Thanks to everybody who responded in comments and privately for this Q&A focusing on the Forged Bloodlines series. I’ll put the general questions first, and then leave a break before the spoilers in case someone would rather be surprised.

Where can I get a robot brain?
I got mine from the Creator. As far as I know, there aren’t any upgrades available. You could always summon the robot overlords and petition for a robot brain, but I wouldn’t unless you’re prepared to pay the price.

How long have you been writing?
Technically, before I was in kindergarten. Actual books, for about four years. Before that I’d start a project and lose interest. I was the queen of unfinished projects until NaNoWriMo taught me how to push past my inner editor.

What is NaNoWriMo?
National Novel Writing Month takes place in November (though there are equivalents that run for every month of the year) and the basic premise is this: Write 50,000 words in one month. That’s it. No editing, just 50k words that will probably be crap. The first time I tried it, I came in just shy of 100k words and Moonsong was born. Moonsong was so sucky it went through many major revisions before I got it right, but this was a breakthrough for me, giving myself permission to suck instead of coming up with something perfect. You can always fix what you write, but you can never fix what you don’t write.

Where do you get your writing ideas?
They come to me at all times of the day, but I find bathrooms give me the best ideas. If I’m ever stuck on a scene, all I have to do is go and stand in the bathroom (shower if I’m really stuck) and I get an idea. It doesn’t matter if it’s my bathroom, at a friend’s house or a public restroom. Prolly kinda creepy, but there it is.

Who designs your covers?
My husband, James, works on the covers for me. Sometimes I find the image first, but lately he’s been coming up with them on his own. If we’re ever stuck between two ideas, I like to put them up here on my website for a vote. I love to get your guys’ input!

*** Spoiler Section Below ***

Some of these are not really big spoilers, but read on at your own peril!

Will we find out why Jakob refuses to take his place in vampire society?
Yes, we should find the answer to that in book six.

Is Ellie really dead?
Yes, I’m sorry to say she’s really dead. That doesn’t mean I’m not open to bringing back a dead character or two in the future if it fit the story.

Is Carys really dead?
It sure looks like it. Bishop saw her remains. Or did he?

Are Jakob and Rob the same person? We never see them together.
Wow, that’s a great question! No, they’re not the same person, but that’s an interesting concept that I reserve the right to use at a future date.

Did Anja really use her compulsion without realizing it against Bishop?
That’s the big question, isn’t it? Yes, in part. The better question is – how much of it was compulsion and how much of it was for real? I think her compulsion came into play that first time he chased her down and she pleaded with him to go and investigate where she was turned. At the time I don’t think Bishop would have helped her without that extra little push, no matter how much she reminded him of Carys. Did she give him a little nudge every now and again to get her way? Probably. Did she compel him to love her? No, I don’t think so.

So is Bishop offically out of the picture or will he make his way back into Anja’s love life?
Never say never. Anja will be seeing Bishop again at the Gathering in Vetis, so look for some heated conversations there and some surprising news on what he’s been up to since she left. Bishop is going to have some interesting personal revelations in Follow Me that will change things for him going into future books. I’m really interested to get back into his head again and have a few scenes from his POV.

What does älskling mean?
It simply means beloved or darling, Jakob’s endearment of choice.

Will we see the hunter again?
Yes, Carter is out there in the US somewhere, still taking care of vamps that need killing. I definitely predict that Anja will cross paths with him again.

Will we see the magistrate again?
Yes, he’s definitely a sore loser, so look for him to pop up in the future sometime.

Why did Mason kill his own Sire?
That’s a complicated history there, and one we’ll definitely explore in the future. Let’s just say for now that his Sire wasn’t a good guy.

Will we get to meet Bishop’s brother Aubrey?
Yes, he is featured in Follow Me and we’ll learn more about why he and Bishop don’t get along.

Do you think Rob could somehow kill Jake?
Could he manage it? I think he could pull it off if it came down to it and the circumstances were right. In a straight up fight Jakob would easily beat Rob because he’s very tough to kill. But it can be done. Pretty much anytime someone’s head comes away from their body or their heart is ripped out that’s pretty hard to come back from. The trouble is, he’s fast and strong as hell, so getting the jump on him could be tricky. It would probably involve deception of some kind if he were to try it. Would he ever do it? It’s hard to say, it probably depends on how far Jakob ever pushed him. Rob has seen Jakob take away his loved ones before, so he knows exactly what Jakob is capable of.

How many more books will there be in the Forged Bloodlines series?
It’s hard to say. I guess I’ll stop when I run out of ideas. I have pretty specific ideas for at least 2 more beyond Follow Me, but there are all sorts of unanswered questions that keep swirling around in the back of my mind that I want to get to eventually. After all, there’s a great big vampire world out there. There are places for her to travel, people for her to meet. Will Jakob ever take his place in vampire society? Are there any other Ellri out there? What about Jakob’s family? Does he have any other progeny out there? What about natural born children? What about the Gods themselves who created the Ellri? They’re still out there. What about Anja’s family? Will they ever find out she’s a vamp? What about Hanna and Mason? Will Anja ever end up turning someone herself? Does Rob’s extended family come into play more in the future? Can she trust Marcus? What about the werewolves back in the states? These are all things I want to explore in future books.

Thanks again to everyone who participated. If you think of any more questions, add them to the comments section and I’ll see what I can do.