Monster in My Bed

Fun Facts Just For Shigs

1. I did not specifically choose the name 'Kaia' for this novel. I intended to make a third book to the They Call Me Series. In that novel, the main protagonist (Baez) was going to be put into a situation where she needed a fake identity. The name for her fake identity was going to be Kaia after her brother Kai. Instead, I just randomly made the decision to use the name in this novel, but I ultimately regret it. (It is now March 2020, and I can say that I don't regret it. Kaia fits her, and it slaps.)

2. Hayden and Dallas were supposed to come back into the story as big parts of the novel. Dallas was supposed to be Barron's brother, and Hayden was going to be a father figure for Kaia to move past her issues with Parker.

3. Kaia's mother was supposed to be alive.

4. I went back and forth for a while and really debated whether or not to end the entire book as just one big dream that Kaia had in Vindicta's cellars when she took a nap in the first chapter. I was going to have her wake up and be placed in the same situation with the new Luna that she was in, in her dream. And yes, she would have killed the Luna, anyway.

5. Ajax and Nyla Kaun's last name was actually a spelling mistake. Their last name was supposed to be Kaul, but I spelled it wrong and didn't catch it until chapters later.

6. I absolutely hate how and why Kaia was marked. It was a split second writing decision, and I plan on rewriting that entire chapter at some point.

7. Kaia was supposed to be much more destructive and morally challenged (I wanted to say evil, but that sounds like I'm five) than she was. She was supposed to murder several pack members and even succeed in killing Jack in the second chapter. I decided that it was probably too far fetched to have someone with qualities like that being a Luna, so I decided to make her secretive, immature, and impulsive in an attempt to show her being able to grow.

8. As I was creating Kaia's character, I was trying to keep in mind characteristics of stereotypical rogues from other novels. It always confused me when authors would make the main female lead a rogue, but she ended up being caring, smart, emotional, etc. only about four chapters in. I wanted Kaia to obviously be a bit different from normal rogues, but I wanted her to fit that rogue stereotype of being reckless, fearless, and violent. I also wanted her to have trouble acclimating to pack life and show her character development slowly. I wrote her character thinking that people were most likely not going to like her because of how she behaved, thought, and handled several situations, but I was shocked when people actually loved her.

9. I had a lot of trouble creating Matteo's personality. I still feel like he's very bland compared to Kaia, Jack, and Daniella.

10. If I could ship Kaia with anyone, it would be Barron. I sort of regret not making Matteo's character more like him, but I know that if I did, their personalities would likely clash due to them being so similar.

11. Taylor Verrader was named after one of my close friends.

12. I started writing this book when I was fifteen. I was in tenth grade.

13. Parker wasn't going to be a pawn for the war. Kaia was supposed to beg Matteo to release him from the cells (which he eventually allowed), so that she could attempt to rebuild a relationship with her father. It was supposed to show how different her rogue self with her father was from how she acts now with Matteo.

14. Taylor was originally set to be from Vindicta's pack, but made more sense for the plot's sake if she was from Uirium. It made the plot move along faster and made more sense with her actions.

15. Barron's goal for helping Caedes was going to be to take over Vindicta, not Caedes. However, it seemed to make more sense if he made the agreement with Matteo for his pack in return for Matteo and Kaia's safety.

16. Jack was not supposed to be such a basket-case. Poor kid.

17. I finished planning out the ending for the book on March 24, 2020. I always knew Kaia and Matteo were gonna book it, but the whole thing was supposed to happen much differently. It wasn't supposed to be intentional that Kaia found out. She was going to be snooping through Matteo's phone and then argued with Matteo about it. The roles were supposed to be reversed by the end that Kaia wanted to stay and Matteo wanted to run, but it just didn't seem like something Kaia would actually do. Given the chance, I'm sure Kaia would have run for the hills just like she did as long as Matteo went with her.

18. I realize that absolutely every person hates the ending of this book and feels like they should have fought to keep the pack but sorry sissys. Kaia is a rogue baddie at heart. Why should she have to change for Matteo? Why can't he change for her?

19. During the final bits of planning, I HEAVILY considered making Jack a traitor.

20. Kaia and Matteo weren't going to have a kid, but I figured it would be a fun segway into a potential sequel (no, I don't have one planned).

21. I finished the last two chapters of this book in one day, but I'm rude and didn't post them. :)