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Hi. My name is Christine Church. I
write paranormal, fantasy and time travel romance. I also write nonfiction
books and articles about the care of cats and
horse related topics.
The funny (funny strange, not funny ha ha) thing about my new novella, “Sands of Time Fate of the True Vampires” is that it is the only book I ever wrote that is not romance. Although, the original novel was romance… And that is where we come to my mad method behind this small novella, which is basically an “Intro” book to what will be a full out series that will grow with each book.
How
I got into vampires:
I wasn’t born loving vampires. Quite
the contrary. I hated them. I feared them. When I was around 8 years old, I saw
an old black and white Dracula movie (I
honestly today can’t tell you which one it was). Oh, all that black and white
blood! I had nightmares for years! Every time I heard the word vampire I
cringed and ran away. I couldn’t watch any horror movie with my eyes open, and
even then, forget it. The music alone gave me nightmares. At around 10 years
old, I went with my childhood best friend and our parents to see a new horror
movie, Race with the Devil (later on
in life, one of the actresses from that movie, Loretta Switt, would call me and
help me with my first novel, but that’s a whole other tale).
A year later, I went with my family
to see another new horror movie, The Omen.
Back then, you could be 11 years old and see horror movies. Once again, I had
nightmares for months afterwards, even though my eyes were closed through most
of the movie (it wouldn’t be until I was well into my 30’s before I saw that
movie all the way through, eyes open, and it was so tame!).
Now that I think about it, for
someone scared to death of horror movies, I saw an awful lot of them at a very
young age! Not only because it was like doing something “adult” and getting
away with it, but I think I was trying to conquer my fear of these scary and at
times gory flicks (which started with Dracula). It didn’t work. The fears, the
nightmares continued well into my adulthood.
Most of the novels I read back then
were historical, such as Sho-Gun, Spring Moon, and others mostly set in Asia (I
was heavily into martial arts). I also loved time travels. In school, I always
failed history because all they taught us was about wars, blood and death (more
nightmares). But these books took me into different worlds.
I always had a thing for the gothic
(to the point I wore black make up, nail polish, etc. in school, which did not
help keep me from being bullied. It was not in
yet). I loved old spooky mansions, Victorian gothic architecture, etc. That
love grew as I got older. I found a deep love for movies in particular set
during 18th century Britain. The clothes, the hair (particularly
long hair on men), the architecture. It sung to me.
Since I was born with a mental
disability (that was not diagnosed until 2004), I couldn’t work a “regular”
job, though I tried and tried—and failed. And so, I decided since I couldn’t buy
my gorgeous Victorian mansion, I would build one. Well, a dollhouse one anyway.
I lived in the basement and would sit on the end of my waterbed frame with the
big table in front of me that held the foundation for what would become a four
foot tall by four foot wide Gingerbread Victorian home with 10 rooms and
electricity. I had the television on as I built (the table and dollhouse was
between me and my TV). (Fig 1)
Figure 1 You can see the TV beyond... through the
windows.
One day, after I had the entire
frame built and was working on the interior walls, I heard a commercial come on
TV. Through one of the mansion’s many windows I caught a glimpse of a hot guy
in 18th century garb. I didn’t see much of what turned out to be a
movie trailer, but the next time it came on, I was prepared to peer through my
mansion windows and watch the whole thing. I was smitten. Not only with the
men, the hair, but the gothic style, the clothes, the sex appeal! This was a
movie I HAD to see! There was only one major problem. It was about vampires! It
didn’t matter. My libido wouldn’t let me out of this one (at 29, that mattered,
a lot).
Finished House, outside (top) and in
the living room (above).
The first time I saw “Interview with
the Vampire,” was with a friend. I was so enthralled, I walked out of the
theatre in a daze. From there, I became obsessed. I made my own capes and 18th
century sexy gowns. I saw that movie 11 times in the theatre. One of those
times, at a very small theatre, I was dressed in my ‘vampire’ garb (I even had
the same fangs made with dental impression material, so they looked exactly like the movie fangs and fit
perfectly to my teeth), waiting for my friend in the bathroom after the movie.
I was standing off to the side, in the small ‘dressing’ area, which was a bit
dark. Some ladies came into the bathroom and the door opened in front of me (I
was behind it as they entered). The door closed and they saw me standing behind
it, long black cloak, long dark hair…and fangs. I am not exaggerating when I
say one of the girls screamed. They ran back out of the bathroom (I think after
seeing me they no longer had to go). I felt powerful, beautiful, just like the
vampires in the movie.
And that was the start of my vampire
obsession. (I went to New Orleans in 1995, to Anne Rice’s Memnock Ball).
How
this ties into Sands of Time:
I was already writing long before
this. As a matter of fact, I started writing fiction at the age of 9. There were always stories in my head. After
reading four of the ‘Vampire Chronicles’ (my intro to Anne Rice, who I still
think is the best writer on earth), I decided to try my hand at writing my own
vampire novel. It was called “Love’s Timeless Melody” and I actually based it
around the song “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler.
That book sat in a desk drawer (I
didn’t yet have a computer) until I rewrote it a few years later (on a
computer) and eventually renamed it “In Darkness Deceived.” That novel still exists, and Kesi (main
character in “Sands of Time”) was a big character in that novel. Her past was
written as letters between her and her father. Something never really sat right
with me and several attempts to publish it met with failure. Once again, it sat
(this time on a computer file). For years!
In 2014, (about 15 years after I
last saw it) I decided to do something with it. I had by this time written many
novels, honed the craft, became a professional writer, had 5 books published
(nonfiction) traditionally, and eventually received jobs in the writing field.
But those darn vampires had my heart gripped tightly in their fangs.
After thinking through it carefully
and for weeks, an idea came into my head. Why not give Kesi her own story, take
the letters she and her father had exchanged and turn them into diary entries
that had been found and dug up by archaeologists? One thing led to another, and the novella, “Sands
of Time Fate of the True Vampires” was born.
I knew Kesi’s entire story when I
had originally written “Love’s Timeless Melody” back in the mid ‘90’s, but I
had not thought to turn it into its own book. Kesi is the key to everything. I
wanted her story out, even though it was not a terribly long story. I wanted
people to know how she became who she was by the time the later novel was
written.
And so, Sands of Time is an ‘Introduction’
book in a sense, to the rest of what will now be a series that will ultimately
lead up to “In Darkness Deceived,” which is written, but not ready to see the
light of day yet. So, each character throughout Kesi’s long life will have a
book in the series, and Kesi will be there as well. And, who knows… “In
Darkness Deceived” may not be the last book in the series. By the time I get
there, I am sure everyone in all the books will have a lot more to say!
Here is the blurb:
The new era of vampires has begun,
and it starts in the past...
Scrolls. Documents. Journals.
A story evolved.
Kesi’s story. “I lived a secret
life, not even shared by my husband to be. As my family was persecuted and forced to leave, I
chose to stay behind. My desire above all else was to have a family, to share my bloodline. But,
alas, I cannot bear children. However, there is a way. Others succeeded. And so, I tried—and I
failed. After my husband’s death, I traveled the world searching for an answer. Many years passed, I met
a man named Yin, an alchemist who held the answer to what I sought. But his desires were dark.
And he wished to destroy the only children our kind could ever bear. Running was fruitless, for he
was never far behind. And so now the time has come—time to stop running and face my enemy.”
This book is the first installment in the “Fate of the True Vampires” series.
LINKS: Amazon: http://goo.gl/4MK9Gj
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