Media & Promo

What inspired you to write The Road of Bones?

It wasn’t one specific idea that gave life to the story, but a hundred small ones that came together. At the time that I wrote Bones, I was going through an intense case of burnout and was trying to find my spark again. I was intrigued by the word ‘strength’, and wanted to explored it through Silla’s character. In this book, her strength is not in her skill with a sword, but rather in her resilience.

You touch on a number of topics in this book: addiction and domestic abuse among them. Why was it important for you to include these subject matters?

I have struggled with addiction through my life, and wanted to see that represented in a realistic way in the Romantasy genre. Writing Silla’s addiction storyline was cathartic for me! But when thinking about the DV and addiction storylines, in the end, it comes back to resilience. These events forever change a person, and to be able to find yourself in the aftermath is the true definition of strength.

The world of Íseldur is influenced by the Viking age. How did you go about creating this world? 

The idea of Íseldur came to me while watching drone footage of an Icelandic volcano erupting. I love the contrasts of Iceland: fire and ice, black sand beaches and jagged canyons, rolling fields of alpine grasses and flowers. From there, Vikings naturally came, and extensive research into Viking society, weapons, attire, and speech.

There is a hint of science in the magic system. Can you explain where this came from?

I actually have a background in biochemistry, so when I started thinking about magic systems, naturally my mind went to science. While we don’t get into the magic system too much in The Road of Bones, it is explored in more detail in Kingdom of Claw. 

I think of the Galdra calling their powers as a chemical reaction that is influenced by cold (suppresses the reaction), tension (enhances the reaction), and, of course, the catalyst (enhances the reaction). 

Silla is so different from other Romantasy heroines. Can you tell us where her character came from?

Silla came from my love for contemporary romance. In some ways, she’s a romance heroine transplanted in a bleak, deadly world. I thought it would be so fun to have a heroine who completely contrasts the brutality of the Bloodaxe Crew. But just because she apologizes to rocks doesn’t mean Silla isn’t a badass in her own unique way!

There are a diverse array of characters in this book. Hekla has a prosthetic arm, while Sigrún is non-verbal. Why was it important to include such characters?

Our world is filled with all sorts of people, and I wanted Íseldur to represent that. And if you think about it, in a brutal, war-ravaged country, you’d have a lot of people dealing with injuries. But I will say that Hekla and Sigrún weren’t thrown in just for representation. We will understand and explore their pasts and the nature of their injuries throughout the series.