Have a booklover in the family? Eager to find a new book to read? Signed by the author?
I will have some early release copies of my next book, Forged by Betrayal and Blood, which launches on June 1st, 2026. Get a hardback copy early. And while stocks last you can get a show book box including a cover artwork postcard and book mark
I’ll also have my last release, Sentinals Origins Part Two, in paperback, and you can get the Sentinals Origins duology with a matching Leyandrii scented Waxmelt for free while stocks last.
Do your booklovers love dragons? Then I will have a limited number of the most amazing fantasy anthology with foiled cover, sprayed edges, beautiful artwork and 18 dragon-themed stories. The ideal present for your bookdragon hoarder!
Come and meet the indie authors, all with tales to share and books to talk about. Everyone welcome.
Already bought my book and want it signed? Then I’m happy to sign your book for you.
If there is a specific book you want, then please preorder for collection at the show, so I make sure I bring enough copies and can reserve one for you, as now I have 15 books, I am limited by the number of books I can fit in my car!
Hope to see you there.
If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and also Sentinals Discovery, the first few chapters of Sentinals Awaken from Birlerion’s POV and get notified when my next books are published.
By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
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It’s time to meet author, Ligia de Wit and find out about her writing journey and her book Seven Hundred Beachfront.
Helen: Welcome, Saffron. It’s wonderful to have you on my blog. I’m looking forward to hearing more about what you’ve been working on since we last spoke. Tell is about your latest book.
Saffron: My most recently published book is Dripping Poison, book 3 in the Beyond The Veil Detectives series. It’s December 1929, and four young private investigators have been summoned by a dead man to a remote manor in the heart of the snow-blanketed English countryside. Before dinner, they’re forced to attend a seance that isn’t all it seems…And after dinner, someone is dead. Snowed in with a killer, the sleuths must now not only solve the mystery that brought them to Wilmott Manor, but they must now catch whoever is murdering his family one by one.Â
Helen: I love your characters, so I am sure this is amazing. What were your thoughts behind you cover?
Saffron: So, I design all my covers myself (art classes finally coming in handy!) and I can probably go into far more detail than you could ever actually want. But essentially, I keep the same format across the covers for the series – the dark Art Deco-patterned background, the central image, the fonts and overall layout – to keep the covers cohesive. Then, I change the image (in this case, a rose) to something relevant to the story, and pick a bright contrasting accent colour. If I can squeeze a skull or a bloodstain or something similarly macabre in there too, so much the better! Anything to indicate it’s a murder mystery when someone is scrolling by.
Helen: You are so clever designing the covers yourself. How did you come up with the title?
Saffron: Dripping Poison is a book that was written for a title. Basically, I thought it sounded like a book title I’d pick up, and wrote something to fit!
Helen: It certainly sounds deadly! And suits your series. What made you write this particular book?
Helen: I always feel so sorry for Lucas. You are always dropping him into difficult situations! When did you first realise you had a passion for writing?
Saffron: Oh, gosh, I didn’t really. I sort of fell into it by accident. I basically thought of a story I wanted to read and wrote it, then wrote nothing for a couple of years until I thought of another story I wanted to read. Now I just keep on doing that, though I’m slightly more proactive about finding the stories nowadays!
Helen: Nice, that’s a very relaxed process. No pressure is good! Which element of the writing process do you find most challenging and why?
Saffron: Usually I’d say editing, but currently, I have an outline that’s refusing to be finished. I know what happens at the end of the book. I know whodunit, whydunnit, howdunnit, and all the red herrings and twists we’ll come across on the way to solving the murders. But the exact order of things is refusing to be pinned down.Â
Helen: Timelines can be the most challenging. The order in which things happen is really important and frustrating to get right! Talking about timelines, who first inspired you to write?
Um… whoever wrote the three or four really awful mysteries I read back-to-back before I decided enough was enough and I should write my own book?! Partially because I didn’t think it was altogether fair to criticise people’s efforts in something I’d never done, but mostly because I figured I couldn’t do any worse! I wouldn’t name and shame them, though, even if I could remember the books.
Helen: What a great reason to start writing. I’m so glad you did! Tell us about the genre write and why you chose it.
Saffron: I write historical murder mysteries with a paranormal twist. Or, paranormal mysteries set in the past, if you prefer. It’s been several years, and a dozen published books, and I still don’t know how best to describe them!
I grew up watching TV programs like Poirot, Midsomer Murders, and Jonathan Creek, so I guess murder mysteries are something I’m familiar with and felt like a natural fit. I’m also a bit of a history nerd, so again, it just felt natural to set my books in the past! Plus, the 1920s are a classic era for the kind of books I wanted to write.
As for having a psychic sleuth, I’ve been interested in the paranormal since I was a kid, and having a detective who could speak to the murder victims seemed interesting to me!
Helen: What is the best thing that has happened to you since you began writing?
Saffron: Finding a community of writers, especially on Instagram. Right from the start, they’ve been so welcoming, so generous, so supportive, and so all-round lovely. I’ve made real friendships, found help when I’ve needed it (and given help in return, which is truly an honour), and people who truly get how wonderful, frustrating, joyous, heart-wrenching, and magnificently challenging writing and publishing is.Â
Helen: The support of the writing community is so important to new writers, and the contined support is inspiring. What is one of the most useful resources you use when writing?
Saffron: I draft in an online writing program called 4 The Words, which has gamified writing sprints into an RPG where you battle monsters by writing a certain amount of words in a set time. Very useful for keeping scatterbrained people like me focused!Â
Helen: That sounds like so much fun and a great way to get words down on paper!! What a great resource to help people focus. How do you get the ideas for a new book?
Saffron: Generally, by stumbling across something interesting and idly wondering how it could be used to kill someone! I then figure out who would use something like that, who they would kill, why they’d kill that person in particular, and why the ghost wouldn’t just tell Lucas who killed them.
Helen: You always make it so difficult for Lucas. Lol! What are you doing to him next? Tell us about your current WIP.
Saffron: Hanged By Silk is the fourth book in the Beyond The Veil Detectives series, and much like the last one, is being written because I thought it was a good title for a book! (In case you’re wondering, apparently the English aristocracy could, if sentenced to hang, request a rope made from silk. This has no bearing on the story, though!)
It’s taking place in London just before Christmas 1929, and my team of four private investigators have split up to investigate two very different cases: one, the trade in fake antiquities, and the other, the murder of a young woman at a ritzy teetotal club.
Lucas, as the psychic medium on the team, thinks he ought to drop the antiquities case that’s boring him to tears and switch to the murder – but his wife and their friend Tommy want to prove their sleuthing prowess without supernatural help. So, Lucas is stuck on the deadly dull case with Tommy’s husband, Noah, and fretting about the woman he loves confronting dangerous killers, when…
When he steps into a junk shop and is overwhelmed with a feeling of dread, like something evil lurks in the shadows, watching him with curiosity, wondering what he is and how it can use him. He’s felt this once before, right at the start of the book, when a witch helping him understand his hated “Gift” hands him a necromancer’s notebook, and it makes his skin crawl.Â
Unwilling to let things that feel like… that stay out in the world where anyone could find them, Lucas and Noah start trying to find these objects. But when their investigation leads them back to the murder their spouses are untangling, perhaps it’s better the two groups join forces after all…
Helen: I know Lucas is your protagonist. Why did you write her/him?
Saffron: Lucas Rathbone arrived, unbidden and unnamed, in my head somewhere around the end of 2018, then spent six months nagging me to write his story. I do it mostly to shut him up, to be honest. No, I jest. Well, not entirely – the nagging really happened – however, I really just loved the idea of a psychic sleuth, particularly one who didn’t embrace their “Gift” but used it anyway, because it’s the right thing to do.
Helen: If Lucas could answer, why would he say we should read your book?
Saffron: “For the love of God, please don’t read it. I hate the attention, and Saffron only ever writes about the worst, most difficult parts of my life. She’s not as funny as she thinks she is, either.”
I’m so grateful for his help…
Helen: You guys have this love-hate relationship. It’s so funny to watch. Moving on to the business of writing. What is the most useful piece of writing advice you’ve received, and by whom?
Saffron: My friend, DP Haka, told me to make a cup of coffee and imagine sitting down with my character and talking to them as if they were someone I was meeting for the first time.
I fear this may have led Lucas to think he ought to be treated as an equal partner in this whole writing malarkey. However, as a comment I frequently get about Lucas is that he feels like an old friend, perhaps that’s a deal I can live with.
Helen: Every writer experiences self-doubt. How do you overcome the fear and the little doubting voice in your head to keep writing?
Saffron: So. The long answer is:
I’ve always been “arty”, and through school, college, and university, took whatever creative courses seemed fun. And anyone who says the creative arts are a “soft option” has clearly never been on one of these courses (at least, not with the lecturers I got), because every damn week you pour your heart and soul into something, only for someone to critique the living daylights out of it – sometimes in front of your peers – then tell you to go away and do it again for next week.
At which point, they’ll tear that apart, too. But if you want to pass your course – and I’m too stubborn to give in when I probably should – you must do it. If this sounds rough, it is. It destroys any confidence you ever had, but you have two options: either stay destroyed, or pick up your shattered ego and reform it into something new, preferably retrieving whatever gold may have been buried in the “constructive” criticism you’ve just endured.
It might take a lot of time and effort, it’ll never return to how it was before, and it’ll crack again with every harsh word you get about your work, but if you don’t pick yourself up again, that little creative spark, the thing that drove you to make something in the first place, will die forever. And whoever said you weren’t good enough will be right.Â
So, for me, that little voice in my head got bricked up behind the pieces of my broken heart a long, long time ago, and I can barely hear it any more. If I do, I tell it it’s wrong, because I win. They don’t.
The short answer is spite.
Helen: As a writer you have to accept that not everyone will like your work. It’s those that love it that you need to listen to. My reader’s support is what keeps me writing more. Let’s chat about your writing proocess. How do you fit your writing into your everyday life?
Saffron: I’m very lucky that I generally have a chunk of time every day to write in, so fitting it in isn’t much of a problem (having no kids, no social life, and no TV helps a lot!). But when I am too busy to get to the laptop and write for a decent amount of time, I have a Bluetooth keyboard that links to my phone. I can get set up to write in seconds, can put everything away again almost instantly, and write wherever I am.
Helen: Do you listen to music when you write, if so, what do you listen to and why?
Saffron: I listen to the soundtrack from the Monster Hunter World game, because it’s mostly epic orchestral music without lyrics. I’m also very familiar with it all, so it helps me block out the world/keeps my brain busy without being distractingly new!
Helen: As you write a period novel, how much research do you do for each book?
Saffron: As much as needs doing! Sometimes, if I’m pretty familiar with everything involved, it’s barely any – just a few things here and there to check I’ve remembered correctly. But other times, when I’ve had an idea and don’t reeeeally know how to implement it, research can take three times as long as writing. Usually, it’s somewhere in between.
Helen: Are you a pantser or a planner? Do you write free form, or do you have a framework you stick to?
Saffron: Kinda both. I do a lot of brainstorming for my books, and then once I think I know what’s going to happen, I’ll pants the outline. In fact, I usually pants it several times, getting in a horrible tangle along the way. However, I figure that, going back to the Terry Pratchett quote earlier, this is a quicker way of telling myself the story than trying to get the entire thing out of my head in something resembling a book. It’s also much quicker to add something to an outline than it is to a full draft. I’ve done that before, and these things have a habit of having knock-on effects throughout the book.
Once I’m happy with an outline, I’ll tidy it up into bullet points for each scene, which I stick pretty closely to.
Helen: Do you ever encounter writer’s block? If you do, what do you do to overcome it?
Saffron: Take a break. For me, it generally means something in a scene isn’t working, and I need to step back and do something else for a while. The problem usually works itself out whilst I’m not thinking about it, or I come back with a fresh set of eyes that can see where the issue is.
Helen: I agree, sometimes it’s better to just let the back brain noodle on it for a while, and then when you go to sleep, the answer comes to you. Or it does for me. Who is your favourite character from your book?
Saffron: Ooh, tough question! I love them all, but Tommy has the most interesting backstory, and honestly, he throws the most curveballs, as you’ll see later. Keeps things interesting… even if I sometimes wish he’d just finish a scene the way I planned it!
Helen: I think Tommy grew on everyone. If you didn’t write mystery then which genre would you like to try and write in next?
Saffron: Funny story, I nearly didn’t write mystery at all!
Before I started writing Lucas and co, I kicked around a couple of other ideas. One was a kid’s mystery series, another was a near-future sci-fi, but the one I actually started writing was a time travel alt-history set in WW2 Germany.
But there was too much research I didn’t want to do. Sci-fi isn’t a genre I’m super familiar with, certainly not the time travel subgenre, but I know the fanbase love their details to be precise. Similarly, WW2 German isn’t a period of history I know much about (I hate military history of any kind, but particularly the World Wars) but I can’t fudge details because there are plenty of people out there who love all that stuff and know every single tiny thing about the war.
Unfortunately, the story doesn’t work without time-travelling Nazis, so I ditched that and invented a cute village in 1920s England instead, so no one could tell me I’d got something wrong about a real place.
Then my characters ended up in London, but we won’t talk about that.
Helen: I’m so glad you ended up in the twenties! It would have been a great shame to have never met Lucas and the crew. Most authors read a lot. Do you have a favourite book? Tell us why you like it so much?
Saffron: Oh, this is a tough one. Currently, it’s probably – and please don’t take this as a recommendation to read it, because it isn’t – Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh.
I actually picked it up as research and without knowing much about it, other than it was a (probably) semi-biographical book set in 1920s England with a bisexual male main character who has a same-sex relationship.
My character Tommy is a bisexual man living in 1920s England who is in a same-sex relationship, so I thought – brilliant. This is literally perfect for retroactively researching something I never planned for, because Tommy kinda neglected to mention he likes boys when he crash-landed in my first book, then took one look at Noah in book 6 and went “that one”, despite me having invented a nice girl for him to marry instead. This is what I meant earlier about curveballs, and this isn’t even the curviest one he’s thrown me.
Incidentally, I expected the same-sex romance in Brideshead Revisited to be more “read between the lines,” but nope. It was obvious Charles and Sebastian were a couple. What’s even more interesting is other characters clearly knew about their relationship too, but often seemed accepting of it. Totally unexpected, especially as the book was first published in 1945, a couple of decades before homosexuality was decriminalised in the UK. Anyway, I went into it expecting something fluffy and light-hearted about the upper classes. Kinda like Jeeves and Wooster, but a romance instead of a comedy. And for a good chunk of the book, it was charming, heart-warming romance, albeit with a dark undercurrent.
However, the reason I DON’T recommend Brideshead Revisited to just anyone is because it lures you in with this darling romance between two sweet young men, and – spoiler alert – then utterly destroys their lives. It’s beautifully written, completely compelling, bold, brave, unexpected, and absolutely something that SHOULD be read, but it’s still bleaker than a Bronte novel read in a leaky bus stop on a grey day in November when you’ve stepped in a puddle with leaky shoes.
Not something to be read if you’re feeling down, basically. And I think it’s important to point this out, because it completely floored me, and it’s fantastically written. But how I wish I’d known what I was getting myself into… Oh, heavy Catholic themes too, so if that’s a trigger for anyone, give this a wide berth. Anyway. My favourite book was heavier than I expected, and I loved it.
Helen: What are some of the books you read recently that you would recommend to others?
Saffron: I’ve just finished Guards! Guards! by Terry Pratchett, and had forgotten just how good it was.Â
I seem to be into re-reading at the moment, actually, as I’ve just re-read The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie, which again, very good. I’m a huge fan of the Jeeves and Wooster books, so always recommend those.Â
Not such recent reads, but Love Habit by TL Clark was one of my favourites from last year, and Raven Song by Jennifer Brasington-Crowley is excellent, and When We Were Out Of The Ordinary by Elen Chase is gorgeous. Having always said I hate romances, it’s quite surprising to find myself recommending three of them!
Helen: It’s been a pleasure chatting with you, Saffron. Thank you so much for sharing your journey. Just to close us out, what advice would you give new writers?
Saffron: Just do it. Don’t think too hard about it, don’t second-guess yourself, and don’t, whatever you do, edit as you go. Get everything out of your head, then come back to fix it later.
You’ll think it’s absolutely awful and want to consign it to the bin immediately – but remember every book you love has been edited a dozen times or more, and didn’t go to print the second the author wrote “the end.”
Your favourite author also looked at something resembling word salad, probably cried a bit, and then rolled up their sleeves to form the clay they’d just created into a beautiful object they were proud of.
There’s a quote from Terry Pratchett that says “The first draft is just you telling yourself the story,” and it really is. Once you know the story, you can refine it into something actually readable, but you can never get to that point unless you get that first draft out of your head.
About the Author – Saffron Amatti
Saffron Amatti is the author of the Lucas Rathbone Mysteries, a series of historical cozy mysteries with a ghostly twist set in 1920s England. She lives in a rather pretty village in Derbyshire, UK, where she spends an unhealthy amount of time thinking about how to kill people and (almost) get away with it. This is almost entirely in relation to her writing, but she keeps her family on their toes by throwing a little doubt in occasionally.
As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.
If you enjoy epic fantasy then check out my award winning Sentinal series, which is now complete. If you like fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love my SoulMist series, start with SoulBreather. Prefer Dystopian Science Fantasy? Then try Harmony. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.
Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
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I was invited to be on The Wandering Scribe podcast by host Gabriel Garcia, a historical fantasy author who supports Indie authors, to talk about my author journey, my books, how AI impacts writers and much more! There were some tough questions! Check out the interview to find out how I answered!
We talked about my author journey, my books, how AI impact writers, when did I first see myself as an author? questions from the the audience. Advice for aspiring writers and much more!
If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and also Sentinals Discovery, the first few chapters of Sentinals Awaken from Birlerion’s POV and get notified when my next books are published.
By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator
It’s time to meet author, Ligia de Wit and find out about her writing journey and her book Seven Hundred Beachfront.
Helen: Welcome, Ligia. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m really intersted to hear about your book, Seven Hundred Beachfront.
Ligia: Seven Hundred Beachfront is a contemporary magical realism story set on the beach. Because we all need some beach in our lives, don’t we? It follows a young woman who’s used to being alone and doing everything by herself. She believes she doesn’t need anyone, so she pushes people away. But life has a funny way of placing the right people in your path, even if they come in unexpected forms: a five-year-old kid, a grumpy neighbor, and a sentient house who is even grumpier. So, three grumpy souls and one beam of sunshine. At its core, the story is about abandonment. About forgiving those who don’t deserve it. About letting go of pain—the kind that lingers right behind you, even when you pretend not to see it. It’s also about love. Not just romantic love (though that’s there), but brotherly love and self-love. About giving yourself permission to face that darkness and decide enough is enough. To tell yourself you are worthy of love. And yes, there’s grumpiness. And laughter. And moments of levity that stretch like a tarp over heavier things. Because sometimes, that’s just how life works.
Helen: You had me at Sentinent house. I love inanimate objects having an opinion. What were your thoughts behind you cover?
Ligia: Setting can be a strong part of a story. In Seven Hundred Beachfront, it is the story. Most of it takes place inside a dilapidated house, so the house is integral to everything. Did I mention the house is sentient? It even has a name. I always knew I wanted the yellow house right at the front. It’s stormy because it reflects the pain and hardship. There are seagulls to echo the sound of the beach. And of course, a touch of green lightning—something that’s part of the story and hints at the magical realism woven throughout.
Helen: There is always more than meets the idea behind book cover designs. I love the attention to detail you had when designing this cover. What made you writte this particular book?
Ligia: This might be my most personal book, one that reflects part of the hurt I carried growing up. Bev, the FMC, embodies that in many ways. But it also offers hope. That no matter how dark your life might feel, no matter that some things may never be fixed, you can still make magic happen in your own life. I wrote this when I was just starting to write again after a 20+ year hiatus, at a time when I didn’t think I was good enough. And because of that, I wrote this story non-stop.
Helen: I’m glad you found your way backing to writing. For me it is a passion, I just love writing. Do you listen to music when you write, if so, what do you listen to and why?
Ligia: Music has always been part of my life, so yes—I listen to it when I write. But it’s a complement, a minor character, not the main one. It has to blend with my mood as I work. I usually go for a chill playlist, something that stays in the background and lets the story take center stage. Right now, as I’m working on a very important part of my WIP, I’ve been listening to Ludovico Einaudi.
Helen: I love Einaudi! I listen to a lot of classical music when I write. How do you get the ideas for a new book?
Ligia: Great question! I pull them from the air, mold them with sand, and infuse them with a little pixie dust—and voilà , a book. Okay, kidding… but not really. It can feel that way. I get inspired by movies or books that move me deeply, and my brain immediately starts chanting what if… That’s usually where it begins but it’s only a small piece of it. I dream stories while I’m awake. They come to me (hence the “pulling them from the air”), and I shape them until I have no choice but to pour them onto the keyboard. The real spark happens then. I usually don’t have much at the start, but as I write, the scenes unfold, the characters come alive with vivid clarity: their struggles, their passions…And I get so excited I can’t stop typing. It’s beautiful.
Helen: I think ‘what if’ are two of the most important words for writers. If we didn’t ask these questions our stories would never happen. What are you working on now?
Ligia: Redemption of Faete is book four—and the final installment—in my BradaĂs Pledge series. It’s a contemporary-to–second-world adventure filled with danger, immortal pirates (definitely not your typical ones), fae mentors shaped more in the Tolkien vein, and a human who begins the series naĂŻve and a bit immature (lovely so—I’m in my 50s and still immature in some areas, so I wanted to represent that!). What I love most about this series is how both main characters grow—the immortal pirate and the young seer—and how the stakes rise with each book. This final installment is intense. It’s the end, after all. There’s found family, love lost (and found again; this is a HEA series), dragons meddling, and powerful gods trying to destroy their reality. It’s absolute chaos. Wonderful chaos.I’m currently in the middle of a major revision after receiving developmental edits, and it’s been so exciting to create new scenes and find even more ways for my heroes to complicate their lives.
Helen: Oh that sounds wonderful, chaos and dragons, what more can you ask for? Tell us a little about the protagonist in your story.
Ligia: This is a dual-POV series. I first wrote it from Ryanne’s perspective. Unlike many heroines, she starts with no real power—just some silly visions. At the beginning of book one, she’s a bit absorbed in her own world and hasn’t quite realized what it means to have a fae mentor and a brave pixie as her guardian. I wrote her because she—and the pixie—came to me one Sunday morning at 6 a.m. and demanded I write her story. I swear it’s true. I relented at 7 a.m. and wrote her first chapter, where she told me everything. I fell in love with her silliness (I’m pretty goofy too) and her personality. Then came Titus—a bloodthirsty pirate who can’t find peace because he’s controlled by his creator. Oh man, do I love Titus. It’s been an absolute pleasure to be in his head and watch his growth, especially in this last book. Why did I write him? In my first draft, he went out for coffee while Ryanne was trying to avoid the pixie—and drink far too much coffee (he’s addicted). I saw him there—worried, determined—and I knew I needed to understand him better. His story flowed from my fingers so easily.
Helen: What is the best thing that has happened to you since you began writing?
Ligia: Readers. Hands down. When I first started writing, I did it simply because I couldn’t stop (I have several drafts from that time that will never see the light of day as proof!). I loved creating stories, building worlds, and bringing characters to life. But then those characters made their way out into the world. Readers found them—and fell in love with them and their stories. And honestly, that’s more than enough reason to keep going.
Helen: I’m glad enthusiatic readers found your books. Thank you so much for joining me today. It’s been great learning more about your books. Most authors are also great readers. Just to close us out do you have any book recommendations for us?
Ligia: Reading is part of the writing life. Honestly, like most people, it’s been part of mine since I was seven years old. I can’t imagine a life without reading (please tell me heaven has a library… I need that). For epic fantasy, I’d recommend Khyven the Unkillable by Todd Fahnestock. It’s book one in a five-book series, and I recently finished the final installment—which is actually influencing the writing of my own last book. For a debut author—also epic fantasy, with wolves (not fantasy romance, very important!)—A Bird Among Wolves by Tracy Leonard Nakatani. Amazing. And for fantasy romance: Soulfire Blue by Jesse Sprague. It’s currently on Kickstarter as a gorgeous special edition, with art illustrated by the author herself.
Helen: Oh these sound really interesting. More for the TBR pile! Thank you for sharing.
About the Author – Ligia de Wit
Ligia de Wit writes fantasy romance adventures with heart, humor, and just the right dose of magic. A lifelong romantic with a soft spot for fairy tales and found family tropes, Ligia writes characters who are strong in more than just a physical sense. Her characters face fears, fight for themselves, and find love in the most unexpected places.
When she’s not writing (or rewriting) her imaginary worlds, she works for a global distribution company and dreams up stories during lunch breaks. You’ll often find her with her nose in a book, exploring a new city, hiking through forests, or acting like a total goof at theme parks. She’s a proud kid at heart—and owns it.
As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.
If you enjoy epic fantasy then check out my award winning Sentinal series, which is now complete. If you like fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love my SoulMist series, start with SoulBreather. Prefer Dystopian Science Fantasy? Then try Harmony. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.
Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
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Starts: Monday May 4th, 2026 at Midnight GMT Closes: Sunday May 31st, 2026 11.45pm GMT Winner announced June 1st, 2026 Open Internationally, One winner, Over 18 only. No cash alternative.
Join me as I celebrate the forthcoming launch of Forged By Betrayal and Blood with many of my friends in the writing community. Thank you to these generous authors for donating their books to the grand prize. Enter the launch giveaway by following the authors on social media or by signing up to their newsletter. The more authors you follow, the more entries you recieve.
One randomly drawn reader will win a signed print copy of Forged by Betrayal and Blood, three more fantasy paperbacks and 10 fantasy ebooks. That’s fourteen books in total for one lucky winner!
Vael Tor Arne, commonly known as the Butcher of Leif, has spent the last ten years roaming the wilds of Surosha. Disgraced and outcast, he is not welcome anywhere, not even in his own home.
Never managing to rise above the rank of lieutenant in the Emperor’s army, Vael does his best to protect his men against the taint that follows him. Should the opportunity ever arise, he would gladly kill Emperor Talon Shaleri the Deranged, the man who ruined his life.
The Celestial Throne lacks its dragon, its protector, and the empire is suffering as the new emperor struggles to retain control. The emperor is weak, in power and in health. He needs to right a wrong, now he has the power to do so, before he can focus on saving his empire. But righting that wrong may not be so simple, and the man he needs to forgive him is the one man who hates him.
Dogged by persistent Farsolian warriors, who can’t decide if they want to capture or kill them, Vael and his men battle to survive. With no hope of help, Vael must avoid the war bands and the emperor’s generals long enough to choose a side. Will the Farsolian uprising be his salvation or will the Emperor finally sign his death warrant?
If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and also Sentinals Discovery, the first few chapters of Sentinals Awaken from Birlerion’s POV and get notified when my next books are published.
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It’s time to meet YA Fantasy author, Suzanne Furness and find out about her books.
Helen: Welcome, Suzanne. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Tell us about your latest book.
Suzanne: Storm of Clocks is a middle grade fantasy set on the stunning North Cornish Coast around Tintagel Castle.
It is perfect for readers of 8 and upwards. I know of at least one 96-year-old lady who loved it!
Eleven-year-old Livvy’s life is torn apart the night her dad dies in an accident and her brother stops talking. A tiny piskie with BIG secrets bursts into her world warning a storm will cause massive destruction to her town. However, the storm could reverse an ancient curse that will herald the return of giants. Livvy must follow her new piskie friend, Patsy, into a hidden world of folklore and legend to discover dangerous creatures lurking in the bushes and magical birds that soar overhead. It’s a story of loss, friendship and hope.
The clocks are ticking . . . The skies are darkening . . . The storm is approaching . . .
Storm of Clocks was short listed in 2025 for the Holyer an Gof Award. An annual award for the best books promoting Cornwall, set in Cornwall or written in the Cornish language.
Helen: Such a beautiful coastline. With all the myths and legends in Cornwall, I bet you had great fun writing this book. What were your thoughts behind you cover?
Suzanne: I simply LOVE this cover. Big thanks to my fabulous illustrator, Alexandra Fowler. Alex and I were able to meet up and discuss my vision as she lives very close to me in Cornwall. I wanted to have Livvy and Patsy (the piskie) standing on the cliff top as the storm began. The lighthouse was Alex’s idea as we thought it would add a highlight. I think it works really well with the waves crashing over it. I then suggested the lightning streaks which Alex was able to incorporate into the title. The frame of the cover is a tree which features in the story (no spoilers here you will have to read the book!). Alex has cleverly hidden other clues to things in the story amongst the tree and other plants. Look closely for a pocket watch, a book, and the birds. Flip the book over to find a deer and a pair of eyes lurking in the bushes!
Helen: There so much detail in your cover, I love learning what all the images mean! I assume Livvy is on the cover, tell us more about her.
Suzanne: The main protagonist is an eleven-year-old girl called, Livvy. Short for Olivia. We learn she lost her father in a car accident which resulted in her younger brother, Ed stopping talking. Obviously a very tricky time for Livvy. The story is set several months after the accident as Livvy is learning to manage some of her feelings. Then she finds Patsy Scribble a Cornish Piskie in the compost heap and her life changes again. Livvy grows through the story and starts to see that her life can move forward but she can still keep a piece of her dad in her heart. This might seem a sad story but in fact it is uplifting and contains lots of hope. It’s an adventure that changes her forever.
I experienced the loss of my dad at a young age too. Different circumstances but the feelings and heartbreak were the same. I hope some of that first-hand knowledge comes through in the story. I started writing Livvy’s story shortly after my mum died after a long illness 13 years ago. I think it was cathartic in many ways. The image of meeting a piskie at the bottom of the garden was very strong and the story grew from there. It’s been through lots of editing and rewrites to get it to where it is.
Helen: I also found writing cathartic. I started writing after my mum passed away. Much later in life, but the time was obviously right. My greatest regret is that she never got to read any of my books. Is Livvy your favourite character or is there anyone else you found interesting to write?
Suzanne:Â Hmm, this is an interesting question because as I have explained above, Livvy is a special character to me. However, I love the feisty piskie, Patsy Scribble. She is definitely not a stereotypical piskie. (In case anyone was wondering a piskie is a Cornish word for a type of pixie.) She comes out with some funny sayings and quite often is a little rude about humans and their world.
There are also three birds in the story. One is the very clever and slightly superior Cornish Chough called Merlin. (Yes, it is an Arthurian reference). He was fun to write too. He doesn’t speak as such but he I tried to portray his character through his behaviour and actions.
Helen: Your characters sound like fun. When did you realise you had a passion for writing?
Suzanne:  I think it’s always been there but maybe I didn’t fully understand it till a lot later on. As a teenager I wrote lots of poetry, which was one of the ways I tried to cope with the loss of my dad and other life events. It was years later that I actually started to think about writing a story. My first attempts were short stories for adults. I entered a few into competitions. One even got published in an anthology. I then tried writing an adult novel. Looking back, I can fully see it wasn’t great but I learnt a lot from those 80K words! I moved onto writing for children shortly after that. I have worked with children for many years as well as bringing up two of my own so it seemed a natural progression for me.
Helen: I think the more you write, the more you practice, the better you get! If you don’t write then there’s nothing to edit or improve. When writing, do you plan in advance or make it up as you go?
Suzanne: I have to admit I am a pantser through and through! It’s a slightly strange concept for me as in most areas of my life I plan things carefully and I am not a person who enjoys chaos or just going with the flow. Perhaps that’s exactly why I have to let my creative juices do their own thing when writing. I usually start either with a line of writing or a character name and go from there. I might do mind maps and character description cards as I get into the story a bit but other than that it’s just open the laptop and see what happens! Not the most efficient way as it means lots of editing and rewriting but so far it has worked for me.
Helen: I think what works for you is best. Do you find you need to do much research for your books?
Suzanne: Ah, well this is where I might spend a bit of planning time and like many writers, sometimes I find myself down the proverbial rabbit hole of research! But I do enjoy that side of things. With Storm of Clocks I researched Cornish folklore in depth and decided which aspects I could incorporate into the story. Quite often the research helped move the story forward when I got a bit stuck. It was fun to see how lots of things entwined. It’s such a big part of this story I have added a glossary at the back to explain a few things a little more. I have sprinkled the story with a few Cornish words and phrases too which all add to the feel of the book.
Helen: Writers tend to end up knowing so much trivia! What else are you working on?
Suzanne: I have a fun and slightly quirky story about a young boy, Jack Potts, who finds a door at the back of his shed which leads to a world known as Underbed Storage! A place where rubbish is treasure and nothing is wasted. He meets a clumsy dragon, a sort of wizard and some rather strange robots. It’s a very different story to Storm of Clocks but The Accidental Adventures of Jack Potts is a fun adventure for readers 7 plus. It’s got lots of fun illustrations too so is ideal for the more reluctant reader or new to chapter book readers. Check out Ink Bookshop or Amazon
I am hoping to be able to share news very soon about a new middle grade story that will hopefully be published later this year. Watch this space or follow my socials for the latest information on that exciting project.
Helen: Thank you so much for joining me today. It’s been great learning more about your books. Is there anything else you’d like to share?
Suzanne: My website is here and I’m always happy to chat so give me a follow or get in touch. I can sell signed books direct and will include bookmarks and stickers so if that is something you would be interested in just get in touch to arrange.
About the Author – Suzanne Furness
Suzanne lives in Cornwall with her husband and a cat with a moustache! She can often be found walking the coastal footpath on the lookout for pirate ships and lost mermaids or exploring woodlands and moors on the hunt for fae. Sadly, she hasn’t found a piskie at the bottom of the garden but she will never stop looking.
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If you enjoy epic fantasy then check out my award winning Sentinal series, which is now complete. If you like fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love my SoulMist series, start with SoulBreather. Prefer Dystopian Science Fantasy? Then try Harmony. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.
Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
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By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator). You can withdraw your consent at any time. The data will be processed until the consent is withdrawn.
Do you love audiobooks? Then the first five books of the Sentinal series are now in audio! You can find them on a platform of your choice.
Senitnals Banished is now on Audible, Amazon and Apple, and will be on other platforms shortly.
Narrated by the wonderful Matt Coles, it’s time to immerse yourself in the world of Remargaren one more time.
Artwork design by Jeff Brown
Book Description
Sentinal Birlerion has watched from the shadows for so long he doesn’t know how to stop. Always there when the Lady’s Captain needed him. He did what was necessary to keep those he loved from harm.
When the king banishes the Lady’s Captain, Jerrol Haven, from Vespiri and disbands the Sentinal guard, the Sentinals are at a loss, some bitter, some eager to retire, all angry at the king’s decision.
Birlerion moves to Old Vespers to watch over Jerrol’s daughter as she begins her journey to become a King’s Ranger.
Old Vespers is in turmoil, the king unpredictable, and the Sentinals are unwelcome. Unexplained deaths are occurring, and bodies begin to appear in the city streets. As Birlerion continues his search for the place he can call home, he has to step out of the shadows as he is drawn into a tangled web of deceit and lies. He must hunt down those responsible and clear the Sentinals name before anyone else goes missing.
Sentinals Banished is the fifth book in the saga of Remargaren, a vibrant, ancient world of high fantasy suffused with magic and adventure.
If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring (Sentinal series) and also Oathsworn (SoulMist series) and to follow Helen’s writing journey and be notified when her next books are published.
By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
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Have a booklover in the family? Eager to find a new book to read? Signed by the author?
I’ll have my latest release, Sentinals Origins Part Two, in paperback, and you can get the Sentinals Origins duology at a special show offer price.
Do your booklovers love dragons? Then I will have a limited number of the most amazing fantasy anthology with foiled cover, sprayed edges, beautiful artwork and 18 dragon-themed stories. The ideal present for your bookdragon hoarder!
Come and meet over twenty indie authors, all with tales to share and books to talk about. Everyone welcome.
Already bought my book and want it signed? Then I’m happy to sign your book for you.
If there is a specific book you want, then please let me know, so I make sure I bring enough copies and can reserve one for you, as now I have 15 books, I am limited by the number of books I can fit in my car!
Hope to see you there.
If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and also Sentinals Discovery, the first few chapters of Sentinals Awaken from Birlerion’s POV and get notified when my next books are published.
By clicking the sign up button above, you agree to share your email address with the site owner and the newsletter platform provider to receive marketing, updates, and other emails from the site owner. Use the unsubscribe link in those emails to opt out at any time.
By signing up to my newsletter, you agree to receive commercial information from Helen Garraway, located at 61 Bridge St, Kingston, Hertfordshire, UK (Data Administrator
It’s time to meet Author and poet, Ectorius Angel, and find out more his writing journey.
Helen: Welcome, Ectorius. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Tell us about your work.
Ectorius: People keep asking me about a book. I have tried so hard to be honest and say that I do have one, and I do, but it’s one that can’t be published any time soon, in the hands of a lovely publisher called Curious Corvid Publishing. It’s called The Flowers of Hades, and it’s perhaps the roughest, but somewhat also more original works I’ve ever written. I wish I could tell you more about it, let you know what else there is to say, but right now, all I can really say is that it will come when it is time. I wish I could say a lot more about it and my second book, called Remember We Once Lived. A story about Alexander the Great and Hephaestion. That is the most heartfelt, poetic, and truly hardest work I’ve ever written in my entire life. I have cemented over five years of research and archeology, academic research and historical research just to have the general knowledge and understanding of Hephaestion’s and Alexander’s inner lives. These are in the hands of Ravven White of Curious Corvid Publishing right now. However, more than anything, I’m a poet, and I guess, in some way, instead of a current book, I’d of loved to say that I have many poems coming, because there have been quite a lot that has been sent in to poetry journals, magazines, art centers, and so much more. That is my biggest pride to announce, more than any other book. I come from poetry, and poetry is what made me.
Helen: Congratulations on your forthcoming publications, and I bet the waiting for your books to come out is excrutiating. Have you had sight of the covers yet?
Ectorius: I’m sad I can’t really say much here. Covers are something I believe come at the end, once the book has been made ready for publishing. Right now, I don’t really know what it would be like, or what its design will look like just on principle. We have great designers in Curios Corvid, and many others in other publishers and whatnot. So, hopefully, it will be beautiful, and I think simplistic, because that’s what I would like to be.
Helen: How did you come up with the title for your book?
Ectorius:The Flowers of Hades wasn’t its original name. In reality, it was very far from that name. There are characters based off of a lot of other people, but two female characters are based majorly around the bad and the good parts of my partner, Finian, who has been by my side for years. Originally, it was named something entirely different. It had…Four titles, before settling on that. Titles are…They are the body of my work. I know how stories will end, I know how tragedy will come and what I need to suffer through to write it. I never plan, I hate planning, I find it absurd and it makes no sense in any capacity. You write to feel something; you write because you feel.
Helen: I think everyone has a different way of writing and as long as you continue to love what you do, and you enjoy writing then that is what works for you. What made you write this particular book?
Ectorius: I want you to imagine walking into a bedroom; it belongs to someone you once loved, or knew, or someone you hated. But it still belongs, regardless, to someone. There are books there, clothes, items, things you don’t know much about. It’s the inner life of someone else. Someone you’ll never get to see, and however you feel, never get to resolve anything with. How you feel is up to you, and it’s for nobody to shame. And you stand there, looking, alone, not a word to your mouth, a smile to your face. Just a torn, empty self that can only be ready to get rid of everything to never feel it again. A hatred or a desire to get rid of something so strong. It’s how ordinary people or ordinary writers will never understand why I prefer solitude, why love doesn’t kill loneliness, or the suffocation I feel every day when someone mentions the name of a person I know, or when they tell me “Why can’t you do something so simple?” When my mind is constantly busy, and I easily lose track of things. I’m never there, even in the most important moments; I’m always unreachable. I guess that’s why I wrote the book, why I write anything at all. I can’t live without writing, and I can’t write without suffering living. Every day is a constant wish for an eternal rest without the call of writing in a modern age, but I know that if I stop even once, I’ll want to kill myself here and now, and that is the worst and best thing I have ever been able to say about why I write anything.
Helen: Creating a work of art can be consuming. As always, balance is important. Life feeds creativity and creativity feeds life. If you don’t experience one, how can the other exist? When did you first realise you had such a passion for writing?
Ectorius: I never really realized it. I was too young to really understand. I knew that some days I’d walk outside in Italy or Germany and I’d just stop. There’d be a bird, or a hawk or a butterfly or even just the light off of the edge of a ledge of another building. The sunlight, the grass, a sway of blades that feels like a caress. I guess to answer the “When” of it, it’d be earlier than I can really remember. So early it just came to me, and by nine, I had a mentor who was a published author of whom I studied under.
Helen: On your writing journey was there anyone who gave you the inspiration to write?
Ectorius:  That’d be my mentor, Jules, and my friends. Ana Monica Banto, Dr. Catherine Sooyun Lee, Iselin Lørentsen, Stefani Stamboliyska-Murffit, Joshua Sell, and James Johnston and Patrick Walsh, now known as Vox Forged as a voice actor. Without them, I wouldn’t really be here. But more than anyone else, it is also Finian Sun, my partner, to whom I owe everything, now and any time in the future.
Helen: I know you write poetry, but for fiction, which genre do you typically write?
Ectorius:  Romance, historical romance, romantic poetry, travel poetry and in general just contemporary romance. Much of it is to do with the fragility of life. How a shadow falls on a wall and we look at it, quietly, unmoving. How the touch of a hand says you are safe. Or even how an old motorbike leaning against a wall can be the last drop of a memory that you never want to let go of. Human sensuality, gentleness, fragility, the seconds of quietness between moments. And especially the fractured parts that show our most vulnerable selves.
Helen: Who is your protagonist and why did you write her/him?     
Ectorius: He is David, a boy who isn’t quite understood by others, or by those around him. He’s an outsider, a travelling nomad, someone who can’t quite be the thing everyone wants. Having lost a lot, seen more funerals than I can really count on two hands at the age of twenty-seven, it… It makes you look on a lot. On those you’ve lost, the people you’ve remembered, the smiles, everything else. That led to this. Writing about seeing the world from a writer’s perspective, but hurtful, emotional, raw. So raw that even my own lecturer had to email me and ask me if I was alright haha.
Helen: If your Main Character could answer, why would they say we should read your book?     
Ectorius: I think the main character wouldn’t want anyone to read his book. It’s a diary entry of every day life, of existing. One could even say it’s the deepest and most vulnerable emotions out there, and that alone would make him scared of anyone ever really reading it.
Helen: How do you get the ideas for a new book?
Ectorius: Some days I will look at something and eventually that little something turns into more. The flicker of a light at a traffic stops during the rain in Tokyo, or the calm walk through Roma as you see tourists and the shadows that linger just a little over the ancient ruins. There’s a story in everything, every part of life, and in some manner, it just comes by itself. I believe the stories that need to be written, come to their own designated writer, their own storyteller. A small spark of a flame that gently carries its heat onward until it reaches the wandering one.
Helen: Are you working on anything new? Could you tell us about your current WIP.
Ectorius: I am currently working on publishing three poetry collections when and if I can, and a non-fiction work that I’ve started with my undergraduate. It was originally written as a study paper of sorts for writing purposes. Now it’s a more truthful and vulnerable piece. An exploration of a person’s inner life, the dreamscape of it all, the bond between reality and surrealism. It’s a work very much like Murakami’s.
Ectorius has had poems published in Era Lit Magazine. You can read the poems here.
Helen: Which element of the writing process do you find most challenging and why?
Ectorius: I’d say editing, but having been an editor, now it’s more or less quite facilitated. If anything, telling the truth in writing. The way of being vulnerable and open, and honest to the point of feeling hurt by it. There’s a harshness in writing truthfully, and it requires you to be hurting, the kind of pain that you can’t just accept and walk away from. Had it not been for that, I don’t know what I’d do.
Helen: What is one of the most useful resources you use when writing?
Ectorius: I do not really utilize resources. I have a pen, a notebook, and a paper. That’s it. Everything else is purely writing, as it always has been.
Helen: What is the most useful piece of writing advice you’ve received, and by whom?
Etorius: “Write truthfully” by Judith Heneghan, my lecturer. And “Ordinary people and their opinions don’t matter. They’re nothing. Stories, stories are everything. Write them, because you’re one of the few that are born with it. You have a duty, and that duty is solely yours.” by a very close friend and author. These two are the most important parts for me. And I think they always will be.
Helen: Every writer experiences self-doubt. How do you overcome the fear and the little voice in your head to keep writing?
Ectorius: I spent at least twenty minutes to think about how to answer this. Truthfully? I don’t really have any doubts. I never really did. I wish I did, and I wish there were ways for me to say so, but I don’t. I write because I know what I am, and that alone makes me not need doubts. It never really did.
Helen: How do you fit your writing into your everyday life?
Ectorius: Everything I do is writing. My partner would tell you so, even my friends, even the people who truly know me. I could be conversing with someone, and in the end, I’m not even thinking about them or the conversation, but the dust on their jacket or the light of the window, a bird on a tree branch. I’m never there, even on the most important days, like a date. There have been times where my beloved has caught me just looking at buildings, windows, the sea, and anything else in-between. Sound comes and goes, and I remember what’s said, but I can’t quite say I’m ever really there. Every action, just like breathing, is writing. What I see, sense, feel, touch, eat, endure, or otherwise simply have any form of sensory contact with in any capacity, becomes writing.
Helen: Do you listen to music when you write, if so, what do you listen to and why?
Ectorius: I do, and I don’t. Some days I need silence, loneliness, and other days I need music. I listen to Kensuke Ushio, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Kenichiro Suehiro, Masaru Yokoyama, Ichiro Araki, Takeshi Obo, Konomi Suzuki, Kanzaki Iori, and Haruka Nakamura. There’s even a playlist called Orchestra Et Sum, a collection of every orchestra, instrumental or otherwise sentimental based pieces I’ve listened to and like and that are part of my inner life. It’s a 57 some hour playlist on Spotify haha. I listen to them because I need time alone, I need to be able to process what I feel, how, why. And I need… A space to be quietly vulnerable without anyone and anything around. Music and silence do that. Especially the artists and playlist I’ve mentioned.
Helen: How much research do you do for each book?
Ectorius: Hephaestion’s and Alexander’s story took me five years of research before writing, because they’re historical people. Generally, I will dedicate a lot of time to research if it’s realism. But if it’s not, not a lot. I just write what I remember and experience.
Helen: From a writing perspective, are you a pantser or a planner? Do you write free form, or do you have a framework you stick to?
Ectorius: I already know the entire story just by the title alone. Titles, for me, are everything. They’re the se piece, the dressing room, the lighting and sound design. They’re every part of it. Most readers won’t really get it and they’ll sort of skip away from the title and into the nitty gritty of things, but I base everything around a feeling and a title. Especially because I already know how it will end. It’s like a surge, where an entire 500 some pages of a story come into your mind, bombarding you, trying to kill you if you don’t write it. I’m a hostage to my own work.
Helen: It sounds like you are typically quite prolific, but have you ever encountered writer’s block? Do you have any advice to overcome it?
Ectorius: I’ll be as frankly honest as I can here: I suffer. I harm myself with alcohol and isolation, and sometimes I don’t even do anything good for myself at all. Not being able to write is insanity for me. It kills me, slowly, until I’m at its mercy. It’s only been in the last two years that I’ve learned to deal with it differently. Finian usually sees when I’m struggling and ends up making us have a vacation or something else. I love her, because she knows what I need, and I don’t quite know how to explain that to anyone. It used to be worse; I used to spiral into the worst depths of darkness out there when I was far younger. Monica pulled me out of that, so did Ms. Catherine Lee. And James Johnston. There have been many times where not being able to write was a true danger to myself and nothing but an endless cycle of suffering.
Helen: Do you have a burning desire to write in a different genre? If so, what would you write?
Ectorius: If I didn’t write in romance, I… I would probably write in something that has a close proximity to the stylistics of Film Noir.
Helen: What is the best thing that has happened to you since you began writing?
Ectorius: I became a published poet. I got to see the world, learn about its beauty and underlying parts. I got to love, be loved, and experienced hatred, wrath, and every other emotion out there. I guess what I’m trying to say is: I got to truly experience life in the most wonderful manner, so much so that I am never quite sure if I ever walked out of the dreamscape.
Helen: What is your favourite book and why do you like it so much?
Ectorius: Savannah Brown’s “Sweetdark” and “In Praise of Shadows” by Jun’IchirĹŤ Tanizaki. Poetry for me is important; it’s the root of where I started, and you could say the same for Savannah Brown, too. It’s where she started as well. I never got to meet her and such, but I figure we’d both understand each other if we ever did. And In Praise of Shadows by Tanizaki would probably be something that taught me a lot about how to utilize silence, light, architecture. Especially how important this aesthetic really is. In the west, they don’t understand it. I’m Lithuanian by birth and even I cannot really lean toward western ideals anymore. It’s too barbaric, too rough. And I guess my third favorite, or most liked book, not quite the word “favorite” for any of these… Would be “No Longer Human” by Osamu Dazai. It’s the most self-inflicted vulnerability out there, and if anything, the most raw example of writing truthfully no matter how badly it hurts.
Helen: I know authors are great readers. What are some of the books you read recently that you would recommend to others?
Ectorius: I… Would recommend philosophy. Especially Aristoteles’ work, Franz Kafka, or even the ancient greats and the philosophers of our time. Kant, too. Schopenhauer. I think discipline, philosophy, linguistics, the humanities, history, archeology, sociology, anthropology, the fine arts, literature, poetry. These are the most important foundations for anyone. I can’t recommend just “one” book so to speak. If anything, I would highly recommend discovering the world through philosophy and the classics, because I did, and I think everyone else should too.
Helen: We nearly at the end of the interview. Thank you for sharing your passion for writing. Is there anything anecdotal you’d like share.
Ectorius: When I first moved elsewhere, I got lost trying to understand the language. I asked five different people about how to say thank you and I’m sorry. An hour later, I discovered I didn’t really need it, because I was a stranger anyway. So I asked a neighbour what to do, and she laughed and simply gave me food. That’s how I learned that it’s not about communication, but that kindness had been right there in front of me, and I was asking how to ask for it, instead of accepting what I had.
Helen: Thank you so much for joining me today. It has been really interesting chatting with you, and I wish you success with all your endeavours. Just to close us out, what advice would you give new writers?
Ectorius: Write what you want, in the end, once you’re 20 or 30, only really some classmates and strangers can judge you. Nobody else. Your story is yours, and so are your feelings, and nobody has the right to shame that. Now or later. If you’re born as a poet or an artist, you have a sole duty of carrying on the legacy of art; that is the only thing that will and should ever matter to you. Nothing and nobody else is above your destiny.
About the Author – Ectorius Angel
 Ectorius Angel is a Lithuanian poet and classical author whose work weaves themes of displacement, impermanence, and the unsaid moments that shape human experience. Raised across Europe and now residing in Norway and Hong Kong, he draws from influences spanning Eastern traditions to Western romanticism.
    His writing reflects a deep appreciation for minimalism, resonating with the balance of light and sound, often evoking nature’s shifting seasons. Through vivid imagery, Angel conjures tidal waves and gentle landscapes, using water and rain as metaphors for emotion and capturing beauty in fleeting moments. This connection to nature underlines his explorations of nostalgia, loss, and the sense of being a ghost—an observer in a distant world.
    Mentored by an Australian historical author, Angel’s literary journey centers on the complexities of human existence. He delves into the brokenness of heroes and the disillusionment that accompanies admiration, prompting readers to reflect on life’s fragility and intricate relationships.
    Inspired by luminaries like Osamu Dazai, Haruki Murakami, and Yukio Mishima, along with Western influences like F. Scott Fitzgerald and Oscar Wilde, Angel’s poetry transcends cultural boundaries. As an artist from marginalized post-USSR Lithuania, he channels cultural displacement into his work, viewing it as resistance against a world driven by greed and power.
    Despite the challenges of his fading cultural legacy, Angel’s writing stands as a testament to resilience. His lifelong search for “home” and reflections on grief are imbued with emotional depth, inviting readers to connect with the beauty and pain of existence. Ultimately, he is remembered as a poet who illuminates the complexities of life, crafting meaning from desolate places.
If you enjoy epic fantasy then check out my award winning Sentinal series, which is now complete. If you like fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love my SoulMist series, start with SoulBreather. Prefer Dystopian Science Fantasy? Then try Harmony. Start the adventure and stay for the journey.
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Forged by Betrayal and Blood is the first book in Helen Garraway’s new epic fantasy Celestial Throne series. The gorgeous artwork and cover was designed by Jeff Brown Graphics as are the Sentinal book covers.
Forged by Betrayal and Blood is currenlty on preorder and will release on June 1st, 2026.
Vael Tor Arne, commonly known as the Butcher of Leif, has spent the last ten years roaming the wilds of Surosha. Disgraced and outcast, he is not welcome anywhere, not even in his own home.
Never managing to rise above the rank of lieutenant in the Emperor’s army, Vael does his best to protect his men against the taint that follows him. Should the opportunity ever arise, he would gladly kill Emperor Talon Shaleri the Deranged, the man who ruined his life.
The Celestial Throne lacks its dragon, its protector, and the empire is suffering as the new emperor struggles to retain control. The emperor is weak, in power and in health. He needs to right a wrong, now he has the power to do so, before he can focus on saving his empire. But righting that wrong may not be so simple, and the man he needs to forgive him is the one man who hates him.
Dogged by persistent Farsolian warriors, who can’t decide if they want to capture or kill them, Vael and his men battle to survive. With no hope of help, Vael must avoid the war bands and the emperor’s generals long enough to choose a side. Will the Farsolian uprising be his salvation or will the Emperor finally sign his death warrant?
If you enjoy fantasy books then you will love my epic fantasy Sentinal series or the Romantic Fantasy SoulMist series. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring (Sentinal series) and also Oathsworn (SoulMist series) and to follow Helen’s writing journey and be notified when her next books are published.
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Helen Garraway 