Noticeable from the very beginning, the first obvious thing that makes this book different from other young adult paranormal urban fantasy novels is that my heroine isn’t from a dysfunctional family. She has two natural parents who love her and each other, and who are still happily married. She wasn’t adopted, abused, motherless, fatherless, or having to endure a tiresome stepparent.

The fact that that alone makes my story different is a little sad. Some may sa...