SH: Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. We have picked your site as the webmasters pick. We would like to ask you some questions so we could get to know the webmaster behind their work. I notice your website started in 2000 to today's year. Did you know your site would take off so good as it does today? Everyone enjoys your site so much.

LARAE: Thank you so much for the compliments, and as always, I am very pleased to hear that so many enjoy their visit at Darkness Embraced.. The increasing growth of Darkness Embraced actually took me by complete surprise. I never anticipated that it would be any way near where it is today.

SH: Where do you get all of your ideas for your site?

LARAE: As far as content or design? On the content level, I try to address areas of various interests in vampires so that it may better benefit everyone and cater more to a specific interest that one might have on the subject. I also strive to provide articles and other research that hasn't been repeatedly read a thousand times before elsewhere. So, most of my ideas are based on a question that I continuously of myself, "If I were a visitor, what would I like to see on this site?" and, I just take it from there with whatever comes to my mind. On the design level, I have depended heavily on the feedback from visitors and advice from mentor webmasters and webmistresses.

SH: How long does it normally take you to work on a new page for your site?

LARAE: Depending on the depth of what it is I am doing , it can be between 30 minutes to a couple days.

SH: What programs you use for your website building?

LARAE: Paint Shop Pro 7, Notepad, Adobe GoLive 5, and php.

SH: Could you share some of your webmasters tips for web building with us?

LARAE: I think the key elements in building a good website is patience, determination, knowledge, and love for what your doing I firmly believe acknowledgment for your achievements will be far more greater and have more meaning to you when you take that approach. I can't stress enough to beginners to not depend on site builders and WYSIWYG editors, it cripples you in advancing with web design. It's important to get the fundamentals of html down pat and then use those editors down the line. It takes a lot of time and dedication, but in the end it truly does pay off. Take your time and do things at your own pace and don't worry about competing with other sites, love what you are doing, and your site will reflect that to your visitors and make it shine. Most importantly, hang in there and don't give up! What do you enjoy working on the most with your site? Hmm..that is a tough question. I truly enjoy all areas of it so I can't really say I have a favorite area.

SH: How many make overs did your site go through?

LARAE: It has roughly went through about 11 or 12 make overs over the time that it was born. The initial name of the site was Midnytes Chyld when it was hosted on Homestead in 1999, then nearly a year later, I changed the site title to Darkness Embraced. Then when Homestead made the decision to go from a free host to a pay service, I moved the site to another host where it remained strictly a html site up until this past September when I decided to go the nuke route with php to make it more interactive.

SH: Now, I'm going to ask some questions about you the webmaster. The first one would be is to describe your personality of your true self?

LARAE: I consider myself to be a very loving, caring person but at times, I find myself having difficulty in expressing those emotions. I typically am a loner and enjoy a lot of time to myself. Some mistake me as being anti social, but that is hardly the case. I find that if I am around a lot of people all the time I become emotionally overwhelmed since I have a tendency to absorb their emotions and take them on as my own. I am very loyal and dedicated to any relationships I may have, but I do have a tendency to become protective and motherly with those I love. I am a good listener, and will only offer advice if asked. I treat everyone as I would like to be treated, but, if someone is dead set on abusing that courtesy, then I will at times, go for the throat, so to speak. But, normally it takes a lot to get me to that point. I am one who strives for balance and peace as much as possible. I am honest and sometimes too outspoken although I do my utmost to remain reserved when the situation warrants it. I live within my own thoughts and respect the ideas and thoughts of others as well, but I am not one who will follow the crowd to find a place within, to do so would, in my opinion, be a life of misery and deceit that I would bring upon myself.

SH: What are the things you enjoy doing in your free time?

LARAE: I enjoy reading anything related to a mystical or of a paranormal nature and indulge into classical literature, web designing, expending quiet time in natural gardens encompassed by trees and wildlife. I appreciate fine dining and cocktails, wines, live theater performances, and frequent strolls through the art and historical Galleria's, I lavish the awe I feel while gazing upon enormous architectural structures that possess old world, Ancient tradition, Victorian, or a gothic flair. I savor the night and like to meditate under the bright light of full moon with the stars sparkling like tiny diamonds around her, it's so very tranquil and rejuvenating to me. So many of us live without actually living, so I do enjoy indulging into all the finer things that the world has to offer both on a material and spiritual level.

SH: What are some things that you don't like?

LARAE: Too much background noise, sunlight, closed minds, jealousy, people who belittle others to compensate for their own insecurities or extort someone else's work or personal character in attempts to increment their own emotional/lucre interest or recognition. School yard bully types, know it all's, heat, inconsideration, mornings, traffic, ghetto lingo and terms not deemed as proper English, religious wars, caviar, thieves, rap music, dream catchers, condemnation, fingernails on chalk boards, monopolies, commercials, people who blame everyone else for their lack of success due to their own choosing to demonstrate nothing but slothfulness, the words "I can't" no such phrase, in reality it is "I won't". Onions, the smell of cigars, bigotry, racism, animal and child cruelty, I could go on and on, but I think that is more than enough.

SH: How could we make a better world today?

LARAE: Education and understanding, I think if we had a little more time spent in studying each others cultures and belief systems, it would place us all in a position to better understand and respect belief systems and cultures outside of our own.

SH: Have any favorite music, movies, writers, and actors you would like to tell us?

LARAE: I love Music!, I enjoy classical, jazz, very big into the 80's hair bands like Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Cinderella, Whitesnake, Van Halen, and pop, big band, the 50's era, Industrial, Ethereal, synthpop, Goth bands such as London After Midnight, Apoptygma Bezerk, Sisters of Mercy, 70's music artists such as Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Blue Oyster Cult, Bad Company, 9o's alternative, and other bands like Sevendust, Creed, Rob Zombie, Pantera, Godsmack, again, I could go on and on, but I think that everyone can see that my tastes vary.

SH: What makes you mad?

LARAE: That can be referenced by reading things I don't like above. I don't want to over do it on the negative side.

SH: What was the best moment in your life?

LARAE: The Transition of living at home with mom and dad to going out on my own.

SH: What is the worst moment in your life?

LARAE: Losing my brother to his fight with leukemia.

SH: If you could pick an age in life that you would like to be, what age would it be and why?

LARAE: Hmm.. I believe 35 would be a good choice for me. I think at that age you have more experience and knowledge but your still young enough to stay in the game of fun.

SH: Have any bad habits?

LARAE: I smoke too many cigarettes and I am highly addicted to caffeine.

SH: Thank you for your time, and we will visit you again.