Don’t see your question? Feel free to ask here!

 

Who is your agent?

I am represented by Christa Heschke of McIntosh & Otis Literary Agency.
 

Is Sing Me Forgotten going to have a sequel/be part of a series?

Sing Me Forgotten is a standalone novel, and I don’t have plans to write a sequel to it. I felt very strongly about building an ending that gives audiences the same sort of hopeful, open-ended heartbreak that The Phantom of the Opera musical did. And much in the way I personally felt that Love Never Dies took away from the magic of Phantom, I fear that trying to continue Isda and Emeric’s story would cheapen the ending of Sing Me Forgotten. But I do have thoughts about possibly doing a prequel-type short story or novella for my newsletter subscribers one day! We’ll see! And if YOU have Opinions about what you think would happen with Emeric and Isda after the events of SMF, I would not complain at all if fanfic started popping up on the interwebs. ;)

 

What inspired you to want to do a Phantom retelling from the Phantom’s point of view?

I grew up with the Broadway soundtrack playing on repeat in my house. My parents love to tell stories about how as a child I would dress up in my prettiest dresses and go into the backyard to sing opera at the top of my lungs, thinking that if no one could see me, no one could hear me either (our neighbors definitely did).

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It wasn’t until I was an adult that I finally went to New York and saw the play. Spoiler alert: I adored it. But it wasn’t just a love for the music or the dancing or the costumes that I connected to (though we can all agree that those are all STUNNING); I found myself immediately drawn to the Phantom character, and I recognized pieces of myself in him. See, I was born with an eye condition called Strabismus (crossed eyes, which leads to reduced eye function and vision loss), and years of surgery, eye exercises, patching, and therapy led to development of a pretty noticeable case of Amblyopia (commonly known as a “Lazy Eye,” but I dislike that term and avoid it where possible). As such, I was bullied in school, shunned by classmates, and treated differently through college, all because my appearance made people uncomfortable. Even as an adult, it continues to have a large impact on my social interactions.

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So where other people might have seen a mysterious, obsessive ghost lurking under the opera house trying to lure Christine into his lair, I saw someone like me. Someone who wanted desperately for the world to accept him. Someone who had been hurt and shamed for something he had no control over. Just like him, I’d had people gawk or cry out at the sight of me, and just like him, I’d wanted to hide from the cruelty of an appearance-obsessed world. And while the Phantom’s specific condition differed from mine and the social abuse he suffered was more extreme, I connected with his perspective in a way I hadn’t with any other fictional character before. 

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My hope is that as readers discover Isda’s story and see through her eyes, they’ll think harder about how they view people who are different from them and maybe show a little bit more kindness and compassion.

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Where can I buy your books?

You can purchase Sing Me Forgotten and A Forgery of Roses at Barnes and Noble, Indie Bound, Amazon, Book Depository, and Books-a-million or basically any major book retailer in the US or online.

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Are your books available on audiobook?

Yes. You can purchase them on amazon or anywhere else audiobooks are sold. They also are both available at most public libraries in the US

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Can I get an ARC of your book to review?

You are welcome to request upcoming books on NetGalley and Edelweiss or from my publisher directly. I unfortunately am not the one who makes the decision about who gets early ARCs, however, sometimes I do offer giveaways of ARC copies via my newsletter or on my Instagram!

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Are you open to events/signings/talks/etc?

Yes! I love that sort of thing. Please contact me here.

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Can you read/edit my book?

Unfortunately, with three small children of my own and a fairly heavy workload, I just don’t have time to be able to do so. But CPs and critical feedback are so important for development as a writer, so definitely try to take advantage of programs like Pitch Wars, Author Mentor Match, RevPit, and the online writing communities on Twitter and Instagram to find people to swap pages with!

 

What inspired you to write A Forgery of Roses?

After finishing Sing Me Forgotten, I knew my next book needed to be just as gothic and romantic and deadly as SMF was. I just had so much fun with all that dark magic and atmosphere! So I was brainstorming other gothic stories I loved and instantly thought of The Picture of Dorian Gray. That inspired me to start thinking along the lines of an art-based magic system, and once I came up with that, the story grew from there! The plot itself came from an intense love of murder mystery thrillers, which I gobble up like candy (Riley Sager and Ruth Ware are some of my favorite authors of the genre!), so once I came up with the magic and decided to set it in an old, gothic manor, I knew I needed to build the plot around a murder and solving the mystery of who had committed it. This book has actually been my easiest book to write so far - the outline poured out of me in less than a week, and I finished the first draft within a month! It also never required a complete rewrite, and for that I will always be grateful. I think Myra and Lucy knew their story from day one and were just waiting for me to catch on. :)

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Is A Forgery of Roses a retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray?

No. While The Picture of Dorian Gray was sort of the catalyst that got me thinking along the lines of an art-based magic system, A Forgery of Roses is not a retelling or reimagining of that story in any way, nor was it ever intended to be. It does get comped a lot to Dorian Gray due to its gothic style, dark atmosphere, and portrait magic, but that is as far as the similarities go.

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Will there be a sequel to A Forgery of Roses?

Perhaps my most frequently asked question of all time ;) There is currently not a sequel in the works for A Forgery of Roses. However, I will never say never on this one, as I do have ideas for where Myra, August, and Lucy's story would go in future installments. If you want to see a sequel, tell your friends about A Forgery of Roses. Post on tiktok. Recommend it to others. If there's enough of a readership for a potential sequel, maybe it'll happen one day ;)