Meet Danielle M Orsino.

We were lucky to catch up with Danielle M Orsino. recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle, appreciate you sitting with us today. Maybe we can start with a topic that we care deeply about because it’s something we’ve found really sets folks apart and can make all the difference in whether someone reaches their goals. Self discipline seems to have an outsized impact on how someone’s life plays out and so we’d love to hear about how you developed yours?
My self-discipline comes from years of studying and competing in martial arts. I have spent most of my life in Tae Kwon do, kung fu, wushu and boxing. I competed as a yellow belt and continued throughout my career with my last competition in 2008 representing team USA in the WKA world championships. Through martial arts, I honed my skills as an artist and a competitor. It became ingrained in me it transferred into everything I did. As I write I may be unorthodox but I am still disciplined. When I set out to finish a book, I do. Even though I write fantasy, I still research every facet of my world.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a fantasy author. I wrote the Birth of the Fae series. I have a novella coming out which will end the volume one At the Heart of War: Danaus & Jayden, June 2024. That will be my first romance release, about two Fae women and how their love can survive even the through death and the grieving process. I am currently finishing the follow-up to volume one called Birth of the Succubus, which is Paranormal Fantasy. I started this when I was a nurse because a patient needed a distraction during IV therapy. I tools him a story and the series was born. I am so excited about Birth of a succubus because it is the story that stars the patient as the protagonist. I used his background and bits of him as an inspiration for Agent Graham, the CIA Operative, working with a clandestine part of the agency who deals with supernatural threats to national security. I am due to release this in 2025. Along with my partner and fellow author C.R. Rice we have a company called Wonder Twins Events our mission is to highlight Indie authors and introduce them to audiences they may not have an opportunity to meet, we do this through our Pop-Up Book shoppe which travels around with Galaxy con, one of the largest Comic and pop culture convention shows in the U.S.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
My nursing background has helped tremendously, especially with writing volume two, as readers will see there is a lot of medical research. I wanted it to be as realistic as possible–for a paranormal fantasy, of course. Nursing actually assisted me with designing my dragons in volume one too. My anatomy and physiology background gave me the ideas, got design them from the digestive systems out for their oral defenses and that has garnered me accolades for my dragons being more realistic and not magical, which I appreciate. My martial arts have helped with writing fight scenes, I use my phone to record all my scenes and act them out before I settle on a sequence, this way I can see from the reader’s perceptive and I know what I am putting on paper. I think overall curiosity is the best thing that has helped, not accepting that there is a set way. If anyone wants to write and wants to do something with fighting–take a movement class whether it is dance, boxing or martial arts for a short time learn about the body it will give you a better understanding. Even if you go and observe for a while, ask questions. Be curious no matter what you are writing.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I am looking to do a graphic novel and would love to find a comic book illustrator, they can reach to me on instagram @birthfothefae_novel I adore comic books, they have influenced me more than anything else so to be part of that genre and writing is a dream of mine. Chris Claremont, George Perez, Stephanie Williams, Gail Simone, Mike Deodato Jr. and Jim Steranko are people who have influenced me and I look up to for their story telling abilities whether it is with words or pictures. They all are so impactful for different reasons I would love to see my prose converted to that medium.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Danaus and Jayden cover by Methyss art Sword pic by Westchester Magazine

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