In Ross’ latest installment, “Wild Reverence,” which is set to be released early next month, readers remerge into the world of Iris and Roman and their magical typewriters, except this tale is set several decades earlier. It begins with the childhood of Matilda, a goddess born in a ruthless realm who finds herself slipping in and out of the dreams of a human boy named Vincent. They grow up and meet years later outside Vincent's dreams, but at a time when Vincent no longer wants the help of gods, even Matilda. But the pair is driven together by more than just their shared childhood experiences.

HuffPost Books newsletter contributor Emily Southard-Bond spoke with Ross about her latest book, her inspirations, insider gossip on movie news, and new writing projects. 

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

I know “Wild Reverence” is a prequel of sorts to “Divine Rivals” and also could be a stand-alone. It’s been really wonderful to see more of the world you’ve created, but is it true that you’re done writing the “Letter of Enchantment” series? 

I never say never. That's kind of how “Wild Reverence” came to be because I think Iris and Roman's arcs are complete by “Ruthless Vows,” but I was so intrigued with that world, and I had left a few windows and doors cracked open so that I could continue something. With “Wild Reverence” I had so many readers who wanted to know where the magic of the typewriters came from, and they also wanted to just know more about the gods, so I thought, well let me take you on a journey and give you those answers so it feels like you could read “Divine” and “Ruthless” and then read “Wild Reverence,” and you would be able to really see all these little things I planted.

I love that your main male characters are almost the antithesis to these “shadow daddies” or emotionally stunted romance archetypes that seem to be everywhere right now. I’m not saying those characters aren’t fun to read, but your male characters have such a vulnerability to them that readers don’t always get to see in the fantasy romance genre. 

It is interesting when I'm writing my male characters, they do tend to emerge that way, and I think, really, what I'm drawn to myself. These men, who are very in touch with their sensitive and emotional sides and are not afraid to grovel for the women they love. But it is odd because I do see a lot of times my female characters are way more guarded, more in control of their emotions, and have pretty high walls. And so sometimes you see this pattern, but I think that's part of the romance I really like to write. Usually, the men fall hard; they fall first, so it's kind of that experience for my female main characters, feeling like they can trust them and seeing those walls gradually come down. For me, it's a very fun dynamic to write.

 I wouldn’t call “Wild Reverence" a “cozy” romantasy. It feels high stakes and very adult. And I love that you’re willing to kill off a character or two.

Usually, when a character dies, it's really moving. Not to spoil “Ruthless Vows,” but there are two characters that die, and I have so many readers who are so upset at me, but I had to write it like that. They couldn't all make it through to the end because it just wouldn't feel realistic. But I feel like if you look at how I end my other books, I'm going to give you that satisfying happy ending because that's what I'm also looking for. 

There is a moment, though, in “Wild Reverance” where you're not sure you’re getting a happy ever after. Was that always planned in your writing? 

I really wanted to have a very emotional, gut-wrenching last act where I keep the reader on their toes, thinking like, “Oh, like, what's going to happen here? How are these two going to find each other again?” One of the tropes I love to read is soulmates, star-crossed lovers, two people who are really destined to find each other, and even something like death can't keep them apart. So I think that's probably what was playing through my mind as I was writing the book, and I always knew what the epilogue was going to be. 

It’s interesting, when I wrote the book, the first draft was in third person, from Vincent and Matilda’s point of view. I will also say that the characters Bade and Adria, who play such a huge role in the book, weren't even in the first draft. When I think back on it, it's hard to believe, but I actually wrote the story without them first. 

I wanted to write this epic, sweeping story about an immortal who falls in love with a mortal and the tension caused by that. But I thought, “Something's wrong. I think I started in the wrong place.” So I went back and rewrote the first chapter, and that's when that line came to me where Matilda is saying, “Once, long ago, I believed the god of war was my father, but only because he was the first to hold me in his arms after I was born.” And I asked, “Who is this? The god of war?” He just kind of popped up. And so that's how Bade came to be.

I love the storyline of Bade as a father figure role. Not to get too personal, but when you wrote this, were you thinking about your own father at any point or are there connections there? 

I have realized looking back over all my books that I love this idea of found family and I’m very drawn to writing about father-daughter relationships. On a little bit of a personal note, I’ve actually never met my biological dad. My mom had me when she was young and thankfully my grandparents really stepped up and my grandfather was kind of that father figure. But for the first seven years of my life, I did not have a father. And then she met this really wonderful man and they got married and he adopted me. That's probably why I'm very drawn to this idea that the family isn't necessarily blood, it's love. And so when Bade came up, I was honestly not even surprised about how this father figure came to be. 

Are you moving into a different series? 

What I'm working on right now is my next adult fantasy project. It hasn't been announced yet, but it's funny, I sold it back in September of 2023. So, I've been thinking about these characters and this world for a while now and it kind of got bumped when I prioritized “Wild Reverence.” 

Can you tell me anything about your option deal with Paramount Studios for a “Divine Rivals” adaptation? 

We're still very much in the early stages of development, but I will say, all of this happened last August when Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who is an incredible producer, read “Divine Rivals.” I just remember meeting him for the first time, and we connected really well, so I just had a good feeling that this was somebody I could trust to help bring my book into a film and I feel really confident in the group of people that have come together so far. I'm also really excited to be an executive producer on the project and to try and be as involved as they will let me, even if I'm a fly on the wall.