Interview with Lucy Eldritch
Tell us about your most recent book.
Well, in general terms, ‘The Young Vampire’s Survival Guide’ is a paranormal-horror-urban-fantasy thing featuring vampires, a cult or two, some romantic entanglements, betrayal, humor and the great city of Manchester, England.
More specifically, it’s the story of a university age guy who finds himself thrown into circumstances beyond his control. It’s about how he tries to keep his humanity and still succeed in his quest.
Jeez, that sounds terribly serious. It’s also fast-paced, plot driven vampire fiction with loads of twists.
Who is the villain or antagonist in your story and what is he/she like?
There are a few villains in the story. All of them share passion, belief and a feeling that what they are doing is the right thing to do: either for them or for others.
Is one of your main characters a supernatural creature that is traditionally considered “evil?” If yes, how does this character break that traditional stereotype?
My main character is a vampire, so yeah, he would definitely fall under the ‘traditionally considered evil’ banner.
Part of the point of the book is that people who become vampires have no choice in that. I think I’m breaking the traditional stereotype in the sense that there isn’t a moral or ethical aspect to vampirism anymore than there is a moral or ethical aspect to contracting flu.
In ‘The Young Vampire’s Survival Guide’, everyone makes their own decisions. The vampires are not inherently evil anymore than the humans are inherently good.
What do you think are the heroic qualities your villain possesses?
Heroic? I’m not sure that the villains could be described as ‘heroic’. However, they do have plenty of good points. Loyalty, faith, a certain sense of honor: these are good traits to have and the villains in ‘The Young Vampire’s Survival Guide’ all possess those traits.
Is there any respect between this character and the hero/heroine of your story?
There are two main villains and both respect Robert, my protagonist, in very different ways.
For one villain, it’s a kind of professional respect: admiration of an adversary with the skills and abilities to compete with that villain. It’s like the respect between Manchester United and Manchester City soccer players. There’s no love lost between the two clubs, but the players appreciate playing against skillful opposition.
For the other: it’s more personal. The respect there is historical, based on past relationships.
To figure out which is which, you’ll have to read the book, of course.
Title: Young Vampire’s Survival Guide
Author: Lucy Eldritch
Genre: Vampires / Urban Paranormal / Horror
Within a month of being bitten, it cost the life of Robert James’ best friend. Within a year, hundreds had died. All because of him.
Until Robert was bitten, he was a regular college student. Now he seems to be the reluctant future of vampire kind and his world has been turned upside down. Pursued by the Dawn Warriors – a group dedicated to cleansing the world of evil – Robert’s survival is at stake. Literally.
Author Bio
I’m Lucy Eldritch and I write paranormal-horror-urban-fantasy-vampire fiction set mainly in Manchester (the one in the UK, not the one in New Hampshire) and London. I also love red wine, but I suspect that’s not really something I should mention. Not professional. Something like that. So, consider it un-mentioned.
You can find me here:
http://www.vampirebookseries.com
https://twitter.com/lucyeldritch.com
And buy the books here: