Enchanting the Fae Queen: An author interview with Stephanie Burgis

Happy Friday! For today's interview, we welcome back Stephanie Burgis, the author of the Queens of Villainy trilogy. She tells us all about her newest release in the series, Enchanting the Fae Queen and the characters, shares her experience in the publishing industry and teases the third and final book in the trilogy, Melting the Ice Queen (we can't wait).

We were lucky enough to be joined Stephanie for our podcast episode last year, so don't forget to turn on S04E03 About Wooing the Witch Queen with Stephanie Burgis.

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Thank you for joining us again, Stephanie! For those who don’t know you yet, could you start by introducing yourself?

Sure! I’m a dual US/UK citizen - I was born in Michigan (USA) but have lived in Wales for the past 17 years (and Leeds before that). I write sparkly (and LGBTQ+ inclusive) fantasy rom-coms for adults as well as MG fantasy adventures, with a focus on magic, humor, and found families. I’m currently writing the Queens of Villainy trilogy of fantasy rom-coms for Tor Bramble, and some of my previous series for adults include The Harwood Spellbook, Regency Dragons, and Good Neighbors.

We would love to know more about Enchanting the Fae Queen and what inspired you to write it!

This trilogy has been my chance to scoop up every guilty-pleasure favourite trope from my reading life and flip the gender expectations in it. So, it’s a Hades/Persephone kidnapping romance... but the heroine is the wicked kidnapper, a shamelessly hardened rake who’s left a trail of broken hearts in her wake, while the kidnapped hero is famously noble and chaste (and a virgin!).

They both appeared as side characters in the first rom-com in the series (Wooing the Witch Queen), but it was fun to use Gerard’s kidnapping as a jumping-point to land them both in a different part of the world than we saw in that first book. This time, Lorelei takes him to the fae realm, where she was born, and they end up partners in a lethal magical tournament, forced to work together to survive...and well away from all the reminders that, as enemies on either side of a brewing war, they couldn’t possibly allow themselves to ever fall in love. 

What do you love most about the genre of romantic fantasy? Do you have any favourite tropes? Do some perhaps appear in this book?

Fantasy and romance have always been my two favourite genres, so I’m always happiest when they’re mixed together. As a reader as well as a writer, I have so many favourite tropes, but Enchanting the Fae Queen was the first time I’ve had the chance to play with the enemies-to-lovers (or: utterly obsessed nemeses to lovers!) trope in any of my stories. It was so much fun!

Can you tell us a little bit about your characters? Which, if any, do you identify with most and why?

I think I identify a little bit with all of my characters, because I’m always trying to put myself in each of their mindsets, empathize and really understand what’s motivating them at every moment. Lorelei puts on a great front of being heartless, superficial, and flippant, but underneath, she’s been deeply wounded, and she’s fighting with all her might for a better future for her people. Meanwhile, Gerard has just as intense a mask in his own right, because his parents were executed for treason when he was young, so he’s been forced to constantly prove himself—and never reveal himself to be anything less than perfect—ever since.

Obviously, I don’t share any of their personal circumstances, but as someone from a highly neurodivergent family (and although I’ve never been assessed myself, I do have strong suspicions about my own diagnosis), I know a lot about how much energy it takes to play a part/wear a mask, I feel Gerard’s drive for perfection very strongly, and I empathize a lot with both of them.

And which characters do you hope your readers will connect with the most?

Both of them, honestly, because I love them both so much! Probably my favourite feedback from early reviews has been from readers who didn’t love Lorelei in the first book (where she was very much masking with her chosen persona) but ended up falling for her in this book once they discovered the smart and vulnerable real woman underneath. (My two favourite sum-ups from reviews so far have been “Legally Blonde as a romantasy” and “Fighting fascism with glitter and friendship!”)

You’re no stranger to writing the second book in a series, but was there something new in the process that surprised you this time?

The truth is that every book surprises me along the way, and that is such a treat. I’m never bored when I’m writing! And with every book, I try to stretch myself in a new way. This is a book that I didn’t think I could pull off when the idea first occurred to me several years ago, but I came back to it at just the right time and absolutely loved the process of writing it.

On a similar note, is there something in the publishing industry that is now coming much easier? Or have you perhaps encountered a new challenge?

I’m thrilled that fantasy romance/romantasy has finally hit the mainstream. There was a very long time, when I first started in publishing, that it was considered totally uncommercial to allow too much romance in a fantasy novel (or vice versa), and even when my first two books for adults were published back in 2016, the romance was very carefully de-emphasized in their marketing. So it’s been really thrilling to see actual “Romantasy” sections in some of the bookstores I walk into! And I love no longer having to hide or excuse the romance in my fantasy stories.

Your catalogue of stories is incredible. Where would you direct readers to next? Any stories that hold a particularly special place in your heart?

Thank you so much! For readers who start with Enchanting the Fae Queen, I would definitely recommend trying Wooing the Witch Queen next. Each book in the trilogy can work as a standalone, but I think you’ll enjoy seeing how Saskia and Felix found each other (and how Lorelei and Gerard first circled each other in that previous book). And for readers who’ve already scooped up both books, I’d recommend my cozy-spooky romantasy novella series The Unexpected Adventures of Lady and Lord Riven, which begins with A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience.

Is there a genre or trope that you haven’t tried writing yet but that you’d love to?

Ooh, so many! I grew up as an avid romance fan, so I have a whole long list of tropes that I sigh over. Best Friends to Lovers is definitely one of them – I haven’t tried writing that arc yet!

Could we get any hints about what more we can expect in this series? Or perhaps a teaser of any other project you might be working on?

Of course! Book 3 in the Queens of Villainy trilogy, Melting the Ice Queen, will be published in March 2027. It’s a marriage of convenience (with no feelings involved whatsoever!) for Queen Ailana...and anyone who reads to the end of Enchanting the Fae Queen will be able to guess exactly who she’s marrying. ;)

Our podcast focuses on media we’re currently loving. Are there any books, shows, movies, or games you’re enjoying at the moment? Any recommendations for our audience? Bonus points if it includes sapphics!

I’ve recently really loved Julie Leong’s cozy sapphic romantasy novel The Keeper of Small Things, as well as Adie Hart’s sapphic treasure-hunting fantasy adventure novella Ranger Danger (which you can grab from her Patreon or more widely as part of her collection Party of Two). They both mingle romance with a lot of humor and heart!

About the Author

Stephanie Burgis grew up in East Lansing, Michigan, but now lives in Wales with her husband and two children, surrounded by mountains, castles and coffee shops. She writes wildly romantic adult historical fantasies (including The Harwood Spellbook, over 20,000 self-published copies sold) and has had over forty short stories for adults and teens published in magazines and anthologies.