Para los que no saben, la escritora estadounidense Jocelynn Drake es una de los autores que seguimos en Vampire Keepers, y gracias a la tecnología y a la gran paciencia de Drake, tenemos estas respuestas de la persona que escribió la serie vampírica “Dark Days” (Días Oscuros), que contiene los libros “Nightwalker”, “Dayhunter” y el tercer nuevo libro, “Dawnbreaker”. Pero leamos lo que nos tiene que decir esta escritora:
1. How did the character of Mira come to you?
Mira was the result of several short scenes that I wrote, playing with a character in the back of my mind. I worked on perfecting her personality in my mind, while changing her background and her race. In my stories, she changed from witch to elf to vampire. It was only when I started Nightwalker that she was fully formed and ready for action. In the end, it was a lot of words written that will never be published, a lot of practice that finally formed Mira.
2. So how much of Mira is based on you?
There is a good chunk of Mira that was stolen from my own personality. We have the same sense of determination, fierce loyalty for those we love, short temper, and love of fire. She, however, is more violent than me and more impulsive. She tends to jump headlong into a situation, where I like to sit back and weigh my options.
You will get to see deeper into the naturi nation and discover that not everything is running as smoothly for them as it seems. You will get a darker glimpse at Danaus’s past, and the creature that has a hold on his soul. You will to get see Mira get closer to the creature that has haunted her for centuries, as she finally faces Aurora, Queen of the naturi.
4. What has been the biggest surprise since the first book was published?
The biggest surprise has been that people love Mira and Danaus as much as I do. I have been writing the Dark Days world for several years now. The main characters are my friends and family. It never dawned on me that people could fall in love with the series. It has been immensely surprising and awe-inspiring. I am deeply touched by the many fans of the series who have reached out to me and told me how much the characters mean to them. I never expected such support and excitement.
5. When did you know you wanted to be a writer? What you do love best about it? What’s the most difficult?
I started writing stories when I was about 12 years old. I never actually considered becoming a professional writer until I was under contract with HarperCollins. I always knew how hard it would be to become a professional writer and I never wanted to get my hopes too high. I just love writing stories and it’s just too exciting to have them now in the hands of so many wonderful people. I love creating worlds and setting my characters loose in that world. They are constantly surprising me with the decisions they make and the chances they take. It’s exciting to see them growing and thriving in the world I created.
The most difficult part for me is always plotting out a new book. For a long time, I just wrote scenes and eventually pieced them together in a book. Now, I have to plan out each book ahead of time so I can keep the various plotlines straight. It is a long, tedious process imagining out an entire book ahead of time, but it helps to keep me moving forward.
I have learned that I can write just about anywhere. I have written at a desk in an office, on a laptop sitting on the sofa, in coffee shops, and in hospital waiting rooms. It’s about focusing on my work and not letting the rest of the world intrude. At the moment, I prefer to work on a laptop so that my work can go with me anywhere. The one thing that has become important to the process is my iPod. I need to have music playing in the background. It not only helps to block out noise, but it also helps set the mood I need for a particular scene.
7. Did you ever expected for your novels to reach to a Latin American Region? If there any chance that they may be translated to Spanish?
I never expected so people around the world to be reading my books. That continues to shock and amaze me. I don’t know if there are any plans for the series to be translated into Spanish. The rights to the books have been recently sold in Germany and Poland. My fingers are crossed that other languages will soon follow.
8. Have you ever considered writing a YA Urban Fantasy Novels?
I am not currently planning to write any Young Adult books. I have thought about and I don’t think I could do it justice at the moment. I have plans for several different books in other genres that I would like to get to first. But at the moment, my main focus is working on the Dark Days series.
9. What do you in your spare time?
In my spare time, I read, play video games, and travel. I love seeing places I have never been and meeting new people.
I am getting ready to finish “Dark Slayer” by Chrisine Feehan and then I will be starting “The Unnatural Inquirer” by Simon Green.
11. Any advices to aspiring writers who are trying to get publish?
I grew up in writing hearing the saying: “Have one reader who loves your work and another reader who will tell you the truth.” Beta readers offer a fresh perspective on a book. After spending countless hours with characters, plot, and dialogue, we lose perspective. It becomes too difficult to see the forest for the trees. Beta readers are often able to spot flaws like plot holes and poor logic when the writer cannot. An honest, detached beta reader is an invaluable source to the writer, but they can be hard on the ego. The important thing to remember is to listen to their suggestions with an open mind. Their goal is to help you become a better writer. Furthermore, beta readers and writing groups can help keep the loneliness and isolation at bay. Writing books is an isolating activity, which can make finishing a book very daunting. Writing groups and beta readers can offer advice and encouragement.
