Laine Vladimirov tells how her own struggles led to her vampire romantasy Sweet Water, out on 29th October.

Laine Vladimirov’s real-life origin story begins in Boston, Massachuetts. Her family moved to Bucks when she was eight and she started writing her debut Sweet Water as a short story, when she was 14 and a pupil at Dr Challoner’s High School… “It was summer, and I was just writing for fun because I’ve always been a creative, daydreamy person,” she says. “I found writing a way to delve deeper into that. I started properly writing and developing the haphazard scenes into a book when I was 16, after my GCSEs had been cancelled due to Covid. I used the book to explore, understand and cope with my own struggles. When I was 17, I struggled with severe mental illness for five months which was never diagnosed but was most likely psychosis. While I couldn’t write until after I’d recovered, I ended up incorporating my experience into the book, relating subtlety to the protagonist Chiara’s experiences while kidnapped, and the theme of reality not being what it seems.”

In Sweet Water, published by Cranthorpe Millner Publishers, Chiara’s already challenging life is further knocked by becoming a vampire, a creature she wasn’t aware existed. She travels to Paris and meets her soulmate. The novel impressed publishers, artfully showcasing inspiring modern female characters.

“My favourite stories have always been about vampires or witches, with a dramatic plot and romance,” adds Laine. “I’ve always loved all kinds of dystopian or fantasy books, especially if they had a romance in them. A big influence was the Matched series by Ally Condie; my male protagonist is based on Ky from this. Another series I loved was Caraval by Stefanie Garber; I learned a lot about how to pace scenes and incorporate depth through reading her books.

“I’d say writing Sweet Water has been cathartic. Surrounding Chiara with people who supported her when she needed it somehow also had a healing effect on me as the writer, which I hope will be felt by the reader as well.”

To take care of her mental health, Laine, loves bathing in local nature. “I like woods the best and went on a slow walk anytime I wanted some calm. There is also a field nearby with a single tree that overhangs the river Misbourne where I’d sit on the tree to read or write.

“Right now, I’m focused on my psychology degree and career in mental health, but I have a whole journal filled with poems,” says Laine of what’s next on her horizon. “I’ve had the privilege of travelling to several third-world countries and have seen poverty first-hand. If I had one wish it would be for a more equal distribution of resources, so there wouldn’t be such drastic extremes between rich and poor.”

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