A young girl is thrust into a battle between vampires and werewolves. But first she must survive her initiation…
Vampires and werewolves, what else could a girl want? To find out, Claudia Silva, the mind behind The Recruit has sat down with me today to talk about these creatures and more. Claudia, we’ll start with the important questions first, what do you think happens if Batman gets bitten by a vampire?
He has. There’s a comic book about it. It’s a little depressing, but I had to read it anyway… because it’s Batman, and he’s a vampire.
I was hoping you hadn’t read that one, but it’s good to know your opinions on how Batman would do in that scenario. Now that you’ve proven your fantasy/sci-fi street cred, take us through how your knowledge of these worlds led you to write your own book.
This book began with an idea I had for the perfect vampire story. I knew what I liked about vampires and I wanted to see more of that. Since a book like that didn’t exist, I wrote one based on cool dreams I had and what I wanted to read myself.
So, the characters came to life in your dreams?
Yes, the two main characters came to me in a dream. I then created their backstories, although their personalities were always very clear. They are opposites in a way who begin to balance out as they interact with each other. I some times think of them as Mulder and Scully. Although they’re vampires, and they battle werewolves and the like. Other times I think of the like X-Men, using their superpowers for good.
Mixing a bit of Mulder and Scully with the X-Men sounds like a winning formula to me! However, on the other hand, it sounds a tad daunting to mix in such well-known worlds with your own to make something new. Did you find these creation and writing processes energising or exhausting?
Writing energizes me, definitely. I have all these stories in my head waiting to come out and as I learn more about writing and publishing, I am more detailed in every step of the process. It’s an exciting ride.
What do you think each time you sit down to write and extend that exciting ride?
When I first wrote them, all I wanted was to see a movie in my head. Now that I know my books our out there, I try to imagine how the reader feels like or thinks about when they read about my characters and their exploits.
What did you personally learn by following the exploits of your characters through your book to publication?
This is the first novel length book I ever finished. There have been many editions because it’s also the one who helped me grow as an author and learn what independent publishing was all about. I owe a lot to this book and it has a special place in my heart. Although it is the introduction to the world, the books that follow add much more to the story and characters.
Follow up books! What can you tell us about them?
Right now I’m working on the fourth book on this series. I’m excited because the stakes are higher and the characters are learning to grow together as a team. Also, it gets closer to the conclusion.
At least three more books are great news for eager readers looking to meet some new vampires and hang out in their world. And so readers can get a hold of book four soon, we’ll wrap up here today. Claudia, thanks so much for sharing your world with us today, and I for one can’t wait to hear more about how the series unfolds soon!
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Excited to read the book we discussed today? Find it here on Amazon: ‘The Recruit ( ASIN: B06XB4FFGB )‘.
Want to find out more about Claudia Silva? Connect here!