I am delighted that Vanessa Wester agreed to share her thoughts with me in my first ever interview. I hope you find it as enlightening as I did.
Hello Vanessa and welcome to my blog. Thank you for agreeing to be my interview test subject. Nervous?
NO! Do I have any reason to be nervous?
Haha I hope not. Anyway on with the interview. I have read a lot about you (not as creepy as it sounds!) and you make no secret of the fact that Twilight inspired you to write your first novel ‘Hybrid’. Obviously there are lots of comparisons that could be made between the two stories, but I was wondering about your inspiration for the ‘change’ the species go through, it has a comic book feel to it. Could you explain your thought process?
Truth, I am a Sci-fi geek and used (not any more, okay…) to read a LOT of comics. I never read many Marvel ones (I think when I was growing up it was the done thing to give me Bunty, Judy & Mandy – female stereotype) but I watched Spiderman, Spidergirl, Wonder Woman, Superman, Supergirl, and Batman on TV… I particularly loved Spiderman/girl. SciFi series have always appealed to me. Oh, and I’m a big fan of Scooby Doo haha
Get the picture? Yep, I love the idea of humans being superhuman… and I find the science behind their change particularly interesting. That’s the only thing about vampires that always annoys me… What do you mean they have always been like that? I wanted to know why, to explore how a human could become a vampire… And so the Evolution Trilogy was born! Spiderman meets Batman meets vampires.
I did enjoy the fact you explained where this new ‘species’ had come from, but its not really science (I have a degree in Genetics so be careful haha), I actually thought that your method of transformation took the story away from ‘vampires’ and into a ‘superhero’ territory, which made it more appealing to me. What super power would you have?
Well, in my books… When a species changes by a freak accident or through a process of Evolution it is Science! Ha ha Anyway, tough one… I think it would have to be (drum rolls…) to never age – I would love to see the world over a longer period of time, to always be fit and healthy, and not have to worry about how I am going to die! Morbid, I know.
Well that’s me told. So you’re not bothered about the whole ‘watching everyone you love grow old and die’ aspect of immortality?
That is a valid point… I guess in reality it would be tough (I bawled my eyes out in Highlander when ‘she’ dies…). I would just love to see the world change over a period of time, and laugh at the repeated mistakes after having actually lived them, rather than because I assume that’s what happened. Facts have a way of changing via Chinese whisper, and even with the advent of TV nothing is ever exactly as it appears. That’s my view anyway. Hybrid opens in Southampton, where you were a student, but ends in the Amazon. Have you visited the rainforests? No, I haven’t, but I did spend a fair amount of time researching about it, which is why I posted links at the end of the book. I know I have used my creative licence but I hope I have done the location justice. I have to admit that it was fun to work out the flight times. Although my favourite discovery was the “meeting of the waters” – such a cool phenomenon I found out about courtesy of some great websites.
Did you research the area then write or research as and when needed? Did you enjoy doing the research?
I researched as I wrote, it was a “I wonder if this is possible?” … “Oh, it is! Excellent” kind of writing. The location of Los Alamos was one of my particular favourites, the more I dug, the more I found I could use. The choice of Pacu fish was from a visit to Amazon World on the Isle of Wight – kids’ trips are educational. I absolutely love doing the research… I need to dig my teeth into the next book and find some new things to write about. So inspiration from everywhere. How much research went into the Amazon accommodation of the Hybrids? That was all my imagination actually… Although I did have to look up electric cabling to know what to call it… Conduit! Nice… Ha ha By the way, Steven is the only Hybrid. The rest are evolved humans.
Apologies – I have read it (honest). One thing that kept me reading was your ability to raise key questions and gradually answer them. How did you keep track of the plot lines and characters?
You ask some pretty big questions… I have many ways to keep track. I printed out the original manuscript then had lots of charts with information to help me remember who was where, and I wrote all over it! I also had some amazing friends & family who read it, spotted things and helped me improve it. For example, when they leave the community and have to go through the jungle I had them go by car, my brother in law spotted the fact that with no roads this was near enough impossible – he gave me the dug out idea. For the last book I have had to prepare overviews on PowerPoint for each important character, as well as chart the other characters named. It gets tricky since they are a lot of people (I liken this book to a TV series… People come, people go – there are just lots of them at times!)
Are you confident you’ll tie up all of the loose ends by the end of the third book or is there potential for spin off books (to borrow your TV series analogy)?
I have actually started a spin off story already, but have not looked at it in months. I will tie up as much as possible, but yes the plan is to leave some possibilities open (besides I love stories that leave you thinking…). That is the plan anyway. So do you have multiple projects on the go or do you focus on one at a time? Multiple projects on the go… (or more like, lots of ideas written down and started but with no time to be finished yet!)
Your first solo short story is based on truth – how much of Caitlin is based on you?
This is a difficult question to answer. When I started writing ’Hybrid’ I had a clear idea of Steven in my mind. Caitlin was the girl to almost torment him, to compel him to do anything to be with her. The power of love at first sight. I do believe in love at first sight, I did fall for my husband as soon as I saw him. The fact he also fell for me was short of miraculous (yes, I was insecure just like Caitlin and did have my fair share of male friends before love came along). Being a hopeless romantic, I like a story where two characters are instantly drawn to each other, but I am also curious about the forces that then make relationships stay together or fall apart. And this is what I try to explore with my characters. After all, Ingrid (the one who finds Steven) is rejected by Steven on numerous ocassions (and she also fell in love at first sight, but it was not reciprocated). So, to answer your question… yes, Caitlin has elements of me, but she is not me.
I would not make the choices she makes in ‘Complications’, or the ones she is due to make in ’Return’. But yes, I did study at the University of Southampton, I am a swimmer and have played water polo, I do have red hair and I love sharks. I did lose at pool against my husband when I first played against him (yes, he did humiliate me – I have rectified the situation since then). And I do speak Spanish since I am from Gibraltar. Other than that, Caitlin is a free spirit, she goes where I tell her to. That’s the fun part of being a writer, you can make your characters do things you would never imagine doing yourself.
So who is Steven based on?
I have been asked this question before and I had a few contenders before I realised that (at least visually) he is based on David Boreanaz (who played angel in the Buffy the Vampire TV Series). As for characteristics, he is in my head. I have taken some real scenes and situations and used them, but honestly they are from many different men/ teenage boys I have known in my time… So who would play your main characters in a movie? Hmmm… nice one! For Steven, I would have David Boreanaz (of course), but seeing as he is older now (as am I – sighs…) I would now chose Kenny Wormald. For Caitlin, I would go for Julianne Hough. I thought they both had great chemistry on the new Footloose Movie… it would work! Julianne would have to have highlights in her hair though to make her a redhead! Isla Fisher would have been my original choice, but again she is too old… born the same year as me.
I have only heard of Isla Fisher – never mind. JK Rowling always said the ending to the Harry Potter series was written well in advance of reaching that point, whilst other authors say that the characters take on their own personalities and so the ending cannot be predicted. Which type of author are you?
I am the type of author who lets the characters take on their own personalities. I can not predict the ending, but I have a reasonably good idea about where it is going. Saying that, I have a lot to consider for my Trilogy finale… I would say that I recently spoke to bestselling author Jojo Moyes about her ending to “Me Before You” and was pleased to discover that in an ideal world she would have have two endings for her book. But, she had to choose one even though it brought her to tears.
One final question, apart from the obvious ‘be a reader’ what advice would you give to other writers?
I think a passion for words is really important to be a good writer. However, as with judging art it is difficult to give advice. What one writer will consider great, another will not. just go to Goodreads or read many Amazon reviews and you’ll see what I mean. As a writer you can not please everyone, it is impossible. Saying that, you should listen to what a reader actually thinks of your writing. I learnt my hardest lessons by allowing myself to be critiqued when I joined The Word Cloud ( www.thewordcloud.org ). Now, I am not telling you that anyone with an opinion should be listened to, in fact they shouldn’t. Some writers can be very harsh, and at times not actually know what they’re talking about. But, they are in the minority. Most writers/ readers give fantastic feedback. For a new writer I would recommend posting on Booksie or Wattpad (I used Booksie). Once you are more established and confident with your prose then guard your writing and copyright it. When I started I just wanted someone to read my work, I never even considered anyone would want to use my ideas. In fact, I never even imagined I would ever publish a book… Little did I know!
Vanessa Wester, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
Thanks for interviewing me, this has been fun.
Vanessa is an avid tweeter ( http://www.twitter.com/vanessa_wester )
and her author blog can be found here: http://vanessawesterwriter.blogspot.co.uk/
and the Evolution blog is here: http://www.theevolutiontrilogy.blogspot.co.uk/
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