What’s your pen name and tell me about the books you like to write.
I actually opted not to have a pen name for my Keyralithian series, but I was always looking at the name Leigh Emmons, and will be using that for my paranormal romance series that I am developing.
My current series, The Keyralithian Chronicles, is a three book series, though there is a possibility of a fourth book as well. The Crystal Pawn is currently out, and The Ivory Queen is in development.
The premier paranormal romance is called Wolves Running and is in process as well. It is not my normal genre, but it grabbed me bodily and forced me to write it last year when I was supposed to be working on The Ivory Queen. Who am I to argue with the muse?
The last book I am working on is an urban fantasy called Forever Demond, and I started it in grad school a few years ago in a creative writing seminar. It is mostly complete, but there are still a few chapters I need to write.
If you had to pick only one:
Pretties cover or best cliffhanger ever? Prettiest covers, definitely.
A 10 book series of 200-page books or a 3 book series of 700-page books? Honestly, I’d rather split the difference ad have a six book series 400-page books. Been there, done that, read it.
Alpha hero or alpha heroine? Either. One of my favorite novels, The Book of the Dun Cow, has an alpha rooster. I’m not picky.
What would your hero say when asked, “Are you sure you want to eat that?” She’d probably roll her eyes and do it if it wasn’t still alive or looking at her. I think Deirdre subscribes to the opinion of the father in A Christmas Story when he complains that the goose is smiling at him.
What would your antagonist say if told, “Don’t worry, I locked him inside your fridge…”
Honestly, I think he’d leave the person there and walk away. He’s not the type to go listen to piteous cries (a la Patrick Hocksetter in IT), but he doesn’t really care.
Where would you want to travel to that’s within your books and why?
Boulder, CO, which is the setting in Wolves Running. I’ve done so much research on it, that Google was convinced I was planning on moving there. My husband and I decided to fool around with the algorithms, and while I was pricing housing and looking at school districts, he started looking up divorce lawyers. He got ads for some sketchy dating sites and I got advertisements for Arhaus. It was hysterical.
In Keyralithsmus, I’d like to go see the minotaur fights on Coliseum. As a spectator.
Lastly, for Demond, I actually got the chance to go to Rome back in 2014 to see the places I’d written about. My mom had left me some money when she died, and my best friend and I decided to go on a trip to Rome to see the places I’d written about in the book. Honestly, the best part was sitting in La Cortille Della Pigna at the Vatican museum and crying because I was actually in the place I had written about. Neither my friend or I are Catholic – actually, we are both Pagan – but being in the place where a pivotal scene takes place was awe-inspiring.
If you won the lottery, how much money would you spend on bookish related items?
How much money do I spend now, lol! I’m an English teacher. Seriously, though, I’d probably have an addition put on for an actual library! Or buy a bigger house with a library in it. Right now, the books are stacked up the stairs!
What book did you hide from others so they wouldn’t know you read it?
None. The only book I avoid talking about with my teacher friends is Book of the Dun Cow because one of my co-workers hates it, and I don’t want to throw it in her face. I tend to tuck it in my bag so she can’t see it when I’m teaching it.
Tell me one person you’d dedicate every book to if you were forced to pick only one.
Probably my husband, but I’d feel awful because my kids have helped me so much with ideas and my friends have been so pivotal in creating good scenes.
What book do you want to read next?
Go Tell the Bees That I’m Gone by Diana Gabaldon. I’m a sucker for period pieces, and I love the time-travel aspects of the storyline.
Tell me about another author you’d recommend to readers.
Oh, that’s hard! I read so much. I think for really good writing, I’d have to go with Robert Holdstock. If you haven’t read his Mythago Wood series, then you are seriously missing out of some amazing world building and plot development. I use that book in my college class for Mythology in Literature, and people either really gravitate towards him or find him tedious. The language that he uses is wonderful, and he was a truly gifted writer.
What are your 2022 goals:
Getting The Ivory Queen finished and published, getting Wolves Running published, and finishing Forever Demond. I am going to work on getting Demond professionally published because I feel so strongly that it will do well in that medium, and have felt that way since college. It’s unique enough that it will stand out pretty strongly and I’m not impatient for it to fulfill its role.
Social media links/contact:
Cassie Swindon 