An Exclusive Interview with Alix Adale Recently, I was hugely excited to introduce a new Author Partner to Exclusive ARC - the inimitable Alix Adale. Her Hearts of Dagon series was hugely popular, and she's definitely one of the most unique voices in paranormal romance at the moment.



As part of my fledgling Author Spotlight series, I was lucky enough to get to interview Alix, and I'm really excited to share that with you here

Hi Alix, please tell us about yourself and where you’re from.

Thank you for featuring me! I live in the Pacific Northwest, the global epicenter for paranormal romance. Seriously, at least one out of four PNR authors I run into lives up here.



Maybe it’s the rain and Bigfoot. Maybe the area’s just weird. This summer, we’ve had a total eclipse of the sun and now the sky is smoky and reeks of burning ashes thanks to the wildfires raging across the state. I’m expecting the vampire apocalypse any day now. That’s like zombies but so much worse because vampires are smart and sexy!

Speaking of vampires, why did you choose to write vampire romance and not shifters?

Good question! Shifters are hot and the vampire category is all over the place, dominated by a few huge names and with bestsellers running the gamut from Young Adult to Erotic Romance. Knowing all that going into it, I still chose vampires because I love the trope, the history, and influences like Anne Rice and Charlaine Harris. It entertains me so much. Maybe because I’m a night person, maybe because I’m an introvert, but something about people getting into their coffins and taking a nap satisfies me on a weird, subconscious level.





What would you say makes your paranormal romance stand out?

I’m a fan of horror and fantasy literature, along with abnormal psychology, true crime, and the occult, so I borrow elements from those genres as a way to present the supernatural in an original, serious way that’s vital to the story.



Magic is rare and difficult; the supernatural is terrifying. We have left physics-based reality. There’s no roadmap. I don’t want paranormal characters to read like scientific superheroes with videogame superpowers. There needs to be mystery. The occult is spooky. It’s the world of the dead, of the unknown.



That said, this is paranormal romance, so the relationship is the main storyline and the goal is catharsis. I want the reader to cry—tears of joy in the end, ideally, but if there’s also fear, laughter, and sorrow along the way, all the better. So if the paranormal can add an atmosphere of dread or a sense of wonder as a background to the romance plotline, it’s working. But love has a triumphant power and a supernatural agency of its own, for love is magic. That’s how I approach the paranormal in romance.



Tell us about some of your work.

Since July, I’ve published three paranormal romance vampires in the Hearts of Dagon series, with the fourth, Dawn is Magic, coming out in late September or early October.



Blood is Magic is the first book in the series, but honestly, Night is Magic works as an entry into the series just as well. By the time you get to book four though, there’s enough backstory and loose ends, it’s better to have at least read book two and three. Here’s a special peek at the cover of Book Four, Dawn is Magic, just for your readers!





Each book is standalone in that there’s a new couple experiencing a paranormal romance, but they are all tied together in that it focuses on the same vampire clan and there are some plot threads and recurring characters that tie things together—and everything comes to a head and blows up and explodes in crazy new directions in book four, Dawn is Magic. That will lead to a new series in the same universe with many of the same characters returning, growing, and taking on new rivalries and romances. It’s a supernatural soap opera—get in while you can!

Have you considered writing in other genres?

My work, while I wouldn’t call it ‘clean’ per se, skews more toward the paranormal suspense and urban fantasy than erotic romance. Not that there’s anything wrong with sex scenes—I’ve written my share of erotica—but when I put together my brand and what this world would be all about, erotic romance isn’t what I wanted to do.



Urban Fantasy (UF) is the closest to my Paranormal Romance (PNR). There are different approaches to those genres, but the way I write PNR should translate well to urban fantasy in that there’s a romance plot and a supernatural plot. The difference between those two genres is in essence which is the A-plot and which is the B-plot.

Do you put much of your personal life into your work?

It would be amazing if I could put more in! Unfortunately, I’m not a centuries-old vampire with access to creepy spellbooks and millions of dollars.



I’ll say this though—the emotional core must come from the writer or it won’t work. Fortunately, that’s easy for most of us to dig out and borrow the way an actor does. By the time we’re in grade school, we’ve already experienced almost every primal human emotion: love, anger, fear, sorrow, joy, loneliness, jealousy, and so on. Lust and romantic love come along a little later, completing that core set of emotions.

Do you have a subscriber list? What are the benefits and how do I join?

Yes, I do! You get a free novella set in the same universe as my main storyline, news about my latest releases, info about discounts and free promos, and open calls for thinks like beta readers. Here’s the link! Thank you so much, Alix! You can follow Alix on her website, at Goodreads and Amazon, and be part of the conversation over on Twitter. Go and support her! I hope you enjoyed the interview! Let me know what you thought of this feature, and if you'd like to see more author spotlights, by emailing me at editor@exclusivearc.com.

