Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Interview with a suspense writer.

I love knowing I inspire people to read, write, or just follow their dreams . .

The best and worst parts of being a writer change frequently. One of the best parts is having an entire world to yourself, a world that is personal to you and you alone; at the same time, the difficulty of sharing that world sometimes makes it lonely. Also,
I love knowing I inspire people to read, write, or just follow their dreams-but at the same time, it frightens me to have people look up to me. So the best and worst parts are often exactly the same.

Though I can write almost anytime, anywhere, in any situation when I'm struck with an idea (and always carry a notebook and pens for that purpose), I prefer to work alone with my laptop. I turn on music that reminds me of the story and the protagonist, and write. When editing, I have more routine-for example, I always drink Cherry Coke. It's the only way I can get in the mindset to edit.

I am inspired by what is around me . . .
. . . what I see and do and learn in a day. If all I learned about and all I did were write, I would have nothing to write about. I also have the knowledge that I am very lucky: I have had wonderful people to encourage me for most of my life so far. I feel that I should pass along a little of that luck to others, probably as a teacher.

The characters interested me enough for me to want to learn more about their world . . .
I had attempted to write many stories before the first vampire one, in many different genres. My knowledge of vampires came primarily from movies I had watched at that time-various versions of Dracula, Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, and The Lost Boys being the most prominent in my memory. I was experimenting, and decided to try my hand at a vampire novel.

That story, "Red Moon," happened to be the first one I ever me enough for me to want to learn more about their world, and so I continued to write, finally creating the stories that I have published.

I'm not personally a vampire purist. I don't believe one and only one myth is correct. Instead, when I write I take what I know, throw out what I don't like and add what I want to, and create my own breed.

I see through the character's eyes . . .

I love and hate all my characters in their way. The more I know a character, the more I love them-even if their personality isn't all that lovable. Usually my favorite characters are my male supporting characters: Aubrey, Nikolas, and Jaguar. When I write, I am the character-at least in a certain part of my mind. Who I am in this world doesn't matter; I see through the character's eyes.

Odd little pieces of my characters are sometimes borrowed from real people, but usually not in highly recognizable ways. Risika's golden eyes were taken from a stranger
I saw one day on the street, for example. More often, though, I don't know where my characters come from.

There are writers that I respect greatly . . .

The names that come to mind are Laurell K. Hamilton, Anne Rice, Stephen King, and Robert Heinlein. However, the group of writers I most respect is actually the one
I work with. Their ages range from 12 to 20, and the entire group is wonderfully supportive. Also, we have some amazing writers on the list, as well as some amazing editors.

I'm currently working on a trilogy . . .
. . . or what was a trilogy, until I started the fourth book involving my shapeshifters' history.

Midnight Predator Amelia Atwater Rhodes May 2001 | $9.95   Though she was once a happy teenager with a wonderful family and a full life, Turquoise Draka is now a hunter, committed to no higher purpose than making money and staying alive. In a deadly world of vampires, shape-shifters, and powerful mercenaries, she’ll track any prey if the price is right. Her current assignment: to assassinate Jeshikah, one of the cruelest vampires in history. Her employer: an unknown contact who wants the job done fast. Her major obstacle: she’ll have to mask her strength and enter Midnight, a fabled Vampire realm, as a human slave. Vulnerable and defenseless, she faces her greatest challenge ever. Click here to read an excerpt.