Author Interview with To Be a Fae Rogue Author – Tricia Copeland

Welcome to the author interview with Tricia Copeland as she shares with us about her book To Be a Fae Rogue (The Realm Chronicles Book 4)!

Blurb

Evil lurks in unexpected places.
Poised to usher in a new era of unity for all fae, Queen Titania grasps for a solution for her people. With chaos in the human realm and her own, she’s stretched to make progress in either.
She finds she can’t turn her back on the witches when they’re so close to finding the key to ending Sonia’s reign of terror, but Titania worries for her fae and their need for continuity.
Both realms are on a collision course with chaos, and Titania must choose whether her people will be best served by aiding in the battle the witches wage against Sonia or by stabilizing warring forces in the fae realm.
One fateful day turns the tide, leaving Titania questioning all her allies.
How do you stop evil when it resides within everyone?
To be a Fae is the final book in the Realm Chronicles series and a harrowing, twisted tale of a fae queen’s attempts to secure the realms of Middle and Upper Earth.
Read To be a Fae to embolden Titania as she fights for peace today!

Ready to learn more about To Be a Fae Rogue and the author behind it? Keep reading for our interview with author Tricia Copeland!

Author Copeland! Thank you so much for taking time to speak with us at Scribbles again about book four in your Realm Chronicles series, To Be a Fae Rogue!

As we’re sure you recall, we stated in our review that book three, To Be a Fae Legend, didn’t have the most gripping storyline. Well, you blew us out of the water (or should we say “air”) with book four, To Be a Fae Rogue!

Q: What was the thought process as you embarked on the quest of writing Titania’s story post-battle with Sonia, subsequent death, and return?

Author Copeland: Attention: There are spoilers in this answer. Funny story. When I initially sent To be a Fae Rogue to my editor, she sent it back and said the first ten chapters were boring, to go back and amp them up. The book only had twenty chapters, half the book was too boring? I panicked. The stakes had to be higher for Titania, our queen who is dead, but not dead, who is queen, but not queen, who is free, but not free.

My strategy in having Titania sacrifice her life for her fae, only to fake her death, was that she could be free, free to aid the witches in ridding the realms of Sonia and free to pursue a true love without having to think of others. What she gave up for this was her family, a very big loss.

Oh goodness! We can only imagine the panic you must have felt when your editor told you the first ten chapters were boring! LOL! But, like we said, you really ramped things up with this installment to the series and had us glued to the pages! So I guess we and our readers owe your editor a “thank you!” LOL!

Q: Why did you decide to pick the story up three months after the battle instead of following the aftermath of all that happened?

Author Copeland: I decided to pick up the story three months after the battle because I felt Titania would be grieving and healing during those months. She had her ward, Terran, to train in the ways of the fae, but little else. I thought it would be a dark time for Titania and the reader didn’t need to live every minute of that pain. Picking up the story three months into her “new life” made more sense to me, seemed like a more realistic timeframe for Titania to be able, mentally, to re-engage in her battle against Sonia.

Okay, that makes a lot of sense. Most readers probably wouldn’t have wanted to be immersed in her day to day life as she went through an adjustment period to this “new life” being dead, but not dead.

Q: Is there a novella that encompasses the three months after the battle?

1. Q: If there isn’t a novella that covers the three months after the battle, would you consider potentially writing on possibly from Quinn’s POV? We know that we for sure would love to “bear witness” so to speak to the fall-out from those who cared for Titania most and the adjustment period that they have to go through during that time period.

Author Copeland: No, there isn’t a novella as of yet, but that’s a great story idea, especially given that we get Quinn’s perspective for a few chapters at the end of To be a Fae Legend.

Awesome! So, there’s a potential novella in the future that will give us Quinn’s perspective! You heard it here folks! Exclusively at Scribbles! LOL!

Q: For a couple of books, it felt like we had lost the old Titania. The Titania who was spunky, determined and willing to really fight to do what she felt was right. That particular Titania shows up big time in To Be a Fae Rogue. Is that solely rooted in that essentially the world at large believes her dead and gone?

Author Copeland: Yes, we see a re-emergence of Titania’s initial spunk in To be a Fae Rogue largely because she is free to be herself. She’s not weighed down by looking a part, being responsible for her kingdom, or worrying what other monarchs will think.

It’s definitely refreshing to have the old spirited Titania back. Freed from all of the obligations and expectations definitely allows her to breath and just be, and it definitely breathed fresh life into the series again.

Q: After Foster’s “betrayal” in To Be a Fae Queen Titania really puts him at a distance. We honestly can’t blame her, but little by little she appears to soften towards him. What prompts her to finally admit her feelings towards him after all this time?

Author Copeland: I don’t want to give too much away here. In To be a Fae Queen, although Foster was two years older than Titania, he was still finding himself. Fae rarely left the land they grew up on and seldom chose careers outside that of their family line. But Foster broke with this tradition, leaving his family farm to enlist in the army. He finds himself assigned as guard to the royal family, and Titania, a role I’m sure he probably didn’t think was very challenging, grand, or exciting. And certainly not one that would further his career in the military.

I always felt Foster’s path made him particularly suited to be a good match for Titania, as she also rises to a role not initially charted for her prior to her brothers’ deaths. They both strive to extend their reach and serve their countrymen so have similar values. Although Titania is sidetracked by Holden when Foster abandons her, I thought perhaps Titania and Foster would find a way back to each other.

Now see, that makes a lot of sense. LOL! Foster definitely had some growing up to do, despite being a couple years older than Titania. But it was nice to see him mature and really settle into the person that he becomes and show Titania and readers alike that he’s not the silly boy he was before.

Goodness! It’s hard to believe that the Realm Chronicles has moved so quickly! When readers first meet Titania in To Be a Fae Queen she’s on the cusp of 16, and in To Be a Fae Rogue she’s barely 17 years old! With all that Titania has been through you’d think that multiple years have passed!!

Q: In To be a Fae Legend you insert a brief chapter with Quinn’s POV. Did you ever consider doing that with Foster as Titania is constantly gone to the Upper Realm?

Author Copeland: I am getting all the feels from this series going through these questions. You’re really putting me through the ringer here. As all of the books are first person, from Titania’s POV, I needed those chapters in To be a Fae Legend with Quinn telling the story. It didn’t occur to me to write from Foster’s POV in To be a Fae Rogue but I can see how that would have added a layer of different character perspective and depth that could have added to the story. That sparks some ideas for a novella!

LOL! Well, we’re glad to be able to do some deep diving and gathering information that we’re sure our readers would love to know as well concerning your books. It’s always nice to know that we’re potentially helping to stimulate new story ideas for old favorite characters. For sure, we’d love to read a novella with Foster’s POV especially when Titania is gone from Middle Earth.

Q: In To Be a Fae Rogue you write some pretty intense scenes that had us subconsciously holding our breaths. Did you find yourself doing that exact same thing as you wrote this story? As you put your characters in intense situations did you find yourself holding your breath in the hopes it all worked out in their favor? LOL!

Author Copeland: I am constantly holding my breath writing these scenes. It was quite often that I would put off writing because I hated putting my characters into precarious situations. Just thinking of Titania’s near misses has my heart pounding. These characters are truly like my family. My last interviewer said I am a true pantser, which I don’t think is 100% true, but I will explain that in a minute, I put my characters in situations that I haven’t figured out how they get out of yet, I truly live the edge of the seat experience with them and you.

Back to the pantser vs. plotter issue. I always know where I want to start a book and where it is going to end. The same is true for an overall series. I usually know what the tipping point for the character will be, when they decide to commit to their quest, some highs and lows in the mid-section, and the climax. It’s not always that I know all the highs and lows in the mid-section, usually just two or three. After having this sparse “outline” or plot structure, I start writing and filling in the scenes from plot point to plot point. Once I tried planning out chapters in advance but I got so bored writing them I didn’t want to write anymore. But I don’t truly believe my method is 100% pantser, because I do know where I’m going when I start. I just don’t know how I’m going to get there.

At the end of the day, your writing style works. Whatever works for you is what works for us readers because you write riveting stories that keep us on the edge of our seats and holding our breaths in the hopes that everything works out for the characters! LOL

Q: We notice that Hunter, Alena, and Camille have less of a presence in this book. Was the thought process to have Titania build a stronger friendship or relationship with Tyler and D.J.?

Author Copeland: D.J. had my heart since I invented him in Kingdom of War. A teen who’d lost his mother at a young age, and barely knows his father, he wakes up on his eighteenth birthday with a burning desire to trek into the Mexican desert. And he does, he follows his gut all the way to central Mexico to find the trinity of witches. I felt this dramatic beginning to the revelation of his true nature deserved to have meaning. We know Hunter, one of the trinity of witches from the Kingdom Journals, has Theron/Terran as a half brother, as well as D.J., and potentially some unknown number of half-siblings. So why was D.J. awakened as Hunter’s herald? Is he destined for more?

Tyler is a witch who initially shows up in Kingdom of Darkness as Camille’s brother. Both Camille and Tyler learn they are witches after almost two decades of being in the dark. Camille becomes one of the trinity of witches, and Tyler becomes Alena’s herald. But Tyler isn’t really happy about his role. He’s not sure that he wants all that this witch life is offering him. And he’s come across as very bristly and hard to work with. He’s always questioning everything and voicing opposing opinions. I felt Tyler deserved to be understood a little better and having him and D.J. assigned to this project gave him that opportunity.

I do have a short story, Shattered Peace, published in Four Names of Fortune that highlights part of what Hunter, Alena, and Camille are doing offscreen in To be a Fae Rogue. I sent an alternate version of this story to my newsletter subscriber list as well. That’s a good reminder for me to share that alternate version of the story with my readers again.

That explanation definitely gives us some unknown background information on DJ and Tyler for sure! This info is sure to spur readers on to check out the Kingdom Journals and learn even more about these characters moving forward!

Q: In the first few chapters Theron aka Terran is granted the spotlight. He finally gained his freedom from “lower earth” but he still craves more. Can you reveal to us what it is that he truly wants?

Author Copeland: First, Theron is a vampire-witch hybrid, a very unstable species of being. This, along with his story path, leads to some very selfish character traits. Theron’s, aka Terran’s, back story begins in the first book of the Kingdom Journals series, Kingdom of Embers. Theron is Hunter’s half-brother and has been trained to succeed his father in leading the witch lines as High Priest. Not to give to much away, but this path, along with his plans for a future with Alena, are detoured by Alena’s choices, but mostly, as Theron sees it, by Hunter. So, to say that Theron feels some residual anger at having lost everything to Hunter, is an understatement.

1. Q: Is he going to be a potential threat to Titania and those she cares about in the future?

Author Copeland: All I will say to answer this question is that Terran/Theron re-enters Titania’s sphere is a very surprising way in To be a Fae. At least, I was surprised at how I decided to bring him back.

Q: There are a couple of really close calls for Titania in To Be a Fae Rogue. What was the thought process behind those situations that she found herself in?

Author Copeland: Even though Titania’s supposed death offers her some additional freedom with respect to her activities, she still can’t let the fae know she’s alive, and she can’t be detected by Sonia, or Sonia will again set her sights on the Titania and her fae. Titania is walking a tight rope between her drive to help her fae, that seem to be collateral damage of Sonia’s siege on the human realm, and her need to stay hidden. And if you’ve read the books, you know that Titania tends to be head-strong, quick to make decisions, and to put others well-being ahead of her own.

Q: No spoilers, but you have quite the emotional scenes in store for Titania in this book. You manage to incorporate so much emotion into not just this book but the entire series. How do you do it?

Author Copeland: As I’m writing these scenes, I become these characters. They are pieces of me, almost as real as the actual people in my life. In part I think my depth of emotion with this book in particular spun from my own loss. I lost my sister between To be a Fae Legend and To be a Fae Rogue and honestly wasn’t sure I was going to be able to write Rogue. In many instances in this book, I feel I channeled my own feelings of loss and grief through Titania.

Oh wow! Our sincerest condolences on the loss of your sister! We can easily attest that in certain instances the emotions of grief and loss shine through so that we truly empathized with the characters in the story.

Q: You place some really jaw-dropping revelations near the end of To Be a Fae Rogue. You reveal a secret that Foster was keeping, and that secret goes to be mind-blowing in and of itself. We’re sure that readers will be left reeling and questioning specific interactions between specific characters and their interactions with Titania. Brandon was suspect pretty quickly, but was his brother, Holden, false, too?!

Author Copeland: Yes, we have a big twist with what Foster divulges in To be a Fae Rogue and the history of how the kingdom of Aubren and Hilbron formed leading us to a better understanding of what King Luther and Prince Brandon may have been plotting all along. But my intent was that Holden had genuinely fallen in love with Titania, although we don’t know the initial reason he was sent to befriend Titania in the first place. In To be a Fae Queen, Titania’s father summoned both Quinn and Holden as potential courters to Titania, but there would have been a decision on King Luther’s part to allow his brother to be a potential courter.

Huh. So Holden’s feelings were true all along? Well, we still don’t like him. LOL! He broke Titania’s heart and so he can forever exit stage left in obscurity. LOL!

Q: We have to ask the question – will there be anything that appeases Sonia? Or can we expect an “epic battle” in the final book of this series?

Author Copeland: All I can say about the final book, To be a Fae, is to expect more twists, turns, and the high action that To be a Fae Rogue brought. To be a Fae became much longer than I expected, but with so many plot twists to resolve, it needed to be more expansive than the other books. As to the question of Sonia, she’s almost all powerful. Can a soul ever be truly extinguished? And if so how? Does it fight the laws of nature? All great questions to ponder ahead of To be a Fae.

Those are some truly questions posed to us readers, and we’re sure that all are looking forward to discovering the answers with the final book in this series!

You truly let loose with this installment to the Realm Chronicles series, and we ate it up! We’re sure that other readers who have been following this series will just as eagerly devour this book, and be eagerly anticipating the final installment.

Q: As the Realm Chronicles series draws to a close, is there anything new from you that readers can look forward to?

Author Copeland: I wrapped up To be a Fae six months ago and feel I’m just coming out of series hangover. These characters and the story took lots out of me emotionally and I’m just starting to think about what comes next for me in the fantasy realm. As a bit of a sneak peek, I will say that there are several new characters in To be a Fae who may be begging for their stories to be told. 😉

We’re absolutely looking forward to discovering these new characters hinted at and seeing what comes next for you! For sure, you have earned yourself a spot on the “Authors To Watch” list so we’ll be keeping an eye out for your stories as you continue your writing journey.

Author Tricia Copeland, we appreciate you taking the time to share with us here at Scribbles and our readers about your fourth installment in your Realm Chronicles series, To Be a Fae Rogue. We look forward to reading the final book in this series and seeing how things shake out our favorite YA fantasy characters! Thank you so much for your time today!

We enjoyed and appreciated the opportunity to read and review To Be a Fae Rogue, and you can check out the review here.

About the Author:

Tricia Copeland is the critically acclaimed andaward-winning author of Kingdom of Embers, To be Fae Queen, Lovelock Ones, and Azreya, Aztec Priestess, and dozens of other titles. She is the host of the Finding the Magic Book Podcast who weaves magical stories about love, courage, and finding your passion.

Tricia Copeland believes in finding magic. She thinks magic infuses every aspect of our lives, whether it is the magic of falling in love, discovering a new passion, seeing a beautiful sunset, or reading a book that transports us to another world. An avid runner and Georgia native, Tricia now lives with her family and four-legged friends in Colorado. Find all her titles including contemporary romance, now penned under Maria Jane, young adult fantasy, and dystopian fiction at www.triciacopeland.com.