The World of Wells: July Author Spotlight
Dreia Wells is a relatively new author to me. I met her at a book release party planned by our mutual author friend, Angelina Kerner. Though Wells has not always wanted to be an author, she has a deep passion for writing and is carving out a place for herself among the world of paranormal and urban fantasy authors.
Wells is a duel-wielding author. Along with writing all things supernatural, she has a second pen name for contemporary and dark romance stories. Thus, you can find her responding to readers as both Dreia Wells and D. Sparks.
Though she is originally from Houston, Texas, in the United States of America, Wells currently lives in England with her husband and son. She's been a part of England for 13 years and has enjoyed the experiences it's given her.
"I write for adults," stated Wells. "Paranormal romance and urban fantasy. I also write contemporary and dark romances. The first book I published was the first book in The Owensen Witches Series: Chosen."
With Chosen being published on April 21, 2021, Wells is a young author. She's new to the independent publishing scene and has jumped head first into both the challenges and joys that come with being an independent author.
"I wish I would have known when I started writing that I would be obsessed and fall in love with it," remarked Wells. "I love the freedom I have when I have control of what I can produce [with independent publishing]. I'm a bit of a control freak."
The hardest challenge for Wells has been navigating marketing. She stated, "I wish I knew how much marketing and promoting it took to make sure your book is seen by as many people as possible before I started publishing. Honestly, marketing and promotions have been my least favorite part of being an author. My favorite part has been creating a story and having people love my characters and talk to me about them."
According to Amazon's author profile for Wells, she has 11 books available for readers, two of which are separate editions of the same book, Mister Crunch: A Necromancer Romance.
In my opinion, Mister Crunch is an amazing story. This dark urban fantasy had it all. There were shifters, magic, a plot with dark elements, and hope. The book comes with a trigger warning and disclaimer that is warranted.
Wells uses paranormal romance and urban fantasy to talk about trauma and abuse. The main character has been abused for most of her adult life and is on the run from her captor, which is how she ultimately meets Mister Crunch.
If you combat depression, abuse, or low self-esteem daily, you'll want to be sure to read the trigger warning. There is a suicide mentioned and portrayed in the book, off-camera rape, and graphic descriptions of violence. This is an 18+ book, because of the darker themes it tackles. That being said, I think that some high schoolers, should they have a mature mind, could benefit from the lessons Mister Crunch teaches. Ths subject matter was approached uniquely and shows that you can break the control your abuser has over you.
Slight spoiler in this paragraph so skips to the next one if you don't want to know anything about the ending of Mister Crunch...Something that I liked about this book was that Sydney, the main female character, destroyed her abuser. Mister Crunch isn't a story about a prince rescuing a damsel in distress. It's about a prince helping the damsel discover that she can rescue herself.
Mister Crunch made me look forward to reading more of Wells' works. I've already purchased
Emergence of Fire: Queen of Arcadia Book 1. It's on my to-be-read list and I'm super excited for it since Wells herself recommended both it and Mister Crunch to me. I've found that the books authors personally recommend tend to be the ones I enjoy the most. I think it's because there is a reason they recommend them. They are the books they are most proud of.
Wells finds inspiration in music for her books. She stated, "Music inspires me and my crazy imagination."
When asked what her favorite book was that she's written she stated, "I love all my books equally. I can't choose one. LOL."
As for her favorite character, however, Wells explained, "Oh wow. That's a hard question. I love writing about strong female characters and I have to say that I've loved every one of them. Cordelia from the Queen of Arcadia Series had the biggest journey for me though. I love her."
To all the beginning writers and authors out there, Wells wants you to know that when it comes to writing and publishing, the challenges you face aren't what's important. What's important is, "that you write what you love. Write for yourself and enjoy it."
I may not be able to read her content because of my sensitivity but she sounds like a lovely person from this Author Spotlight.
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