Friday, October 11, 2024

Romance Author Kit Rocha on Changing Genres and Dragons

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If you like dragons and romance, and if you like romance with dragons, then Queen of Dreams by Kit Rocha, the sequel to Consort of Fire is the book for you! Picking up after the end of COF where readers met Ash, the dragon that Sachielle, a princess, and Zanya, her assassin handmaid were sent to kill, Queen of Dreams answers the questions left at the end of the first book and released on August 6th.

Originally starting under the penname Moira Rogers, co-authors Bree Bridges and Donna Herren wrote dozens of paranormal stories and then reinvented themselves with the nine-book Beyond series and penname Kit Rocha.

I picked up their books in winter of 2020 and have been following their career since and was excited to get a chance to interview them about their writing process and what readers can look forward to in the next entry in the High Court of Dreamers universe.

Also keep an eye out for a giveaway with both books, and some super cool swag!


FM: Hi Bree and Donna! Thanks for speaking with us. Can you two share how you both got into writing independently and then working together?

Bree: Honestly, we started as fanfic critique partners in the X-Men Movie Fandom. And after about six months of that, I lost my job and was flailing a bit, and because I was 21 and YOLO, I got on a greyhound bus and moved across the country to move in with Donna and her family. A very normal thing to do.

Donna: From there, it was several years before we started really writing together. It was something we had always independently done, of course, but we figured working together would add a bit of accountability to things. And it did!

Bree: In 2008 we had our first couple short stories & shorter novels e-published under the name Moira Rogers, which was fun because e-books were still very new and kindle barely existed. But within a few years, the e-book scene was hopping, and when we branched out into self-publishing Beyond… well, we’ve been Kit Rocha ever since!

covers of the beyond series by kit rocha with diverse women

FM: What was the first thing you wrote?

Bree: The first thing I remember writing at all was when I was about 5 and it was a story about a psychic squirrel who used his abilities to con the other forest animals and then was caught and learned a valuable lesson about friendship, or something. In high school when I was 15 I wrote a 50 page epic fantasy for my history class called “Seer’s Fire” that was basically Sparta/Tamora Pierce fanfic. The first thing I put online was probably Obi-Wan Kenobi fanfic. LOL

Donna: The first thing I can remember writing was in second grade. It was a myth about how the bullfrog came to be. (Do not remotely remember what my explanation was!)

How long have y’all been writing together now?

KR: Professionally: 16 years. For fun? 23 years. Oh dear, I feel old now.

FM: How many books have y’all written?

KR: As Kit Rocha? We have written 5 novellas, and Queen of Dreams will be our 17th novel. In all? I have honestly lost track. Between stories, novellas, and novels… well we did a signing and it looked like this.

stacks of books in Kit Rocha's living room

What do y’all find interesting about writing in paranormal, fantasy, and apocalyptic worlds? 

KR: We like the chance to explore emotions we recognize set in worlds we do not. Especially if we can build worlds that challenge characters in precisely the way we want to explore–or support them in the ways we wish we could see in ours. 

Plus, it’s just fun to have superpowers!

How do you two approach co-writing? What does the process look like when you are in the same document working on a part of the story? Are y’all plotters or pantsers?

KR: Honestly? Both? Neither? Our process has evolved over many books, and the most recent one was no different. We have actually drifted more toward blocking out scenes together with one person handling all of the dialogue for “their” characters, and then whoever has the POV character for that scene goes and turns that very detailed outline into actual prose. But who knows how we’ll write the next one! We firmly believe: whatever gets this current book done is the process.

How did y’all come up with the High Court of Dreamers universe? Did the characters come first, or the world? 

KR: As with most of our works, it was kind of an odd process. We’ve had an idea about a powerful dragon lord forever, but it finally came together with other bits of ideas we’d had in the past and became its own idea. Once we have a vague idea of the story we want to tell, we create the characters. And then the world comes from wanting to build the perfect stage to showcase those characters and that story.

What has been your favorite part of writing in this new world? 

KR: No one calls us “prescient” because we wrote some horrible dystopian thing that is now happening! Also I love getting to be just bonkers over the top. Powerful magic is fun to explore! Also, it was fun to just get to invent a world where heterosexuality wasn’t a thing yet. (There is a joke in the first book that the annoying humans were working on inventing it.)

the Mercenary librarians book covers

Who are your favorite characters that the other person has written?

Bree: For Donna, Lex & Bren from the Beyond series have long been among my favorites. And because we’re currently writing Daughter of Tides… well the heroine of that one is a new favorite. I can’t wait for everyone to meet her!

Queen of Dreams just released, but y’all announced earlier this year that we’re getting more books in this world! Can you share anything about Daughter of Tides

KR: Daughter of Tides is the first book in a new duology featuring three new characters: the god of Love, a pirate lord known as the Kraken, and a powerful young water nymph with both a past and a destiny she has only begun to understand. The three of them are sent on a diplomatic mission in the aftermath of Queen of Dreams and… well, things get complicated, fast!

Finally, what media are y’all into these days? 

Bree: I just finished binging the Amazon Prime series MY LADY JANE which is based on a book of the same name. It’s bonkers and amazing, and on bluesky I am calling it the “Tudor Horse Man Show” because it is a show that said, “I know people like Tudors period pieces, but what if instead of Catholics vs Protestants, we had HUMANS vs SHAPESHIFTERS. Also Jane Grey’s husband can turn into a horse.”  15/10 would watch again.

FM: Thank you for your time!

Queen of Dreams is available now! You can find Kit Rocha on bsky and learn more about all of their books on their website.


Kit Rocha has also graciously offered one of their incredible book boxes for Queen of Dreams for Fandomentals readers!
(US only!) The giveaway is open now until 12PM PST on August 20.

Images courtesy of Kit Rocha

Have strong thoughts about this piece you need to share? Or maybe there’s something else on your mind you’re wanting to talk about with fellow Fandomentals? Head on over to our Community server to join in the conversation!

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  • Seher

    Seher is the Associate Editor-in-Chief at The Fandomentals focusing on the ins and outs of TV, media representation, games, and other topics as they pique her interest. pc: @poika_

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