Erica Xenne

All my life, I've been consumed by visions that could only be expressed through the arts. Music was my first language. At a young age, I had a singing, songwriting and performing career, but it ended when a tragic illness took my voice and left me speaking in a whisper. Losing my voice left me burning alive, with no path to catharsis. I called myself the Erosian Exile. Memories of a primal and natural home planet took shape in my heart, along with my banishment into a dystopian world of technology. I unleashed this origin story into various mediums, photographing myself and singing through my whisper. Then, one afternoon, I went to a gem show and found a crystal ball. I imagined stars inside with colorful spirits communicating from across the globe. An epic tale unfolded, unveiling the Gods of Erosia when they lived on the planet Oreni as mortals. I shared my dreamscape with an old friend, Elliott Lash, who added his original languages and history. We built a rich mythology and created Oreni. Though I had no writing skills, my characters brought the Night Gem series to life. Between singing through my whisper and drafting the books, I rose from the ashes of trauma. The last vestiges of my whisper disappeared, leaving me with no avenue to sing. Yet my characters wrote music for me and expressed my visions more passionately than I ever could. Writing became my new voice.