Author Interview Questions – Bailey Black
About the Book
1. Ascension of the Seven is a paranormal romance filled with mystery, grief, and
unexpected twists. Can you introduce us to Willow and what makes her journey so
compelling? Willow is a complex character. At a young age she notices the favoritism
between her parents and her brother, leaving her to be isolated. Of course she had her
brother who loved her, but not having a parent’s love is damaging. This caused her to
lash out and rebel from the standards her family set–a black sheep if you will. When her
brother dies, pretty much who she was as a person changes completely and sets her on
a path of fiery rage that can only be put out by the justice of catching his murderer
herself. Along the story Willow is forced to rely on others, which is something she has
been so accustomed to her entire life. A veil is lifted as a whole new world is revealed to
her–one ultimately much more dangerous than the world that we know. Through this new
world she finds a family of people who cares deeply for her that she never knew was
possible–and maybe find some lovers and enemies along the way.
2. Willow’s career as a detective is fueled by the loss of her brother. How did you balance
the raw emotion of her personal history with the suspense of the murder investigation?
Willow attempts to compartmentalize hard feelings, preferring not to feel anything at all
especially if it gets in the way of her work. She’s a RAGING workaholic. Like–to the point
she only sleeps a few hours a night at best. If she’s not working on a current case, she’s
reviewing her brother, Kai’s, murder notes compulsively looking for new leads. You’ll see
through internal dialogue or her dreams that she struggles to keep these emotions
bottled, despite her efforts.
3. The mortician is such an intriguing figure—brooding, mysterious, and central to Willow’s
search for justice. What inspired his character, and how would you describe the
chemistry between him and Willow? So funny story–I was inspired to create Warren after
watching the YouTube video, “Mortician Answers MORE Dead Body Questions from
Twitter” Morticians have always interested me and as I was watching the video and
learning about some things not a lot of people know about them, I had the thought,
“Could you imagine if a vampire was a mortician? What would that look like? An
unlimited source for food?” And BOOM. Warren was born. (Of course, had had to also
be hot)
The chemistry between Warren and Willow is complicated due to their own
stubbornness. There is obvious attraction, and even more so knowing that they should
hate each other or at the very least, Willow should be afraid of him and what he’s
capable of. Their stubbornness of ignoring their feelings just heightens the tension
between the two.

4. The book weaves together themes of life, death, and the blurred line between the two.
What drew you to explore this supernatural element within a romance? I think there’s
something beautiful about placing two individuals (who are both very alike and yet also
very different) together and have them be in the middle of both life or death stakes. You
learn a lot about someone when you experience a traumatic event, grief, near death
experience, etc. with them. It forces you to feel ALL the feelings whether you want to or
not, and adding another person only heightens those. (Especially when they are a hot,
forbidden vampire and you deny your attraction until you can’t anymore. Unless you are
okay with lying to yourself...which Willow does find herself doing often) Plus–I just love
all things supernatural. I could talk about vampires allllllll day.
5. Without giving spoilers, what’s one reveal in Ascension of the Seven that you think will
leave readers stunned? This one is tough. I will say things that happen in this book I
think will reveal the ultimate twist I have planned for book three (Ascension of the Seven
will be a trilogy) But I’d say...anyone and everyone can have importance in the story,
even if you think they are a side character.

Themes & Inspiration
6. At its core, the story grapples with grief, justice, and fate. Why were these themes important
for you to highlight in Willow’s journey? I took these themes straight from my own life to highlight
Willow's story. I don’t say this to want any pity, but growing up I was surrounded with a lot of
death from a very young age. My best guy friend and first ever boyfriend died when I was only
twelve. Since then, I lost countless family members and boy oh boy, when it rains it POURS.
That being said, there’s people every day that struggle and go through such tragedy, and even
worse than I could even imagine and it’s horrific. I think it’s important to weave real life
hardships but also on the flip side of that, showcase that you can come out of them, no matter
how hard life/fate/death continuously beats you down.

7. You’ve shared that this book was written during a very difficult time in your life, especially
with the loss of your father. How did that experience shape the story and your connection to it?
It’s been a very hard year, to say the least. I was almost finished with my final draft when my
father was sent to the hospital and then weeks later was diagnosed with cancer. I won’t lie, I
was ready to give up. I had a great routine, writing at 4am before I went to go workout, and then
writing some late at night before bed, and then that diagnosis shook everything up. I couldn’t
think, I couldn’t write, my husband had to make sure I was eating. I was constantly driving back
and forth three hours to visit him either in the hospital or at my family home when he did get to
go home, it was exhausting for everyone. It’s ironic that death is a major theme in Ascension of
the Seven, and the last chapter of the story was especially hard for me to get through (can’t
spoil too much, but when you read it, you’ll know)

8. Your dad once published a poem—do you feel like writing Ascension of the Seven continues
his creative legacy in a new way? Without a doubt. That was the driving factor for me finishing.

He knew I was writing and he was always encouraging, so finishing this story was for him.
Honestly I felt like if I didn’t finish what I started, he would have been let down because he
wouldn’t have wanted his passing to make me stop my life.
Characters & Worldbuilding
9. Willow is complex—both rebellious and resilient. What do you hope readers see in her
character arc? I hope that maybe everyone can see a little bit of themselves in Willow. Willow
starts with years of built up mistrust of others and the inability to rely on anyone other than
herself. I hope that readers can see each and every break in the iron wall she put up as her new
“found family” breaks away from her previous beliefs.

10. Paranormal romance thrives on atmosphere. How did you approach building the dark, eerie
tone of Ascension of the Seven while keeping the romance alive? Is it weird of me to think that
the dark tone of it all adds to the hotness? LOL. But really I do think the mist and constant
darkness of the setting almost reinforces the mystery, suspense, and then eventually sexual
tension.

11. If you could describe Willow and the mortician in three words each, what would they be?
Willow would be: Determined, Misunderstood, and Broken.
Warren would be: Tortured, Steadfast, and Hyperintelligent.
Writing & Publishing Journey
12. You mentioned that this started as just wanting to get your main character out of your
head—when did you realize you had a full novel on your hands? I actually like to draw and
doodle, so I went back and forth between wanting to create a webtoon or write a novel. Once I
had actually gotten to the point where I was like, “Okay, I need to get Warren out of my head.
What does that look like?” it was all kinda downhill from there!
Funny story, several years ago I published a fanfic on Wattpad based off an anime (I will not say
what out of sheer EMBARRASSMENT) that actually ended up getting over 30,000 views! That
kinda jumpstarted me wanting to get back into writing. Before that I grew up writing for fun, but
never did anything with it as sports and school got in the way. Funny how life comes full circle.

13. What was the most challenging part of your writing process, and what was the most
rewarding moment? The most challenging for me was the editing process! I DREADED it. It felt
so much slower, which it should be so I can actually catch all the things, but it wasn’t nearly as
fun as the initial writing process was for me. Luckily, I have an AMAZING editor, Mallory Day,
who was so amazing to work with!
The most rewarding moment for me was when I finished the last draft after my final edits.
Shutting my laptop after over a year of writing my butt off for this was such a moment of finality.

14. Ascension of the Seven is releasing this fall through Amazon and IngramSpark—how does
it feel to be preparing for publication day? IT IS CRAZY Y’ALL! It still doesn’t feel real. Amazon
is all set and it’ll be real next week. Which is WILD to me. I’m working on reaching out to some
local bookstores, so hopefully that goes well and you can see Ascension of the Seven in some
of yours as well!
Fun & Quickfire
15. If Ascension of the Seven were adapted into a film or series, who would you cast as Willow
and the mortician? For Willow I pictured Kaya Scodelario! For Warren I am torn between two:
Aidan Turner or Logan Lerman. Literally obsessed with all of them.
16. What’s your go-to writing fuel: coffee, tea, or something stronger? Coffee! Specifically, venti
iced blonde vanilla latte with oat milk from Starbucks! (not sponsored)
17. Do you prefer writing late at night in the shadows, or early mornings with the sunrise? I am
a morning person, so sunrise all day long!! I’m practically dead to the world after 2pm.
18. If Willow had a theme song, what would it be? I’ve always associated Nobody’s Home by
Avril Lavigne. It gets me in my feelings every time.
19. One word to describe your writing style—or this book in particular? One word?? That’s so
hard! I feel like this is cheating but the best one I can think of is two words...but it’d be romantic
suspense.
20. What’s one thing you hope readers walk away with after finishing Ascension of the Seven?
That even when things around you are crashing down, shattering your world–that you continue
to push through and carry on. Each person has a purpose in this world and no matter what
you’ve done or been through, you are worth continuing. Everyone can be redeemed.