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Christie Stratos is an award-winning writer who holds a degree in English Literature. She is the author of Anatomy of a Darkened Heart and Brotherhood of Secrets, the first two books in the Dark Victoriana Collection. Christie has had short stories and poetry published in Ginosko Literary Journal, Auroras & Blossoms Poetry Journal, Andromedae Review, 99Fiction, and various anthologies.

An avid reader of all genres and world literature, Christie reads everything from bestsellers to classics to indies.

Christie Stratos

Uncaged: Can you tell readers more about the Dark Victoriana Collection?

Originally I was going to write just one book: Anatomy of a Darkened Heart, which focuses on the Whitestone family and the eldest daughter, Abigail Whitestone. The question that defines this novel is: what is stronger, a person’s true self or other people’s assumptions about them? Abigail must struggle through this concept. It takes place in Victorian America, and I ended up loving writing it so much that I decided to make it into a collection. There’s already a second novel, Brotherhood of Secrets, and the idea behind the collection is that all the books and short stories are intertwined but don’t necessarily follow in date order. I planned to write two novels and three novellas or novelettes in the collection, but I always let my creativity dictate, so I now have a third novel that I’m writing, and the length of these books is a little unruly—characters keep wanting to tell their full stories, so novel length seems to be the only option right now!

Uncaged: How much do you edit out of your books?

I usually end up adding to my books to make sure they’re fleshed out and developed properly more so than editing things out, but I have had occasion to cut scenes. That’s relatively rare for me since I tend to be on the succinct side as a fiction writer. I have plenty of ideas and scenes that never make it into my books, they’re just part of my notes, and I post those on my Patreon page.

Uncaged: What do you have coming up next that you can tell us about?

I’m currently writing the third book in the Dark Victoriana Collection, which is an unplanned addition to the original five books. It picks up from a particular place in the second book, Brotherhood of Secrets, with the character Timothy Kiddson, a locksmith apprentice who’s badly injured from a daring…actually, I’m giving away a little too much about the second book! You’ll have to read it to find out what’s going on with Timothy, but what I can tell you is that there will be a ten year jump in book three, so the majority of it will take place during the Civil War era. This is what I’m working on during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).

Uncaged: What are some of the benefits for signing up for your newsletter?

My newsletter says it’s monthly just in case I have news once per month, but I usually end up sending it out when there’s a new release coming up. When you sign up for my newsletter, you are the first to know if I have any books, short stories, or anything else to give away. The rest of the world only gets giveaways once my newsletter subscribers have a chance to claim their prize. I also release updates and news there that I don’t tell social media about.

Uncaged: Past or present, which authors would you love to sit and have lunch with and why?

Brandon Sanderson, who is a major fantasy author. I don’t write fantasy (yet), but the way he builds his worlds and seamlessly works so many different facets of real life into them fascinates me. He can write a 1,200 page-sbook and I’m riveted the whole time. That’s not easy to do! I also would love to take Shakespeare to lunch (I think modern food might surprise him though), since some of his plays had enormous impacts on my writing, such as Hamlet and Henry V. It was his writing that got me interested in writing psychological fiction in the first place.

Uncaged: What is a scene that was the most difficult to write?

The most difficult scene I’ve ever written—and there have been a few emotionally difficult ones—was when my main character in Anatomy of a Darkened Heart, Abigail Whitestone, lost all routes of escape from her abusive family. She changed permanently in that scene, and what I to do to her for that to happen was very difficult. I took a month off from writing, mourning how painful it was, and then came back to write the dreaded scene. I didn’t struggle to write it, I struggled to hurt her so badly.

Uncaged: What are some things you like to do to relax when you aren’t writing or working?

It’s very rare that I take any kind of break from writing, editing other authors’ manuscripts, or any of my other work, but I love cooking and baking. As a food lover, there’s something very satisfying about duplicating my favorite dishes in restaurants at home. But really, writing is what I love to do in any time off!

Uncaged: What does success as an author look like to you?

My greatest dream would be to publish a book a year, which is very tough with my work schedule, even though I work for myself! I’m an editor, project manager, social media manager, and I do other things too, so fitting writing in is tough. My goal is to someday write regularly and publish often. That’s success as an author to me. And believe me, I have no shortage of ideas!

Uncaged: Do you prefer ebooks, audiobooks or physical books?

Physical books are my favorite and always have been. When a book is long and I don’t think I’ll have time to read it, or if I have a long drive ahead of me, I prefer audiobooks. I think humorous books are also best on audiobook. Ebooks are my least favorite format—they feel a little more impersonal to me, but they’re very convenient.

Uncaged: What would you like to say to fans, and where can they follow you?

Thank you for reading and reviewing my books! I love receiving messages about your favorite characters and why you enjoyed reading about them. It means the world to me. You can help support my writing on Patreon, and you can follow me in lots of places, but I’m most active on Facebook and Instagram.

Enjoy an excerpt from Anatomy of a Darkened Heart

Anatomy of a Darkened Heart

https://amzn.to/2uykhpc

Christie Stratos

Historical Thriller

Abigail Delilah is the firstborn of three Whitestone children - and she is the most regretted.

But is it really her fault?

She can’t help that the revelation of Father’s wretched secret coincides with her birth. She can’t help the fear she feels during Mother’s psychological - and physical - assaults. As the shadows grow stronger over her soul and the noose of pain tightens around her neck, Abigail will find out which is stronger: her family’s wicked assumptions about her or her true self.

Excerpt

How could Mrs. Hinsley’s husband let her give something like that to a baby, especially in front of all those people? How could either husband let it happen? Elizabeth was humiliated, outraged. That barely controlled sort of outrage that showed on her face through a mask of wide, black-hole eyes, eyes that could chew up their victim, mouth in a stiff sort of smile like a bracket on its side, like half a square—the bottom half. Elizabeth’s fingers had gripped the brooch tightly, pinching it between her forefinger and thumb, the small bit of skin it touched completely white from the pressure. When she put it down on the table hard enough to scratch the surface, blood was left on her finger; the sharp end of the lover’s eye pin,