What's the story behind the story? What inspired you to write this book?
When reading another author’s LitRPG title, I came up with an idea: What if a group of four friends from our world were sent into one of my fantasy worlds, the world of Wizardoms? After all, I have 21 novels set in that world, so there is an expansive list of characters, places, and history to work with.
Three of these friends in the story are fans of the Wizardoms franchise. They convince their friend, Ted, to join their DnD-style Wizardoms gaming session, and that’s where things go sideways. They are each sent into the world of Wizardoms, Isekai-style, as the character builds they created. There, they must complete quests, level up, and gain loot, all at the whims of a deranged AI dungeon master.
As for Ted, he’s a total fish out of water who knows nothing about the world he was dropped into, doesn’t understand his magical abilities as a spellcaster, and is desperate to just go back home. That’s all part of the fun.
If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of your book, what would they be?
I am going to cheat on this one. This book has a bunch of theme songs.
Among his various magical abilities, Ted is a bard. He takes real songs from our world and alters the words to mold them to suit the spell he is casting. In the first book alone, readers will encounter songs like Eye of the Tiger, Safety Dance, Cool Change, Demons, Have You Ever Seen the Rain, Getting’ Tipsy, Heroes, and more.
What's your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?
I’ve been an epic fantasy reader since I was a preteen. I am also a lifelong gamer. I don’t know why it took me so long to write a LitRPG series, but now that I’m doing it, I am having a blast. LitRPG combines many of the things I enjoy. However, since the main characters come from our world, their POVs needed to be written like an urban fantasy story that is set in an epic fantasy world. It’s a good thing I wrote my first urban fantasy series last year, so I was all geared up for this approach.
What scene in your book was your favorite to write?
My favorite scenes to write are the humorous ones. Rather than focus on a specific scene for this response, I am going to choose a character: Rhyllinor, the sentient war hammer. This hammer is bonded to one of the four main characters, a fun-loving and boisterous dwarf named Clegg. He is the only one who can hear the hammer talk, and that hammer also happens to be female. A jealous female. The two of them argue frequently. Strangers think Clegg is insane when they see him in a heated discussion with his weapon. Their banter is great fun to write and creates hilarious situations.
Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)
I RARELY write at a table or desk. In fact, I am usually planted on a chair in my living room with one or both of my French Bulldogs beside me. I also write in airports, on planes, in hotel rooms, and wherever I get the chance. I am not easily distracted when writing, so all the noise and chaos around me just fades away as my characters take over.
If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?
When readers close Spellcaster Ted, I want them to smile. I want them to look back on the story as a fun one. Most of all, I want them to be eager to read the sequel tale, Tednapped, which releases in January 2027.
