All the world is a stage...

Switching gears and writing in a new genre is difficult. I really had the supernatural fiction thing down. Mystery is trickier for me. This is compounded by the fact that I am getting to know a whole new cast of characters. I feel like I write in reverse. I have an idea in my head about how I want these characters or plots to be and I sit down to write. Then a funny thing happens. The characters take on a life of their own growing more complex, springing to life off the page like they're tangible. Plots develop as these characters practically write themselves, demanding I keep up with them. The problem is while I am writing I tend to take on the persona of the strongest personality. When I wrote the Lost Devil's Throne series, my husband could always tell when I was writing an Aakarshan heavy section. I'd be irritable and aggressive in a way I am normally not. I think in some ways that's half the fun (although I am sure loved ones could do without it from time to time). Much like an actor, I get to be something or someone different. Something totally disparate from who I really am. I get to travel without leaving home. Endlessly entertained by the voices in my head.  

Night Falls Fast

I've never been a big one for labels. Unlike so many of my colleagues, I don't use my professional title in personal life. On some level, I am absolutely mortified when people find out what I do since I am convinced (paranoia be damned) they start to treat me differently. Nevertheless, amongst my friends and loved ones I've been labeled as Goth since high school. I am alright with that. Recently I stumbled across a great article on CNN (who apparently gave up reporting news in favor of opinion pieces):Where my Goths at?

As I near thirty, I am reminded the "phase" my mother so fervently hoped I'd grow out of is here to stay. No, I don't wear black at all times. I've given up dying my hair unnatural shades. My tattoos remain well hidden at work. Yet, look closely and I am wearing a subtle spiderweb necklace. The only nail polish colors I own range from dark green to burgundy to onyx. And much to my husband's occasional chagrin, I decorate the house in what can only be described as Addams Family chic. More than anything, Goth is a state of mind. It's an appreciation of the morbid and macabre, finding happiness and joy in the bizarre. It's seeing the world through grey-tinted glasses. Plus, those tinted glasses are a life saver on a sunny day.