How Long Did It Take To Write 'Troubled Blood'?

In a time long forgotten, when humanity roamed free, basking in the warmth of the sun and dancing beneath the stars, life was beautiful. But that time is a distant memory now. The vampires came, and everything changed. It's been a decade since my mother tried to kill me, and took her own life, leaving me to fend for myself. I've been living with Baron, our vampire master, ever since. Everyone either hates or envies me, but no one knows the truth. No one knows the hell I'm in. I am just about ready to end it all, when Aldric walks into my life. A vampire unlike any other. Despite my fear and hatred of his kind, I feel myself drawn to him. For the first time in my life, I know true kindness and love. As I grapple with my feelings for Aldric, I find myself confronting not only the harsh reality of my past and the unknown future ahead of us, but also the darkness that linger within my own soul.

My stepsister, Chloe, wanted to test the loyalty of my childhood sweetheart. So she drugged him with a lust potion. Then she threw him in my room. I couldn't watch him suffer. He was spiraling into a bloodlust. For a vampire, that's a death sentence. So I gave him the only cure. Myself. When Chloe found us, she fled in a jealous rage. She married a cursed, brutal king—the Lord of Eternal Night. And he killed her. Julian and I were blood-bound, but he began to hate me. He ignored me for a century. Then a rival clan ambushed us. He shielded me with his body. He burned to ash to save my life. Before he faded, he gave me one last look. "If I could do it all over again, Elena," he whispered, "I never would have needed saving." My world shattered. Darkness took me. I opened my eyes. I was back in Julian's room. On the night it all went wrong.

To Bleed for You For seventy years, Elena has walked the earth as a creature of the night, blending seamlessly into the background of mortal institutions. Now posing as a sophomore at St. Jude University, her rule has always been simple: adapt, blend in, and never get attached. As a bisexual vampire who has seen centuries of human history, she knows that loving mortals only leads to heartbreak—or exposure. Then she meets Maya. It takes only one look across a crowded, rainy university lecture hall for Elena’s carefully structured world to shatter. Maya is vibrant, sharp-witted, and entirely human. From that single, electric moment of love at first sight, Elena is consumed by a terrifying, dual fixation. Maya’s presence is intoxicating, drawing Elena in with a romantic gravity she cannot fight, even as her darkest vampiric instincts burn to claim the warm blood rushing through Maya’s veins. Forced together by a university project, their magnetic attraction quickly turns into a passionate, secret campus romance. Maya is captivated by Elena’s mysterious aura and protective nature, eventually unearthing the dark truth of what Elena really is. But choosing to love a monster means stepping into the shadows. When a ruthless tracker from Elena's past catches Maya’s scent, their forbidden love becomes a dangerous game of survival. In a world where life and death collide, Elena must decide how far she will go to protect the woman she loves—and what it truly means to bleed for her.

“Her blood can save the world… or burn it to ash.” Nineteen-year-old Neemah has never truly belonged, not to the Riverdane wolf clan that raised her, not to the human world she barely remembers. But when the pack council discovers her father was a vampire, she’s sent to the Academy of Supernaturals to learn what she really is: a dhampire. Among the faes, witches, vampires, and shifters, Neemah stands alone, in a place where bloodlines are everything. Her only safe place is Davorin, her fated mate and the Alpha’s son… until strange attacks and whispered prophecies reveal the truth: her blood is the key to an ancient power that could grant immortality itself. Will she protect the world from the immortals who crave her blood, or become the monster they have been waiting for?

In a divided world where witches, demons, elves, and humans live under fragile peace, a young witch named Seraphina Vale discovers a forbidden power within her blood a power that once destroyed kingdoms. When Seraphina saves a wounded stranger during a night raid, she unknowingly crosses paths with Prince Kael, heir to the Demon Throne. Their encounter awakens an ancient curse known as the Bloodbound Mark, binding their fates together. As word spreads of the mark’s return, witch councils, demon lords, and human hunters all begin hunting her believing her death will prevent another war. Haunted by visions of a powerful witch from centuries past, Seraphina flees with her friend Lira, only to learn her magic is mutating beyond control. Forced into an uneasy alliance with Kael, she discovers that the mark connects them not as enemies, but as halves of one prophecy a curse meant to either unite or destroy all realms. As the world prepares for war, Seraphina is betrayed by her own kind and hunted by Demon Hunters led by the relentless Captain Ryn. Meanwhile, Kael hides a devastating secret: his father, King Azarel, plans to use Seraphina’s blood to merge the demon and human worlds forever. Torn between loyalty and love, Kael risks everything to protect her even as the curse begins consuming them both.

I was at the Blood Registry office to reissue my Blood Covenant Certificate with Lord Ethan when the registrar looked up at me and said, “Your Blood Covenant Certificate is forged.” “There is no record of your bond in the vampire consort system.” I froze. “That’s impossible,” I whispered. “I registered my union with Lord Ethan five years ago. Please check again.” The clerk searched once more. “Lord Ethan’s record is here,” he said calmly. “His lawful consort is Ella.” Ella? The name fell like a blade. Before he said it, I still hoped it was a clerical mistake. But Ella… was his childhood companion. In that moment, everything made sense. In five years, he had never marked me. He had publicly acknowledged me as his Blood Queen, letting the entire Coven believe I stood beside him by right. He had given me titles, a throne at his side, and a crown to wear in front of the world. Titles can be announced. Only the Registry makes it law. The certificate he gave me had been nothing but a beautiful lie. The five years I believed were happiness— were nothing more than a carefully forged illusion. An illusion crafted to keep me obedient, grateful, and blind. If none of it was ever truly mine, if even the title of “Blood Queen” was only a performance, then leaving should be easy.