Interview with
Roberta Hoffer,
author of
The Silent Vampire Trilogy
Welcome, Roberta Hoffer, to the
Happy Book Reviewer! I'm excited to talk to you today about your Abbott saga, The
Silent Vampire Trilogy!
In the first book, Silent
Heart, mortal Sarah Abbott finds herself in a forbidden relationship with
immortal Carter, her person Guardian vampire. Carter's creator, Victor, is not
pleased with their new-found love and makes it his mission to destroy them.
Now, this book has an interesting
back story! While doing some research on your ancestors, you found for really
intriguing information that inspired you to use them as your characters. What has your family thought of
seeing old family stories turned into fresh new fiction?
Hoffer: My family was thrilled that I was able to use information
about deceased members and bring some life into personalities we never knew.
Did you start out with Silent
Heart as a stand-alone book and then the characters wouldn't leave you
alone, or did you always plan for it to be a series?
Hoffer: I always had a three book set in mind. I
knew once I began that the story wouldn't be played out in one book. It
would be over 600 pages!
Silent Madness is the second book in the trilogy, and Carter is given an
unexpected gift of a brief return to life. During this time, he and Sarah
conceive a child. However, Carter soon finds out that, as a mortal, he is
incapable of protecting his pregnant wife from immortal evil that is bent
against them. I love this dark, sinister cover (complete with gorgeous guy)!
Did you have an idea of this cover, or did the artist (Dawné Dominique) pitch
this idea to you?
Hoffer: I wanted to make the cover intriguing as well as
a bit sexy. Vampires are usually portrayed as sensual. Dawne asked
what I wanted to see and she delivered perfectly. Pant, pant!!
Sexy is right! (I had to use this cover for the top of the post.)
Silent Blood, the final book in the trilogy, centers around the kidnapping of
Parker, Sarah and Carter's baby son. Writing about the quest for a missing
child must have been emotional, especially as a mother yourself. Did you have
to put yourself in Sarah's shoes to write her in a realistic frame-of-mind?
Hoffer: It was difficult to write about having a child
lost and still trying to maintain life in a near-normal capacity. The
hardest part to write, though, was the loss of the baby born to Patricia.
I had to take a few breaks during those chapters. Her loss and the
kidnapping of Parker was simultaneous so it did take a lot to create the scene.
Without giving too much away, I
know the final chapters of Silent Blood take a dramatic turn!
Did you know from the beginning that you wanted the books to all lead the
characters to this kind of finale? Or did this idea sort of surprise you along
the way?
Hoffer: The ending of Silent Blood was always in my
head. I needed to add the fast forward of five years and catch my readers
up to their lives before ending it. Then when I did, I felt I owed my
readers more to the story; hence a sequel.
A sequel to the series, eh? You'll revisit Sarah, Carter, Parker and the rest of your cast?
Hoffer: Yes, There is already a sequel in the works. I was sad to say goodbye to such a romantic couple just when their existence had taken a turn. Now it's up to you who have read the trilogy to be left in question as to which direction Sarah and Carter will go. The sequel will probably be out in late 2014 with Eternal Press.
How exciting! Do you work on a couple things at once, or are you fully engrossed in one book at a time?
Hoffer: Along with the sequel, I am currently in the rewrite process of a children's chapter book series. I have written a book each year for my grandson on his birthday for the past eleven years. I felt this new chapter book would be a good start into another area of writing. It's still fiction but on a different level. I enjoy my vampires but I wanted to give back to children the joy that they gave me over my twenty-nine years of teaching. I hope I can do just that.
Those books will be such a treasure for your grandson (now and such a keep-sake when he's an adult and has kids of his own). What would you say is the most difficult part of
being an author?
Hoffer: The most difficult part of being an author is... all of the aspects!
Ha ha! Elaborate!
Hoffer: Ideas, writing them down in story form that will
capture a reader, creating characters and their unique personalities, and
putting it all into a package that will bring entertainment to a reader.
The submission process can be as easy or difficult as you want. If you
are comfortable with a small press then it will be easier. If you are
determined to start at the top; you have your work cut out for you. I
chose to go with a small publisher but one that is established and well known
in my type of writing. I just happened to be fortunate enough that they
took a chance on me and we worked well together. Publication is really up
to the time line of the publisher and the marketing is mostly up to the
author. With that said, it is all very worth it if it is your dream to be
published. Whether you are a New York Times best seller or sell a few
books a month, if it's what makes you happy, then keep writing!
So what is the most fun?
Hoffer: The most fun of it all is creating the
characters to your specifications. They can be anything or anyone you
choose. The ultimate happiness is holding the book in your hand for the
first time and seeing your name in print. It's quite a euphoric feeling.
Last question and I'll let you get back to your vampires so you can get another book in hand! All writers are readers first.
What book have you read that you wish you'd written?
Hoffer: I love Anne Rice and her vampire series. Charlene Harris is
good but her books do get a little more risqué that I like. There's many
more that have sparked my desire to write my own. Then, there are some
that I think, I can do a better job than that. :)
Thanks again for joining us! Readers can find The Silent Vampire
Trilogy at:
- Eternal Press
- Barnes & Noble
- Amazon
- ...or order through your localindependent bookseller!
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