About the Author & Stories

For many years I had been saying I would like to write a fantasy or sci-fi novel. I grew up loving to read but fantasy was never my interest. My preference was for first-hand accounts of aliens, crypto-zoological creatures, ghosts, hauntings, curses and UFO’s. I wanted to know everything I could about scientific discoveries and was fascinated with fables, fairy-tales and mythology.

The draw here was the correlation between things that were written and spoken of in fables and religion and the fine line between what was true. These things never seemed to be able to be proved or disproved and that was where my imagination took flight. I didn’t care what other people or writers thought of these topics since I had my own ideas.

For almost 15 years the ideas and characters traveled around in my head. They commingled with current events and the storylines continued to grow. My love of photography and cinema also contributed greatly to these thoughts as I began to visualize how I wanted to tell stories. Audio Book versions are available at my Authors Direct Page.

Storytelling
In the summer of 2005 I began writing Queen of the World. This would be the first of a four-book story arc called, Royal Seasons, that encompassed each branch of royalty as well as my love of the seasons. My fondness of characters, threads and interconnectedness shaped this new world. I envisioned a series of novels that would be made up of multi-book storylines as well as stand-alone tales. Each story would be tied together by lines that would only be visible to readers of the entire series. All the books would have threads and characters that would keep the novels continuing even if certain figures didn’t survive or if a reader had only picked up one book.

The movement of time also contributes to the stories. Books one through three can be read in practically any order and each lead up to the conclusion of the arc in book four. Keeping with this thought, I decided on one main title for the complete succession of books… Meridian Wanderings.

Fantasy and Sci-fi have had some tribulations over the years. Sometimes the genre seems stagnate and at times only the fans of the style will pick up new books. I feel I have taken steps to move into a new area. By bringing in more realistic elements, deeper characters and by combining the elements of fantasy, sci-fi, drama, comedy, and action into every book, I believe that more readers will enjoy the genre. In my mind, life is never one thing, it changes from one moment to the next and flows seamlessly through everyone’s world. I’m interested in how family, life and individuals interact with each other. I love surprises and I hate the predictable. This is something that life never is and books shouldn’t be either.

One of the big selling points of my stories is how I try not to force a single opinion. I loved classic literature, symbolism and having to mask your own ideas enough to gently lead the reader to your way of thinking without cramming it down their throat. This isn’t to say that I’m not harsh when the situation calls for it. My books are violent, sexual and adult fairy-tales that mirror reality while still remaining escapist. I have made a point of adding in a variety of different character types while not isolating anyone in particular. Gay and lesbian characters mingle with heterosexuals and fantasy races such as elves, fairies, mythological gods, and historical and religious figures. There is a huge untapped market for these kinds of books in the gay community. I have many homosexual friends who love fantasy movies but there didn’t seem to be many books aimed at that demographic. This worked well for me and allowed the opportunity to bring a positive spin on this culture and show everyone that there need not be segregation in these genres. Everyone can get along. Not one single reader of the series, so far, has felt any of these elements was offensive to their particular views. The idea here is to open minds while entertaining.

I make a point of getting into each character and never have these creations do anything that would seem unrealistic just to further a storyline or plot. I have been complimented on my realistic dialogue and striking, moody visuals. It has been noted that the novels can be enjoyed on many different levels, from those into deep metaphysics to those seeking entertaining action-fantasy. All levels of reader can truly appreciate these stories. Those who are not necessarily into fantasy or sci-fi can even enjoy the books and most readers have mentioned how well the tales would translate into movies or a TV show.

With numerous stories filling my head and looking for an escape, the ideas flowed easily. My first book took about four months to write and was 228 full-sized pages. Books two and three each took two months and were 166 and 156 pages respectively. I have done my own covers and art for the books and was thrilled to use my artistic skills and design abilities to bring my visions to life. This also helped me map out how a scene would look and play out. Later in the Meridian Wanderings universe-of-stories, I got to work with some amazing artists & illustrators, like Kevin McCoy, Mark “Monstark” Thompson, and Tobias Gebhardt.

The Future
I am excited about the response to the series so far and have enjoyed the feedback. At this point I’m 10 novels into what I guessed would take 12 books. I have so many ideas though. The stories evolve and I come up with other characters I’d like to follow. Life also continues to bring more seeds of ideas, with each discovery of new dimensions, weapons, planets and animals…

Thanks for reading…

-Kira Cul’tofay-