Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Stephanie is an avid reader, writer, musician, and actress. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in English from a local university and is hoping to use it in order to further her career in writing. Her true passion lies in her spirituality and utilizing it in order to help humanity. In the next upcoming weeks, she will be taking classes in order to become a certified Drug and Alcohol counselor. She hopes to use the gifts that God has given to her in order to enlighten and inspire the world, in the most imaginary way. She has published a total of three books, one of which is a book of poems and the other two of which are fiction novels (Titles: Black Magickal Mind, The Holy Garden Painting, and Her Dark Veins of Faith).
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The name of my latest book is Her Dark Veins of Faith. It was inspired by some of my own personal experiences, as well as some dreams that I have had. It was once my dream to be a nude model and I have suffered from a great deal of anxiety and insecurity in this area of my life, so I believe that the book expresses some of these subconscious thought processes. My passion for Christ drives me away from that particular sin of lust, which I have thoughtfully conveyed and reflected on in this piece, through the character of Raama.
I have never suffered from any sort of intense sexual abuse, as I have depicted in this novel, but I am familiar with emotional abuse. A vampire is one who desires to rape another–whether it be physically, sexually, or emotionally–and that is why I chose to utilize this sort of fantasy, as opposed to a fantasy that centers on faeries or other creatures of light. I have always been fascinated with the psychology behind abuse, so that is why I chose to focus in this particular topic. I tend to attract people who have been victims of abuse, so I wrote this as my way of inspiring or motivating anyone who has endured such struggles.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Not particularly. I suppose if you consider writing for a few hours every day an unusual writing habit? But I do have strange habits when it comes to basing my writing off dreams.
Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, and I rush downstairs from my bedroom, just so I can write about my thoughts based on a dream that I have had. It’s very exciting and exhilarating for me to process the meaning of my dreams; some of them are very intense spiritual experiences, and I feel driven to write to certain people when this occurs.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Some of my favorite works include: The House of Night series by P.C. and Kristin Cast; Born of Illusion; Brida by Paulo Coelho; Vampire Academy series; The Night Circus; The Mermaid Garden; and The Witch’s Daughter.
I am fascinated with anything relating to the occult, or anything that is influenced by spirituality. The work doesn’t need to be Christian in order for me to be inspired by it. Many Christians make the mistake of believing that a piece needs to fit neatly into their own perception and/or core beliefs in order for them to be appropriately influenced by it, but that is not the case with me. I find that these books have inspired and influenced me in that they have challenged my way of viewing reality– both intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. I truly believe that it is unwise to not be explorative or open-minded about other belief systems–or else, how would we sharpen our own beliefs? How would we challenge our own minds, in order that we may expand upon this vision of Christian truth?
We see what we desire, anyway; and if a Christian is reading, then a Christian is likely to examine the flaws along with the strongpoints in whichever piece he/she is reading, whether it is of the occult or not. I like to challenge my mind and beliefs in any way possible.
What are you working on now?
I am currently working on a piece titled The Rose Spell Longing, which I originally submitted as a short story, but then changed my mind, unpublished it, and decided to expand on it.
It’s yet another expression of my subconscious thought processes–but this time around, it relates to my unhealthy fascination with the occult, and how I have been able to overcome that. It also relates to abuse within the church. I mainly decided to focus on this because I have always been attracted to the Salem Witch Trials. My purpose for writing this piece is so that I can build tolerant, more accepting attitudes within the church, and so that people’s eyes may be opened to the surface level beauty of the occult, and the dangers that underlie it.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I don’t really have a method that works for me. I advertise on social media, and I try to snag as many author interviews as possible. I’m relatively new at this, so I’m still learning.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Well, I am a new author, but I would tell other new authors not to rely too heavily on their own opinions, nor to rely too heavily on the opinions of others. To find a balance between knowing your audience (and having an audience), and trying too hard to please others. Stick to your guns, but value the critiques of others. Just because a critique doesn’t match up with your own opinion doesn’t mean that it lacks value.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The best advice that I’ve been given about my first book is that I need to know the difference between Godly sexual love and human sexual love, to accurately depict that difference to my audience. I tend to focus too much on human sexual love, which is what we are all familiar with. But not everyone is familiar with Godly sexual love because most people don’t live for God, they live for themselves. So it would be helpful, I think, to accurately portray the difference. My perspective is unique in this sense, so I believe that it would benefit people if they heard something that they didn’t want to hear, or something that challenged their perspective on life.
What are you reading now?
I’m currently reading three books: Amaryllis in Blueberry by Christina Meldrum; The Witch’s Daughter by Paula Brackston; and The Darkest Seduction by Gena Showalter.
All three are very different books, but I’d have to say that my favorite of the three is The Witch’s Daughter because it’s so mysterious and alluring. It seems to write off the church as being hypocritical, and witchcraft as being peaceful and/or beneficial, but my opinion on this topic is actually the opposite of the author’s, which is why I love reading it.
What’s next for you as a writer?
I’m not too sure. I suppose I will publish my next book, The Rose Spell Longing, and then continue to publish books from there. I won’t give up my dream of becoming a real writer until it happens. I’m passionate about writing, nonetheless, so I will continue to write regardless if people are reading or not.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible, The Ecstasy of Loving God by John Crowder, and Kingdom Magick by Elijah Autumn.
The Bible is my life, so I couldn’t live without it. I have recently started analyzing Scripture daily, and it’s very helpful to me.
As for the other two books, they are somewhat clouded with mixed doctrine (doctrines that I don’t agree with), but they are certainly intriguing. I like them because I can point out what I dislike about them, in order to sharpen my sense of the truth.
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