Please give a warm welcome to
Tell us a bit about yourself
Born in the Sunshine State, Hayley Benitez and Amanda Crawford are cousins who have come together to write under the name Octavia Kore. Both women share a love for reading, a passion for writing, and the inclination toward word vomiting when meeting new people. Ecstasy from the Deep (From the Depths anthology version) was their very first published work. Hayley and Amanda are both stay-at-home moms who squeeze in time to write when they aren’t being used as jungle gyms or snack dispensers. They are both inspired by their love for mythology, science fiction, and all things extraordinary. Amanda has an unhealthy obsession with house plants, and Hayley can often be found gaming in her downtime.
Have you always wanted to become an author?
Both Hayley and Amanda have always wanted to be authors. Hayley has spent most of her life writing starting as early as elementary school. We started out by Hayley asking Amanda to read the book she was working on and give feedback. She was supposed to be an alpha reader, but after asking Hayley if she could edit some lines Hayley decided she was much, MUCH more. And so bloomed the two authors under the name Octavia Kore.
What was your inspiration for your current book/series?
Our current series Venora Mates came to Hayley in a Dream. The species Venium was something that her and her husband created back in 2016. She decided she wanted to write a book using Amanda as the heroine as an extra thank you for being part of her writing team. The Grutex started out as our villains who we, of course, fell in love with. And so birthed Gulzar and his village.
What are you working on now?
We just finished Ecstasy from the Deep and are moving on to a few projects we had in the works. One of which is a very secret project that we are very excited to be working with some other authors on.
Do you have any quirks while working?
We need our coffee and talk on the phone with one another while working.
What are your hopes for the future?
That we write things people enjoy, and can continue to produce those things. It is a scary world and publishing something that is very close to your heart is terrifying.
Do you have any advice for new authors about the publishing world?
It’s a crazy business, be prepared for anything. Write what you want and ignore the rest.
Do you have anything to say to your followers?
We love you and appreciate you guys more than you could possibly know. Thank you to everyone who has supported us on this crazy ride!
Helle Gade 