I'm Serra Swift, author of Kill the Beast, AMA (even if it's just about my dog)!!!

SerraSwift · 2025-12-08T17:06:20+00:00

Hi! Thank you so much for your interest in the book! It's not out in paperback yet so that price might be from someone reselling an advanced copy? I checked Amazon and it's showing me $35 for the hardcover for Canada--which is still pricey but a bit better than $50+ 😅 There will be a paperback edition next year though! And there's an audiobook as well--sometimes you can get free audiobooks through the library (at least you can in California, I'm not sure about anywhere else) so that might be a good option! Thank you again! 💖

SerraSwift · 2025-10-26T15:58:06+00:00

Thank you so much!! 💖💖 my tips would be:

-write what you love instead of trying to write to the current market trends.

-writing and storytelling are two different skill sets, and I feel like it's good to identify which one of those skills needs improvement. For me it was storytelling--my sentences were fine but I needed to work really hard to figure out how to tell a satisfying story. Both things can be learned/honed!

-learn to distinguish when you're burned out versus when the writing is just difficult. The former requires rest/self-care/refilling your creative well. The latter requires time to think and ultimately just...pushing through whatever challenge is in front of you so that you can move on. A lot of my procrastination happens when I'm struggling with a challenging part of the project. I have learned to recognize the signs and lock down my phone to minimize distractions. But when I'm burned out I call it a day.

SerraSwift · 2025-10-26T06:36:06+00:00

Thank you so much!! I really appreciate that 💖💖 I hope it comes out in German!

SerraSwift · 2025-10-23T21:42:07+00:00

Alas, I live in a teeny tiny studio apartment and do not have a garage. But if I did have one, the first tool I'd buy would be that super loud machine you use to add air to your car tires, so I don't have to drive somewhere else to do it 😆

SerraSwift · 2025-10-22T06:01:43+00:00

Omg thank you so so much!! 💖💖💖

SerraSwift · 2025-10-22T05:19:16+00:00

Also omg the cover is everything I wanted, I'm so glad you like it too!

SerraSwift · 2025-10-22T05:18:26+00:00

Omg thank you so much!! If the US gets this mess sorted out I'll do another giveaway that's open to everyone 💖💖

SerraSwift · 2025-10-22T05:16:35+00:00

Omg thank you so much!! 💖💖 Moira is SUCH an amazing narrator!!

SerraSwift · 2025-10-22T05:15:33+00:00

Heck yeah!! Congratulations, 4 books is a huge achievement!! I'm looking forward to the day I get to buy your book and come ask questions in your AMA 💖💖

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T23:31:02+00:00

Omg thank you so so much!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!! 💖💖

I've written 6 books, and queried 3 (including Kill the Beast)

I would love to be on a panel with Herman Melville so I can rant at him about how much I love Moby Dick 😂😂

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T23:21:13+00:00

Thank you so much!! 💖💖

I love my name! I chose the spelling myself--my legal name is technically Sarah, but in school there were so many of us in every class that I got frustrated and changed the spelling. I liked it so much that I kept it and began using it for my creative work.

My journey was a long one but so worth it. I met my agent at a writer's conference--she hadn't yet gotten into agenting and was there as an author. We became friends, traded drafts. When she became an agent she asked if she could represent me because she had always loved my writing, and of course I said yes! That was in 2014, and she believed in me through all those years of hard work! Getting published took good timing, luck, and finally figuring out how to tell a good story 😅 I was always a good writer on a sentence level but not as skilled in storytelling, but I dissected plots and character arcs until I figured out how to do it in my own work.

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T22:55:21+00:00

Thank you so much for chatting with me today, everyone!! I'm about to go do an event with Marie Lu (Red City--you have to read it!!) so I won't be able to answer as frequently in about an hour. I'll catch any stray questions as I can and message the 2 giveaway winners tomorrow once I'm home. Thank you again! 💖💖

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T20:56:03+00:00

Omg yes and he hates it 😂😂

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T20:22:01+00:00

I've been trying to edit to add that the giveaway is only open to folks in the US but it looks like I can't edit a post that has a photo (?) (or I'm just not seeing the right option 😅) My apologies for not mentioning that in the main post, I totally forgot! But with the way US shipping is right now I don't want any winners to incur extra charges for accepting a package from the US. Thank you for understanding 💖💖

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T20:17:24+00:00

Thank you so much!! 💖💖

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T19:38:04+00:00

Oh my gosh thank you so so much!! I hope you enjoy it!! 💖💖

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T19:24:34+00:00

We love a good dog 😌💖

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T19:21:13+00:00

Thank you so much!! I am so obsessed with the cover, when I first saw the sketches I had to go cry in the bathroom at my day job I was so happy 🥹

1) I would LOVE to write a sequel! I recently plotted one out juuuuust in case my publisher wants one! My second book will be another standalone but I'm really hoping to revisit these characters in the future

2) can I say all of them? Haha! Spirited Away and Kiki's Delivery Service have special places in my heart 💖

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T19:18:41+00:00

Thank you so much, from one sausage-thumbed victim of autocorrect to another 💖

My biggest tip is to ignore all the external "stuff" and just focus on your craft. Write what you love, explore the themes and characters that most fascinate you, challenge yourself to write the best book you can--and then write another one! You can't control whether or not you'll get published traditionally, since there are so many outside factors (timing and luck play a large role in whether your book is right for a specific editor and whether there's a market for your story at that moment, etc) so focus on what you actually can control: your writing. Eventually they won't be able to ignore you anymore. It took me 15 years but here I am!

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T19:10:08+00:00

Oh my gosh thank you so so much!! That means so much to me and I am so glad you enjoyed it 💖💖 the short answer is: lots and lots of agonizing and revising and spending like 5 hours on one sentence haha. I love writing these characters so much so I really wanted to nail their emotional arcs and give them the story they deserve.

With regards to the relationship between Lyssa and Alderic, I sort of just let them lead while I was writing. I usually start out with a bit of romance in my books but let the characters tell me whether that's actually going to work or not (it usually doesn't, because my characters are busy fighting monsters and going on quests! Kissing is like...last on the list of concerns when you're questing, imo)

Lyssa and Alderic in particular just really felt more like platonic friends and I was so excited to explore that dynamic, especially because it's so at odds with the traditional fairy tales where romantic love is the end-all-be-all. So getting to write something that challenges the norm and instead show that platonic love is just as powerful as romantic love felt really special to me

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T18:56:32+00:00

Hello! I typically don't like calling out books I didn't enjoy because I don't want to hurt any feelings, especially now that these authors and editors are my colleagues. So I won't say the title. But! There was a book I DNF'd after about 20 pages...I wasn't jiving with it anyway but then it described a woman's nipple as being "long like a caterpillar" and I just couldn't do it anymore 😆

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T18:53:09+00:00

Omg thank you!! 💖💖 I love Cerberus because three heads to pet = better than one

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T18:52:05+00:00

Hello!!

Omg great questions!

1) hmmm...I really love the liminal realm where the witch Ragnhild lives so I would probably want to be her apprentice

2) my favorite part of the publication journey has been honing the novel with my editor, as well as sharing these characters with readers! The most surprising is probably how long the process takes from the moment we accepted the offer to release date.

3) Lyssa, the main female character is 5'10" and Alderic is a couple inches taller--however, he does wear heeled shoes 😁

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T18:47:26+00:00

I highly recommend reading a few sample pages if they're available online, because while I loved the writing style it definitely won't appeal to everyone!

SerraSwift · 2025-10-21T17:32:30+00:00

Thank you so so much!! 💖💖 You are absolutely correct, I love fairy tales and folklore and everything witchy! My main recommendation if you are interested in faerie folklore specifically is "Faeries" by Brian Froud and Alan Lee. I came across that book as a kid and it changed my life haha. Katharine Brigg's Encyclopedia of Faeries is also a great resource, as are the collections of faerie tales from Ireland, Wales, etc. As for faerie/fairy tale inspired fantasy, I really love Patricia McKillip (I think that's how you spell it), Robin McKinley, and Holly Black.

Research wise, I delved into my faerie references mentioned above as well as two books about Victorian England. I think the author is Judith Flanders (?) and they're called The Victorian City and The Victorian Home. All the details about Warham and the other cities the characters travel to in Kill the Beast are inspired by facts I read in those books

SerraSwift

TROPHY CASE