Meet The Daemons

Fan Panel: "Empathy for the Devil" -- All Souls Con 2017 (left to right, Angela, Valerie & Jean) - Photo by Tim Trevaskis
Daemons Domain is the brainchild of three overachieving women who met online in 2012 because of a shared passion for a book - A Discovery of Witches. This combination quickly grew into a friendship and an unhealthy obsession with all things de Clermont! Eventually, they decided to invite the world into their personal chat box overflowing with historical research, speculation, and flights of fancy. The podcast, Daemons Discuss!, is their fortnightly deep dive into the All Souls Universe. Sometimes serious. Often irreverent. Occasionally ridiculous. Always All Souls.

Daemon antics! - taken in the library at the Isabella Gardner Museum (photo: © 2013 Jennifer Wood)
Notre Raison d'Être - we are the Daemons - All Souls Universe enthusiasts exploring the aspects of the All Souls Trilogy and now A Discovery of Witches TV! You also can find us at the following places: Podcast, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest & Instagram.  All Souls-ing since 2012!

The above is the "official" bio. Here's the real deal, though: This world has expanded our minds in unfathomable ways! Concepts like women supporting other women, racial equality, what friendship is, and what it can be, and what family is, and what it can be (family of birth vs. family of choice). The themes in these books are UNIVERSAL. 

So you've found the 'Meet the Daemons' page! Since you are here, we are going to assume that you are at least somewhat curious about our story. OK, you asked for it. Here we go . . .

We've been occupying this space since 2012 in different iterations of ourselves (yeah, really!), but the thing we can confidently say is that we are FANS first and foremost. We've always considered ourselves daemons! Why? Because no one pays attention to them, and in the beginning, that's what we were going for! For a while it actually worked. Just slinking around, fanning all over the place without out people noticing us. Our intention was just to spread the story of Diana and Matthew + the world they lived in (oh, and we started a crazy campaign: RIP #RA4MC). We were the first fan entities to have a sizable social media presence besides Facebook, and in a way, that makes us the old-heads in the space, but that's OK. We embrace it! We enjoy witnessing growth in the fandom, and in ourselves.
Not sure who the artist is who did this, but it cracks us up!
Daemons Domain officially opened June 19th, 2015. We were planning to supplement it by doing BookTube segments called 'Daemons Discuss,' but we realized that we didn't want to be in front of the camera, or alternatively, come up with images to slide, giving the viewer's eyes something to do while we chatted. Once we finally ditched the video concept, we started seriously considering podcasting. After purchasing our microphones at the end of 2015, we did what we do: research, plan, consult, and plan some more. We had some life things get in the way, but eventually we launched the podcast Daemons Discuss! in September of 2016.

Producing the podcast made us realize that we can no longer skulk anonymously around the fandom. We believed that in order to do a podcast well, we had to ignore our fears, and present our most authentic selves. With that finally we were out of our proverbial Daemon closets. We were new at this podcasting thing, and we worried that since it wasn't perfect all of the time, there would always be someone out there judging us harshly (it's you, isn't it?! STAHP IT! 😂😜). Luckily, one of us reminded us to 'SNAP OUT OF IT!' just when we needed it! *cough* ANGELA *cough!*  Little did we know our podcast would take over most of what we do! It was supposed to be a little side-hustle! 4 + years later, and no regrets, because fellow fans got to know us, and that's what counts.

When it comes to All Souls, our loved ones fear we're a tad insane — and they know we're a lot obsessed — especially since we approach our book related adventures with the same level of attention and devotion that's required by each of our high-stress, high-responsibility, real-life careers. Our families shake their heads at us when we spend hours discussing theories. They politely cheer us on when we get to do really interesting things because of our 'hobby'. Bless them for understanding us so thoroughly and tolerating our lunacy! This series and friendship has been our 'soft place to land.' Let's hope they remain as tolerant during the second wave ... the opening to a continuation in this universe (Time's Convert), and the the reality of a television production! Buckle up, fam!

Taken on the Muriel's Jackson Square balcony during our stay in New Orleans for All Souls Con 2017
In addition to the All Souls universe, we're obsessed with all sorts of books and reading materials - subjects jump the spectrum from what's considered high-brow literature (absolutely subjective!), non-fiction, historical fiction, urban fantasy, tech blogs, science, history, all the way to what's best described by many as 'chick-lit' meh, ridiculous labelsfrom YA to erotic fantasy! If you can read it, and it comes with a great story, we'll love it. We also adore coffee, sarcasm, appropriate footwear for men (no brown shoes! -- ask us about that if you ever meet us in person), late-night Facebook messaging (usually includes cocktails!), and planning our next get-together because we are in long-distance relationships with each other. The Dallas, Seattle, and Chicago areas are not very close in proximity! We are fortunate to live in an age where we can talk to each other morning, noon and night without missing a beat. Luckily, we are able to mount our brooms and visit face to face when the stars align! When we do meet up in person, it's like we just saw each other the day before. Well, really it's because we have.

We thank you for taking time out of your day to visit our site, and we hope you are informed and entertained by our musings. We are humbled by the positive response we've received thus far, and only hope to live up to the praise we are given. Welcome to our world, and please enjoy your stay!

Angela, Jean & Valerie.
a.k.a. The Daemons.



P.S.  About the layout and design of Daemons Domain.

This design was a very interesting project.  We all decided we wanted it to look and feel like a mixture of "decayed beauty" and something out of a Tim Burton film!  We came up with this, and as it is with most creative endeavors, we didn't know what we'd end up with until we were done.  We are quite pleased on how it turned out!

Listen to the pronunciation
Daemons were once regarded as angels (thus the clouds and the feel of a heaven-like space), and in AST they are portrayed as creative, obsessive about music, theatre, art, and design.  They often considered brilliant and have been said to skirt the line of madness and genius.  Many in the series think of them as insane!

Based on how we described ourselves above, you can see why we would gladly embrace the 'daemon' moniker!

When we say "Feed Your Daemons," we don't mean feed us!  We believe everyone (example: Matthew and Diana!) has a bit of daemon inside...we are actually suggesting that you should occasionally abandon what's expected and 'normal'.  We are encouraging you to give in to the indulgence — wander into to the world of madness that allows one to create, think, imagine, and explore different ideas and concepts freely.

We used elements from the following alchemical pictures:

Kircher's Moon Phases
As you can see, we also used pieces from the following abandoned theatres - the neglected beauty is breathtaking:



The damask blue "wallpaper" on the side is just how we would picture our theatre lobby being decorated.  Classic, yet slightly different and whimsical.  Nothing expected or predictable!

You'll note the colors chosen for this look represent both warm and cool.  We've also included the sun and the moon.  Both are unions of stark opposites:

"—warm and cold, light and dark, female and male, witch and vampire, a conjunction of opposites."

"That makes her not only a creature of fire but one of water, too, capable of moving between the elements. The firedrake is a union of opposites."

"I turned the page. Here was the image sent to my parents, the one the Bishop house had saved for so many years: the phoenix enfolding the chemical wedding in her wings, while mythical and alchemical beasts witnessed the union of Sol and Luna."

"Like sun and moon, we were unconcerned at this moment with time, distance, and difference. All that mattered was our position relative to each other."


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