Hi all, and welcome back to rumblewrites. This post is the first in a new series where I interview authors whose books are being published in 2025! I’m mainly interviewing debut authors, with a few others thrown in. Make sure to subscribe to keep up with the series:
If you have a book coming out next year and want to be featured, shoot me a DM. I’m open to novellas and novels, short story and poetry collections, through traditional, indie or self-publishing routes.
Interview
Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
I'm Avery, an Illinois-based writer! I primarily write young adult fiction and fantasy, but I love to dabble in all kinds of genres. For as long as I can remember, writing and reading have been my favorite things to do. I've had my short fiction published in several literary magazines and anthologies, both in print and online, and my debut novel is coming out with Wild Ink Publishing next year, a YA fantasy novel titled Thicker Than Water.
I see you have a BA in Creative Writing. Do you think a qualification is necessary for being a good writer?
Absolutely not! I think anyone who is willing to put the time and effort needed to work on their craft can be a good writer. I personally don't think I would be where I am right now if it wasn't for my college experience, mostly because it really allowed me to figure out the type of writer I am and what kind of stories I want to tell, but I definitely recognize it's not for everyone.
Tell me about Thicker Than Water. What’s it about? What was the inspiration behind it?
Thicker Than Water follows Lydia Ross, an eighteen-year-old half-vampire who is experiencing her freshman year of college in Chicago with the main goal of hiding what she is so she can blend in with her human friends and be "normal." Of course, things don't go exactly as planned, and after accidentally attacking a classmate, she finds out she's not the only one with secrets: there's a whole underground fantasy world surrounding her. She soon finds herself torn between her vampire and human halves, as well as her blood family versus found family.
I honestly was inspired by my own college experience—I came up with the idea at the very end of my sophomore year and it really came to life during my junior year. It took me some time to find a solid friend group and figure out what exactly I wanted to do with my life and my degree. Through the story, I wanted to demonstrate a college experience with some of the standard YA themes like I felt like I was experiencing in my own life, but with a fantasy twist, because I've always loved fantasy.
I’ve seen a bit of a resurgence in vampire fiction recently, which I’m personally very excited about! What about this genre appeals to you? Which authors have you been inspired by?
It's super exciting! Vampires have been explored and shown in all kinds of ways, but I feel like there's just always new stories there and new ways to explore them. I like that it's something familiar that can still feel new. Even though her books don't have vampires as main characters, Cassandra Clare was such an influential author for me growing up, and her series were really the first YA fantasy books that made me fall in love with the genre. There's definitely some similar themes in my book to The Mortal Instruments.
But this is also a coming-of-age story. Was it at all influenced by your own life experiences?
Absolutely. Kind of like I touched on before, I felt like in college, I was still working on finding myself and the people I wanted to surround myself with. I was also experiencing a lot of firsts—not quite as many as my main character Lydia does, but I wanted to show a character that was coming into things a little later than maybe is traditionally expected or demonstrated in high-school-focused YA stories and how that's perfectly okay and normal!
How would you describe your book’s ideal reader?
Someone in high school or college who wants to read about a soft, introverted vampire and maybe feels a little out of place/behind everyone else themselves—and anyone who loves the found family trope.
Can you tell us about your path to publication? I’d particularly love to know if this is the first book you’ve written, or just the first to be published - if so, why?
I got close to finishing a book when I was finishing high school/just starting college, and have written novel-length fanfiction, but Thicker Than Water is the first original book I ever finished. The idea came so strong and just clicked so quickly with me like nothing else ever has before, and it just became so special to me for so many reasons. I really poured my heart and soul into it and wanted to see it published in one way or another so that other people, hopefully, could fall in love with the story and characters as much as I did when I was creating them.
Your debut is being published with an indie press, but I see from your Twitter/X that you’re currently searching for agent representation. What made you choose the indie route? What’s made you switch to traditional publishing? Which do you prefer?
I initially queried agents with Thicker Than Water, but I just found myself hitting wall after wall. I didn't get any requests from agents, but I just really believed in the story. I had beta readers who had loved it. I also knew there have been a lot of authors who started their careers in the indie route, and then were traditionally published later on. So after I kind of burnt myself out with agents, I switched to submitting to publishers who were open to unagented submissions. My very first full request came from my publisher, Wild Ink Publishing, and then I was offered a contract and ultimately signed with them. I love the close-knit community behind it—even though my book isn't published yet, my fellow Wild Ink/Conquest authors have been so great and supportive. However, I would still love to have an agent to be my partner in my publishing future, which is why I've gone back to the query trenches with new manuscripts.
Were you ever discouraged from pursuing writing?
Everyone in my life has been so supportive of me pursuing writing, thankfully. I've been so lucky to have that. But just before I got the idea for Thicker Than Water, there was a period of time where I really thought I didn't have it in me. I'd struggled to write anything original, and the previous novel I'd attempted was too short.
I know a lot of authors find navigating social media and self-promotion very difficult. What’s your approach? How do you deal with it?
It really is difficult. So far, with my book not out yet, I just try to stay on top of trends to get the hype up/get my book in people's minds; there are often a lot of fun ones on Twitter, as simple as posting a song that represents your main character.
What’s the most useful thing you’ve learnt about writing a novel?
Figuring out what works best for you. There are a lot of tips out there about how to write a novel, but really, it's all about experimentation. For example, I write down as detailed of an outline as I can before I start drafting, and I don't write chronologically, but the exact opposite might work for someone else. There's no set formula!
I see you’re currently querying 2 other projects and have some more WIPs on the go. How do you find the time?! What’s your writing routine like?
My writing routine is pretty sporadic right now, I'll admit. I squeeze in writing or sending queries when I can, on my lunch break or for a few hours before bed. I'll make notes about scenes or dialogue during my workday so I don't lose ideas. For me, having an active WIP helps distract me from whatever projects I'm querying—or else I'll be checking QueryTracker every five minutes.
Which of these projects are you most excited about?
Currently, I'm really excited about my YA romcom. It's my first non-fantasy novel and it's much more lighthearted than anything else I've ever written. I've had a lot of fun with it.
Any advice for aspiring authors?
Write what you want to read! For years, I tried to fit myself in boxes of what I thought I "should" be writing, with readers and the market in mind. Once I just self-indulged and wrote what I wanted, not only did I start finishing books, but most importantly, I started having fun writing again. Keep in mind why you want to write in the first place, too! It can be easy to get discouraged, especially when querying, so sometimes I have to step back from it all and maybe work on a different project to remind myself of my love for storytelling.
A massive thank you to Avery for being my first ever guest in this series! Check out the summaries below for more information about Avery and her book:
About Thicker Than Water
"'I'll–' I pause before I finish my sentence. I'll what? Keep him updated? Send him daily texts that say, hey, Dad, didn't kill anyone today! Are you proud?"
Eighteen-year-old Lydia Ross wants nothing more than to be normal, which is impossible, considering she’s half-vampire, half-human. But she finds her escape from her overprotective father when she starts her freshman year of college in downtown Chicago.
Just as Lydia feels like she is finally fitting in among her newfound human friends, she gets lost in the facade and accidentally attacks a classmate. The attack unlocks a fantastical world of fellow vampires, Fae, and even werewolves that has been hidden just below the surface of her everyday life—including its secrets and threats.
Caught between the two sides of herself, her blood family, and her found family, Lydia is faced with the struggles of self-acceptance and impossible decisions, including her biggest fear: coming clean to the humans in her life and risk losing them for good.
Due to be published in September 2025 by Wild Ink Publishing.
About Avery
Avery Timmons is an Illinois-based writer holding a BA in creative writing from Columbia College Chicago. Her short fiction can be found or is forthcoming with Querencia Press, Fiery Scribe Review, Wild Ink Publishing, and other print and online publications. She was recently chosen as a finalist for Authored's inaugural Rising Talent Competition. Her debut novel, the first in a YA fantasy series, Thicker Than Water, will be published with Wild Ink Publishing in 2025.
Loved this insight! Thank you for sharing
Mustard loved this interview. Looking forward to reading more in this series!