Curious about my Golden Age of Monsters series?
For my ego’s sake, let’s pretend you are.
Behold! A compilation of the frequently asked questions from readers about Love in a Time of Monsters and its prequel, Empire of Sand.
This is everything you’ve ever wanted to know about this series and some things you didn’t…
Fair warning: This FAQ may contain some spoilers and some sailor language.
I have a dirty mouth.
How many installments do you have planned for The Golden Age of Monsters series?
Two more after Love in a Time of Monsters.
Since the books in this particular world take me some time to write and research, I’ll spare you the cliffhanger endings.
They are stand-alone companion novels set in the same universe with some familiar faces.
Update 2019: Please don’t hate me! I have a shitty first draft of the sequel and I’ve cheated on this series with another series.
But I won’t say the sequel will never happen. It just won’t happen anytime soon…
It’s a long story. A blog post for another time.
But will I ever see Cat and Rob again?
Of course!
Though they’ll step aside to make room for new leads.
In Book 2, Jim and Waverley take a turn in the limelight.
Update 2019: I’m a f**king liar.
What is Book 2 about?
The plot is classified, possibly even to myself.
I’m currently navigating a labyrinth of mind-f**ks to bring you the most epic thrills and chills ever.
I will hint, however, that it involves an all grown-up Jim kicking ass and taking names.
Update 2019: There were mind-f**ks alright.
Again.
Sorry.
What was the experience of writing Love in a Time of Monsters like?
I had very little sleep.
There was a lot of stuffing my face into a pillow and screaming.
See ‘navigating a labyrinth of mind-f**ks.’
I swear to the drugs I took were over-the-counter.
Looking back, it was rather pleasurable.
Where did you get the idea for Love in a Time of Monsters?
I was half-watching a movie when I was struck by the image of a boy wandering through a desolate space outpost in search of a bounty hunter who could kill the alien terrorizing his colony.
To his surprise, the vigilante is a crass girl with a mechanical leg and a drinking problem.
An unlikely hero.
Uncomfortable with writing sci-fi, I wrestled the concept into my favorite time period (Victorian) and setting (Scotland).
What’s up with the love triangle in Love in a Time of Monsters?
I was really into Phantom of the Opera when I wrote LITM, so if you imagine Liam as the Phantom and Rob as Christine.
I suppose that would make Cat… Raoul.
Despite the extreme love triangle hate out there, I do not regret a thing.
Then again, yes I do.
My one regret is that I didn’t write a threesome.
Update 2019: How do you know I didn’t write a threesome?
Cat and Rob’s love story is…?
A love story between an idealist and a world-weary cynic.
He falls too hard and too fast while she does everything in her power to resist.
Rob needed to do a bit of growing up and Cat needed to sort out her problems—of which there are plenty— before they can finally be together.
Rob and Liam’s love story is…?
Star-crossed and tragically unrequited.
’Twas beauty who killed the beast.
Cat and Liam’s relationship is…?
Destructive. Toxic. Sid and Nancy.
Why doesn’t Jim talk?
I wasn’t comfortable with writing children so I decided to make this little person silent.
Who do you ship? Cat and Rob? Or Liam and Rob?
I ship both pairings.
I am an equal opportunity crack-shipper.
I didn’t know the definition of yaoi at the time, but now I know and approve.
How much of Robert Louis Stevenson’s life is based on fact?
I took extreme artistic liberties with RLS’ life.
He was never laird.
His mother’s maiden name was indeed Balfour, which also happens to be the real life RLS’ middle name.
He came from a family of lighthouse engineers and studied engineering before taking up the pen.
Chronically ill since childhood, RLS suffered from tuberculosis and wrote Jekyll and Hyde in three days while bedridden.
The “Hunter home from the Hill” poem was a requiem penned by RLS himself and inscribed on his tomb.
As to his sexual preferences, I can only speculate, but I did read about his multiple lovers and was like “Oh RLS, you rake, you!”
That innuendo about his Excalibur was just me getting acquainted with my inner deviant.
Where in the series chronology does Empire of Sand fit in?
Before the events of Love in a Time of Monsters but after Cat’s return from the Congo.
She’s already pretty messed up at the beginning of the book, navigating her own personal mind-f**k so to speak.
Do I need to read Love in a Time of Monsters before Empire of Sand?
It couldn’t hurt. In fact, it would make a lot more sense.
Actually, I’d advise you to read Love in a Time of Monsters first, then Empire of Sand.
What can I expect from Empire of Sand?
The four pillars of a Golden Age of Monsters novel: fighting, feasting, f**king, and fun!
It’s an action-adventure novel reminiscent of a Saturday morning serial and involves daring escapades, swordplay, and bright young killers.
Prepare to get acquainted with Liam.
