Ask the Author: H.L. Burke
Answered Questions (14)
H.L. Burke
Oregon (and to the extent the Pacific Northwest as a whole) does not (in my experience. There might be pockets of it I have avoided) have the sense of locational identity that a lot of places have (though we will loudly inform you that we are NOT Californians.). To the extent that I kind of look at regional pride with some degree of skepticism. Like, "Oh, cool, you're from 'A PLACE'. EVERYONE is from some place. Get over it." Maybe that has made my locations/cultures I write about comfortable more varied and less static, but that honestly probably has more to do with me being a military spouse than it does with Oregon.
I do think there is a degree of comfort with the weird and quirky in Oregon that you don't get in more homogenized areas. Sure you'll have small communities with a bit of an identity, but overall, you'll have heavy country/rural themed comfortably sitting next to a large sort of "hippie vibes" community then the rugged, sporty, outdoorsy people who are here for the hiking and water sports, a lot of hunters/fisherfolk but also some bridging-on-extreme nature advocates.
That said, the Pacific Northwest is naturally gorgeous. I like mountains, trees, geological formations, and it's not a mountain if there's not snow on top and at least some threat that it will blow up on you in the near future. I tend to write worlds that have those elements.
I do think there is a degree of comfort with the weird and quirky in Oregon that you don't get in more homogenized areas. Sure you'll have small communities with a bit of an identity, but overall, you'll have heavy country/rural themed comfortably sitting next to a large sort of "hippie vibes" community then the rugged, sporty, outdoorsy people who are here for the hiking and water sports, a lot of hunters/fisherfolk but also some bridging-on-extreme nature advocates.
That said, the Pacific Northwest is naturally gorgeous. I like mountains, trees, geological formations, and it's not a mountain if there's not snow on top and at least some threat that it will blow up on you in the near future. I tend to write worlds that have those elements.
H.L. Burke
Not really. Generally speaking I know if I'm going to continue a story/world by the time I get to the end. If I don't feel something else waiting to grow out of it, I get into Edna Mode-Mode and never look back. I would hate to break open the happily ever after to bother Calen and Laidra more, and none of the other characters really spoke to me as far as stories left to tell. I did kind of intentionally leave it up to the readers how Laidra's mother reacted to her end reveal, but that was because the story wasn't about how Laidra's mom reacted. It was about Laidra learning to overcome how her mother had been. The end growth for Laidra wasn't going to be in an interaction with her mother, but simply in the act of removing her veil and declaring that she would no longer be hidden. How her mother reacts to this reveal simply didn't matter.
H.L. Burke
Easiest part to answer, Supervillain Romance Project is a separate series in the same world with no interwoven storylines from the main series and only a single cameo from a series proper character. It follows a rookie superhero in the midwest and his "interactions" with a young supervillain in training. I know where they fit in the broader SVR timeline (DOSA-Verse, or whatever) for my own sanity, but you don't need to read them in any particular order to the main series.
Reunion/Power On gets a little complicated.
Chronologically Reunion (SVR5) takes place AFTER Power On (YASVR1), but since Reunion deals almost exclusively with Aiden (who is not a part of the events in Power On) so you can read it without spoiling Power On EXCEPT for the very end where Aiden goes to visit Prism and her new baby and she tells him a little bit about how close she's gotten to one of the teens she's mentoring (which could be seen as a spoiler).
So ... if you really want to read Reunion first you can without ruining the YA series, but if you want to really stick with chronological order it'd be Power On, then Reunion, then Power Play.
Reunion/Power On gets a little complicated.
Chronologically Reunion (SVR5) takes place AFTER Power On (YASVR1), but since Reunion deals almost exclusively with Aiden (who is not a part of the events in Power On) so you can read it without spoiling Power On EXCEPT for the very end where Aiden goes to visit Prism and her new baby and she tells him a little bit about how close she's gotten to one of the teens she's mentoring (which could be seen as a spoiler).
So ... if you really want to read Reunion first you can without ruining the YA series, but if you want to really stick with chronological order it'd be Power On, then Reunion, then Power Play.
H.L. Burke
It's a hard one. I think about going back to the series every so often, but I left the characters in such a sweet happily ever after, I hate to throw more death and danger at them (that's how characters end up dying) ... so it would have to be a really good idea to get me to go back. I haven't had an idea worth breaking up the happily ever after for yet.
H.L. Burke
Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed them. I have considered going back to Nyssa's world, but I gave her (mild spoilers) such a happy ending in the final book in the series, that I really hate to drag her through peril again. I mean, she could handle it, because she's kickbutt that way, but she's roll her eyes and say, "Really? Haven't we all been through enough at this point? Go find some new characters to torment."
But when you have characters you love, there's always a chance they might call you back. Every so often I read through my own work to see if there are any unfinished plot lines I forgot to chase.
But when you have characters you love, there's always a chance they might call you back. Every so often I read through my own work to see if there are any unfinished plot lines I forgot to chase.
H.L. Burke
Unfortunately not (due mainly to lack of childcare), but my publisher Uncommon Universes will have some of my books at their table.
H.L. Burke
I think about it sometimes, but the stories were very much inspired by Claire's antics back when she was 2. She's 5 now, a lot more verbal, and while I have a lot of memories from those little days I occasionally consider expanding, it's hard to get back "in that moment."
H.L. Burke
I'm with Uncommon Universes Press for this publication, and they used their in house artist, Julia Busko. You can view her site here https://juliabusko.com/
H.L. Burke
I'm not sure it counts, but I once was considering a short story about how missing socks were pulled through a wormhole in the dryer to another world .
H.L. Burke
I did a countdown of my favorite a few years ago. Han and Leia got the top spot, but there were a lot of good honorable mentions. Might add in Monrosalie from Grimm now. http://www.hlburkeblog.com/2014/01/30...
H.L. Burke
Thanks for reading and I'm glad you enjoyed it. I definitely hear Parker in my head as sounding like a 1920s paperboy ... you know the ones from old movies standing on corners shouting out "Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" So I think Brooklyn would probably be about right for him.
That said, I kind of like it when readers find their own interpretation. One person I spoke to told me they'd given him a southern accent when reading to their kids ... perhaps because he's so tied in with races which leads to thinking of the Kentucky Derby.
It's cool how readers give books a whole new imaginative life.
However (and a bit of breaking news here), there is an audio book in production, so eventually there will be a "definitive" take on his voice.
That said, I kind of like it when readers find their own interpretation. One person I spoke to told me they'd given him a southern accent when reading to their kids ... perhaps because he's so tied in with races which leads to thinking of the Kentucky Derby.
It's cool how readers give books a whole new imaginative life.
However (and a bit of breaking news here), there is an audio book in production, so eventually there will be a "definitive" take on his voice.
H.L. Burke
Oh wow, I just assumed no one knew where The Dalles was, but yeah, I took a lot of inspiration from not just Wasco County but all over the Pacific Northwest. Regone, my the kingdom where Dragon's Curse takes place, is a name I came up with messing with the letters in Oregon (just replaced one O with an E), but I gave Regone the easy foothills and forests of my hometown while Westshire, their neighbors, is more mountainous and heavily wooded, like the Mt Hood National Forest. Most notably in Dragon's Bride we travel to the Dragon Queen's lair which is in the horseshoe shaped crater of an extinct volcano on the shores of a lake (ie Mt. St. Helens)..
H.L. Burke
I'm continuing to expand my Supervillain Rehabilitation Project universe with more superhero books. I feel like every time I finish one story in this universe, two more pop up!
H.L. Burke
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Hahahah!!! You usually ma ...more
Aug 26, 2022 04:39PM · flag