Q&A: E.V. Woods, Author of ‘Girls of Dark Divine’

We chat with author E.V. Woods about Girls of Dark Divine, which follows a group of hauntingly beautiful girls have been bound together by a cruel curse—and one of them will go to any lengths to save them from their violent dance.

Hi, E.V.! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?

Hello! I’m E. V. Woods, author of the YA gothic fantasy Girls of Dark Divine. I live in the countryside and near the seaside in the U.K with my family, including my adorable rescue cat, Sprout, and my favourite hobby is collecting special edition books without having the time to read them!

When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?

When I was around six years old, my older brother told me being an author meant I would get to work in my pyjamas, and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. I started writing short stories after that and then never stopped!

Because I was so young I don’t really remember a time when writing and stories weren’t a significant part of my life and who I am.

Quick lightning round! Tell us:

• The first book you ever remember reading: I absolutely adored the Heartland series by Lauren Brooke when I was a kid!
• The one that made you want to become an author: I cannot remember the title or find it anywhere, but there was a book about a unicorn that I loved, and it was the very first author I reached out to, to tell them I loved their book and wanted to be a writer too!
• The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Our Infinite Fates by Laura Stevens.

Your debut novel, Girls of Dark Divine, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?

Glamorous, atmospheric, hopeful, devastating, and twisted.

What can readers expect?

Girls of Dark Divine is often described as Phantom of the Opera meets Black Swan, and for fans of Stephanie Garber and Adalyn Grace. Readers can expect gothic vibes, shadowy corridors lit by candlelight, extreme emotion, the glitz and glamour of a famous dance troupe performing in a breathtaking Parisian inspired theatre, and an awful villain you can’t help but to hate – with plenty of sisterhood and romance thrown in too!

Where did the inspiration for Girls of Dark Divine come from?

The very first seed of an idea came from a song, Symphony of Destruction by Megadeth.

“Dance like marionettes, swaying to the symphony of destruction”.

It conjured an image of these beautiful dancers on stage, in a gloriously glamorous setting, but with an undertone of something terrible and destructive.

As I thought about it and built upon the idea, it became movement they were forced into, dancers who were unwillingly attached to the strings that forced them to dance like puppets. This in turn gave rise to the villain of the story, the Puppet Master.

I also have always absolutely adored Phantom of the Opera, so it was this image and concept combined with my love for Phantom, and the idea of the dark truth beyond the glamour of the stage, that helped me flesh out the idea in its entirety and brought Girls of Dark Divine together.

Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?

I absolutely loved writing Emberlyn, the lead of Girls of Dark Divine. She was my first main character that I didn’t try to make “likeable”, but instead poured rage and anger into, alongside hope and love, to produce a very flawed but very determined girl  I really enjoyed spending time writing about.

And, although the Puppet Master is a truly devious villain, developing a character that I had no choice but to entirely hate was super interesting!

Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?

Huge chunks of the story you’ll read today are so different to the very first drafts I wrote – the rules of the curse were shaky, the Puppet Master wasn’t quite as terrible a villain as he is today, and more. I owe a lot to several incredible publishing professionals along Divine’s journey to publication who saw the potential in the novel and helped me close up plot holes and push the limits to make it the very best it could possibly be.

This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?

It was a very long road, but definitely one I needed to travel along! It took me the best part of a decade from beginning to query agents, to finally landing a book deal – but in that time I developed my voice, tried out different genres and styles to help me understand what I truly loved to write and what I was passionate about, and taught me an essential stubbornness and a lesson in perseverance that is very necessary when you want to be an author.

What’s next for you?

I am currently in the middle of edits for my second young adult gothic fantasy novel, (the title of which myself and my publishers are currently selecting, eep!) which at the moment is expected to come out sometime in late 2026.

Lastly, what books have you enjoyed reading this year? Are there any you’re looking forward to picking up?

So I have to shout about Laura Steven’s Our Infinite Fates again as  it was a truly wonderful read and one of my favourites of this year (and all time!). I also enjoyed Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, and the upcoming The Hanging Bones by Elle Tesch.

Next, I’m looking forward to reading A Grave Inheritance by Felicity Epps and They Own the Night by Amy McCaw.

Will you be picking up Girls of Dark Divine? Tell us in the comments below!