Interviews With the Vampire Writers Part I
I recently had the opportunity to interview friend and fellow author Chris Dauten. He is an extremely talented writer with what I believe to be a brilliant style and a shining future ahead of him. Below is the interview. Enjoy.
Interview questions for Chris.
1. How long would you say you’ve been writing?
I think I learned in kindergarten…
2. What or who are some of you inspirations?
Michael Moorcock, HG Wells, Jules Verne, and old classic horror movies
3. How long was it before you wrote your first published book.
I had my first magazine article published in 1994. My first book was “Horror Classics: A Fan’s Guide to 100m Fiendishly Fun Films” in 2004. My first novel, “Lianna’s Children,” followed later the same year.
4. What is the name of your vampire novel?
“Lianna’s Children” was the first. “Blood Royal” is the latest.
5. How many books have you written about of involving vampires?
Three, including “Horror Classics” (it features quite a few vampire movies)
6. What inspired you to write about vampires?
My books are really about humans’ perception if reality vs. reality itself and I needed a species from legend that I could portray as being a “higher” race…vampires seemed to fit the bill pretty well.
7. How has the book changed you as a person and an author?
It’s given me more confidence as a writer, but I don’t think it’s changed me as a person.
8. Would you consider the book a success?
Absolutely. The response I’ve gotten from it has been overwhelmingly positive.
9. I know you’ve written a sequel to this book but are there plans to write more?
Yes. “Blood Royal,” the sequel to “Lianna’s Children” was just published last week. I’m currently working on a third book.
10. How do you compare your work to authors such as Anne Rice, PN Elrod, or any others who write about vampires?
I don’t. If a reader told me my work reminded them of some other author, I’d take it as a compliment, but I’d be disappointed, too. I’d much rather someone read my work and say, “Wow. I’ve never read anything like that, before.”
11. What about self-publishing? How do you think it compares to going through the “normal” process?
“Normal.” That’s funny. I think you’re referring to the “traditional” publishing process, which is FAR from “normal.” There’s a lot of political nonsense one has to go through in traditional publishing and I don’t have much patience for that sort of thing. I recently read a book that had been “traditionally” published and it was full of misspellings, missing words, and an overly repeated phrase that the author used every couple of pages. If my books have problems like that, it’s my own fault. If, however, my books DON’T have misspellings and other problems, then I did a better job at my dining table with my laptop than this large traditional publisher did. I like that. And readers should like that, too, because it means that they don’t have to keep swallowing the same old rehashed nonsense that traditional publishers keep feeding them.
12. What are the titles of your other works?
Nonfiction: “Horror Classics: A Fan’s Guide to 100 Fiendishly Fun Films”
Fiction: “Lianna’s Children” and “Blood Royal”
13. What comes next, where do you see yourself in the future of writing?
No plans. I have a least two more books in the “Lianna” universe to write. Beyond that, we’ll see. I’ll move on to something else once there’s nothing left for these characters to do.
14. If you could do anything different, as an author, what would it be?
Hmm. Good question. There’s a scene in “Lianna’s Children” where Lianna attempts to explain perception vs. reality to Lauren, and she uses the example of an insect. I wish I’d used some other animal, like dogs or cats. The insect thing is a little hard to relate to.
15. Do you dream of hitting the big time or are you content where you are at now?
That depends how you define “the big time.” If you’re writing for money, you’re writing for the wrong reason. There’s a reason why a pizza delivery driver makes more money in the US than the average author does. Writers write because they love it, not because they see it as a gravy train and, like I said, if you do, you’re in the wrong game. I love writing and as long as people enjoy what I write, no matter how many of them there are, and then I am more than pleased.
This interview conducted via the web by J W James.
Vampwriter1369
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