Tag: Vampire

Vampires Hunting Werewolves with Claudia Silva

You all know that in my books, Johnny Lupul is a pretty decent guy, besides being a shape-shifting rage monster on occasion. Imagine how conflicted I was when I found a new series where Vampires were the good guys and among the bumpy-in-the-night things they killed were werewolves.

Despite the obvious conflict of interest, I enjoyed Claudia Silva’s introduction to the North American Vampire Secret Agency series. Here’s my conversation with her.

What should we know about you?

I am someone who wears many hats. I was one of those who didn’t really have a plan for the future. I went to college and became an engineer because I thought it would be easy to get a job. And it was. There, I met my husband to whom I’ve been married 22 years. We have two teenagers now. 
I then changed countries and professions. I moved from Mexico to the US and became a teacher. At first, I wasn’t sure it was for me, but later I understood how to help kids and even studied for a Master’s Degree in Bilingual Education.
I’ve been a teacher since 2003 and my favorite grade to teach is Kindergarten.
All through that I have read and written stories. The first book I read for pleasure was Jurassic Park. But the book that really changed my life was Interview with the Vampire. I really liked movies about vampires, witches, werewolves and all things fantasy, and with Interview with the Vampire I realized that people wrote about these things too. I was was 17 when I wrote my first fan fiction. Years later I thought about my own stories and began to write them down. I have been writing them down ever since.

So what’s your series about?

My first series is an urban fantasy. It is completed and has 6 books and 2 short stories. It’s about a secret agency where vampires work to solve paranormal conflict. The witches are their allies and the werewolves their main enemies. Some agents hunt werewolves, and other hunt rogue vampires.

The story begins with Rebecca, an ordinary woman with nothing to lose. She meets Dylan, and he convinces her to join the vampire agency. The first book is about discovery. Rebecca has a lot to learn, and not only about being a vampire, but also how to become a werewolf hunter. At the end of her training, she must be tested. The rest of the books focus more on the conflict between the werewolves and the vampires. I don’t think my stories follow any tropes, and I think mine are a different type of vampires. You’d have to read and see.

Yeah, about that killing werewolves thing…. but that’s for another time. What is it about that form of magic and worldbuilding that appealed to you?

The story originated with a dream. I dreamt about a vampire in a room full of people and how the only way to identify a vampire was when his eyes turned read. Everything started from there. The scene ended up in book 2, and it went through a complete revision to make it the first mission Rebecca needs to survive as a new werewolf hunter.

Who are the authors that influenced you? Who do you read?

I love reading. I have read most of Anne Rice’s books, as well as JK Rowling, Marissa Meyer, Marie Lu, Kiera Cass, Naomi Novak, Andy Weir, Jeff Lemire, Isaac Asimov, and Stephen King.

How can people find you and your work?

I have a website. You can find that at www.claudia-silva.com

Or you can follow me on social media:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16803765.Claudia_Silva

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Claudia-Silva/e/B071NL28WS

Twitter: https://twitter.com/csilvaauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claudiasilva_author/

If you want to read about a werewolf detective who ISN”T being hunted by vampires, may I suggest Johnny Lycan and the Vegas Berserker, now available from #blackrosewriting.

Also, you can now follow me on Twitter, Facebook (Wayne Turmel Author) or Instagram.

Get book 2 of the Werewolf PI series, available now. Or book 1 if you haven’t started yet. I don’t care.

The Other Inside with JM White

There’s something evil inside me trying to get out. That premise is as old as mankind and has served as the basis of a lot of dark fantasy and horror stories. Hell, it’s why I have a thing for werewolves and what inspired the character of Johnny Lycan in my new book. It’s also the idea behind JM White’s new novel, The Other Inside.

J M, great to talk to another Black Rose Writing author. Besides the fact we share a publisher, what should we know about you?

My love affair with horror started when I was a kid. I was never much into reading. In fact, I hated it. One day I stumbled across the Goosebump series at the library, and my life changed. I went from dreading library days to stuffing three or four Goosebumps books into my backpack at a time. I realized then I didn’t hate reading—I just hadn’t found my genre. It just so happens my genre involves monsters, ghosts, and lots of blood and guts. As I got older, I graduated from R. L. Stine to Stephen King, and so on. 

When I’m not working on fiction, I am a freelance writer. I specialize in video game news and other entertainment topics like film and TV. It’s a fun gig that allows me to flex my pop culture nerdiness. My background is in psychology. I don’t do much with my degree but enjoy using it in my novels. 

What is the story about?

The Other Inside is a psychological horror novel. It follows Billie. He doesn’t have a family. Eleven years ago, his mother was murdered, and his stepfather was locked up for the crime. Because of this trauma, he fled to a small New Hampshire town to start a new life.

But Billie isn’t like everyone else. He struggles to control an animalistic thing inside him that needs blood. His affliction becomes harder to hide when his childhood best friend shows up. As Billie reconnects with her, secrets of his past unravel. He is left wondering if his stepfather really did kill his mother. And if he didn’t, who did? 

For me, the idea of having something creepy inside an otherwise normal person creeps me out. What are the roots of this story?

Despite Billie’s affliction, he is relatable. The reader knows from the get-go that Billie is a killer, but they are still rooting for him. I wanted to explore a character that viciously kills but would be the type of person to back down in a fight because they know it’s wrong. That required me to create a vampire-inspired story with a character that broke stereotypes, so no seductive good looks and sparkling skin. In fact, vampire lore is left out of the book almost entirely. Instead, I focus on a disorder I learned about in my undergrad called Renfield syndrome or Clinical Vampirism, which involves an obsession with drinking blood. Although Renfield Syndrome is not acknowledged by the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), it’s an interesting disorder documented by psychologists for over a hundred years. 

The Other Inside is a horror story with elements of mystery and the tiniest bit of romance. My main goal was to keep readers guessing. Is Billie an actual vampire, or is he afflicted with this disorder? While writing, I also kept in mind that there is a large “vampire” community. People that engage in the vampire lifestyle are not synonymous with having Renfield Syndrome. As I say in my Note From the Author—this book is vampire friendly, and I have no intentions to offend. 

Good luck with that- I have found there’s always someone who will be miffed, but that’s half the fun. Who did you read that inspired you?

Well, as I mentioned before, my framework started with R. L. Stine and Stephen King. I’m not sure you’ll ever meet a horror author who doesn’t pay tribute to King. It’s almost a cliché at this point.

Other than those legends, I enjoy classics like Thomas Harris (he is a must-read), Robert Bloch, Jack Ketchum, Shirley Jackson, and Nathaniel Hawthorn. I also really like Grady Hendrix, Josh Malerman, Kealan Patrick Burke, Ania Ahlborn, Gillian Flynn, and Riley Sager for some fresher names. 

It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t give a shout out to the vampire man himself—Bram Stoker—whose novel Dracula I’ve read probably five times thanks to school. If it weren’t for him, I might never have thought up Billie. 

Shameless plug time. Where can people find out more about you?

The Other Inside and my debut novel Shattered can both be found on Amazon and Barnes&Noble.

Links to all my books and socials can be found on my website jmwhitefiction.com. 

While on my website, check out my blog, Thirst for Thrillers, where I pair books with cocktail recipes.  

Instagram is where I am most active thanks to the lovely people of the #bookstagram community. I always post book updates, sales, giveaways, and, of course, the results of my somewhat artistic book photoshoots. Follow me on IG @jmwhitefiction

Hey everyone, just a note that we are a month and a half from the launch of Johnny Lycan and the Anubis Disk. If you are a blogger or reviewer on Goodreads or anywhere else and want a review copy, drop a brother a line. Preorders for EBook and on Amazon and other places start in early October!