Explore the Universe of Leiria by Jill M. Beene

I think it’s really interesting how I get inspiration because it’s different each time. Sometimes, I’ll get an image in my head and start wondering about it; I’ll write a story to figure it out. But the Battle for Leiria trilogy was written in response to several books I’d read, where the female main character falls in love with an enemy, but doesn’t realize it at first. Then, even when he betrays her–often in terrible, irrevocable ways–she still loves him. That didn’t resonate with me. So, I started thinking about a character who fell in love, only to realize that the man she loved was evil. It expanded from there, obviously, but that was the initial ‘what if.’

People think I’m joking when I say I have probably about a hundred books started, but I’m serious. I write all the time. I’m always having ideas. It’s very fun, but very challenging to figure out which book to write next. I jot down ideas, and I usually know when a book is ready to jump into when I have about 10,000 words of notes or so. I also know on the outset how much work a series is going to be. I knew that the Battle for Leiria was going to be complicated. It was my first trilogy, and all my other books are interconnected standalones. The next series coming is going to be even harder, but I’m so excited for it. My creative process has a thinking stage, an outlining stage, a drafting stage, and an editing stage. I think it’s important to note that editing is writing, too. Lots of people forget that.

When I wrote A Sharpened Axe, I thought it was a standalone. I really didn’t think I’d ever revisit the land of Leiria again. But then I read a couple of reviews, where people wanted to know what had happened to the other characters, and I agreed with them. I wanted to find out what happened, too! Then with the Battle for Leiria, that inspiration was really funny. My husband and I were driving back from a family trip in Oregon and around Shasta Lake in California, I just started talking to him about this idea. I jotted a bunch of it down in my notes app, and a couple years later, I’m so thrilled to finally be releasing the last book!

I have been warning my readers that the first book in the trilogy is a slower start than my others–I’m setting up an entire world. But if you get halfway through the first book, the rest of the trilogy is action right to the end. I’ve likened it to a roller-coaster–the first part of the first book is this slow rise to the top. The rest is whirls and drops all the way to the end!

My favorite thing about the two trilogies is how different the main characters are in each one. In the second one especially, Ari has an incredible growth arc--she grows and changes a lot throughout the three books.

I write in different genres, so I am just finishing up some Regency Romance books that some of my readers have been patiently waiting on. But in the coming months, I am going to start writing a completely new, four-book fantasy series. It has a lot of magic, a lot of drama, and a killer enemies to lovers plot line. I’m so excited about these books, and I’m nervous about doing the ideas justice. But I will say that if you liked Samiris from A Sharpened Axe, you are going to love the main character in that series! And I have a hundred ideas to chase down after that series as well. I’m playing around with the idea of writing some urban fantasy, but we’ll see!