Fun Facts/Behind the Scenes/Did You Know?'-type tidbits about the author, the book or the writing process of the book.

The Beauty of the Dark trilogy started out because of one sentence scribbled in a notebook from when I was 17 years old. “A witch and a vampire fall in love.” I thought it was going to be a short story and even wrote the first chapters during my senior year of high school and into the firs month or so of college (late 2009). I put it aside and forgot about it until September 2013. I found that notebook and those chapters again and began taking notes. About these characters, the world, the rules of the world, their histories, all of that.

Originally, the story was in third person limited perspective. When I was looking it over I decided that wasn’t going to work so I rewrote those first two or three chapters in first person perspective.

First I thought it was going to be a short story. Then a stand alone. Then a duology. Now it’s a trilogy. (With other stories in the same world to come.) Who knew? hahaha.

The book is told in alternating Points of View. Alternating between Trent and Kiara. I toyed with the idea of having Kaleib’s POV in there, too but decided against it. (He is getting his own stories, though and probably even a book with his accounting of the events of the trilogy.) However, I still consider Kaleib an absolutely integral character to this trilogy.

Trent was the easiest character for me to write in this trilogy. Actually, he’s probably the easiest character for me two write period. Out of any I’ve published or written. That doesn’t mean he’s an easy character to write, exactly, but he was/is the easiest for me. When I sat down to write Trent, Kiara and Kaleib’s character sketched and histories Trent’s backstory came flying out of my fingertips onto the keyboard as if it had always been there in my head. Just waiting to finally be let out. He’s the character that i know best, followed by Kiara. Really, those three are. Knowing them so well has its drawbacks, though. Especially with Trent because…he’s a complicated fellow. haha. So when I write something seemingly irrational and unexplainable that he does I know why he does it and sometimes don’t consider that the person who’s reading may not and they might just think he’s a jerk.

Trent wrote a poem for Kiara. I have this poem all written out and it’s even included in one of my poetry collections (Beautiful Broken.)

I always, always have playlists for my books. I sometimes make one for when I’m writing and a separate one for the official playlist I put in the back of the book. This is the playlist that includes every single song in all of the Beauty of the Dark playlists: https://spoti.fi/2PEaarQ

I keep a small wooden turtle on my desk that my best friend brought back from Europe for me. I keep it with me when I write for luck.

My mom bought my Vampire perfume while I was writing this trilogy. I put it on only when I’m going to be working on a story in this world.

I almost always wear my Wuthering Heights fingerless gloves when I work on this trilogy/world because the book is Trent and Kiara’s favorite (as well as mine) and is mentioned throughout the trilogy.