Interview with Jad El Khoury, Author of The Black Shards

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write The Black Shards: Symphony of Dusk Volume 2?

I wanted to tell the stories of people who looked like me. Of heroes that looked like me. All heroes out there are either Caucasians or American minorities. We don’t have many African heroes (rest in peace Chadwick Boseman) or many middle eastern heroes, etc. I wanted to write a fantasy romance story that spans continents in this globalized world, and that deals with people that can be seen as minorities in the west but are not when they’re right at home.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of The Black Shards: Symphony of Dusk Volume 2, what would they be?

Sky Boat Song – the outlander version to be honest.

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

Fantasy is my favorite genre hands down!

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Fire and Blood by G.R.R. Martin.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

My favorite scene to write did not actually make it into the book as it was pushed to book 3, which will be out soon. It’s a very intimate scene between the two main characters. A very intimate scene if you know what I mean…

My other favorite scene to write was the prologue as it takes us back to a bedtime story that Clara, our protagonist, heard her mother tell her as a child. It is told as a bedtime story but it carries so much meaning for what is to come and the challenges ahead.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I walk around while writing. I channel my character’s angst and frustration, because I have too much empathy for my own good, and then I start picking fights with myself.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

I just don’t like to plan ahead.

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

I would like for them to remember that anyone can be a hero but above all even those with the purest of intentions can become villains.

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