> Thank you for the great answer! I can see how tropes are a necessary short hand to bring the reader along for the ride.

You're welcome, but note that it's not just that they're necessary shorthand, but that they're fundamental structure. You want a team of characters for any reason? That's a trope. The only way not to have it is to have only one character. But that's also a trope. "Eliminating tropes" is like saying you want to build a bridge but without any atoms. It's just not feasible. Understanding tropes is akin to understanding your building materials and using them properly or in clever ways.

> Has there ever been a story line you had to abandon because you strayed too far from a recognizable setup?

In that regard, no. I've had to abandon a few because plots or characters didn't work the way I'd hoped, or not been as fun as I'd imagined. There's a whole completed manuscript on my drive that never got published because it was just too rough, and I'm not sure it'll ever be (I'll likely just take stuff from it for other stories).

> Looking through your library I can't see if you're working with a publisher. Are you freelance?

I'm Indie, yes. I prefer the freedom.

> Have you ever considered producing any of your books into audio? Have you considered who you would choose as a narrator?

This is a common question, but the answer is always "cost, cost cost." Audiobooks aren't cheap to produce, especially big ones. Someday I hope to, but until I'm selling a few thousand copies a week it's going to remain a pipe dream. As far as who I'd pick for a narrator it'd depend on the book.