March 26, 2025 • 27 mins
What makes a romance novel truly captivating? Join host Alesia Galati as she sits down with bestselling author Dria Andersen to explore the vibrant world of Black paranormal romance, where love, loyalty, and supernatural excitement collide.
Dria Andersen is a paranormal author and photographer who draws inspiration from stories and legends. Her passion lies in writing about Black love and exploring the diverse concept of family.
In this episode, we're discussing:
- Writing Journey: Dria began her writing career while pregnant, using self-publishing to bring her stories to life
- Representation Matters: Creating stories with predominantly Black characters that reflect her own community experience
- Unique Shifter Dynamics: Developing shifter worlds where supernatural beings integrate seamlessly into urban settings
- Trauma and Healing: Exploring found family and character growth through nuanced storytelling
- Genre Diversity: Spanning multiple paranormal genres from shifters to vampires and fantasy
Whether you're a romance enthusiast or new to paranormal fiction, Dria Andersen's books offer an immersive experience that celebrates love, community, and supernatural adventure. Dive into her world today and discover why readers can't get enough of her unique storytelling approach.
CONNECT WITH DRIA ANDERSEN:
BOOKS/AUTHORS MENTIONED:
The Friend Contract (Amazon)
Haven (Amazon)
Devon (Amazon)
For Her Protection (Amazon)
Claiming April (Amazon)
To Her Rescue (Amazon)
A Destiny Awakened (Amazon)
Running list of books mentioned (Doc)
Thank you for listening to the We Read Smut Podcast! If you enjoyed this episode, take a screenshot of the episode to post in your stories and tag @WeReadSmut. Don’t forget to follow, rate, and review the podcast.
Connect with Alesia:
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This podcast was produced by Galati Media.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Alesia Galati (00:00):
Get ready for a conversation that will leave you
breathless. We're talking withDrea Anderson about their
thrilling shifter romances,where love loyalty and suspense
collide. Listener discretion isadvised. This podcast contains
mature content intended foradult audiences only. Drea, I am
(00:22):
so excited to have you on thepodcast today. I love your
books. I am obsessed. And I toldyou in the green room that you
are one of the first authorsthat I read that had black
shifter romance. And I was like,wait a minute, I am here for all
of this. So tell us a bit aboutyou and how you got into
(00:44):
writing.
Dria Andersen (00:45):
So I've always been writing, but it took me
getting pregnant with my son andhaving to sit down to finally
take the stories that I had onmy little thumb drive, a little
travel with me everywhere andeven through the different
types, right? It used to be aCD, and then it was a floppy
disk, finally, a thumb drive.
I'm sitting down, and I'm like,You know what? I got all these
(01:07):
stories, nothing to do but,like, bake my son, so let me sit
down and write. And so that'swhat I did at the time, too.
Self publishing was just comingout, and people were like, Oh,
you can just upload your book.
I'm like, Oh, I don't have to gothrough all the because that
gives me anxiety and all thequerying and all that kind of
stuff. And so I was like, Oh,let me just try it. And so
(01:29):
that's how that started.
Alesia Galati (01:30):
What was your first one that you released? So
Dria Andersen (01:34):
the first one I released, and this is before I
knew anything about anything, isthe destiny series. I'll say the
series, because I released itout of order, because I was just
like, This is what I finished.
So this is what you get. So itwas very flat together. But that
was my first series. I
Alesia Galati (01:52):
don't think I've read that one. So can you tell
us a bit about it? So it
Dria Andersen (01:56):
was my first story into paranormal at all. I
wanted to do something that feltvery like mythical and like
Legend wise, and it's aboutthese lion shifters. They had
been banished from their templebecause they allowed one of
their artifacts to be stolen,and so as a punishment, their
(02:16):
goddess sent them away and toldthem they had to find the
artifact, but also keep thevampire population under
control. And so you start theseries with their punishment,
ending with them finding theartifact. Wow. Was very world
dense, if that makes sense,
Alesia Galati (02:34):
yeah, having to do a lot of world building. I
started with your knightbrothers series, and what I
loved about that is you've gotmore of the less world building,
right? Like, I'm here for worldbuilding, yeah, when it's a
series, but this one is more ofurban fantasy, where it's
(02:54):
fantastical, and it's got thefantasy elements, but it's in
our world as you know it now,and you've got it where there
are and you mentioned lionshifters, and I'm glad you did,
because I love that aspect ofthat there are different types
of shifters where it's not justyour typical wolf shifters. You
have so much variety. You've gotPanthers, you've got lions, yes,
(03:17):
you've got some wolves, butyou've got so many different
elements to the shiftercommunity that it made it way
more intriguing than thetypical, yes, more intriguing
than the typical shifterromance, and it's set in our
world. So it's didn't feel likeI had to be like, Wait, who's
(03:38):
what, and what's going on, orany of that. Let's talk about
that series. Because one, it'sjust delicious and sexy, but
you've got some faded mates,mild suspense. And we were
talking about this before. Youdon't consider your book
suspense, right? So let's talkabout that. Because when I think
(03:59):
about your books, I think youhave the couple, and they're
fated mates, and they're like,Okay, we're gonna be together.
Of course, there's a little bitof push and pull there. Do I
really want you? And I like thatyou have that element of
autonomy still, that it's notjust, oh, well, you're my faded
mate. And so it doesn't matterthat I hate you. I have to be
with you. Right, right? There's,still that waiting period almost
(04:23):
slow ish burn, right? It's notslow burn, but slow ish burn
where one of the characters ismaybe fighting it. So let's talk
about how you maybe didn'tconsider it to be suspense.
Dria Andersen (04:36):
Yeah, when I think of suspense, I think of
you Nora Roberts and Jane andKrantz, like even Brenda Jackson
has to spend. You have an artright? You find out there's this
kind of crime, and then you'rewondering throughout the book,
who did it? But I feel like mineare just more messy. I just want
a little bit of mess in it, andI want to not have to have
because I want drama, right? ButI don't want it to be between
(04:59):
the. Mates. I would rather thelove be low angst. I want you to
fall in love. I don't need allthat. And so you also don't want
to read a book that's just, oh,it's squishy. Thank you. No, I
want some drama on the outside.
So I want I have all my drama beoutside of the couple. And so it
feels like drama, just drama tome. And so when you said it was
suspense, I was like, me,suspect, like, just considered a
little messy. That's what wegot.
Alesia Galati (05:24):
I love it, and I love that you take that approach
of making sure that the couplehave that lovey dovey kind of
time. Why is that important foryou specifically?
Dria Andersen (05:33):
So I write specifically towards my anxiety,
right? The things that make meanxious in books, I don't read
books that make me anxious. Andso when I write, I write to
read. I read my books over andover, like I have comfort books
that are mine. I writespecifically for myself. And so
I know what I like. I likesquishy. I want babying. I want
(05:54):
that rough guy. I want all thosedifferent elements. And I don't
really want to read about youguys arguing. I argue in my real
life. I don't want to. We don'tneed that in the book. Like I
was just fighting my husbandyesterday. I don't want to deal
with that. You know, I'm sayingI want to deal with the squishy.
So, yeah, I try to keep my dramaand angst outside of the couple.
(06:15):
Yes,
Alesia Galati (06:16):
that makes sense.
I don't think that, especiallybecause you've been writing for
so long, I think that someauthors can lose that of like,
I'm writing for me, where itbecomes like, what's the next
best seller? What are peoplewanting? What is my readership
asking for? And so staying trueto yourself and also being
successful too, right? Like, Ifound your books and was like,
Yes, I'm binging all of them, asmany as I can get. And when is
(06:39):
the next one coming up. And so Ilove that you're able to still
hold true to that withoutfeeling, and obviously you might
feel some of that influenceexternally, yeah, but still
staying true to that. Youmentioned your favorite comfort
read. Can you tell us what it isand a little bit of backstory
about it? My
Dria Andersen (06:59):
so it's a little embarrassing, but my favorite
comfort read is a short storythat I wrote called claiming
April. It's just really shortand really squishy. And grant is
he's such a typical like Wolfshifter, and I just I eat it up
every time. So if I need a bookto settle my nerves, I read it
in the night brother Series. Ilove Rocco. I think I've read
(07:21):
Rocco a million times becausehe's just quiet bear and he's
just and Jalisa is like, youknow, in his ear, yep, yep, yep.
And he's just so stoic. And Ijust love it so much. And so
those are my two that I readover and over again, but Devin
has been at it. But just becauseI'm really love Devin a lot. So
yes, those are the ones that Iread over and over
Alesia Galati (07:42):
um, so good you have some like urban fiction
elements to your book, meaningit's like on the streets, it's
almost entirely black cast. Andso why was it important for you
to showcase that aspect in yourwriting?
Dria Andersen (08:00):
I can't speak to the urban aspect. I think it's
just I got into urban books, andI really loved it, but I don't
live that life, so I can'treally immerse myself in it. So
I could add a few elements thatI liked to like I said, because
I like to read my books, butthem being Black was very
important to me because I have ahuge family, and so outside of
(08:21):
like school and work, we don'treally deal with anyone else.
And so that's my I'm used tojust it being black. People,
like our electrician is black.
Everyone in our world is and soI just wrote true to that. Do
you know what I mean? I may workwith a few different type of co
workers, but for the most part,my family is ginormous, and so
we're very insular, and soeverything is blind, and so
(08:45):
that's just, that's how I grewup. And so I want to it reflects
that in the book. I think, yeah,
Alesia Galati (08:54):
Alexandra House said the same thing. So she goes
on the podcast, and she waslike, the way I grew up and the
community. I grew up when it waslike, Romy, you was entirely
black, and I wanted to have aspace where I could just
showcase that, where I don'thave to describe the person
(09:15):
because they're all black,
Dria Andersen (09:17):
they're like, Yeah, because I have black, yes,
unless she's wearing has adifferent color, unless I say
otherwise, probably black. Soyeah, that's just how it is. And
then, plus, you don't haveagain. I don't like angst and
trouble. I don't want to bringtrouble to my world. So if I
don't have to introduce anelement where they have to deal
with a racism like I won't dothat because I don't want to
(09:38):
deal with I don't want to readit. Do
Alesia Galati (09:40):
you know what I mean? Yeah, you have a hierarchy
in the knight brothers and theDevon what's the one Edwards
brothers series? Can you talk alittle bit about that and how
you came up with that element ofit? Because I think that it's
something that's teasedthroughout that you're like,
Ooh, wait. Me more. I want toknow more about these, like
(10:02):
higher characters and whatthey're doing.
Dria Andersen (10:04):
Yeah. So when I sit down to write a world, I
always try to figure out how tobecause I like contemporary so I
like it to be in an urbansetting. So I want to figure out
how to do it in a way where youwon't blink twice if you see it
will shift her if you see a wolfwalking past. So I have to make
(10:24):
their world in a way that it'snormal, right? It's not over
hiding in the corner. I onlywant to hide nothing. Everybody
is out. If you see a vampire,you see a vampire, right? And so
to me, the motsie was that,like, it's okay. They were part
of this. How do they live in aworld with humans nicely? And so
I was like, oh, maybe they hadthis war, and now there's this
(10:44):
peace treaty, and then we havethe motzi to keep them under
control. And then when I startedmy reading journey, hundreds and
1000s of years ago, I used toread historicals, right? And
they used to have the ton, andthat is so fascinating to me.
And I was like, Oh, what if wecould have something like that,
and so that's what the Mozi is.
They're like, they're like the10, they're high society, and
they have their balls, and theyhave their different social
(11:06):
hierarchies. That reallyinterested me. Yes,
Alesia Galati (11:11):
yeah. I love that you brought that element and the
correlation too, because itmakes sense when you think, when
having read the books, right?
That is very similar, like youmentioned the balls and the
parties and like the gettogethers and the showboating
that happens a bit.
Dria Andersen (11:30):
Yeah, exactly,
Alesia Galati (11:32):
yeah. You also have some trauma elements to
your stories that I think areimportant to read. Can you talk
through some of those and whyyou came up with them, or why
you wanted these characters tohave those arcs, thinking
specifically about, let's gowith Devon's book. I believe it
was where she had grown up in anorphanage. Is that the right
(11:56):
one? All right, I'm mixingbooks. I think that's Dina. Dina
grew up in an orphanage. Okay,so, yeah, so let's talk about
Dina growing up in an orphanage.
And kind of like, you have itwhere the MOT they're caring for
these kids coming in, andthey're bringing things, and
it's such a community where,like, maybe they can't keep one
of the kids or take care of oneof the kids themselves, but they
(12:19):
still bring in a lot ofcommunity support because
they're like, we're allshifters. It doesn't matter that
you're a panther and I'm a lion,like we're all shifters, and we
all need to look out for eachother. So can you talk through a
bit of that element? I
Dria Andersen (12:35):
think family is such a huge deal for me that the
thought of someone not having afamily, like eats my heart up
right in a perfect world, to me,we would take care of everyone
in our community, no one wouldbe left behind, and it would
include kids that, like you saidyou can't take into your home.
And so I wanted to be my, mylittle perfect world. Okay,
(12:58):
yeah, I grew up in an orphanage,but we had all these things.
People were always coming up,like, I still wanted to feel
like a family, because evenwithin that orphanage, like
Rocco was there and Devin andDeclan were there, and they were
all together, they formed theirown little family. And so I
think that's at the basis of it.
I just I love everything aboutfamily, and I want everyone to
have family, even if you have tomake it yourself.
Alesia Galati (13:20):
Yeah, that found family aspect, I think, is
really important, especially inbooks, because a lot of us might
feel alienated, right? Whetherthat's because something
happened with our families andwe don't feel like we're safe
with them, or maybe we don'thave families. I know for
(13:40):
myself, my found family is themost important thing, having
grown up the way I did, and thenI lost both my parents by the
time I was 31 and so it was likeone, who am I anymore? Right?
But then also needing to havepeople that I could lean on,
that I could get support from,was so important. And so I think
(14:03):
that found family aspect. I lovereading found family because,
like saying life is messy, I getit. It
Dria Andersen (14:10):
is and not everyone that's blood is not.
They're not reliable all thetime. And then when you talk
about writing traumas, I feellike there are so many different
types of people. A book can't betoo perfect, because then it
starts to feel unrealistic, andthen you can't really depend on
it to soothe those aches. Do youknow what I mean? Like I read
and I write certain things andso you want to soothe the
(14:31):
loneliness ache, so yourcharacter needs to be lonely, so
that your reader can go throughthat, so they understand, yeah,
there is light at the end of thetunnel, that type of stuff. Do
you know what I mean? Yeah, thetrauma is just as important to
me as a story.
Alesia Galati (14:42):
Yes, it's so beautiful. I love that you said
that because it is and I thinkthat's one of the beautiful
things about romance, is that wecan explore so many of these
different elements. We canexplore our own lived
experiences or. The livedexperiences of others, and it
(15:02):
can soothe us. Then it's notjust people fucking Yes, they'd
be doing right too, yes.
Dria Andersen (15:08):
But we do love that part as well.
Alesia Galati (15:12):
But it's so much more than that. It's the feeling
less alone. It's the light atthe end of the tunnel. It's the
having someone who you can relyon, who can support you and hold
you up and is there for you whenyou need them. And so I love,
uh, love that element to it.
It's so beautiful. I loveromance so much.
Dria Andersen (15:34):
Same, same. Oh my gosh. I could talk about it all
day long. So, yeah, I'm tellingthat same book. Tell
Alesia Galati (15:43):
us a bit more about some of your other books.
You have some other ones that Ihave not read, but I want to
know all about your other onesthat you've got. For anyone
who's like, I want to know more.
Dria Andersen (15:52):
I try to do a little bit of everything. Like,
you have your destiny series,and that is very, like I said.
It's very world heavy. So is myhaven series, which is another
one that is like, dear to me.
It's when I started to get alittle more into the swing of
what I wanted to do as a writer.
And it is about three brothers.
They are a part of this, likesecurity team. They protect the
world from these creatures. It'smore fantasy, like a little, not
(16:16):
high fantasy, per se, but alittle more fantastical. And
like, humans don't know, I justreally love their world. And
then they have it where there'sother dimensions. So it's just
really, like, really worldintensive. And the men are the
men, like, I really love a good,strong, like, about his shit,
man, you know what I mean. So,yeah, so the three of them are
(16:38):
fantastic. That one has yoursuspense and like the world is
about to end, you don't know it,but they know it, and they're
trying to protect everyone fromit. And I just love the Haven
series, but the rest of them Ilove, I so I wrote Destiny
series, right? And then I wroteThe Haven series. I was like,
oh, yeah, this is fantastical.
(16:59):
Legends are Made of this, right?
And then I discovered shifters.
I was like, and so I got stuckin shifters for a while, because
I just really love them. Butthis year I'm gonna go back to
my vampires. I'm gonna doanother world heavy series that
I'm like, super excited about.
So very excited about it,because it features creatures
that are not traditional to me,for sure, and then to like black
(17:24):
paranormal. So I'm reallyexcited to explain it, because
I'm sure there are, I'm surethere are Black Mages, but I
haven't read any that I liked.
So yeah,
Alesia Galati (17:36):
that's where we're going. Ooh, I love that.
You mentioned strong men. Why isit important for you that these
men have their shit togetherbefore they're like, actually
find their fated mate? Because alot of these characters have
either known each other for awhile or kind of have an inkling
that the other person might betheir faded mate. But then it's
(17:59):
not like, Hey, we're definitelyright. It's not this, like, huh,
moment that they get and so whyis it important for you that
these men have that kind of Ihave my stuff together. I am who
I am, and they're so sure ofthemselves before they step to
their mate. Why is thatimportant for
Dria Andersen (18:18):
you? So it's important story wise, because,
again, I don't want the angst,right? But in general, I think
it allows the female protagonistto be a little messier, right?
It allows her to still have thatsecurity net that, okay, my
life's a little messy, but thisguy has his together. I just
feel again, back to just what Ilike to read, and so that's what
(18:41):
I end up writing. Like. Thereare some instances where I may
have a No, I like a man with ashit together. That's how that
goes. I just really, I justthink it's important, because it
allows me to explore a littlebit more on the female side,
right? I'm a woman, and so itallows me to explore myself a
little bit as well as I'mwriting Yeah, and
Alesia Galati (19:02):
I think, too it's important to see black men
reflected that way, like, yeah,they have, they can have their
shit together,
Dria Andersen (19:11):
yes, and they can be good men, yes. Let's push
stereotypes like, I don't evenit's so funny that you say that
because I literally, I don'teven consider that when I write,
I don't consider any outsidestereotypes at all. When I write
like it's just not No thank you.
You know what I mean. I feellike it bogs it down, and I
don't want to bog down the storywith to me things that are
unnecessary. Like I don't feellike we have to be a stereotype.
(19:35):
We can just exist, and then ifyou invite yourself in that
existence, you'll see that it'snot stereotypical
Alesia Galati (19:45):
going to your shifters. So this is something I
was thinking about as we wereprepping for this interview, is
that your shifters aredifferent. Yes, they're
different in that there's so alot of variety to them, like
we've mentioned already, but I.
How they move with their animalis different, too. And what I
mean by that is, when Itypically read shifter romance,
(20:07):
it's almost this two persontogether ness to the shifter,
whereas yours, it feels likeit's one. Was that intentional?
Okay, let's talk about it.
Dria Andersen (20:24):
Because I read a lot of shifted romances. I
really love them, but I just amfascinated with the idea that
you have the second spirit, butyou are so together again. No
angst, right? There's no innertug of war. You're going to have
the tug of war between the manand the animal, or the woman and
the animal. They're twodifferent things, but it feels
(20:46):
so less lonely, if that makessense, if you're perfectly
melded with that animal, youalways have this friend with you
like I think that's why I didit. I just I don't like that
push and pull if I don't have todeal with it, if that makes it
and it feels more realistic tome, yeah,
Alesia Galati (21:05):
I like that too.
Because, yes, you've got themoments where the woman's like,
I am not giving him the time ofday, and the animal's like, yes,
we are,
Dria Andersen (21:13):
yeah, yeah, that's ours. Like, you need to
get on board. Yeah. I love thosemoments like just reading them,
like, kicking my feet and beinglike, yeah, yeah, I do. I love
that, yeah. If you think aboutit, I try to think about what a
person would do, I would belike, No, I don't really like
(21:34):
this man. Your animal instinctsare just like, No, I'm feeling
him. I don't know if you feelthese warm and fuzzies, but
that's all, you know. I mean,like, we fight in our daily
lives, right? You see a guyyou're attracting you're like,
Oh, I'm attracted to him, butmentally, you're, like, dealing
with the gym saying, so thislike that. You already have that
push and pull. And I think it'scool for it to be in your animal
(21:54):
instinct that it's like, yeah,we really like him. We would
like to open our legs to him.
So, yeah, I really
Alesia Galati (22:02):
know the animals always like, we eat and we do
that, yeah, that's
Dria Andersen (22:06):
pretty much, this is how we survive.
Alesia Galati (22:10):
And it's true, that is how we act as humans,
right? It's just very like, allright, they're hot, obviously,
we're not gonna act on it, butmoving on, because
Dria Andersen (22:19):
then your brain gets involved and you overthink,
and it's just now you've missedyour window, and it's all
nevermind, you know what I mean.
So you've missed thatopportunity. Whereas if you had
an animal, they'd be like, I'mgonna move your leg. We're gonna
get a little closer. You knowwhat I mean? So this, I think
that's cool.
Alesia Galati (22:33):
Yes, all right, tell us more about your some of
your other books, because we gotthrough some of them, and I
stopped you, but LED. What aboutsome other ones? Um,
Dria Andersen (22:41):
yeah, I have a lot of short stories, because,
again, my attention span is inthe dumps, and so I like a quick
little pick me up as I call. Butyeah, I have the Hamilton
brothers series, which I love.
It started from, I tried toexplore a poly romance as a
prude, mind you, I tried toexplore it, and I really liked
the world that I built, and so Itapered it off into the Hamilton
(23:03):
brothers. They're two bearshifters, again, very urban.
They're lawyers, and they findtheir mates. I got to introduce
witches in that world. I reallylove that world. I just, I got
so trapped in the night series.
I'm just like, I love that worldso much. So I focused in on
there, even with the Edwardsbrothers, like Declan is coming
(23:23):
out here in a couple of weeks,and then we're still going in
that world, like I have anotherone planned from that world
where I introduced tigers. I'mjust, like, really excited
about,
Alesia Galati (23:34):
yes, that's what I love. Though, we've got those
exciting new elements coming up.
There's new characters coming inand new cats coming in.
Dria Andersen (23:44):
Oh my gosh. I'm so excited. I am so excited
because Lucky was introduced inDevon's book. She's Keisha
cousin. And my friend was like,It's lucky getting a book. And I
was like, You know what? I thinkso, so I do take outside
influences, yeah, you wantlucky. I'll give you lucky, and
I can give you lucky this way.
So it's I enjoy hearing outsideinput, because then it gives my
(24:05):
brain something to think about.
Ooh, I didn't think about that.
And so now I get to exploreanother facet of this world. So
yes, that's exciting. Ah, I love
Alesia Galati (24:15):
your process. Oh, my God,
Dria Andersen (24:19):
yes. I tell people all the time I'm a mood
writer, and so I do write wherethe wind takes. That's how you
Oh, you want to book on frogs.
Okay, let me see how I canintegrate a frog. That's pretty
much how I go because at the endof the day, it just has to be
something that I can read overand over. That's my only
requirement. So you can tell meall you want to and I will take
(24:40):
it in and then match it intoAdrian. Is basically how that
goes. It is so
Alesia Galati (24:48):
fun. So you mentioned a few things we can
look forward to. Is thereanything else? Maybe some events
you're going to this year thatwe can maybe see you at, or
anything like that. So
Dria Andersen (24:58):
I'm going to be in Atlanta. For the black
romance reader fest. I'm workingon Orlando. There's a romance
Fest in Orlando as well, becausethat's right up the street, and
so I'm working on that. Butthose are the only two events I
told my husband. I figured itout that two is pretty much my
limit, because if I go more, Idid three last year, and my
(25:18):
writing get screwed up, likeit's just I don't have time to
write. I can't get my braintogether, because I'm getting
because I'm getting so two is mylimit. And so, yeah, so Orlando
and Atlanta, Atlanta and the endof May, and then Orlando, I
think, is in August, so I stillhave to confirm that. But yeah,
yes,
Alesia Galati (25:34):
for anyone who is watching or listening or like, I
need to know more about thesebooks and wants to binge your
entire backlog, because I highlyrecommend doing that like I
remember I found one of them,and I was just
Dria Andersen (25:48):
like, when I find new writers, because I do the
same thing. Well, let me justsee
Alesia Galati (25:53):
Yes, and you have quite an expensive backlog. So
where can people find you? Getto know you hang out with you
all that fun stuff.
Dria Andersen (26:02):
So online, you mean, yes, because I am the
person who is always in thehouse, I like to be in my little
cave, honey, because I have,believe it or not, social
anxiety, so I get to, like, alittle squirrely. But my website
is Drea anderson.com you canfind me on Instagram at author
(26:23):
Draya Anderson, and my Facebookpage was hacked, so I had to
work on that. But I do have areader group that is private,
and so it's Drea gold gangthing. If you find it, say
hello. I'll let you in so youcan see all my little secrets,
Alesia Galati (26:42):
and we'll make sure we have links for that in
the show notes, in thedescription as well, for anyone
who's doing other stuff whilethey're listening or watching.
Then that way they can make sureto snag those. Drea, this has
been so much fun. I had a blasthearing about your process,
hearing about your books, andnow I need to just go back
through and read all of yourshort stories and your other
(27:02):
series, because I
Dria Andersen (27:03):
love my short story so much. You should
definitely read one night onebite, because I'm coming out
with the rest of that world thisyear. So yes, it's my vampire
world. Very excited about it. Bythe time this airs, I'll
probably have either have Leviout or be working on him to come
out. So, yeah,
Alesia Galati (27:22):
sweet. So yeah, that's next on my list. TBR,
okay, rearranged. It's fine.
You.
Get ready for a conversation that will leave you
breathless. We're talking withDrea Anderson about their
thrilling shifter romances,where love loyalty and suspense
collide. Listener discretion isadvised. This podcast contains
mature content intended foradult audiences only. Drea, I am
(00:22):
so excited to have you on thepodcast today. I love your
books. I am obsessed. And I toldyou in the green room that you
are one of the first authorsthat I read that had black
shifter romance. And I was like,wait a minute, I am here for all
of this. So tell us a bit aboutyou and how you got into
(00:44):
writing.
Dria Andersen (00:45):
So I've always been writing, but it took me
getting pregnant with my son andhaving to sit down to finally
take the stories that I had onmy little thumb drive, a little
travel with me everywhere andeven through the different
types, right? It used to be aCD, and then it was a floppy
disk, finally, a thumb drive.
I'm sitting down, and I'm like,You know what? I got all these
(01:07):
stories, nothing to do but,like, bake my son, so let me sit
down and write. And so that'swhat I did at the time, too.
Self publishing was just comingout, and people were like, Oh,
you can just upload your book.
I'm like, Oh, I don't have to gothrough all the because that
gives me anxiety and all thequerying and all that kind of
stuff. And so I was like, Oh,let me just try it. And so
(01:29):
that's how that started.
Alesia Galati (01:30):
What was your first one that you released? So
Dria Andersen (01:34):
the first one I released, and this is before I
knew anything about anything, isthe destiny series. I'll say the
series, because I released itout of order, because I was just
like, This is what I finished.
So this is what you get. So itwas very flat together. But that
was my first series. I
Alesia Galati (01:52):
don't think I've read that one. So can you tell
us a bit about it? So it
Dria Andersen (01:56):
was my first story into paranormal at all. I
wanted to do something that feltvery like mythical and like
Legend wise, and it's aboutthese lion shifters. They had
been banished from their templebecause they allowed one of
their artifacts to be stolen,and so as a punishment, their
(02:16):
goddess sent them away and toldthem they had to find the
artifact, but also keep thevampire population under
control. And so you start theseries with their punishment,
ending with them finding theartifact. Wow. Was very world
dense, if that makes sense,
Alesia Galati (02:34):
yeah, having to do a lot of world building. I
started with your knightbrothers series, and what I
loved about that is you've gotmore of the less world building,
right? Like, I'm here for worldbuilding, yeah, when it's a
series, but this one is more ofurban fantasy, where it's
(02:54):
fantastical, and it's got thefantasy elements, but it's in
our world as you know it now,and you've got it where there
are and you mentioned lionshifters, and I'm glad you did,
because I love that aspect ofthat there are different types
of shifters where it's not justyour typical wolf shifters. You
have so much variety. You've gotPanthers, you've got lions, yes,
(03:17):
you've got some wolves, butyou've got so many different
elements to the shiftercommunity that it made it way
more intriguing than thetypical, yes, more intriguing
than the typical shifterromance, and it's set in our
world. So it's didn't feel likeI had to be like, Wait, who's
(03:38):
what, and what's going on, orany of that. Let's talk about
that series. Because one, it'sjust delicious and sexy, but
you've got some faded mates,mild suspense. And we were
talking about this before. Youdon't consider your book
suspense, right? So let's talkabout that. Because when I think
(03:59):
about your books, I think youhave the couple, and they're
fated mates, and they're like,Okay, we're gonna be together.
Of course, there's a little bitof push and pull there. Do I
really want you? And I like thatyou have that element of
autonomy still, that it's notjust, oh, well, you're my faded
mate. And so it doesn't matterthat I hate you. I have to be
with you. Right, right? There's,still that waiting period almost
(04:23):
slow ish burn, right? It's notslow burn, but slow ish burn
where one of the characters ismaybe fighting it. So let's talk
about how you maybe didn'tconsider it to be suspense.
Dria Andersen (04:36):
Yeah, when I think of suspense, I think of
you Nora Roberts and Jane andKrantz, like even Brenda Jackson
has to spend. You have an artright? You find out there's this
kind of crime, and then you'rewondering throughout the book,
who did it? But I feel like mineare just more messy. I just want
a little bit of mess in it, andI want to not have to have
because I want drama, right? ButI don't want it to be between
(04:59):
the. Mates. I would rather thelove be low angst. I want you to
fall in love. I don't need allthat. And so you also don't want
to read a book that's just, oh,it's squishy. Thank you. No, I
want some drama on the outside.
So I want I have all my drama beoutside of the couple. And so it
feels like drama, just drama tome. And so when you said it was
suspense, I was like, me,suspect, like, just considered a
little messy. That's what wegot.
Alesia Galati (05:24):
I love it, and I love that you take that approach
of making sure that the couplehave that lovey dovey kind of
time. Why is that important foryou specifically?
Dria Andersen (05:33):
So I write specifically towards my anxiety,
right? The things that make meanxious in books, I don't read
books that make me anxious. Andso when I write, I write to
read. I read my books over andover, like I have comfort books
that are mine. I writespecifically for myself. And so
I know what I like. I likesquishy. I want babying. I want
(05:54):
that rough guy. I want all thosedifferent elements. And I don't
really want to read about youguys arguing. I argue in my real
life. I don't want to. We don'tneed that in the book. Like I
was just fighting my husbandyesterday. I don't want to deal
with that. You know, I'm sayingI want to deal with the squishy.
So, yeah, I try to keep my dramaand angst outside of the couple.
(06:15):
Yes,
Alesia Galati (06:16):
that makes sense.
I don't think that, especiallybecause you've been writing for
so long, I think that someauthors can lose that of like,
I'm writing for me, where itbecomes like, what's the next
best seller? What are peoplewanting? What is my readership
asking for? And so staying trueto yourself and also being
successful too, right? Like, Ifound your books and was like,
Yes, I'm binging all of them, asmany as I can get. And when is
(06:39):
the next one coming up. And so Ilove that you're able to still
hold true to that withoutfeeling, and obviously you might
feel some of that influenceexternally, yeah, but still
staying true to that. Youmentioned your favorite comfort
read. Can you tell us what it isand a little bit of backstory
about it? My
Dria Andersen (06:59):
so it's a little embarrassing, but my favorite
comfort read is a short storythat I wrote called claiming
April. It's just really shortand really squishy. And grant is
he's such a typical like Wolfshifter, and I just I eat it up
every time. So if I need a bookto settle my nerves, I read it
in the night brother Series. Ilove Rocco. I think I've read
(07:21):
Rocco a million times becausehe's just quiet bear and he's
just and Jalisa is like, youknow, in his ear, yep, yep, yep.
And he's just so stoic. And Ijust love it so much. And so
those are my two that I readover and over again, but Devin
has been at it. But just becauseI'm really love Devin a lot. So
yes, those are the ones that Iread over and over
Alesia Galati (07:42):
um, so good you have some like urban fiction
elements to your book, meaningit's like on the streets, it's
almost entirely black cast. Andso why was it important for you
to showcase that aspect in yourwriting?
Dria Andersen (08:00):
I can't speak to the urban aspect. I think it's
just I got into urban books, andI really loved it, but I don't
live that life, so I can'treally immerse myself in it. So
I could add a few elements thatI liked to like I said, because
I like to read my books, butthem being Black was very
important to me because I have ahuge family, and so outside of
(08:21):
like school and work, we don'treally deal with anyone else.
And so that's my I'm used tojust it being black. People,
like our electrician is black.
Everyone in our world is and soI just wrote true to that. Do
you know what I mean? I may workwith a few different type of co
workers, but for the most part,my family is ginormous, and so
we're very insular, and soeverything is blind, and so
(08:45):
that's just, that's how I grewup. And so I want to it reflects
that in the book. I think, yeah,
Alesia Galati (08:54):
Alexandra House said the same thing. So she goes
on the podcast, and she waslike, the way I grew up and the
community. I grew up when it waslike, Romy, you was entirely
black, and I wanted to have aspace where I could just
showcase that, where I don'thave to describe the person
(09:15):
because they're all black,
Dria Andersen (09:17):
they're like, Yeah, because I have black, yes,
unless she's wearing has adifferent color, unless I say
otherwise, probably black. Soyeah, that's just how it is. And
then, plus, you don't haveagain. I don't like angst and
trouble. I don't want to bringtrouble to my world. So if I
don't have to introduce anelement where they have to deal
with a racism like I won't dothat because I don't want to
(09:38):
deal with I don't want to readit. Do
Alesia Galati (09:40):
you know what I mean? Yeah, you have a hierarchy
in the knight brothers and theDevon what's the one Edwards
brothers series? Can you talk alittle bit about that and how
you came up with that element ofit? Because I think that it's
something that's teasedthroughout that you're like,
Ooh, wait. Me more. I want toknow more about these, like
(10:02):
higher characters and whatthey're doing.
Dria Andersen (10:04):
Yeah. So when I sit down to write a world, I
always try to figure out how tobecause I like contemporary so I
like it to be in an urbansetting. So I want to figure out
how to do it in a way where youwon't blink twice if you see it
will shift her if you see a wolfwalking past. So I have to make
(10:24):
their world in a way that it'snormal, right? It's not over
hiding in the corner. I onlywant to hide nothing. Everybody
is out. If you see a vampire,you see a vampire, right? And so
to me, the motsie was that,like, it's okay. They were part
of this. How do they live in aworld with humans nicely? And so
I was like, oh, maybe they hadthis war, and now there's this
(10:44):
peace treaty, and then we havethe motzi to keep them under
control. And then when I startedmy reading journey, hundreds and
1000s of years ago, I used toread historicals, right? And
they used to have the ton, andthat is so fascinating to me.
And I was like, Oh, what if wecould have something like that,
and so that's what the Mozi is.
They're like, they're like the10, they're high society, and
they have their balls, and theyhave their different social
(11:06):
hierarchies. That reallyinterested me. Yes,
Alesia Galati (11:11):
yeah. I love that you brought that element and the
correlation too, because itmakes sense when you think, when
having read the books, right?
That is very similar, like youmentioned the balls and the
parties and like the gettogethers and the showboating
that happens a bit.
Dria Andersen (11:30):
Yeah, exactly,
Alesia Galati (11:32):
yeah. You also have some trauma elements to
your stories that I think areimportant to read. Can you talk
through some of those and whyyou came up with them, or why
you wanted these characters tohave those arcs, thinking
specifically about, let's gowith Devon's book. I believe it
was where she had grown up in anorphanage. Is that the right
(11:56):
one? All right, I'm mixingbooks. I think that's Dina. Dina
grew up in an orphanage. Okay,so, yeah, so let's talk about
Dina growing up in an orphanage.
And kind of like, you have itwhere the MOT they're caring for
these kids coming in, andthey're bringing things, and
it's such a community where,like, maybe they can't keep one
of the kids or take care of oneof the kids themselves, but they
(12:19):
still bring in a lot ofcommunity support because
they're like, we're allshifters. It doesn't matter that
you're a panther and I'm a lion,like we're all shifters, and we
all need to look out for eachother. So can you talk through a
bit of that element? I
Dria Andersen (12:35):
think family is such a huge deal for me that the
thought of someone not having afamily, like eats my heart up
right in a perfect world, to me,we would take care of everyone
in our community, no one wouldbe left behind, and it would
include kids that, like you saidyou can't take into your home.
And so I wanted to be my, mylittle perfect world. Okay,
(12:58):
yeah, I grew up in an orphanage,but we had all these things.
People were always coming up,like, I still wanted to feel
like a family, because evenwithin that orphanage, like
Rocco was there and Devin andDeclan were there, and they were
all together, they formed theirown little family. And so I
think that's at the basis of it.
I just I love everything aboutfamily, and I want everyone to
have family, even if you have tomake it yourself.
Alesia Galati (13:20):
Yeah, that found family aspect, I think, is
really important, especially inbooks, because a lot of us might
feel alienated, right? Whetherthat's because something
happened with our families andwe don't feel like we're safe
with them, or maybe we don'thave families. I know for
(13:40):
myself, my found family is themost important thing, having
grown up the way I did, and thenI lost both my parents by the
time I was 31 and so it was likeone, who am I anymore? Right?
But then also needing to havepeople that I could lean on,
that I could get support from,was so important. And so I think
(14:03):
that found family aspect. I lovereading found family because,
like saying life is messy, I getit. It
Dria Andersen (14:10):
is and not everyone that's blood is not.
They're not reliable all thetime. And then when you talk
about writing traumas, I feellike there are so many different
types of people. A book can't betoo perfect, because then it
starts to feel unrealistic, andthen you can't really depend on
it to soothe those aches. Do youknow what I mean? Like I read
and I write certain things andso you want to soothe the
(14:31):
loneliness ache, so yourcharacter needs to be lonely, so
that your reader can go throughthat, so they understand, yeah,
there is light at the end of thetunnel, that type of stuff. Do
you know what I mean? Yeah, thetrauma is just as important to
me as a story.
Alesia Galati (14:42):
Yes, it's so beautiful. I love that you said
that because it is and I thinkthat's one of the beautiful
things about romance, is that wecan explore so many of these
different elements. We canexplore our own lived
experiences or. The livedexperiences of others, and it
(15:02):
can soothe us. Then it's notjust people fucking Yes, they'd
be doing right too, yes.
Dria Andersen (15:08):
But we do love that part as well.
Alesia Galati (15:12):
But it's so much more than that. It's the feeling
less alone. It's the light atthe end of the tunnel. It's the
having someone who you can relyon, who can support you and hold
you up and is there for you whenyou need them. And so I love,
uh, love that element to it.
It's so beautiful. I loveromance so much.
Dria Andersen (15:34):
Same, same. Oh my gosh. I could talk about it all
day long. So, yeah, I'm tellingthat same book. Tell
Alesia Galati (15:43):
us a bit more about some of your other books.
You have some other ones that Ihave not read, but I want to
know all about your other onesthat you've got. For anyone
who's like, I want to know more.
Dria Andersen (15:52):
I try to do a little bit of everything. Like,
you have your destiny series,and that is very, like I said.
It's very world heavy. So is myhaven series, which is another
one that is like, dear to me.
It's when I started to get alittle more into the swing of
what I wanted to do as a writer.
And it is about three brothers.
They are a part of this, likesecurity team. They protect the
world from these creatures. It'smore fantasy, like a little, not
(16:16):
high fantasy, per se, but alittle more fantastical. And
like, humans don't know, I justreally love their world. And
then they have it where there'sother dimensions. So it's just
really, like, really worldintensive. And the men are the
men, like, I really love a good,strong, like, about his shit,
man, you know what I mean. So,yeah, so the three of them are
(16:38):
fantastic. That one has yoursuspense and like the world is
about to end, you don't know it,but they know it, and they're
trying to protect everyone fromit. And I just love the Haven
series, but the rest of them Ilove, I so I wrote Destiny
series, right? And then I wroteThe Haven series. I was like,
oh, yeah, this is fantastical.
(16:59):
Legends are Made of this, right?
And then I discovered shifters.
I was like, and so I got stuckin shifters for a while, because
I just really love them. Butthis year I'm gonna go back to
my vampires. I'm gonna doanother world heavy series that
I'm like, super excited about.
So very excited about it,because it features creatures
that are not traditional to me,for sure, and then to like black
(17:24):
paranormal. So I'm reallyexcited to explain it, because
I'm sure there are, I'm surethere are Black Mages, but I
haven't read any that I liked.
So yeah,
Alesia Galati (17:36):
that's where we're going. Ooh, I love that.
You mentioned strong men. Why isit important for you that these
men have their shit togetherbefore they're like, actually
find their fated mate? Because alot of these characters have
either known each other for awhile or kind of have an inkling
that the other person might betheir faded mate. But then it's
(17:59):
not like, Hey, we're definitelyright. It's not this, like, huh,
moment that they get and so whyis it important for you that
these men have that kind of Ihave my stuff together. I am who
I am, and they're so sure ofthemselves before they step to
their mate. Why is thatimportant for
Dria Andersen (18:18):
you? So it's important story wise, because,
again, I don't want the angst,right? But in general, I think
it allows the female protagonistto be a little messier, right?
It allows her to still have thatsecurity net that, okay, my
life's a little messy, but thisguy has his together. I just
feel again, back to just what Ilike to read, and so that's what
(18:41):
I end up writing. Like. Thereare some instances where I may
have a No, I like a man with ashit together. That's how that
goes. I just really, I justthink it's important, because it
allows me to explore a littlebit more on the female side,
right? I'm a woman, and so itallows me to explore myself a
little bit as well as I'mwriting Yeah, and
Alesia Galati (19:02):
I think, too it's important to see black men
reflected that way, like, yeah,they have, they can have their
shit together,
Dria Andersen (19:11):
yes, and they can be good men, yes. Let's push
stereotypes like, I don't evenit's so funny that you say that
because I literally, I don'teven consider that when I write,
I don't consider any outsidestereotypes at all. When I write
like it's just not No thank you.
You know what I mean. I feellike it bogs it down, and I
don't want to bog down the storywith to me things that are
unnecessary. Like I don't feellike we have to be a stereotype.
(19:35):
We can just exist, and then ifyou invite yourself in that
existence, you'll see that it'snot stereotypical
Alesia Galati (19:45):
going to your shifters. So this is something I
was thinking about as we wereprepping for this interview, is
that your shifters aredifferent. Yes, they're
different in that there's so alot of variety to them, like
we've mentioned already, but I.
How they move with their animalis different, too. And what I
mean by that is, when Itypically read shifter romance,
(20:07):
it's almost this two persontogether ness to the shifter,
whereas yours, it feels likeit's one. Was that intentional?
Okay, let's talk about it.
Dria Andersen (20:24):
Because I read a lot of shifted romances. I
really love them, but I just amfascinated with the idea that
you have the second spirit, butyou are so together again. No
angst, right? There's no innertug of war. You're going to have
the tug of war between the manand the animal, or the woman and
the animal. They're twodifferent things, but it feels
(20:46):
so less lonely, if that makessense, if you're perfectly
melded with that animal, youalways have this friend with you
like I think that's why I didit. I just I don't like that
push and pull if I don't have todeal with it, if that makes it
and it feels more realistic tome, yeah,
Alesia Galati (21:05):
I like that too.
Because, yes, you've got themoments where the woman's like,
I am not giving him the time ofday, and the animal's like, yes,
we are,
Dria Andersen (21:13):
yeah, yeah, that's ours. Like, you need to
get on board. Yeah. I love thosemoments like just reading them,
like, kicking my feet and beinglike, yeah, yeah, I do. I love
that, yeah. If you think aboutit, I try to think about what a
person would do, I would belike, No, I don't really like
(21:34):
this man. Your animal instinctsare just like, No, I'm feeling
him. I don't know if you feelthese warm and fuzzies, but
that's all, you know. I mean,like, we fight in our daily
lives, right? You see a guyyou're attracting you're like,
Oh, I'm attracted to him, butmentally, you're, like, dealing
with the gym saying, so thislike that. You already have that
push and pull. And I think it'scool for it to be in your animal
(21:54):
instinct that it's like, yeah,we really like him. We would
like to open our legs to him.
So, yeah, I really
Alesia Galati (22:02):
know the animals always like, we eat and we do
that, yeah, that's
Dria Andersen (22:06):
pretty much, this is how we survive.
Alesia Galati (22:10):
And it's true, that is how we act as humans,
right? It's just very like, allright, they're hot, obviously,
we're not gonna act on it, butmoving on, because
Dria Andersen (22:19):
then your brain gets involved and you overthink,
and it's just now you've missedyour window, and it's all
nevermind, you know what I mean.
So you've missed thatopportunity. Whereas if you had
an animal, they'd be like, I'mgonna move your leg. We're gonna
get a little closer. You knowwhat I mean? So this, I think
that's cool.
Alesia Galati (22:33):
Yes, all right, tell us more about your some of
your other books, because we gotthrough some of them, and I
stopped you, but LED. What aboutsome other ones? Um,
Dria Andersen (22:41):
yeah, I have a lot of short stories, because,
again, my attention span is inthe dumps, and so I like a quick
little pick me up as I call. Butyeah, I have the Hamilton
brothers series, which I love.
It started from, I tried toexplore a poly romance as a
prude, mind you, I tried toexplore it, and I really liked
the world that I built, and so Itapered it off into the Hamilton
(23:03):
brothers. They're two bearshifters, again, very urban.
They're lawyers, and they findtheir mates. I got to introduce
witches in that world. I reallylove that world. I just, I got
so trapped in the night series.
I'm just like, I love that worldso much. So I focused in on
there, even with the Edwardsbrothers, like Declan is coming
(23:23):
out here in a couple of weeks,and then we're still going in
that world, like I have anotherone planned from that world
where I introduced tigers. I'mjust, like, really excited
about,
Alesia Galati (23:34):
yes, that's what I love. Though, we've got those
exciting new elements coming up.
There's new characters coming inand new cats coming in.
Dria Andersen (23:44):
Oh my gosh. I'm so excited. I am so excited
because Lucky was introduced inDevon's book. She's Keisha
cousin. And my friend was like,It's lucky getting a book. And I
was like, You know what? I thinkso, so I do take outside
influences, yeah, you wantlucky. I'll give you lucky, and
I can give you lucky this way.
So it's I enjoy hearing outsideinput, because then it gives my
(24:05):
brain something to think about.
Ooh, I didn't think about that.
And so now I get to exploreanother facet of this world. So
yes, that's exciting. Ah, I love
Alesia Galati (24:15):
your process. Oh, my God,
Dria Andersen (24:19):
yes. I tell people all the time I'm a mood
writer, and so I do write wherethe wind takes. That's how you
Oh, you want to book on frogs.
Okay, let me see how I canintegrate a frog. That's pretty
much how I go because at the endof the day, it just has to be
something that I can read overand over. That's my only
requirement. So you can tell meall you want to and I will take
(24:40):
it in and then match it intoAdrian. Is basically how that
goes. It is so
Alesia Galati (24:48):
fun. So you mentioned a few things we can
look forward to. Is thereanything else? Maybe some events
you're going to this year thatwe can maybe see you at, or
anything like that. So
Dria Andersen (24:58):
I'm going to be in Atlanta. For the black
romance reader fest. I'm workingon Orlando. There's a romance
Fest in Orlando as well, becausethat's right up the street, and
so I'm working on that. Butthose are the only two events I
told my husband. I figured itout that two is pretty much my
limit, because if I go more, Idid three last year, and my
(25:18):
writing get screwed up, likeit's just I don't have time to
write. I can't get my braintogether, because I'm getting
because I'm getting so two is mylimit. And so, yeah, so Orlando
and Atlanta, Atlanta and the endof May, and then Orlando, I
think, is in August, so I stillhave to confirm that. But yeah,
yes,
Alesia Galati (25:34):
for anyone who is watching or listening or like, I
need to know more about thesebooks and wants to binge your
entire backlog, because I highlyrecommend doing that like I
remember I found one of them,and I was just
Dria Andersen (25:48):
like, when I find new writers, because I do the
same thing. Well, let me justsee
Alesia Galati (25:53):
Yes, and you have quite an expensive backlog. So
where can people find you? Getto know you hang out with you
all that fun stuff.
Dria Andersen (26:02):
So online, you mean, yes, because I am the
person who is always in thehouse, I like to be in my little
cave, honey, because I have,believe it or not, social
anxiety, so I get to, like, alittle squirrely. But my website
is Drea anderson.com you canfind me on Instagram at author
(26:23):
Draya Anderson, and my Facebookpage was hacked, so I had to
work on that. But I do have areader group that is private,
and so it's Drea gold gangthing. If you find it, say
hello. I'll let you in so youcan see all my little secrets,
Alesia Galati (26:42):
and we'll make sure we have links for that in
the show notes, in thedescription as well, for anyone
who's doing other stuff whilethey're listening or watching.
Then that way they can make sureto snag those. Drea, this has
been so much fun. I had a blasthearing about your process,
hearing about your books, andnow I need to just go back
through and read all of yourshort stories and your other
(27:02):
series, because I
Dria Andersen (27:03):
love my short story so much. You should
definitely read one night onebite, because I'm coming out
with the rest of that world thisyear. So yes, it's my vampire
world. Very excited about it. Bythe time this airs, I'll
probably have either have Leviout or be working on him to come
out. So, yeah,
Alesia Galati (27:22):
sweet. So yeah, that's next on my list. TBR,
okay, rearranged. It's fine.
You.
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