If you're interested in romance with dark and magical enemies, along with gut-wrenching scenes, then check out The Halfing Saga by Melissa Blair.

What was your inspiration behind your most recent book?

The Halfling Saga is one big book in my head. The inspiration for it came during the first year of the pandemic — I got onto TikTok just as BookTok was picking up speed and with it fantasy romance. I read so many series that year, while watching and commenting on videos online about them and what to read next. It was like I was part of a fantasy book club with a hundred thousand members. It was the perfect distraction from the state of the world at the time, and while I got what everyone loved so much about these books — the found families, the magic, the morally grey love interests with questionable backstories — I was also acutely aware that the stories that were popular on BookTok during that time were colonial in nature. Some just in the outer stitching of their world building, but more often than not I was put in the position of cheering on a colonizer or a conqueror. As an Indigenous reader, it left me wanting after reading dozens of series that refused to acknowledge, let alone explore, that side of fantasy romance.

The Halfling Saga was born from that outside feeling. I realized I couldn’t be the only one who felt that way and when I couldn’t find anything to satiate the wanting, I wrote my own. Thankfully, the reading landscape on BookTok has grown so much since then, and I’m so grateful for Keera’s story to be a small part of that.

What does Reading Rainbow mean to you?

I think Reading Rainbow means actively seeking out queer stories and supporting them and their storytellers in every way I can, especially the ones who are creating worlds and characters that we don’t get to see on bookshelves as often as we should.

Why do you feel representation of a variety of people is so important when it comes to writing books?

I don’t think I write with this specific belief in mind. At least, it’s not the driving force behind how I structure my worlds or cast my characters when I sit in front of my computer.

I try to create worlds and stories that feel authentic and real, lived in and true to life, even when layered in steeps of magic. The only way I know how to do that is to reflect the world as I see it, reflect the people who are part of my own story.

My life is filled with a such beautiful diversity of people, so weaving such diversity into my stories just happens on instinct. It’s all I’ve known and the only way I can imagine writing worlds that don’t exist.

Tell us a little more about the book and why you decided to write it.

"An Honored Vow" is the fourth and final installment of The Halfling Saga, but I prefer to think of it as the end of Keera’s story. Over the course of the first three books, she has grown so much as a character, fought so hard for herself and especially for her people. It was such a pleasure to write the climax of all that work in this book and give readers, what I hope, is a satisfying end for Keera and the others she has met along the way.

What can fans expect from your book?

New readers to The Halfling Saga should expect a morally fraught but determined assassin fighting her way through the structures of colonialism and finding a lovable, if traumatized, family along the way. And of course, some romance with a dark and magical enemy.

Current readers waiting for "An Honored Vow" should expect some more twists, some interesting turns, and of course some gut-wrenching scenes that might make them shed a tear or two. But I think the ending is worth it. They’ll have to read the book to see if Keera honors her vow, but I feel like I’ve honored mine to her.

What's up next for you in the bookish world?

So many things! Readers should keep their eyes peeled for more fantasy romance news from me, but I’m also excited to try on some new hats. I have a lot of projects in the pipeline, so be prepared for some romance, some spooky YA, and maybe some stories that take place in our world instead of Elverath. But all of them will feature Indigenous characters and, of course, be very gay.