Ophelia Kee

Verified Standard (Annual) Account

Tell us a little bit about yourself, your hobbies and interests.

I enjoy reading, researching, and writing in my spare time. I also enjoy cooking from scratch and riding my bicycle. The day job is a proper one, so I don't always have much spare time.

When and why did you start writing books?

I started writing in 2016 during a repetitious mandatory meeting during pre-k week. Laptops were required. I might be guilty of time theft because of boredom that day. The horrid first manuscript doesn't exist. It resembled something any kindergartner could scribble, so I erased it. Yet I was hooked, determined to write a story I wanted to read. I'm sure now that I'll write until I die, wake up in Heaven, and demand to know why I'm there because I hadn't finished with the last tale. I carry the mark of the storyteller embedded in my soul.

What made you decide to tackle writing as a career?

Sadly, it's not actually my career at this moment. As nice as the dream of writing full-time sounds, the long-time day job is still necessary. I aspire to the luxury of writing full time some day. If that never happens, it won't stop me from storytelling. The thrill of penning an excellent scene drags me back to my laptop screen repeatedly, like an addict to the drug. But every splendid story requires an audience, or it is nothing but the mad musings an old tiger.

Which one of your books or characters is your favourite?

Flame is by far one of my most loved characters. By that, I mean he is one I've probably tortured the most. He's a dragon with a love of the nightlife. The party, the fight, and the forbidden love affair with a sexy red haired vampire is all I'm telling because his story hasn't published yet. It's coming in 2025.

Which one of your books was the hardest to write and stretched you the most as a writer?

A Pack Forms was incredibly difficult. It's the first story I ever published. I scrapped the first few drafts. Delete is a powerful weapon... err, tool. I actually wrote the entire first miniseries as one super long story. I found the limit on the characters in Google Docs. Believe me. It has a limit. That was the book I learned to edit with as well. There is no greater teacher than experience. I break most of my stories into novellas because of A Pack Forms.

Who is your favourite author and book?

Trick question. I love the next book as my new favorite all the time, so I will answer this question as if you asked me to name books I would read again, recommend, or purchase again. Anything by Tolkien, All of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, Every story Felicity Heaton publishes, Everything LJ Shen publishes, All of Megann March's stories.

What book are you reading right now?

Felicity Heaton's Queen of The Underworld. It's so good because Hades is so dark. But for those who haven't read it, I won't spoil it. I will, however, recommend it.

Where do you get your inspiration for your books?

Nowhere. Everywhere. My characters often gain inspiration from real people, but I cobble names from multiple tombstones and combine aspects of multiple people into dynamic characters. Their adventures in the dream always drive the story. If I don't love the characters, does it matter what they do?

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

In the real world, I teach advanced placement social science classes for college credit at the local highschool. I love to ride my bike around my neighborhood to clear my head. I enjoy inventing meals from scratch and making a mess in my kitchen, and I have a passion for indie publishing.

Do you have any new books in the works?

Flame and Nightshade's novella trilogy is coming in 2025. Dark Curse, Dark Oath, and Dark Gift are in edits now. They will be volumes 6,7, and 8 in the Valkyrie Riders Miniseries, a dragons-and-their-fated-mates themed group of stories, all set in the dream at Draoithe. For anyone who hasn't stepped into the dream yet, allow me to invite you to a grand escape with stories which are more than mere tales; they are experiences. Welcome to the dream...