Author of The Gothic Rainbow
Going to the movies and seeing The NeverEnding Story when I was 13 years old and then reading the eponymous Michael Ende novel changed my life. That was the first moment when characters broke "the fourth wall" and spoke directly to me in a way that I had never imagined before. When I realized that "reality" and "imagination" weren't really as separate and dissimilar as I had always been led to believe, my whole world transformed instantaneously. This was a cross roads, a paradigm shift, Clark Kent discovering he was Kal-El, whatever metaphor you want to use, that was my instant. Those were my formative years and the turning point.
What was the very first thing you ever wrote?
When I was in gradeschool, around Christmas time, we did a creative writing assignment for English class. Don't recall my exact age, but I think I was in the fourth or fifth grade. Kids in my class voted anonymously on the best 4 or 5 stories (meaning the authors of the stories were anonymous, not the voters), and we winning authors went around to the younger kids' classrooms, reading our Christmas tales to them. That was the first time I ever recall doing any form of creative writing. Although I had no intention and no inkling of becoming a writer or novelist at that time, it was a nice boost to my ego, knowing my story was considered among the best of my peers, and I'd never written anything creative before.
What made you start The Vampire Noctuaries?
The thing I need to emphasize about The Gothic Rainbow: Beginning Volume of the Vampire Noctuaries and Annwn's Maelstrom Festival: Concluding Volume of the Vampire Noctuaries, the two books of The Vampire Noctuaries duology, is that they were started 20 years ago. The characters were created in 1991. The entire story was outlined in 1993 and the first book came out in 1997. I want to make that clear, because I don't want people to presume this is just another vampire series latching onto the latest trends of the publishing industry. When this series was created, there were no vampire trends. Bram Stoker and Anne Rice were the only huge vampire novels out there. Heck, not even the Kristy Swanson version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer existed, back when my characters were invented! That movie came out in 1992. In fact, this story was published 6 years before Stephanie Meyer even thought of Twilight and is influenced more by the vibe of James O'Barr's original The Crow graphic novel than by starcrossed children of the night. The story of The Vampire Noctuaries actually began as a campaign for Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing game. The novel doesn't contain any references to the game whatsoever, but the process of gamemastering that campaign was where I discovered the characters and the story. I just thought, with all the "powerful vampire" clichés out there, what if a really powerful vampire was not as powerful as he thought? What if he was being manipulated and used for a more sinister purpose? The story kind of evolved from there. Simple concept. No werewolves. No vampire hunters. No love triangles. No wars between vampire clans. Just a very personal story of betrayal and heartache. Readers can relate to that a lot better than "we must find the elder vampire!"
Who is your literary hero?
Ray Bradbury and Harlan Ellison get equal billing. Few authors can lay claim to being more prolific and influential. From books to movies to television, they are the type of authors who have informed and molded the fiction of the Western world more than any other writers. Yes, there are certainly writers who are more famous and more financially successful. But, few others have told their stories over as many decades, and in as many mediums, as Bradbury and Ellison. They're the kind of authors where it can honestly be said, "You know them, even if you don't know them." You may not be aware they wrote a certain book or did a certain movie, but you definitely saw one of their TV shows, or one of their ideas that was stolen by Hollywood. Anyone living in our culture in the late 20th and early 21st century is familiar with the works of Ray Bradbury and Harlan Ellison, even if you don't realize it.
How much of your Vampire Noctuaries characters are based on your traits or someone you know personally?
Funny story about that. The Gothic Rainbow actually contains tons of inside jokes and references to real people and real situations and friends I knew at the time. However, as I'm sure most authors can tell you, it's amusing how people might "look" for themselves in a book, only to be completely mistaken. For example, the character of Camillia is not based on anyone at all. She's a major, pivotal character, but she's completely fictional. There's no facet of her which is based on any real person. I always pictured her looking like a 30 year old Andie MacDowell, and I've never even known a woman who looks like that! Camillia is a very sensual and sophisticated brunette. I always see her in evening dresses and being very poised and classy. Well, a friend of mine was convinced that Camillia was based on his ex-girlfriend, who was a waifish blonde chick. "Dude," he said, "it's so obvious that's her." I just laughed and told him, "Uh, no. Actually, one of the minor characters in the one concert scene is based upon your ex-girlfriend. But not Camillia. Camillia isn't based on anybody!" I just find it amusing when people think they "know" that you've stuck something in a story, based on something they are entirely sure about... and it turns out, they're totally off-base.
Describe your Vampire Noctuaries main character in six words.
Well, that's a tough one. Each book follows a different main character. But, they are very similar people. They could almost use the same 6 words. For the first book, he's all the worst parts of a "nice guy" enhanced. I'll go with:
Sensual. Broken. Malevolent. Passionate. Dashing. Megalomaniacal.
Describe the Vampire Noctuaries world you've created in six words.
I'm going to cheat and use some compound words. These are a bit more telling of the poetry in the urban dark fantasy of The Vampire Noctuaries. Let's call it a... "sinisterhearted, faeriepunk, shadowdrenched, kinkydressed, leatherbound, mythology".
What scene was your favorite to write?
In the entire series, I'd say my favorite is a concert at the end of Annwn's Maelstrom Festival: Concluding Volume of the Vampire Noctuaries. I don't even think that scene represents my best writing in the series, but it may have been the most fun to compose. Spending days writing that scene, it was based upon my real life experiences at the first Lollapalooza concert in 1991 with Jane's Addiction and Nine Inch Nails. Having the chance to relive that evening, immerse myself in those memories and sights and sounds, then embellish it with a bunch of vampires? That was really a blast. I loved writing that part. I was looking forward to writing that for 20 years.
What scene was the hardest for you to write?
Definitely the scene in The Gothic Rainbow: Beginning Volume of the Vampire Noctuaries where a few characters are assaulted. Again, it was based upon a real life experience when I got jumped by about 5 or 6 guys as a teenager. By drawing on my memories of a true violent assault and then, ala Spinal Tap, turning the proverbial volume up to 11, it made for a very visceral, harrowing scene. In fact, that scene was written faster than anything else in the entire series. I remember slamming out a dozen pages in one evening. I wrote it so fast mainly because I dreaded writing that scene and I didn't want to dwell upon it. Not because I was uncomfortable recalling my own experiences, but because I didn't want to see it happen to other characters. So, I just plowed through it as quickly as possible. The irony about that is, the speed with which I wrote that scene made it the "easiest" in terms of the quantity of work completed, but in terms of emotional strain, it was definitely the hardest.
What are you working on now?
The trend for most authors these days seems to be "find a genre and stick to it" but that, to me, sounds like the most awful, stifling way to be a writer. Doing that would make me feel like Jack Torrance in The Shining - All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Auuuugh! No thanks! The writers I admire most always mix things up and play around in different genres. Mythology. Horror. Fantasy. Science fiction. Comedy. Romance. Even non-fiction and essays. So, I will say I have a fictional novel project I'm attempting to finish by December of 2013 and it has nothing whatsoever to do with vampires, werewolves, monsters or things that go bump in the night.
What's your favorite thing to do when you're not writing?
Not writing? Well, I may not have children, but writing is a lot like being a parent. Once you become one, there's never a time that you aren't doing it. Even when I'm supposed to be taking a break from writing, I'm still writing in my head. Getting ideas. Jotting things down. My interests beyond writing are rather eclectic. I've always felt any good writer should have a lot of interests, in order to have a wealth of knowledge and experience to draw upon for writing. I'll be out in radiant Los Angeles sunshine, shooting pictures of bikini models at the beach with California Girls Skateboards, go skateboarding in 12 foot pools, cruise my motorcycle through the mountains, then spend an evening with some beautiful goth girl in some dreary industrial nightclub dancing to VNV Nation and Nitzer Ebb. Fluttering between worlds like a social butterfly, I can be straightlaced and conservative enough to blend in with the normals, or I can be eccentric and strange enough to be accepted by the freaks and weirdos. I workout enough to be called athletic but I'm intellectual enough to commiserate with geeks. Although, I think every social circle secretly suspects I'm an impostor. It'll be our secret.
