In my younger days I was a long distance runner. I knew how to put my head into a race and finish. It’s different now. I no longer run (jarred a few too many kidney stones loose) and although I have clear goals in mind - it’s for something I never intended doing in the first place: retiring from a career as a convict teacher. The road ahead is long, if not risky, but I’m determined to complete my working-stiff-career.
This brings me to the following point:
It amazes me how Jaye Wells can take a 250-word story and turn it into a fantasy/horror novel complete with vampires, demons, faeries & mages. In fact, she got a three book deal out of it. For me, after a story is complete, the words stop flowing and I go back to studying my UAW calendar, counting the years and months until it’s mathematically possible for me to retire, to do something different, to perhaps write something more than a short-story or flash-fiction piece.
Enough sadness.
I just finished Wells’ novel “Red-Headed Stepchild.” She did exactly what I’ve never been able to do. She turned her flash-fiction story into a novel. I’ve read a few vampire books in my day—David Sosnowski’s “Vamped,” Elizabeth Kostova’s “The Historian,” and Anne Rice’s “Interview with a Vampire.” Each novel had a different take on vampires. Wells’ interpretation, although very much different than the others, reminds me somewhat of Sosnowski.
From “Vamped” in regards to the Benevolent Vampire Society:
Our motto was pure hubris: “There’s a sucker born every minute.” The problem was, the closer we came to making that true, the more obvious it became that we were the real suckers. “Normal” meant “tamer.” Vampirism became … domesticated. Industrialized. Commercialized. The hunt for victims and benefactors was replaced by the sorts of jobs we thought we left behind. We had to work for a living again—or after-living, as the case may be.
His vampires went grocery shopping for name-brand plasma. His vampires were easily identifiable because of their human consumerism traits.
Wells uses human beings as backdrops for feeding time. However, Sosnowski’s main vampire character decides to adopt a human girl, which in turn means becoming a responsible parent. It’s an interesting premise, especially when she becomes a teenager and starts dating vampire boys.
In Wells’ book, the main vampire character, Sabina Kane, is an assassin of mixed blood. She’s caught between her two races: vampires and mages.
It’s funny how Sosnowski takes a domesticated approach to vampire life, while Wells depicts warring factors fighting for world dominance. What I find most interesting in Wells’ novel is the vineyards, how the blood of mages is propagated for its magical powers.
Who wouldn’t purchase a drink that makes them stronger? I’d chug it before I hit the checkout line.
Maybe I should shop for an agent. See if I can turn a flash into more than a dash. What do you think? It’s not like I’m going to quit my prison job any time soon.
17 comments:
Sabina Kane. A descendent of Solomon Kane perhaps? I've given up on agents myself.
Great overview, JR. You might want to head over to William's Ramblings (William Jones's blog). He has a posting on vampires that's custom made for your comments. (Besides him being an editor and publisher, he's a pretty thoughtful guy and based right here in Michigan.) I have a link to his blog on my website. Also, would you mind if I added a link to your blog on my website?
When I had read your fiction pieces over at Clarity I had made several assumptions: 1)Wow 2) surely he's written novel length fiction 3)surely he has an agent 4)most assuredly (is that a word?) he's on the verge of publication.
Not so?
Hey Doug. How's it going?
You should most certainly give it a shot. You have the clarity-charm with you now. Nothing can go wrong now, can it? :)
Rick,
I've been horrible with the blogging communication lately, but I'd be delighted to have the link. I read William Jone's take on vampires and must say he communicated his thoughts much better than I - vampire as metaphor - can argue that.
Hadley, Thanks for the encouragement. I need to concentrate on the writing. I don't have enough material to pursue an agent.
I hear you Charles, loud and clear.
Aniket, There's always something that'll go wrong, but then again that's how we learn.
Doug'll get somebody killed if he's not careful.
Man do I hate typos: substitute "can" with "can't."
if you dont try how do you know? even if you fail, it will be a lesson and motivation to strive for more and to work harder, right? :)
Since the contest, Read-headed Step Child has gone straight to the top of my wishlist. Just have to wait to be allowed to buy more books now.
I think the worst case of vampirism and consumerism happens when it is propelled by advertising, indeed I think adversing is the most powerfull of the 3 it has the habiloity to move millons of peoploes to do things they do not want to do and never even imaging doing it.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! I haven't read Sosnowski, but I will now.
As for agents, it's not like I wrote a flash fiction piece and suddenly had a three-book deal, you know? It took me about a year to develop Sabina's world and write Red-Headed Stepchild. Then I found an agent. Most these days want a completed manuscript before they'll consider representation. There are exceptions, of course, but most of us are still required to do the long-distance running thing. ;)
Oh but J.W. how I'd like to believe it's that easy. That's probably why I've never tried it before. Writing is pure torment for me and I'd like to ease the pain. Thanks for commenting. Look forward to "The Mage in Black."
Cool post. Per Mariana, strange to think of vampire advertising. They play with such things as you discuss in True Blood, I think.
As for the writing and possible future agent, keep the faith!
You'll never find or even recognize what you don't look for Jim.
J.R. I am not in a position to give any real advice in the writing department, however, I can say this--do what feels right to you. Good Luck, friend.
Jr,
Perhaps the reason you haven't seen that dash is that you have a patten of finishing a piece and going back to the same routine.
Now I do not know you very well, if at all really. However, you stated you finish and go back to figuring out when you can retire. What about writing about your work, but the meat of it. The nasty or hell filled moments that no one believes happens, they just hear the story and let it drift and "go back" to what they were doing before they read or heard the story.
There are many times I have tried and then said I simply cannot write. But here I am, writing again. I wish you luck and hope that you find that place that makes you want to push past a mere story and into a novel.
T
Why not get an agent you never knoe till you try
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