The Mind Behind the Monsters

Meet the Author

Opal Reyne

Australian author specialising in paranormal romance featuring non-human characters. Full-time author since June 2022, following the first publication of A Soul to Keep — a book she wrote while her father battled cancer. He was her biggest supporter.

She describes herself as someone who loves "everything spicy, smutty, and borderline monster-loving." Her work lives firmly in the monster romance subgenre, where the love interests are genuinely monstrous creatures who do not transform into handsome human men.

The Journey

Bullied as a child despite a bubbly personality, she retreated inward — finding solace in drawing, anime, and manga. She aspired to acting and singing in her teens, drew extensively, and eventually studied psychology, behavioural science, and neurology.

Before writing, she worked physically intensive jobs — forklift operation, the steel industry, truck driving, timber construction. From age 19 to 23, she made unsuccessful writing attempts. At 26, she wrote her first book Finding the Dragon's Heart (unpublished), and then everything changed with A Soul to Keep.

She published six books before gaining significant recognition. She originally intended to publish just one Duskwalker book and then quit writing entirely — its unexpected success changed her trajectory forever.

The Process

Self-described "planster" (leaning panster). Her process: dream smutty scenes, build the plot around them, fixate until writing begins. She writes sequentially — unable to skip chapters — completing novels in three weeks to three months.

Her focus on inclusive representation is intentional and central — body types, ethnicities, LGBTQIA+, disabilities, and mental health are woven throughout the Opalverse. She builds "a diverse world of mythological creatures, while also showing the beauty of all ethnicities of humanity."

Beyond the Page

Anime & Manga

Enthusiast since childhood. Prefers anime over TV. Inspired by The Ancient Magus' Bride.

Art

Horror surrealism, gothic style. Draws extensively — many character designs are her own.

Gaming

Avid gamer across genres.

Adventure

Bridge climbing, skydiving, scuba diving, spontaneous road trips.

Food

Foodie interested in international cuisines from around the world.

Music

Heavy metal, hardcore, house, trance, trap, phonk — and Disney songs.

Film

Marvel, fantasy/sci-fi, Lord of the Rings, Disney movies.

Inspiration

The Ancient Magus' Bride (Elias) and Wendigo mythology shaped the Duskwalkers.

"To all the MonsterFuckers out there, this book is for you. Don't pretend that you've never wanted to be railed by some human eating, dark entity..."

— Opal Reyne, A Soul to Keep