Interview: Thea Harrison + Oracle's Moon

I'm thrilled today to welcome author Thea Harrison back to the blog to answer a few questions about Oracle's Moon (releases today!), the latest in her amazing Novels of the Elder Races series. If you couldn't tell by my gushing review last week, I'm completely in love with these books and with hero Khalil in particular. I hope everyone who loves adult paranormal romance, and especially those who might be reluctant to try this genre as a whole, gives this series a try as it's full of beautifully complex characters in a truly unique world. It has my highest recommendation!

Hi, thanks so much for having me on your blog today!

*HI THEA!*

Khalil has the ability to pretty much take any form that pleases him. Aside from his breathtaking go-to human skin, what form might he say is his favorite? Least favorite?

I think Khalil’s least favorite form might actually be the ordinary-looking black housecat he turns into for Grace’s children. That form is rather small for his taste. If you can call this a form, he’s quite partial to black smoke, because, like silly putty, you can do almost anything with it.

Khalil is almost too adorable for words in this story (don’t tell him I said that), and manages to be both innocent and imposing at the same time. Was it difficult to balance those two traits in a single character without one ever overshadowing the other?

I promise I have wrapped Khalil in cotton for this interview, so he doesn’t know a thing. Writing his character didn’t feel difficult. Khalil was one of those characters that, once I unlocked who he was, he became very easy to write. I’m so glad you enjoyed him; I adored writing him.

If we were to ask Grace to share with us a favorite memory of her and her sister Petra, what might she say?

Aw, what a heartwarming question. Grace and Petra used to watch cartoons and children’s shows together after school and on Saturday mornings. Watching those shows and sharing popcorn are an early favorite memory for Grace. Another favorite memory was when Petra gave birth to Chloe and brought her home from the hospital.

Khalil has a couple chances to go toe-to-toe with Dragos in his effort to watch over Grace and even shuts Dragos down at one point. Where might those few interactions rank on his list of Greatest Moments Ever?

These interactions definitely make Khalil’s Top Ten list. They might even make his Top Five.

There is definitely the feeling that Grace and Khalil’s story, while nicely concluded, could continue on as they tackle the challenges still facing them both at the end. Do you think there's any chance you might circle back around to them as you are with Dragos and Pia?

What a great idea! There is a lot of forward movement in Grace and Khalil’s story, and I would love the chance to revisit them at some point. If the opportunity becomes available and readers would welcome that story, I would definitely consider it.

This book is the first to not feature a Wyr from Dragos’s elite inner circle. Did you approach writing Khalil and Grace’s story any differently as a result?

Another fabulous question! In the first three books in the series (Dragon Bound, Storm’s Heart and Serpent’s Kiss), the world building contained some element of Wyr and Wyr society. Branching away from the Wyr entirely presented its own challenges, because the world building had to become more intense again. I had two different Elder Races to sketch and present a sense of their societies, along with their histories, conflicts and characteristics, all the while keeping the romance between Khalil and Grace as the focal point of the story. As a result, Oracle’s Moon took a certain amount of back work to lay the foundation properly before I actually began to write.

Carling talks Rune into giving Khalil a bit of dating advice before he takes Grace out for the first time. What three words might Rune use to describe their date had he witnessed it?

Abysmal. Hilarious. Hopeless.

If you had Khalil’s ability to transform into anything and travel anywhere in the world you wanted with ease, what form would you take and where would you go?

I love it! I think I would probably dematerialize into spirit then rematerialize into my own form, unless it was in an environment that was unfriendly to humans. Then I would just remain in spirit. I would actually want to visit all the places that Khalil travels to, or mentions, in Oracle’s Moon. St. Petersburg, the great waterfalls of the world, the Amazon, Mount Everest, the moon.

Thank you again for having me on your blog today! I had a blast answering your questions.

For the readers, if you had Khalil’s ability to transform into anything and travel anywhere in the world you wanted with ease, what form would you take? Where would you go?

Thank you so much for stopping by Thea! More information on Thea and the Novels of the Elder races can be found here:

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