Rather unglamorously, the first spark of inspiration came from an online listicle about the historical origins of wedding traditions. I will make zero guarantees as to the accuracy of this, but it's the idea itself that grabbed me: that a "best man" was traditionally the best swordsman among the groom's friends, standing ready to defend the wedding party in case someone tried to abduct the bride at swordspoint.

 

At the time I stumbled across this, I was taking a break from a different writing project, and realising that I might have more success breaking the seal on "can I write a full length original novel?" by starting out with something entirely self-indulgent, fun, and free of any pressure or expectations.

 

So I picked up this idea of a best man, and began pulling at its edges. What sort of society might include this tradition? What sort of person, in what sort of situation, might need to hire one? What if that hired swordsman wasn't what he seemed? And what if they were perfect for one another, but there were several significant obstacles in the way (such as...a planned wedding to someone else?).

 

"Swordcrossed" is the result. It was indeed the first book I ever finished, though it's my fourth published one; it's been sitting patiently waiting for romantasy and cozy fantasy to have their time in the sun, and now it's ready to go out in the world and win some hearts.

 

Seeking out stories and voices that span the entire queer community. I've made some of my most treasured discoveries when I've been consciously trying to expand my own reading horizons. I'm fairly omnivorous when it comes to genres, and as well as my own comfort zones of SFF and romance I've found some incredible queer thrillers, literary fiction and horror. 

 

It also means that I make an effort to be loud & enthusiastic about those books I discover and love — some of the best community building we can do as queer writers and readers is by helping books find new audiences, and helping individuals stumble across books which will be perfect for them!

 

As a writer of happy endings (they come with the territory, with romance!), a large part of it is showing that happy endings — and triumph, and joy, and love, and rich lives full of meaningful relationships — don't just belong to one kind of person. Romance as a genre is exploding with variety and diversity these days, which is wonderful to see.

 

And also because when I was growing up I wasn't exposed to many books that showed queer people having adventures and falling in love and finding themselves the centre of narratives. If as a writer I can now add to the increasing volume and variety of such stories in the world, then I'm happy.

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

 

"Swordcrossed" is a love story between a stressed and overly responsible eldest son — Mattinesh — who is trying to save his family's wool business from going under, and the con artist — Luca — he ends up hiring to serve as best man at his upcoming arranged marriage. It's a romance, but it's also a love letter to fantasy-of-manners as a subgenre, with mercantile politics and religious worldbuilding and spy hijinks and cities full of canals and coffee shops. It's a mystery. It's a romp. I wrote it for myself, as exactly the kind of book I wanted to see more of, and I'm overjoyed to now be able to share it with readers.

 

Loving and interfering families. Powerful merchant houses. Descriptions of wool production. Lies and secrets, vulnerability and sweetness. Some accidental obedience kink. A fancy ball, and a dramatic showdown at a wedding. A lot of swordplay. A lot of — ahem, ahem — swordplay, in the bedroom. And, of course, a very queer and very happy ending!

 

Next year's book hasn't been announced yet so I won't give much detail, but I'm excited for it! It's a departure from what I've written so far, though it's still fantasy and still has a queer romance threaded through it. I'm hoping to keep writing that particular genre combination for many years to come.