I couldn't let February pass by without talking about the romance you'll find in Benandante. This story was born out of a romance that I thought went too far. The whole reason I decided to write my Edwardian fantasy was because as I watched the final season of Penny Dreadful, it was wrong to me that Ethan and Vanessa became romantically involved.

I wish I could say that my writing space while working on Benandante was in a moody library at a desk with an inkwell and candlelight. But I wrote my Edwardian fantasy on a laptop, mostly in my bed. Thankfully, I don't need to be deep in character to write a story. Imagination is enough. Where did the mood for this widowed witch and ghost-seeing pianist come from?

Can you believe I originally wasn't planning on entering Tarnished Relics in award competitions? I didn't think it was written well enough to earn any awards, even as a finalist. The ending is rushed, as those of you who have read it know. To be honest, after spending about ten years on this book, I was done and just wanted to release it.