About the Author

**T.Hearts**, also known as Tazz Hearts or Blue, is the author behind the Stormbite universe.

#### **Influences**

T.Hearts is greatly influenced by science, both current and future, as well as history, geography, music and art, other authors, but also from a lifelong fascination and adoration with birds, having partially learnt to read from The Illustrated Book of Birds by Dr J Felix (1982 edition), and having grown up watching and rewatching Jurassic Park (and anything else bird, dragon, or dinosaur related) since the age of 2. Regularly, she collects feathers and bones when walking her dogs along the beach she lives by, resulting in a huge collection of items that decorate her office. The types of feathers she owns includes but is not limited to; an entire peacock tail, buzzard, vulture, fulmar, crane, heron, swan, magpie, quail, finches, owl, and far too many pigeon feathers, and owns at least 7 pairs of mummified/taxidermied wings, skulls, and tailfeathers, much to the annoyance of her family.

Her favourite books are Northern Lights (Philip Pullman), The Shapeshifter Series (Ali Sparkes), Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton), The Princess and the Captain (Anne-Laure Bondoux), When We Have Wings (Claire Corbett), and The Rule of Claw (John Brindley).

#### **Process**

A lot of T.Hearts' works start off life as a script for a comic, before becoming the first chapter drawn out in comic/manga form, then growing into a more solid written format. Nearly all of the scripts begin as dialogue, with all of the spoken lines within the chapter being written down first then bridging these interactions with narration and scene descriptions. For Stormbite, the first half was discussed and plotted out with J Pendulum, the artist behind Wilny Mira, with interaction role plays being set up to establish relationship dynamics between characters.

Because of this initially visual development, a lot of her writing style focuses around visuals, with attention to minor details, fight scenes, emotions, colours and textures.

#### **Random Facts**

* Peregrines and Ospreys are her top 2 favourite birds and she has a bias towards them.
	+ Swallows, Kites, and Kestrels are in her top 5.
* Holds a BA (Hons) 1st Class in Graphic Design; Visual Communication.
* She struggles to focus for longer than 15 minutes at a time due to her ADD, and is at her most creative when allowed to run around and be active.
* Struggles with anxiety and depression, as well as migraines.
* Gets very emotional when writing some scenes such as moments that deal with depression or anxiety or stress. She struggles with romance and flirting scenes due to being Aro-Ace and has to ask J Pendulum for assistance and inspiration.
* She is highly motivated by spite and good music. Her favourite soundtrack for Stormbite is Flight of the Silverbird, whilst for Sirocco it is Run Free.
* Wanted to be a velociraptor when she was younger. Still does.
* Has so far found 2 swords whilst helping old ladies with their gardens.

### **Questions and Answers**

* Q: What made you start writing? A: Spite.

#### **References**

1. ↑ *Flight of the Silverbird, Two Steps from Hell*
2. ↑ *Run Free, Two Steps from Hell*