Author Interview: The Serpent’s Order by SZ Estavillo #Interview #AuthorInterview


  1. What inspired you to become an author?

I’ve loved writing since I was a child. I was always reading, always scribbling stories, and I can’t remember a time when writing wasn’t a part of my life. There wasn’t one specific book that “made” me want to be an author — I’ve simply always felt drawn to the page. Storytelling is how I process the world, how I express myself, and how I hope to reach people. I honestly can’t imagine not writing. It feels as natural as breathing.

  1. Do you have a specific writing style?

Yes. My background is in film production, so my writing tends to be cinematic, gritty, and emotionally charged. I focus on tension, atmosphere, and sharp dialogue — all of which fit naturally with the tone of my thriller series.

  1. Do you write in different genres?

Not currently. I’m focused on thrillers and suspense, especially detective-driven and vigilante-driven stories. I did write a contemporary rom-com years ago, but it was never published. Once I started writing thrillers, I realized this is where my voice truly belongs.

  1. How did you come up with the title for your latest book?

I usually start by brainstorming themes, character arcs, and the core conflict. Because my series centers around the “Serpent” motif, the titles naturally evolve from that foundation. My upcoming release, The Serpent’s Order (launching February 10th), fit perfectly with the story’s deeper layers and the direction the series is headed.

  1. Do you title the book first or wait until after it’s complete?

I title the book first. Because I’m under a publishing contract, my publisher needs titles early so they can report them to Publishers Marketplace and build out the release schedule. That means all titles must be submitted in advance. I’m contracted for eight books — possibly more — so I already have titles for the next four books in the series.

  1. Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

Yes. My books explore vigilante justice and morally gray characters. I’m fascinated by the idea that people can be good and bad at the same time — that motives can conflict, and that someone might break the law for what they believe is a righteous reason. I love writing anti-heroes who walk that line. If there’s a message, it’s that humans are complex, layered, and often contradictory. Those are the stories that interest me most, and those are the characters I want readers to connect with.

  1. Is the book, characters, or any scenes based on a true life experience, someone you know, or events in your own life?

There are always pieces of me woven into my books. For example, my uncle, Nicholas Estavillo, was the highest-ranking Puerto Rican officer to achieve three-star status in NYPD history. Detective Anaya Nazario’s father is loosely modeled after him.

Some of the more emotional storylines also come from personal experience. I’ve faced trauma, and when I introduced Von Schlange in The Serpent Woman, she became a way for me to fictionalize and reclaim some of those experiences. In Twilight of the Serpent, stalking plays a significant role — something I personally endured for seven years. I also lived in Los Angeles for over a decade, so many of the settings and atmospheric details in the series come directly from my time there. While the books are fiction, pieces of my life inevitably find their way into the stories.

  1. Of all the characters you’ve ever written, who is your favorite and why?

My absolute favorite character is Von Schlange. She’s such a badass. She starts as a vigilante serial killer — very much a Dexter-type figure — taking revenge on men who slipped through the cracks of the justice system and got away with truly evil things. Over time, she evolves into an assassin, a federal asset, and eventually a member of an elite off-the-books black ops team.

She’s morally gray, fearless, and complex, and I love writing her because she forces me to explore the line between justice and vengeance. Readers have connected with her, too — one even told me she was the best character he’d ever read, and that my book was the best he’d read in a decade. That meant a lot.

  1. If this book is part of a series…what is the next book? Any details you can share?

Yes, this book is part of an ongoing series. The next installment is titled The Serpent of Flesh and Fire. It continues Von Schlange’s arc as a lethal assassin working in the shadows — but this time, the story also explores her deepening connection with a fellow assassin who becomes her love interest. When the two are separated and he disappears under dangerous circumstances, Von is forced to track him down before it’s too late.

Like the previous books, this one is told through three POVs: Detective Anaya Nazario, Xander Holt, and Von Schlange. Their storylines intersect as they hunt a drug dealer responsible for a new, deadly strain of tranq dope hitting the streets. The book raises the stakes emotionally and operationally, pushing all three characters into darker, more vulnerable territory.

  1.  Do you have any advice for other writers?

I once had an agent for five years, and I went on submission, but that book never sold. One of the biggest lessons I learned is that having an agent doesn’t guarantee a book deal — and not getting one doesn’t mean your career is over. Don’t give up.

Two of the books that were supposed to “die on sub” actually ended up being picked up by the small press I’m with now. That duology became the foundation for an eight-book contract. So no, it’s not one of the Big Five, but it has been incredibly rewarding and creatively fulfilling.

Publishing is tough. It’s full of rejection, and it’s deeply subjective. My best advice is to stay open-minded about your path. Everyone dreams of the seven-figure book deal, but not all of us will get that — and that’s okay. There are many routes to publication, and small presses can offer opportunities, support, and growth you might not have expected.

Most importantly: don’t stop writing, and don’t stop trying. Your breakthrough might come from a direction you never saw coming.

 

The Serpent’s Order
The Serpent Series
Book 4
SZ Estavillo

Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Oliver-Heber
Date of Publication: February 10, 2026
ASIN: B0FX5TFVLP
Number of pages: 314
Word Count: 90, 219
Cover Artist: Oliver-Heber

Tagline: An assassin bound by obedience. A detective marked for death. A cartel war with no survivors.

Book Description:

Von Schlange thought she’d escaped her past. Now Black Nova owns her—an elite, off-the-books task force where obedience is survival and failure means death. As their newest assassin, she’s unleashed on targets tied to Jaxon Ryker, a drug lord buried deep in the Alaskan wilds.

Her partner, Xander Holt, a former Navy SEAL with ice in his veins, lives by the same brutal code: no attachments, no lines crossed. But as missions turn bloody, the fragile boundary between partner and lover begins to blur—and desire becomes its own kind of danger.

Across the country, Detective Anaya Nazario faces a nightmare of her own. A synthetic “zombie drug,” deadlier than fentanyl and immune to Narcan, is ripping through Los Angeles. Her investigation exposes a network of dirty cops shielding Ryker’s empire—and puts a target squarely on her back.

Two women on opposite fronts. One war against corruption and cartel power. And a single truth—every betrayal leaves a body behind.

Explosive, unrelenting, and razor-sharp, The Serpent’s Order propels the Serpent Series into its most dangerous chapter yet—where justice is a myth, and survival comes at a price paid in blood.

Book Trailer:

https://www.tiktok.com/@szestavillo.author/video/7573464953785535774

 

 

Excerpt:

 

Darkness pressed against her eyes. The air carried no warmth, only a damp cold that burrowed into her marrow. The metallic taste on her tongue sharpened. Air scraped colder against her throat. Every nerve screamed awake as the chemical fog bled out of her veins. It was easy to fend off the hazy pull of delirium when it felt like she was sitting in an ice box. Frigid salty air wrapped her in an arctic grip, numbing her body. The sound of the seas never betrayed its location, offering no clues as to her whereabouts until the blackout hood was lifted.

Her surroundings winked awake, blurring slowly into focus. Faint traces of soot and aged timber amplified the cabin’s solitude. As her vision sharpened, the first thing she saw was the rugged glaciers looming beyond the drafty windows. Snow consumed the landscape, a frozen expanse as thick as packed sugar, burying the world beneath at least twenty inches of wintery silence. At a distance, she could hear how the ocean roiled, a wild, restless beast, while the bitter subzero terrain stretched in stark harmony with the gray horizon.

Groggy, her eyes roamed in search of Zeus, panic setting in, forcing her heart to quicken until she spotted him across the room in a dark corner. Her head felt like a thousand-pound weight pressed down on her skull, each pulse of pain a hammer striking her temples. She found herself passed out on a lounger that looked to be a decade old—at least her kidnappers, or rather, her new boss—had the courtesy to leave her somewhere relatively comfortable. At the sound of her steps, Zeus lifted his head, tail thumping against the rickety wooden floorboards, though not quite making it to his feet.

It looked like she wasn’t the only one trying to shake herself out of the cocktail she’d been injected with, as Zeus tried to drag himself up. She knelt beside him and massaged his legs, trying to coax circulation back into his limbs. After a few minutes, Zeus soldiered to his feet, the kneading doing the trick. Von exhaled, tension ebbing at the reassuring presence of her loyal companion. She ambled back to the kitchen, taking in her surroundings while Zeus kept time with her steps. A thin film of dust coated the kitchen counters and cupboards, telling her that time had been the lonely cabin’s sole friend for a long while.

She rooted around, discovering there were enough dishes for one person, and the fridge had been stocked with salads and fruit. At least her mysterious employer had the decency to respect her food preferences. They even left a bowl of dried dog food and water for Zeus. How thoughtful. She smirked at their attention to detail as she headed to the bedroom—and then she saw it.

Sitting dead center on the bed, the phone was waiting for her.

Sleek, black, and unbranded—just a smooth slab of technology with no markings or logos, nothing to indicate who made it. While it appeared to be just another typical high-end smartphone, Von knew better. This wasn’t an ordinary device. It was a leash. She picked it up. Lighter than she expected. No buttons, no ports, no removable SIM card. Completely sealed. The kind of hardware designed to be untouchable, tamper-proof. Not to be trusted. The screen stayed dark for a ten-count before flickering to life, awakened by a simple touch. The interface was equal parts minimalist and sterile.

Nothing personal. No apps. No browser. Just a lone notification, already there.

“Welcome to Black Nova.”

She flipped it in her hand, examining it. There wasn’t even a password prompt, fingerprint, or facial recognition scan. Von wasn’t logging in. She was already in—immediate access like it knew her. Then she remembered where she’d seen one before: Jefferson Pierce. Former Marine-turned-hacker, an asset for the FBI. Asset. The word twisted in her stomach, acidic and biting. She recalled the words—“federal asset”—before her world went black. Right before they took her.

“Silent Circle—” Jefferson had called it.

“A what?” She recalled how her brows had knitted together, confused over the unfamiliar phone. “Never heard of it.”

“Military-grade. Locked down tight. End-to-end encrypted calls and messages.”

“Sounds a bit paranoid,” Von had said.

“For what I do—I gotta be. Safest, most private phone out on the market.

She recognized it now. Its black matte finish and elegant, no-nonsense style. But it wasn’t hers—it was theirs. A direct line to the people who had dragged her into this. Her permission not needed. Her choices, her next movements, her next breath would be dictated, assigned. The second she thought this, the phone rang. She stared at it, letting it ring three times before quietly answering.

“You’re awake. Good. Commander Lucian Cain here, in case your memory needs a little reminder,” a calm, authoritative voice began. “Let’s see if we didn’t make a mistake bringing you into the fold.”

“Where the hell am I?”

“Kodiak Island.”

“Fucking Alaska?”

“Impressed you know your geography—most people don’t know where Kodiak Island is,” Cain said. “Before we officially begin, you must complete our test.”

“And if I fail?”

“Don’t think failure’s in your DNA,” he said, then switched to German, “Schlangenfrau.”

She hadn’t intended to assume the title of the Serpent Woman, not before the brutal attack that dragged her to the edge of death. Her guts shredded, body mutilated and left infertile, stripped of the capacity to bear life. A monstrous snake-like crimson keloid scar now etched its path along her abdomen, sewn back up like an object in a sterile lab—efficiently reconstructed like a modern Frankenstein experiment, an uncanny patchwork that left her hollow.

Von Schlange—Schlangenfrau—the Serpent Woman had become her signature.

 

About the Author:

As a BIPOC thriller author, she previously parted amicably with her agent and, three months later, secured an eight-book deal with Oliver-Heber Books—now boasting 24,000 downloads in its first year and a BookRaid bestseller ranking in the thriller category. The Serpent Woman (Book 2) reached #1 on Amazon and topped all three of its categories. Her background spans literary agencies and TV studios, where she contributed to greenlit screenplays that became Lifetime movies. She holds a Master’s in Television, Radio, and Film, has taught author branding workshops (L.A. Writer’s Conference, North Texas RWA), and maintains a 100K+ social media following.










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