Please Welcome Novelist Werner A. Lind to Cutis Anserina...
Your novel Lifeblood is a century-spanning vampiric
romance; what were the challenges in creating the various time periods?
Yes, Lifeblood
begins in 17th-century England, but shifts quickly to modern-day
Iowa, where my vampire heroine is re-animated.
Then there are a couple of flashbacks, interspersed with the modern-day
plot, that show some key events in 17th-century Transylvania, where
she originated. Of course, creating the
modern setting in Iowa wasn’t too hard; I was raised there. But the 17th-century settings
required more research, especially the Transylvanian ones, although of course I
already had some general knowledge.
(Luckily, I’m a history major.)
Much of what I found on Romanian life and culture (Transylvania is part
of modern Romania) was from a later time, but a lot of the details would have
been the same in the 1600s, too –the features of the traditional culture don’t
change much over time. The juxtaposition
of time periods created opportunities as well as challenge; I had fun in some
places with Ana’s total ignorance of modern culture and technology. (It was a bit of a time travel story, too, in
that respect.)
How did the
character of Ana Vasilifata emerge?
Well, I knew at the outset that I wanted my vampire
character to be female (that fit into the symbolism of the tale). I also wanted her to come from peasant stock,
to be a more normal person, as it were, than the typical aristocratic vampires
of literature, who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouths and maybe don’t
relate very well to ordinary people as equals.
And because of the type of plot I created, I wanted her to be the kind
of person who could both feel love for, and attract the love of, a worthy guy;
that shaped some of the kinds of personal qualities she has. I’m attracted to strong heroines who can
fight if they have to, so portraying her that way came naturally (and fits in
with her physical vampire strength). And
her Transylvanian roots were something I wanted, both as a nod to Balkan
vampire folklore and literary tradition and to give her a touch of the
exotic. From there, it was a matter of
honing the character over the 20 years or so that it took me to write the book.
What sets your
novel apart from the plethora of vampire centered romance novels in the market
today?
Good question, M. R.!
The basic idea of the novel was born in my mind back in the mid-70s,
well before the current explosion of vampire-themed romance novels, and for me
the romantic aspect was never an end in itself.
It was something I wanted for its inherent power as a literary symbol or
metaphor for the Christian gospel, the idea of salvation through the blood of
Christ from the sin that corrupts our nature.
Being a Christian, that’s a message that’s important to me to present in
my work, whenever it can fit naturally into the story, without being forced
in. (And here, of course, the fit is
natural, because the whole concept of the premise and plot is built on
it.) So if it’s a “romance” novel (and I
suppose it is!) it’s one that wasn’t self-consciously written to romance genre
expectations. (So, don’t expect sex and
“Her bones melted at his touch!” prose!).
It’s also, for want of a better term, “wholesome;” I’ve found,
interestingly, that it appeals to quite a few readers who say they usually
don’t like vampire books.
What vampire work was
the most influential to you as an author?
Actually, before I started writing Lifeblood, I’d only read two vampire works: a dumbed-down kid’s
version of Dracula (which even in
that form made a real impression on me!) and Les Whitten’s Progeny of the Adder.
(During the 90s, when I was writing the book, I read the original Dracula, and I’d read some of Stoker’s The Lady of the Shroud earlier, as a kid
–the title character there isn’t really a vampire, but some details of Balkan
culture from that novel found their way into mine.) I was really mainly influenced by the TV
series Dark Shadows, where Barnabas
and the other vampires are people with moral sensibilities and free will, not
automatons of bloodthirsty evil; the former model is the one I gravitated
to. So my conception of the vampire, in
my work, is a combination of Stoker’s and that of Dark Shadows –pretty traditional, in terms of Undead physical
characteristics and powers/weaknesses. Once I started the writing process, I
deliberately didn’t read any vampire fiction by other modern authors, because I
didn’t want to be influenced; I wanted to write the novel with my OWN
voice. (I’ve read and enjoyed quite a
few modern vampire works since finishing the book!)
Are there any other
classic horror creatures you would like to play around with? If so, which ones?
My short story “Wolf Hunt” (which is available on
Smashwords for 99 cents) deals with the werewolf mythos. Someday I want to tell that story from the
werewolf’s point of view, which will require expanding it into a novel; but
that’s a project for a later time!
Who is your favorite
fictional character? How has this
character impacted you over the years?
It would be really hard for me to pick one single
favorite fictional character; there are so many that I like! As a kid, I liked the Hardy Boys, Tarzan, and
Sherlock Holmes; as an adult, I discovered Manly Wade Wellman’s Silver John,
and some of Robert E. Howard’s marvelous creations; in recent years, I’ve come
to really admire Harry Potter and his friends, Bella and the Cullens from the
Twilight Saga, and Sarah Tolerance, the sword-wielding “agent of inquiry” in
Madeleine Robins’ alternate Regency London.
And there are many others, too numerous to mention! A common thread that tends to bind all of
them together, though, is that they’re brave and capable, and that they use their
courage and ability to set right what’s wrong and stand up for those who need a
defender. I think they’re pretty good
role models on that account; I don’t know how much they’ve impacted who I
actually am, but they’ve shaped the way that I’d like to be.
What was the first
truly frightening novel you remember reading?
Was your reaction to bury in the closet, or to run out and find other
stories like it?
For me, the first novel I found truly frightening was the
Hardy Boys book, The Flickering Torch Mystery. Obviously, now I’d find it pretty tame! But for my nine-year-old self, the silent,
sinister hooded and black-shrouded figures, moving through the pitch-dark
tunnels and recesses of a menacing cavern, and signaling who knows what with
torches against the night sky, scared the bejabbers out of me and haunted my
childhood dreams. My reaction was to
bury myself under the bedclothes at night –AND to keep reading every Hardy Boys
mystery I could. That’s the same
reaction I had to the episodes of Boris Karloff’s old TV show Thriller, at that age and younger; I’d
pull the covers over my head at night in the hope that if I couldn't see the
ghoulies, they couldn't see me –but I’d be glued to the screen the next time it
came back on!
What current genre authors
are you following?
I’m following all the books of Krisi Keley’s On the Soul
series as they come out, and finding them VERY rewarding. The series opener is On the Soul of a Vampire; the prequel is Pro Luce Habere, which was originally published in two volumes
because of its length, and the conclusion to the trilogy will be Genesis.
Hers is, IMO, the best Christian treatment of the vampire mythos I’ve
ever read (and I include my own in that comparison!).
What current trends
are you finding in the horror field? Do
you find them positive or negative? Why?
Truth to tell, I don’t see myself as a “horror” reader,
or writer. I’m fascinated by the fiction
of the supernatural, and all the range of literary possibilities it opens
up. But not all of those are horrific;
and while they certainly can be, and I like that approach if it’s well done,
it’s not the be-all-and-end-all of my interest.
Horror for its own sake doesn’t interest me that much, particularly when
it’s horror that’s evoked through grisly, in-your-face violence, perversion and
torture porn. That kind of thing is sort
of a trend that I see in contemporary horror, from reading reviews and so forth
–the whole splatter-punk school—and I do see it as a negative trend. Another is the shift from traditional
situational horror, where the horrific events are an aberration in the
universe, to contemporary existential horror (reflecting modern nihilism and
existential pessimism), in which the structure of reality itself is horrific
and there’s no hope for deliverance.
(Those are trends that Lifeblood
bucks.)
Do you have new
projects coming down the pipeline you would like to share with us?
One of my friends on the social network Goodreads really
liked the character Lorna, who appears in my short story “The Gift” (also
available on Smashwords). She’s begged
me to write another story featuring Lorna, so I’m working on one. I’m also a bit more than half done with my
second novel (which I’ve been working on for about six years –I’m hoping it doesn't take 20 years to write, like the first one did!). It won’t be a sequel to Lifeblood, but rather a totally different tale with different
characters, set in Appalachian Virginia where I live now and drawing on the
themes and premises of H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos (though with a more
optimistic outlook than his). Finding
time to write, in the midst of a full-time day job and lots of family
responsibilities, is the real challenge that makes finishing any work such a
slow process! But like all writers, it’s
something I do because I love doing it; and that’s what makes me persevere.
Thanks so much for interviewing me, M.R.! I appreciate it a lot.
And thank you for the kind thank you, all the best...
