Every Tuesday, get to know a bit about the stories behind the books you love, and discover your next favourite novel.

Two-book Tuesday! We’ll hear about the first two of Shana Stephen’s post-apocalyptic dark fantasy novels. Shana, tell us about your books!

Shana: This series is dark fantasy meets supernatural meets post-apocalyptic. Set in the United States in the present day, our story begins with our MC being abducted by an inhuman creature. Natural disaster follows. Alongside us for centuries were the Shadow Walkers, a species living in secret, bound by a magic pact. With the world turned upside down, and the Shadow Walkers revealed, what will happen? 

Both books are written in the first person. The blurb for the The Shadows Between is, “If you had told me last week that I would have been hiking through the woods with some weird, demonic, creature I would have said you were dreaming. Yet here I am, trekking through the mud, sleeping on the rock hard earth, and peeing in a hole in the ground. I don’t know what he wants, or why he took me. All I know is I need to survive. And I have a feeling that something bad is coming. For all of us.”

The blurb for Out of the Shadows is, “It’s crazy to think that just a month ago a supervolcano erupting was my biggest concern. Little did I know what was in store for me in the aftermath. Actions have consequences, I suppose. Breaking the pact freed the Shadow Walkers, but made me enemy number one. In the ash-filled remains of the world outside, I’m on a mission to bring peace. Too bad the world has other plans for me.”

Sabitha: What inspired you to write this book?

Shana: This series actually started as freethought writing, oddly enough. The first paragraph of Book 1 was born during journaling. When the freethought ended, the main male character, dubbed Death, materialized in my mind. The story just kind of took off from there. After the characters were formed, my inspiration for the plot was basically to focus on moral greys since that’s what I love to read and watch. 

Sabitha: We have a lot of writers in our community. What’s your writing process?

Shana: My writing process is a little chaotic. I will write when inspiration strikes, which is not regularly. Sometimes if I have an idea for a later scene, I will force myself to write to get to that scene, but when I do this a lot of editing has to occur later. If I’m feeling writer’s block I will usually switch to reading to get back into the right headspace. Then, as I go, I try to outline the plot or make character sheets, but I find it’s more so just what the characters would do in that given situation. In that sense, it almost feels like my choices are limited in where I take the story, haha. 

Sabitha: Do you have a “fan-cast” – do you have actors you’d cast as your main characters?

Shana: I haven’t given much thought to it but a friend of mine said Adam Driver, who plays Kylo Ren in Star Wars, would be good in the role of Death. I think the actor who played Dream, Tom Sturridge, in Sandman would also be a good Death. 

Sabitha: What book do you tell all your friends to read? 

Shana:  I have recommended the Hollows series by Kim Harrison to many friends because it is an awesome series, in my opinion, and is still going. If you like book one of that series, you are in for a treat because the books just keep coming. Another new favorite of mine is Can’t Wait to be Dead by Samantha Verba. I really enjoyed it so I recommended it to my friends and family. It has action, romance, vampires, and humor. What’s not to like?

Sabitha:  If you could pick any author to read your book, who would you want to read it? Why them?

Shana: I would love Neil Gaiman to read my book because I think that would just be so cool. And I believe any feedback he’d give would really help in my growth as a writer. 

Sabitha: Does the location the story takes place mean something to you or to the work?

Shana: The location for this series was basically a ‘write what you know’ situation for me. I live on the east coast of the U.S so that is where the story takes place. Any places I haven’t physically been I visited on Google Earth. Since this series is modern fantasy and not full-blown fantasy, I felt it was important to have a good mental visual of the location and scenery to best describe it to the reader. 

Sabitha: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

Shana: You can find me and my series on my Amazon author page.