I daydreamed of the world first–a gilded empire lit by an unmoving sun, where the light seemed thick enough to taste, like honey or ambrosia. From there, I was inspired by Cocteau’s La Belle et La Bête; Inigo Jones’ elaborate masque costume designs from the 17th Century; W. B. Yeats’ famous line, “Things fall apart, the center cannot hold;” and a deep and enduring obsession with ball gown and banter, secrets and seduction, court intrigue and clandestine kisses.

What scene was really hard for you to write and why, and is that the one of which you are most proud? Or is there another scene you particularly love?

I think I’m most proud of the last scene in the final chapter. I’m terrible at endings–I always want to end with a cliffhanger! But for this story, I knew I had to find a way to give the book a satisfying sense of finality, while keeping a door open for possible future chapters of Sylvie’s journey. It took me many rewrites to get it right, but I think the final image is a beautiful apotheosis of Sylvie’s development as a character and manages to capture the hope, anguish, and soaring possibility of finally achieving your dreams.

What book or books would most resonate with readers who love your book–or visa versa?

Any books with lush aesthetics and complicated heroines will probably appeal to fans of A&D! Off the top of my head, I’d recommend The Belles, by Dhonielle Clayton, The Star-Touched Queen, by Roshani Chokshi, The Winner’s Curse, by Marie Rutkoski, and The Wrath and the Dawn, by Renee Ahdieh

What do you hope readers will take away from AMBER & DUSK?

To dream perilously, to reach too high even if you might fall too far, and never stop searching for a world just a little more radiant than your own.

How long or hard was your road to publication? How many books did you write before this one, and how many never got published?

Like most authors I know, my journey to publication was at times tedious, heartbreaking, exhilaration, and utterly magical.

Amber & Dusk was the fourth novel I completed over a period of about five years. I started writing seriously in 2011, but I had zero clue about just how much I didn’t know about writing, publishing, or my own grit and determination. When I finished my first novel, visions of sugar plums and six-figure book deals danced in my head. After unsuccessfully querying and submitting three full-length novels (now trunked) I started working on A&D.

One of the reasons this book is so close to my heart is because it’s very much a culmination of all those years of trying and failing and trying again, and symbolizes the important to me of staying the course even when things get hard.

What advice would you most like to pass along to other writers?

Run.

Just kidding! My best advice is to focus on your own work and try not to compare your journey to anyone else’s. There’s no expiration date on success, and everyone’s path to publication is unique.

What are you working on now?

I’m currently drafting a secret project that readers of Amber & Dusk will hopefully be very eager to read! 😉