Today begins a special day we'll run through the rest of the tour: Ask Me Anything! Well, not just me: you are also free to ask the editor, Alexandra, and the web designer, Michael, anything and I’ll rope them into responding. ;) The quenching fruits of curiosity are within your grasp. Ask and it shall be answered!

 Maybe even truthfully!

If I receive questions that I think the rest of you might like to know on the tour, I'll also share them on the AMA!--I'll add more throughout the remaining weeks.

These are some of my favorite / most interesting questions thus far. Questions containing spoilers will have warnings:

+++ What do you do when your muse refuses to collaborate?

Collaborate… you mean muses CAN collaborate? Hahaha. My characters are very difficult individuals. From the moment I begin developing them, they take over entirely and, as I have very character-driven stories, they call all the shots. My attempts to write novels as “I wish” as opposed to what they want has resulted in multiple rewrites until I find myself ultimately exactly where my dear muses wanted to be to begin with. I have learned to not fight them.

+++ Have you worked on your novel intoxicated? What was the result?

I have, once. The result was the impression I was the most genius writer since Chaucer. The after-result was realizing that I am, in fact, not.

+++ Do your pets actually get their food on time or do they have to wait until you type just one more word?

Well, they have to wait until I wake up in the morning… and I’m not a morning person. So it’s probably a few hours after they demand it. But I make up for it by making them their cat food. Yes. I make cat food. And I have four (er, now five) cats. Crazy-cat-lady status unlocked!

+++ Do you own a plant and is it actually still alive?

I use to have a bonsai and a venus fly trap! I love plants…!

However, my cats love them more.

+++ Ok Miss, I'm going for another book. Give me a reason to buy yours. :)

I've answered questions like this many, many times, but this time was my spur-of-the-moment, favorite response:

Aw shit. All the pressure. Ok, here goes: it makes origami at least as awesome as this:

I sensed doubt so I tore out a page and made a fat origami dragon...

...Ok, so it's slightly subpar. You could always just use the pages for reading. They'll probably serve you better that way.

And I decided, there after, that all questions asked of me to pitch my book would be responded to, as such: with origami. (Because I hate straight pitches XD) So I owe great thanks to this wonderful individual who asked me to throw 'em a pitch. Now I've got a Kings or Pawns book ready to have its pages torn out just for the sake of origami.

+++ Are you self-published? Why don't you make this clear?

Wew, I'm about to go hardass on your... er... ass...?
Er... frankly, why would I want to wave the self-published banner? Yes, I know there is a whole community out there ready to jump aboard and support and promote self-published authors (that is wonderful and we certainly need it). But there is also an equally large (if not larger) stigma against self-published authors-- of people who think we ought to be "judged differently" or that our work can't hold up to the "traditional publishing world." While there are self-pubbed authors who fit the bill (and it is more common in the indie world than in the traditional world), I obviously don't believe that it applies to everyone-- and I have read amazing self-published works and I too hold myself to the standards of the best of them. I didn't self-publish because I got rejected by the traditional publishing world. I didn't self-publish to boast about my hard-work or any other such silly things. I self-published because I'm Type A and I wanted to write the novels exactly the way I wanted to write them--on my schedule with my team. Because that's what will make the best series and the best characters and the best world for me.

Now I'm not saying traditional publishing sucks--if you're an author and that's what you're after, than absolutely go for it--it is perfect for many writers! Woo!
But if I were to ever decide to traditionally publish, it would only be if I retained the rights of my series and creation without limitations (yeah, that wouldn't happen) as I believe writing is an artform. An artist would gasp at the idea of someone else coming over and demanding he draw the nose of Joe Shmoe B-Style when he feels it must be A-Style. And even in those circumstances where that someone is not offering a bad suggestion, it is still a suggestion outside the keepings of the intentions of the piece. The guidance should be considered, but not forced. We understand this when it comes to drawing, but we disregard it when it comes to writing. And to that I say: I have read some terrible self-published works. But, halt, they were only terrible by my opinion. Someone else might find a message or style in those, what are to me "terrible works," that speaks to them: and that is the beauty of art!

So for the publishing politics--that's another gal's game. I'm just here to write the best fans in the world some BAMF novels! <3

[Spoiler if you have not finished Kings or Pawns] +++  Ilsevel's motivation is making the whole world pay for her brother's death? Is she sincere about the religion thing, or is that just her rationale for making everyone suffer?

Ilsevel's brother's death was the trigger to her obsession and the justification to her ideals and methodology in achieving her goals. But she is sincere in whatever means will complete her end. She believes that her end is what is best for people--if she achieves her end, then there will be no more deaths like her brother's and far less corruption.

+++ Did you create the aspects of this world yourself, or did you base it around other ideas? Very little fantasy that I've read has such a wide variety of elf cultures.

The aspects of the world, by large, are from my own head, with influences from astronomy, pictures of the world, human anatomy, psychology, Amazonian cultures, and linguistics. :D I would say that Linguistics is my largest influence. Much like Tolkien. The study of the evolution of language and culture and history. Where they came from, what made them be what they are now, what makes them tick, and what makes them ticked off... I would say that the World Building aspect of designing the history, and then following the influences of linguistics, developed the diversity of the elves you will find in the Steps of Power series.