What inspired you to write this book?

When I was nineteen, my best friend’s mother grew sick and passed away. I wanted to give her a happy ending with a kind and powerful partner. So, I wrote this story. For more information about my inspiration, check out my blog at https://veesbookreviews.blogspot.com/

What can we expect from you in the future?

I have multiple pen names. Up next is a young adult fantasy under my Young Readers line. For 2027, I am reprioritizing my business tasks to pump up my marketing and promotions. I have more books than I have had time to devote to promoted stories. Next year is the year of elevating my current catalog except for drafting and releasing book three of my YA and releasing a translation of one of my children’s stories. I will be back in 2028 to publish the next story in my sci-fi romance world, Splendor of the Stars.

Do you have any “side stories” about the characters?

Yes. My character, Icarus, has an important perspective which simply didn’t fit the story. I’ll be releasing the short story as a side story.

Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Requite of the Fates?

Marly Broadie is a half Black half Chinese American wartime photojournalist existing on grit and grief with her mother’s pending death. She needs money to support her mother’s life-saving medical procedures so she is forced to accept a job photographing movie star, Nathaniel Wayne, who has been chosen by the newly arrived aliens as Earth’s Emissary. That title is nothing like it appears. As Emissary, Nate’s body can be controlled by the aliens. Additionally, the aliens are torturing Nate’s body regularly and persistently, leaving his mind a bit cracked.

How did you come up with the concept and characters for the book?

My heroine is based loosely on my friend from high school. My hero is an archetype based on my own relationship with pain and recovery.

Where did you come up with the names in the story?

That’s a good question. My heroine’s name is based loosely on my high school friend’s name. As for Nate Wayne- that name sounds like the name of a movie star, don’t you think?

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I really enjoyed reconceptualizing this story as a mytho-sci romance. Think- the ancient gods are really aliens on Earth. Like Stargate or Prometheus. Such a cool concept.

Tell us about your main characters- what makes them tick?

They tick because they are individually motivated by very real human issues. Marly wants to save her mother’s life. Nate wants to escape the aliens’ imprisonment and torture. These are relatable motivations.

How did you come up with the title of your first novel?

The three Fates are at the top of the power structure for this story. Requiting the Fates means Fate can be pacified and, in a way manipulated for a positive outcome for our characters.

Who designed your book covers?

My book cover artist is Alexander Ness who constructed the cover phenomenally. Find his website here- https://www.nessgraphica.com/

If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

No. Once I release my book, for better or worse (preferably for the better) that’s it. The story belongs to its readers. I have to let it go.

Did you learn anything during the writing of your recent book?

Yes- I had an epiphany about story structures and how readers read stories in our modern world. It has changed how I interact with my stories and my writing and I applied this writing change into a lot of this story’s segments.

If your book was made into a film, who would you like to play the lead?

I guess Zendaya could play Marly and Chris Hemsworth could play Nate

Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

This book is for readers looking to extend their enjoyment of the Odyssey into their romance stories and this book is perfect for fans of The Song of Achilles and A Touch of Darkness, this interracial time-travel romance is a Greek mythology retelling of Theseus and the Minotaur

If you could spend time with a character from your book whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?

I would love to spend time with Icarus as he is as smart as his father and kind and sympathetic.

Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story?

I’ve got the reigns

Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.

Not to repeat but perfect for fans of The Song of Achilles and A Touch of Darkness, this interracial time-travel romance is a Greek mythology retelling of Theseus and the Minotaur that follows war photojournalist, Marly Broadie, surviving on grit and grief as she encounters Emissary Nate Wayne, under the control of aliens.

Set in near future New York city, and Los Angelos and 1500’s BCE Crete, Nate’s body, as Emissary for Earth, can be piloted by the Entity, aliens threatening humanity. Any resistance initiates humanity’s annihilation. Marly’s photography of the Emissary will ensure her mother’s life-saving treatment. Instead, Marly provokes the Entity’s interest and Nate’s. Alien time-travel tech flings them back to ancient Minoan Crete. Stuck in the past, their desire for each other grows. Every reclaimed memory brings them closer to returning to the present and the Entity who can possess Nate’s body. However, the future without them means human extinction. They must escape the past as their love is required to ensure humanity’s future.

Have you written any other books that are not published?

Yes- I still have three more manuscripts drafted, but the next manuscript for the adult multicultural romance line will be originally drafted

If your book had a candle, what scent would it be?

Plum or jasmine

What did you edit out of this book?

A half chapter from a third character’s perspective, but I will add that text as a side story. It’s very good!

Is there an writer which brain you would love to pick for advice? Who would that be and why?

Anne McCaffrey because she was, you know, Anne McCaffrey, and she wrote both science fiction and romantic elements as well as actual romance.

Give us a Fun Fact/Behind the Scenes/Did You Know?’-type tidbits about you, the book or the writing process of the book.

I actually wrote this book with my critique group nearly 20 years ago. It was a vastly different book then. No aliens and the like. When I reopened the book, I knew it needed a major overhaul. It needed to breathe the changed air that is the world of 2026. And it needed to have aliens. I love mytho-scis (think Stargate or Prometheus). This was the perfect opportunity to re-envision the story from the perspective that the ancient gods were actually aliens. I hope you enjoy!