I Love Vampire Novels is excited to bring you this 1:1 interview with author V.E. Huntley
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ILVN: How long have you been writing or when did you start?
Val: I’ve written my whole life, off and on, but only for personal enjoyment (and I dabbled in fanfiction a bit back in the early 2000s). I’ve been making up stories in my head for as long as I can remember. The difference now is that I actually write them down and release them to the world instead of just having elaborate conversations with myself. My husband and cats appreciate this.
ILVN: Why paranormal/urban fantasy? What drew you to the genre?
Val: Honestly? I blame Dracula. I read it way too young (I pilfered the book from the library’s main stacks and hid it in a picture book in the children’s section so the librarian didn’t know what I was reading – I was only six ). It became my gateway into dark romance and all things supernatural. There’s something freeing about writing in a world where the rules of reality don’t apply. Paranormal characters get to be messy, dangerous, and morally complicated in ways that feel cathartic to explore. Also, vampires are hot. There, I said it.
ILVN: What comes first for you—the plot or the characters—and why?
Val: Characters, every single time. I need to know who these people are, what drives them, and what they’re willing to burn down before I can figure out what trouble to throw them into. The plot usually shows up once I understand what my characters want and what scares them. Then I just make sure they suffer appropriately along the way.
ILVN: What’s your favorite type of paranormal creature and why?
Val: Vampires will always have my heart (pun intended), but I have a particular soft spot for demons, Lucifer in particular. Whether it’s the charming devil from Netflix or the one from K.F. Breene’s Demon Days and Vampire Nights series, I’m obsessed. There’s something delicious about characters who blur the lines between protection and obsession. Vampires and demons get to be wickedly complex, dangerously powerful, and unapologetically themselves. Yes, I know I used a lot of adverbs there, and my editor would lose her mind, but I needed the emphasis. Plus, the moral ambiguity of both vampires and demons is irresistible.
ILVN: Tell us about your heroine/hero. What inspired her/his quirks and struggles?
Val: My heroine, Ellie, is a human living in a world where her kind are slaves to vampire rule. What drew me to her was creating someone who refuses to be defined by her circumstances. She’s resilient and defiant, and won’t accept the role society forced on her, even when it’s dangerous. Her biggest struggle is navigating a forbidden love that could destroy everything, including herself.
Aden, my vampire commander hero, has spent centuries building a reputation for brutality. He’s feared even by other vampires, which is exactly how he’s survived the darkness, grief, and guilt of accidentally killing the woman he loved three centuries ago. But what makes him interesting to write is that beneath that monster is a man desperate for redemption he doesn’t believe he deserves. I wanted to explore what happens when someone that powerful, that dangerous, finds the one person who makes him want to be better. His struggle is choosing between protecting the woman he loves and becoming the very monster he’s trying to escape.
Their relationship is about the impossible choices we make for love and whether redemption is possible for those who’ve done unforgivable things. I’m fascinated by morally complex characters in the gray areas, and these two definitely live there.
ILVN: Would you and your main character get along?
Val: Oh, absolutely. We’d probably enable each other’s worst decisions and fill a swear jar in minutes while debating whether morally questionable choices really count if you had good intentions. Though I’d likely be talking Aden out of trouble while trying to talk Ellie into it.
ILVN: Which of the characters do you relate to the most and why?
Val: Probably Aden because I’m stubborn and think I’m right all the time, though I’m often proven wrong. But then again, I have Ellie’s resilience and believe in the goodness in people until they prove me wrong. I’m not as forgiving as she is, but I try to be.
ILVN: What is a significant way your book has changed since the first draft?
Val: Where do I even begin? Redemption was the most challenging of the three books to write because, as the climax of a world going to war, it needed to be faster paced than the previous two. I struggle with writing battle and fight scenes, so the first draft didn’t have any. I left placeholders with bullet points of what I wanted to write, but since I write emotional conflict more easily, the entire first draft was an emotional roller coaster with internal struggles and relationship development but very little war action. After months of writing, rewriting, and rewriting those battle scenes again, the book now has a good balance of both. Though I’m sure I could have added another battle scene or two, I’m not sure I would have survived it.
ILVN: Where can our readers find you? (Social media, website, etc.)
Val: I’m on Facebook, TikTok, Insta and started a Youtube:
You can find me at:
- Website: https://vehuntley.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vehuntley/
- Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/v.e.huntley.author
- Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/v.e.huntleys.whispers.after.dark
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vehuntley
- Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/50245965.V_E_Huntley
I love connecting with readers, so come say hi! Just be warned that I talk about my characters like they’re real people, and I have a very dark sense of humor. No apologies.
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