The past is often something we wish to forget.
Seraph. Sometimes people call her that. It's a nom de plume or a term of affection toward the girl who collects angels. One of those many souls born into the society of America in the 1970's...to rebel against the avocado, mustard-yellow, orange and brown and gravitate toward the absoluteness of black...embrace the darker side of everything and in disillusionment that came from those decades never fail to see the darker sides. Not at all a revelling in evil...just a easeful acceptance of things dark, a recognition of beauty in things strange and a refusal to fear death any more than life.
We skim over the childhood, Seraph was once an adorable, tiny blonde child who was very sensitive and, sadly, felt hurt by society.
After attending St.John's at Prospect Hall for four years Seraph lived for a short while in Los Angeles and attended Otis/Parsons Art Institute (which since changed its name and affiliation.) Suffering from various undiagnosed ailments in the sunshine, Seraph wrote of the characters that would give form to and populate the universe of her fiction, in stories written as assignments in liberal arts classes. Returning to her childhood home, Seraph wrote out the first of her serious adult attempts at a novel manuscript on looseleaf paper with the then-new colored BIC Wavelength pens (purple and turquoise mainly.) The particular array of angelic ancient astronauts, troubled vampyres, mysterious half-mortal faeries and both the most ignorant and sinister and most saintly and generous of human beings that populate most of Seraph's stories was established in The Devil's Shadow.
New York then became Seraph's Tiffany's. The city that never sleeps (and so must be mad from not dreaming) became her safe place. Here Our Seraph attended Parson's School of Design and held several jobs for short periods of time including a single week as the coat check girl during Tocsin at The Far Side on Houston Street, (a Goth night as pictured above from Time Out .) Seraph also held an editorial position with The Poison Apple, a NYC Gothic culture 'zine. During her years living in New York Seraph designed the Raven's Knowledge web site with her cousin (one of the founders of Mgraphix which formerly hosted the site.) Also during this time a short story, Maeve's Child was published. (Lost Worlds Vol. 8 No. 11 September 1996) An earlier version of this same story was published in Life In The Dark Vol. 1 No. 1 October 1993.)
Sometime around this period Seraph also worked as a nanny and learned to make neato tuna salad. She also got a cat named Nietzsche. This Nietzsche inspired the one Moonblossom has.
During the mid 1990's still suffering from various ailments Seraph became involved with a certain Tender Young Deviant, Le Petit Gothique Prince de Philadelphi. (Silly boy and "ex-fiance" named Terrence pictured below.) And then she was heartbroken. Time passed and Seraph got over it. FYI Seraph finds eye makeup, Victorian accessories, intelligence, originality and a little subversiveness attractive. Being around Seraph's size and having a wardrobe to share: quite desirable.
Seraph continued to write and since completing The Devil's Shadow has written various parts of some dozen novel mss and numerous short stories. It was the work author Neil Gaiman did on The Sandman that inspired Seraph to create an entirely different kind of Morpheus (pictured below.) The Empty World (with title borrowed from a Cure song) was Seraph's second book-length project completed and is very much a story of worlds that begin and end told through her Morpheus. Moving to her childhood home again for the sake of her health, Seraph began working a vintage clothing boutique. It was one of the first stores of its kind in its area (not being located in a city such as New York or San Francisco.)
Besides writing Seraph has worked on other creative projects. Some of her work can be seen on the web in the Studio. Her projects include dollhouse design, building and decoration in 1/12 scale, painting, sculpting, fashion design including one of a kind dresses and accessories, furniture refurbishing, and web design.
Things not going so well at the vintage boutique, Seraph ceased working there and began working at Bagel Place. Glamourous, I know. But they make a Hell of a good bagel, if you know what I mean.
Seraph modeled these rings from that store for the layout in May 14th's Prince George's Weekly section of The Washington Post. The one on her ring finger is her own.)
To be pretentious and simply GAF a while: things in the area of Washington DC are much more Industrial, Methed-out, gray and harsh than they are eldritch, ethereal and gothic.
There does remain in the areas around DC something of a bastion, the old guard one might say, of things gothic. So, here's where you can find these people, which can't be easily done clubbing: this obscure place and that bloody place.
So, after that, Bagel Place and living in a college town drove Seraph to Hell...she wasn't feeling quite well again. Seraph lost a job, a friend and roomate and an apartment all in the same month: pretty stressful. She picked up her vast collection of books, black vintage clothing, old toys and angels and moved in with some relatives again. Some time passed. Seraph then began working again as a nanny, minding a child called "Boo." And yes, people such as Seraph can absolutely be trusted with kiddies.
Sometime after the turn of the century Nietzsche's disappeared and was presumed dead. This cat had been with Seraph about five or six years and had been full grown when she received him. He was an outdoor cat, so he outlived his life expectancy greatly. He was tough, witnessed protecting the humans of the house from wild possum that wandered into the yard and never fearing other animals, including large dogs. Nietzsche was also highly intelligent and he was tolerant and caring toward Seraph. He just didn't come in one night when called and hs not been seen since. Seraph misses him, but will not be getting another pet for some time, until she has more desireable living space to share.
Seraph started working at the 'vintage boutique' again, this time at their store in Takoma Park. That's a weird little slice of Maryland right on the edge of Washington DC that is very political and highly populated with baby boomers. Not the same woes as living in a college town, but it's not like Seraph relatedeither. As a genuine product of the seventies, she does not feel so much affection for that decade, and rather rebels against it. Though...Seraph does collect polyester print shirts that include human figures in the textile design, along with all her black vintage clothing.
In 2003 Seraph started working for Hot Topic. She has a lot of thoughts about the company, which will not go here. We can say, that she bought a lot of clothes and accessories there since they employed her.
In 2005, Seraph left Hot Topic, because she was not really good at selling things people did not already want. A former co-worker from the Hizzle Tizzle told Seraph of a job opening in the office of a title company. Seraph was hired there and currently still works for Dynamic Settlements as a receptionist/admin/pre-processor.