Meet K. Graves (kgravez) a full-time graphic designer, certified dabbler in illustrations, and writing enthusiast.

Her novel 'The Dark Between Dreams' won the grand winner title in the 2024 Nano Watt Award in the paranormal category and follows the adventure of the ghost Skye as she navigates an afterlife of monsters, mystery, and schemes!

Skye is dead.

How she perished is a mystery. All she knows is that she is trapped in After, a makeshift city of souls surrounded by infinite darkness and terrifying monsters that tear ghosts apart.

But while all other ghosts accept the eternity of darkness ahead of them, Skye refuses to spend her afterlife in a world without light. She knows there must be some way to escape the monsters that keep them all imprisoned and return to the realm of the living, and she's going to find it...even if she has to face the prince of monsters, himself.

Skye risks her existence and escapes the walled city of After in search of the truth. Venturing into the black reveals untold perils, but that's not all.

The Dark...and the dark prince, are hiding a terrible secret...

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Congratulations on being a grand winner of the 2024 Nano Watt Awards! How does it feel to be in the top 9? Did you think you'd make it this far?

It feels awesome! And so completely unexpected, haha! There were sooo many deserving books that entered, and I thought I'd have no chance, so I am both honored and delighted to be amongst the winners!

In your own words what is your winning entry about and what was the inspiration behind it?

"The Dark Between Dreams" is about a ghost named Skye seeking to escape the terrifying, monster-infested afterlife she's found herself trapped in. However, she ends up uncovering a centuries-old betrayal plot. Also all the ghosts have glowing swords.

And there are crows everywhere. This is a highly self-indulgent story that is a culmination of all things I adore in fiction: ghosts, monsters, sword-fights, and mysteries.

What was the journey like taking your book from idea to finished product? Were there any challenges or pleasant surprises along the way?

...Well, the crows were a surprise. So this story was original written for ONC back in 2021. This original draft was only about 20,000 words long and was vastly different from the current version of the story. Many drafts and 100,000 added words later, and this weird ghost story took me on many writing and research journeys I never expected...mainly into the Mesopotamian Era.

In terms of its genre, How would you say your book defies or compliments its expectations/tropes?

This is a paranormal story that doesn't follow the typical Good versus Evil trope. This story revolves around the afterlife, sure, but there is no divine reward or punishment here. It's all about flawed humans and monsters...and it can be hard to tell who's who sometimes.

If there was one character that potential readers had to read your book just to meet, who would it be and why?

I'm gonna shove the infamous Crow, the Prince of Light and Shadows at them because he tends to...surprise people. Oh yeah, and he comes as a package deal with roughly ten thousand ghost crows.

If you could have a crossover between your book and one of the books of a favourite published/ Wattpad author, who would it be and why?

I would love a crossover of "The Dark Between Dreams" and Kalyn Josephson's "The Storm Crow." I imagine it would be roughly the same, except all the crows in the "Dark Between Dreams World" would now be huge and have elemental powers.

When it comes to writing style and storytelling what authors and/or creative media have influenced you throughout the years?

Ever since I read "Watership Down" as a kid, I've always been enamored with grim, gritty tales of survival and friendship. My stories tend to take on a dark tone, but I think that makes the light moments in them stand out more.

And what's one hack that's been consistently helpful in your writer's journey? Your holy grail, if you will.

TAKE BREAKS. And take them for as long as you need them! I find it's always good to step away from the keyboard every once in a while, be it for a few minutes or a few months (I sometimes take month-long writing hiatuses). It really helps me get some fresh ideas and come back to my work-in-progress with fresh eyes.

What other works or stories in the works can readers look forward to from you?

I'm currently planning a prequel and a sequel to "The Dark Between Dreams"! We're going all the way back to 2,000 BCE in the prequel! Currently, on my Wattpad profile I've also got an ONC-short-listed story called "The Bones Below" about a family of foxes surviving in a post-apocalyptic world (heavily inspired by "Watership Down," and a more light-hearted Wattys-winning story called "Marvela Mystic" about a kitten that becomes a witch.

Now that the award season has ended, what can you say on your Nano Watt 2024 experience? Can we expect to see you in 2025? 😄

Very fun! It was always so exciting to see the winners of each round get released and to cheer on my friends! The whole awards were run very thoroughly and professionally. I will definitely catch y'all again next season and spread the word!

And before you go we must know....cereal before or after the milk?🥣🥛

BEFORE the milk! You can fit more cereal in the bowl that way.

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Thanks again K for chatting with us and congrats on your win!

You may find her winning entry The Dark Between Dreams in our TNW GRAND WINNERS 2024 reading list or visit her profile at kgravez