Eva Chase - Fun Stories With a Supernatural or Fantastical Element

Eva Chase lives in Canada with her family. She loves stories both swoony and supernatural, and strong women and the men who appreciate them. As our Author of the Day, Chase tells us about Cruel Magic, a book from her university-age paranormal academy series.

Please give us a short introduction to what Cruel Magic is about.

I like to say that Cruel Magic is what you'd get if a young woman raised by Gryffindors ended up at a college full of Slytherins. After watching her adoptive parents murdered in front of her, Rory discovers she's actually the heir to one of the ruling families of dark magic, and now she's expected to learn how to use her powers at a university where mages rule through fear. From her very first day, she clashes with the other heirs and must survive their attempts to break her while staying true to what she believes in.

What inspired you to write a university-age paranormal academy series?

All of my stories have some kind of supernatural or fantastical element, and I've always enjoyed school-based stories because they allow you to create a little contained society with its own rules and expectations.

How do the books in the series tie in with one another? Can they be read as standalones?

Each book in the series leads into the next in a continuing story. I remind readers of past events, but they're best read in order.

Tell us more about Rory Franco. What makes her tick?

Rory has been raised by mages who take their magical power from provoking joy in others. While she's always believed that she has no magic of her own, their generous and sympathetic attitudes have had a big impact on her. But because of her dark heritage that she knew nothing about, her adoptive parents also kept a very close eye on her, and by the beginning of the story, Rory is itching for more independence so she can really come into her own.

Which character was the most challenging to create?

Probably Malcolm, because he has some very brutal ideas about how the world works and what his place in it should be at the start of the series, but I needed him to believably evolve into a guy Rory could see as an ally and eventually a romantic partner.

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

I've trained in martial arts, and I'm an excellent travel planner. I'm never quite as happy as when I'm working out the details of a new trip overseas.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

The fact that I'm lucky enough to earn a living from making up characters and situations and telling exciting stories about them! Even during the hard parts, I'd much rather be writing than doing anything else.

Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?

I do almost all of my writing on my laptop in my "writing chair," a comfy wing chair in one corner of my office. I do my production, social media, and marketing work on my desktop computer, so having the separation makes it easier to get into the writing mode.

Most work days, I write a chapter in the morning, take a break for lunch and get some peripheral work done in the middle of the day, and then write another chapter in the afternoon.

What are you working on right now?

I'm in the middle of writing a new trilogy that's also set at a college with supernatural elements, but otherwise is very different from the Royals of Villain Academy series. It's more of a gothic supernatural mystery. I'll be announcing the first book in mid-January!

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

Readers can find all of my books on Amazon (most of them in Kindle Unlimited): https://www.amazon.com/Eva-Chase/e/B014SAYX1O/ and read more about me and my work on my website, http://www.evachase.com

I love chatting with readers on Facebook in my reader group, Eva Chase's Minions of Magic: https://www.facebook.com/groups/minionsofmagic/ All are welcome to join!

I also have a couple of introductory stories that I offer for free, Raven's Fall: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/3iw2h31vwz and Rose's Boys: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/4beb8nv6uq