<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<GoodreadsResponse>
	<Request>
		<authentication>false</authentication>
		    <method><![CDATA[]]></method>
	</Request>
	<author id="2098439">
  <name><![CDATA[Erin Durante]]></name>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2098439.Erin_Durante]]></link>
  <fans-count type="integer">5</fans-count>
  <followers-count type="integer">5</followers-count>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1224683800p5/2098439.jpg</image_url>
  <about><![CDATA[I grew up in San Diego, California, and am still here to this day. Went to college, lost several semesters as I couldn’t decide on what to do, and finally gave up trying to be something I’m not by picking a “traditional” career such as teaching or business, and set my sights on my love for writing.

I worked my way through school as a freelance airbrush artist, painting wall murals in large estate homes and touching up bad paint jobs on dirt-encrusted, lifted trucks. I got a clerical job filing paperwork and editing emails, when my boss took an interest in my technical writing skills and started having me work on more important business letters and legal documents, and soon was able to work completely from home on my computer writing ad copy and working on government contract forms.

Several other odd jobs later and a few short stories and poems published in indie magazines and online markets, I decided to become an introvert and spend all of my free time away from college classes to pen a novel. Not my first, mind you, and definately not my last. In fact, that one went straight to the bottom of my cat litter pan after about one hundred pages, but I didn’t lose hope, and kept a writing journal each day, hoping for that divine inspiration that would give me the muse to write the next Great American Novel.

Well…three years later I finally forced myself to finish a story for my final English requirement, writing the entire first draft of Damewood in a four month period. Sloppy, rushed, and lacking the depth of characterization Nadia and Vestro had in the dusty corners of my brain, I was hoping to just pass so I could graduate and move on. I was deligtfully surprised when the professors hailed my project as unique, entertaining, and “definitely publishable.”

Needless to say, that changed my direction. I graduated, got married, and cut work hours back to part time so I could dive into the edits of Damewood (at that time titled The Knight in Pink Lace… yes, thank God for editors and their insight) and then started submitting around like crazy. Many rejections and disheartened nights later, my novel finally found a home when I took on a position at Leucrota Press. I managed to pass the novel along when I first got hired, and after being relentlesslu pushy to the point of nearly being fired (twice) my manuscript landed into the hands of the editor, and well… here I am.

When I’m not writing I like to read. Yes, sounds like the typical author’s response, but it’s true. I pretty much read anything as long as it has a solid plot, but I tend to lean toward the Classics and will never pass up the chance to read Hemingway, Sinclair, Vonnegut, or O’Hara. I listen to metal and opera, don’t (and on some levels, can’t) dance, and write while listening to indie rock. My favorite animal is a leopard, but I have yet to put one in any of my stories. I like horses a lot too, but I’m far too busy to be able to keep up on caring for one so I stick with fish and dogs. I tend to get along better with people several years my senior–coming away with more lasting friendships with my college professors than classmates, but still indulge my inner child by watching the random kid’s cartoon (gotta love the The Little Mermaid, The Last Unicorn, and An American Tale). I like sushi and tofu, but hate pork chops and lobster.]]></about>    <gender>female</gender>        
  
  
  <books>
        <book id="5062325">
  <title><![CDATA[Demons of the Past (Damewood Trilogy, #1)]]></title>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Erin Durante]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2098439.Erin_Durante]]></link>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <average_rating>3.69</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>16</ratings_count>
  <published>2008</published>  
  
</book>
        <book id="6569671">
  <title><![CDATA[Stones of Time (Damewood Trilogy, #2)]]></title>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Erin Durante]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2098439.Erin_Durante]]></link>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <average_rating>4.00</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>14</ratings_count>
  <published>2009</published>  
  
</book>
        <book id="6715418">
  <title><![CDATA[Rise of the Dark Son (Damewood Trilogy, #3)]]></title>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Erin Durante]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2098439.Erin_Durante]]></link>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <average_rating>0.0</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>0</ratings_count>
  <published>2010</published>  
  
</book>
        <book id="6715414">
  <title><![CDATA[Demons of the Past (The Graphic Novel)]]></title>
  <authors>
    <author>
      <name><![CDATA[Erin Durante]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2098439.Erin_Durante]]></link>
    </author>
        <author>
      <name><![CDATA[John S Grosvenor]]></name>
      <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1696449]]></link>
    </author>
      </authors>
  <average_rating>0.0</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>0</ratings_count>
    
  
</book>
      </books>
</author>
</GoodreadsResponse>