
Will you keep writing more Necromancer stories?
At least one more. Book 4, Trapped by Greed, ends with a solid HFN, but one of the things I’ve been waiting to do― well, waiting for my subconscious to figure out― is where the familiars like Silas’s cat Grim come from, and how they bond with their sorcerers. Expect book 5 to dive much deeper into the fascinating lives and magic of our beloved familiars, while we find out why the demons are making so much trouble lately.
Would you consider a series based on hockey?
Oh, yeah. I’m battling the temptation to write a purely hockey romance right now. I have a talented young hockey player as one of the three main characters in my M/M/M mystery duo Changes Coming Down and Changes Going On. In the second book, Scott’s teammates play a bigger part, and there are three secondary characters calling for their stories. I want to write them.
But of course, we also have a real-life hockey player who just came out. I have huge respect for Luke Prokop, coming out as gay while a prospect for the Nashville Predators. And it will be important to see what happens in the next several months. All fingers crossed that Prokop gets the backing he deserves from his league and teammates, and most fans, and that perhaps others may be inspired to follow him. In that shifting landscape, (and with at least 2 other books before it) my hockey romance may wait a little while.
Would you consider a catching-up story with Simon and Paul from Unacceptable Risk? They were around at the finale in Book 6 of Hidden Wolves – Undeniable Bonds – but it would be fun to get a bit more closure for them.
Simon and Paul begin their story in the now-free first book of the series – Unacceptable Risk. And they weave in and out through the rest of the stories, but book 6 is primarily Aaron and Zach’s return.
I know I said Undeniable Bonds – Book 6 was going to be the last book in the series, and it wraps up the big picture for my wolves. But a reader brought up a question about what the other guys were doing, while werewolf Alpha Aaron and his mate Zach were off saving the world. And Simon― who likes to talk, and to tease― kept asking me the same question. Nagging. He’s a terrible nag. So yes, there will be a novella, Unplanned Coda, coming out in a month or two.
Because Simon would never let anyone neglect his mate Paul, including me.
What’s your process for developing and getting to know your characters?
I’m the very definition of a pantser. Most of my books begin when I hear someone’s voice in my head, and I set fingers to keyboard and start writing. The Hidden Wolves began with werewolf Simon muttering “I thought they were going to kill me; guess I was too stubborn to die.”
The Changes stories arose from a challenge to put a hockey player, a cowboy, and a cop in one book. But they came to me as hockey player Scott, sitting in a bar, looking at lonely cowboy Will across the room, with sheriff Casey sitting a bit too close at his side, because he tries to protect Scott even though Scott’s bigger and has plenty of his own muscle. And Scott murmuring to Casey, “I like the look of that guy, long and lean and quiet. What d’you think?”
And Necromancer, though it happened first as a tiny online photo flash fiction, was Darien’s voice in my ear, wondering if he was going mad, as the ghosts riding him muttered and cried and screamed in his head.
Developing the characters and the story past that first moment happens on the page as I write, often as a surprise to me, occasionally one that makes me say “Crap, I’ll have to research that.” A big part of the fun of writing, for me, is listening to the guys as they show me who they are.
Quickfire questions
- Favorite movie – M*A*S*H
- Favorite book – Hah. Seriously? Megan Whelan Turner’s The King of Attolia
- Ideal snack – chocolate (any chocolate, but Swiss is best.)
- Cats/Dogs – Both? Both. Both is good.
- Tea/Coffee – Tea. My hubby refers to it as “author fuel.”
Trapped by Greed – Necromancer Book 4
Competition
For a chance to win a set of ebook copies of the first 3 stories in the Necromancer series, tell me what kind of magical familiar you’d like to have. My sorcerers have a cat, dog, weasel, parrot, gecko, hawk and more. What would your magical partner look like?
Connect with Kaje
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- Email – kajeharper@yahoo.com
I would definitely love a cat familiar, though I think any kind of familiar would be pretty cool.
I think a Hawk would be great as a familiar if not then having a service animal like a dog that can go anywhere with you would be cool
I’m a cat person, so definitely one of those, but also an otter, meerkats and a raven would be good.
A dog as I would like a friendly, chatty and positive familiar. Dogs have such happy energy I think they’d be great .
I would like a cat – they have such attitude- that makes you pay attention to them.
Holly – you are the winner – can you email rj@rjscott.co.uk so we can arrange your prize 🙂 Hugs, RJ X
I think a cat… or a fox. It is difficult to choose… I think a cat would be easier to pass unnoticed 😉
thank you so much for the chance