It’s autumn… Leaves are falling, the wind is blowing, and a cold
chill is running down your spine… The perfect season for some supernatural
fiction about monsters! Nearly two centuries ago (1897), Bram Stoker wrote Dracula.
Ever
since the day the Transylvanian Count haunted the ordinary household of every
family around the world, people were not able to get over the creepy mystery of
the bloodsucking gentleman and his wives. Just some years ago, Stephenie Meyer’s
Twilight hit the bookstores, and later also the movies’ screens. Young and old
loved the idea of nice, vegetarian (yes, that’s what Meyer’s vampires called themselves
:) ) romantic monsters. The Cullens were very human, while they also shared
very animalistic traits with their forerunner.
Love stories between humans and supernatural beings seem to have a
magical power. People are intrigued by the bittersweet danger of being close to
your natural enemy. TV series, like True
Blood, The Vampire Diaries, and The Originals prove that. All shows of that
kind are popular and very successful.
Since we are just a few weeks away from Halloween, I contacted some new
authors of vampire fiction for some questions.
Fiction Author Lana Campbell just released a novel about vampires. I
am glad to present you the result of the first supernatural interview :).
Good evening, Lana. Nice to meet you. Please
tell us some facts about yourself.
I’ve had a passion for romance reads since early high school. You could always find a Harlequin romance in
my book bag. In 1994 I decided to try my
hand at writing, just for fun. I really
sucked at it in the beginning, but I joined a local writers group and slowly
began to improve.
In 2014 I decided to get serious about writing. I wanted to publish something. So I wrote Forever and a Night, the first in
a vampire romance series. I just
finished book two and am in the process of looking for an agent.
Every spare moment I have is devoted to writing or reading. Writing is in my blood and I wake up every
day excited for the next chapters.
I live in Avoca,
AR with my oldest daughter,
Jessica, my husband Robert and a cat named Felix.
How many books have you
written this far?
Forever and a Night is the first book I’ve published, but I’ve
written many over the years. In my
vampire series there are a total of four written so far. Three are yet to be published. I intend to write at least six before the
series is complete.
My vampires in my Forever and a Night series evolved from humans due
to a blood disease that makes it impossible for them to survive without the
blood of their sire species. They are
mammals, very much like humans, but throughout their evolutionary process they
developed adaptations necessary for survival such as fangs, physic and
telekinetic abilities. Their senses are
more astute as well, especially the sense of smell. When they feed from humans they enchant them
then erase their memories of the encounter afterwards. In the case of my heroine Mia, she has no
idea Nathan has fed from her until he reveals this to her later in the
story.
Here’s my synopsis for Forever and a Night:
Nathan Davenport is being stalked by Isabella Ravini, the feral
vampire who stole his human life over a hundred and sixty years ago. She makes
him her fledging, a slave for her dark, evil purposes—hunting humans. After a
few years she releases him, and Nathan reluctantly learns to accept the cursed
life she foisted upon him. Over time he amasses a great fortune, which today
has made him famous worldwide. Isabella decides she wants to be a part of this
world of fame and fortune Nathan created for himself. She’s determined to marry
him, and love has nothing to do with it. His money is her primary target, and
the fame and prestige attached to being the wife of one of the richest men in
the world wouldn’t be so bad either. In an effort to evade her, he hides at a safe
house he owns in New Orleans.
One Saturday evening in NOLA, he decides to have dinner in the city. He chooses
a quiet little Italian bistro, never imagining this night will change his life
forever. The human woman who delivers his order isn’t a server, but the
restaurant’s sous chef, a beautiful ethnic woman possessing the most delicious
blood scent he’s ever encountered. The moment Mia Peebles arrives at his table with
his plate, tasting her becomes an obsession. Mia wants nothing to do with him
because of Nathan’s reputation as a playboy. So Nathan enchants her, feeds from her,
but his lusts for her blood and body play havoc with his thinking. Nathan finds
a way to bring her into his life as his personal chef and quickly falls in love
with her. The trouble is Mia has no idea he’s a vampire because
during the enchanting episodes, Nathan blocks her memories of those sensual encounters.
How will Nathan tell her the truth without losing her and keep Isabella from
finding him? Or worst yet, will Isabella discover how much Mia has come to mean
to him?
Nathan is a very modern
vampire. Could vampires ever hide their nature from mankind?
In my world of vampires, they are easily able to disguise themselves
from humans because they appear as normal as any person with two
exceptions. By nature they are bigger
animals, taller and possessing more muscle mass. Their most distinguishing feature would be
their eyes. The colors range just like
human eyes, but theirs are always very brilliant, beautiful and in low lighting
their eyes shimmer and sparkle, an evolutionary adaptation to beguile a human long
enough to enchant them in order to feed.
In some instances when a human discovers a person to be vampire, the
vampire through mind control can erase the persons memory of the encounter
which led the human to the discovery. A
side note—since my vampires are mammals they can reproduce with their own
kind. And of course to make the stories
interesting, they can turn humans by introducing their blood into a human body.
There is also a spiritual aspect to my story. Mia is a Christian woman who struggles with
what vampires must do to survive.
Vampire stories are
really popular at the moment. There are plenty of TV shows and novels about the
sassy bloodsuckers. What, do you think, could be the reason for the hype?
I hear all the time in my circle of writers, agents and publishers
that vampire stories are/ has been, but then I also hear just the opposite from
others. My feeling is vampire reads, TV
shows and movies will never go obsolete.
There is just something people love about vampires even when they’re
evil and nasty looking. Romance readers
seem to want vampires who are sexy bad boys and girls, bigger than life with
special powers yet given the right circumstances, the ability to be redeemed
somehow. Nathan my hero vampire in
Forever and a Night does some immoral acts to his love interest Mia in the
beginning. Of course in any romance
story love must conquer all, so in the end eternal love impacts his life
choices and actions. This isn’t a
spoiler alert because every romance no matter the sub-genre makes both
protagonists better people in the end when true love reigns.
Nathan is a lonely, older vampire who has given up on love. Mia is a divorced woman in her forties with
three grown children who has also given up on love because of a cheating
spouse. What inspired me to make my characters
older was the fact I’m an older reader and very tired of reading stories with
eighteen to twenty something year old protagonists. There is a big desire amongst older readers
for books with mature protagonists these days.
Oddly enough however, I’ve had a huge following of YA readers just
loving this story. I think the reason
behind this is the characters don’t act or come off as older. Plus the story moves quickly and is
interspersed with a bit of humor and a lot of sexual tension.
What is your favourite
TV show, and what is your favourite novel?
My favorite novel or rather series is Twilight which did inspire me
to write a vampire romance. However, I
wanted my vampires to be more humanlike.
It bummed me out that poor Edward never ate or slept. I’m an ex-chef. I was determined my vampires would enjoy
culinary delights, which is why I made Mia a chef.
My favorite TV show is The Big Bang Theory. I’m a huge fan and I can’t get enough Sheldon
humor. I hope the series goes on for
years to come!
If you had the chance
to have your novel adapted into a movie, which actors would you choose?
I’ve been asked who I might like to see play Nathan and Mia if my
book was ever made into a movie and the truth is I can’t think of any. In my mind I’m very clear about how my
characters look so chances are I’d probably choose unknown actors who look as
close to Nathan and Mia as possible.
Then again if someone wanted to make my book into a movie I’m sure I’d
be flexible.
Who is scarier:
Frankenstein or Dracula?
To me Dracula is much scarier than Frankenstein. He’s a shape shifter so who knows where he’ll
show up next and as what.
As a child, were you
frightened of the monster under your bed?
When I was about five years old my aunt told me a very scary story
about an evil monster who lived in my closet and would sometimes hide under my
bed. It was a riveting story, but it
scared me so bad I think I was nine or ten before I ever again slept in a bed
alone. My grandmother raised me and the
poor woman was a saint. She put up with
my nightmares for years and let me sleep with her so the monster in my closet
wouldn’t come out at night to eat me.
What are your plans for
the future?
My plans and goals are to make writing my future career and produce
an income I can live on. I’ve had two
other careers in my life. I was a chef
for eight years and a produce farmer for fifteen. Actually I had three prior careers. I’ve been a mom for thirty three years and
that kept me very busy while my three girls were growing up. Today however, I need a less physically
strenuous career. Writing is hard work
and hard to break into let alone make into a career. I’ve always owned my own business so I know
what hard work is all about. I believe
when a person possesses the drive and determination to make something happen,
it will happen. It may take some time,
but one day I will be a writer with a name many will recognize.
What’s your Halloween
message for your readers?
Halloween is right around the corner. What better time to pick up a juicy
paranormal read and dive in for a good scare?
Forever and a Night is by no means horror. It’s a sweet romance with fun, sexy
characters, but of course there is the evil, feral vampire, Isabella, who stirs
the cauldron of intrigue in the story.
Some of her evil actions will make a reader white knuckle it for awhile,
but I promise a good read, a happily ever after and no nightmares involving any
sort of monsters under one’s bed.
Good to hear, Lana ;). Thanks for the chat, and good luck with your novel.
For more infos about Lana's work, please visit:
Our next Halloween interview about vampires will be with Amber Schunk-Clubb. So, keep checking the blog ;).
(Intro by H. El-Tahwagi)
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