Welcome to our first interview for this month! We are with this talented author WrennaStone who penned the story, Death Ascending.
Dark Fantasy Team: Tell us a bit about your writing journey.
WrennaStone: I started writing stories when I was seven, and my mother and I read a book together about a middle-school girl who wrote and published her own novel. I wanted to be that girl -- so I sat down and wrote a Scooby-Doo fan fiction. The rest is history! I kept writing my own stories (both fan fics and originals), which eventually blossomed into playwrighting and full-length novels...my current project is the longest I've written, and should be around 120k words when finished!
DF: How did you get the idea of your story?
W: Ironically enough, much like the main character of "Death Ascending" (who is also a writer!), I got the idea from a very vivid dream. It was about a girl fighting dark, twisted monsters with her best friend and a man who could shoot flames from his fingertips -- and involved a lot about a mysterious "Guardian" tree in an alternate universe.
I left the dream alone for months, until the ideas just started flowing in the middle of the night. From there, I started on a loose outline and a ton of worldbuilding before finally diving into the story itself. I was obsessed with it from then on!
DF: Tell us about your protagonist(s) and their developement throughout the story.
W: My main protagonists are Eva and Emrys -- a duo from alternate worlds who I lovingly call my "problem children," because they continually get themselves into trouble! (And I love them for it.)
Eva is a small-town librarian and the author of a fantasy series. She gets all of her book ideas from what she assumes are only vivid dreams... but they wind up being glimpses into the alternate world in her books. She's a very skittish, wide-eyed, caffeine-addicted character who would rather not be thrown into the terrifying world of her dreams -- though she always does what she has to do to save the ones she loves, even if it scares her.
Emrys is one of Eva's main characters, who has been following her on Earth as an "unseen protector" for some time. Remember how I mentioned the man shooting fire from his fingers? That's him! He's my goofy, sweet pyromaniac. While he's a "Take-Action-Without-Thinking" character (and that often gets him in sticky situations), he bears the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Aside from Eva and Emrys, "Death Ascending" has two minor characters I would love to shout-out for being their awesome selves: Bobbi and Mystia, the best friends of the MCs. I'd hate to see where Eva and Emrys would be without them, as they're often the brains of the operation! Love those girls!!
DF: Have you ever come across a book which deeply inspired you to start writing? If yes, tell us something about it.
W: Yes! "The School Story" by Andrew Clements -- it was the book I read with my mother that made me write my first story. :)
DF: Do you plan on continuing writing in the dark fantasy genre? Why or why not?
W: Absolutely! Dark fantasy is one of my favorite genres, because it balances fantastical elements with horror, which is another of my favorites. Other dark fantasy works, such as the show "Supernatural," are huge inspirations for me -- and I'd love to continue writing the creepy side of fantasy!
DF: Do you consider yourself a plotter or a pantser? How does that work with writing dark fantasy?
W: I am a self-proclaimed plantser -- so I'm right in the middle! I often try outlining in detail, but my characters burn every single outline and send me in different directions (I'm looking at you, Emrys). Mostly, I try to have a massive doc of all my world-building elements and magic systems to cross-reference as I'm writing to make sure I stay on track.
I also use something I call "skeleton chapters," where I write an entire chapter out in a script-like format -- just giving vague details and dialogue to get the scene on paper. From there, it's easy to fill in the details! I would say those are the only outlines I'm good at.
DF: What would you advise other writers who are looking to write in the dark fantasy genre?
W: Write what scares you. Don't be afraid to be too "out there." Crawl into the dark corners of your mind, find what creatures live there, and get to know them. Put on a pot of coffee and write down their stories.
Also, consume as much dark fantasy media as you can -- it will help you prepare and have a better idea of how to construct your worlds! You'll come out of it much more inspired than before!
DF: There's a rumor about a cursed pen that makes whatever you write with it come true. However, there's a price to pay with every use. Will you use it?
W: Oh, you can bet I'd pay that price and bring these characters to life. I'd love to meet them! Provided Emrys doesn't blow up my kitchen appliances (he has a bad habit of that).
DF: What is you further plan with writing? Tell us something about it.
W: At the moment, I'm working toward finishing "Death Ascending" and rewriting/editing to get it published. I've also been working in the background on other novels, as well as screenplays and stage plays -- I'd love to do all forms of writing that I can to bring these visions to the world and hopefully use them to provide readers/viewers/etc. an escape from the real world for a while. :)
Thank you so much, WrennaStone, for being with us and agreeing to our interview. Check out the story, Death Ascending, to support our author!
- The Dark Fantasy Team
