Throughout 2024, I spent a lot of time reflecting on the types of stories that I write and why I tend to explore these themes across my entire body of work.

I’m not somebody who sits down and decides to write a book ‘by formula’ or ‘for market’ – I always have, and always will, write the stories that I want to tell (and want to read).

So I don’t always think that deeply about the themes that get covered until I’m later trying to market the book and figure out the exact target audience that it’s for.

A lot of therapy, discussion, and nitpicking at my work has helped me identity some of the key things that have come up, time and time again, and today I’m going to share what makes a book distinctly ‘mine’ (aka: the signature formula for a ‘Pagan Alexandria’ novel).

1) Worthiness

Right from my debut novel, Stuck on Vacation with Ryan Rupert, all of my books have had a character navigating feelings of not feeling worthy of their desires.

Whether it be relationships, power they’ve acquired, or blessings that have come their way, they are quick to reject and question their worthiness to have and hold those experiences in their life.

In Stuck on Vacation with Ryan Rupert, Aubany grapples with not feeling worthy of her crush, Ryan — chalking it down to the fact that she’s afraid of the ocean, she isn’t seen as strong and capable, and she doesn’t feel as pretty as some of the other girls they both go to school with.

In The Starlight Chronicles, Valarie goes through an entire character ARC dealing with the grief of losing her dad in a car accident that she caused, and feeling guilty and unworthy of any happiness as a result of this. This is further amplified when she realises she’s a Shadeow—a creature of darkness, and the very beings that Lucy and her friends are fighting against.

In Kingdom of Sirens and Monsters, Coral goes through a similar ARC of grief, carrying on with survivor’s guilt after her best friend died trying to rescue her in a surfing accident. This causes overprotective and martyrish behaviors in her attempt to save her family from her evil, siren, soon-to-be-stepmother.

In Blood Magic, a similar theme of not feeling worthy carries out with Fleur in her interactions with her vampire hunting rival, Percy. These feelings are further amplified when certain behaviors and actions (such as wearing red lipstick) are suppressed by her guardian, Margot, causing her to develop insecurities and a lack of confidence in herself.

This long-standing theme has manifested in different scenarios and character ARCs, and I realise now it’s because many cycles of my own life have been centered around realising my own worth and overcoming feelings that I’m not deserving of what I want for myself. It’s an experience I’m deeply familiar with and know how to write like the back of my hand.

2) Quest for Identity / Hidden Identity 

These two popular tropes make up the key ingredients for books that I personally tend to read and love, so it’s no surprise that it’s been the foundation of most of my books as well.

I knew I loved telling this kind of story from a young age, but I didn’t know there was a name for either of these storylines until recently. So, to define each trope for you:

Hidden Identity is when the main character hides a part of themselves, or even takes on a new identity, to achieve a set goal, and the characters around them don’t know who they are.

Quest for Identity is when a character forgets or is kept from their true identity, and they go on a journey of rediscovery.

With exception to my first book (SOVWRR), all of my books have incorporated this in some way. Usually, my main characters end up with the Quest for Identity trope, while my love interests end up with the Hidden Identity trope.

One of my favourite examples of this is with The Starlight Chronicles, where Lucy discovers she is a reincarnated Starlight Princess from a past life, and is tasked with saving the world from an ongoing all-magical war between light and darkness.

She also discovers that Jason, her love interest, is not actually a regular student attending school with her, but her guardian knight from thousands of millennia ago who was part of a plot to murder her—and has been cursed with immortality this entire time to make things right.

I really love how both of these tropes interweave so well together to create interesting enemies-to-lovers dynamics, or other fun and creative romantic storylines. I especially love how Fleur and Percy’s storylines play out in the first instalment of my upcoming duology, Blood Magic.

3) Morally Gray Characters

My experience writing characters has been hugely influenced by my willingness and ability to actually get to know someone before I make a judgment of them.

I believe it’s more than ‘this person is a villain, they should die at the end of the story’ or ‘this person’s a hero, they deserve the world’.

We are flawed human beings. We grow, we learn, we adapt, we change.

But how do we learn and grow if we don’t make mistakes, or if we don’t have our own way of seeing and doing things?

The best and most compelling characters are the ones you love to hate, the ones you’re not sure you can trust, the ones who are so reckless it borders on badass.

The best characters have dualities, they are supposed to have different sides and evolve over time… and they will teach you things about yourself.

Some of my favourite morally grey characters I’ve written over the years include:

Jason Woods — he starts out in a sinister plot to murder the woman he’s cruelly fated to fall in love with, and I love seeing his character growth and the slow change of his morals over time, as we start to see his true personality and what drives his motivations.

Melody Pryor — Melody has been dubbed as one of my best, ‘love-to-hate’ villains to date, and I love her entire character ARC. From falling in love with Lorraine, to her devilish plot to become Reigning Queen of the Undersea, to breaking her Heart of Stone curse and beginning her redemption ARC with Coral, every part of her story is filled with growth and deepening of her character.

King Lysander — from his early days as a heartless prince, cursed to acquire Coral’s heart, to his newfound emotions and learning how to rule his kingdom, Lysander is one of my more disliked characters due to his strange personality and twisted motivations, but I personally love how he grows and develops throughout the series.

Fleur Fontaine – Fleur is a character who is always thinking about the greater risk. She lies to and steals from her friends to protect them and keep them safe from a greater evil, and she doesn’t always feel the best about it — but she knows the alternative is much worse. I love how, over time, she realises it’s safe to trust those around her and starts to bring them into her world more, giving them their own autonomy when it comes to the hidden dangers of Monsec.

4) Dark Romance

There’s something about dark romance that feels ten times more epic, romantic, and makes my heart sing. I love a bit of angst, a sprinkle of possessiveness and a delicious concoction of a fated love that can’t pass you.

In my stories, the darker the MMC, the better, because it makes it all the more sweeter when they turn out to be a good guy—especially if their softer side is exclusively reserved for the protagonist.

In my stories, you’re never sure what to expect from the love interest.

In The Starlight Chronicles, Jason Woods starts out cold, reserved, and standoff-ish—and then Lucy learns he literally helped kill her in her past life. So watching his walls break down, learning more about his past, and seeing him gradually become protective of her makes for a decadent, slow-burn romance filled with angst and complicated feelings.

In Blood Magic, Percy is your typical, ‘too-cool-for-school’ shit-stirrer, who doesn’t appear to give any fucks about effort and comes from the kind of wealth where everything is handed to him. Then you slowly start to realise… he’s actually really clever, a natural leader, and is deeply loyal to those he cares about… even if he wishes he didn’t care about them.

In other words… my love interests slowly unravel over time to become completely, utterly smitten with the protagonist… and then you see who they really are. No matter how dark, complex, or twisted they are, they are someone you want to root for. Because loving someone goes beyond logic—it’s a feeling, it’s a knowing, it’s a true match.

And I love writing stories like that.

5) Discovering One’s Strength

The final theme you’ll see a lot in my books is this idea of realising your own strength and power.

I especially love when my protagonists start out as regular characters from an ordinary, human or urban lifestyle, then get swept up into a fantasy realm and granted magical powers.

But beyond their physical gifts, they uncover qualities about themselves they didn’t realise they had—be it bravery, cunning, selflessness, leadership, or even self-reliance.

They are pushed beyond the limits of what most people would ever have to experience or take on living an ordinary life, and forced to demonstrate what they’re truly made of in order to survive and protect those they love.

Again, I think this stems from my own journey, and all the times I showed myself I am so much more than I thought I was. I’ve taken myself from quiet and reserved to comfortable being seen and facing criticism through my online presence and public speaking gigs. I’ve shown myself I can handle difficult, high pressure and stressful situations. I’ve come out on top when having to advocate for myself and my worth, be it with publishers, workplaces, or even with clients.

There were times when I didn’t think I had what it took, and every time I’ve proven myself wrong. So I love taking these experiences and working them into my character’s personalities to help them be stronger, more engaging and more admirable characters for my readers.