Hilary Bunlert asked Dianne Duvall:

Hi Dianne. I am wondering how much you know about the cast of characters and overall story arc of a series when you get started. Like when you first wrote Darkness Dawns, how much did you have mapped out about Seth and David's origins, about Zach, and about the various forces that keep aligning against the Immortal Guardians?

Dianne Duvall When I first wrote Darkness Dawns I already knew Seth's and David's origins as well as the origins of gifted ones and the virus that infects vampires and immortals. I also knew that Bastien would set the proverbial snowball rolling downhill, sparking each of the various forces who have risen against the Immortal Guardians. And though I'm a pantser (I fly by the seat of my pants) rather than a plotter, I had already mentally mapped out the series' first story arc and knew it would lead me to Seth's book. The number of novels and novellas it would take me to get there remained a mystery, however, until I wrote Night Unbound. :-)

Although I knew Zach's origins before we first "saw" him in the series, I originally intend him to remain a shadowy tertiary character who only made a few appearances. But the moment he accepted that lollipop from Ami on David's roof, I knew I had to expand his character and tell his tale. Like many of the other characters—primary, secondary, and tertiary—his personality grew and evolved as I wrote . . . and will likely continue to do so. I'm having so much fun with this series. ;-)

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