Welcome to our interview for this month! We are with this talented author, khionewrites, who penned the story, Epsilon.

Dark Fantasy Team: Tell us a bit about your writing journey.

khionewrites: My writing journey started out with me writing Naruto Fanfiction on a different account early last year. I never finished it; however, I did gain a lot of traction from it, and thus was inspired to write an original story of my own. Of course, at this point, I had very little knowledge on the craft of storytelling, and the first book I wrote (a dystopian romance) kind of fell off. I decided then to learn more about the craft, and after I did, I decided to begin a new series called 'Epsilon'. This book is a werewolf romance, and right off the bat, I enjoyed writing it. It wasn't long before people took notice of my work, and as of now, it is almost at 50k reads! (I am still shocked haha).

DF: How did you get the idea for your story?

K: I think my largest inspiration at the time was Shadow and Bone and ACOTAR. I really loved those books and wondered what it would be like to combine their elements with a werewolf world. I believe it turned out really well!

DF: Tell us about your protagonist(s) and their development throughout the story.

K: Okay so this is a bit of a tricky one as of now, seeing as I'm currently re-writing Epsilon and one of the points I'm improving on is my protagonist's development. I haven't gotten around to updating her development at this time, but for the sake of this question, I'll answer it as to what I want the MC's development to look like after the re-write is done.

Kyra Aetos is an eighteen-year-old human girl living in California. growing up under a strict roof, she has learned to stay to the shadows and out of the way. She never speaks out even when she wants to and has learned to cop insults from others. However, her life changes when she is bitten and becomes a werewolf. Unable to live in the human world for any longer, she is whisked off to a royal court of werewolves, where she trains to become stronger.

At first, Kyra is reluctant to accept her werewolf identity. She also still holds those reserved values to her heart, and lives in great fear of these beasts, despite apparently being one herself. One big highlight is the fear she constantly feels day in, and day out surrounded by these wolves, which I think would be a realistic reaction for someone who was once human. Some of the wolves take notice of this fear and exploit it.

However, there is a turning point, and Kyra realises she must not show fear and appear confident, even when she feels the exact opposite. Like never before, she begins to stand up for herself, and while it is difficult to do so at first, it eventually gets easier. Even so, many of the wolves still resent Kyra for who she is. This leads to another turning point where she decides that she will no longer be the one who fears, but rather the girl who is feared. She tries to pursue this mindset, thinking maybe she can earn the court's respect out of fear. However, this mindset backfires, and she is forced to re-consider her ways.

The long-awaited answer comes to her when she saves the court from an assault, which earns her the respect of the people. From then on, everything is smooth sailing. Until it is not, of course, and Kyra experiences a full reversal. I won't go into detail because that would mean spoiling, but in the second book, she has a whole new personality -- one that is not exactly as heroic as her first.

DF: Have you ever come across a book which deeply inspired you to start writing? If yes, tell us something about it.

K: Shadow and Bone! I actually based the Alpha somewhat off the Darkling, and took some loose inspo from Alina Starkov to create my MC. There are also other little inspirations, such as themes from ACOTAR and a few other books.

DF: Do you plan on continuing writing in the dark fantasy genre? Why or why not?

K: For the meantime, yes, as I still need to write the second and third books of Epsilon. After that, however, I think I am going to write a dystopian romance which I will try and get published.

DF: Do you consider yourself a plotter or a pantser? How does that work with writing dark fantasy?

K: Definitely a plotter, lol. Before I even begin my book, I have a summary of every chapter laid out. I know I will miss key points otherwise, which will only make for a harder re-write (which is difficult enough as is!)

DF: What would you advise other writers who are looking to write in the dark fantasy genre?

K: Don't be afraid to take inspiration from other books you have read! I used to be afraid of this, thinking I had to be 100% original, but in reality, no piece of written work is original. So long as you craft an engaging, exciting story with memorable characters and arcs, you'll be fine!

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?

K: Probably not. That price sounds daunting, haha.

DF: What is your further plan with writing? Tell us something about it.

K: My future plan is to first complete and re-write the Epsilon series. From there, I have a dystopian romance idea I really want to write.

Thank you so much, khionewrites, for being with us and agreeing to our interview. Check out their work, Epsilon, to support our author!

- The Dark Fantasy Team