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

Sabitha: Rachel Corsini is here, to talk to us about a book that we all loved, Sushi and Sea Lions. Rachel, tell us a bit about your loveable rom com!

Rachel: Sushi and Sea Lions is about Daniela Verdi, who loses her career as a prima ballerina, and her very wealthy boyfriend, all at once. Her whole life collapses and she moves back to Queens, NY. While there it is up to her to discover what truly matters and figuring out that the dream life she imagined isn’t necessarily what she needed. She also reunites with her brother’s best friend, Vincent LaBate, who is dealing with his own broken life. She falls in love of course, but that’s not the whole story. 

Sabitha: A lot of romance stars a rich man falling for a not-rich heroine. You broke with that by having Dany and Vinny finding each other after leaving behind their rich lifestyles. Why was it important to you to show them finding happiness without riches?

Rachel: I feel like in a world of consumerism we are so caught up on materialism that we lose sight of what really matters. Money and status isn’t everything in the world. Daniela was horribly lonely even though she had prestige and wealth. You can have all the money in the world but be miserable. It happens a lot more than people think. In the end, what matters is how you define success and happiness. 

Sabitha: The story is set in New York, but not just anywhere. Queens feels almost like another character in the novel, because it’s rendered so lovingly. What drew you to this setting?

Rachel:  Queens is special. I grew up there, specifically in the neighborhood the novel takes place in. I had a love/hate relationship with where I grew up for a really long time, until I reached adulthood and I felt like it was special. It was important to me to convey the atmosphere of that place. Small enough that there was a neighborhood feel, a place where it seemed like people knew each other, but big enough that you could be anonymous if you wanted to. The feeling that there was always somewhere to go when you needed something, like a midnight chocolate bar. I also think novels set in New York always focus on the city (meaning Manhattan), they rarely focus on the outer boroughs because I don’t think many writers have experience with them. Queens is a part of me. I wanted to share that. 

Sabitha: Regi the cat was obviously the best character, and I’ve heard a rumour that the fictional Regi is based on your own real life version. Can we see a picture of Regi? 

Rachel: Fiction Regi is based on my Regi. There are some differences like age, but for the most part they are the same.

I have given you a picture of Regi as cat tax. You’re welcome.

Sabitha: This book draws on more of your life than just Regi. Like Dany, you did ballet, and you trained as a teacher. Why did you choose to bring so much of yourself into the book, and where do “you” end and “Dany” begin?

Rachel: This was the first book I’ve ever finished.  There is some wisdom in the adage “write what you know.” I think this was also a little bit of therapy for me. It allowed me to process a lot of things that I was dealing with when I wrote the book. It was easier to use Dany as an outlet for that instead of saying myself, even though she was a lot of myself. 

Superficially, I was never a prima ballerina, though I dreamt of being one at one time. So that’s a major difference between Daniela and myself. Daniela is also more dreamy than I am, more romantic. I really heightened that in her character to show that Vincent helps balance her wonderful overzealousness for life. I am that perky and bubbly and happy in real life. I tend to take whatever upset or sadness I’m feeling and internalize it. I wait to cry alone. Daniela does the same thing. She only shows that side of herself to special people and I do the same. It’s hard for me to be vulnerable. Dany is more vulnerable than I am for sure! 

Sabitha: What does Regi think of your writing? 

Rachel: Regi is unamused by everything that I do. She could care less. I think she is excited about the possibility of being famous though. 

Sabitha: We’re so excited for everyone to be able to read this book. Where can people pre-order it? And where can they find you online?

Rachel: They can preorder my book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Apple Books! They can find me online on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

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

Sabitha: P.K. Reeves joins us to talk about her supernatural new adult novels from the Lineage Series. P.K., can you introduce us to you, your books and your characters?

P.K.: I have two books out so far in the Lineage Series—this  will be the foundation for the shared universe I’m writing my second series in. The books in the Lineage Series are Heir and Vampire Magic. We follow Audrey Sanders, a young woman who didn’t know she was a part of the supernatural world until she was turned into a vampire. Personally, I’m a Filipino American trying to reconnect with my Filipino heritage.

Sabitha: These stories sound imaginative and heartfelt. What inspired you to write and publish them?

P.K.: It really started as something to do while I was at work, and it just turned into a book lol. Really, there wasn’t any inspiration beyond that—until I realized that self publishing was an option. Then I realized I could share my stories with others. 

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

P.K.: I tend to get straight into writing, then after the first draft I read for anything I feel that is missing. It can take either one or two more drafts to get the story I like. Next is getting beta readers and sensitivity readers, and then using their feedback to adjust the story. Finally I run my book through the editing software and to see if I missed anything. Next is the copy/line edit—with at least two rounds of that. Finally comes the proofreading! 

Sabitha: What book do you tell all your friends to read? Besides yours of course!

P.K.: Lirael by Garth Nix! I read this series back in middle school. I have the ebook, paperback, and audiobook versions lol!

Sabitha: You have good taste in books! Which character do you relate to the most in your novels and why?

P.K.: Hmm, off the bat I would say Audrey. We’re both biracial Filipino living very Americanized lives. Both our mother’s cultures were pretty much ignored in the households we grew up in. 

Sabitha: It sounds like writing Audrey is deeply meaningful for you. When you picture your ideal reader, what are they like? Do you hope to show Filipino American identity to them?

P.K.: My ideal reader is probably someone like me when I was younger. The only Asian culture that was pushed by mainstream media was either Chinese or Japanese. I hope that my books show that Filipinos and culture from the Philippines is really amazing and diverse! 

Sabitha: I’m so glad you shared your story and your process. We’re looking forward to reading! Where can the Night Beats community find you and your book?

P.K.: You can find all of my socials, books, and my newsletter sign up on my website. You can connect with me on my Twitter and Instagram. You can find Heir and Vampire Magic for sale from all online bookstores.

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

Sabitha: F.K. Marlowe joins us to tell us about her books and free flash fiction. F.K., what kind of stories do you tell?

F.K.: I write horror with a paranormal twist, and YA fantasy with fangs and sass.

Sabitha: What inspired your current work in progress?

F.K.: I’m amazed how many horror stories I’ve released into the wild. This is my attempt to corral them.

Pennies for Charon is a nice fat collection of my horror stories, some already published, some brand new. It’s packaged in a frame narrative about a vengeful sybil who’s been trapped in a bottle for three millennia and is rather miffed about it. To revive her powers, she sneaks into Charon’s shack while he’s punting dead souls across the river Styx, then steals and eats the “pennies” hoarded there. Each penny is a story collected from one of his passengers, and as the sybil digests them, she absorbs their emotions. Since they are horror stories, the emotions are predictably dark, and you can guess where that might lead, for an already twisted soul!

Sabitha: That sounds delightfully dark! What’s your writing process for horror?

F.K.: Mercurial chaos! Like a magpie, I’m attracted by anything shiny, including new ideas, so my writing folder is a jumble of scattered thoughts and plots in various stages of development. It sounds unproductive, but I don’t often suffer from writer’s block – if something’s not working, I just skip onto the next idea. I can’t sit down to write without a cuppa though.

Sabitha: Can’t get anything done without tea! If you could pick any author to read your book, who would you want to read it? Why them?

F.K.:  Neil Gaiman! His imagination seems to spark endlessly. Wouldn’t he be fantastic company on a long plane flight?

Sabitha: When you picture your ideal reader, what are they like?

F.K.: I’m sitting in a cozy pub with them, spinning a tale over a pint, in front of a roaring fire. It’s raining outside, and we’ve a long evening ahead of us. As I tell them my story, I can see them chuckling along with some parts, clutching the arms of their chair at others. When I finish, they sit there quietly, considering, then ask me questions that make me think about my own story in a completely new way. Wouldn’t that be lovely?

Sabitha: It sounds just about perfect. What do you most want your readers to take away from reading your book?

F.K.: Firstly, simple enjoyment. Beyond that, I believe everyone recreates the stories they read in a whole new way based on their history and experiences. So, readers say, “Hey, X character represents idea Y, right?” and it’ll be an exciting, different slant that deepens my original idea in ways I’d never anticipated. So, creating something in their own imaginations. If they’re kind enough to tell me about it, well, that’s just the best buzz in the world.

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?

F.K.: My Amazon page is here. I post a free flashfiction horror with an audio version each month on my website. Tell me what ideas my stories gave you on Twitter under my alias ‘The BelleDame’! 

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

Sabitha: Today we’ll talk to Dewi Hargreaves about his new release, Eyes on the Blue Star. Tell us about your experimental dystopian novel!

Dewi: My new book, Eyes on the Blue Star, came out a week before Christmas! It’s a short dystopian novel set in far-future America, long after the fall of the United States. Our modern world is little more than myth, and the US has been replaced by regional successor states, some democracies and some dictatorships, with the anarchic Ganglands lying between them. We follow the stories of an ex-mercenary, a teenager, and a freedom fighter as they make their way east to Bostonia in search of a better life.

Sabitha: That’s such fascinating world building. Can you tell us about your writing process for a novel?

Dewi: My process changes between stories depending on the project, but right now I’m having the most success with writing out a scene-by-scene outline before I begin and then following that – it keeps things on track and minimises the need for rewriting.

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

Dewi: Ooh, that’s a fun question. I don’t think much about how characters look when I’m writing – beyond the general details like build, hair colour, age etc—but I think Henry Cavill could play a brilliant Housen—the ex-mercenary character who wants to settle down and start a family. I could see Kirsten Dunst doing a good job as Ryley, too—the tough, witty rebel who is working underground to overthrow the Governor-General’s dictatorship. They spend a lot of the book together, and I would love to see those two actors traversing a post-apocalyptic world together.

Sabitha: What book do you tell all your friends to read? Besides yours of course!

Dewi: There are so many—too many, probably! At the moment it’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms by George R R Martin, which is a collection of three heroic fantasy novellas—they’re brilliant examples of how to write neat, tidy short fantasy fiction, so I recommend it for that reason alone—though the Games of Thrones-ness is an added bonus.

Sabitha: How did you choose the title?

Dewi: It took some choosing! For most of the drafting process it was known as Bostonia, which is the name of one of the successor states. When it was finished I brainstormed a few names, including We, the People, but in the end I settled on the Eyes on the Blue Star because it is the catchphrase of the rebel group in the story who are trying to restore democracy, and I liked the sense of hope in bleak times that it evokes.

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?

Dewi: Night Beats readers can find purchase links for the book over at my website, and from there they can find the Amazon link for their country! And they can find me across the internet in various places. This link collects my website, social media, and book links all on one nice, neat page.

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

Sabitha: We’ve got the incredible Sascha Stronach with us today. Sascha, please introduce us to your queer science fiction novel The Dawnhounds (Against the Quiet #1).

Sascha: Gideon the Ninth meets Black Sun in this queer, Māori-inspired debut fantasy about a police officer who is murdered, brought back to life with a mysterious new power, and tasked with protecting her city from an insidious evil threatening to destroy it.

The port city of Hainak is alive: its buildings, its fashion, even its weapons. But, after a devastating war and a sweeping biotech revolution, all its inhabitants want is peace, no one more so than Yat Jyn-Hok a reformed-thief-turned-cop who patrols the streets at night.

Yat has recently been demoted on the force due to “lifestyle choices” after being caught at a gay club. She’s barely holding it together, haunted by memories of a lover who vanished and voices that float in and out of her head like radio signals. When she stumbles across a dead body on her patrol, two fellow officers gruesomely murder her and dump her into the harbor. Unfortunately for them, she wakes up.

Sabitha: Everything about this sounds amazing. I’m curious about the creation process. Was there any music that inspired you while you were writing?

Sascha: I had a playlist I had going in a loop for most of the writing process, and the one song I keep coming back to Stick and Poke’s Teeth on a String. It’s this dark surreal fairy tale told in only three minutes—what is Hainak but a dark wood with a couple of street signs? 

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

Sascha: I do but for time I’ll just go for the big one: Shohreh Aghdashloo as Sibbi. In early drafts the character was a lot physically larger, alchemically roided-up, but I saw Shohreh in—god I think it was Grimm of all things—and went “Oh, yeah, that’s her.”

Sabitha: What book do you tell all your friends to read? Besides yours of course!

Sascha: VanderMeer, Mieville, right now I’m really enjoying Kerstin Hall’s Second Spear. If The Dawnhounds didn’t give it away, I kinda like fungi. 

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

Sascha: Jeff VanderMeer. I feel like I’m too old and hirsute to say “Senpai notice me” but The Dawnhounds never would’ve happened without his influence. 

Sabitha: When you picture your ideal reader, what are they like?

Sascha: Rangy old punk, fine with a little darkness in their fantasy, mycology enthusiast, willing to punch a cop to protect a queer.  

Sabitha: I suspect we have some of those in our community! What do you most want your readers to take away from reading your book?

Sascha: The police exist solely to protect capital and will act in ways deeply harmful to society in order to remain that way. Also mushrooms are cool and you should be fucking more gay people.

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

Sascha: You can get it now at Barnes & Noble and Amazon. You can find me on Twitter.

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

Sabitha: AJ Pagan IV joins us to talk about his thought-provoking science fiction novel, Brian, Created Intelligence. AJ, can you start by telling us a bit about the book?

AJ: This story revolves around the world’s first bodiless human brain, created to study and produce real artificial intelligence. Brian the brain does not know he’s a human—he’s been told and believes himself to be an artificially intelligent system.

Sabitha: What inspired you to write this book?

AJ:  As I earned my Master’s in organic chemistry and wrote my thesis, I was searching the job market and came across the still burgeoning technology of 3D organ printing. Well my brain had a thought, what if someone created a brain? 

Sabitha: It’s always fun when a scientist writes science fiction. What’s your writing process?

AJ: My writing process: brain brew for months or years and research the hell out of what I want to write so I’m not ignorant of what’s real. Once it feels right, wake up at 4AM and write ~2k words a day or more every day until the story is out of me. There are minor exceptions.

Sabitha: What book do you tell all your friends to read? Besides yours of course!

AJ: Hyperion (and The Fall of Hyperion) is the best book in existence. 

Sabitha: What do you most want your readers to take away from reading your book?

AJ: I want people to realize this sort of horrible technology is getting close and we need to ensure it never comes about. I don’t want to be a slave nor create one nor have ANY in existence. Everyone deserves all human rights. Body or not. 

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?
AJ: You can find my book on Barnes and Noble, all independent book stores can order it, and Apple/Google/Kobo ebook as well. You can find me on Twitter, on my website, and in Southern California most days.

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

Sabitha: Vita Nostra is a book that the three of us list as one of our all-time favourites —a story about magic, language, the darkness of academia and the hope of growing into yourself. We’ve been desperate to read the sequel, but unfortunately none of us read Russian. Luckily, Julia Meitov Hersey (winner of the 2021 Science Fiction and Fantasy Rosetta Awards) translated Assassin of Reality, and it’s coming out in March (in e-book and hardcover). Rachel A. Rosen got a review copy and can’t wait to tell you about it in an upcoming issue. While Zilla and I wait for it to be released, Julia’s agreed to do an interview telling us about fantasy, culture, and the process of translation. 

Marina and Sergey Dyachenko’s books defy easy characterization. Julia, how would you summarize Assassin of Reality?

Julia: As the sequel to the critically acclaimed Vita Nostra, Assassin of Reality follows the next stage of Sasha Samokhina’s journey.

Sabitha: The wording in Vita Nostra felt incredibly deliberate, as if every word was carefully selected to convey not only a meaning but a sense of the story, the world, and the characters. It worked especially well for a book where the use of language was a part of the story. When you’re translating a book like Vita Nostra or Assassin of Reality, how do you balance direct, literal translation with translating the vibe of the story?

Julia: I think the secret is to look at the sentence, better yet the paragraph, rather than individual words. You must see the picture in your mind and retell it in the target language. The danger there is to insert too much of yourself and walk too far from the original. At the end of the day, it’s a question of tasteful balance, especially in the case of a meta-novel such as Vita Nostra, where words matter more than anything.

Rachel: Vita Nostra is grounded in an Eastern European tradition of fantasy, which has significant differences from the Anglosphere’s tradition of fantasy. Did these different cultures of literature pose any difficulty when translating?

Julia: Those marvelous differences are the main reason we read translated literature, isn’t it? It’s not just about an unexpected plotline or unfamiliar characters; it is also about a fresh perspective, a novel view, a deeper insight into a different mentality. These cultural differences are what makes the translation process so challenging and so rewarding.

It never ceases to amaze me how easily Eastern European fantasy authors operate with open epilogues and unhappy endings.  They absolutely refuse to coddle their audience, so there is nearly always an element of surprise. If you’re craving a Hollywood ending, you should probably walk away from Eastern European fantasy. I love anticipating that gasp of surprise that is sure to accompany that last page. It’s a lot of fun to translate with that gasp in mind.

It’s worth mentioning that, since I translate from my native language into my second language, the challenge lies less in researching and understanding the culture of the source material and more in localizing and adapting it for the Anglosphere (without losing its flavor and style). I tend to make a lot of unpopular choices, such as standardizing the first names (because the emotional impact of name variations — Sasha vs Sashka vs Sashenka — is pretty much lost on the English-language readers) or loosely translating traditional Eastern European academic terms (finals vs sessions, etc.). Not everyone agrees with that, but I stick with what feels right to me. I am not alone in this effort —the editorial team at Harper Voyager are beyond wonderful, and I am forever grateful for their impeccable taste and eternal patience.

Zilla: When I’m an author, I pour my identity into the story. When I’m an editor, I try to step back and let the story tell itself, but I can’t avoid editing with my point of view. How personal is the translation process?

Julia: Traduttore, Tradittore. Translating a book is akin to fostering a child. The child’s not yours; there is no DNA of yours on those pages. And yet, you take care of the manuscript, you teach it to speak, you make sure it can walk… It’s very hard not to give it some of your identity, and I believe most of us translators fail at that in the most spectacular fashion.

Rachel: We all loved Vita Nostra and hoped to one day read the sequel. We had two problems. First, we only read English, so thank you for translating it! Second, we couldn’t imagine how a sequel could exist, given that Vita Nostra felt like a seamless, complete story. Can you tell us where the sequel fits in, or would that be giving away spoilers?

Julia: Trust me, I was afraid of reading the sequel, even though I was one of the people who tried their best to influence the Dyachenkos to write it. While the open ending allowed for the continuation of the story, I just couldn’t imagine where it would go. I was certainly surprised and decidedly not disappointed. Conceptually, Vita Nostra is a book about youth — radical, cruel, selfish, idealistic youth. In Assassin of Reality, rather than entering the next stage, most logically the world Sasha had created, we return to the familiar world. The difference is that Sasha is now an adult, and the challenges she faces are different — they are less about pushing herself beyond the limits and more about considering the needs of others. The Russian original novel is called Correcting Errors. Think of this telling title and of the fact that Assassin of Reality is heavily influenced by the authors’ immigration experience — and pick up this novel thinking of second chances, the ungrateful task of proving oneself again and again, of the mythical nature of a perfect world — and of the terrible beauty of adulthood.

Sabitha: We’re so glad that we can finally read this book—and to have someone who really gets the heart of the story translating it. How can our community connect with you and how can they buy the book?

Julia: They can pre-order the book in e-book or hardcover form. My Russian-to-English translation services are available at my website. I can be found on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. 

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

Zilla: We have a special interview today. The Skylark Bell is a book in podcast form, with original music and story by Melissa Oliveri. Melissa, tell us about this delightfully spooky gothic story.

Melissa: The Skylark Bell is a fiction podcast in serial format. It is based on a book trilogy (not yet published) that is shared at a rate of one chapter per week, one book per season. The story begins with main character, Magpie, moving to the outskirts of a small town called Pocket. Afflicted with psychic visions, Magpie is entranced by a nearby house, apparently cursed with an inexplicable silence. Things aren’t what they seem in the quaint town of Pocket, and she finds herself tangled in its history as she strives to save its future. The Skylark Bell podcast also features bonus episodes that range from real-life paranormal experiences to spooky short stories and behind the scenes interviews.

Zilla: I’m not sure if the genre “cozy Gothic” exists, but that’s the sense I get when I listen to your story. Magpie is loved by her mother and her friend, and she’s in a beautiful rural landscape. She also lives in a remote farmhouse and has visions which point to secrets of a dark mystery. How do you strike the balance between warmth and eerie, between comfort and creepy?

Melissa: Cozy Gothic is a great term and should absolutely be a genre if it isn’t already! I think I’ve subconsciously intertwined comfort and creepy because, even in childhood, I would gravitate toward the spooky and supernatural, both fiction and non-fiction, and find comfort in the unknown aspect of it. I love exploring duality, maybe because I’m a product of it myself, growing up in a half-French and half-English Canadian household. Now I’m a dual Canadian/American citizen. Contrast is important, it’s what makes summer so delicious after months of snow and cold. I also think being all roses and pretty landscapes and happily traipsing through fields with rubber boots would make for a bit of a boring book, but a constant barrage of ghosts, visions, and existential threats would be exhausting. It’s finding that balance, that sweet spot, between the two that makes it work, and I mostly do that by ensuring there is both love and fear in each chapter.

Zilla: Your podcast has a single narrator but includes music and sound effects—like a richer version of an audiobook instead of a radio play. What drew you to that format for telling this story?

Melissa: Before The Skylark Bell, I primarily considered myself a musician who enjoyed making up and writing stories. One day a friend suggested I turn an unpublished book I had written into a podcast. I was mildly intrigued by the idea but didn’t get all that excited about it until it occurred to me that I could compose music for the project, and then I realised I could work in some sound effects. Creating an audio atmosphere to support this story I had written suddenly became very appealing, and it allowed me to marry my two creative passions, music and writing.

Zilla: The idea of marrying those two is fascinating to me. How does that creative process happen??

Melissa: Music and songwriting is a very visual experience for me. I see images, like a film, when I am listening to, or composing, music. The reverse is also true; when I see or imagine scenes, I hear coordinating music in my mind. For The Skylark Bell, I would read the chapter, story, or scene, and compose whatever would come to mind. There were instances where I composed spontaneously, plugging my keyboard into my laptop and just rolling with it, and sometimes things went in an entirely different direction than I thought they would, but somehow it worked. The subconscious is a powerful thing, and we should all give in to it more often.

Zilla: Thanks for sharing your story and your process. I’ve finished season one, and I’m hoping to catch up to the end of season two before season three comes out! For everyone who doesn’t know your work yet, where can they find you and the podcast?

Melissa: They can find all the information on The Skylark Bell on its website, Instagram, or Facebook, or via the Podcast Platform Links. I also have a website and a Patreon, as well as a Mastodon account. And they can find my music at the Cannelle website, on Instagram, via all major streaming platforms and on Bandcamp.

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

Sabitha: Today we have Sally Basmajian, eager to tell us about her romantic comedy, So Hard to Do. If it’s not too hard to do, could you please tell us a bit about your new novel?

Sally: It’s a fast-paced, contemporary novel. The cast is diverse, a few characters being on the autism spectrum. The plot revolves around the twisted love triangle of a middle-aged mother and her adult daughter who unknowingly fall for the same man. Tension and comedy build as they blunder their way forward, both convinced that they’ve found true love.

Sabitha: What inspired you to write the book?

Sally: In my immediate family, there are individuals who are neurodiverse, and I thought it would be interesting to explore a fictional dating world where the players may struggle for acceptance, but ultimately find their happy endings. I wanted readers to be entertained at the same time as they gained a heightened awareness of the challenges faced by people with ASD. Plus, when you think of it, don’t we all bumble along when we try to make our romantic lives work? As my older heroine, Suze, remarks, “We’re all on the spectrum when it comes to looking for love.”

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

Sally: For sure, I’d love Sophie Kinsella to read it. She’s got such a light, optimistic touch with her romances, and a great sense of humor, too. Given my overdeveloped sense of the ridiculous, I also think that either Stephen Leacock or Terry Pratchett, if only either of them were alive, would “get” my jokes. I certainly like to believe they would!

Night Beats: We all love Terry Pratchett! Which character do you relate to the most, and why?

Sally: My favorite character is the delightful Lola Devine. She sprang fully-formed directly onto the pages, without any conscious planning or analysis from me. She’s an outrageous but caring soul—the kind of staunch supporter I’d love to have in my real life. Could it be that all those RuPaul’s Drag Race episodes I’ve watched spawned this Amazonian goddess of a fairy godmother?

Sabitha: Was there any music that inspired you while you were writing?

Sally: I didn’t consciously incorporate music, but it certainly ripples throughout the story. I’ve captured many of the songs that reflect the characters on a playlist, which I’ve posted on my website. They range from Neil Sedaka to Sir Mix-a-Lot. My own educational background was in Music History, but please don’t expect any of the classical masters to appear on this particular list!

Sabitha: What a fun collection! What do you most want your readers to take away from reading your book?

Sally: I want them to laugh out loud as they follow the paths of my two main characters. I want them to feel as if they’re out on a lark with some extremely fun companions. But also, I want them to walk away with a greater sense of understanding for those on the autism spectrum. Just last week, one of my advance review copy readers approached me, saying she wanted to thank me for giving her hope that her twelve-year-old grandson, who is on the spectrum, may be able to navigate our great big, scary world one day and succeed in work and love. Nothing—praise or criticism—can ever mean more to me than that.

Sabitha: That sounds both fun and deeply meaningful. What a wonderful thing. Where can our readers find you and your book?

Sally: You can find my novel at the universal link. I’m on Instagram and TikTok, and I dabble in Twitter and Facebook, plus I’ve got a website. Thanks very much, and please drop by!

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

Sabitha: Dixon Reuel joins us to talk about Myth of Five, the 5th book in her paranormal post-apocalyptic series, Blood Brute. Dixon, tell us a bit about the series!

Dixon: The six-book series follows the adventures of The Vampire Rise as a zombie apocalypse befalls humanity. Realizing that their supply of human blood is at stake, Rise takes the fateful decision to leave his coven’s secluded smallholding of Owl Court to bring back human survivors. However, not every survivor is happy to be vampire-succor, nor are the rest of his coven so open to new people, despite the apocalypse. Caught between humanity and his coven, Rise undergoes the worst transformation a vampire can imagine: being bitten by a zombie and becoming a doubly-undead blood brute. Thus begins Rise of One, Blood Brute Book 1.

Sabitha: There’s so much fun action there! What inspired you to write this book?

Dixon: The idea of Blood Brute–of vampires surviving a zombie apocalypse–came to me while playing one of my favorite games, 7 Days To Die. In that survival crafting world, you basically kill zombies and craft defenses against their hordes, however it also got me thinking … what would vampires do during a zombie apocalypse? How would their supply of human blood be affected? Are they on humanity’s side and want to help rid the world of zombies? Or, would the vampires enjoy the chaos and downfall of humanity?

That got me thinking of the earliest humans. There is a plotline in Blood Brute where Rise discovers the eldest vampire: literally a caveman-like creature dating back to the Neanderthals/Denisovians. As Rise is a zombie-bitten vampire, he has to determine who he wants to be in terms of this great, ancient lineage.

Sabitha: I love when one piece of art inspires another like that. Speaking of inspiring art, we have a lot of writers in our community. Can you share your writing process?

Dixon: With five books and two prequels under my belt by now, my writing process has thankfully become nice and streamlined. I’m a big ol’ nerd who loves spreadsheets and stationery, so I’ve created a series of printables that take me from that initial writing idea, to developed characters and arcs, on to a detailed chapter-by-chapter outline where I can begin the first draft. I deeply adore this progressive ‘handholding’ using my own printables, so I don’t forget to deepen a particular plotline or to make sure the beginning-middle-end structure is evenly balanced. As I write full-time, I devote three focused hours to drafting five days a week. I find that is a nice balance between burning out and feeling frustrated at doing too little. As I’m an indie author, all the other hours of the day are spent marketing and social media-ing!

Sabitha: Your world is full of entertaining characters. Which character do you relate to the most and why?

Dixon: The character I relate most to in Blood Brute is that of Salter. She is tall, like myself, and adores books, writing, and stationery. She is also indoorsy and shuns the outside, also a bit like myself! Salter likes to let things simmer and fester, whereas I’m much more direct!

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?

Dixon: They can find Rise of One, Blood Brute Book 1 on Amazon KDP in ebook, paperback, and hardback here. I have a website. And if you sign-up to my author newsletter, you’ll receive a free Blood Brute prequel!