Well, today I feel like a vampire. Mainly because I put on makeup and it makes me even paler than usual. I’m already deathly pale because I have to use SPF 50 whenever I think about going outside.
Even then that is a loaded question. To be honest I don’t know. I’m from Finland, but I’m extremely weird. I’m a extrovert. I know several labels I have. I have disabilities. I have several autoimmune diseases. I have even more other health conditions. I have ADHD. I have fatigue. Wait, that’s not a label, that’s a symptom.
I know things I like. I like romance. I like romantasy. I like playing video games. I love cats. And to be honest any furry creatures that are supposed to have four legs. I love dressing in gothic clothes. I love vampires. I like living in the UK and writing in English. I couldn’t imagine writing in Finnish anymore. My mom feels bad she can’t ready what I write. Me, not as much considering how much smut I like to write…
I have quite a few different diagnoses. My immune system basically hates me and likes to attack my internal organs for fun. I also have things like ADHD. These things affect me every day. I have symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, weight gain and sometimes hyperactivity, inattentiveness and impulsiveness. I don’t work currently because my body seems to be running the show. I am the type who hates sitting at home and not doing much. I was raised to be always achieving things, having a job and meaning. I am trying to adjust what that means to me when I can’t do traditional 9 to 5. I try to do things from home, like get my book empire started. I also have couple of other things I try to do as well. I have a Twitch account where I occasionally play different games. I’ve got an account in Youtube for video games as well where I post twice weekly. I do those for fun, mostly. I do them for sake of doing something. I do them for learning new things and I do them to find a community for myself. My Twitch is an affiliate, so watching me stream does give me some income. If you do want to support me, go to my twitch and give me a follow. No need to subscribe unless you want to. Also I accept stickers/sound alerts, etc on Twitch. Some cost points (watch to get points) or spend some money on them. I’m also currently trying to get enough following in YouTube to monetise it. It’s a while away but check it out if vampire or supernatural theme interests you.
The vampire thing keeps coming up. I have loved them since I was a teenager. That’s when I read Bram Stocker’s Dracula. It hit a spot. Being chronically ill as a teenager wasn’t easy. Going to doctor’s appointments and taking medications isn’t something any teenager wants. I got diabetes as a kid. The inject insulin type. I wanted to be free of it. The romance of being a vampire was a little different. It wasn’t about being young forever. It was being not sick forever. Also I want to point out that Twilight creatures are not vampires. This is a hill I will die on. They are faeries pure and simple. I did not understand them as a teenager. I do love the Anna Rice vampires and I did even back then.
What about me as a writer? I like writing about FMCs in difficult situation to start with. The story will be where they figure out how to live, not just to survive. They find their inner strength and external support system they didn’t have before. They learn how to love themselves through the story. There is part that seeing themselves through someone else’s eyes that helps them get out of their own heads, but it’s not always the MMC that helps with that. It’s often friends too. I love found family trope. It shows up in almost every story I write. I like to write about conditions I have myself. I like to write about things I have struggled. I will make a separate blog post about writing so keep tuned for that if you want to read more.
If you like stories that overcome obstacles, have hope even if they start in a bad place, growth and the couple ending together, I am your writer! It’s what my life has been, dealing with health and other obstacles. Try to figure out how to become happy with all of it. It’s not easy, there are often two steps forward and ten steps back.
Katrina writes 