We chat with author Kaylie Smith about Enchantra, which returns readers to the world of Phantasma in this spicy, stand-alone romantasy, where seven immortal siblings are trapped in a deadly game of hide and seek . . . until one mortal woman changes the rules.
Hi, Kaylie! Welcome back! How has the past year been since we last spoke?
Oh my goodness, an absolute whirlwind. I think if you had told me everything that would come after the release of Phantasma a year ago I would have never believed it!
Enchantra is the follow up to Phantasma and it’s out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Enchanting, ruthless, wicked, sexy, fun!
For those who haven’t picked up Phantasma, what can they expect?
Phantasma is about a necromancer from New Orleans named Ophelia Grimm that must go into a haunted house competition and survive nine trials based on the nine circles of hell in order to save her younger sister, Genevieve. In order to win the games she makes a bargain with a handsome, mysterious phantom named Blackwell.
And for readers that have, what’s to come in Enchantra?
Enchantra picks up a couple months after the events of Phantasma and we find Genevieve Grimm setting off on a journey to find herself by following a magic invitation to a magical estate in the Italian countryside. After entering the house uninvited, she finds herself trapped in a game of deadly hide and seek with seven immortal siblings and must enter a marriage of convenience with one of them in order to survive the game.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?
Genevieve was certainly my favorite part of writing Enchantra. We see only a brief glimpse of her in Phantasma and that glimpse is meant to be quite misleading to what she has going on under the surface and it was so fun to get to bring out all those deeper parts of her in this book! She’s so funny and spunky and I just adore her. I also loved Rowin’s siblings so much. The Silver family was incredibly entertaining to write.
Did you face any challenges with the sequel? How did you overcome them?
Sequels are notoriously hard and this was no exception. Really it was just the unbearable worry that I would disappoint readers who loved Phantasma so much. When something is so anticipated the pressure can feel really heavy but my editors and I really tried to focus on just getting out the best story we possibly could and making sure it was one that I was happy with first and foremost—and I am! I turly love this book, it’s very different and yet such an extension of this world still and I’m hoping readers will have just as much fun with it!
Was there any music that inspired you whilst writing?
I Know Places and Labyrinth by Taylor Swift were both very indicative of the vibe in this book. Also I Don’t Care by Apocalyptica. I love that song.
What’s your process when it comes to planning out a book?
I like to plan out my series well in advance so everything feels really intentional. I know people at the end of Phantasma really wanted more of some of the loose threads there and all I can say is that they were very intentional because I have future plans for sure…I just have a couple stories to tell first. I like to outline heavily and think about all the different corners of the world and what characters might know them best and then I sort of put all the timeline of events together like a puzzle that will lead from one of those corners right to the other!
What’s next for you?
I’m currently draft in Wicked Games 3 before I’ll get to another secret project I can’t quite talk about yet… But then I will be starting my brand new series which we’re currently calling Such Wicked Things! It’s a dual POV Angels and Demons inspired fantasy that I’m so unbelievably excited for!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
SO many! Our Vicious Descent by Hayley Dennings, The God and the Gwisin by Sophie Kim, An Arcane Inheritance by Kamilah Cole, The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig, and Holly by Adalyn Grace to name a few!
