To celebrate 13 weeks of winter, Hàlön Chronicles will be conducting one interview a week for 13 weeks. We’ve also partnered with additional artists and authors for a few surprises throughout the winter. Join us on the hashtag #13Winterviews, or check out our blog hop for a sneak peek at who’s on the roster in the coming weeks.
Hosted by: K. J. Harrowick
1. First off, tell us a little bit about who you are and what type of books you write.
Genorä (Greetings) and welcome to Hàlön Chronicles!
I’m Kat, hostess and creator of Winterviews. The project kicked off in 2016 as a way to meet other writers and get their wonderful work into the universe. I’d read so many fantastic, unpublished stories from beta readers and critique partners that I couldn’t let their light sit on the shelves and get dusty. Since then, several of their stories have been published, and these writers and artists are conquering their corner of the world. Winterviews was such a hit, that I’ve brought it back for a second year with six wonderful partners. You can meet them all here.
For those who haven’t met me yet, I’m a Fantasy and Science Fiction writer currently hailing from the Pacific Northwest. I write adult novels of a much darker nature—sex, violence, war, magic and yes… getting swallowed by a dragon. Feel free to throw up. All of my characters tend to be older, with lives already half-lived. They’ve suffered loss, defeat, and destruction, and they’re looking for a second chance of happiness. Even if they have to lose everything again to get it.
Most of the stories are currently written in the Hàlön or Infinus universes, but each needs a shameful amount of restructuring and editing. My most polished novel, BLOOD & FIRE, ASH & BONE, is currently out on query.
2. What projects are you working on these days?
BLOODFLOWER is a swords & sorcery science fiction which takes place on Sandaris, a stolen moon snared inside the starship Hàlön.
Jàden’s final exams will determine her entrance into the Bioengineering Guild, but when her magical link to the Violet Flame—a universal etheric energy—is exposed, she’s abducted by her boyfriend’s father and a biotherics doctor intent on creating a new reality. For two years she’s starved and tortured, her mind torn apart until the Flame’s energy flows freely through her veins.
When her boyfriend, Enforcer Jason Kale, attempts a rescue, he’s killed in a starship explosion. Jàden’s shoved into hypersleep where her body is suspended, but her mind is awake and alive.
When her hypersleep chamber opens, Jàden wakes to a world of swords and sorcery, and an arrow in her shoulder. Now she’s on the run to escape the northern armies, fighting to stay alive, and searching for the reincarnated Jason Kale. After using her powers to protect a small band of warriors, it awakens her old captors from hypersleep, and they are hunting her again. This time to wield her power against an encroaching empire.
3. Do you have any strong social or political statements your work aims to represent?
I strive for my work to step away from modern political and social constructs and give readers some breathing space from this universe. However, I have a deep love of conspiracy theories—the weirder the better. So, my work tends to take some of the more far-fetched ones and weave them into the roots of each story.
4. Who is your favorite dragon?
Ohmva, obviously. Ohmva is a fairly young dragon who lives under a suppressive dictatorship. He’s the liaison between his kin and the human kingdom of Sgådnor, growing up first with Haruk Mardkin, then his son, Darian Mardkin.
Ohmva has a lithe, sinewy body beneath a bony exoskeleton. His fire burns blue, so when he ignites his flame, it glows from his two eye sockets and between each of the bony joints along his body. When he agrees to bond with Darian, things go horribly wrong. Instead of creating healing fire, both Ohmva and Darian become sick and struggle to stay alive. You can find a piece of Ohmva’s tale in Blood & Fire, Ash & Bone.
5. What is your favorite spaceship?
Hàlön. It’s a black ring that rotates around the Sandarin moon. Its hull is divided into six sections, each controlled by a key that opens and closes the gateway between the starship and the moon’s surface. Hàlön can be found in Bloodflower, Firestone and Ironstar, though the reader won’t see too much of the ship in the series’ first installment.
6. Favorite wind-down-after-a-hard-day beverage?
I don’t get to indulge as often as I’d like, but it’s definitely red beer: a bottle of Alaskan Amber and two shots of clamato juice. Served best with a black & blue burger on any Pacific Northwest seaside dock.
If you want to know more about me and my work, feel free to peruse the rest of my blog, hang out with me on Twitter, stalk me on Facebook, or you can follow my blog and receive an email each time new content comes out.
Don’t forget to check out this year’s Winterviews and partner interviews, which kicks off tomorrow.
Red beer—I never tried that when I was living in Poertlsnd. I’ll have to take a trip back to the Pacific Northwest to try it!
It’s a lovely indulgence. There’s a great place in Tacoma called ‘Rock the Dock’ that has this. 🙂
Great interview KJ!
Awww… thank you!
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