How The Fontayne Company got its start
A few years ago (I believe it was 2023), my husband and I were watching TV after dinner, and he randomly chose to watch a show called Spooked Ireland.
It’s your stereotypical ghost-hunting show, with vague evidence that something paranormal “might” be there, but with no solid proof (or none that holds up to my scientific background.) I don’t typically watch these sorts of shows, but it was almost Halloween, and sometimes the history about the places the teams visit is pretty neat. I don’t know which episode we were watching, but they were investigating a castle (one that was either kept in good condition for a long time or was restored, but I don’t remember the name now.)
Anyway, midway through the show, I complained that every time someone thought they “saw” something, the camera was always pointing in another direction. And by the time the cameraperson turned around… Nothing.
Which started me thinking. What if they simply didn’t have the right equipment to capture the ghosts they were hunting? And then, in classic fashion: What if I wrote about this—but made it fantasy? In a fantasy world, ghosts could certainly be proven real.
And then the best question: What if the main character of this story was the ghost?
I thought about this idea for a while, then about a week later, I made a rough outline. This story could work. And it was going to be a ton of fun to write.
Zeldyvian Fontayne (aka, Zel)
Yes, the fictional Fontayne Company is named after him. Yes, he is the ghost main character. And yes, he was incredibly fun to write.
I also did something with this duology that I’ve refrained from doing with my other fantasy books. I included elves. Zel is an elf (a dead one, but still…)
I’ve avoided elves, dwarves, fae, orcs, and the other usual fantasy races in my other books because I really enjoy creating new people based on weird biology facts or lesser-known mythology. And elves are everywhere. But in this case, I decided to make an exception.
Zel is snarky, mischievous, and opinionated about some random things (like Mel’s shoes, but that’s another story.) And after writing Wraith and the Revolution, I realized I enjoyed the freedoms of writing a character in first person/present tense. Like breaking the fourth wall. Zel does that a few times, but one of my favorites is this:
Elves aren’t as tall as our human counterparts, despite what nonsense you may have read elsewhere. Nor are we capable of running across snowdrifts without sinking.
And this is why I decided to write him as an elf. I could simultaneously create a really fun story, and poke fun at the pop culture version of elves. (Sorry, there are no dwarves or orcs in this duology.)
The initial outline didn’t stick…
Originally, The Fontayne Company was meant to be a standalone (oops, kinda failed there.) It was also supposed to have a cozier vibe—the ghost in this story isn’t scary, after all—and the main focus was going to be wholly on the team’s paranormal investigation.
I succeeded in the cozy aspect, and the investigation is still the main focus. But somewhere along the way, my ghost elf decided to fall in love with the necromancer who recruited him…
I didn’t go into this book planning to write a romantic comedy, but in the end, that’s what happened. And I had a mild freak out because this is not what I usually write, how am I supposed to market this, should I publish under a different pen name, and what if the pacing of the romance is all kinds of wrong? All this on top of the usual angst finishing a manuscript generally leaves me with.
But I’ve made some friends in the writing community over the years, and more than a few of them write romance all the time. I asked a couple of them to beta read the first book (this is on top of my usual beta readers), because I really was worried about the pacing. Was it too fast? Too slow? What am I even doing?
The consensus was the pacing is fine. And so far, everyone has enjoyed it (my editor even said Rites of Departure is her favorite of all the books I’ve sent to her, and that’s quite a few now.)
And I need to expressly call out Kat Kinney here. Her feedback was what gave me the confidence to move ahead with this book (and with the sequel, because the first book left some big questions unanswered.) So if you’re reading this, Kat: Thank you.
And to everyone else, go check out Kat’s books. I loved both her Dyrwolf and Everwood Falls series.
The plan for publication
I actually sat down and made one a couple weeks ago, since Rites of Departure is back from the editor and cover artwork is in progress. The second book, Agent of Chaos, is written and I’ve revised it a couple times. I’ll go through it one more time this summer and send it to my editor next. Which means I can now share some dates with you…
I’m planning to do a cover reveal for Rites of Departure in late January 2027, but individual character art will be shared with my newsletter beginning in August/September (subscribers to that get early access…)
ARCs will likely go out in early February.
And I’m targeting a publication date of March 23, 2027.
I’d like to publish the 2nd book about 6 months later, which will be September 2027, but the official date for that is still TBD.
When preorders, etc are officially available, I’ll be sharing it everywhere 😊 Watch this space for more on The Fontayne Company soon!