Authors from Everywhere! : February 2017

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Author Emerald Barnes talks about writing Paranormal

Thanks, Stacy, for having me on the blog! It’s always a pleasure to be here.

Last month, I released my newest novel, The Marked. Well, sticking true to who I am, I wrote yet another book in the paranormal genre, but it isn’t like my usual books. If you know me, you know that I usually write Christian fiction, but I write in the paranormal genre of Christian fiction. That’s what I’m known for, and that’s great! I love my Entertaining Angels series. But what most people don’t realize is that I wrote The Marked before I wrote Entertaining Angels. I was writing paranormal fiction, non-Christian fiction, way before I started my Christian fiction series, even back in high school. Back then, I was even writing about ghosts!

I never thought that I would want to write anything in the paranormal genre, but I loved reading it. I know that contradicts what I said about writing a book with ghosts in it in high school, but nothing came of that story, and I never finished it. (I regret that to this day because it’s gone. I lost it.)

I was a HUGE Dean Koontz fan in Jr. high/high school. My dad introduced me to his books, and Odd Thomas was one of my favorite series, up until it went really weird. (I stopped reading them after Brother Odd.) Anyway, I digress. I loved almost all of his books, and I wanted to write suspense/thrillers like him. So, I tried my hand at it with Read Me Dead. That’s my only full-length novel to date that doesn’t have anything to do with the paranormal genre.

Soon after, I wrote a book I haven’t published yet—or quite finished—and it dealt with the paranormal too. Well, sort of. It’s complicated, but then, I had the idea for The Marked. It came from a dream I had about a vampire who saved me. That vampire later became a hybrid, and that hybrid’s name is Milo. You’ll meet him in The Marked. So, I took this dream and I rearranged it a bit—quite a lot actually—to become what it is now. And oh my gosh! Writing about paranormal creatures is so much more fun than reading about them! I threw myself completely into this world and invested so much time in their backstory and research. I never knew how fun it was to write about mythical creatures that didn’t exist!

I think I chose this genre because to me, reading is all about an escape. That’s what I always used it for. It would be my happy place at the end of the day. It would be a way for my mind to transpose me to somewhere different, and I wanted so desperately to be a part of that for someone else. I wanted to create these worlds that others could get lost in like I got lost in like in Odd Thomas, Twilight, The Vampire Academy, etc.

And I don’t think people will ever stop loving paranormal books because it is so different than our reality. When you know that creatures like vampires don’t really exist, it’s fun to get lost in a world where they are real.

What’s your favorite thing about the paranormal genre? Do you read it much?

About The Marked: Knight’s Academy Book 1:

Myka Williams has never fit in with her peers, and although her adoptive parents are loving and supportive, she feels most at home alone in the woods.

When she's offered a full scholarship to Knight's Academy in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, she takes the opportunity for a fresh start. She soon learns that Knight’s Academy is more than just a school. Within the stone walls of the institution, humans and vampires are mixing, and their offspring are going unnoticed.

As Myka falls prey to the evil plan of the school, she makes a chilling discovery about her own heritage and realizes that she’s at the Academy for more than just an education. Myka must yield to her birthright at the risk of losing everyone she loves or succumb to the fate that Knight’s Academy has in store for her—a fate worse than death.

Check out the Book Trailer!

Check out the Official Knight's Academy Playlist!

Where to Buy The Marked:

Amazon

Amazon UK

Nook

iTunes

Kobo

Add The Marked to Goodreads

About The Author:

Emerald Barnes resides in a small town in Mississippi and has the accent to prove it. She’s an auntie, a youth leader, a Whovian, a little bit of a nerd, a reader, a writer, and a family-oriented person. God is number One in her life, and she thanks Him continuously for His love and favor. She’s addicted to tv and binge-watching shows, and she has a thing for superheroes.