Read Time: 7 Minutes
Step into the fascinating world of historical fiction, espionage, and family drama as I chat with Amelia Vergara, the author behind the captivating novel “Firefax.” Read on for a glimpse into the author’s creative process, the challenges of character development, the unexpected influences of her medical career on storytelling, and exciting hints about upcoming projects.
M: Amelia, your bio mentions that you are a physician assistant and paramedic, which seems a world apart from a family of assassins during American War of Independence. Did your professional experiences influence your storytelling?
A: Well, to be fair, the Firefaxes were given their occupation long before I was in the medical field. I originally wrote the first draft of this book at the end of high school, quite a few years ago now. Still, in a way this book was strongly influenced by my medical career. I took that first draft out of a drawer in the fall of 2021 and rewrote it while working nights in the hospital during the delta wave of COVID-19.
During those nights I was covering literally hundreds of patients, many of them suffering from COVID and extremely sick. I was going from room to room trying to stabilize people in severe respiratory distress, adjusting their BiPAP settings, discussing intubation with them and/or their families and the option of ICU care, versus switching to a more comfort-based approach as they tired out from struggling to breath for so long. I watched people slowly dying, and fought to help them survive, and it felt like I lost more times than I won, though probably only because the deaths stick with me more than remembering the survivors. It was . . . hell, in short. I describe more of what I went through on my substack – Firefax’s release and a word on gratitude.
Before I came into work each night, I would spend hours typing, feverishly rewriting this tale I had first written as a teenager, as a way of escape from what I was experiencing. There’s a quote in the prologue actually, that I only realized probably a month ago, was really about me. In it Cara thinks she’s imagining her family is there with her during a very dark moment, and the line says “She had conjured them out of the horror to bring her comfort.” That is, in fact, what I did, and I think these characters I conjured out of the darkness had a great part in my surviving that horror, mentally and emotionally.
As I’ve told my siblings, I could have gotten therapy, but instead I wrote this book. And please understand, I am in no way saying that the two things are equal. If you’re under severe mental duress, don’t write a book about a complicated, dysfunctional family of murderers, get help from a therapist or you doctor!
M: How did you approach the creation of the Firefax family members, and do you have a favourite character or one you found particularly challenging to write? Are any of them based of people you know?
A: Originally the Firefax family was created when I was 17 or 18, so they have matured and changed and grown with me for a long time. It would be hard to pick a favorite. Honestly, Murdoch might be my favorite, though I have a deep affection for Louis. At the time that I first wrote this, I was extremely into Dostoevsky (and still am, honestly, borderline obsessed), and Murdoch and Istani were originally influenced by two characters from the book Demons, Stavrogin and Verkhovensky, though they are quite a bit different than their original inspirations. I think the Firefax siblings also each possess various mixed and matched traits of my own siblings, of which I have ten, so there’s a lot of inspiration to draw from, just in my immediate family (though, to my knowledge, none of my siblings are assassins).
Easily the most challenging of the Firefaxes to write is Cara, because she is such a deeply repressed individual.
M: This being your first published novel, are there any upcoming projects you’re working on right now? Will you continue to explore historical settings or perhaps delve into different genres?
A: I actually have a few things in the pipeline. My next published novel will be a historical fiction set during the French and Indian War that is currently complete and out with my editor. I have a western that’s currently finished and I’m editing it. I have a series of second-world fantasy books I’ve written – all in various stages of editing – that eventually I’d like to get out into the world. And the sequel to Firefax is currently being drafted. Fantasy and historical fiction bring me the most joy to write, so I’ll probably stick to those genres at least for now.
M: How did you find the process of turning a book into an audiobook? Was anything particularly surprising to you with the process?
A: The process was easier than I thought. Basically, I listened to hundreds of excellent narrator audio samples on a place called Findaway Marketplace (which sadly is closing down), and then I sent audition requests to ten people that I thought might be good fits. When the auditions came back, they were all excellent, but one really stood out as the right voice for Firefax, and that was Vas. I can’t say enough good things about my narrator.
He was a joy to work with, extremely professional, and really loved the story and brought that passion to the project. He went above and beyond to make sure the sound quality was top notch, and I am amazed at how he managed to do so many different genders, ages, and accents, along with phrases in a conlang, Latin, French, and Italian. I usually have a hard time listening to my own words read back to me, it feels very awkward, but Vas’ performance is so riveting, I could almost forget they were my words and just get lost in the story and the characters that had come so vividly to life.
M: A bit of a non-sequitur, but do you have any pets?
A: I do have two little female guinea pigs, Inka (the tricolor in the pictures), and Miska (the strawberry roan with the blaze). Miska has had surgery twice, which is a little bit crazy for a guinea pig. She had the first right at the start of COVID, when she had ovarian cysts and was losing weight and in constant pain, so she had a hystero-ophorectomy, survived, miraculously, and then a few years later suffered a hay poke to the eye that unfortunately required enucleation after extensive treatment with antibiotics. She’s quite the little trooper and has had no problems living her best life despite these terrible ordeals. I have a mule named Lina, also pictured below, that I use for riding. She is a bit of a firecracker, but I adore her.
M: They’re so cute! Miska’s had a bit of a rough time of it but I’m glad she’s doing okay now. Finally, where can people get in touch with you to keep up to date with what you’ve got going on?
A: On my webpage https://www.amvergara.com, folks can find a link to a discord to chat about the book and there’s a link to 4 deleted scenes folks might enjoy after reading it.
M: Perfect! Amelia, thank you so much for your time. I certainly am looking forward to seeing more from you and the Firefax clan.
To our readers, make sure you check out our review of Amelia’s latest audiobook, Firefax then head on over to your favourite audiobook retailer and pick up a copy! It’s available from Audible, Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and loads more places.