Q&A with Aussie Indie Fantasy Author Lauren Searson-Patrick

Today I have the pleasure of chatting with another local indie author, Lauren Searson-Patrick, who released her debut novel, Amber Wolf this year. I enjoyed the books so much and was completely transported into the world Lauren created as I read. You can check out our Q&A below and check out the very bottom of the post for more info about Lauren and her books.

Hi Lauren! Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with me today! This year you released Amber Wolf, which is the first book in a fantasy duology. Can you please tell us a bit about the series and what inspired you to write it?

Amber Wolf is about Lish Taylor who, while in the process of investigating a series of abductions, finds herself catapulted into a whole new world. She realises that to avenge her mother’s death and get home, she’ll need to face truths about herself that could alter the fate of a dying kingdom.

It’s an adult duology that I normally tell people is fantasy first and romance second, but I do love the romance arc!

In terms of what inspired me to write it, it came to me at a time there was a lot happening in the world (there still is) and I felt like I needed a hero to swoop in and save the day! But I also wanted to read a story about an adult woman, with good friendships including with other women, who was both strong and kind, and so I wrote it.

Do you like to read seasonal books and do you have a favourite Christmas or summer book or story?

I actually watch more holiday movies than read holiday books but I definitely do a LOT of reading of the holidays. So I don’t have a Christmas or summer recommendation unfortunately but I can tell you that Saint by Adrienne Young is ready for me to read when I’m finished work for the year.

Is there a particular book you’d love to find under your Christmas tree this year?

Oh, so many! Honestly, some of the ones I am most looking forward to aren’t released yet. Other than those, something by Colleen Hoover would be great – I haven’t read any of hers yet!

Do you have a favourite book (or books!) you’ve read this year that you’ll be recommending (or giving as a Christmas present!) to everyone you know?

Definitely! A real standout for me this year has been Before You Knew My Name by Jacqueline Bublitz – I read it a while ago and it has really stayed with me. I also adored Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston and The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling was really sweet.

Here in Australia at Christmas time summer is just getting started. Do you enjoy summer, and what is your favourite thing about it?

I do, but I have a temperature limit that is unfortunately set a bit too low for the typical Australian summer! So yes, and I am absolutely ready for some sunshine after all the rain we’ve had, but if it could stay a lovely warm temperature and not scorch my eyebrows off that would be great!

My favourite thing about summer is going to the coast and having a bit more time off work that we do during the year. My cousins and I all holidayed together as kids and now we take our own kids back to the same place and hang out at the beach – it’s really lovely. 

Do you like to plan a summer reading list? I’d love if you could please share three (or more if you can’t cut it down!) books on your summer holiday tbr.

I don’t plan one but I can share the ones that are currently nagging at me:

– Saint by Adrienne Young

– Parental as Anything by Maggie Dent

– Voted Most Likely by Nicole Adair

Finally, I know book 2 is coming out next year. Can you tell us anything about how it is going and what to expect? 

Really well! It’s currently with my copy editor and so is in the final stages before it’s formatted and processed ready for publishing.

It’s a good continuation of Amber Wolf in that it’s a bigger, more layered story and a really nice conclusion to Lish’s story. But we also get to experience Aeyva’s point of view – she’s different to Lish in many ways but I love her the same and she has her own demons to fight.

In a snapshot…you can expect insights to more of the Realm, a King, secrets and destinies, and two beautiful romances. 

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I’m so grateful to Lauren for taking the time to join me and chat about books and summer, and I absolutely recommend checking out her book. As we mentioned above, the sequel to Amber Wolf will be out next year and you can keep up with all the news about it – and get some sneak peeks of the process – by signing up to Lauren’s newsletter on her website here. You can also keep up with her on Instagram here.

xo Bron

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About the author

Lauren Searson-Patrick lives in semi-rural Australia with her husband and young children. When she’s not living vicariously through her characters, she is trying to teach her children of the wonders of nature. About the impacts of all our tiny decisions and that, sometimes, it only takes one person to make a difference.

Amber Wolf

Friend. Guard. Orphan.
Lish Taylor thinks she knows who she is.

But when her team investigates a series of abductions, Lish finds herself guardian of a trembling little boy – one whose experience is unnervingly familiar. And the questions she’s harboured since she was a child, after witnessing the violent murder of her mother, flood to the surface. Lish’s answers lie just beyond the walls of her climate ravaged city; but chasing them means leaving behind the life she has built from nothing.

Captured by the brutal General Siosal, Lish must use her greatest secret to protect not only herself, but the General’s other victims. Aided by the mysterious and compelling Lochlain, Lish’s escape catapults her into the enchanting world of the Calahi, where magic is not something to hide, but a birthright and a gift from the land itself.

To avenge her mother’s death and stop Siosal’s reign of terror, Lish must work with Lochlain and his allies. But as their plans unfold and her connection with Lochlain grows, Lish begins to understand that in order to get what she wants, she may have to admit truths about herself that will change not only the course of her life, but the fate of a dying kingdom.