Kait Ballenger has been part of the Coastal Magic Convention author family for many years, Today – we get a peek into the musical inspiration for her brand new, upcoming series… starting with ORIGINAL SINNER!!!
Words & Music with Kait Ballenger
I’m one of those rare writers who loves to work in total silence, but from the moment when the idea for my forthcoming release, Original Sinner, first came to mind, music played a key role in my inspiration for the series.
I’d been toying around for some time with the idea of writing a Hades/Persephone story, but with the book world already flooded with so many amazing retellings, I wanted to find a way to make something unique.
Enter: Sam Smith’s #1 hit “Unholy.”
The song is about an adulterous “heterosexual” man who goes behind his wife’s back to a strip club to have—assumedly—queer sex, but it wasn’t the song’s story that interested me, it was the dark sexy vibe and the title itself.
Unholy…
What if I wrote a hero who was the epitome of “unholy,” I thought? Who scratches that same, villainous morally gray Hades itch, but is even more dark and twisted?
Enter: Lucifer, the male protagonist of Original Sinner.
From there, my Spotify playlist, and thus, the inspiration for the Original Sinner series, grew organically. In fact, I was so inspired by it that I went to see Sam Smith in concert that same year.
Original Sinner is a scorching hot dark romantasy where Lucifer and the other seven deadly sins are billionaire celebrities in a God-abandoned New York City. It’s out March 25th and will be available in trade paperback, Audible audiobook, and K.U, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
Here’s a few of the songs that inspired Original Sinner.
Unholy by Sam Smith
Play with Fire by Sam Tinnesz (feat. Yachet Money)
No God by Sam Smith
Dirty Thoughts by Chloe Adams
Villain by Bella Poarch
Kait Ballenger is an award-winning author of dark romantasy and paranormal romance. She is obsessed with tales of morally gray, sometimes villainous heroes and can’t resist a spicy redemption arc.
When Kait’s not busy writing kinky paranormal fantasy, she can usually be found with her nose buried in someone else’s naughty books. She lives, unfortunately, in Florida’s Bible Belt with her husband and two adorable sons―and will gladly use that belt to whip you.
You can find her on Instagram @kait.ballenger or sign up for her newsletter at www.kaitballenger.com
I hope you’ve enjoyed this Coastal Magic Convention Featured Author Spotlight post.
Kait will be one of the amazing authors we’ll get to hang out with during the 13th annual reader weekend in Daytona Beach, FL, Feb 20-23,2025.
For a full list of Featured Authors, info about the weekend, and link to register to attend, visit http://www.CoastalMagicConvention.com.
And be sure to watch for more Featured Author spotlights coming up here each month!
Funk-N-Fiction 