Love of the dark, books and betrothals
Her books are selling by the virtual truckload and her weddings are the stuff of legend.
South Head resident Stephanie Green has had an incredible year becoming a USA Today bestselling author and finding a growing demand for her alternative wedding services.
A fascination for the historical and mythical saw her training as an archeologist working on sites overseas including one in Greece.
But her dreams of a career in the profession were dashed when she was unable to find a job.
Born with a rare genetic condition called achromotopsia meaning she has decreased vision and sees colours differently, Green is legally blind.
Though able to see enough to carry out digs the lack of job offers left her depressed until her husband suggested she look at it as an opportunity to shine in something else.
Performing weddings since 2011 Green says she originally got the license to perform a friend’s wedding as they were having trouble finding a celebrant they liked.
‘‘The bride was covered in tattoos, he was a heavy metal drummer and they’d met a lot of
‘‘I do about 5-10 weddings a year, some of them are very unusual - goth weddings, Lord of the Rings’’
Stephanie Green
little old ladies. I then posted on Facebook that I now had a license to marry and immediately had two other friends asking if I could do theirs, and it grew from there.’’
And the ceremonies are alternative to say the least.
‘‘I do about 5-10 weddings a year, some of them are very unusual - goth weddings, Lord of the Rings, steampunk, rock’n’roll, medieval, pagan ... and some are just very chilled out beach or backyard weddings where the couple want someone who gets them.’’
‘‘I help the couple write the ceremony themselves, as I think it’s more special when it’s something unique you have created as a couple, and perform the ceremony and take care of all the legal details.’’
The couples could expect some skill in this area as Green writes more than just wedding vows. Specialising in dark fantasy and paranormal romance she released her first self-published book online last March and now sells between 500 and 2000 copies a month.
Initially starting with fantasy, her works took a step into erotic romance territory after she panned the smash hit novel Fifty Shades of Grey at a party.
A friend challenged her to do better resulting in imaginative paranormal romance that includes shapeshifters, dragons and tigers ‘‘alpha males who are wild and untamed which people love,’’ not to mention some pretty racy book covers.
She sells her books exclusively on Amazon Prime, a service somewhat like Spotify is to music that allows users to access books online for about $10 monthly.
Dabbling in writing throughout university she decided to pitch her work to publishing houses.
Three years later she had written four books but had still not been able to land a contract, so Green again changed her thinking and self-published.
Twelve e-books later she now has legions of fans around the world and a further eight books set to be published this year.
‘‘I feel like I’ve hit the success formula, I get so much feedback from readers from which I am learning so much, it’s awesome.’’
Meet Steff Green at the historic Kaukapakapa Library on Sunday August 21 from 10am to 1pm for a chat about her writing, self-publishing and all things dark and gothic.