Meet Catherine: A Q&A with the Author of The Alpha Flame (Part Two)
More reader questions about the world, the writing, and what comes next.
Welcome back for Part Two of this Q&A with me, Catherine Lynwood. After the first post went up, even more questions came in, some from readers of advance copies who had very sharp eyes! Once again, my daughter Sammy sat with me to ask them and keep me honest. I’m so grateful to everyone who’s reached out, asked hard questions, or just read along. This one’s for you.
Sammy: One reader said there are still some unanswered questions at the end. Was that intentional?
Catherine: Absolutely. The Alpha Flame resolves Maggie and Beth’s first fight for survival, it gives them choices and consequences they can’t avoid. But it also leaves room for what comes next. Some questions get answers. Others are meant to linger. Because life isn’t tidy, and their journey is far from over. Book 2 (Reckoning) and Book 3 (Redemption) will pick up those threads. I wanted readers to feel that tension, that sense there’s more coming, because there is.
Sammy: This one is from an ARC reader, “What happens to DI Baker? You left us hanging!”
Catherine: (laughs) I love that someone caught that. Baker’s story is very much unfinished. He’s not just a supporting character who disappears. He’s complicated, a good man in a broken system, trying to do right, failing sometimes. Without spoilers: his role grows a lot in Book 2. He becomes more challenging for Maggie, in ways she can’t predict. If you’re worried I forgot about him, don’t be. Reckoning and Redemption will answer that in full.
Sammy: Someone asked if Maggie is based on anyone you know.
Catherine: She’s not one person. She’s built from a lot of real experiences, women I grew up with, survivors I’ve met, things in me I wanted to explore. She has my voice, my protective streak, my tendency to push back. But she’s also braver, messier, more raw. Writing her was hard because I had to be honest about the things people survive, and how they carry that forward.
Sammy: Another reader asked if Beth will get her own POV in future books.
Catherine: Without giving too much away: yes. I’ve always known Beth needed her own voice. Maggie’s perspective is limited by what she knows, what she guesses, what she avoids seeing. Book 2 opens that up. Readers will get much more of Beth’s side of things, her fears, her resilience, her truth. I think she deserves that.
Sammy: So there will be more Q&A posts?
Catherine: Absolutely. I’m not done answering questions. Every time someone writes in, I feel both grateful and a little awed that anyone cares this much. There are more things to talk about, craft, research, characters I haven’t even mentioned yet. And if you have a question you want included, please send it. I want these to stay honest and real.
Sammy: Anything else you want to say to readers?
Catherine: Just thank you. Thank you for reading. For caring. For wanting to know these people I spent so long trying to do justice to. Writing The Alpha Flame was the hardest thing I’ve done, but knowing it resonates with someone makes every raw, ugly, or beautiful sentence worth it. I hope you’ll stay for the next part of the journey.