Author - Dana Lockhart

-The Story, The Legend, The Blood Knight - I’m super duper excited by this, guys. The Blood Knights series, as I have said multiple times, is the most vivid world I’ve ever created. It’s so alive that I don’t quite feel like I’m in control of it. More than once a character has veered off on their own chosen path against what I had originally intended. Villains grew up to be heroes, heroes turned out to be villains. New characters I didn’t have in the original concept just popped out of nowhere demanding to be seen. It’s been a wild ride to see all the stories unfold. The Blood Knight is the first in the intended trilogy. It centers on Archer Mathews, a vampire hunter that makes a grave mistake and is turned into the thing he hates most. The thing is, he should have died instead. Hunters are almost a breed of supernatural beings of their own, with fast reflexes and heightened senses tuned into finding evil, and something in their blood won’t let them be corrupted into monste

-My Second and Final Gateway Con- It is with a heavy heart that I write this, because the wonderful convention known as Gateway Con has officially been cancelled, probably forever. The three-day writing retreat I’d recommend first above all other writing conventions is being replaced with a one-day writing retreat, "Writers in the Park." The situation is disappointing to say the least. Supposedly, it wasn’t making enough money to sustain itself. I’d argue that money isn’t the point, it’s inspiring and educating prospective writers, that the friendships we made along the way were worth more, but unfortunately it’s not my call. Goodbye, Gateway Con. I will miss you. You helped me become the writer I am today. Hopefully Writers in the Park will be half as fun. But with bad news comes good, and here’s my trip back in time to Gateway Con 2019 and the events that transpired. -Meeting Old Friends and Making New- This year was different in so many ways. Gateway Con 2018,

I didn’t talk about it a lot because I was honestly terrified - but this year I lost my job at no fault of my own and was unemployed for 6 months. At the same time, I was investing in my book, which was also scary. Like, what if I dump too much money into the book and then never see it turn around? As the days drug on without a steady income, I tried to stay positive and kept grinding no matter how dismal things looked. And eventually I came out of the other side. -A New Job - A New Start- As of mid-September, I am an administrative assistant at a not-for-profit that helps my local community. While the organization does many, many things (including but not limited to bill assistance and low-cost healthcare), I am based out of the weatherization department. What is weatherization? I thought to myself when I saw the job opening. Basically it amounts to repairing homes so that they are more heating/cooling efficient. We also do things like replacing siding and roofin