Babel Clash

I have to admit that I’m writing this blog entry while sitting in the Orlando airport as I prepare to leave the Romance Writers of America conference and finally head home after too many days of traveling. I guess what that means is that I intend to keep today’s post short and sweet, but we’ll see how that goes as I tend to ramble.

One question that Jeaniene and I discussed is whether we preferred book series or stand-alone single titles. I have to admit that I’ve been reading urban fantasy and paranormal romance books for quite a while now, which usually come in series form. As a result, I’ve gotten most accustomed to that format. Furthermore, I think I’ve come to prefer it. The series format allows the writer time to slowly build a relationship between two characters or a number of characters, whether it be of a romantic nature or other, such as the decay of a friendship into enemies. It’s like a nice, slow burn that you get to see over a long period of time. You get that feeling of anticipation and excitement between books as you wait to see what it going to happen next to the characters.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that I don’t read the occasional stand-alone single title. I just recently “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” It was fun book and was sort of used to cleanse the palette before I jumped into something deeper that would involve my emotions over a longer period of time. The stand-alone novel for me is something that allows me to escape for a short period of time as I take a break between projects.

So, while I read both (actually I’ll read just about anything you hand me, I love reading so much), I have a preference for series as I love the emotional involvement over a longer period of time.

Somehow Jeaniene has conspired to leave me to kick off one of the hard questions that we discussed and I have not noticed it until now. Yes, she’s a sneaky one, so be wary. Of course, the idea was mine so I guess it is only fitting that I kick this one off. I guess I have no one to blame but myself, but I will try blaming Jeaniene anyway.

So, now that I’m done rambling, let’s get down to business. The question that I raised weeks ago when Jeaniene and I were talking was whether you would write a vampire story without a romance. And in truth I think that answer has become a double-edged sword. My first inclination is to say “Yes, you can.” You can very easily make a vampire the villain of the story, wiping away all hopes of the vampire becoming a romantic lead. In fact, you can very easily take the vampires back to their earliest roots of making them a monstrous creature that is a decaying undead that no one wants to date. It’s hard to make someone sexy when they are rotting all over you.

However, I started to think, what if the vampire wasn’t the villain? The predominant view of the vampire in this generation is that he/she is sexy and enticing and oh-so-alluring. In the case of my vampires in the Dark Days series, that sexy allure is masking a monster that will rip your throat out just for the fun of it, but they are still very sexy. Regardless of whether there is a monster lurking under the skin or not, in many books (I know there are some exceptions) the expectation is that the vampire will not only be sexy but will be involved in some kind of romantic interlude, regardless of whether it is a brief fling or true love. As readers of vampire novels, I have to wonder if you are disappointed if a vampire isn’t sexy or involved in some romantic way when they appear in a novel?

The other thought that is rattling around in my head is: what if the vampire is the main character? If I am writing a series, I have to admit that I treat the character the same whether vampire, werewolf, or pixie. The reader is seeing them through a period of their life and it is natural for them to have some kind of romantic side to their life. So in this case, it almost feels necessary for the vampire to have some kind of romance.

To sum up, my answer is “No, you don’t have to have a romance” and “Yes, you do in some cases”. I’m so glad that I settled that. What do you think?

I have to agree with Jeaniene in many ways. Before I wrote my first vampire novel, I read anything in the urban fantasy and paranormal romance genres that I could get my hands on. I couldn’t fill my mind enough with warlocks, vampires, faeries, and werewolves. I loved it all. And it was this love that drove me to write my own urban fantasy novel. I wanted to be enveloped in that fantasy world of my creation.

However, this is where Jeaniene and I diverge. I forced myself to put down most of the urban fantasy and paranormal romance books I had been reading when I started the writing process. There were two reasons for this course of action. The first being my deadline and my fear of writing on a deadline. I’ve never had a deadline for a book before so I wrote I at my own pace. I wasn’t sure that I could finish a book in a few months as was expected. So, to save time and what was left of my sanity, I put all books down and wrote. I actually felt guilty readings books in my spare time because my brain would argue that I should be writing and not reading. So for me, the first step away was a deadline related issue.

The second reason is that I wanted to feel that the Dark Days series was wholly my idea. I had spent enough time reading in the genre to get a feel for the storytelling style and other requirements of the genre. However, I didn’t want to be unconsciously influenced by anything I had read while I was working. Call me paranoid. I was just terrified of being accused of copying someone else’s idea.

Now, I will admit that I snuck in the occasional book that I just couldn’t wait to read, but those tended to be so distinctly different from what I was writing that my paranoia didn’t kick in.

At the moment, I am taking a brief writing break before I head back in for revision of Book 6 of the Dark Days series and I am trying to get a little reading done. Of course, the problem now is that I am grossly behind on all my paranormal reading. Could someone add a few more hours to the day for me?

I’m back home briefly from the 2010 San Diego Comic Con and I find this is a very appropriate topic as my brain sorts through all the costumes, art, and general chaotic mayhem that surrounded me for three full days. I think, for writing in general, I am a world watching, a people watcher, a soaker of atmospheres. I try to let everything that surrounds me soak in through the senses until it lights a fire of creativity in my brain. I will walk down the artists’ aisle at Comic Con and let my mind wander as a try to come up with stories that go along with the amazing pictures that they have created. I get excited to see other greatness that people can create and it drives me harder to come up with my own creative, unique stories.

Another place that actually drives me back to the computer is actually the bookstore. I will wander through the aisles, letting my eyes just sort of dance over the spines. I won’t let myself actually pick up any of the books. No, for me, it’s a meeting of the minds. It’s as if I can stand in the middle of the bookstore (particularly the science-fiction/fantasy section) and close my eyes. There I can hear the voices of the other authors supporting me, telling me that I can write that next great book, that it’s going to be hard work but I’m going to love every minute of it. Inspiration comes in the idea that others have come before me and accomplished great things, then so can I.

A little too weird? Well, it’s been well documented that authors are eccentric.

When it comes to my vampires, I have to say that my influences come from my reading of the original gothics in literature. Some of my favorite stories include Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray,“ Bran Stoker’s “Dracula,” and “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” During that period, there was a duality of the spirit that people were fighting – their pious outer persona and their inner needs and lusts. I find the study of the human condition, the soul, and the internal struggle for the soul to be extremely interesting. As a result, it colors my own writing.

I guess in the end, for me, inspiration is everywhere. It’s around every corner and waits in the most random moment of your life. You never know where the next turn in your life will lead to an interesting story.

While my first love will always be vampires, I have to admit that when it comes to playing in the urban fantasy genre, I am enamored of the fact that I have the chance to work with a broad spectrum of creatures that titillate the mind and soul. The urban fantasy genre not only allows me the freedom to play with characters from all different types of mythologies, but it also opens the door to creating my own creatures.

When I started working on the Dark Days Series, I found that I needed a villain or villains worthy of taking on my power and frightening nightwalkers. I needed something that was fierce and powerful and maybe even a little mad. I needed something with a zealot-like determination toward a single cause. That is how I first came up with the notion of the naturi. The naturi are a nature-based race that were born to protect the earth. Their own strength and powers are derived from the powers of the earth. As a result, they narrowly see humans as destroyers of the earth. So the goal of the naturi is naturally to destroy mankind in their effort to protect the earth. From a nightwalker’s perspective, this simply won’t do, as they are dependent upon humans for both entertainment and sustenance. Hence, nightwalkers and the naturi are natural enemies.

Another desperate love of mine when creating is that I always seek a sense of balance in all things. After I created the naturi, I found that I needed to create a polar opposite to that race so that they have a dark, evil enemy. As a result, the bori sprang into existence. The bori are a soul-based race, that were born to protect the souls of humans. Their own strength and powers come from the souls of humans. So, when the naturi start killing off humans, the bori begin to lose power, and they certainly don’t like that. It’s completely understandable then that the naturi and bori are forever locked in a power struggle for dominance.

Finally, to give both races a sense of history and deep age, I stated that the naturi are responsible for all the old mythology surrounding elves, fairies, hinky-pinks, and the like. When a creature slipped mysteriously out of the woods and attacked a human, it was a naturi. On the other hand, the bori were responsible for the mythology surrounding angels and demons, as these creatures were most likely around to tempt the souls of the humans.

One of the most interesting aspects of working in the urban fantasy genre is creating the world in which your characters are going to live. For me, the sense of rules and regulations on how the magic works and what your different species are permitted to do is very comforting for me. I think I also thrive on the challenge. I frequently dig my characters into ugly holes that they have to climb out of while still abiding by the rules I initially created for the series. Or maybe I just have a sick, twisted sense of fun.

When dealing with vampires, I think worldbuilding becomes particularly important because there are so many variations on the idea of what a vampire is or isn’t. Can they walk in sunlight? Do they drink blood? Do they have problems with garlic, crosses, mirrors, and entering a person’s house uninvited? Do they sparkle? The list is nearly endless in the variations.

When I created my vampires, I was very careful in the rules that I set up as I wanted the reasons for any limitations that they might have to be closely tied to their initial creation. As a result, my vampires are completely dependent upon human blood because they need to take in the soul energy in blood since they no longer have the ability to create their own soul energy. My vampires become completely unconscious the moment the sun rises. I saw it as a trade off for being so powerful. The vampires had to trade those hours of extreme strength and power for several hours of being completely vulnerable to their surroundings. With my vampires, I was always seeking a balance, a little give and take for everything.

In other aspects, my vampires are completely indifferent to garlic, are not obsessive-compulsive counters, can see their reflection, and can enter wherever they please regardless of whether they have been invited.

Overall, I think the most important aspect for my vampires is that they are predators. These creatures are monsters deep down. After the long centuries of living as a vampire, they have traded much of their humanity for their survival instincts as a blood-thirsty creature that lives for the thrill of the hunt. My vampires are violent and scary. And most important of all, they love what they are.