My journey from starting my first novel to where I am now.

I'd been a writer of poetry (mostly spoken word form, and freehand) since I was a child, and had always wanted to embark on something more. It wasn't until about two years ago that my muse finally answered my call, and I knew it was time for me to write a novel. I love, and have been inspired by many books, and series featuring supernatural characters and story-lines. So I went with that inspiration, and began to wonder what kind of world I wanted to create.

I knew that I wanted to write a series, one told through the point of view of my heroine. I was raised by a single mother, and have always had strong females in my life that have influenced and astonished me, and I wanted my main character to be blessed with some of those same strengths that I've witnessed in my life. I also knew that I wanted a lot of minority characters in my series, written in a way that breaks through the stereotypes that often surrounds them. And lastly, I knew that I wanted to write a supernatural series that grounded my readers by presenting them with a world alot like the one we all live in today. Whether the character is a vampire, elf, faerie, demon, shape-shifter, or human, I wanted to write them in a way that they were relatable to the reader.

Then, the main character presented herself to me. I wrote in my journal for days, outlining her physical appearance, her personality, upbringing, career, life goals etc. Then came the villain, the main antagonist of the first book. After creating both characters the world began to fall into place, and I was flooded with other characters that would help shape the world that Samantha, my main character, lives in.

After several months spent creating the world inside my head, and A LOT of related research, I started my first page in Febuary, 2009.

It wasn't until I was about halfway through the book that I felt that I had truly found my voice, or style as a novelist. Currently, I am two chapters from completing the first book in the series, and have outlined the next five books. I am looking forward to the editing process, and going back to that first half and cleaning it up a bit.

This work in progress has literally changed my life. I now have a close relationship with my muse, and a confidence I have never had for my work prior to embarking on this journey. I've learned so much about how I work, as a writer, during the process, and have taken my mind to places creatively, that I never would've imagined going to before starting this. My hope is that people will enjoy my first book, and continue to enjoy the following books in the series. I hope they will embrace the world, and characters I've created and come to love them (or in some cases hate them), as I have.

More to come later...