Before Becoming the Villain

Aa Dasilva Author Interview

In The Bleed-Through Effect, a convicted man and his estranged savant wife navigate parallel realities manipulated by a shadowy, government-backed organization. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?

The events in the first book in the series, Periphery, and the magnetic pull of the villain, combined to make the perfect set-up for the complex, thrilling ride in The Bleed-Through Effect. I was really inspired to dive not just into the morality of accessing alternate selves in the multiverse, but also take a deep psychological look at the driving forces and motivations of each character. The ultimate question in The Bleed-Through Effect is how far can you go to save the one you love….before becoming the villain?

What is the most challenging aspect of writing a series? 

The first book in the series, Periphery, had a romance-driven plot, with the speculative elements only making their debut toward the last quarter of the book. With The Bleed-Through Effect, the speculative elements take center stage alongside the romance, in addition to being written in muti-POV and spanning two separate realities. The characters are deeply fleshed out, which was important in order to develop a seamless plotline that spanned two books, multi-POV, and two realities, all while keeping the reader invested in all the intricate moving parts. I’m delighted to learn, through early reviews, that readers feel really emotionally invested in the character arcs and storyline!

What inspired Jared and Charlotte’s traits and dialogue?

The Bleed-Through Effect is a profoundly character-driven plot. Jared and Charlotte and Simon are deeply layered characters, and despite whether they’re “good” or “bad” there’s relatability in each character. I wanted the reader to be both fascinated and afraid of how each person is one circumstance away from becoming the villain. Each character falls on an extreme somewhere, and it’s those extremes that propel the plotline and keep the reader engaged in what’s going to happen next.

Can fans look forward to a third installment in the Periphery series? Where will it take readers? 

At this point, the Periphery series is set to be a two-book series only. My next release is a standalone contemporary military romance, forthcoming in 2026.

Author Links: GoodReads | XFacebook | WebsiteInstagram

Charlotte and Simon are ready to move on with their lives after dismantling the black-ops agency known as Quantym. But Charlotte begins suffering from nightmares and disturbing visions, and she fears events on the Periphery-her parallel life-are impacting her via the bleed-through effect.

In a dual timeline between the main reality and the Periphery, Charlotte and Simon must confront the blurred lines between strength and weakness, love and loyalty, and their past and future.

As they struggle to regain control over their lives, a catastrophic secret is revealed, a vengeful lover on a quest for power closes in, and Charlotte must figure out a way forward…even when the past refuses to let go.
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Posted on July 2, 2025, in Interviews and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.

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