Keira Michelle Telford is the author of a 10-book series of post-apocalyptic dystopian science fiction books, all centering on the lead character of Ella ‘Silver’ Cross.
Can you tell us a bit about your Silver series?
The SILVER Series is organized into two parts: The Amaranthe Chronicles, and The Outlier Trilogy. All the books are set in the twenty-fourth century, three hundred years after a global oil war resulted in a tragic apocalyptic event. They follow the character of Ella ‘Silver’ Cross, who’s employed as a Hunter: someone who kills Chimera, the mutated, monstrous by-products of a bio-terror weapon that was deployed during the war.
In the first book of the series, we meet her as a banished criminal, claiming she was falsely accused of treason. Her father, the Chief of Police, then offers her a way that she could be repatriated: an offer that will bring her back into the life of her former lover, Alexander King.
To me, that’s what the books are really about. Sure, there are monsters and fighting, and plenty of gore, but deep down, it’s a love story.
Tell us a little bit about the cover art for your books. Who design it? What made you choose that particular image/artwork?
The cover artwork for the first 7 books in the SILVER Series are all done by an artist called Kitt Lapeña. I originally hired Kitt to create some character artwork for my website, and I then turned those images into book covers. Kitt has also done the cover artwork for my other series, the Prisonworld Trilogy. There are more examples of Kitt’s artwork at www.ellacross.com, where all of the character artwork for the SILVER Series can be found.
Why the obsession with guinea pigs and how has this influenced your books?
It’s my husband’s fault. Five years ago, he wanted to get a guinea pig. As of today, we have nine. Guinea pigs are adorable (all of mine are rescued from shelters), and they’ve provided much inspiration and endless entertainment for me. First of all, the monsters in my books—the Chimera—are based on them. Guinea pigs have a range of vocalizations, from loud ‘wheeks’ to whistles and huffs and purrs, and I incorporated all of these into the Chimera. Every noise a Chimera makes is a guinea pig noise, as are many of their behaviors, like strutting to show dominance. Even some of the biology is similar. Guinea pigs have ducts by their eyes (similar to human tear ducts) that release a milky white fluid that they use to clean their faces. In my books, Chimera release a similar milky fluid which is a valuable antiseptic, and humans routinely harvest this for use in topical healing ointments.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Everywhere, I think. I see/hear things all the time that set off chain reactions of ideas in my head. Sometimes, I listen to a song and get an image of a place or a person, and then later that might develop into something more. Music is a very important part of my creative process, and I can quite happily listen to the same some on repeat for eight hours straight when I’m working on a particular scene/chapter. Cuddling a guinea pig also helps.
How do you organise your writing?
Organize? I don’t think I know the meaning of the word! I write in chaos most of the time, and somehow, order just seems to eventually materialize from it. I used to be a complete pantzer—never outlined anything—but now it’s a mixture of plotter/pantzer, and I sometimes write chapters completely backwards. Other times, I’ll write every single line of dialogue in a book before I start writing any of the narrative. So I don’t have a particular way of doing things, I just sort of go with the flow.
What is the hardest thing about writing?
Knowing when it’s done. I keep having to fight the urge to go back to previous books and tinker with them, and I feel as though I could probably tinker endlessly. In a sense, I suppose I don’t ever feel that anything is complete, only abandoned. (Don’t credit me with that, Leonardo da Vinci said it first). I have to force myself to put books on the shelf and stop touching them. I have to force myself to let go.
How are you publishing this book and why?
I’m an independent author, which means that I have no contract with a publishing house. I set up my own imprint, Venatic Press, through which I publish my books, and I chose this route because I don’t consider myself to be a mainstream author. My work is like Marmite: it’s not for everyone. My writing is graphic and explicit, and I don’t pull any punches.
Do you have any advice for other authors on how to market their books?
If I were in a position to give advice, I would! I’m still learning how marketing works, and I’m honestly not that great at it. I just kind of muddle through, doing the best that I can. I know that doing virtual book tours can be an effective tool, if utilized well. Doing giveaways is also great, especially if you’re a new author, since readers are often hesitant to pick up a book by someone they’ve never heard of. Brand yourself (not your book). Create a website that people can go to if they want to find out more about your work, and try to make use of social media (Twitter, Facebook etc). Oh, and if you’re selling on Amazon, do sign up for an Author Central account! This means you can make an author page, putting more information about you directly into the hands of your readers. You can upload a bio, as well as book trailers (you can also link it to your Twitter feed).
What kinds of books do you read?
Mostly older books. I really like Edgar Allan Poe, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and Oscar Wilde. I like anything macabre or morbid. I do tend to read a lot of non-fiction as well. My shelf is full of books on anatomy, evolutionary biology, and animal behavior. Not that I get a lot of time to read, mind you. I don’t like to read much while I’m in the middle of writing something, and I’m nearly always writing something! That means I tend to do my reading in large chunks, rather than in small snippets. For example, I’ll put aside a day to read the next Kathy Reichs book, and I’ll get from cover-to-cover in about five hours without stopping.
What’s next?
I’m currently working on 6 different books at once, which is a little bit nutty, even for me! The next book due out is the first book in The Outlier Trilogy, SILVER: Lex Talionis, which should be released in late September. The second book in The Prisonworld Trilogy, The Procuress, will follow in October. I’m also writing a follow-up trilogy to the SILVER Series, which is called the SILVER Legacy, and will be released sometime in 2014.
