Check out our interview with Kat Hillis and Rosiee Thor, the authors of "Summer Coven."

What was your inspiration behind your most recent book?

With the Dead & Breakfast series, we were inspired by the prospect of blending genres and giving a couple of vampires the spotlight in a cozy mystery setting. The fun of a world populated with paranormal people is getting to pull in all kinds of magic, and with our newest installment, Summer Coven, we wanted to explore what mainstream witches might be like when magic intersects with capitalism, influencer culture, and multilevel marketing schemes.

What does Reading Rainbow mean to you?

To us, Reading Rainbow means reading with intent. It can be all too easy to let the social media algorithm, which tends to skew straight and white, dictate what books populate our shelves. It’s important to seek out stories by and about queer people if we want them to continue to exist, so it’s important to put in the work to learn about those books and make time to read them.

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

Imagination is a powerful thing, but it can be hard to imagine hopeful futures for ourselves if we never see those narratives in fiction. Representation can allow readers to engage with a wider variety of possibilities.

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

Summer Coven is the second book in our queer vampire cozy mystery series, Dead & Breakfast. We wanted to write books that are, at their core, a little bit silly, but we also saw the opportunity to write something that means a lot to both of us–queer elders getting to live out their dreams. Arthur and Sal are an immortal vampire couple who have been married for a long time, and we took great joy in writing an established relationship. So many stories follow queer characters during the falling in love stage of their relationship, but we think couples who stand the test of time can be just as dynamic and entertaining. We hope readers agree and love Arthur and Sal as much as we do.

What can fans expect from your book?

A twisty mystery with lots of silly moments and puns heaped on top! With the sequel, they can also expect more development of Arthur and Sal’s relationship with each other and their new community in Trident Falls.

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

Kat: After Summer Coven, I have my solo debut hitting shelves in February of 2027. Necromancy and the Art of Hero Killing is a fantasy romcom about an immortal necromancer and the hero who’s being continually reborn to stop him, Readers can expect humor and slow-burn romance set against a backdrop of a very long ongoing conflict between the main characters.

Rosiee: Next up, I have a tie-in novel for the Life is Strange video game series releasing September 1st. Just like the games, it’s full of sapphic characters! This one centers a queer punk band and a bit of a paranormal mystery.