With great reviews for her latest novel, Beauty Of The Beast, Viktoria Faust’s work has been labeled “captivating”, “a fantastic story”, and “a five-star page-turner!” In this fascinating and insightful second part, Viktoria talks about her experience with war in Croatia, what she discovered about herself as she wrote her novel, what she believes to be her life's purpose, and more.The theme of your novel is about how quickly someone can lose their humanity. I imagine that when you experience war, you perceive life differently. How so?
We all know the story about the two wolves; one good, one evil. The one you feed survives, the one you ignore turns into a werewolf. No one is all good or all evil. If you ignore one part of you, it can grow like cancer. Throughout your life, if you believe that you are good and, in order to survive, you’re forced to do things you've always considered evil, you can break down and give up on the good in you. Good people can do horrible things. Also, those who seem like good people can be real monsters. Nothing is black or white, nothing is as it seems at first glance. I really don’t like to talk about war, especially now, 20 years later. I don’t want to remain trapped in that time period; mainly because many are unable to move forward with their lives due to the horrible things they lived through. I was a lucky one. I never lost a family member, my house was not destroyed, I was not tortured, raped or forced to watch the murder or rape of my family members. I have no rights to talk about war in those terms. I know people, however, who suffered and moved on. I know what it’s like to embrace the dark side, and what it feels like to embrace the good and be human again. That’s all I’ll say about that.
Wow. That’s deep. How did writing this novel help you through that period in your life?
Everything in life affects my writing; regardless if it’s a sunny day or a rainy day. I always try to view life as a positive influence on my writing, even if I have a hard time seeing the positive at that particular moment. I was 19 when war began. You know how young people are - they all think they are invincible. In these situations, you learn fast that you are not invincible. We spent most of those years hiding in basements as air raids threatened the city; sirens would go off twenty times every day and we would rush to our house. Given the frequency of the alerts, my sister and I decided to make a room for ourselves in the basement. We had our books, notebooks, and pencils; I turned to writing as my only refuge. War was bad but it forced me to become a writing machine. If I had been given a choice, I might have turned out like other girls that age - going out, partying, having fun. But I was a girl hiding in the basement, writing. It became an addiction. Now, I can write anywhere, anytime; during air raids, on park benches, in pubs… name it. Been there, done that.
Viktoria seems to be a character who “wants to escape. She is looking for the way out. When the opportunity presents itself she grabs it, no matter what the cost.” That’s interesting, are you a little bit the same?
Absolutely. I was that girl. Viktoria manages to escape war in her little town. I did that also. We both find “Damian” (a powerful vampire in her novel.) My Damian in real life, however, was my novel.
Both Damians did miracles for us. They gave us the opportunity to do things we believed we couldn’t do.
What is your creative process? Do you write at the same time every day, or do you write sporadically?
I wish I could write every day. In Croatia, authors cannot make a living from writing alone. Croatia is a small country with a population of less than 4,5 million people – it’s a very small market to sell books. Few people buy books, especially horror novels. With that being said, many readers swear I’m one of their favorite writers. I was surprised to hear that there are waiting lists for my books in libraries. Yes, this is me bragging, but I just want to say: I’m not an unknown writer. They gave me the title “Croatian Horror Queen.” Well, this “Queen” has a day job, writes when she can, usually when family is off to bed, or when she manages to have some time for herself. When I’m working on something that requires more time, like a novel, I like to write every day in order to maintain the rhythm and remember the details of the story and the characters. When I manage to have time to write, it is a very good day. Writing makes everything better.
How did the passion to write come to you?
I guess I was born this way. Around twelve or thirteen, I wrote my first “novel” (I would not want anyone to read the story!) and I still have it. I had written a few stories before that time but I lost the notebook, unfortunately. I began writing after reading a book I loved and couldn’t put it down. For a long time I couldn’t remember the title, but I knew it was about a boy who ripped the devil’s tail off and made him his servant. I waited for Google to be invented to discover which book it was: Jan Bibijan by Elin Pelin – a Bulgarian children’s author. It is still my favorite novel. I wrote my first story based on what I remembered from the book. I liked the idea that I could create new stories and, from that day, I became a writer. I guess I always had this tendency to play with the devil.
We often say that writing allows us to discover more about ourselves. Is this your case? If so, what did you discover?
Of course. Writing does that. Every new situation changes us; it makes us stronger or it brakes us - if we allow it. Writing can break a person too. Writing is like wrestling with a dragon. You know what you want - to tame the dragon - but sometimes the beast won’t give up. Then you must reach inside to find new strength. That is why I don’t believe in writer’s block: writer’s block means you stopped trying harder. Sometimes I don’t feel like writing, reading, or watching movies, (or even something more horrid - doing house chores). Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean that I have readers block or “doing house chores” block. It only means I don't feel like doing it.
What does a typical day look like in the life of author Viktoria Faust?
Most of my days are similar to any Croatian woman: I wake up at 6 AM and go to work from 7 AM to 3 PM. Fortunately, my workplace is a few miles from my apartment. My job, unfortunately, has nothing to do with books. At 3 PM I pick up my four year old at kindergarten, I come home, and cook dinner (unless my hubby mastered a new recipe or burned the kitchen down...kidding!). If I’m lucky, I don’t have to wrestle with that horrible creature, Dora the Explorer, on my computer. If I’m not lucky, I have the laptop for myself at about 9 PM, and I write until my eyes shut down on their own.
Given your life experience so far, what do you think is your life’s purpose?
To write. I define myself first as a writer. I have been through a lot and, to me, to write is to be alive; nothing makes me feel as alive as writing does.
As artists, our work conveys a message. What is that message? Moreover, if you could share with us one major life lesson, what would it be?
Never give up. Never surrender. Hardships pass. Hardships shape us. I always try to make my characters strong, although I don't believe in happy endings. I believe in the mixture of good and evil. In the end, our life is just a memory we leave to other people. Throughout life, a person builds his/her own tombstone and he/she can only work on making sure it's an impressive one; it is the only thing we leave behind.
Where can we find you? And where can we buy your novel?
I live in Samobor, Croatia. It is a small town near Zagreb. Just like Pozega (the city I grew up in) inspired me for my first vampire novel, Samobor is now an inspiration for new monsters. Here, we have werewolves, soul-eaters, enchanted malls that lure small children... you know, the usual things for a small town in which horror writers live.
Here are few places where you can find my vampire novel Beauty Of The Beast, the first in a serial of seven. The book is available as a paperback and eBook:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beauty-of-the-beast-viktoria-faust/1122285609 https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/beauty-of-beast/id1012820022?mt=11
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