The Beauty of Writing the Unsympathetic Heroine

I am currently writing Out of the Shadows: A Witching Pen Series Prequel. While this book will deal with sexual themes (there is an incubus featuring quite heavily within the story) it is not a romance at all; it will fall under dark fantasy / paranormal fantasy / occult horror. And I am not interested in making Katherine Green a "likeable" character. I think readers will certainly resonate with her to an extent, but her attitude will always be questionable.

The joy of writing the unlikable character as the main character is that you can really get to the truth of who they are without worrying/caring what readers might think of her (or him) ... mostly, anyway. We are focusing on atmosphere and narrative here; we are focusing on keeping readers gripped by the story itself, without having to win aspects of their hearts through character loveability. Character truth is important, but not loveability.

This is the story of a teenage daughter who is angry, hurting, rebelling, craving so much, and in many ways should know better, but has a compulsion to act out. This is the story of a father who does not know how to be a father because he never stopped grieving his own past, thus emotionally disconnecting himself from everything that came after that grief, including his own daughter.

And right there, we have the breeding ground for everything that comes next.

Revisiting the vibe of The Witching Pen world, having left it behind in 2013, has been a bit of a revelation. There are parts of myself I had forgotten as a writer; things I wanted and desired as a writer in those early days. Every book is like self-development, whether intentional or not.

Out of the Shadows is due to be released on 30th July and can be pre-ordered now.

It's 1985, and eighteen-year-old Katherine Green, twelfth-generation witch of her maternal family line, is a loose cannon. Grieving the death of her mother and estranged from her father – also leader of 'The Council' to which all witches are bound – she finds herself turning to a dangerous source for comfort: an incubus. Not just any incubus, but the king of the Shanka demon world, Darius.

Seductive and relentless, Darius feeds on Katherine's rebellion like a vampire feeds on blood, with predictable and devastating consequences.

The only person with any hope of reaching her is Gwain, a fallen angel appointed to guard her by her father. But even he is struggling to make her see sense ... until an unexpected healing ray of light appears, demanding her courage, and changing the course of Katherine's future forever.


This short dark fantasy novel explores Katherine's relationship with her father, with Gwain, and with the darkness inside her, also adding new depth to the events leading up to Elena's birth. It contains themes of an adult nature, including sexual themes that may be triggering for some. It is probably best read after the four main books of The Witching Pen Series so the nuances of the relationships are understood better.

Dianna Hardy is an international bestselling author of (cross-genre) fantasy fiction, most notable for her dark (often explicit) paranormal fantasy and the raw, intense Eye of the Storm series. But her heart-warming Once Times Thrice series proves she thrives in the light as much as the dark. Whatever your poison, what she loves most is to bring you stories that are action-packed, fast-paced and not short of heat, with the focus on character development, relationship dynamics, and the plot. She writes full-length novels and short fiction. Dianna lives in Hampshire, UK, with her partner and their daughter, where she writes full time. DiannaHardy.com