Over the next few days, this blog is celebrating the release of the First Love romantic fantasy anthology by bringing daily interviews with the other contributors (ie the ones that aren’t me). First up we have AM Cummins, whose short story Savage delves into her Native American ancestry.

What drew you to the First Love anthology?

The challenge of writing a romance story. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, so when I saw Dragon Soul Press had an anthology call out for a fantasy love story, I knew I just had to do it.

Give us a little tease for your short story for First Love.

My story is a dramatic recreation of a family legend that was told to me by my grandfather. He was proud of his Native American heritage.

Do you prefer your romantic fiction to end happily-ever-after, happy-for-now, tragically, or does it depend on the story?

It really depends on the story to be honest. It doesn’t matter the ending, if it can stir emotions when you read it – that’s a good story.

What fantasy elements (if any) do you use in your First Love story?

My story was based on facts I’ve gathered when doing my family tree. A lot of research went into it, but not much fantasy I’m afraid.

What major theme are you exploring in this story?

My overall theme is acceptance. Something we all need more in our lives.

What inspired your story?

My brother and I sometimes talk about our research we do with our family tree. We recalled our grandfather telling us the story that he came from a full-blooded Cherokee Indian when we were young. Now we have proof of it. I just wanted to honour my Native American bloodline in the only way I know how – to write about it.

What other Dragon Soul Press anthologies have you contributed to?

My story The Harrison Farm was featured in All Dark Places. I just submitted to the Sea of Secrets anthology. I’m super pumped about that one. Fingers crossed I get the golden email that says Congratulations!

What romantic fiction do you like?

I love romantic fantasies. (The Witch Hunter Series by J.E. Feldman, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, Sharing Knife by Lois McMaster Bujold, and The Tree of Ages series by Sara C Roethle.) But to be honest, I read all genres.

Is romance something would normally write? If so, what attracts you to the genre? If not, what challenges did you encounter in the writing process?

I’m far from a romance author. I love to write great adventures with less than perfect characters stumbling through to make it to the end. It was hard for me to interject a lot of the showing of feelings. When I write, I tend to show reactions. So, this was new for me and, I hope, the beginning of a new style.

What themes are you drawn to time and time again?

I’m a sucker for a great epic quest. Something that will take multiple books for the characters to accomplish. Dragonlance was one of my first fantasy reads. You know what they say, you compare everything to your first. This is so true.

What do you prefer writing? Short stories? Novels? Novellas? Poetry?

I prefer to write novels but have been writing a lot of short stories for anthology submissions. However, I’m taking a break from the little ones to focus on my next novel.

What is your favourite work that you have written so far?

If you are asking my favourite published work, that would be Seapod Seven in the Shadows of the Sea anthology. But unpublished, it’s a novel I keep touching every few months called Wildfire.

What is your current work-in-progress?

It’s untitled at the moment, which is odd for me. It’s a story about some competitive Gnome family houses trying to fulfill a prophecy.

What other writing plans do you have for the future?

I have plans to co-author a sci-fi novel. Not much I can tell you about it yet, but I promise it will be a huge surprise.

Discover more from AM Cummins here (on Goodreads) and here (on Amazon).

To pick up a copy of First Love either in paperback or on Kindle, click here (in the UK) and here (in the US).