A warm welcome to author Avylinn Winter joining us today to talk about her new release “Volatile”.
Welcome Avylinn 🙂
The Swedish Pink Sheep
Hi, I’m Avylinn Winter, and I’m really happy to be here at Love Bytes for my first ever blog tour. I’ve been told to write about my new release Volatile, but not too much, and I trust my advisors. Without them I’d be a lost sheep rather than a pink sheep.
I swear, the dark winters up north affect us who have been unlucky enough to grow up here, and if you’ve ever watched a Nordic crime drama or perhaps read a crime novel by a Scandinavian writer, you’ll know what I’m talking about. The colors go from brown to dark gray to black. And fog. Lots of fog. Sweden is not that bad in reality, but it is rather remarkable that there’s this tinge of darkness in Scandinavian literature. So, if you’re going to write a sweet romance about two gay guys, you’re better off doing it in English. That’s basically what I did. I tried to shake off the Swedish dreary darkness to produce something light. The result you ask?
Angsty
I swear, it wasn’t even my intention. It’s like I’ve tried my hardest to keep it light and perhaps a bit funny, okay so not funny, if you’ve ever heard me crack a joke you’d understand. Anyway, keep it light was my mantra. I’d just finished the prequel story, which is available for free on Wattpad by the way, which was so dark that I simply had to write something that wouldn’t make me miserable.
Dante and Chris, the two characters in Volatile, didn’t make me miserable at all. On the contrary. They’re perfectly wonderful guys, if a bit angst-ridden at times perhaps. Their story is by Swedish standards sickeningly sweet and I’m proud of it.
I’m getting off track. You’re probably wondering what happened with the pink sheep. I do too.
Romance doesn’t really exist as a genre in Sweden. It just doesn’t. Don’t ask me why. Of course there are romance stories available, especially at the supermarket where it’s a bit embarrassing to grab a copy from the Harlequin stand. It’s frowned upon and underappreciated. People go by, wondering who actually buys those stories. There are romance stories available, but they’re usually not written by Swedish authors. There’s one exception: romance is included in chick-lit stories, but they have to be funny—and since we’ve already established that I can’t write funny, I’m left with a strange realization. I’ve written something that I’m not supposed to write, at least not if I want to be taken seriously by anyone in Sweden.
You should see people’s faces when I tell them I write Romance. It’s hilarious and a bit disheartening.
I’m the black sheep, but since everyone is so darn dark and gloomy, I’m choosing pink instead. Pink and proud. However, I have a feeling that those who read Volatile will say that they can taste the darkness despite my intention of keeping it up-beat, and perhaps that strange quirk is something I’ll have to live with as an author.
Maybe I’ll just come up with a new genre name: Romance Noir. I’ll stay away from crime romance for the time being, though, because that would just be too Swedish of me.
If you want to know how sweet romance can morph into pitch black only to lighten again, I suggest you give Volatile a try. I’ll keep saying it’s tooth-achingly sweet regardless of what others think.
Volatile (Treacherous Chemistry #1) – Avylinn Winter
Author: Avylinn Winter
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Length: 72,000 words
The Violinist (Now called Volatile), won a Watty award in 2015 in the LGBT+ category. The Wattys is the world’s largest online writing contest hosted once a year by Wattpad.
Blurb
Like a depressed moth drawn to a wild flame, Chris hoped that flame would brighten his life, not burn him alive.
Chris Sinclair fades into a grey world after losing his mother to cancer. When forced to attend a concert as a last attempt to coax him out of his shell, he discovers that life might not be as bleak as he first thought.
Dante Heron holds the audience between the tips of his fingers and the delicate bow, playing the violin as if every heart is his to command. However, something darker brews behind the façade, and Chris is determined to solve the enigma.
When Chris is offered the job of traveling around Europe with the famous violinist, he surprises himself by accepting. With no idea what awaits him, he’s thrown into a world where emotions rule and rules are bent.
They’re a perfectly dysfunctional match, but then there’s always calm at the heart of the storm.
Raised in one of the cold corners of the world, Avylinn spends her days either wrapped up in a blanket or basking in the precious sunlight. When she can’t choose herself, she’s holed up in an office working with climate research that has little to do with the worlds and characters she creates in her vivid dreams.
Always the emotional one, she has found her outlet in writing, voicing thoughts, emotions and fears through her characters that feel very much alive to her. And, what began as a hobby soon took more and more time in her life until she realized that she had left her old life behind and entered a new one where her emotions turned into a super power—ready to launch at her poor readers.
She recharges with the help of coffee, cinnamon buns, popcorn and occasionally a healthier alternative.
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Congrats on your debut. The cover certainly makes a huge impact and the book sounds wonderful! Pink sheep is certainly new too and I like your outlook for coining the term =)
Thank you H.B. It’s been a marvelous day so far. Ah, maybe I’ve given myself a name I’ll have to live with in the future…didn’t even think of that 🙂
Thank you H.B. It’s been a marvelous day so far. Ah, maybe I’ve given myself a name I’ll have to live with in the future…didn’t even think of that 🙂
Oh shucks! Well oh well, double comments. That wasn’t supposed to happen. I just want to say Thank you for hosting me here on Love Bytes. I feel honored to be here 🙂
The cover is beautiful, haunting and intriguing. I can’t wait to read it! Since you’re new (as in an author) to me, this is a real treat, which I’m looking forward to!
Hi there! Oh thank you. I do love the cover as well, and I’m very happy that I have such a great cover artist to work with at Pride Publishing. You have a bit of a roller coaster ahead of you, so I hope you like those 🙂