Welcome to Paranormal Month at The Boutique Bookshop!
Deelylah Mullin is a Mid-Michigan native who writes small-town paranormal romance with a little spice, a lot of heart, and a stubborn belief in hard-won happy endings. Her Teachers’ Lounge series follows educators—the folks who give endlessly and rarely get the spotlight. She thinsk they deserve stories where they’re seen, desired, and powerful. Add some actual magic, transformations, and alchemy, and suddenly their carefully balanced lives crack wide open…and honesty becomes the only way forward.
Above all, she writes stories where people like us survive, choose happiness, and win—with diverse characters who are centered, loved, and joyful without apology.
Deelylah, tell us about you and how you got started writing?
I’m a former teacher who’s always written…from the time I was in Kindergarten, I was always writing a story. I continued to write in college and have a minor in creative writing. I published my first novel in January of 2018—a contemporary romance, and earned my bestseller flag, in category, on Amazon June 1, 2018 for a novella in an anthology. I really wanted to write, but the market was primarily contemporary romance; I couldn’t really see myself comparing to J.R. Ward or Ilona Andrews or Nalini Singh. So, I wrote contemporary for a while. I published four or five titles, and I didn’t love a single one of them. When I thought about rewriting them the way I had originally wanted to write them—full of vampires, witches, fae, shifters—I got this excited buzz in my brain. And it never let go. Today, I’m starting from scratch, writing as Deelylah Mullin, still, and writing the stories as they originally wanted to be told.
Talk about your Paranormal Romance series. Tell us something special.
What’s amazing about the Teachers’ Lounge is that teachers finally get to be in the spotlight. The job is thankless, and teachers don’t even make enough to work just one job these days. Well, they do in Zephyr, which I’ve modeled into a type of utopia—it’s what I wish our world was like.
In Zephyr, you’ll meet interracial couples, LGBTQ+ couples, and interBeing couples. “Beings” is how I refer to the witches, fae, vampires, and shifters in Zephyr. This type of thing is normal in Zephyr and isn’t a cause for tension.
What drew you to writing this genre?
I grew up reading Stephen King. His stories are steeped in the paranormal and supernatural. I’ve always written about ghosts, vampires, and witches—my favorite assignment in high school was writing an alternate ending to Romeo and Juliet. They turned into vampires and lived happily ever after.
Let’s talk about settings. How much research do you do when writing this genre?
I actually set Zephyr in a remote area of Michigan—but it’s close enough to Petoskey that I can add in actual places and landscape. I’m even working on a Michigan map that shows where Zephyr is located—as well as towns that are mentioned in the series. Readers will be able to see it in the books!
We recently spent three days in Petoskey doing exploration, and I decided where I would specifically set Zephyr. I have enough detail that I can write scenes that would be accurate for the landscape and include details about the trip to and from cities and towns that actually exist.
Do you see your setting as a character? Why or why not?
I absolutely use setting as a character in my Teachers’ Lounge series! It’s important that characters know and understand the landscape, weather, and potential dangers that can appear out of thin air. Along with the setting is the weather. We have a saying here in Michigan: If you don’t like the weather, wait around for five minutes!
Along with place and weather is the changing of the seasons. And I plan to rely heavily on seasonal shifts as the series progresses.
Who is your favorite romantic main character? – in books or in movies!
One of the first adult paranormal romances I read was by J.R. Ward. The first book of her Black Dagger Brotherhood series, Dark Lover, centers on Wrath—the last pureblooded vampire and leader of the brotherhood—and Beth, a half-breed vampire who doesn’t know she’s half vampire. Wrath was my gateway to swoon-worthy romance heroes. He’s 100% Alpha, knows what he wants—and what he shouldn’t want—but treats Beth, after they’re together, like the queen she is. We see a lot of Wrath and Beth in the series (the first part of the series that focuses on the original brothers) and I think that makes watching the evolution of their relationship poignant.
Do you actively read fiction while you are writing fiction? If so, what are you reading right now? Or, give us a favorite book rec.
I’m looking for comps for my series, so I’m currently reading the first book in Molly Harper’s Starfall Point series, Witches Get Stuff Done. I’ve just started, but I’m hooked from the first paragraph. The character is boat sick on one of the Great Lakes, and I can very much relate.
Next up is the first book of Kristen Painter’s Shadowvale series, The Trouble with Witches.
I’m also re-reading The Historian by Elizabeth Kostrova. This is NOT a romance, but it’s a favorite title. I probably re-read it every five years or so. One of my editing organizations is reading this for the December event and I’m excited to participate. The great thing is that this book is a mashup of the stories of Vlad Țepeș and Dracula—both of which are fascinating to me. Also, super up-my-alley as I write vampires in Zephyr!
Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty – what’s the scoop “behind the story” for your current series or book?
I’m working on my Teachers’ Lounge series right now. I’m rebranding as a paranormal romance author, and Zephyr—a fictional Michigan town—is where all the 26 books in the series will happen. At present, Book 1 has had its first rewrite. I’m in the middle of Book 2’s rewrite. I have the third book roughly plotted, but it shouldn’t take long to write.
I’ve been planning this series for the better part of a decade, but I needed a little nudge and a lot of support to get started—I mean, really get started. Once I discovered I was writing in the wrong point-of-view and that I really wanted to stick a vampire or witch in each manuscript, everything changed. I love my books now. The stories are easy to tell, and writing isn’t a chore any more.
What’s up next for you?
I’m hoping to publish at least two books a year moving forward…until the Teachers’ Lounge series is finished. I do, however, have a paranormal cozy mystery series set in Petoskey, a real town near Zephyr, that I’m itching to start…
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Sign up for the Zephyr Gazette (Deelylah's email list) and get all the news about Zephyr: https://www.Deelylah.com/dm-nl
Rapid Release Planned for early 2027!
Book 1: Alias and Alchemy
Book 2: Bewitched by Bourbon
Book 3: Cinnamon and Cinders
Visit Deelylah at https://www.deelylah.com
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