Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work.
Today: After writing extensively in various fandoms as Thevina, Kristi Lee began trying her hand at original fiction. Her non-fandom stories will always include: a redhead, some knitting, complex sentences, and hopeful endings.
Much of her real life can be found in her works with themes of recovery, being human, self-discovery, and living a richly spiritual life that may not easily be described out in the 3-D. A lifelong lover of fantasy and sci fi, she’s grateful to have her stories exist as ebooks, now additionally being brought to life in print and audiobook form.
Thanks so much, Kristi, for joining me!
J. Scott Coaysworth: What’s the funniest or creepiest thing you’ve come across while researching for one of your stories?
Kristi Lee: Discovering that Hél, Loki’s only daughter, has two uncles, ie: Loki has two brothers that are mentioned by name but they never feature in the pantheon. Finding out I could explore an avuncular relationship with Hél gave me impetus to write a short series of vignettes about an alternate Ragnarok.
JSC: What secondary character would you like to explore more? Tell me about them.
KJL: Paulfina, or Pip, Reggie’s mother. I’ve been holding space for writing a story about her past as a gapfiller to explain some offhand remarks about how she was in her 20s.
JSC: Has a piece of writing ever “haunted” you? Has your own writing haunted you? What does that mean to you?
KJL: Yes and yes. Some of my really bleak and/or psychologically questionable fanfic stories I wrote while battling alcohol use disorder haunt me now, especially with 5 years upcoming of sobriety. My past self haunts me in the intensity of what the characters went through.
JSC: What’s your favorite writing rule to smash into smithereens?
KJL: Use familiar tropes. I much prefer to find tropes and turn them on their heads.
JSC: Tell me one thing hardly anyone knows about you.
KJL: The first thing I remember desiring as a child with a HUGE passion was to be paired with an international pen pal. I got one from Ireland when I was in 4th grade and I believe we kept corresponding for several years. This was in the late 70s/early 80s and the exoticism of buying special air mail letters and paper was dreamy to me.
JSC: What other artistic pursuits (it any) do you indulge in apart from writing?
KJL: After a foot fracture in February, 2025, instead of exploding in writing, I exploded into bright, highly saturated abstract art with acrylics and reused canvases. I’ve now become more well known for my art and decoupaged homewares than my writing, which feels… weird. I’ve been writing since childhood.
JSC: What action would your name be if it were a verb?
KJL: Create.
JSC: Would you rather be in a room full of snakes or a room full of spiders?
KJL: Yes. I love snakes and I love spiders.
JSC: If you had to give up your keyboard and write your stories exclusively by hand, could you do it? If you already write everything by hand, a) are you a wizard and b) pen or pencil?
KJL: I’m not a wizard, but I do handwrite first in composition notebooks. With a purple ink pen. Or sometimes green, or hot pink, but never black, blue or red. Purple ink pens are my preferred writing tool.
JSC: What are you working on now, and what’s coming out next? Tell us about it!
KJL: I’m thinking about gapfiller short scenes or vignettes for both Paulfina and Fergus in “Surprised at Nothing,” but what’s captured my focus of late is a Hél and siblings and extended family set of vignettes called Secondhand Ragnarok. I’m also going to be creating a paperback version of a completed work, Defender of the Way.
And now for Kristi’s trilogy: Surprised at Nothing:
When English magus Reggie Orrick is charged with hatching a lost dragon egg, he doesn’t expect his greatest discovery to be Ian “Kelp” McGinty—an ordinary man with an extraordinary instinct for guiding him. As danger closes in and their bond deepens into love, the hidden world of magic reveals both wonder and peril. Then Kelp disappears, shattering everything Reggie thought was certain. Reunited under the weight of grief, curses, and political intrigue, they must decide if their connection is strong enough to survive what’s coming.
Amazon | Author Signed Copies
Excerpt
“I’m so sorry we can’t have an actual vocal conversation right now,” Pip said, regret etched on her face. “But believe you me, I’ll do what I can to help remove this curse, or blight or whatever it is that you’re under. Cheers!”
With a gloved hand, she clinked her glass against Kelp’s. Even when descending from the cliff of fright, his body automatically toasted in kind.
“Sláinte,” he said and downed his whiskey in two gulps. He shook his head, savoring the burn of his family’s potent recipe, at last feeling much more like himself.
“Would you like to sit down?” he mouthed, gesturing toward the living room. All at once the volume of his radio registered with him, and he turned it off.
“Oh no, I’m fine to stand. Would you like some help? I’m a frightfully good cook.”
Kelp grimaced at the thought of this elegant magus, and Reggie’s mother, for Brigid’s sake, chopping up onions, the next item on his list.
“No, really.” She gamely swallowed the rest of her tumbler, and gave Kelp an admiring look, her brown eyes sparking with intrigue. “This is— it’s something special, isn’t it? I know you’re an Unfortunate, but perhaps there’s something in you if you can distill this.”
Staring, Kelp slowly shook his head, trapped under her commanding gaze. The front door blew open and Reggie charged in, throwing down his rucksack with such force it skidded a foot before stopping.
“Mum!” he wailed, horror on his face. “I could just feel it. What are you doing here? Kelp!” Reggie entreated, walking purposefully toward him.
“Reginald, you wrote to me for help,” Pip announced matter-of-factly. “What better way to examine his condition than in person? We’re getting along famously, wouldn’t you say?”