Interview with Ross Hightower, Author of Spirit Sight

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Spirit Sight?

What happens to children whose magical gifts cause pain in people around them? What would their lives be like? I woke up one morning with those questions stuck in my head. Though I never wrote fiction before, I went straight to a coffee shop and started writing. The reasons are lost to the mists of memory, but I was hooked. It took three years, but Spirit Sight is one answer to those questions.

If you had to pick theme songs for the main characters of Spirit Sight, what would they be?

I never thought about it, but the song that came immediately into my mind when I thought of my main character, Minna, was My Shot from Hamilton. She’s young, scrappy and hungry and she never throws away her shot.

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

I read mostly, but not exclusively, fantasy. Outside a few flash fiction pieces, I write exclusively fantasy.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Pride and Prejudice (can’t believe I never read it before), The city we Became by N.K. Jemisin, The Child of Chaos by Glen Dahlgren and too many to name after that…

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

Aron (the trickster in the hero’s journey) finds Harold (an inquisitor looking for redemption) in a tavern in order to nudge him in the right direction. They should be enemies, but the heart wants what it wants. It was fun because they’re flirting is tentative and fraught. It flowed onto the page. One of my favorite responses to my writing was someone, after reading that scene, asked, “Were they flirting?”

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

It’s not really quirky but I have to listen to music, and I write much better in a busy place, like a coffeeshop.

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

Kindness is (almost) always the best course of action

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

The story has deeper themes involving the harm caused by prejudice and authoritarianism, but what I like best about the story is the perseverance and morality of the heroes. If people come to love and admire Minna as much as I do, I would be very happy.

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