The story of Gabriela Anais DuVal had a pretty simple beginning. By the time her conception and birth came around, her parents had already been together for fifteen years and married for ten of them. It was a classic tale of high school romance for Marcos DuVal and Lehanna Crane--they met in middle school and became a couple during their freshman homecoming season. After high school, Marcos DuVal went on to play college football at Louisiana State University until he suffered a career ending knee injury during his first year on the team. Having a life changing moment like that prompted him to propose to Lehanna, and they had a small family wedding within the next few months. When Lehanna became pregnant two years later, Marcos dropped out of college to begin working full-time to support his impending family. He began working offshore and continued to do so for twelve years before deciding to hang up his hard hat. During that time, his first child--a boy named Vincent--was born as well as his first daughter who would become Gabriela and their final child--another girl, this time named Constance. There would have been a fourth DuVal child, but the pregnancy never made it to completion. While that news was upsetting to the family at first, the religious aspect of family saw it as a part of God's plan. Interestingly enough, that is a phrase that Gabriela eventually grew to dislike strongly.

Is that a sign that Gabriela was a rebellious child that went against the family grain? Yes and no. While none of the DuVal children continued their religious endeavors into late adolescence and adulthood, they were all relatively good children. They got in trouble from time to time like most children do at some point in their lives, but there was never really any flat out acts of rebellion. Their parents had their rules and expectations for them, but they were never super strict which has always left Gabriela with a feeling of gratefulness. She was able to figure out the kind of person she wanted to be on her own accord. It's one of the reasons why her parents didn't put up much of a fight when she began applying to colleges out of state instead of continuing on to LSU like her parents and even her brother did before her.

One of the things that Gabriela discovered about herself early on was her love and talent for storytelling. During her school years, she often became the child chosen in her classes to read a writing assignment aloud because her teachers enjoyed the creativity and knack for portraying a story that she showed in her writing. At only twelve years old, she decided that she was going to be a writer when she grew up and often spent her downtime in her room working on multiple writing projects. It took her four years and three different rough drafts before she completed her first novel. Another two years went by before her manuscript was accepted by a publishing company and her first novel, Blood Tiger, became published under the name G. A. DuVal. The book quickly became a hit, and there was a push for her to write a second book. By this time, Gabriela was attending college at New York University and it took her nearly two years to complete the second project, Blood Lines. Blood Collateral is the final book that Gabriela would have published while attending NYU.

Obviously, writing was not the only activity that Gabriela has partook in. During high school, she was an active member of the dance team and National Honor Society. She was never exceptionally popular, but she did belong to a decent sized group of friends that would spend hours hanging out at the mall after school or on weekends and partaking in other high school aged activities such as parties. She often found it difficult balancing her writing endeavors and social life which led to long intervals between working on her novel, partly being the reason it took her so long to complete her first manuscript.

Much of the same occurred during her time at NYU. She attempted to rush for a sorority during her freshman year but ended up not completing the process because it became a time consuming activity. She did, however, opt to study abroad during her sophomore year for a semester. The location was in London, and she still credits it to one of her favorite college experiences. Not only did it get her out of her typical social scene and introduce her to new people she likely would not have met otherwise, but it also gave her a chance to experience a different atmosphere and cultural location.

Once she graduated from NYU, Gabriela opted to stay in the area because she loved the vibe of the area. Although she grew up in a pretty large city to her home state's standards, New York had an incredibly different feel than Louisiana. She still enjoys returning to her hometown on occasion, but she now considers New York as her home as she associates it as the place where she truly found her place in the world. There's always the availability of new and different experiences and she feels that people are far more accepting of individuality than they are back in her home state.

Although living in the city was an affordable option for her, Gabriela chose to move to Sleepy Hollow instead because she enjoyed the idea of living in a small town that seemed to be based off one of her favorite stories as a child. It also didn't hurt that the author of the book actually lived (and died) in the area. Besides, the city life wasn't too far away if she ever felt the urge to visit. Her first place was an adorable little two-bedroom apartment that she would eventually share with a roommate that she found through an acquaintance. The two of them got along quite well and have remained friends even though they have both moved on from the The Manor (as they lovingly called their home).

It wasn't long after moving to Sleepy Hollow that she met Dorian who would become her boyfriend for over a year. They were pretty great together and she would say even in love. However, when she learned that her grandfather had cancer that was not caught early enough and entering the terminal stage, she decided that she needed to move back home to spend time with him and her family before he left their world. Dorian supported her decision to move back to Louisiana, and the two of them ended their relationship. It wasn't an easy decision, and she was heartbroken about the situation for quite a while.

After her grandfather passed, Gabriela spent some time in New Orleans to find inspiration to finish another novel that was giving her a serious case of writer's block with all that had been going on in her life. She would spend about four months in The Big Easy before heading back North--this time to Dobbs Ferry. She purchased a four bedroom home there, and it is where she lives currently. As of right now, she does not have any intentions of moving again for a very long time.