1) The Last Celestials is your debut novel. How would you describe it in the duration of an elevator ride?

Two celestial beings who are the last of their kind, a princess and a general, do not see eye to eye. The general wants them to save their species but the princess runs away to Earth to avoid him. Meanwhile, he tracks her down in hopes of making amends. *ding* Ope, this is my floor!

2) As a reader, what are some of your favorite works of fiction?

This is everybody’s answer, but I actually did read Pride and Prejudice when I was a teenager and absolutely fell in love with it. Also in the classics space, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea has become a new favorite (Jules Verne, OG sci-fi writer, was way ahead of his time).

In the YA sci-fi/fantasy space, An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson is one of my all-time favorites and everything I’ve read by Andy Weir (author of The Martian) has blown me away with its humor and scientific detail. Two very opposing ends of the sci-fi/fantasy spectrum, but there you go.

3) Please tell us about your writer’s journey. Did you always want to be a writer? How did you find your way to the craft?

I have wanted to be a writer for practically as long as I can remember. I recall having an instant affinity for the written word from the time I learned to read onwards. And thanks to my overactive imagination, I was always thinking up stories. I didn’t have imaginary friends; I had imaginary worlds.

As soon as I was old enough to put those ideas to paper, I did, and from that point on I wrote tons of derivative nonsense until I finally starting coming up with my own ideas. I was homeschooled off and on through elementary and middle school, so I had a lot of time to “hone my craft.” Actually, I did learn a lot through the sheer amount of time I spent doing it. Trial by fire. Homeschool for the win!

4) Have you always been interested in science fiction or is your interest in the genre recent?

Funnily enough, I always considered myself a fairytale/fantasy reader but when I look back on the kinds of media I consumed as a whole, I think science fiction has always been the common denominator. Growing up, my favorite series was Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (a sort of sci-fi/urban fantasy hybrid) and my favorite movies were ones like X-Men, Star Trek (2009), Treasure Planet, and Atlantis. (I know, I was just so very cool, “not like other girls,” etc.) The majority of my first novel attempts would be classified as science fiction, so yeah, I guess I’ve always been a nerd.

5) Your upcoming release is called An Ocean of Stars. Would you care to tell us a little bit about it?

Why, of course! An Ocean of Stars is the first installment in a young adult science fiction trilogy that deals primarily with an unexpected encounter: a girl named Xan becomes stranded in space after a mysterious ship attacks her research vessel and she has no choice but to rely on the enemy ship’s help—only to find that it’s captained by a boy her age (ironically, named Captain) who has spent his life traveling through space alone.

Wary at first, the two eventually form an unlikely bond while Xan unravels the mysteries of Captain’s strange ship, the Atlantis, and tries to figure out a way home. And yes, along the way, the two of them might fall in love. Which doesn’t complicate things at all.

6) I can’t help but notice that An Ocean of Stars is not associated with the fascinating world you created with The Last Celestials. Why did you choose to follow up your debut novel with an unrelated second book?

The Last Celestials was originally meant to be a standalone (spoiler alert: I’ve since changed that) so I was fully ready to move on to other projects. The idea for An Ocean of Stars sprung up quickly and unexpectedly—in fact, it was while I was in the process of publishing Celestials that I started writing Ocean. The idea, the concept, the characters—they all became so vivid so fast I couldn’t help but direct my energy to it!

And if I’m being honest, I played fast and loose with The Last Celestials’ worldbuilding so I wanted to prove to myself that I could write a book that had a stronger foundation, something closer to hard sci-fi and with worldbuilding that was way more pertinent to the plot. I did way more research and outlining for Ocean and it was a blast!

7) What are you reading right now?

A Memory of Light by local author Allyson S. Barkeley! She writes new adult epic fantasy and so far I am really enjoying it! I’m also listening to Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale (sequel to Princess Academy, a YA classic!) and it is fantastic. I told you I read a lot of fantasy!

8) If you could collaborate with any living author and co-write a book with them, who would you choose and why?

That’s a huge question! I think I’d have to go with sci-fi novelist Andy Weir. His attention to detail is unsurpassed and he definitely has more scientific knowledge than I do, plus he writes in a witty, relatable, often potty-mouthed voice… not unlike the style I aspire to. He writes great characters but I think he can only write one type of protagonist so I could see a collab with someone outside his point of view enriching the characters tremendously.

9) Do you have any interests or hobbies outside the realm of writing? Do you feel that they influence the style or subject matter of you work?

This seems kind of trite but I think that movies and TV shows have influenced my writing tremendously; I watch way more than I read and there’s so much you can learn about worldbuilding, plot, and character from visual media, even if the delivery method is different.

Music also factors in there somewhere, even if it’s mostly in an indirect way—I love music in general and was in orchestra all through school, so if there aren’t musician characters in my writing, then someone probably loves music. Or I’m making companion playlists for the book as if it needs a soundtrack, so I guess it all comes full circle back to movies after all.

10) If you could ask one person from history a single question, what would you ask and to whom?

Man, I really wanted to come up with an ironic answer for this but I can only think of a serious one. I’d ask George Washington where he thought the country would be in, say, 200 years. I’m not a super political person, but when it comes to America’s founding, there’s just so much I want to know about what those guys were thinking.