Congratulations to Eris, the Dark Author, winner of Inkitt’s Halloween Writing Contest!
Welcome Eris! We’re really excited to get to know you better and learn more about your work.
You write under a pen name. Can you talk a little about how you decided on Eris and what it means?
My pen name was decided by my readers. It was a vote between Apophis and Eris, both of which are from respective Greek & Egyptian Mythology as embodiments of chaos. And that’s what I do within my stories – invite chaos. I stay true to myself when writing as I feel these creatures of chaos would. I never want to change my style to fit the “norm.”
Can you give us a brief summary your winning story, The King?
Sure! Annalise has always been told one thing. Submit to the higher power. War has broken out between man and beast. A war that Annalise has managed to stay out of for most of her life. That is, until she comes across an intimidating stranger. Not a man. But a Beast. And not just any Beast. The King. Now forced into the heart of the palace after the destruction of her village, Annalise must do everything in her power to survive the King without a heart. Even if it means to submit.
Where did the idea for The King come from?
The idea for The King came from Cinderella. Funny, I know! But I was watching the live action and got to the scene where Cinderella and the prince were walking through the garden at night and I thought, “what a beautiful palace.” I kind of built my story around this magnificent palace. I wanted my story to focus around class. I made up the rules for the class in this one so that there would be huge dynamics between my characters. Every story or film that involves royalty has such strict issues regarding class, which always makes for an interesting plot. At the absolute last minute, I decided I wanted to try to add some fantasy to it, and what better way to do that than to add a new species I invented? It’s been a fun process creating this story. And you can all thank the set creator of Cinderella!
When did you first start writing?
I first wrote a few chapters of a book years ago. But then I gave up on it and left the writing scene for a year or two. And suddenly one day, I had the urge to begin writing but something new and more intense. I wanted to write a genre that is intense and isn’t for everyone, because I know there are people out there that want to read this kind of content, but because it isn’t a popular opinion, they’ll rarely find the stories that fit. I was excited to discover that people actually took to it, even those that this isn’t their usual choice.
What’s on your to-be-read bookshelf? What authors or books have influenced you?
I’m in the middle of reading Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman. I found a song by accident that was in the movie, and discovered the entire soundtrack, which I fell in love with. Then I watched the movie which was an artistic masterpiece and discovered there was a book (my favorite form of entertainment)! So, I’m currently working on reading it in my free time. I don’t have any authors that influence me. All my writing comes from my own creation and I try my best to be unique to me. But I will say an author that I truly appreciate is Byeonduck. She’s an author for Lezhin. The characters in her story are so intense in their emotions and the way they interact with one another. Her main character has such a lack of empathy and is truly set in his own ways and desires, caring little for how it affects anyone. I love creating that type of character and to see someone else embody it so perfectly is a wonderful experience.
What does success as a writer look like to you?
Success can mean a lot of things, depending on where you want to be as a writer. To me, success would be doing this full time. Meaning I can spend days and weeks writing and coming up with content and releasing it. People enjoy my stories and it makes me sad sometimes when I can’t update as often as I want to because I am extremely busy with working, and then I’m too tired to pick up my computer at the end of the day and finish a chapter. Having a solid following and earning a living by doing what I have come to love would mean success to me. In my head right now, I feel like I am still climbing the ladder to get to that point.
How did you feel when you learned you were one of the contest winners?
I was completely shocked and in disbelief when I found out I had won. I was actually at work when the email came through. I thought it was spam mail at first because what could I possibly win? But then I continued reading and saw I actually won the contest on Inkitt. I wasn’t expecting to win honestly, but I am completely honored and humbled that so many people enjoy my story. After the initial shock wore off, I was still in disbelief but excitement was shining through for me. I even celebrated that night with some Korean BBQ! This win kind of validated for me that I have what it takes to pursue this road in my life, and has really given me a huge push. I never thought I could win a contest before, but now I am just beyond happy that I did. It’s been surreal and I can only hope to continue to meet the expectations of my readers because without them, this wouldn’t be possible.
Thank you so much, Eris. Congratulations again, and good luck with your upcoming projects!
Interested in learning more?
- Read Eris’s winning story The King.
- Check out Eris’s Inkitt profile!
- Want to learn more about how to succeed as an author on Inkitt? Check out our Ask Inkitt articles for insider tips on success!
