Behind the Scenes: The Story of a.t.kumagai

If you've stumbled upon my website and somehow went down the rabbit hole to my blog then welcome. Thank you for stopping to take the time to read more about who I am and why I became a writer (as if I had much of choice).

Prologue:

I'm a.t.kumagai and I'm a fantasy romance author. (It still feels very unreal to admit this!) Nearly everything I write has a dash of magic and a sprinkle of romance. And on many occasions has spicier (yes, smuttier) scenes.

I'm originally from the US but I've lived and visited a lot of places due to my family's military background. I moved to Japan in 2018 (has it really been that long???) and fell in love with my husband. We have a son who has the luck to grow up in Japan and likely in a city which is a far different childhood than I had.

Chapter One: The Place It All Began

It was middle school notebooks that started it all. You know the spiral, college ruled notebooks, perfect for scribbling in scenes and characters when I'm really supposed to be taking algebra notes. My friends sent me down a path that led to fantastical worlds filled with vampires, angels, and dragons. Our stories didn't make much sense and that was fine. They were fun, hilarious, and sometimes steamy.

From there I found myself in libraries and high school mythology lessons. I fell in love with ancient history and world cultures. And I was beyond lucky to live on a military base where I met people with different backgrounds, unique cultures, and just as unique family units. I grew interested in people's lives and studied psychology to peel back the petals and take a closer look at what made us all alive.

Writing became more complex. Still fun and steamy but I enjoyed delving deeper into my characters. I wanted to know what drove them. What were their desires and biggest fears? And then before I knew it I was consumed with telling stories.

Chapter Two: Too Many WIPs

If you know me from my fanfic days (gosh, I can't wait to pick that up again!) then you know I have way too many projects going at once. I have more book titles and book cover ideas than I know what to do with. I have half finished novels waiting for my attention. I have at least ten or fifteen unfinished fanfics dying for closure.

I will say that after finishing Lattes with Starlight, I've found my second wind and the routine that truly works for me. I've developed a combination of too much caffeine, a Notion page that has way too many details, and a writing platform that has my word count staring me down. In a future post I might break down my writing process in more detail and share the things I've found most helpful to getting me from the starting line to the finish line.

Chapter Three: The Sneak Peak

There's a story I've been working on for well over a decade that's bound to come out. I had high hopes that the end of 2025 would be its final debut but I still find the story lacking. I started this urban fantasy during my university years, inspired by the Anita Blake series by Laurrel K Hamilton and the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. They had a huge impact on my writing but I'm worried I've changed too much over the year. I'm not sure I can do the story justice anymore.

Shadows in Her Bones features Josephine 'Jo' Chausseur, a vampire hunter who doesn't actually want to be a hunter. It's thrusted on her by family expectations. Her aunt is dead set on making Jo powerful, even if it means breaking a few bones. Jo manages to leave that life behind, deciding to officially retire from being a hunter, but life has different plans for her.

She's asked to help on a missing person's case that leads her (and her loved ones) down a dangerous path. It also doesn't help she keeps getting distracted by a very attractive Alpha Werewolf.

Definitely arriving in 2025 is Out of My Skin, an urban fantasy focused on Mizuki's journey to self-discovery all while trying to escape her abusive husband. She discovers a powerful secret about the world around her but mostly about herself.

This story has been near and dear to my heart. I want to give power to those who feel the most helpless. Especially in this day and age, we often feel pressure from society to act a certain way, think a certain way.

Both of these stories are currently looking for beta readers. If you're interested pop on over to sign up. I include trigger/content warnings as well as a blurb to ensure you know what you're getting into.

Epilogue:

Thanks again for stopping by. I’d love to hear from you so please drop a comment, share a favorite book, or just say hello. Writing is usually a solitary act but stories are meant to be shared. In fact, my favorite part of writing, is getting to share it!

Until next time, stay safe~

a.t.kumagai

Beta Reading