Title: Pulse
Author: Danielle Koste
Type: Fiction
Genre: Romance, Psychology, Paranormal, Vampires
Date published: January 1, 2018
Page count: 316
Available formats: Paperback, eBook

Rowan Platts is addicted to success.

When she’s presented with the chance to work on a top secret project fronted by her idol, renowned virologist Dr. Margot Miller, Rowan signs her life away without second thought. The realization she’s gotten in over her head comes only after the subject of their study is revealed: a boy with a bad attitude and an uninhibited taste for human blood.

He’s a medical anomaly. Having the ability to crush metal with his bare hands and hear a heartbeat from across the room, it would make Rowan’s career if she was the one to discover what made him so unusual.

Easier said than done, with a subject who prefers snapping necks over answering questions.

– AUTHOR INTERVIEW –

1. Can you introduce yourself for those who don’t know who you are?

My name is Danielle Koste and I’m a writer! Well, I guess I should start using “Author” now, all things considered. It’s still a hard title to get use to. The road to publishing has been a long and rocky one, I’ve gotten comfortable under the label “writer” in the meantime. I think it defines me pretty well, maybe even better than author, as even if I wasn’t publishing a book, I’d still be writing.

My track record kinda proves that; OG fans will likely know me better as my username on Wattpad, where PULSE first came into existence, skinandbonesx (forgive me for my edginess, I was but a small bean emo teen at the time). That wasn’t the first time I’d posted writing on the internet, though. Before Wattpad I was also sharing on Inkpop, a short-lived Harper-Collin’s run writing website that would eventually publish Wendy Higgins before selling off to Figment. And even early than that, in the depths of my awkward pre-teen days, I was writing Harry Potter fanfiction… (please don’t go looking, I beg you)

PULSE will be my first officially published novel, and hopefully not my last. My next novel, What the Flower Says of Death, is sitting waiting for it’s turn in the publishing mill, and my third, Extracurriculars, is nearing completion of its first draft, and currently published to my still active Wattpad account!

2. Can you tell us more about Pulse? What can we expect from the book?

PULSE is my take, coming from an age where Twilight was at the peak of it’s popularity during my high school days, on a revamped (pun never intended) vampire novel.

You see, I grew up on a different kind of vampire. You’ve probably heard the spiel before. “Vampires don’t glitter”, “Vampires have bite” and all those buzz phrases. I come from a childhood of Dracula and Anne Rice. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to hate on Twilight. In fact, if it wasn’t for the infamous series my love for the toothy creatures probably wouldn’t have been reignited. Twilight did something right, in that it brought a new life into the vampire scene, and while some might disagree about whether it was a good life or not, it was clear that a lot of people couldn’t have enough of them afterwards, myself included.

Nothing has changed either. One could argue that the vampire genre is dead (or might as well be), and that’s hard to deny after Twilight. The genre certainly had an explosive start and a quick burn out, but real vampire fans are still just as thirsty (I swear I’m not doing that on purpose) as they’ve ever been. Afterall, being a vampire fan isn’t just something you grow out of, I like to think it’s in your blood (ok, that one was intentional).

A lot of us are always looking for something new. But the genre had become disappointing and heavily concentrated with the same kind of novels. When I couldn’t find the uniqueness I was looking for in books and media, I decided I wanted to write one myself.

3. Have you read many vampire books? Or not? Howcome?

I’ve read my fair share of vampire novels, but only a handful of them I would consider mentioning if someone asked. I have another post of this blog tour about my top 5 favorite vampire books, but to put it simply, I like books that take on a unique perspective. There’s only so much you can do with vampires while staying true to traditional lore, but like humans, vampires are all individuals in their own way, and I enjoy stories that dive deeper into their own individual experiences with the affliction.

I think that, with a handful of noteworthy books, there are also a number of amazing films that do a great job doing this. If you’re the type of person who is skeptical about vampires, or haven’t come across a story that you’ve enjoyed, I’d recommend picking up either “Let The Right One In” by John Ajvide Lindqvist or “Lost Souls” by Poppy Z. Brite, or watching the films “The Last Lovers Left Alive” or “Byzantium”. All of which have amazingly unique perspectives on vampires and I love them all!

4. What made you to combine vampires (a very Gothic / horror / paranormal component) and the world of science in Pulse?

As you said, Vampires are typically associated with those traditional gothic vibes. I think it has a lot to do with it’s roots in Dracula, and then it’s later pop culture debut with Anne Rice’s work. Vampires were very romantic, alluring, terrifying creatures. There was always a bit of magic involved, and that was fantastic and wonderful for the time being. I think that these types of vampires really set the stage for the “taboo” allusion that vampires represented. They are something you want but shouldn’t. Something dangerous but impossible to stay away from. I think that is a very important part of what makes vampires so addictive and compelling.

But I was a little sick of the magic. Not that I don’t love me some magic realism or fantasy elements (paranormal is still one of my favorite genres and I will probably read it all the way to my grave). But, I felt the need to make Vampires a little more tangible. Something about all the fiction I’d read of them made them feel so fantastical, something innately unexplainable about them, and I was interested in rooting that fantasy into reality with an explanation. Combining paranormal and science fiction seemed like the best way to bridge that gap.

5. When you started writing Pulse, did you know that there would be a romance element to it? Or did that sort of happen along the way?

The very first time the idea of PULSE came to my head, before any of the characters even had names or faces, Lyall was going to be a young boy. I pictured a scientist asking questions to this tiny little thing with wide, innocent, bright blue eyes. It’s arguably the reason why the only official art of Lyall that exists at the moment is of him as a child.

So no, romance was not part of the plan from the very beginning. I’m a sucker for romance though and I couldn’t help myself, so it quickly turned into a sub-plot that couldn’t really be ignored. I knew it would be a romance before I started writing the first chapter.

6. Do you believe that a virus may someday be released, which will give humans a hunger for blood and inhuman strength?

For the sake of humanity, I certainly hope not! I’m not going to lie though, if it did happen I’d likely be one of the first in line…

– ABOUT THE AUTHOR –

Danielle Koste is a born and raised Canadian, but currently lives with her significant other in thevequally snowy and cold Stockholm, Sweden. While working a day job and learning the languagevof the locals, she spends her free time honing the craft she's always had a passion for. When procrastinating, Danielle likes to enjoy other forms of rich story-telling, besides the obvious abundance of novels filling up her apartment and Kindle. Movies, music, and video games are among her favorite time-wasters.

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THANK YOU FOR READING THIS INTERVIEW, AND CHECKING OUT THIS AWESOME GIVEAWAY! I HOPE THAT YOU ENJOYED READING THIS POST, AND ALSO GOOD LUCK TO THOSE OF YOU ENTERING THE CONTEST!