Tell us a bit about your most recent work.
My most recent work is The Veil of Takhsha, Book Two of The Emari Chronicles, an epic fantasy series inspired by pre-Islamic Persian history and mythology. The series is a quartet, and the second book leans harder into political fracture, divine silence, and the personal cost of power. While the first book establishes the world and the magic, Veil is where things start to crack and the reader sees how the darkness and rot are revealed from a different perspective.
What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?
Looking through my work in general, both published and not, I’d say that I tend to come back to what it means to be strong, especially when it comes down to the difference between being strong for others and being strong for yourself, and what that choice costs.
What happened in your life that prompted you to become a writer?
I have always been a storyteller, ever since I was little. I have around twenty books in some state in a digital drawer that I worked on for years before I realized, at 50, that I needed to decide what I wanted to do with my writing. The Hand of Mashyana became my debut novel, published a month before my 51st birthday.
What inspires you to write?
Almost everything I write ties back to music I love. Emari started because of a few lines in a song that I couldn’t get out of my mind because of the image that it created for me. While it may not be obvious within what I write, I always have a song, or sometimes even an album, that has inspired it. There will always be a playlist, usually best played on shuffle, that will give you the vibes of what I’ve written.
What of your works has meant the most to you?
The Hand of Mashyana will always hold a special place in my heart. It was my debut, my baby. It gave me my first published book and the world I’m building this quartet in. I think there are more stories outside of this series in Emari, but this quartet is the solid foundation.
If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?
I once heard an author say that you hope your first book is your worst book. I have that digital drawer of things I’d love to revisit now that I’ve gone through what I have with Emari.
What writers have influenced your style and technique?
Oh, so many… and the list does change depending on what I’m writing and where I am at the moment, but for Emari in particular, R.F. Kuang, Brandon Sanderson, V.E. Schwab, and L. Penelope were all highly influential in shaping Emari into what it is.
Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why?
For me, it’s very hard to separate the two when it comes to writing. The art is the story, and the science is telling it well. And in that balance, you find that great book that is someone’s favorite book.
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Outside of balancing a full-time job and building an author career, I’d say that it’s trusting that the work will come together before all the pieces are visible to me. I tend to see pieces of a story before I understand how every part connects, and sitting in that uncertainty can be uncomfortable, and honestly? A blocker when I first started getting serious about writing. While editing isn’t the easiest, it’s still so much easier for me than drafting.
How do your writer friends help you become a better writer? Or do they not?
I fell for the whole ‘authors work alone’ trope myself for years, but my writing, both craft and career, finally found its footing when I found my current writing group. We all met via a writing workshop, and once the workshop wrapped up, we kept meeting every week since, now for over two years. They’ve been huge for camaraderie, critique, and support.
What does literary success look like to you?
Stability. Being an author, especially an indie author, is a long game. Your backlist is your superpower, showing that you’re not just here for a little while. I only half-joke about the fact that writing is my retirement plan, given the state of everything else.
Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?
I’m currently wrapping up work on Book 3 in the Emari Chronicles, The Embers of Tamidh (working title, may change), with a release scheduled for mid-year 2026, and I’m also working on the final book in this series to release around the end of the year 2026. After that? I have a few things that wouldn’t let go of me until I got a beat sheet together, so now it’s just a matter of choosing what comes next.
For more information, visit:
My website, amberhansford.com, includes information on upcoming events, social media links, book details, and my direct sales shop if you’d prefer to buy directly rather than through major retailers.
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