We chat with author Katharine J. Adams about Tonight, I Blaze, which is the epic conclusion to The Witches of Halstett trilogy from one of the most exciting new voices in romantasy.
Hi, Katharine! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello! I’m a writer based on the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand. I’ve got two kids with hectic schedules and a fondness for dogs. My little bestie is a Jack Russell x Miniature Schnauzer x Foxy called Sprocket, and we have a gorgeous rehomed guide dog caller Tyler who we adopted after puppy raising him. We often have guide dog pups in our house but are taking a break right now so Ty gets a bit of time to settle in.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I honestly don’t remember a timed when I didn’t love stories. I’ve always lost myself in books and had read everything in the childrens section by the time I was ten. I wrote my first book at the age of 5, got a typewriter for my 9th birthday, and have written on and off all my life. I started taking it seriously in 2019 when I was home with the kids and finally finished a full length manuscript the same year.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Matilda by Roald Dahl
- The one that made you want to become an author: Sabriel by Garth Nix
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Tonight, I Blaze is the third and final installment in your Witches of Halstett trilogy and it’s out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Queer. Dark. Twisty. Epic. Fiery!
For those who haven’t picked up the series yet, what can they expect?
Deathwalking witches, bisexual pining, a queer normative world, non-conventional romance, a hot male love interest, and a deliciously ethereal female love interest. Penny Albright is a daughter of the thorn coven who walk in death each night to protect the veil between life and Death. To cross into Death the witches burn at the stake, and their bodies reform in Life the next morning. There are two rules to Death: never look back and always walk alone. But on the eve of Penny’s first burning, her sister goes missing and fails to return, and when Penny breaks the rules to go after her, the consequences are far greater than she could ever imagine.
And for readers who have, what’s to come in Tonight, I Blaze?
Penny is forced to decide what truly matters most to her as she fights to protect the people she loves. There’s more Dante banter, more Tobias and his cinnamon roll vibes, more impossible choices, more of the Albright sisters, the truth behind the history of the world and the character’s backstories, and a whole pile of deceit.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?
Definitely the scenes where Penny is back in her villiage. She’s spent so long pining after her former home, that writing the reality of it and her realisations while she’s there was super satisfying. I’ve always adored writing Alice. She’s just so floaty on the surface and so strong underneath it, she’s a delight to spend time with on the page. Malin’s sarcasm is fun to play around with as well, and I love the way he bounces off Penny. I really enjoyed cracking his façade a bit and going deeper with him as he accepts some of his failings in book three.
And I always love writing the book sprites! (And Dante’s fun too!)
Did you face any challenges whilst writing with the final installment? How did you overcome them?
Trying to give each character appropriate page time to tie up their stories was tricky. There’s a big cast of supporting characters, and I fell in love with every single one of them as I wrote, even the Warden. I think most of them got the endings they deserved, not everyone though or that would have been no fun, and the epilogue paints a little picture of life after the events of TIB, too.
The biggest challenge was probably Penny being alone for stretches of Tonight, I Blaze. She’s depended on a lot of people throughout the trilogy, and I wanted her to have to lean on herself and what she’s learned for a while. Writing those scenes involved a lot of internal monologue, especially as she faced the truth of who she is, and it was tricky to balance that with the action to keep the story moving. It took a lot of editing to get it to a place where I was happy the words were doing their job on the page.
Looking back to the initial concept, did the direction of the trilogy change much over time as you worked on each book?
I tend to play join-the-dot with my plotting with each point set down on paper, but I don’t always know how the characters will get between the points until I start writing. None of the bigger picture stuff changed, a lot of that was laid down in book one and would have been really difficult and unsatisfying if I’d decided to mix it up, but the characters and their motivations definitely revealed themselves along the way. Some of them surprised me!
What’s next for you?
I’ve got a short story coming in a Stars and Sabers anthology, and I just finished up a draft of something twisty and bloody which I’m almost ready to send to my agent…so watch this space!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up soon? Any you’ve got your eye on that are releasing in 2027?
So many! Someone Else’s Daughter is near the top of my list. I love Andrea Stewart’s other series, especially The Drowning Empire, and can’t wait to see what she does in the Psychological Suspense space. Julie Leong’s The Isle of Lonely Monsters is releasing in January. I’ve been hanging out for her next book since I read The Keeper of Magical Things. Rosalie M. Lin has Dark Lotus Blooming coming in August. If you’re a scifi fan, Yume Kitasei’s scifi, Envoy, is hitting stores in 2027 and Megan Chee’s debut science fantasy The Archaeology of Falling Worlds is coming early in the year too.
And I was fortunate enough to get my hands on an ARC of Teri Dederer’s debut, Feast of Hearts, which releases in April 2027, and it’s the most gorgeous book I’ve read in a while!
