Writing, Worldbuilding, and Vampires // An Interview with Avery Timmons

I can’t remember the exact Tweet that made me follow her. All I remember is that I saw her pitching an assassin romance book and sometimes mentioning her upcoming vampire book. By that point, I was pretty much committed to buy and read whatever she wrote because I was convinced she wrote just for me (I’m still convinced of this, but I digress).

Regardless, I’m forever indebted to Twitter for connecting Avery Timmons and I because she’s such a beautiful soul. She’s such a generous person, and her heart for storytelling is so inspiring.

Recently, she posted on Twitter asking where people found blogs that interviewed authors. I jumped on the opportunity, and before I knew it, we were messaging back and forth about how she got into storytelling, what stories inspire her, and a few things she’s excited for readers to see in her upcoming debut.

If you enjoy this interview, go follow Avery on Twitter. She posts about her writing, books, and publishing journey.

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The Interview

Me: Since not all of my followers know who you are, I thought it would be fun to start with a little icebreaker. If you could jump into any fictional world for one day, where would you go? 

Avery:  I love this question! I’d have to say the world of Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters. So not much different from the world as we know it, but with a magical world hidden just out of sight.

Me: The Shadowhunter world is such a good answer. I’d be terrified of encountering a demon, but hey, that’s why we have the Institute, right? 

Avery: For sure! I’d just let them save me hahaha.

Me: I saw in your author bio that you’ve been writing fiction since you were in elementary school. What inspired you to pick up a pen (or sit at a keyboard) and start writing stories? 

Avery: Yes! Really, I’ve just been making up stories for as long as I remember. They really just started in my head to keep myself entertained because I was an only child until my sister was born when I was 12, but since I’ve always been an avid reader, I guess it was just second nature to start putting those stories to paper!

Me: I love that. I’m the middle of three girls, so my own reasons for writing were a little different, but that makes a lot of sense.

Personally, I was a reader long before I ever had the courage (or the yearning) to tell my own stories. What were your favorite books as a kid? Do you think those had any lingering effects on you as a writer and storyteller?

Avery: I definitely think so! I’ve always loved fantasy. I remember reading those Rainbow Magic fairy books and series like Holly Black’s Spiderwick Chronicles and Chris d’Lacey’s Last Dragon Chronicles when I was in elementary school. 

When I started seriously getting into writing, I actually stayed away from fantasy at first because I think I was intimated by the idea of worldbuilding, but eventually ended up feeling most comfortable writing fantasy. Probably because it is what I loved reading the most growing up!

Me: Oh that’s really interesting. How did you learn to get comfortable with the worldbuilding aspect of fantasy? I’ve always felt like worldbuilding is one of the hardest parts, so I’d love to hear more of your thoughts on that or your process.

Avery: It’s always felt like the hardest part to me too. I think I learned to get comfortable with it by starting small, so that it felt more accessible.

In my debut, the world is pretty much how we see it, except there’s vampires and Fae and werewolves secretly living amongst humans. I started there, and then gradually the world kind of naturally grew bigger as I created lore and backstories for them.

Me: I’ve heard that starting small is one of the best ways to worldbuild because it keeps things focused on what’s relevant and important to the protagonist instead of dumping a bunch of lore on the reader before we know why anything matters. So, I think that’s a great bit of advice.

Speaking of your upcoming novel, can you tell us a little bit about it?

Avery: Of course! It’s called Thicker Than Water and follows 18-year-old half-vampire Lydia Ross, who goes off to her freshman year of college to gain some distance from her human dad and to try and be “normal.” But when she accidentally attacks a classmate, she realizes she’s not the only one hiding her identity and finds a whole magical world, for better and for worse, in the city of Chicago.

Me: You had me at vampire. I’ve loved vampire stories since I first discovered The Twilight Saga. Have you always been a fan of vampires? Were you a Twilight or a Vampire Academy girl?

Avery: I was a Twilight girl too! I think my first introduction to vampires were, again, through The Mortal Instruments, but I read and watched Twilight for the first time around then too and loved it. I just love how even though they’re so popular and there have been so many vampire stories, it feels like there’s always something new you can do with them.

Me: I love that you mentioned how there’s always something new you can do with vampires because that was actually my next question: what would you say makes your book different from the other vampire and fantasy books out there?

Avery: I would say mine is different because instead of using vampires as, say, a romance or horror element, I wanted to use Lydia being half-vampire as a coming of age element. She has a lot of anxiety surrounding her identity and feels torn in half more often than not because she feels too human for the vampires and too vampire for the humans.

Me: I love that. I remember feeling caught between different friend groups and feeling too much of X for this group and not enough of X for another group, so I know that’s a very relatable feeling for so many teenagers. I think that will really resonate with a lot of people.

What are you most excited for readers to experience with this book? Is there a specific character you can’t wait for them to meet? A theme you think they’ll love?

Avery: Honestly, I think I’m most excited for readers to experience meeting the characters! I wrote this story with the characters in mind first, so they’ve been with me for quite some time and I absolutely love them. I’m especially excited for readers to meet my main character Lydia and her best friend Aiden, but there’s some side characters that I think people will enjoy, too!

Me: The characters are such an integral part of any story that it’s hard to not get excited to meet them.

One of the ways I found you was through your pitches on Twitter. Are you writing or pitching anything else right now, or are you solely focused on publishing right now?

Avery: I’ve been querying another YA fantasy that’s dual POV and timeline following a Fae prince and assassin, and I just recently started querying a YA contemporary romance about high school trumpet players who are childhood rivals to lovers. I’m really hoping to find a home for at least one (or both!) soon. On the writing end, I have a few WIPs I’m bouncing around between (one of them being the sequel to my debut!), but I haven’t been focusing too heavily on writing one project as of right now.

Me: That’s so cool that you’re in the process of publishing and querying. I think it’s easy for me (and maybe others) to forget that one book contract doesn’t guarantee another one, so it’s refreshing to see how you’re still straddling both parts of the publishing process with different projects.

Avery: It’s definitely easy to forget! It can be tough, too, but it’s all worth it when I think about getting my book in readers’ hands!

Me: Since I’m sure many people are going to want to read this book when it comes out, where can readers find you if they want to connect or hear updates about Thicker Than Water?

Avery: I would start with Twitter, where I can be found @averyt_214! I’m pretty active on there and always love to connect with other writers. I also will always post updates about Thicker Than Water and my querying process, along with any other thoughts that come into my head lol. The other place would be my page on my publisher’s website, Wild Ink Publishing!

Me: Wonderful! I’ve definitely loved following you on Twitter because you post such lovely graphics for your stories, relatable writing thoughts, and honestly just build up the hype for your books so well. So, if anyone is on the fence about following you, I will gladly say you’re worth the follow. 🙂

Avery: Thank you so much. I really appreciate it! That means a lot! 🙂

Me: As we close out this interview, I have to sneak one final question in that may be the most important one of all: Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Avery: Hahaha, that’s definitely the most important question. Team Edward!

Me: Ahh, that makes me so happy that you’re Team Edward. Thanks again for letting me interview you. This was so much fun, and I cannot wait to read Thicker Than Water when it comes out.

Avery: Thank you so much for interviewing me! I had so much fun and absolutely loved your questions! 🫶🏼

About Thicker Than Water

Coming September 2025

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.

About the Author

Let’s Talk!

What kind of stories did you grow up reading? What’s your worldbuilding process like? Are you as hyped for Thicker Than Water as I am? Let’s talk all things storytelling in the comments down below! P.S. If you have any other questions for Avery, feel free to drop them in the comments. I’ll make sure she sees them.