Dragon Soul Press had the chance to interview Natalie Starkoss, a paranormal romance author!

---

1) Introduce yourself.

Hi, I’m Natalie, an australian indie author from Tasmania.

2) What prompted you to begin writing?

I’ve always loved writing, my nana had a poem I wrote published in her church newsletter when
I was six, and I knew from then that’s what I wanted to do. Imposter syndrome and the general
consensus of people in my life was that it was next to impossible, so I never pursued it, but
always kept writing. Mental health made me stop for a few years, but when I was well enough to
come back to it, I decided to give it my all and go for it, and Prowl is the result.

3) How many projects do you have planned over the next few years? Tell us about one.

I have a busy year this year! I release a gargoyle romance at the end of may, books 2 and 3 of
my spliced love series in July and October, as well as participating in an anthology. Next year
will definitely see more spliced love books and another gargoyle book, with one or two other
things in the works.

4) What is your writing process like?

My books usually start out with scene I can’t shake, and I develop it from there – the characters,
the motivations, the big emotions, the storyline. I am a plotter – I have a big cork board that gets
covered in scene ideas, pivotal points that I need to hit etc, and a ribbon I pin to each one in the
order they need to happen. I convert my board to a document, assign the points to chapters,
then go for it. But none of it happens without a cup of tea first!

5) Where do you draw inspiration from?

Oooh! So many random things! We go hiking and pass a random spot I need to take a photo of because it would make a great scene setting! Interactions between people, snippets of conversation, lyrics in a song, pictures of places that pop up in my instagram feed… these give me a seed of an idea that my brain latches onto, and I’ll find myself thinking about in the weirdest of places – the shower, walking on the treadmill, stacking the dishwasher. It eventually gets so big in my head I need to jot the thoughts down or risk losing them, and things keep growing from there.

6) Who is your favorite author / what is your favorite book?

I think having a favourite author is impossible. But there are a few who I will automatically read,
even without checking the blurb. Honey Phillips, Ruby Dixon, Ursa Dax, Ava Ross, Cara Wylde,
Lynne lee. They all fall into the scifi/monster romance category.

7) What is one goal you have for your writing future?

My ultimate goal, is one I won’t ever really know if I’ve achieved – not without someone literally
telling me, and that’s to become someone’s auto pick-up author. It’s about finding people who’ll
love my stories, just as much as I loved writing them.

8) What do you hope readers enjoy most from your work?

The escape! Books are my battery builder. I love losing myself in the story I’m reading, completely escaping the real world for a while. It’s like a mini vacation for my brain. I hope readers experience the same thing when they read my work. The mini escape to somewhere else for a while.

9) Where can readers learn more about you?

Website, Instagram, TikTok, are the main ones, but I do have a small Facebook group and discord server.