Tracy St. John

I find plenty of this work challenging, but I think my very biggest obstacle comes down to time management. I am not a fast writer by any means. I find I can get more books out by having at least three books in different phases of production: one in plot/outline, one I am writing the first draft of, and one I am editing. This lets me release at least 3-4 books a year. Then there is the marketing, blogging, etc. I never have enough hours in the day.

I wish I could. Early on when I was newly published, I did. However, things have reached a point where I don’t have time to do that anymore.

Keep writing, no matter what. First book is in edits? Start the next one. First book didn’t do so well in sales? Keep writing the next one. First book is doing spectacular? Congratulations—you’re working on the next one, right? Perseverance is the key in all cases for your long-term success. I wrote seriously for 24 years before Alien Embrace did well for me. I’ve been writing like a maniac ever since. You never, never stop writing. No matter what.

Everywhere! Everything that shows up in my life is potential fodder for showing up in my books, whether as a main plot, or a subplot. Politics, religion, raising children, new scientific discoveries, a video game, a piece of art—ideas are everywhere, and I grab them like a kid in a candy store.

My readers. I adore hearing I’ve touched their lives in some way. I’ve had a few tell me I’ve encouraged them to write too—how cool is that?! Not only do I get to create universes I want to visit, but those who have been generous enough to come with me branch out into their own unique worlds too. I love that.

Unfortunately, I have severe social anxiety and have not taken the brave step of facing the crowds at conferences. I hope to overcome that eventually, but there are no plans to attend any conferences at this time.

Yes! You can sign up for that at the bottom of any page of my website. At this point, I only send it out to announce a book is up for sale, so you’ve got a no-spam guarantee.

Most start with Alien Embrace, the first in the main Clans of Kalquor series. The Shalia’s Diary books, start following the events of CoK’s third book Alien Conquest. The Clan Beginnings books are prequels to the main series, showing how the three men formed their clans. It’s all about the manlove there, so if that’s not your thing, feel free to skip it. Clan Beginnings can be read at any time, in any order, though I do recommend Clan and Command before you read Alien Revolt (if you do read m/m/m romance).

Since all Kalquorians can trace their beginnings to a past race that came from another planet (check the The Kalquorian Empire page of my blog for full story), they see themselves as one nationality. There was a period during which they were divided like countries, but they still saw themselves overall as one race.

Absolutely. However, it can be difficult, depending on how long a clan has been together and which member passed away. Not that any breed is more important than another, but in the case of the loss of a Matara, the female member is the rarest and most difficult to find. Even with Earther women joining clans, there are few enough of them that it is unlikely to happen. Imdikos are also rare and tend to clan young, so those would be in short supply and highly unlikely to be won. New Dramoks entering in long-standing clans would present a different sort of problem, as the clan would be used to a certain leadership style-- the surviving clan might find it extremely difficult to adjust to a new leader. Many clans would not make an effort of any kind to attract a new Dramok. Nobeks have the most success in joining a clan which has lost a warrior mate. They have the numbers, and since most see their main objective to be protecting the clan, it comes down to finding the right personality which fits...although that's not always easy either!

That's an interesting question. I actually haven't had any real issues connecting with any of my characters, at least on some level. Every character I've written has some facet of myself in him/her, even if it's only a sliver. I also do detailed character studies before I write the first word of a story. Character development is a huge chunk of my process, usually taking several days. I end up knowing my gang so well that I really can get into their heads and understand where they're coming from at any given moment.

You can blame that one on politics, as well as the early drive to establish balanced clans in the first place. Clans of the three male breeds and a female were not always the order of the Empire (you can check The Kalquorian Empire page of my blog for the history on that). As with any new social order, there was initially kickback against the clan system. It will come as no surprise that it was the larger number of Nobeks who weren't keen on sharing their rare Imdiko lovers or the even rarer Matara mates. And yes, the warrior majority did have the greatest opportunity to score lovers and mates due to sheer numbers. To those in power at the time, it seemed far fairer to have the natural leaders, the Dramoks, as the so-called 'heads' of the clans and in charge of establishing the new legally mandated family units. And who were those in power for the most part, those who made that determination? The Dramoks, of course, who always make up the majority, if not the entirety, of the Royal Council. It was a Dramok emperor in power (and his Dramok heir, who headed up the first Imperial Clan) who got the ball rolling. Yes, they were called out by the Nobeks for shifting terms in their breed's favor. However, the constant warring over the few women had taken a toll on everyone. Even Nobeks can reach a point where they're tired of shedding blood, especially Kalquorian blood. Fear of extinction on the horizon also had a hand in quelling the arguments. The Crown Prince further swayed the popular opinion by agreeing to form a clan, though it meant sharing his betrothed Matara with two other men. That is how the clan system came to be, with the Dramok in control of creating the clan. Whew. Did you get all that?

I never say never. However, there are no plans at this time to write another diary. If I do, it will have to be pretty fabulous, because Shalia will be a hard act to follow!

It's hard to say. The main series may wind down in a few more books/years, or at least be temporarily suspended while new ideas percolate. But I don't see Kalquor-related books going away in the foreseeable future. There are still plenty of Clan Beginnings books, plus a huge number of stand-alones that could be written. I'm still bursting with ideas for books in the Kalquor universe.

Yet another story I'm dying to get to and have no time to do so in the near future. But yes, it is on the list.

I always fall madly in love with whatever clan I'm currently writing about. However, the clan that stands the test of time for me is Clan Tranis. As for Mataras, I'm split evenly between Dani (Alien Slave) and Elise (Alien Caged). Dani, because she's the most like me. Elise, because she's older and we older ladies deserve our clans too. I'm not sure I could pick a favorite book I've written. I enjoy writing Clan Beginnings books the most. To Clan and Conquer might hold the edge there.

I would like to get back to them, but unfortunately my schedule won't allow me to do that soon. Hopefully within the next couple of years I can.

Earther orphans are not brought to Kalquor. The Galactic Council of Planets is in charge of Earther refugees since Earth's government is now non-existent. As depicted in Sister Katherine, an orphanage for those children who lost their parents/guardians has been set up in Galactic Council space.

I don't have anything planned at this time due to scheduling issues. However, once this war with the Basma is settled, I might consider another short story collection.

The only real difference between the two versions are British vs. U.S. spellings. For example: colour instead of color, realise instead of realize. And of course, the different cover art. International sales for the Clans of Kalquor series are handled by Totally Bound Publishing, which is based in the U.K. I continue to self-publish the U.S. versions. That's the only difference. There are no added (and no missing) scenes in the international versions.

The men continue to enjoy each other’s intimate company. In the regular series, they're just so excited with their new Mataras that the manlove falls to the wayside for a bit. Also, over half of the Clans of Kalquor readers do not want to read male-with- male sexual situations. Therefore, these scenes do not make it into the main series.

It has been so many years since I initially came up with Alien Embrace that I’m not quite sure where the exact idea originated. I was a huge sci-fi geek who wanted to write futuristic tales with romance. But as for the first moment the Kalquorian universe beckoned, I can’t remember. What I do recall is hanging out with girlfriends, talking about my idea for the book, laughing and discussing the physical attributes alien men should have when they took us away to re-populate their dying world. From that point, the whole thing just seemed to explode into being.

The names and terms are usually based on an actual names and words that I play around with. I built the breed name ‘Imdiko’ (pronounced im-DEE- ko) around M.D. (as in ‘medical doctor’) since my first caregiver Flencik was a physician. Rajhir came from ‘rajah’, the Sanskrit word for monarch; and ‘emir’, a Middle Eastern prince, commander, or governor. As the clan leader, it fit him.

I am initially inspired by people I know or know of. Sometimes a complete stranger I observe is the basis of a character. However, my characters almost always take on a life of their own and end up telling me who they are, rather than the other way around.

Kalquorian males cannot clan without parental permission before the age of 25. They can date, live with lovers, have sex, so on and so forth, but they cannot make that lifelong commitment until they reach 25 or convince their parents they are ready.

Many of those are based on my own thoughts on certain aspects of spirituality. I have studied many religions because faith fascinates me ... on both spiritual and scholarly levels. Much of the Book of Life ideas spring from my studies of Buddhism, with some Taoism, Christianity, and Native American teachings thrown in as well.

She looks like YOU, dear reader. I have never provided a description of Shalia because I wanted the reader to see herself as Shalia. There is a mention here and there of Shalia being underweight due to starvation, getting bigger because of pregnancy, and toning up from training. Otherwise, I have provided no hints on her appearance, leaving her to the reader's imagination.