As a thank-you to all the folks who enjoyed Blood Groove, and in anticipation of the release tomorrow of The Girls with Games of Blood, here's the first part of a short story that takes place between the two books. You can read the whole thing on my website here.
J'OUBLIE
(c) 2010 Alex Bledsoe
Memphis State University, late summer, 1975
"You again," the sour librarian said as she looked up.
"Yes," Alisa Cassidy said, "me again." She struggled to smile despite the stab of pain. Six months, the doctors said, and that's if she put herself in their hands, which she refused to do. Lying bald in a hospital bed was not how she wanted to go. She had no patience for this wrinkled old crone's little power trip, but it was a barrier that had to be negotiated if she wanted to reach her goal. She added helpfully, "I called ahead."
"Oh, I know," the librarian said as she rose from her seat. Her long, spindly limbs made her resemble some insect unfolding; her tall beehive hairdo added to the effect. "I have it ready for you."
Alisa dearly wished Mrs. Cutlip, the former librarian, was still alive. For that matter, she supposed, so did Mrs. Cutlip. This replacement, brought in from one of the state system's outlying campuses, seemed determined to make Alisa's remaining time as miserable as possible. Whereas Mrs. Cutlip was always glad to see her and never insisted on the protocol of appointments, this bitter artifact was a stickler for meaningless details.
Alisa followed her to the Special Collections reading room, where the book waited for her. It sat on the pristine table like a fat, well-fed slug, its leather cover swollen with mildewed padding. The metal clasp and hinges were green with corrosion, and a black patch on the spine showed where someone had once attempted to burn it. The antiseptic confines of the rare book reading room made it look even more rancid. The thought of touching it again always made Alisa's stomach turn.
"Wear these," the librarian said, indicating a box of disposable cotton gloves. She looked disdainfully at the book, then at the woman who dared to consult it. "This book is the work of the devil, you know."
"So I've heard," Alisa said. Every time I talk to you, she added in her head.
"You can't study it and not be affected by it. It wouldn't surprise me if that's why you got cancer."
Alisa's head snapped up, and the glare she gave the old woman was the first thing that had ever cracked the hag's smug superiority. "If you'll excuse me," Alisa said through her teeth, "I have work to do."
The librarian scurried out. Alisa trembled with suppressed rage and almost dropped the contents of her briefcase all over the floor. She sat and took several deep breaths, fighting the tears burning behind her eyes. It was a small campus, so naturally word got around about things like a faculty member with a terminal illness. Still, how do you justify calling yourself a Christian when you say things like that?
Alisa struggled to concentrate on the book before her: the Festa Magotta, a.k.a. the "Feast of Maggots." She put on the gloves and turned the pair of metal clasps. She lifted the cover and scowled at the puff of noxious odor that escaped.
She consulted her notes and began turning the heavy, stiff pages. Translating this book was her life's goal, and since that timetable was now significantly shortened, she had no time to waste.
She reached the point where she had stopped at her last session and turned the next page. Tucked into the fold was a thin stack of paper, of a much more recent vintage and covered with handwriting in English. She held her breath and leaned close, discerning the words "horror," "insanity" and "poodle."
She looked over her shoulder. If the mantis-librarian saw this, she'd snatch the papers away and Alisa might not see them again for months--months she didn't have. So she carefully pulled them out, hid them among her own papers and began to read....
Read the rest of the story here.
And you can order your copy of The Girls with Games of Blood here.
Showing posts with label Blood Groove. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blood Groove. Show all posts
Monday, July 5, 2010
Monday, June 21, 2010
Gone (but not forgotten) in 60 Seconds
If one cinematic trend defines the 1970s, it's not the summer blockbuster (Star Wars, Jaws), the "New Hollywood" grit (Mean Streets, Taxi Driver) or even grindhouse exploitation. It's the car chase movie. And the undisputed king is H.B. Halicki's 1974 film, Gone in 60 Seconds.
To make an independent movie in the 70s was a sign of drive and willpower far beyond those of independent filmmakers today. Indie directors didn't want to make navel-gazing talkfests like Juno or Garden State. They strove instead to give the people what they wanted: action, destruction, and anti-establishment heroes who, even when they fail, go out in a blaze of defiant glory. And it took more than a few thousand dollars and a digital camcorder: movies were shot on film and needed both big cameras and the raw stock. Then there was distribution. "Home video" did not exist, so except for television, the only market was theatrical.
H.B. Halicki was not a filmmaker. He was a raging self-starter who owned his own auto body shop at 17. And he bought cars. Lots of them. In fact, all the cars crashed in the film (93) were personally owned, and in most cases driven to their demise, by Halicki himself. He applied the same resolve to filmmaking, utlimately writing, directing, producing and starring in both this film and its 1982 follow-up, The Junkman. He personally took both the film and the wrecked Mustang known as "Eleanor" (touted as "the only car to ever receive star billing") to drive-ins across the country--including one patronized by a certain fictional vampire trying to learn his way around 1975 Memphis.
In Blood Groove, my vampire Zginski was introduced to the modern automobile via the film Vanishing Point. By the time of my new novel, The Girls with Games of Blood, Zginski has seen Halicki's film and is ready to find his own Eleanor. You'll have to read the book to find out how he does it, and what name he chooses.
In 1989, Halicki was accidentally killed on the set of Gone in 60 Seconds II. The footage he'd already shot showed he most definitely hadn't lost his touch. And although the clothes, music and scenery of the original film set it firmly in 1974, the visceral thrill from the 40-minute final chase is timeless.
What's your favorite car chase movie? Leave a comment before midnight on Sunday, June 27 for a chance to win an advance copy of The Girls with Games of Blood (and for one lucky commenter, I'll throw in a DVD of Bram Stoker's Dracula)!
To make an independent movie in the 70s was a sign of drive and willpower far beyond those of independent filmmakers today. Indie directors didn't want to make navel-gazing talkfests like Juno or Garden State. They strove instead to give the people what they wanted: action, destruction, and anti-establishment heroes who, even when they fail, go out in a blaze of defiant glory. And it took more than a few thousand dollars and a digital camcorder: movies were shot on film and needed both big cameras and the raw stock. Then there was distribution. "Home video" did not exist, so except for television, the only market was theatrical.
H.B. Halicki was not a filmmaker. He was a raging self-starter who owned his own auto body shop at 17. And he bought cars. Lots of them. In fact, all the cars crashed in the film (93) were personally owned, and in most cases driven to their demise, by Halicki himself. He applied the same resolve to filmmaking, utlimately writing, directing, producing and starring in both this film and its 1982 follow-up, The Junkman. He personally took both the film and the wrecked Mustang known as "Eleanor" (touted as "the only car to ever receive star billing") to drive-ins across the country--including one patronized by a certain fictional vampire trying to learn his way around 1975 Memphis.
In Blood Groove, my vampire Zginski was introduced to the modern automobile via the film Vanishing Point. By the time of my new novel, The Girls with Games of Blood, Zginski has seen Halicki's film and is ready to find his own Eleanor. You'll have to read the book to find out how he does it, and what name he chooses.
In 1989, Halicki was accidentally killed on the set of Gone in 60 Seconds II. The footage he'd already shot showed he most definitely hadn't lost his touch. And although the clothes, music and scenery of the original film set it firmly in 1974, the visceral thrill from the 40-minute final chase is timeless.
What's your favorite car chase movie? Leave a comment before midnight on Sunday, June 27 for a chance to win an advance copy of The Girls with Games of Blood (and for one lucky commenter, I'll throw in a DVD of Bram Stoker's Dracula)!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
The winners of signed copies of Blood Groove are...
The Darth Vader cup came down off the shelf, the names were placed inside, and the Squirrel Boy did the random selecting. The winners are:
Milo H. Tomb
Angel 28140
Penny
Sara
Bookwench
Since none of you winners have e-mail contact info on your profile, please drop me a line (alex at alexbledsoe dot com) with your mailing address and to whom you'd like the book personalized.
Thanks to everyone who participated, and watch for more giveaways leading up to the July release of The Girls with Games of Blood!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Just in: the cover for The Girls with Games of Blood
Here's the cover for The Girls with Games of Blood, the sequel to Blood Groove.
Leave a comment before May 7 for a chance to win one of five signed paperbacks of Blood Groove, my first novel about vampires in Memphis in the Seventies.
The Girls with Games of Blood will be available in July!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
The Madison Vampire Coven strikes!
Last night, the Madison Vampire Coven had its second official Halloween reading, this year at Borders West. From left: me, Fred Schepartz (author of Vampire Cabbie and Jordan Castillo Price (author of the Psycop series).
(BTW, those aren't stains on my shirt, they're spots on the camera lens. I swear.)
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
And the winner is...
The Madison Horror Film Festival is over, and the winner of the DVD of Blacula and the signed copy of Blood Groove is...
R.K. Charron!
I also consider myself a winner, since in spite of the bludgeoning pain of having my wisdom teeth out, I still managed to get to the festival and meet director Stuart Gordon:
Thanks to everyone who commented on my blog, and look for more horror-related posts and giveaways as we get close to Halloween!
R.K. Charron!
I also consider myself a winner, since in spite of the bludgeoning pain of having my wisdom teeth out, I still managed to get to the festival and meet director Stuart Gordon:
Thanks to everyone who commented on my blog, and look for more horror-related posts and giveaways as we get close to Halloween!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Past imperfect: recreating 1975 for Blood Groove
When I decided to set my vampire novel Blood Groove in the seventies, in particular the year 1975, I gave myself an interesting dilemma. It was a period I remembered (I was 12 in '75), but not with the historical details I'd need to recreate it. So I had to do a fair bit of research to make sure I didn't get any of the particulars wrong.
From the 1975 JC Penney's catalog:
What I did remember, and vividly, were the attitudes of the time, both among the people around me and as presented in the media. By "media," I mean TV, radio and print; these were all we had, and even they were incredibly limited compared to today's all-access culture. For example, there were only three TV networks, and each major city had one station for each. With such a limited choice, we had the kind of cultural nexus almost impossible now. We all watched Happy Days, for example: it was something you had in common with just about everyone you met, regardless of age or ethnicity. We all knew both the latest ABBA song, and the new one by the Ohio Players, because the same radio station played both (and few radio stations were cooler than WHBQ in Memphis). And while there were numerous music magazines, the clear touchstone was Rolling Stone.
We had divisions, of course: American Bandstand vs Soul Train was a big one. So was Led Zeppelin vs Lynyrd Skynyrd. But cultures overlapped far more than they separated, because with so few outlets, you couldn't afford to be picky or you'd miss something.
On a more immediate level, 1975 was an interesting melting-pot of consciousness and obliviousness. It was after the big events of civil rights and the women's movement, the former of which made a significant mark on the South. In my home town of 350 people, the races had no choice but to get along, with the result that, for us kids at least, racism seemed both dated and unwieldy. (A caveat: I realize I'm speaking from the point of view of a lower-middle-class white boy, and my African-American schoolmates may have a vastly different view of our shared history.)
As for the women's movement, for us it existed primarily on television, where Mary Richards, Ann Romano and Maude Findlay made us laugh at the sexism they constantly battled. It certainly had little or no relation to the women we saw every day: our mothers, teachers and older sisters. I don't mean they didn't care about such things, but if they burned any bras it was in the privacy of their own homes, and if they resented the glass ceiling it wasn't mentioned at the dinner table. Southern gentility was much more of a priority than any political movement.
So those things I recall vividly. And in doing research for my very specific place and time, I confirmed that it was, essentially, like that. And what can I say? We did call each other "jive turkeys," warned potential combatants to "get the funk out my face," referred to an attractive woman as a "fox" and a "brick house," and (God help us all) expressed our approval with "Dy-no-MITE!" Using this slang in the book does date it, but that's the point. If Baron Zginski had appeared five years earlier or later, or in any other place, the story would've been entirely different.
So when a reviewer mentions the "...appalling treatment of female and minority characters," and another commenter states that "the blaxploitation dialogue was lame," I can't offer a defense. From the perspective of 2009, those comments are undeniably true. But to tell the story I wanted to tell, and deal with the thematic issues that interested me, I couldn't set this novel in 2009. And I couldn't recreate 1975 without accurately depicting the attitudes of the time.
From the 1975 JC Penney's catalog:
What I did remember, and vividly, were the attitudes of the time, both among the people around me and as presented in the media. By "media," I mean TV, radio and print; these were all we had, and even they were incredibly limited compared to today's all-access culture. For example, there were only three TV networks, and each major city had one station for each. With such a limited choice, we had the kind of cultural nexus almost impossible now. We all watched Happy Days, for example: it was something you had in common with just about everyone you met, regardless of age or ethnicity. We all knew both the latest ABBA song, and the new one by the Ohio Players, because the same radio station played both (and few radio stations were cooler than WHBQ in Memphis). And while there were numerous music magazines, the clear touchstone was Rolling Stone.
We had divisions, of course: American Bandstand vs Soul Train was a big one. So was Led Zeppelin vs Lynyrd Skynyrd. But cultures overlapped far more than they separated, because with so few outlets, you couldn't afford to be picky or you'd miss something.
On a more immediate level, 1975 was an interesting melting-pot of consciousness and obliviousness. It was after the big events of civil rights and the women's movement, the former of which made a significant mark on the South. In my home town of 350 people, the races had no choice but to get along, with the result that, for us kids at least, racism seemed both dated and unwieldy. (A caveat: I realize I'm speaking from the point of view of a lower-middle-class white boy, and my African-American schoolmates may have a vastly different view of our shared history.)
As for the women's movement, for us it existed primarily on television, where Mary Richards, Ann Romano and Maude Findlay made us laugh at the sexism they constantly battled. It certainly had little or no relation to the women we saw every day: our mothers, teachers and older sisters. I don't mean they didn't care about such things, but if they burned any bras it was in the privacy of their own homes, and if they resented the glass ceiling it wasn't mentioned at the dinner table. Southern gentility was much more of a priority than any political movement.
So those things I recall vividly. And in doing research for my very specific place and time, I confirmed that it was, essentially, like that. And what can I say? We did call each other "jive turkeys," warned potential combatants to "get the funk out my face," referred to an attractive woman as a "fox" and a "brick house," and (God help us all) expressed our approval with "Dy-no-MITE!" Using this slang in the book does date it, but that's the point. If Baron Zginski had appeared five years earlier or later, or in any other place, the story would've been entirely different.
So when a reviewer mentions the "...appalling treatment of female and minority characters," and another commenter states that "the blaxploitation dialogue was lame," I can't offer a defense. From the perspective of 2009, those comments are undeniably true. But to tell the story I wanted to tell, and deal with the thematic issues that interested me, I couldn't set this novel in 2009. And I couldn't recreate 1975 without accurately depicting the attitudes of the time.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
New interview posted
I'm interviewed about both The Sword-Edged Blonde and Blood Groove over at Graeme's Fantasy Book Review. He asks some fun questions.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Send a friend to GenCon with a copy of Blood Groove
The good folks at the Flames Rising horror webzine are running a cool contest: send a friend to GenCon in Indianapolis.
That's right, you don't enter the contest for yourself, but for a friend. And in addition to a four-day GenCon pass, the winner will receive a prize package that includes a signed copy of Blood Groove.
To enter a friend and find out more details, go here.
That's right, you don't enter the contest for yourself, but for a friend. And in addition to a four-day GenCon pass, the winner will receive a prize package that includes a signed copy of Blood Groove.
To enter a friend and find out more details, go here.
Monday, May 18, 2009
My WisCon schedule
If you're attending WisCon 33 in Madison, WI this coming Memorial Day weekend, you can find me at the following:
SATURDAY
Panel: Where is the Goddess These Days? Sat 8:30 - 9:45AM in the Capitol A room.
Rhianna Moore, Melodie Bolt, Catherine Anne Crowe and me.
Description: Previous WisCons had many program items about Goddesses and Goddess spirituality. These have been rather lacking the last few years. Is the Goddess passé, or is She so accepted there is no reason to talk about her any more? Is there any new Goddess–oriented fantasy and science fiction we might be interested in discussing?
Reading: Boll Weevils Advance From The South, Eating Everything That Tries To Stop Them Sat 1:00 - 2:15PM in Conference 2 room.
Forrest John Aguirre, Mark D. Rich, Robert F. Wexler and me.
I'll be reading from Blood Groove and The Sword-Edged Blonde; if time permits, I might squeeze in something from the next Eddie LaCrosse novel, Burn Me Deadly.
SUNDAY
Panel: Is Regionalism Dead? Sun 8:30 - 9:45AM in the Senate A room.
David J. Schwartz, Catherine Cheek, Rich Novotney and me.
Description: Modern publishing technology (e.g., the Internet, desktop publishing) seems to have created a global village and shrunk the distances between major cultural centers and the far–flung places where some writers live. Yet some Canadian writers who submit to U.S. markets are regularly warned not to focus too much (if at all) on Canada, and rural writers in any country are given similar warnings about writing about their actual milieux, yet reader appetites for fiction set in New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Tokyo or thinly–disguised versions of these cities are presumed to be unlimited. Let's discuss whether reality matches this perception.
Panel: The Care and Feeding of Your Vampire Sun 1:00 - 2:15PM in the Caucus room.
Fred Schepartz, Suzy Charnas, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Jordan Castillo Price and me.
Description: How do our favorite undead heroes come to life? Vampire writers reveal their dark secrets and give a blood to fangs description of how they create unforgettable vampires.
MONDAY
The SignOut Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM in the Capitol/Wisconsin room.
I'll be available to sign books and chat about pretty much anything. Even if you don't have a book for me to sign, stop by and say hello.
Hope to see many of you there next weekend!
SATURDAY
Panel: Where is the Goddess These Days? Sat 8:30 - 9:45AM in the Capitol A room.
Rhianna Moore, Melodie Bolt, Catherine Anne Crowe and me.
Description: Previous WisCons had many program items about Goddesses and Goddess spirituality. These have been rather lacking the last few years. Is the Goddess passé, or is She so accepted there is no reason to talk about her any more? Is there any new Goddess–oriented fantasy and science fiction we might be interested in discussing?
Reading: Boll Weevils Advance From The South, Eating Everything That Tries To Stop Them Sat 1:00 - 2:15PM in Conference 2 room.
Forrest John Aguirre, Mark D. Rich, Robert F. Wexler and me.
I'll be reading from Blood Groove and The Sword-Edged Blonde; if time permits, I might squeeze in something from the next Eddie LaCrosse novel, Burn Me Deadly.
SUNDAY
Panel: Is Regionalism Dead? Sun 8:30 - 9:45AM in the Senate A room.
David J. Schwartz, Catherine Cheek, Rich Novotney and me.
Description: Modern publishing technology (e.g., the Internet, desktop publishing) seems to have created a global village and shrunk the distances between major cultural centers and the far–flung places where some writers live. Yet some Canadian writers who submit to U.S. markets are regularly warned not to focus too much (if at all) on Canada, and rural writers in any country are given similar warnings about writing about their actual milieux, yet reader appetites for fiction set in New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Tokyo or thinly–disguised versions of these cities are presumed to be unlimited. Let's discuss whether reality matches this perception.
Panel: The Care and Feeding of Your Vampire Sun 1:00 - 2:15PM in the Caucus room.
Fred Schepartz, Suzy Charnas, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Jordan Castillo Price and me.
Description: How do our favorite undead heroes come to life? Vampire writers reveal their dark secrets and give a blood to fangs description of how they create unforgettable vampires.
MONDAY
The SignOut Mon 11:30AM - 12:45PM in the Capitol/Wisconsin room.
I'll be available to sign books and chat about pretty much anything. Even if you don't have a book for me to sign, stop by and say hello.
Hope to see many of you there next weekend!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Interview: Katherine Ramsland, author of The Science of Vampires
Vampires are illogical, impossible creatures of superstition and ignorance. So when Katherine Ramsland approached them scientifically in The Science of Vampires, she faced an uphill battle to find plausible explanations for the various bits of common knowledge about bloodsucking fiends. Using the most up-to-date technology and forward-thinking theories, she actually brought some reality to these unreal beings, and I found her book very helpful as I worked on Blood Groove.
Dr. Ramsland was kind enough to answer a few of the questions about the reality of vampires, and their place in our popular consciousness.
Alex: If Anne Rice had not come along, would the popular image of the vampire post-Barnabas Collins still have developed into a mostly sympathetic character? In other words, did Rice create the moment, or was the moment inevitable and simply coincided with her work?
Dr. Ramsland: The moment was inevitable. No one creates a phenomenon by themselves; it all happened as the convergence of many forces. You're seeing something similar now with the Twilight series.
The Twilight series seems, culturally speaking, to simply move the idea of the sympathetic vampire into the teenage realm, which logic says would be a meaningless distinction to an immortal, whatever his chronological age when he's turned. What about the Twilight series makes it a fundamental change in the popular image of the vampire?
I see nothing in the Twilight series that advances or changes the image. It seems fairly stereotypical, but it's reaching an audience that hasn't seen much vampire substance in a while and just wants more vampire.
Is there any possible scientific validation for the concept of resurrecting a vampire by removing the stake from his/her heart?
No. The notion is a myth, with the superstitious folk idea of pinning a corpse into the coffin, to keep it from leaving. Fiction writers then gave it a spin. To say that science would support re-animation means you think an immortal vampire is possible.
If we accept that sunlight can destroy vampires, why wouldn't moonlight--reflected sunlight--do the same?
The notion of the sun's destruction comes from the sun being symbolic of God. The vampire's soul is supposedly damned - or actually, nonexistent - so exposure to God would destroy the vampire. It's not actually about exposure to light per se, or they'd explode in any lighted arena.
Is there any way to extrapolate what the long-term psychological changes might be in a consciousness capable of existing and maturing for longer than a single human lifetime?
Yes, of course. As with all of us, to sustain passion for life we must develop a sense of momentum into the future. That would mean a healthy dose of curiosity, a sense of challenge, and a sense of accomplishment as a satisfying reward. It also means the ability to plan and implement it, and an inner drive that has a self-renewing factor from the sheer energy of being alive. We see people who can barely sustain this into their 20s before they fade away into substance abuse and boredom. Others live to be over 100, with plenty of life-sustaining energy.
Do you think there's any special, specific mental or emotional quality, unique to this sort of creature, that would be especially necessary to sustain this inner drive over, say, centuries of conscious existence?
Perspective. The more you see and the more opportunities you have to broaden your sense of the world, the more perspective you acquire. Sometimes this also delivers wisdom, and wisdom generally feeds curiosity, which is the basis of passion. Someone with perspective understands that contentment is about appreciating what you have and paying forward to others when you can.
How do you see a vampire “paying forward?"
Not as a generous gesture but as a means of making their existence more interesting. I don't have specifics. Each one will do whatever his or her personality and situation dictate, which is also true for non-vampires.
Thanks to Dr. Ramsland for taking the time to answer these questions.
Dr. Ramsland was kind enough to answer a few of the questions about the reality of vampires, and their place in our popular consciousness.
Alex: If Anne Rice had not come along, would the popular image of the vampire post-Barnabas Collins still have developed into a mostly sympathetic character? In other words, did Rice create the moment, or was the moment inevitable and simply coincided with her work?
Dr. Ramsland: The moment was inevitable. No one creates a phenomenon by themselves; it all happened as the convergence of many forces. You're seeing something similar now with the Twilight series.
The Twilight series seems, culturally speaking, to simply move the idea of the sympathetic vampire into the teenage realm, which logic says would be a meaningless distinction to an immortal, whatever his chronological age when he's turned. What about the Twilight series makes it a fundamental change in the popular image of the vampire?
I see nothing in the Twilight series that advances or changes the image. It seems fairly stereotypical, but it's reaching an audience that hasn't seen much vampire substance in a while and just wants more vampire.
Is there any possible scientific validation for the concept of resurrecting a vampire by removing the stake from his/her heart?
No. The notion is a myth, with the superstitious folk idea of pinning a corpse into the coffin, to keep it from leaving. Fiction writers then gave it a spin. To say that science would support re-animation means you think an immortal vampire is possible.
If we accept that sunlight can destroy vampires, why wouldn't moonlight--reflected sunlight--do the same?
The notion of the sun's destruction comes from the sun being symbolic of God. The vampire's soul is supposedly damned - or actually, nonexistent - so exposure to God would destroy the vampire. It's not actually about exposure to light per se, or they'd explode in any lighted arena.
Is there any way to extrapolate what the long-term psychological changes might be in a consciousness capable of existing and maturing for longer than a single human lifetime?
Yes, of course. As with all of us, to sustain passion for life we must develop a sense of momentum into the future. That would mean a healthy dose of curiosity, a sense of challenge, and a sense of accomplishment as a satisfying reward. It also means the ability to plan and implement it, and an inner drive that has a self-renewing factor from the sheer energy of being alive. We see people who can barely sustain this into their 20s before they fade away into substance abuse and boredom. Others live to be over 100, with plenty of life-sustaining energy.
Do you think there's any special, specific mental or emotional quality, unique to this sort of creature, that would be especially necessary to sustain this inner drive over, say, centuries of conscious existence?
Perspective. The more you see and the more opportunities you have to broaden your sense of the world, the more perspective you acquire. Sometimes this also delivers wisdom, and wisdom generally feeds curiosity, which is the basis of passion. Someone with perspective understands that contentment is about appreciating what you have and paying forward to others when you can.
How do you see a vampire “paying forward?"
Not as a generous gesture but as a means of making their existence more interesting. I don't have specifics. Each one will do whatever his or her personality and situation dictate, which is also true for non-vampires.
Thanks to Dr. Ramsland for taking the time to answer these questions.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Interview: Lisa Stock, director of the Blood Groove trailer
I first encountered the films of Lisa Stock, and Lisa herself, at WisCon in 2008. She was promoting her short films and multimedia work (such as the phenomenal Through the Cobweb Forest), and I was absolutely astounded by them. When it came time to do a video trailer for Blood Groove, I knew I wanted to work with a real filmmaker like her. Luckily, she was willing to bring her considerable talent to what could easily be a mere commercial. In the process, she did indeed turn it into a lot more than that.
Alex: You approach visual arts as a deliberately mythopoetic form. How were you able to bring that to bear on the Blood Groove trailer?
Lisa: One of the things I like about the book is that it doesn't fall back on the ages old vampire cliches. In fact, one of its characters spends a portion of the book dispelling those myths. And I use that for the opening of the trailer in the trial scene. You've created your own archetypes in Blood Groove and I tried to pick up on those - while bringing in elements that were meaningful to me. Take for instance the museum (I've worked in two museums before). I won't give away what happens here in the book - but it's a perfect mythic place for so many reasons - past and present face each other, there's discovery, initiation, sacrifice - all themes we deal with on a daily basis, but like to analyze in a different context.
What aspects of the novel seemed to lend themselves to a visual interpretation?
As Fauvette was discovering the world anew - so was I. Love this character! And seeing her world come to life was instrumental to the trailer I wanted to create for the book. Not only how she viewed the world (the sun, the paintings, the warehouse), but how we viewed her as well. And there are two very different Fauvettes in the trailer. She too - is very mythic to me, very visual. At once, she's a damned soul dragged up from Hell, and Persephone risen from the Underworld. And of course, just on the fun side, any chance we get to put dough and cumin in someone's hair to make it look like she hasn't washed in a year - I jump on it! LOL!
Was it difficult having me over your shoulder, metaphorically speaking?
Not at all. Believe me, I don't say that about everyone I've worked with - haha! I need to keep in mind that when I'm creating a video for someone else, I representing them and their work. So, there are some ideas I need to let go of. Nothing major though this time, if at all - you and I were pretty much on the same page. And it was really nice that you let me use my creativity as much as I wanted. That isn't always the case. However, the most important thing to me is that the person I'm working with be truly happy and comfortable with the final video - so they can put it out to the world without reservations.
This was your first book trailer; what about the project surprised you most?
Yes! Thank you for trusting me with my first book trailer. It was fun to work on. What surprised me the most was how the trailer sort of jumped out at me while reading the book. I guess I figured I'd have to write something huge - the manuscript you sent me being over 400 pages - and then whittle away and whittle away and make agonizing decisions about what to cut out of the trailer script. But again, I think it was the archetypes you created standing up and making themselves known. And it really was only a couple of drafts before I sent the script on to you for approval. And that was surprisingly nice! We've really only touched the surface of the story in the trailer. We've given your readers the motifs that are present throughout the story, but all the juicy details they'll have to discover on their own!
Thanks to Lisa for taking the time to talk to me about the trailer. It can be found on this blog here.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
"Here Comes the Night Again": the story behind Blood Groove's dedication
Sometime in the early 80s, I was prowling the 99-cent cassette bin at Old Hickory Mall (the only one) in Jackson, TN. These were always crap shoots: aside from the total unknowns, many tapes by known artists had no songs you'd ever heard of. This time, though, in the midst of the tightly-packed rows of rectangular plastic spines, I spotted a familiar title: Streets of Fire.
As a diehard Bruce Springsteen fan, I recognized this as the title of a song from his 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town. I did not know the tape's artist, though: Duncan Browne. Still, if he covered a song by the Boss, he might be worth checking out. For a dollar, it was certainly worth the risk.
Alas, it wasn't the Springsteen song. "Streets of Fire" was a seven-minute instrumental at the end of side one. But by the time I got to it, I already realized the music gods had smiled on me. Duncan Browne had a full-blown, distinctive style in 1979 that sounded awfully close to the one Dire Straits used five years later on their huge Brothers in Arms album. I'm not saying Mark Knopfler ripped off Browne: Knopfler's tunes were much jauntier and lighter. I do think Browne was ahead of his time in placing loose, jazz-flavored guitar work in a pop setting. And since his music reeked of dark, wet streets and moody clubs behind unmarked doors, it failed in a market where "Walk of Life" and "Money for Nothing" later became huge hits.
The album kicks off with "Fauvette," a song about a "street-level Joan" (as in "of Arc," I've always presumed) who is a "Fauvette," apparently a French word for nightingale. The tune is moody, and Browne sings with a simple, dark conversational voice. But his guitar-playing is phenomenally spare and gripping. I'm no musician, so I have no idea if it's technically difficult, but it draws you in as much with the spaces between the licks as the notes themselves. I was hooked by the end of the first chorus.
The next track, "American Heartbeat," is more conventional. (An aside: For probably twenty years, I had the misfortune of owning cars with unreliable cassette decks. This meant that usually I had only one working speaker channel at any given time. On most songs it didn't matter, but sometimes it presented little gems I would've otherwise missed. On this song, after the line "Outside a streetcar named Desire it's a one-way flight," you could hear Browne laugh at himself, as if shaking his head at this lyric. That's lost completely in the full stereo mix.)
I won't bore you with a track-by-track synopsis. Instead, go and buy the MP3 download here. You wont be disappointed.
Of course, it's not as cool as having a copy of the original vinyl album still in its shrink wrap.
When I began writing Blood Groove, I had a central idea (old world vampire takes younger American ones under his cape), a hero I'd created for a previous short story and a vague plot concept about the danger these vampires would face. What I needed was an atmosphere, a vibe, to slide into while I wrote. It's an intangible thing, to be sure, but it's crucial to the process, or at least to my process. For The Sword-Edged Blonde, it was the Fleetwood Mac song "Rhiannon." For Blood Groove, it was side 1 of this album. That's why I named my heroine Fauvette, and why the book is dedicated to the memory of Duncan Browne, who left us in 1993.
I don't know how he'd feel about inspiring a vampire novel. I hope he'd be tickled that his music helped someone else create something. I know that I can't imagine this book, these characters, without his music accompanying them.
As a diehard Bruce Springsteen fan, I recognized this as the title of a song from his 1978 album Darkness on the Edge of Town. I did not know the tape's artist, though: Duncan Browne. Still, if he covered a song by the Boss, he might be worth checking out. For a dollar, it was certainly worth the risk.
Alas, it wasn't the Springsteen song. "Streets of Fire" was a seven-minute instrumental at the end of side one. But by the time I got to it, I already realized the music gods had smiled on me. Duncan Browne had a full-blown, distinctive style in 1979 that sounded awfully close to the one Dire Straits used five years later on their huge Brothers in Arms album. I'm not saying Mark Knopfler ripped off Browne: Knopfler's tunes were much jauntier and lighter. I do think Browne was ahead of his time in placing loose, jazz-flavored guitar work in a pop setting. And since his music reeked of dark, wet streets and moody clubs behind unmarked doors, it failed in a market where "Walk of Life" and "Money for Nothing" later became huge hits.
The album kicks off with "Fauvette," a song about a "street-level Joan" (as in "of Arc," I've always presumed) who is a "Fauvette," apparently a French word for nightingale. The tune is moody, and Browne sings with a simple, dark conversational voice. But his guitar-playing is phenomenally spare and gripping. I'm no musician, so I have no idea if it's technically difficult, but it draws you in as much with the spaces between the licks as the notes themselves. I was hooked by the end of the first chorus.
The next track, "American Heartbeat," is more conventional. (An aside: For probably twenty years, I had the misfortune of owning cars with unreliable cassette decks. This meant that usually I had only one working speaker channel at any given time. On most songs it didn't matter, but sometimes it presented little gems I would've otherwise missed. On this song, after the line "Outside a streetcar named Desire it's a one-way flight," you could hear Browne laugh at himself, as if shaking his head at this lyric. That's lost completely in the full stereo mix.)
I won't bore you with a track-by-track synopsis. Instead, go and buy the MP3 download here. You wont be disappointed.
Of course, it's not as cool as having a copy of the original vinyl album still in its shrink wrap.
When I began writing Blood Groove, I had a central idea (old world vampire takes younger American ones under his cape), a hero I'd created for a previous short story and a vague plot concept about the danger these vampires would face. What I needed was an atmosphere, a vibe, to slide into while I wrote. It's an intangible thing, to be sure, but it's crucial to the process, or at least to my process. For The Sword-Edged Blonde, it was the Fleetwood Mac song "Rhiannon." For Blood Groove, it was side 1 of this album. That's why I named my heroine Fauvette, and why the book is dedicated to the memory of Duncan Browne, who left us in 1993.
I don't know how he'd feel about inspiring a vampire novel. I hope he'd be tickled that his music helped someone else create something. I know that I can't imagine this book, these characters, without his music accompanying them.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
This Saturday is Vampire Day at Westgate Mall
If you're in the Madison, WI area this Saturday, May 2, come join us for Vampire Day at Ravenworks in Westgate Mall, on the corner of Odana Road and Whitney Way. At 12:30 I'll be reading from Blood Groove, and signing copies as well. There's also tarot readings, a "Makeup of the Macabre" session, and a costume contest.
Hope to see you there!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Blood Groove Release Day!
Today the "suave, creepy" (Publishers Weekly) vampires of my "edgy, enthralling, entertaining" (Library Journal) novel Blood Groove are released on an unsuspecting public. Pick up a copy and journey back to 1975 Memphis when the King still lived, Parliament was in session and the undead wore stacks, bell-bottoms and polyester.
Get a sneak peek of Chapter 1 over at Flames Rising.
Anyone who comments on this post between now and Friday will be entered in a drawing for a signed copy of Blood Groove.
Get a sneak peek of Chapter 1 over at Flames Rising.
Anyone who comments on this post between now and Friday will be entered in a drawing for a signed copy of Blood Groove.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Goodies from OddCon
This weekend I attended Odyssey Con IX here in Madison, WI. I met noted SF and fantasy author Emma Bull, who was as excited about Blood Groove as I was about her historical fantasy western novel Territory.
I also got to hang out again with Patrick Rothfuss, author of the best-selling fantasy novel The Name of the Wind, and got him to pose with a shout-out to fellow author Jen K. Blom.
And here's the author signing session. That's me on the other side of Moondancer Drake's hat.
Finally, in the dealers' room I picked up a new Lovecraftian desk guardian made of blown glass by Maggs Creations.
A tremendous thanks to Jim Nichols and all the other convention organizers for putting together a great weekend. Hope to see you all next year!
I also got to hang out again with Patrick Rothfuss, author of the best-selling fantasy novel The Name of the Wind, and got him to pose with a shout-out to fellow author Jen K. Blom.
And here's the author signing session. That's me on the other side of Moondancer Drake's hat.
Finally, in the dealers' room I picked up a new Lovecraftian desk guardian made of blown glass by Maggs Creations.
A tremendous thanks to Jim Nichols and all the other convention organizers for putting together a great weekend. Hope to see you all next year!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Blood Groove video trailer
As promised last week, here's the short film based on my novel Blood Groove.
Written and directed by Lisa Stock. Featuring Catherine Mancuso. Music: "Bottle of Jack" by Colleen Grace, used by permission.
Written and directed by Lisa Stock. Featuring Catherine Mancuso. Music: "Bottle of Jack" by Colleen Grace, used by permission.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Guest blogging at Magical Musings
Today I'm guest-blogging at Magical Musings on finding the essential core quality for my vampire characters. Stop by and say hi!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
First review in on Blood Groove
The first pre-publication review of Blood Groove has hit the Net.
Read Patricia Altner's comments here; she calls it, "an intoxicating brew of mystery, humor, and horror."
Read Patricia Altner's comments here; she calls it, "an intoxicating brew of mystery, humor, and horror."
Thursday, January 15, 2009
JUST IN: New cover art for Blood Groove
So the good people at Tor have completely redone the cover for my upcoming vampire novel Blood Groove. And while I liked the original art (at posting time still visible on Amazon), this new cover does a much better job capturing the book's atmosphere:
So what does everyone think?
So what does everyone think?
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