Hey Everyone! So delighted to have you join us.

So I've received many, many questions in my inbox and on my message boards. I thought I would share a few here, then open it up to you to ask any questions you might have for me or about Born of Shadow. If you have any additional questions, please ask away below. You can also check out the Wattpad Class of 2014 Extravaganza or Dinner with the Wattpad Class of 2014 since I have interviews in those.

1. Which characters in the book are Muslim?

Answer: Of the main characters, Haji is the only one who is Muslim. In the scene at the library, Haji is MIA (missing in action) because he is worshipping at a mosque. There are many other characters throughout the book (including on the plane) who are Muslim as well.

2. How did you meet your husband?

Answer: His sister and I were roommates while going to the university. My husband was living in Russia at the time. She told me that her brother and I were perfect for each other and I said, yeah, yeah. But he said to send a picture. So anyway, when I he go back from Russia, his sister (who was no longer my roommate) called and said she wanted to bring him by to meet me. So I got ready, but they never showed up! So when she called again, I thought it would probably be a no-show, so I didn't even bother with makeup and I wore some old jeans with holes. Of course they showed up! He was going through culture shock at the time and was a little on the quiet side at first. He's actually fairly outgoing when you get to know him. At one point, he changed classes so he could be in a health class with me (ahem, stalker ;). But his devious plan worked because he started teaching him Russian and I tried to teach him how to dance. We were both largely unsuccessful. :) He has an account here on wattpad @couchslayer and I'm still trying to convince him to put some of his writing up. We shall see if I'm successful.

3. Who designed your cover?

Answer: I worked with a fabulous artist over at Deviantart.com named Duy Phan. He created the illustration and I designed the rest of the cover in Photoshop.

4. How can I create my own cover?

Answer: Good question. First you need a photo imaging software. Photoshop is great, but expensive. A free alternative is Gimp. You can create your own photography or art, or buy some on a stock photography website like http://istock.com, or hire an illustrator to create art for you. Then you put the cover together in layers, adding your art or photography first, then your title and author name.

Another way to create a cover is by running a contest on Wattpad or make friends with a fantastic cover designer and ask (like @aneclarice, who designed this cover).

Does anyone else have good suggestions for software to create covers?

5. Are there in more books after Born of Shadow?

Answer: Born of Shadow is the first book in The Shadow Wars series. It is available for sale in ebook and paperback on Amazon. The second book in the series, The Bloodstone Prophecy, will be available here on Wattpad in November. At this stage, I project it will be a 5 book series.

6. What do you think about the responses you get on Born of Shadow?

Answer: I adore my readers' reactions to the story and their comments make my day every single time! It's pretty magical, really. I feel like we are friends.

7. Do you have a turtle named Galileo?

Answer: No, but we did have a family turtle named Jared Jacuzzi while growing up.

8. How can I get more reads on my story?

Answer: So the obvious first answer is to write the best story you can. You want to try to "hook" people on the story so they will keep coming back for more. It's also really important (as you can) to thank people for following you and to interact with them if they make comments in your story.

I started posting my story at the end of May not knowing a single soul on Wattpad - no kidding! I convinced my parents a few Facebook friends to come on, but when it came down to it, I had to get brave and meet people. The only time I asked someone to read a story is if I specifically needed their knowledge or expertise on something. So, hardly at all.

I really enjoyed reading other people's stories and trying to be helpful. It turned out to be a very nice way for me to get to know people. But after doing this awhile, I built up a nice group of friends (some of them are the Wattpad Class of 2014) who were willing to support each other's books on a regular basis.

I wish I had time to read everyone's stories, but unfortunately it's physically impossible now. I'm hoping by doing things like building this Born of Shadow fan book and encouraging people to share stories, you guys can find other like-minded people and we can build a similar support system and we can all benefit and have fun.

9. What was your favorite part of writing Born of Shadow?

Answer: I really enjoyed writing the action scenes and the Lami scenes. The action scenes were fun because they were exciting and came pretty easy. I liked writing the scenes between Liam and Kami because they had such great chemistry and were always challenging each other. 

10. Who's your favorite character?

Answer:That's a tough one! Probably Kami because I spent such a long time with her and I relate to her. I adore all the other characters for so many reasons, other than her exboyfriend of course LOL. It would be much easier if you asked my least favorite character :)

11. Did you ever get discouraged at some point writing Born of Shadow, and if you did, how did you get through that?

Answer: Yes. I think my biggest point of discouragement was realizing that the first draft (which I thought was pretty good) needed a ton of revision. I wasn't sure I would get through it, but bit by bit I did, and  I'm so glad I made the effort because the book is so much stronger for it.

It's your turn now. Any burning questions about me, Born of Shadow, writing, publishing? Let me know what you want to know :)

Soon, we will start to cast the characters - yay! Kami's up first, so start thinking of who would make a good Kami.

Please click that star and vote :)