Fresh Blood
A lot of people have written about vampires. So how do you stand out from the crowd? Well, you make your vampire a halfling (otherwise called a dhampir) who hunts down vampirekind for profit, like Barb and JC Hendee have, or you make your vampire a fat, wise-cracking vampire taxi driver, like Andrew Fox did. You make your vampires somehow different from all the other vampires out there or you make them similar, but put them in new, intriguing situations. You must be original, engaging and fresh.
Therein lies the challenge.
Within my two series are vastly different vampires.
In The Roses of Carrion, my vampyres live in another realm--a world between worlds. They drink blood, yes, but they also devour flesh down to the bare bone. Their troubles arise when a prophecy is fulfilled with the arrival of a red-robed sorceress by the name of Ardyn, who is--according to the prophecy--destined to murder their king. Ardyn, of course, is long innocent to her fate, but quickly attracts the attention of the vampyre king when she discovers and frees a herd of human livestock. Needless to say, that really ticks king Paynin off and...well, I'll let you read the rest if and when it sees publication.
Eighth Grade Bites tells the story of Vladimir Tod, a 14-year-old vampire who attends a public junior high school in the small town of Bathory. He's the only vampire in town since his parents' demise and, what's more, he can't tell anyone. School is tough for him. He’s harassed daily by a band of bullies. The girl he likes has an apparent crush on his best friend. The principal is watching his every move. His favorite teacher has gone missing. And his new teacher is scribbling unsettling notes on Vlad’s graded papers. “I know your secret,” he writes. “I know you’re a vampire.” Vlad has to locate his missing teacher, uncover the sordid past of his parents, dodge the principal, resist the bullies’ tempting invitations when they scream, “Bite me!”, and get a date for the school dance before Mr. Otis (the new teacher) closes in and exposes him for the teen vamp he is. It's new, original and nothing at all like my other vampires.
Hopefully, my series' are original and engaging enough to attract the attention of a literary agent and, further down the line, an editor at some fabulous publishing house. A girl can dream, right?
But publication isn't the big swoon for me. It's writing these characters, being a part of their lives. I have a serious crush on every one of my drinkers and would write out their tales no matter what their publishing future.
It's in my blood.
Therein lies the challenge.
Within my two series are vastly different vampires.
In The Roses of Carrion, my vampyres live in another realm--a world between worlds. They drink blood, yes, but they also devour flesh down to the bare bone. Their troubles arise when a prophecy is fulfilled with the arrival of a red-robed sorceress by the name of Ardyn, who is--according to the prophecy--destined to murder their king. Ardyn, of course, is long innocent to her fate, but quickly attracts the attention of the vampyre king when she discovers and frees a herd of human livestock. Needless to say, that really ticks king Paynin off and...well, I'll let you read the rest if and when it sees publication.
Eighth Grade Bites tells the story of Vladimir Tod, a 14-year-old vampire who attends a public junior high school in the small town of Bathory. He's the only vampire in town since his parents' demise and, what's more, he can't tell anyone. School is tough for him. He’s harassed daily by a band of bullies. The girl he likes has an apparent crush on his best friend. The principal is watching his every move. His favorite teacher has gone missing. And his new teacher is scribbling unsettling notes on Vlad’s graded papers. “I know your secret,” he writes. “I know you’re a vampire.” Vlad has to locate his missing teacher, uncover the sordid past of his parents, dodge the principal, resist the bullies’ tempting invitations when they scream, “Bite me!”, and get a date for the school dance before Mr. Otis (the new teacher) closes in and exposes him for the teen vamp he is. It's new, original and nothing at all like my other vampires.
Hopefully, my series' are original and engaging enough to attract the attention of a literary agent and, further down the line, an editor at some fabulous publishing house. A girl can dream, right?
But publication isn't the big swoon for me. It's writing these characters, being a part of their lives. I have a serious crush on every one of my drinkers and would write out their tales no matter what their publishing future.
It's in my blood.
posted by Heather Brewer at 7:08 AM
4 Comments:
eighth grade bites sounds FABULOUS!!!! I won't invoke the name of JKR but you never know, sugar. my only questions so far are how does he go out in the day and when do I get to read it? :D
love you lots,
T.
Hi T! Thanks for the comment & questions! (I'm adding more candles to the JKR shrine as we speak)
Vlad's mother was a human and his father a vampire, so his "allergy" to sunlight is greatly decreased compared to what his father experienced--exposure to which equals that of a nasty sunburn. But to counter this (and any other effects he and his guardian, Aunt Nelly aren't yet aware of), Vlad slathers himself in a special sunblock created by his nurse aunt. They call it "SPF Five Million".
Eighth Grade Bites' first draft is about a third of the way finished. Give me time...give me time. ;)
Movie potential? Oh Keith...from your keyboard to the Universe's ears! That comment just made my day. :)
Teen Wolf was fabulously funny, but I haven't seen My Best Friend is a Vampire--thanks for the suggestion! I'll check it out.
Vlad's story came about when I asked myself a very pertinent question: Since I began writing, what have I loved writing about the most? The answer was simple enough--vampires. But then I started thinking about the vampires I read & watched growing up and none of them quite reached me enough or filled that hole. I'm hoping Vlad will give readers what it is they may be lacking.
We'll see!
Post a Comment
<< Home