Please Welcome Alistair Cross, Author of The Silver Dagger!

June 11, 2020

Please Welcome Alistair Cross, Author of The Silver Dagger!

Please Welcome Alistair Cross, Author of The Silver Dagger...

Welcome! So when did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I remember first wanting to be a writer at 9 or 10 years old, when I picked up Bram Stoker’s DRACULA. I was too young for it so most of it was over my head and I didn’t finish the book until many years later - but I did read about Jonathan Harker’s carriage travel to the Count’s castle and remember being wholly seduced by the eerie atmosphere.

I followed Jonathan as far as the night that he looks out of his window and sees the Count climbing up the side of the castle wall - and the course was set. I knew then that I wanted to spark within others the kind of emotions that DRACULA sparked in me.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

The first thing I remember wanting to be was a rock star!

This quickly passed when I realized I wasn’t actually interested in the music itself, but the words, the lyrics. I was drawn to artists like Stevie Nicks who uses a lot of imagery and storytelling, and after discovering her music, my love of the written word only kept growing and evolving.

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It was from this music that I began writing my own little poems and “songs” - and from those, that I began writing real stories. After that, it didn’t take long for me to decide I wanted to be a writer. What took a while was coming to believe that I could make a living doing it - that it was a “lucrative” endeavor. Ironically, it has turned out to be the most lucrative thing I’ve done.

Where do you get your information and ideas? Does research play a big part?

When it comes to gathering information, I try to do as much hands-on research as I can. For THE SILVER DAGGER, I took a trip to the northern mountains of California where the town of Crimson Cove is set and also to Santa Cruz where part of the story takes place.

When I am unable to travel, I rely heavily on the internet, which usually requires some investigation and fact-checking, but it still makes life a lot easier.

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As for where I get my ideas … there’s no way to answer that except to say that new ideas are everywhere, all the time. You just have to be open to them.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?

That the characters take on a life of their own and tell the story themselves - that you, the writer, are only a scribe. That surprises and fascinates me endlessly.

Tell us about The Silver Dagger. Where and when did it come about?

The Silver Dagger, is Book 2 in The Vampires of Crimson Cove series and picks up where the first book, THE CRIMSON CORSET, leaves off.

Life in Crimson Cove has been good to the Colter Brothers since Gretchen VanTreese was staked and her horde of vampires scattered. But when she rises from the grave, the brothers are torn apart, their lives - and the peace between them - shattered.

Meanwhile, a serial killer is stalking the little mountain town, leaving a trail of blood that leads to a truth Sheriff Ethan Hunter doesn’t want to face.

The streets are no longer safe, nor are the forested paths, for a new and unknowable evil has come to Crimson Cove and everyone - vampire and human alike - must come together in order to survive.

As for how the book came about, I knew when I finished THE CRIMSON CORSET that I’d return to Crimson Cove one day, but I’m a firm believer in writing whatever story is most strongly calling to me and I had a few others that wanted to be written first. I finished two other books (THE ANGEL ALEJANDRO and SLEEP SAVANNAH SLEEP) and then began THE SILVER DAGGER. For me, writing this book was just a simple matter of wanting to see what was going to happen next in Crimson Cove.

What do you think makes a good story?

A lot of things come together to make a great story - plot, pacing, setting, world-building - but for me, it’s all about the characters.

If I like the characters - if I believe them and want to follow their lives - they can take me anywhere they want.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received? How has it helped you?

The best piece of advice came from my friend and collaborator, Tamara Thorne, who told me to trust my characters.

Previously, I’d been advised to keep my characters on a short leash so as not to let them “interfere” with the plot. As it turns out, this was the worst thing I could have done. By trusting my characters, I’ve become a better writer. If I didn’t trust them, I don’t think I’d have finished this many books.

What advice do you have for those out there who might want to become writers?

Read. A lot. And don’t just read, but dissect what you’re reading. Study it, paying close attention to the author’s form. Take note of your emotional responses and analyze what the author did to invoke that feeling in you. Carry those lessons into your own writing.