I did promise author chats as well, right?

Well, Selene Kallan shall be my first. And not just because she makes me blubber like a baby.

Her writing also makes me scream in vindictive joy, feel warm and fuzzy inside, as she skilfully slides me into a beautiful book coma.

But…. it might mainly be because she makes me blubber. Lol!

Selene is one of the few authors I contacted directly after reading one of her books to tell her how much it affected me. My belly flipped when she answered. I was hoping low key she would read my words and know she was doing good in this world. I wanted her to know her words were making a difference. That was it.

To get an answer? I lost all my cool points.

Her reply was shy, but it was clear she appreciated my response to her work.

I have written reviews of her books, and I will put them up here. (Soon I promise)

But I felt as though I needed to write something more, something to encourage you all to go check out all of her books. And do not worry, I am not sending you into bankruptcy. None of her books are priced over US$5. Though they really could be more, especially given their delicious thickness. And I do mean over 500 pages thick thick, so each book to me is a steal for all she packs in there.

Thick I say, thick and juicy.

Selene, please note, does not write for all audiences. She writes for those who have felt the pain of being treated as an ‘other’. I suppose she also writes for those wanting to understand what it means and feels like to be an ‘other’ as well. Many authors try to put those feelings and experiences into words. Many of them fail. Not Selene. She succeeds and overachieves in the best way possible.

For those of you who know me personally, you understand why I am an ‘other’. For those of you who do not know, I use a wheelchair. And I have used one for over two decades. I am well acquainted with being an ‘other’ in multiple ways. It is clear that Selene, too, has a personal relationship with being treated as such as well.

In her books, the ‘others’ tend to be excluded because of race (acceptable monsters versus those who do not meet a standard), sexual orientation, and physical appearance.

Her writing kicks loose and exposes discrimination, as it asks ‘do we judge people by what they say or what they do?’ Do we side with those who discriminate in the name of their puritan standards or those who love without fear and boundaries?

Selene’s main characters are those who have been judged harshly. They then have the choice of trying to conform or to create their own space with the family and friends they choose and live happily ever after. Guess which one they go with? :D!

What makes her books worth it, though, is the fact that she does not hold back. She unearths the exact feelings of inadequacy, the pain, the ugly mess you have to wade through in order to get from being beat down to self love and personal triumph.

Honestly, and this might sound crude. But to me, it is as though Selene goes around collecting broken hearts and squeezing their life blood onto her pages. She then disguises those living thoughts and situations as books for us to read. They are just that real and that intimate.

As I read her work, there are times I have to put the kindle down and let the tears flow out of me, as I face another crack in my soul that has not quite healed. (Crap, I am tearing up now as I type… smh)

The lows are low, but somehow healing. And as for the highs, well, they take you soaring, literally in a few cases lol!

However…

As great as I find Selene’s work, I must add a disclaimer, since her work is not for everyone. She knows this and does a great job adding trigger warnings to her books, letting readers know up front what they are in for. Something I greatly appreciate. If I am in too dark a place, I know to read something else and come back. But I ALWAYS come back!

Selene’s work deals directly, as I mentioned, with discrimination. The kind that happens in religions, families, and societies. As such, she includes the LGBTQIA community. They get full story lines, sex scenes, you know, like real people… since they are. She also tosses out the idea that angels and beings of the light automatically mean good, and demons and so-called heathens are evil. Her work literally takes you into what it truly means to be good or evil, basing it on how love is given, forgiveness is shared, and the welcome received when being true to one’s self.

I am okay with that, but not everyone is, which is fine. This is me giving you a head’s up.

Additionally, Selene empowers females, gives males feelings and sensitivity, and is unashamedly writing for the WOKE generation. Now you know.

Another lovely twist to her recent work was the way she took two memes and turned them into two series.

The first was The Cursed and The Fallen (Click Here). This is based on the meme where someone was trying to make chicken soup and instead summoned a demon. She took that prompt and made these books which dive into a hidden past, angels versus demons, and found family. Of course, all of that unfolds while… the fate of the earth hangs in the balance! DUN DUN DUN!!!!

The second was The Halfblood Rebels (Click Here). Sigh, this series has a special place in my heart. It is based on the meme where the main female character is bloody and bruised, almost on death’s door, and unconsciously finds her way to the safest place her mind and soul know. Her enemy’s door. Cue, the astonished male enemy who opens his door and sees her dying and grabs her and proceeds to help her save herself.

That is another important story line Selene follows. The main characters get a family, and they get help, but they learn to handle their own shit. No wonder I love her books so much!

Selene Kallan writes well, builds fantastic tales, and strips your emotions bare every time. In my opinion, she just needs to be a bit more KNOWN by readers.

Hence this piece.

So if anything I have described here makes your book brain tingle, go get her books.

Go get her books, AND write reviews, AND share her work with friends. To me, she and her work are the GOOD STUFF. And around here I share the GOOD STUFF. I hope you do the same. I also hope she keeps sharing that GOOD STUFF with us.

Thank you Selene!