Author Interviews
About the author
Tell us your story? What made you start writing?
Telling stories has always been something I wanted to do. I remember when I was around eight years old, I walked around for a couple of days with a clipboard, interviewing my family and neighbors about what type of story they’d want to read. I don’t think I ever wrote it, but that’s my first memory of wanting to write. I dabbled a little more in my teenage years, attempting to write a fantasy epic, but it never really got off the ground. I still have all the digital files, though! Perhaps one day it will become reality.
Then I went to college, got a job, and dropped all attempts at writing while trying to be one of those responsible adults. In the spring of 2018, during a difficult period of my life, I woke up one morning from a really vivid and tragic dream I still remember. It inspired the first full novel I managed to write, which took eight months. It was pretty bad! Luckily, I learned a lot from it and the writer friends I’ve accumulated. Darkness Within was my fourth novel, and the first one which got published.
I’ve never stopped thinking about characters since that dream. They drive every single scrap of an idea I have typed out. Wanting to understand what makes people tick and what happens when I smash two very different personalities together.
Also, kissing. I like to write kissing.
If you could go back in time, what year would you travel to?
1991. I’ve got some advice to give to ten-year-old me…is that allowed? Lol
What is one thing you will never do again?
Wait for things to come to me. Go out and grab what you want!
What three items would you take with you on a deserted island?
I’m going to be cheeky here: My phone, a house, and a boat.
About Darkness Within
Zero and Lindberg. Aideen and Drew. Wow, where do I begin? This book was gripping from the second chapter to the very end. Second, you ask? As I started, my partner was watching Brooklyn 99 very loudly and I’ve found out it’s one of the most distracting shows you can attempt to read to, which is one of the reasons the first chapter went a little slow for me. That, and the fact that part of the world building was delivered in a rather telling way as Aideen’s character got introduced — the only complaint I ever had throughout the whole book!
Aideen Duffy’s job is hunting down the dark creatures who are trying to overthrow human society and bring the world back to how it used to be when vampires, werewolves, and their ilk were in charge.
The culmination of two years’ work, she’s closing in on Costecu, the vampire responsible for the most deadly cell in her city. When the op goes sideways, instead capturing the elusive bastard, she ends up with second prize: his right-hand man, Druain Lindberg.
What happens next, she couldn’t have planned for in a thousand years.
Deep undercover, Drew is swimming in the blood of Costecu’s treachery, but he’d do anything and everything to destroy the heinous vampire who’d ruined his life.
With the stink of evil ground into his pores, he’s ordered to kidnap Aideen and bring her to Costecu, but this time following orders is not going to happen. The spirited selkie can’t be cowed, and something in her calls to him.
When Drew risks long-held plans to save Aideen, everyone – good and evil – are after them. Keeping them hidden long enough to escape is not as big a problem as her letting him do what his heart compels him is essential – protecting her with his life.
Tell us a little about the book. How did you come up with the idea for it?
A few factors influenced Darkness Within. At the time I’d read a lot of paranormal books and wanted to try a slightly different twist on it in regards to how the creatures presented. I’m also a bit of a contrarian, so I was tired of all the vampires and werewolves. I wanted to take a fantasy race I like, Dwarves, and make them more interesting. I’d also been exploring the Alpha Male trope. As a male myself, a lot of times it rubs me the wrong way, so I wanted to try to come up with a character that was a bit more layered. I hope I managed that with Drew.
As for Aideen, I wouldn’t call her an Alpha Female, but she’s one hundred percent capable of taking care of herself, and doesn’t take crap from anyone. So what would she do when faced with someone like Drew? I expected lots of fireworks.
Like I mentioned, almost everything comes from characters first. Once I have them, it’s not so hard to invent a plot to run them through.
Do you have a favourite scene from the book, something you enjoyed writing the most? What is it and why?
I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite scene, but I’m most proud of myself with the scene where Drew has to pretend to interrogate Aideen for information. That was really difficult to write without it being gross or exploitative, plus I went and picked something which personally icks me out: toenails. I don’t know what I was thinking, lol!
Other than that, I’d have to say any scene where they’re sniping back and forth at each other are my favorites. I love writing dialogue.
Do any of your characters resemble anyone from real life? Are any of them a bit like you?
No, I don’t like to base characters on people I know. It would get uncomfortable if they figured it out. On the other hand, they’re all a bit like me in some way. Some personality quirk, way of speaking or thinking, habits, something is pulled from my life in almost every case. It’s a helpful way to understand oneself.
If you were to get a chance to meet any of your characters, who would you meet and what would you do together?
If I’m picking from Darkness Within, I’m not sure I can separate Aideen and Drew. I have no idea what I’d do with them, but I’m sure it would end up with me bruised and sore. I suspect they’d try to get me to rock climb or maybe participate in a cage match…
If I get to pick from any character, right now I’d pick Leighton from my New Years romance novella. She’d be great to have an adventure with.
About writing
What are your writing habits? Do you keep a schedule or is it chaotic, when inspiration hits kind of thing?
I do try to keep a habit, but the last couple of months it’s been in shambles. Typically, I’ll do most of my writing for two to three hours in the evening in a series of 20-30 minute sprints with a 5-10 minute break between each one. It’s even better when it’s with others doing the same thing. It’s a little different when I’m editing, since that’s still a challenge for me.
What challenges did you face when writing Darkness Within?
I’d never written anything paranormal and also never written anything so dark. It was interesting to figure out all the expectations and tropes, and how to make them work for me personally.
What’s your favorite and least favorite part of publishing?
My favorite part is getting at least one extra set of eyes on what I’ve done, advice on how to improve the draft, and all other writing-related things!
My least favorite is all the marketing. I’m not very good at marketing, lol.
Do you have any suggestions or advice for other writers out there?
It depends on what your goals are. If you’re looking to get published, then the biggest bit of advice I can give is to write every day. Even if it’s only for a few minutes, and you think it’s total garbage, write something every day. You can’t get better at it if you don’t practice.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on a four book series featuring Eliza Compton, a woman in 1714 who wants freedom and adventure, and Richard Crowder, a pirate captain who is secretly part Kraken. She’s not a great fan of his to start, but they do have a lot of adventures together! Oh, yes, there’s also kissing.
Surprise question
Everyone always thinks they’d be royalty or a knight if they were born in Medieval times, but let’s be honest, you probably wouldn’t be. So, what kind of peasant do you think you’d be if you were born in medieval times?
I’d probably be a peasant who hated doing manual labor and shouted about the violence inherent in the system. Then died of blood poisoning.
Also Check out Darknes Exposed
When Aideen Duffy went from pursuing Druain Lindberg for the sole purpose of arresting him and throwing away the key, to becoming Drew’s lover, things certainly took a turn.
Yeah, he’s raw, cynical, and mired in the evil crimes his “boss” Costecu had him commit. But… Drew’s the good guy. For years he’s been working undercover for Aideen’s agency, and she never knew.
He protected her from Costecu’s murderous henchmen, and in so doing, blew his cover. Costecu wants revenge, and the hundreds of years-old vampire is coming for Drew.
When Drew sacrifices himself so Aideen can get away, she has a new mission: she must save the man she loves.
It’s the least she can do, especially since she means to keep him forever.
Connect with the author
About the author
Tell us your story? What made you start writing?
My story is a little complicated. My mum became ill when I was two, leaving her permanently disabled. She was re-learning to do everything I was learning at that age: walking, talking, reading and writing etc. I never got the same chance to learn those things as some other kids because the focus at the time was getting mum better so she could care for me and my older sister. I fell behind and when it came time for me to start school, I couldn’t read, I struggled with writing and I even had some problems with my speech.
I went through school struggling to keep up. I worked on my speech with a speech therapist and it improved but there wasn’t a lot of time at home to improve my reading. My grandpa tried but he had my mum, my sister and my granny who had been diagnosed with alzhimers to look after as well. Eventually, I muddled through.
It wasn’t until age 10 when the Harry Potter movie came out. I went to see it and fell in love. I knew my sister had the books, so one day I forced myself to read the first one. I kinda knew the story from the movie so managed to work it all out from there. It took me a year to read the first book but I did and gradually became faster and more proficient with reading. I still struggle with reading out loud but I don’t need to do that very often. I eventually began to write my own stories and it helped me cope with everything going on at home. I got diagnosed as dyslexic when I started university which, looking back, explains a lot but I keep working hard to improve my writing everyday.
What’s your favorite family tradition?
This tradition stopped when my grampa passed away in 2019 but he used to come and sit with mum everyday while me and my sister were at school. I used to leave my book sitting and when he came in he would read as far as he could and then put his book mark in his section and I would have my bookmark in mine and we did that almost every day, ( depending on what i was reading.)
What three items would you take with you on a deserted island?
Notebook, pencil and my favourite novel.
If you had a warning label, what would yours say?
Warning, ask an obvious question and get a sarcastic answer.
A Shadow of Blood and Magic (The Shadowood trilogy #1)
Through blood she gains life, from magic she receives power, with both, she is one.
Cassandra Woods is not supposed to exist. Fearing for her life she flees her home, escaping punishments for the crimes she committed against the tyrannical Queen of Striga to join forces with the coven’s enemy.
Leonardo Sage, a General of the Lamian army and a High member of the Clan is assigned to watch over Cassandra, he must put his prejudice aside as he struggles with his feelings for her but she has a secret, the real reason she left Coven and he is determined to find the truth.
Cassandra’s life is in even more danger when an Assassin, an outlawed Shifter is sent to kill her, but all is not what it seems and Cassandra must trust the Clan to protect her, but a threat from inside their own ranks surfaces and Cassandra finds herself in the middle when she saves the life of the Prince of Lamia.
As war rages between the kingdoms, Cassandra must choose a side. The lives of the people hang in the balance, and it is up to Cassandra to save them, but will she make the right choice?
Love or loyalty. Which one will prevail?
Tell us a little about the book. How did you come up with the idea for the Shadowood trilogy?
I am not very good at describing the book and often when asked what it’s about I usually reply, stuff and magic, but here goes. It’s about a halfling, named Cassandra, who doesn’t really fit in. She flees from the evil witch queen to join her unknown father’s vampire clan but she doesn’t know if she can trust them. She goes on a journey to find where she belongs and who she really is while overcoming obstacles as well as attacks from the witch queen. Eventually Cassie has to decide if she has made the right choice as the two kingdoms are at war and she either has to decide which side she belongs to or try to unite them to put an end to the war.
I first wrote a draft of this when I was 16 and still at school, (many many moons ago,) so I don’t really remember where the original idea came from. It was possibly a dream as that’s where a lot of my other writing comes from. But it has developed so much that it is unrecognisable as the same story.
Do any of your characters resemble anyone from real life? Are any of them a bit like you?
Isabella is loosely based on someone in real life. I don’t want to go into too much detail but someone who has not been very nice to me over the last 10 years or so.
I like to think I am a mixture of Cassandra and Leonardo. I have the loyalty and sarcasm of Cassandra but I often like my own company and am not always very social like Leo.
If you had to choose between saving Cassandra and Leo from a horrible death, who would you pick? This is hypothetical and not in any way referring to the ending of the story and how the next book may begin.
Oh tough one, I love them both but I think I would save Leo. He has way more responsibilities than Cassie and I think anyone who loves the books would never forgive me if I killed off one of the only male love interests in the book.
If you were a character in the Shadowood series, who would you be and why?
100% Caleb Ravensoul, he is hilarious and I think if I was Caleb I would be more confident with life. ( We see more of Caleb in book 2.)
About writing:
Do you research a lot while writing? What has been the most interesting thing you learnt while writing a book?
I try to, but sometimes I just need to get ideas out and then go back and fact check. Though I am a believer in fantasy fiction, you don’t need to be 100% accurate as it is whatever you make it in your world.
What are your writing habits? Do you keep a schedule or is it chaotic, when inspiration hits kind of thing?
Chaotic definitely, I am a pantser so never really plan. I will if I get stuck at a point but it is usually as ideas flow. I make schedules for after the first draft when I have timelines etc.
What’s your favorite and least favorite part of publishing?
I have only published one book and I had so many issues with the POD service. I hate that it isn’t more straightforward for us self-published authors and are sometimes seen as not “real authors” which isn’t true we just cut out the middleman and do all the work ourselves.
When can we wait for the sequel? Is there anything you can say about it without any spoilers?
Sometime in mid to late 2022. All I can say is there is a lot more background on certain characters and a lot of the unanswered questions from book one will be answered in book two.
Surprise question
Everyone always thinks they’d be royalty or a knight if they were born in Medieval times, but let’s be honest, you probably wouldn’t be. So, what kind of peasant do you think you’d be if you were born in medieval times?
I think I would be the peasant that is sort of in the middle, maybe a seamstress that can mend peoples clothes to make her living.
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