A little behind the scenes look at some of the makings of Danielle's books. WARNING: May contain mini-spoilers!!! (Nothing major, nothing that will truly spoil the story. But it's some tiny stuff that still might be aggravating to some if discovered early.) If this is the kind of thing that bothers you, you might wanna wait to check out this part of the website until you've read the books. 

***The Red of Blood and Roses***

-In the very beginning of book 1, when Danielle first started writing her novels, the story originally began on the scene where Colton and Evelyn were first attacked in her home. Danielle’s initial idea was to include memories of how Colton and Evelyn first met, during their reluctant travel to the flea market, with Silas. Their meeting was much different in that version though. Her original manuscript had Evelyn being harassed by a customer in the café she worked at. Colton just happened to be there and he angrily put the man in his place, relieving Evelyn of the unpleasant interaction. Feeling grateful, Evelyn then offered to help him out as she was getting off work. In Danielle’s original manuscript, the gas station scene with Colton and Evelyn, and the scene with Silas in the bar with Greer, never existed. However, one night, Danielle was hanging out with some friends at a place called the Hangar Pub, in San Antonio, Texas, off Nacogdoches Rd. She began to think of her story and she had a moment when her imagination sort of ran away with her. It was there she got inspired to recreate the beginning of her story, fashioning the bar scene and the gas station scenes. She felt it was a much better beginning to her story because it built up her characters and set the tone for her book in much different way. The Hangar Pub is the place that inspired the scenes between Greer and Silas. There is also a gas station that sits just beside the Hangar, which is the place that inspired Colton and Evelyn’s gas station meeting. To this day, Danielle says she envisions it all happening right there, in that very spot. 

 

-In the beginning of the first novel, Colton and Evelyn are in a car, and she is driving him to the annex. Evelyn turned on the radio to a classical music station. In the novel she tells Colton that she loves the music and mentions it’s by Satie. She never mentions which of his works it was though. Danielle says she has been asked by a few people about which exact piece it was. So, if you’ve ever been curious about what exactly was playing on the radio in that scene it was “Gymnopédies No. 1” by Erik Satie. Danielle had that music playing on repeat while writing that scene.

 

-The library annex in the first novel of her story is also based on a real location. There was a time when Danielle used to live over by a public Library, in Leon Valley, Texas. There is a library annex just across from a park up there, off of Evers Rd. Danielle jokes about how she always wanted to sneak in and check it out. She and a friend believed that secret troves of rare books might resided there. Whether or not she actually ever snuck in is unknown, although Danielle sure loves to giggle about it when ever she’s asked. It’s the annex where Colton snuck into and tried to settle in for the night. In fact, there are quite a few spots around Texas that inspired certain scenes for her books.

 

-Roses are an ever-present theme in her story. In fact, you’re likely to find many mentions of them in each book. However, the title of her novel series will not be made fully apparent until the last and final novel of the series is released. The final novel is set to come out sometime by the end of 2025.

 

-In books 2 and 3, there is a side character named Gabriel, who tends the meat market in the village of Kecra. Gabriel has two dogs; Booth and Korra. These are actually the names of Danielle’s husband, and their two dogs. 

 

-In book 4 there is a scene between princess Selene and Noah, where they are talking about a book called “The 13 Doors.” This is an actual book that is being co-written by Danielle and her mother. It is going to be a YA fantasy novel. Right now, it’s still in very early production and it will likely be some time before the novel gets completed. But it’s a new, fun project in the works and will grace book shelves everywhere in the next couple of years. Stay tuned for that one.

 

-Also, in book 4 there is a scene where Colton is having one of his visions again. This particular vision takes him to a gas station where he is watching a breaking news story on the TV about his and Evelyn’s disappearances. The made-up location of the 7-Eleven, in the novel, was located on A. Whittington Rd. In real-life, there isn’t a 7-Eleven with that address. The name A. Whittington is actually the real name of a well-known Tik-Tok artist and friend of Danielle’s. They are both published authors and became fast pals through the app. The two keep in touch regularly and inspire one another.

 

-Colton was almost not named Colton. Right up until Danielle published her first novel, Colton had actually been named Mathew. In fact, Danielle not only completed her entire first book with the name Mathew, but even had scenes written for future books, describing him as Mathew too. The name had been cemented for years, and Danielle was positive it was the name she wanted to go with. But, just before publishing her first novel, she changed the character’s name to Colton. She’s still very fond of the name Mathew though, but feels the name change was a good thing.

 

-Colton’s name wasn’t the only one she changed either. Before Malloch was introduced, his name had long been Ozias. Danielle changed the name though, half-way through writing her first novel. Unlike Colton's name change though, she actually ended up regretting it after the book had been published. She has since become ok with Malloch’s name, but she wishes she had kept it Ozias.

 

-The author, Danielle, is actually quite tall, for a girl. She's only a few centimeters short of being six foot tall. In her novels, there is a scene where Lysander jokingly says to Colton, "don't hit your head on the moon." This is actually a common joke amongst a couple of Danielle's friends. They comically tell her to be careful or she'll hit her head on the sun or the moon. Danielle always gets a kick out of it the joke and thought it would be cute to incorporate it into her books.

 

-One of the big questions that Danielle gets asked often is, ‘do any of her main characters die?’ Well brace yourself for the answer – it’s yes. In fact, the end of her series is the end for a few of her beloved characters. She even went on to say that the final book will be the most dark and the most emotional of all the books. But which characters ultimately get the axe? Well, you’ll have to keep reading to find out. But be warned. Danielle claims that the final book in her series will require having lots of tissues handy.

***Other Books***