Carina Adly MacKenzie is a really busy lady, y'all. Not only does she write for The Originals, she also penned a YA book that was just released this week. (Um, seriously girlfriend, when do you sleep?)
Here's the scoop on Eternal Night:
Six young gods are hiding in plain sight among mortals, living secretly in cities across the world. From lavish penthouse soirees to pulsing underground clubs, for them, the party literally never ends. Until now.
On a hot June morning, the body of a beautiful girl is found floating in the rooftop pool of the Jefferson Hotel, her white-ink tattoos revealing the story of a life much longer than seems possible. Only the immortals know the truth: Nadia was the goddess of hope. Now she’s gone, and the world as they know it is ending. The Hudson River has turned blood red. Storms rage overhead. Mania is rapidly spreading across the globe.
It is up to the remaining gods—Lola, Dean, Weston, Mark, Nike and Peitha—to put aside centuries of betrayal and heartbreak, and stop the mysterious source of darkness that is taking over… before the sun sets forever.
Carina Adly MacKenzie, writer for The CW's hit series The Originals, has penned a steamy, romantic, and ultimately redemptive story of forgotten gods, the persistence of hope, and the power of love to save us.
Now, here's Carina on her experience of writing a blind character and a closeted gay character with OCD:
I did a lot of research and had a lot of conversations with my editors about Jude. I wanted him to be strong and independent and capable, but I also really wanted to be mindful of the fact that his experience would be different from the other characters’, and that he’d meet different challenges. I don’t want to spoil the book, but ultimately, even though he’s blind (and mortal), Jude is really the strongest character. He’s the surest of his place, of his worth. He’s a loyal, devoted friend and a compassionate, hopeful person, and as I was writing, those qualities became much more important than his blindness.
Weston’s story is the one I’m most proud of in this book, to be honest. While I can’t imagine the pain of being in the closet, I think getting to know yourself and embrace your own truth is a universal struggle of growing up, and even though these characters are hundreds of years old, that’s really what this book is about. For Weston, the rituals and compulsions of OCD are the result of hundreds of years of trying to keep his brain away from the secret he’s harboring, because he’s so deeply in denial that he can’t even admit the extent of his feelings for Mark to himself. It’s not until Kris comes into the picture and forces Weston to open up old wounds that he’s able to cut himself a break, and we begin to see some hope for him, not only with coming out of the closet, but with some of his crippling anxiety.
I think it’s important for people to see reflections of their own experiences on TV and in literature, but I also didn’t put too much pressure on myself to represent all blind teenagers or all gay kids or all people with anxiety orders. I hope that all of the characters in this book ring true, but I also know that they exist in a magical world of immortal teenagers and prophecies and apocalyptic battles, so I just tried to be respectful and ask questions wherever I didn’t know answers.