Besides all of this writing, I've been asked to speak on a panel at my local Barnes and Noble for B-Fest, the YA-oriented festival where YA authors speak at bookstores and hold events for readers. While I don't write YA, I couldn't pass up the chance when asked to talk about the creative process, that is, my characters, plot, and connecting plots in a series.

We needn't paint obtuse colors of expression on our character's faces all the time (I was a fan of this when I first started writing), their dialogue and small mannerisms can help paint a picture that can, with every little nuance, create a greater, more believable world.

These Elves were banished to beneath the Etrian Hills by Dracula for their attack on the Vampire City some 3 years from the first book's start. They are very ridiculed and have had their weapons taken from them, but they are still granted their magic by Dracula and the Council of Creatures.

People often ask me why I chose to write about Vampires, and my answer always is: I didn't choose to write about Vampires; they chose me.

As I've said on this blog before, my mother is to blame (or thank) for my avid interest in all things Dark. She would watch all the old horror movies while pregnant with me, and I guess some of it rubbed off on the little premature baby inside. 

Anyway, Vampires are hypnotic, sexy, cruel, damned, monstrous, needy, and, I think, necessary.  

The Dark World (the series in its entirety), is me laid bare. All my anxieties, my fears, my struggles with low self-esteem, the need for often constant approval from family and friends and romantic relationships, are represented in various characters, situations, and dialogue. Though one would be hard-pressed to find a character that directly represents someone in my life, they are all there, mixed in my colorful cast of Vampires, Lycans, Enchanters, Dragons, Merpeople, Elves, and Elite Creatures.

I hope those that deal with anxiety and/or depression recognize these ailments in my characters and understand this is not a 'fun, light-hearted journey,' this is a maddening tale, a fairytale I call it.

The Dark World (the series in its entirety), is me laid bare. All my anxieties, my fears, my struggles with low self-esteem, the need for often constant approval from family and friends and romantic relationships, are represented in various characters, situations, and dialogue. Though one would be hard-pressed to find a character that directly represents someone in my life, they are all there, mixed in my colorful cast of Vampires, Lycans, Enchanters, Dragons, Merpeople, Elves, and Elite Creatures.

I hope those that deal with anxiety and/or depression recognize these ailments in my characters and understand this is not a 'fun, light-hearted journey,' this is a maddening tale, a fairytale I call it.

He captured all the nuances of each book beautifully, and his attention to detail to character is astounding. I'm extremely happy with them.

Just so no one's confused, however, I will say that these books follow a group of characters, as such there are scene dividers and threads of everyone's story as the series progresses.