What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write The Sunken Empire?
The story behind The Sunken Empire really begins with my oldest son. He is a voracious reader as well, and he had watched me devour fantasy series. He finally asked me a simple question: Why have you never written one of these? That question immediately ignited a fire that lit up a shared idea. The spark came while we were walking through the Christmas markets in Strasbourg. Between the lights, the old stone streets, the cold air, and the sense of history pressing in from every direction, we started talking books. Not about publishing or outlines, but about worlds. What kind of hero would I like to write? What kind of darkness would hide beneath beauty? What kind of magic systems would I use? Those conversations became the backbone of the series. The Sunken Empire grew out of that shared imagining. It is a story born from curiosity, family, and the feeling that ideas do not stay hidden. They are things we still carry with us, waiting for the right moment to surface. In many ways, this series is my answer to my son’s question. It is me finally stepping into the kind of story I loved as a reader and building a world that feels ancient, dangerous, and alive.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of The Sunken Empire, what would they be?
I love this question because music and character growth live in the same emotional space for me. For Ylva, I would pick Barracuda by Heart. It has that raw, driving energy of someone realizing who they are and refusing to be controlled anymore. Ylva starts the series powerful but untested. In The Sunken Empire, she steps fully into her own. That song feels like confidence being forged under pressure. It is defiant, relentless, and unapologetic. She really is a rock star coming into her power. For Alrik, I would go with The Man Who Sold the World by David Bowie. His arc is quieter but heavier. He is wrestling with loyalty, love, and the fear of losing himself while standing beside someone who is becoming something mythic. That song carries tension, introspection, and a sense of identity slipping just out of reach. For Halvar, I would choose Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin. That song is pure fire and thunder. It feels like a war cry carried on the wind. Halvar is a king forged by battle, loss, and responsibility. He is not subtle, and he was never meant to be. There is an inevitability to him, the sense that when he moves, the world answers. The pounding rhythm and raw vocals mirror who he is at his core. He is a power barely restrained by duty, a ruler who understands violence but uses it only when necessary. More importantly, the song carries legacy. Halvar is not just fighting his own wars. He is standing at the edge of what his daughter will inherit, whether he wants her to or not. If Ylva is the rising rock star, Halvar is the legend whose shadow still shapes the stage.
What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
My favorite genre to read for the last few years has been fantasy. I have read several authors obsessively. Epic worlds, dangerous myths, flawed heroes, and the sense that something ancient is stirring just beneath the surface. Those stories are the ones that stay with me long after the last page. While I love thrillers and action, the return to fantasy has been my passion for the last few years. For a long time, though, it was not the genre I wrote. I came to fantasy writing later, after working in thrillers and darker, more grounded stories. In hindsight, that mattered. Writing outside the genre taught me restraint, pacing, and how to keep stakes personal and consequences sharp. When I finally stepped into fantasy with The Sunken Empire and the larger series, I brought all of that with me. So now, yes, they finally match. Fantasy is my favorite genre to read, and it has become my most challenging, but favorite genre to write. The difference is that I approach it less like escapism and more like mythology with teeth. I want to wonder, but I also want weight. I want magic that costs something and heroes who do not walk away unchanged. In a way, The Sunken Empire is me coming full circle as a reader and a writer, and letting those two parts finally speak the same language.
What books are on your TBR pile right now?
Right now, my TBR pile is split between two very different kinds of obsession, and I love that contrast. I am deep into The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. That series is a masterclass in epic scale: layered magic systems, massive worldbuilding, and characters who carry real psychological weight. It is the kind of fantasy that reminds you how big the genre can be when it is done well. At the same time, I am also working through Red Rising by Pierce Brown. That series is pure momentum. It is brutal, fast, emotionally ruthless, and constantly escalating. Every book feels like it is daring you to keep up. Reading those two side by side probably explains a lot about The Sunken Empire. I am drawn to stories that balance mythic scope with sharp, personal consequences. Big worlds, but characters who bleed. Systems of power, but at a human cost. That is the sweet spot for me as a reader, and it is the same place I aim for as a writer.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
My favorite scenes to write are always the ones where Ylva surprises herself. Those moments when she stops reacting and chooses to step forward. When fear is still there, but it no longer gets the final say. In Crown of Smoke and Shadow, it was the cave scene with the bear. She goes in thinking she is simply trying to survive, and comes out realizing that survival is no longer the ceiling for who she might be. That scene is raw, animal, and intimate. It is the first time she feels the truth of her own strength rather than just hearing others talk about it. In Thorns of Sethrakar, it was the moment she threw herself into the scorpion fight. There is no prophecy guiding her, no careful plan. It is instinct and resolve colliding. She chooses to act, even knowing the cost, and that decision reshapes how she sees herself moving forward. And in The Sunken Empire, facing down Dagon was my favorite by far. That scene is not just about power. It is about acceptance. Ylva understands what she is capable of, what it might turn her into, and she steps forward anyway. Writing that moment felt like watching her cross an invisible line she can never fully return from. Those scenes matter to me because they are not about winning fights. They are about identity. Each one marks a point where Ylva becomes more herself, even as the cost grows heavier.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
Absolutely. My writing process probably looks a little chaotic from the outside, but it works for me.
I always start with an outline. I need to know where the story is going, even if the path changes along the way. Once that framework is in place, the real chaos begins. I use Post-it notes everywhere: scenes, emotional beats, character turns. They end up spread across my desk, my wall, and sometimes places they definitely do not belong. It’s how I keep the story visual and flexible at the same time. And then there’s the coffee. A lot of it. Coffee is less a habit and more a supporting character in the process. It fuels the long sessions where the world starts to feel more real than the room I’m sitting in.
No lucky mug, no cat on my lap, just outlines, Post-it notes, and enough coffee to keep the world turning while I figure out what my characters are brave enough to do next.
Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?
Yes. It is simple, but it governs everything I do as a writer. I believe you have to be honest before you can be successful. Being true to yourself means accepting that not everyone will like what you create, and deciding to create it anyway. The moment you start writing to please an audience, chase trends, or soften your edges, you lose the thing that made the work worth doing in the first place. I write for me. I write the stories I would want to read, with the themes that matter to me, in the voice that feels true. If the work resonates, that is a gift. If it does not, I can still stand behind it without apology. My philosophy is this: authenticity is louder than approval. When you honor your own voice, the right readers will find it, and they will recognize the truth in it.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
If there’s one thing I hope readers carry with them after finishing the book, it’s this: the power to rise has always been inside you. Every story I write, regardless of genre, circles back to that idea. Growth is rarely easy; most of the time, it’s uncomfortable, frightening, or feels outright impossible. But the moment that matters most is when you realize you’re stronger than the version of yourself who first faced the challenge.
Ylva’s journey isn’t about discovering some external gift or being chosen because she’s special. It’s about choosing to stand, again and again, even when the cost is high and the outcome uncertain. That struggle is universal. We all face moments of doubt, moments when rising feels beyond reach. If readers finish the book believing, even a little more than before, that they’re capable of becoming stronger, braver, or truer to themselves, then the story has done exactly what it was meant to do.
