What kind of books do you write?
I write cozy, easy reads. Simple stories set in mystical, magical lands often with portals, curses, fae, and dragons. Nonstop action/adventure, low stakes, offbeat humor, snarky banter with enemies-to-lovers sweet romance, and guaranteed happy endings. I really like the suspense and thrilling storylines of books like Throne of Glass and The Hunger Games but always found these stories a bit too dark so I wanted to create compelling worlds with comparable levels of conflict and danger while maintaining an overarching atmosphere of levity and hope.
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Can you describe your writing why?
I’ve always loved to write. Writing for me, much like reading, gives me an opportunity to live different lives, a great, feel-good escape from the real world. I’m also deeply committed to happy endings. Many books nowadays are a bit too dark for me. And because I create these worlds myself, whilst anything is still possible, I am guaranteed that everything turns out alright in the end and my characters are almost always guaranteed to survive any fantastical or thrilling incidents, no matter how treacherous I write them.
I also write a lot of "portal fantasy", when a person is transported from one world to another by some sort of science or magic, like through a wormhole, a door, or maybe wardrobe. I always imagine different scenarios where I’m the “real person” bored with their life who then gets sucked, willingly or not, into a fantasy world, and go from there. My first complete YA portal fantasy/sci-fi series Selfless is about a teenage girl stumbling into a parallel world, mistaken for her notorious, imperiled genius scientist alternate self, and getting in all sorts of thrilling multiverse adventures trying to get back home.
Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most
One of my favorite recent reviews called my latest book “a fun rom-com in a fantasy land with dragons.” I absolutely love rom-com banter and Curse of the Dragon Heir is chock-full of snarky banter. For sure, it’s impossible to pick only one favorite scene but short of copying and pasting the entire book, here is one of the earlier fun, banter scenes between my hero and heroine.
Setting the scene, the (hot!) evil demon that my fae mage FMC Soleia has just accidentally released from a fifty-year-old curse is offering to save her village under threat from a monstrous wraith. Naturally, she has suspicions.
He glanced away for a second. “Give me your sword.”
Hurriedly leading Boots toward the door, she shot him an incredulous look. “Like hell I’ll trust you with a weapon.”
He tugged on the horse’s reins to stop her. “My claws will be less than useless with a wraith this size. I’m going to need a blade. You have an extra one anyway.”
“It’s not an extra one. I happen to need two.”
“A strong fighter would only need one,” he asserted.
She shot him an annoyed look. “It’s a style. Shut up!”
Tell us about your latest project
Curse of the Dragon Heir is a thrilling, fae+dragon shifter, slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers, closed-door fantasy romance, releasing solo on February 15th after its USA Today Bestselling run as part of the Realm of Darkness anthology.
Here’s the description:
A headstrong fae mage with no magic accidentally sets an evil demon free but he may be the key to unlocking her powers…
Soleia only wants to escape her life. But will accidentally binding an evil demon to her end it?
Second-born of the High Fae mage family of the Priori clan of Arcadia, Soleia was only expected to do certain things. Mind her dull familial duties. Undergo training to master portal summoning, the rarest form of casting among her people. Free a dangerous demon from a fifty-year-old curse and release him into their village -- well, that was an accident!
If only the Priori elders' solution wasn't to bind the evil demon to her to ensure everyone's safety. If only Soleia hadn't been lying about actually having any powers all these years. If only the gorgeous demon's intense gold-red gaze didn't send delicious shivers up her spine.
Soleia can no longer escape her fate. She has to harness her magic, keep the cursed demon at bay, and somehow keep her secret.
But the demon has secrets too. And while Soleia discovers that he is much more than he seems, a decades-long conflict for the fate of Arcadia comes to light. It could also be the key to unlocking her powers...
What is your favourite cake?
My sister got married in Japan a few years ago and my entire family and I went. I had tried this Japanese-style cheesecake and it is now my absolute favorite cake! It’s a softer, sponge-like cheesecake that’s a bit fluffy and not too sweet. I would seriously fly all the way back to Japan just for this cake.
Japanese food is always so picture-perfect pretty! And I’ve always loved Japanese anything—temples, clothes, anime, manga. My YA fantasy series The Curse of the Arcadian Stone is even set in a mystical second-world fantasy land much like rural, ancient Japan, and my The Secret of the Phoenix is an actual retelling of a specific Japanese animation set amidst a mech robot war.
You can connect with S.R. Breaker here:
Join me next week when I will be having a slice of cake with Rebecca Krogman.
If you would like to take part in A Slice of Cake With... please get in touch. I'd be delighted to have you.
You can also support my writing endeavours and buy me tea & cake at Kofi - it's what makes the world go round!
Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me.
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