Happy Wednesday Scribblers. I hope you are all having a great week. Today I’m thrilled to have author Damian Serbu here to chat about his newest novel The Vampire’s War, which is the fifth book in his The Realm of the Vampire Council. If you haven’t checked out his amazing series and you enjoy vampire books, then you are missing out on some excellent books.
Instead of having Damian come over and chat about his book, I asked him to provide something different. He wrote up what inspired him to craft this story and how he learned but the novels underlying tone actually meant to him. Let’s jump into what Damian has to say.
Quite often, when asked why I wrote a novel, I explain how the story called to me. The characters, episodes, and plot line emerge within my head over time, until I have to put them to paper. In other words, the muse dictates a lot of what I write! I was excited, however, to be asked about what inspired The Vampire’s War, because more played into its development than the muse alone.
I had hinted in other vampire novels about a rogue vampire who defies the Vampire Council. And in The Vampire’s Protégé, which introduces a completely new vampire, the defiant vampire plays a key role. By the end of Protégé, in fact, we learn a war is brewing, but there are no other details. If I wanted to return to my vampires, I was going to have to dive into this war. In other words, the war at the heart of The Vampire’s War was a slow burn coming at us over several stories.
I delayed a little while, however, because I was concerned about the scope of a vampire war and how to put that to paper. I was nervous because the concept went farther outside my typical comfort zone than most of my other tales. I was sitting on a situation where I had ideas but too much uncertainty to start putting the grand scheme to paper. However, along came the second push toward writing The Vampire’s War.
This is where the muse comes into play. Vampires have always called to me. I write other genres, but even when I take a break, I return to vampires. When I complete a novel, I think – okay, done with the vampires! Time for them to go away for a bit! They comply for a little while, until I begin to see flashes of a scene pop into my head. Then they demand more and more attention, until I jot some notes about a possible story. However, I wanted to let them rest. I had other novels in the queue within my brain that were supposed to be written first. But one after another, the vampires poked and prodded. They said shit like, “Yeah, you think you like the YA sci fi thing you’re plugging away on. But we’re cuter. And funnier. Oh! Hey! Guess what I did that you need to tell people about!” You see, vampires nag at you.
The sexual allure, power, and concept of immortality within vampire worlds has always fascinated me. I love vampires of all stripes; from the dark vampire of Bram Stoker and other evil vampires, to the universe of Anne Rice. I find the uniqueness of each author’s creation so absorbing. Plus, with my vampires and I think with other vampire writers, stripping away mortality, and in many ways fear itself, offers a platform for deep dives into other human emotions and motivations. This factor pulls me back into the vampire world time and time again. Combined with their incessant voices in my head, it was time to bring them back to life.
Fascinatingly, the third factor in what produced The Vampire’s War was dormant as I wrote this novel. I was going with these first two motivations as driving me to write The Vampire’s War, unaware that a third, and possibly more powerful force, pushed me along. Before I reveal the issue, let me share how I figured out its influence.
I was talking to a close friend about my writing. She asked what I was currently working on, so I explained how I was wrapping up The Vampire’s War. The Vampire’s War is written from Jaret’s point of view. He’s a character who first appeared in The Bachmann Family Secret, a young adult ghost story, and then blended into the vampire world in The Vampire’s Witch, where he becomes a vampire. He’s also in The Vampire’s Protégé, but never by name because he refuses to reveal his identity to the main character. However, Jaret tells about the impending war and is attempting to find help in combating it. These factors make him an ideal vehicle for watching the war. He’s young and not part of the vampire leadership, so he and the reader together discover facts about the war as they develop. And he is extremely powerful because in addition to his vampire ability, he’s a witch.
Back to the matter at hand, I explained to my friend how I realized that The Vampire’s War has two main storylines, not one. Of course, one is the war itself. But as the words hit paper, I came to realize we were also watching Jaret grow into himself as a new, confidant, and liberated vampire. There was a self-discovery component for Jaret that evolved naturally, without my intending to tell it even as it dominated much of the plot.
She then asked me, “do you think what happened to you had anything to do with how you tell Jaret’s story?” Boom! Out of nowhere I saw a major factor in why this story came into being. I had been laid off, in a very unethical hatchet job against a lot of friends, colleagues, and myself. But Paul and I had been planning for me to retire in about five years or so, and after deliberation and analysis, concluded we could take that step now, and thus I became a full-time writer! Jaret’s story had become part of how I processed what happened to me and then embraced my new life. For the first time, I don’t answer to anyone, not a parent, teacher, professor, boss – nobody but the dogs (who are still in charge). The way my friend led me to this revelation was so much fun. And I am happy to have the opportunity to share with you the fun way The Vampire’s War came to fruition!
I don’t know about you, but I love hearing about how authors come up with their story ideas and how our actual lives can seep into the stories we write, even without us knowing until someone points the fact out to us. Let me know in the comments below what you think about how our muses work. Until next time, have a great week.
Book Blurb:
War brews among vampires. Facing extinction at the hands of an ancient one, the Vampire Council plods along with a secret strategy. Jaret Bachmann, both vampire and witch, fears the Council elders move too slowly. He has the power to assist them in defeating their enemy, but the longer they keep him at arm’s length the more defiant he becomes. He’s already pushing the boundaries to assert his will when tragedy strikes, devastating him and compelling him to become even more rebellious. A young vampire alone in the world, Jaret struggles to find his true self and discover how he wants to spend the remainder of his eternal life, even as the vampire war intensifies and the rogue vampire strikes again. To compound his problems, he’s faced with the allure of a hot renegade vampire, not sure if he is friend or foe. Who will win the war, and where will Jaret’s soul-searching lead him? Find out in The Vampire’s War.
About Damian Serbu:
Damian Serbu is an author of gay horror/speculative fiction. After over twenty years of teaching history at the collegiate level, he now writes full time. He lives in the Chicagoland area with his husband and two dogs. You can find him a on his website here, or keep up with his latest ramblings on Twitter here and Facebook here.
Buy Link his novel The Vampire’s War here.