What are you discussing?

If we’re talking about the main character from my most recent release, The Messages We Send Each Other, then I’m probably talking about art or movies. However, if we’re talking about the main character in my current wip, then I’m getting my soul conned away.

What is the most challenging aspect of writing for you? How do you conquer it?

Does formatting count? Haha. Actually, recently the most challenging part of writing for me has been just finding the time to write. I’ve been so busy with work for both the day job and my degree that I haven’t been able to get much time to sit down and write.

If you could write a crossover with another book/series, what would it be and why? (Or, if crossovers don’t interest you, why?)

Oo! Cross-overs would be fun! I’d totally try a crossover with the LIFE series by Felyx Lawson. Both because I think Kathy, Carter and Ben from Messages would totally fit well in the universe and because doing a crossover with a friend sounds fun to me.

In your opinion, what is the purpose of storytelling?

I don’t really think storytelling has one single purpose, but rather a myriad of purposes; to teach, to entertain, to create, etc.

Ok, last but not least… Tell us a bit about what made you want to become a writer and why you write what you write.  

I can’t ever really pinpoint what made me want to become a writer. I just remember looking out my window as a kid into the backyard and thinking it would be cool to write a book. I haven’t put the pen down since. I write what I write because those are the stories that crawled into my brain and demanded to be written or the characters that won’t shut up until I’ve told their story/stories.

Here's where to find ML:

Website: https://mlstevens.carrd.co/
Twitter: @MLStevens13
Instagram: @MLStevens13
Bluesky: @MLStevens13
​
Are you an indie author who wants to be featured on 7 Questions? Send me an email!

Welcome to 7 Questions from the Serrulata Saga Desk, my blog feature that boosts fellow indie authors! This week, we chat with Dani Finn.

Pen Name: Dani Finn
Pronouns: They/Them
Book Series/Latest Book Published: The Time Before: Wings so Soft

​​Introduce your current favorite character – who are they and why do you prefer them above all others at the moment?

My current favorite character is Skiti from The Delve and the upcoming Jagged Shard. She’s a dwarven artificer, BFF and sometimes lover to Queen Laanda. She’s quiet, intelligent, and introspective, the inventor of the omni, a multipurpose device whose uses are limited mostly by the wielder’s imagination. She’s fiercely loyal to Laanda but isn’t afraid to challenge her—or bind her to the bed and reduce her to a quivering mess—as her Queen’s needs dictate.

Who is harder to write – an interesting hero or an interesting villain? 

Villains are easy. Heroes are hard, because if they’re too goody-goody, they lose their shine, but if they’re too self-absorbed, you won’t follow them to the ends of the earth. The best heroes I’ve written—Laanda from the Time Before series, Sinnie from the Maer Cycle, Cloti from the upcoming Cloti’s Song, and a few others, all have their own agendas and make decisions not everyone would agree with. They may not be perfect, but they care about things and by gum, they Get. Shit. Done. 

You’re trapped in an elevator with your main character. What are you discussing? ​

Skiti and I would be discussing how to get out. Or rather, Skiti would be explaining how she’s going to get us out, and grousing about the pathetic technical skills of those who designed and maintained the elevator. The crews in the Deepfold kept their lifts in perfect working order, and that’s with fantasy-level tech, no electricity. Modern non-fantasy people are a buncha technical lightweights.

What is the most challenging aspect of writing for you? How do you conquer it​?

Time is always the enemy. If I had infinite time, there’s no limit to how many books I could publish. I “conquer” it by having a daily writing routine: I work for about half an hour every day at the same time, and several times on days when my day job doesn’t keep me busy. It doesn’t seem like much, but since I’m extremely fixated on my routine, I write and edit enough to put out 2-3 books a year on the regular. It took me a while to form this habit, and it doesn’t work for everyone, but an almost-religious daily writing routine has been absolute gold for me.

If you could write a cross-over with another book/series, what would it be and why? (Or, if cross-overs don’t interest you, why?) 

I have no interest in crossovers, except with my own series, which I do quite a bit. There’s too much obsession in media these days with big IPs and crossovers, and I think it’s time we focus on idiosyncratic, quirky shit like our own twisted little worlds. Mine are all interconnected in little ways, with the hope that readers of one will become curious and explore the others. I always want to be creating more stories in these worlds, or creating new worlds beyond them. Worldbuilding is so intricate and complex that there’s no way that would make any kind of sense to me to mix my worlds with someone else’s. 

In your opinion, what is the purpose of storytelling? 

​Storytelling serves different purposes for different people, but for me, it’s about giving us a chance to experience a life we could never have, or a version of our lives we’ve never gotten a chance to explore. Sometimes what we read in a story gives us the courage to do more, to be more in our own lives; other times, it helps us understand why others are different than us. And of course sometimes a story just helps us feel things we may not have realized we needed to feel. As a nonbinary person, stories and storytelling have helped me understand who I am and who I might be in a way I never could have through any other medium. 

Ok, last but not least… Tell us a bit about what made you want to become a writer and why you write what you write. 

Okay so this is going to be a bit longer because I’m entering my third phase as an author, so bear with me.     I’ve always been story-obsessed, always read, always written, always role-played (yes, dungeons and dragons and games like that are a form of storytelling). I studied literature in grad school, doing masters degrees in English and French, with a special interest in medieval lit. There was a time when I wrote crime fiction in the style of The Wire, even queried it for a while, but I felt fantasy calling back to me. I was in a D&D campaign, and it was fun enough, but everyone just wanted to kill everything. Hack, slash, move on. I got bored. So I wrote Hollow Road, about a group of adventurers who kill the monsters only to discover things are more complicated than they thought.    

Things started getting weird for me after that. I was writing fantasy, right? But in The Archive¸ things started getting kind of romantic. And sexy. And queer. While The Place Below didn’t continue the sexy/romantic trend, it picked up again in the Weirdwater Confluence. By the time I finished writing The Isle of a Thousand Worlds, I realized that I was no longer just a fantasy writer. I was on my way to becoming a fantasy romance writer.    

That’s when things started to get really interesting. Every book since then has been medium to high heat, all romantic, and most of them feature explicitly queer pairings as well. All of my next three books have significant sapphic components: Cloti’s Song is about a married throuple taking on a fourth; Jagged Shard is a lesbian dungeon crawler romance; and The World Within is a trans sapphic fantasy romance. There’s been a lot going on in my head and in my heart, and it’s all coming out on the page. I’ve been through the emotional wringer with these books, and I’m proud to be finally sharing that turmoil with the world in 2024.    

Thank you so much for having me, and I wish you the very best in 2024!  Dani   

Here's where to find Dani:
 
Website: My linktree has all my links in one place, including where to find my books!
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DaniFinnwrites (I still hang out on the hellsite way too much)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danfitzwrites/?hl=en 
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@danfitzwrites

​Are you an indie author who wants to be featured on 7 Questions? Send me an email!

Snow!

It’s the last full week of January and (looks around nervously) I’ve been doing a fantastic job of keeping up with my goals so far! Sure, I know the year has barely started, but I’m gonna toot my own horn anyway.
 
Between exercise, mindfulness, and being nicer to myself overall, I feel as though I am on the right path at the moment. Here’s hoping I can keep this up!
 
My latest WIP is now with my second editor/proofreader. I’ve also started gathering all of my notes (and there are so, so many) regarding the short story collection I’m planning. 
 
And, yes, I am starting to think about the outline for Book Three, as well. 
 
I know how I want it to begin and where I want everyone to wind up at the end, but right now the middle part—you know, the core of the story?—is giving me trouble. I promised myself I wouldn’t rush anything with this book, so I might actually wait until the weather gets warmer to really get going. 
 
For now, I’m bidding January goodbye—and looking forward to great things ahead!
 
Bennett’s Indie Book Reviews – January Wrap-Up
 
…with links to my Goodreads reviews:
 
Traveler (The Traveler Trilogy) – Melanie Bateman
A Swift Kick to the Thorax – Mara Lynn Johnstone
Versus (FSF Writers Alliance Anthologies) – The Fantasy & Sci-Fi Writers Alliance

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Welcome to 7 Questions from the Serrulata Saga Desk, my new feature that boosts fellow indie authors! This week, we chat with Gabriel Hargrave, one of my fantastic editors - and an all around awesome person.

Pen Name: Gabriel Hargrave (will also eventually be releasing less spicy novels under Gabriel Crawford)
Pronouns: he/him
Book Series/Latest Book Published: Orchid and the Lion (OatL) series/The Lion and the Dahlia

Introduce your current favorite character – who are they and why do you prefer them above all others at the moment?

If we’re talking about my characters, I’m going to say a) what a cruel question to ask because they’re all my favorite and b) the current reigning champion is Sebastian, a.k.a. Bazzy. I’m in the process of drafting the first book I’m ever going to query, and Bas is the delightful main character. He’s got bubblegum pink hair and wears these wacky suits, and he’s just genuinely funny and a lot healthier and less of a mess than some of the other characters I’ve created. He stumbles into being the nanny for three kids, and watching him settle more and more into a parental role while falling for their father was a lot of fun, especially since the book has such a cute, cozy vibe. 

If we’re talking about other author’s characters, I’m going to shout out Juniper Lake Fitzgerald. I’m a huge fan of messy disaster queers, and Calysto and Python from The Modern Mythos Anomaly are two of my faves.

Who is harder to write – an interesting hero or an interesting villain? 

Oddly enough, an interesting love interest. Which is bad news for me since I write romance and sci-fi with a romance co-plot. LOL! My first draft love interests tend to be wooden and boring and just kind of blah. I tend to use them as a way of first figuring out and fleshing out my main character and then I go back and rework that first draft so that the love interest can really shine. 
 
My critique partner and I like to joke that my love interests suffer from “Laith syndrome” because that particular character was nothing like he wound up being in the final version of The Orchid and the Lion. He was just sort of…there? There were pieces of him in place, things that I could latch onto when I went back and fixed him up, but for the most part, he was just responding to Dorian and helping me get to know that character. Sabri in The Lion and the Dahlia was a similar story. She’s one of the most dynamic and beloved characters I’ve ever created now, but in the first draft, she was flat and didn’t stand on her own outside of Laith being attracted to her. 
 
I think the biggest issue is that I pants my stories, so the love interest is a tool in the first draft rather than a full-on character in their own right. It helps make the main character and the story interesting, but it means having to put in extra work on subsequent drafts so that the reader will love the LI as much as the main character and I do.

You’re trapped in an elevator with your main character. What are you discussing?

I’ll go with Dorian for this one because in addition to writing the third draft of Nanny Bazzy, I’m also working on the first draft of The Dahlia and the Knight, the third book of the OatL series, so I’m in that character’s head a lot now.
 
Dorian and I are both bookworms, so I think that would be the majority of what we talk about. The OatL series takes place about 150 years in the future, so Dor would have read dozens and dozens of books that aren’t even written yet and could tell me about them. But depending on how long we’re trapped, I assume we’d eventually get into things like our shared traumas, our weakness for a dry red wine, and our experiences as kinky queer people. I’ll probably also get yelled at a lot for what I put Dorian through. LOL!

What is the most challenging aspect of writing for you? How do you conquer it?

Wildly enough, storytelling is hard for me. My characters are fun and dynamic and realistic enough that you feel like you could reach out and slap them when they do something ridiculous. But it’s hard for me to figure out what the plot of a particular book should be. It takes so many drafts—both finished and unfinished—and a lot of discussions with my critique partner, alphas, and betas to nail down the tale I’m trying to tell. 
 
Some of that is that I’m a fan of really complex narratives, BIG stories that are often too big and need to be shrunk down a bit. Some of that is that I pants, so I initially have no more than a vague idea of what I’m doing until I’ve finished the first draft and can start weeding out the stuff that doesn’t work and zeroing in on what does. And some of that is that most of my work is genre-blending, so I’m juggling a lot of things all at once. I’d love to be able to publish more than one novel a year, but my writing process is big and chaotic and messy and takes time. And the majority of that is because characters and dialogue and sex scenes are all easy, but plot is hard. 
 
I’m working on that, though, getting better at plot structure and attempting to plan things out a bit more as I write. One of my own personal “rules” as a writer is that I want the next book to be better than the last, and I never want to stop learning and improving my craft.

If you could write a cross-over with another book/series, what would it be and why? (Or, if cross-overs don’t interest you, why?)

I think it’s cheating if I say my critique partner Lor’s stuff since it’s not out yet, so I’ll go with K.D. Edward’s Tarot Sequence series. I had already written the first draft of The Orchid and the Lion when I read the first book of that series, and I was delighted to find characters that felt like they’d get along with my own. Ciaran and Dorian would be fun to watch interact because I think they’d be best frenemies, Sabri and Brand would get along like a house on fire (especially since they both deeply care about reckless grown ass men), and Laith and Rune would have a great time getting into messes together. Plus, Dorian being able to use magic would be the most fun and the most terrifying thing in the world.

In your opinion, what is the purpose of storytelling?

I think it’s different for every writer. Some people do it because they want to tell stories that will live forever, etch their name into the fabric of history, and be remembered for doing something great. Others do it because they have to, because they have words in their head or their heart that need to get out, and they’re going to make it everyone else’s problem. LOL! Some just like telling a good tale; others are working through stuff and using story to do it. 
 
I do it for a combination of reasons. I really enjoy sharing my work with people, getting to make them feel something, seeing how much they love my characters and the worlds I build around them. It’s also just really cathartic. I tend to give my characters struggles of my own, though I don’t realize I’m doing it until after I already have. My characters and I sort of therapize each other in the early drafts of a book, and we come to an understanding of, like, this is the story we want to tell, the one that expresses the things we need to get out into the world.
 
As a queer author, though, there’s another equally important point to storytelling. Like other marginalized groups, LGBTQ+ authors are told that our stories aren’t important or that they need to be sanitized or silenced or a million other terrible things. Writing the kinds of books that I do—whether the raunchiest, most explicit erotica or the coziest, low-to-medium heat romance—is a declaration that I’m here, I’m queer, and I’m not going to shrink myself or let the attempts at “purifying” our culture go unnoticed or unchallenged. The queer writers that I know are putting their hearts and souls into challenging, beautiful, horrifying, heart-warming stories and releasing them into the world so that these stories can be told, can be heard, can be bulwarks against the tide of bigotry and nonsense being lobbed at queer people. And so that people like us—people who need those stories—can find them and take comfort in them and strength from them.

Ok, last but not least… Tell us a bit about what made you want to become a writer and why you write what you write.

I’ve been writing since I was a really little kid. I remember “writing” a book in kindergarten (I stapled construction paper together and scribbled on it and drew some bad pictures of dinosaurs in it), and I just sort of never stopped. It was something I felt called to do, and I’m so lucky that I’m at a place in life where I can do it. 
 
I talked in the last question about why I do what I do on a broader level, but the reason I write the kinds of books I write is because I want to read them. I love coming up with characters, figuring out who they are and what they want and what they become. And even though I told myself I wasn’t going to write erotic fiction, I found that it’s where I feel most at home. Not all of what I have brewing to publish is like the OatL series (the Nanny Bazzy novel is the first in what I’m hoping will be a series of low-to-medium heat contemporary queer romances set in Rochester, NY), but I adore books where sex and sexuality are treated as just normal parts of life, where the characters do things (fall in love, save the world, etc.) but they also do each other. I’m a huge proponent of the idea that you can weave together rich narratives, three-dimensional characters, and burn-your-face-off spicy scenes without sacrificing the quality or importance of your work, and I aim to be among those who prove that to readers.

Here's where to find Gabe:

Website: gabrielhargrave.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gabrielhargravewrites
Twitter: GHargraveWrites
Instagram: gabrielhargravewrites
TikTok: gabrielhargravewrites
Spotify: Gabriel Hargrave
BlueSky: ghargravewrites.bsky.social

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