E. Ardell asked H.T. Macintyre:

?How hard was it to write this book

H.T. Macintyre Pretty difficult. I started writing The Unwelcome One during a really bad point in my life. I was stuck in a toxic work environment that was beginning to take a toll on both my mental and physical health-the only thing keeping me sane was my writing. To add to everything else, my father had died, I nearly ended up being hospitalized twice, and I was pouring whatever energy I had left into a job search. (How I kept writing still boggles me even now)

Then my luck finally started to change for the better. One of my job applications bore fruit (literally I got the news on April 1st, started working on 4/20) and so I was able to gleefully leave my old workplace. Unwelcome One more or less got put on an unintended hold while I dealt with the immediate aftermath of leaving such a stressful environment-and then the Gaijin Ronin storyline itself ended up changing from the initial one book to this starter three-part series. I met my editor-who was a big source of encouragement and advice-and I just kept on writing as much as I could, while starting to research self-publishing.

It certainly was an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone, but I'm proud for the lessons I learned out of it and of my book!

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