Soul Survivor started out as an idea way back in 2010. I was working on Beckoning Blood and toying with the idea of writing something that wasn’t about vampires but was like vampires. I wanted to not just be a writer who wrote about vampires (looks like I’ve blown that thought well out of the water since).

At the time I also worked for a zoo so issues of conservation and extinction were front of mind. Combining those two topics—of not-vampires and extinction—brought me to consider what would happen to the creature that fed on humans if humans became scarce. 

A lot of this story has changed since I first wrote it. And I mean A LOT. It had a darker tone and the love story wasn’t as rounded out. I also had an idea that vampires would still play a role in the broader world (despite wanting to get away from them) but most of them had been eradicated, often by Emrys. 

He had a pathological hate of them, but when it came time to really getting the first book edited and polished, it didn’t work to include them. Even with me intending to include them in the first book (which had a kind of ‘monster in the house’ feel to it).

This changed the trajectory of the series. When I wrote the first book, I didn’t have an idea for the second, though I thought the third would include vampires. In fact, it was going to be called The Last Vampire. That idea fell by the wayside but elements of it have been retained in what will be the third book (Soul Surrender).

But back to book one. Many other things changed including Emrys’s backstory, his relationships, and how the cities operate. Plus many other things that I don’t remember now (including that Emrys was originally called Craven and Nimue called Morigan and Providence was called Pergamon. Galen was always Galen.) 

I have the earlier drafts, and like so many of the bigger world books that I write, rewrites were unavoidable. I think Soul Survivor went through three, maybe even four. Soul Savior has gone through two. I’m hoping Soul Surrender only goes through one.

However it all came about, I hope you enjoy the finished product (and do me a favour by leaving a review).

Buy Soul Survivor from Amazon (Kindle, Kindle Unlimited and Paperback).