Hailing from Port Elizabeth, South Africa, author Dannika Didloff writes werewolf romance stories. Her first book, Broken Queen, quickly became an Inkitt fan favorite and recently became the third book on GALATEA to reach 1 million dollars in sales! Although her writing started as a pastime to combat boredom, for this young author, it’s become her greatest success to date. It’s a pleasure to feature Danni today on the Inkitt Author Spotlight.
Welcome, Danni! Can you give us a quick overview of your uber-popular book, Broken Queen?
Sure! Ariel is a twenty-year-old werewolf with dreams of becoming a pack warrior. At least, that was until she was kidnapped by Hunters two years ago and used as the test subject of horrible experiments. With the help of the Moon Goddess, Ariel finally gains her freedom. But finding her mate and picking up life where she left off may be even harder than she imagined.
Were you surprised by the success of Broken Queen?
Yes. I never thought of success as a writer for myself, if I’m being honest. I wrote Broken Queen to fill the time I had between earning my degrees. I wasn’t even sure if I was going to post it for others to read, but my gran convinced me. In reality, my success involves a lot of screaming at my laptop, because the characters or scenes are frustrating me, and wishing that my coffee really was a bottomless cup.
I think your fans are all pretty happy you decided to post it! Where did you get the idea for Broken Queen, and for your second book, Her Light?
While I was taking time off between degrees (I switched from accounting to law), I read so much that some parts of different stories stuck in my head. I thought about how the different pieces would work together in one story. Before I knew it, from this weird puzzle of mismatched scenes in my mind, I had an idea for Broken Queen.
Her Light came from the theme of the guys always being the cold and distant alpha types. I thought why is it only guys who are portrayed that way? Let’s change things up and have it be a girl who struggles with showing emotions instead. I really wanted to focus on the way she supports her sisters instead of the relationship with her mate. A lot of werewolf books only focus on the mating bond and how that takes over the characters’ lives. I wanted to show that a mating bond isn’t the only thing that binds a couple together. That family is important, whether it’s blood or chosen family.
What’s on your to-be-read bookshelf? What authors or books have influenced you?
I have so many books on my bookshelves that I still have to read, but a lot of them are part of an incomplete series. I don’t like to read books in a series if I don’t have all of them yet! I recently got the last in the Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead. I absolutely loved the Vampire Academy series! Rose was my favorite character, and I had her badass attitude in mind when I created Ariel.
What’s the best, and worst, writing advice you’ve ever received?
The best writing advice I got was to write a book that I wanted to read. I don’t actually get much writing advice from people, and writing advice posts on Pinterest are easy to ignore if I don’t agree!
Do you have any hobbies, or things you like to do when you aren’t writing?
When I’m not procrastinating the writing of my next novel, I read way too much fanfiction and other supernatural and romance novels. I love watching crime dramas and various sporting events with my family. I also enjoy fishing with my dad, baking with my mom, and cuddling my two oversized German Shepherds, who don’t realize they are too big to fit in my lap.
Big dogs who think they’re babies are the best! Thank you so much for chatting today Danni, and good luck with your writing!
Check out DanniD’s Inkitt Profile with links to her stories!
