Interview with author and animal rescuer Christine Duts

Christine Duts is an author/animal rescuer from Los Cabos, Mexico. She has published several books, but the one book that means a lot to her is A Right to Live. It is a partly a fictional story, and it is also based on true life events, things Christine witnessed during her years in animal rescue. We have conducted an interview with her.

Your stories transient several ages and times, (Roman Empire, French Revolution), what makes you so imaginative?

I love history and I get completely immersed in the time when I read about or research it. When I teach history at school, my students often tell me that I explain historical events as if I had actually been there, because - I guess - I get so enthusiastic about it. And yes, I have a lot of imagination. A lot of things can inspire me, riding a motorcycle on the highway, rocks or waves on the beach, a sunrise, a song, an image, anything really. If the story is within me, then I will write it.

Are your stories fiction or non-fiction?

My stories are fiction. "A Right to Live" is also fiction, but some of the events I described in the book are based on real-life events. So, in this book, it is a little of both.

Why does your book "A Right to Live" mean a lot to you? What is the book about?

It means a lot to me because it reveals a world that is foreign to most people. Even though it is shown on the internet and in petitions, it is not the same as dealing with cruelty on your street or even your doorstep, for years on end. I want to show everyone this world and make people understand what we can do to stop this suffering. The book is told from a dog`s point of view. Rusty, the heroine, is a female mutt that is dumped as a puppy. As she grows up, she struggles to find safety, and she finds it with Lety who rescues her in her hour of need. Through human actions, Rusty loses her beloved home and she is set on searching for Lety. Her journey takes her through different places, and she meets dogs and cats on the way, each with their own unique personalities and stories. "A Right to Live" has a tragic background, but hope and love shine throughout the story, and there are also many comical situations, for example, when Rusty describes human inventions that she finds "strange". I focused a lot on balancing the emotions in this story. Tragedy mixes with love, hope, and some comedy.

How do you use the funds raised from your books?

I use them to build a sanctuary for dogs and cats, especially for older dogs and cats that have trouble finding homes due to their age. The funds are also used for medicine, towels, food, etc

What are your plans for the 'spin offs' of your book?

I want to publish them too. I put a lot of myself in the character of the first spin off; that book is special to me too.

How did you have/develop this 'vampires' inner conflict'?

I never found it convincing that humans that were turned into vampires became monsters who had absolutely no ties to the personality they once had. My vampires also become monsters, craving blood, but their human soul is in this monster`s body, struggling to come to terms with this new identity. Over the years, human emotions are pushed aside, but they are still there, always nagging at the character`s conscience. Some characters struggle more, others less, and some not at all, the latter embrace their vampirism fully. I made sure to have different types of personalities and different ways of dealing with the monstrosity my characters find themselves turned into. The main character has an immense internal conflict, having witnessed the violence of the French Revolution and now having been cast into the violence of the immortal world. She tries to make up for the killing for blood by only slaying what she calls "evildoers", people who have done evil or committed a crime. She tries to atone for the bloodshed she finds herself forced to do.