Let me channel my inner Kendra Cassidy, retired Admiral, Terran Federation, to introduce today’s guest: Camilla Vavruch. When you meet someone who balances saving lives as a doctor with creating vibrant, magical worlds in her writing, you can’t help but be impressed. Camilla, hailing from Sweden, is the author of The Elemental Saga and Stories of Gereon, both fantasy series filled with strong friendships, found families, and breathtaking adventures.

Camilla’s writing journey started early, crafting her first 36-page story by hand in second grade. Since then, she’s published five fantasy novels, a non-fiction book called Study Better, and has several more projects brewing, including the whimsical Cookies and Claws. Her love for storytelling, combined with a disciplined yet creative approach, makes her a force to be reckoned with in the literary world.

Whether she’s weaving new mythologies or mentoring other writers, Camilla’s passion shines through. She’s also a staunch believer in the indie publishing path, championing creative control in everything from cover design to plot structure. Between her medical career, family life, and vibrant author community, Camilla’s energy and dedication are nothing short of inspiring.

So, grab your favorite drink (I hear Camilla’s a hot cacao fan, marshmallows included), and join me in diving into her creative process, her love for found family tropes, and what’s coming next in her busy authoring schedule. Want to know more? Check out her upcoming Kickstarter projects or follow her for updates on social media! Her website is www.camillavavruch.com, and now, let's get on with the interview!

Firefly – gone too soon or overrated? Gone too soon.

Coffee, tea, or cacao? Hot cacao, preferably with marshmallows.

When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always written, ever since I was a kid. I wrote my first long, handwritten story of 36 pages in second grade. I wrote a lot in my teens and twenties, including quite a bit of fanfiction, but then I went to med school, met my husband, and had kids, and writing fell to the wayside. My husband encouraged me to get back into it, and after fifteen years of working on my debut, I published it in 2022.

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

That strange and scary place called my brain. No, but honestly, I have no idea. They just show up. Sometimes I think things are going to be short stories but end up being very big stories (like my upcoming book about a baking prince, which was just supposed to be a novella to get back into things but ended up being a trilogy of novels).

Is there a trope you find yourself going back to in multiple works?

I always have found family in my books. It’s one I can’t seem to avoid—nor do I want to. I’ve always seen my characters as my friends, and I like my friends becoming family to each other. So found family and strong friendship, always.

What does your family think of your writing?

My husband is very supportive, though he hasn’t read any book of mine 😂. He just thinks I should do what I love. I think I inspire my eldest daughter because she writes a lot and likes calling herself an author too. All three of my kids are creative, so I hope I inspire them to keep creating.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?

I have written a few that will never see the light of day. I’ve released five fantasy books (and one non-fiction book on how to study better, aptly called Study Better), with the sixth, Realm of Shadows, coming to Kickstarter in February. There are another five books written, waiting to be finished with editing and published, among them the trilogy about the baking prince.

Do you like to create books for adults?

My books are generally young adult, but I’ve had people from young teens to sixty-plus enjoy them, so I guess I do. Since I don’t include sex, swearing (beyond a ‘damn’ here and there), or excessive violence, I think my books are readable for a wide audience.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?

A doctor, which is my main job still. I like it too much to quit, and sometimes it’s hard to balance being a doctor, a writer, and a mom.

Does writing energize or exhaust you?

Writing energizes me! Since I’m mostly a pantser (even though I know the basic plot these days before writing), I always want to find out how the story ends, and that gives me a lot of energy. Editing is often soul-sucking, though, at least on the second and third rounds.

What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

For the last year, I’ve been in a small group with three other writers. We all write the same sort of books (fantasy, non-smutty), and we have a lot of other overlap, so we inspire each other with the books we create. We don’t read much of each other’s stuff, but it makes me a better creator and gives me so much energy. Before finding this group, I felt authoring was very lonely, but it’s not that way anymore. Those three are people I can share things with that people who don’t write and publish can’t really understand.

If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?

Just let the book go into the world earlier. Fifteen years was way too long to wait to publish. I’m very happy with the book as it turned out, but I could have done more during that time rather than being afraid of how it would be received.

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

I’ve gotten a lot faster. The first book took fifteen years, the second took four years, and the third and fourth were written in the same year. Now I’m up to writing five books (though they’re not quite as long) in a single year, though that is with the caveat that I had time off from my job as a doctor in the fall. I don’t think it was just publishing but also just learning the craft. I lean heavily on Save the Cat! plot beat sheets, for example, nowadays, rather than just pantsing from start to finish. Now I know the start, middle, and end, which keeps the writer’s block away.

Are you traditionally or self-published? Or both? Do you feel there are advantages to one over the other?

I’m self-published. I tried to get traditionally published, and my first manuscript was accepted, but then I decided to go on my own instead. I like the creative control in indie publishing, in everything from the blurb and cover to the story itself. The disadvantage is that it’s all a one-person show, at least at this point in my career.

What do you have coming next?

Next up is Stories of Gereon in a special edition on Kickstarter, which will include the fourth and final book in that series, Realm of Shadows. Then I have plans to do a Kickstarter for book three in The Elemental Saga, and after that will be the release of the baking prince book—the first book’s title is Cookies and Claws. So there’s a lot coming up!