Sabrina Benulis graduated with a Masters in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University. She currently resides in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania with her husband Mike, and her spoiled cockatiel Caesar. COVENANT is the follow-up to ARCHON, her first novel.
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The haunting gothic tale started in Archon continues-a mesmerizing work of the paranormal in which a young woman discovers that she is caught in a labyrinth of intrigue where angels, demons, and all the creatures between Heaven and Hell will stop at nothing to possess her.
A year ago, Angela Mathers, a talented artist with a tortured soul, enrolled at the Westwood Academy and encountered the angels who haunted her dreams. Then she discovered the dark truth … she is the Archon, a being of supreme power who will determine the fate of the universe. But with such power comes great danger, and for every force seeking to aid Angela there is another burning to stop her. After a scheming demon kidnaps the Book of Raziel, Angela must find her way through a nightmarish game and enter the Door to Hell to rescue her only friend before it is too late.
The perilous fate of both Heaven and Hell rests on her success.
Q) What inspired you to write this story?
Covenant is the second novel in The Books of Raziel series, but in terms of the plot, I was inspired a lot by some of my favorite fantasy movies throughout the years. I thought often of other scenes and images from such films that really stuck with me. When it comes to the characters, though, Angela and Sophia's strong friendship was meant to be an ode to some of the strong female friendships that would feature in anime I've watched and enjoyed.
Q) How long did it take you to write?
Q) How long did it take you to write?
Covenant took both a long time and a short time to write--if that makes any sense. The development part of the novel took a while. The first draft I wrote didn't quite work, mostly because it was taking the story in a direction it could no longer go in considering how much it has evolved over time. After that I felt a bit trapped, but then all the pieces just began to fall into place. Once I had them, it took a relatively short time to rewrite the novel. If you want a mean average of time, I would say a year and a half for everything total.
Q) What is your favorite thing about writing?
Q) What is your favorite thing about writing?
My favorite thing about writing is that I can create whatever I want: people, worlds, and stories. Writing frees your imagination. It's almost like you're the god of the little world and circumstances you make.
Q) What is your least favorite thing about writing?
Q) What is your least favorite thing about writing?
The worst part of writing can ironically be when your work gets into the public eye, and--this is always bound to happen to some degree--not everyone feels the same magic you're feeling. Writers, like any other soul with artistic sensibilities, can be very sensitive about anything that has to do with their novels. Novels are like an author's children, and of course parents always want other people to dote and fawn over their children.
Q) If you could be any famous person for one day, who would you be and why?
Q) If you could be any famous person for one day, who would you be and why?
Maybe Kate Middleton. She's royalty now, wears cute dresses, and seems to have a somewhat decently normal life (though that life still has mansions, and castles, and crowns no matter which way you look at it)!
Q) What is the oldest thing in your fridge and how old is it?
Q) What is the oldest thing in your fridge and how old is it?
A carton of Egg Beaters. It's way too old. From all the way back in Fall of 2013. Why I keep forgetting to throw it out, I don't know. I think I'm afraid it will explode in the garbage bag and leak everywhere!
Q) What can readers expect from you in the future?
Q) What can readers expect from you in the future?
I think I'll always be, first and foremost, a speculative fiction writer, but I have so many ideas for future novels and they are all quite different from one another. I suppose it will depend on what story speaks most powerfully to me when the time comes to sit down and develop another book series. In the end it's safe to say--anything's possible!
