AMELIA ATWATER-RHODES

I prefer to write about what we refer to as 'the supernatural' versus everyday life. Humans, by themselves, bore me.

When I was fourteen, I was one of those kids who wore all black because it matched everything. Seriously.

Honestly, I get character ideas from the most inane places. Sometimes a song will give me an idea. Sometimes I will just hear a snippet of conversation that ends up having nothing to do with the book that emerges.

Wandering around the mall and giggling at magazines doesn't interest me. I've never enjoyed shopping. I detest shoes.

I do not read newspaper comics unless they happen to be out when I visit my parents, but I follow several online comics, which I check every morning while I drink my coffee and wake up for the day.

In 2006, when I had come very close to calling my agent and telling him I needed to take a break, NaNoWriMo was where I found my inspiration again.

If we ever have free time, my partner and I are fond of going on walks through the local state forests and parks.

The truth is, I like to engage with life fully. Given an opportunity to do something I don't often get a chance to do, I feel the need to try it, even if I suspect I'll make a fool out of myself.

I read and enjoy just about anything I can get my hands on.

Even if I earn millions, I will probably do the average things, like live in a dorm and work at McDonald's.

One of the strangest results of having your name on a book jacket is the proliferation of people who know one narrow aspect of your life and are suddenly surprised to learn there's more.

Vampires were an excellent springboard. I still love them; they fascinate me.

I have swung on a flying trapeze, explored a glacier, and been hit in the face by a shark's tail while scuba diving. I like to throw myself fully into projects and adventures, which is probably how I managed to publish a book in the first place.

I work during the days and have night classes on Wednesday and Thursday and live with my partner, who is in school during the days and works Wednesday through Saturday nights. Monday and Tuesday are therefore our nights, and we both get our work out of the way so we can actually spend time together.

My mom was really of the belief that, as long as you were reading anything, it was okay. Just read.

Those who cannot be aggressive are hunted down while they shiver and hide because the night is dark.

We are not. We never were; we never shall be. We return to the void we never, for mehay is the center of all, and all is the center of nothing.

No one can make you a victim but yourself.

The question then is, how much are you willing to give?" And I answered, "Anything." A breath later, Zane echoed my response with, "Everything.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,'Aubrey. I will avenge this scar and every scar you have put into my heart. -Risika(In The Forest Of The Night)

Cold as winter, strong as stone; She faced the darkness all alone. A silver goddess; a reflection. A mirage; a recollection. No return; no turning back. The past is gone, the future, black. Serpents gather in their nest, And she stands above the rest. Shadows hunt; she hunts the shadow. The moon is risen; she stands below. She views her world through the eyes of others. Black and white; there are no colors, As she looks down upon a shattered youth. A shattered mirror shows a shattered truth.

Breath belongs to Mehay. Ecl has no use for it.

Insanity makes the rivers flow.

The night is full of mystery. Even when the moon is brightest, secrets hide everywhere. Then the sun rises and its rays cast so many shadows that the day creates more illusion than all the veiled truth of the night.

I ask for trust. It is a lot, I know; it isn't easy to give. But it is all I ask.