Today, I’m happy to introduce Erynn Lehtonen, author of the Yokai Calling series.

Do you love dragons? I’ll let you in on a secret…I love dragons!
And I also love a complete series!
Click here now to get the first book, Spirit Dragon for FREE!

Tell me about yourself. What inspired you to write?

When I was young, I devoured fantasy books, eager to go to adventures to far-off places and fantastical worlds. I quickly wanted to create my own worlds, and started my first short stories in elementary school, and then my first novel in grade six. Ever since, I’ve wanted to be an author, and now I am! 😊

Describe your desk / writing space.

It fluctuates between being a disaster or as tidy as can be depending on how close I am to my deadlines, heh. I’ve got my laptop and my diffuser (or candles) for nice scents while I write, as well as handy access to all my writing-related books! 

Do you have a writing routine or do you write when inspired?


I tend to have a pretty strict routine—I write full time, so I have to! I wake up and write for as long as possible, usually several hours. But I admit, I have my bouts of inspiration, too! I’m not shy about staying up late into the night because an idea struck me.

**FREE!!!**

How do you come up with the title to your books?

They are always related to the themes or events in the books. For example, in my first book, Spirit of the Dragon, there’s a dragon spirit that plays a role in the plot. For this series I kept with a dragon theme in all the titles!

What was the hardest scene for you to write? Which scene was your favorite to write?

Definitely the final battle sequence in my most recent book, Blood of Dragons. It’s not a single scene, but it was an epic battle that spanned several chapters and multiple perspectives! Getting it just right had me running around in circles.

As for my favourite? It’s so hard to choose, there are so many that I loved writing. In general although I love writing epic battle scenes, my favourites to write actually end up being where my characters connect with each other again after being upset with each other for various reasons! (There was a lot of that in my latest book, too, haha!) These scenes can get very emotional, but in ways that are really rewarding to write/read because they always feel so inevitable, and it’s satisfying for so many story threads to finally come back together.

What inspired your book/series?

I’m a huge fan of history and mythology, so the Yokai Calling series was heavily inspired by Japanese mythology and history. I especially drew from myths about the creation of Japan, dragons, as well as various folklores. I love dragons, so it’s pretty safe to say that’s a driving influence in all of my stories. 

What are you working on next?

Since I just finished this series, I’m actually taking a short breather to plan what’s coming next. I have a few ideas—what I’ll most likely end up doing is work on multiple projects at once. I’m writing in a much larger universe, so while I want to write another series that’s a continuation of the one I finished, I’d also like to start some smaller projects exploring different parts of the world.

What authors or books have influenced your writing?

Ah! There are so many, but I’ll stick to saying that I love Nevernight Chronicles by Jay Kristoff, The Sixth World by Rebecca Roanhorse, and Riyria Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan.

If you could live anywhere, in this world or fantasy, where would you live?

I would honestly really love to live in my own world haha! It would be the best of both worlds, because I’d definitely love to live somewhere with magic and mythical creatures, but I’ve also always wanted to live in Japan. 

What is your favorite meal?

I’m a sucker for some good ramen! Nothing like some soul food to warm up a rainy day, literally or otherwise. 😛

Coffee or tea? Wine or beer?

Tea for sure, I have a whole hoard of it hiding in the cabinet. Green, black, chai, you name it! But I still love me a good cup of coffee in the morning.

I’m definitely a wine girl—never been a huge fan of beer.

Describe yourself in three words.

Reflective, creative, analytical.

BIO: 

New release!

Book 4 in the Yokai Calling series: $1.99 for a limited time.

BLOOD DEFINES WHAT MADE US. ACTION DEFINES WHAT MAKES US.

Secrets forge families. Secrets forge empires. Secrets tear lives apart. Will the dark histories dug up by Aihi, Hidekazu, and Masanori liberate them, or are they doomed to repeat past mistakes?

Aihi’s enemies torched villages and killed innocents. They believed her youth and inexperience made her weak Shōgun—they were wrong. Now, it’s up to her to decide how far she’s willing to go to maintain the peace her mother established, and if peace is still a worthwhile dream at all.

Masanori knows his existence is a threat to everyone he cares about, but to reunite with his loved ones, he’ll travel back into the depths Nightmare that broke him in the first place. To free himself from the Nightmare shard that haunts him, he’ll need to prove himself to an elusive kami. Otherwise, he may never see his family again. But how much is a broken man worth?

To atone for the Genshu family’s past atrocities, Hidekazu attempts to undo one of the Warlock Empire’s oldest crimes, an act committed by the Dragon Goddess herself. To succeed, Hidekazu must accept his true nature… and the dark power that comes with it. 

When war threatens the trio’s homeland, the twins must face the choices that set them on different paths, or this time, they will be pulled apart for good.

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