Beverley Price's Blog, page 2

Female Strength

We are quick to say that growing up that there was no strong female role models but actually there was a few shining examples of how to be a strong independent woman. Of course not all of them were perfect, some had to pretend that they were not doing the amazing things that they were doing, or they still had to look like a glamour model while doing their amazing things, but they were strong and that is a good starting point. There are many examples and I am not going through them all but the ones that stick out for me.

Penny from Inspector Gadget. This girl with the help of technology and a dog saves the world time after time from Dr Klaw. And who gets the credit? Her useless uncle who was a cyborg essentially. But when all is said and done about Penny not get the credit she deserved, she was only a ten-year old girl. It could be argued that Penny needed a hell of a lot of rescuing herself but again, I refer you to my previous comment about her being a ten year old girl. For me, she was proof that age and gender does not matter, as did the next person.

Matilda Wormwood from Roald Dahl’s Matilda. I fondly remember both the book and the film as being an important part of my childhood. There is something so self-assured about Matilda that it almost becomes contagious. Instead of bemoaning the fact that she is a genius trapped in a family of idiots, she does something about it, she educates herself. And while we are hailing the fact that Penny is amazing at ten saving the world, Matilda is saving herself at the age of six.

Maria Von Trapp from The Sound of Music. Maria is a confident person who is facing bravery when walking into the Von Trapp household to deal with the seven children. But the fact that she stands up to the intimidating Captain Von Trapp to show him what a bad father he has been is bold. Her strength seems to be watered down by the singing, you can still get a sense of the domineering woman behind the music.

Buffy Summers / Willow Rosenberg from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This is a look more at my teen years and there is no doubt that Buffy is a strong character but Willow may have had a more long-term effect on my life. Buffy is established early on as “The Chosen One”, therefore has had the heroine role forced upon her, and has to act. Willow on the other hand, chooses to help Buffy and through this need to help her friend gives her strength. Buffy’s goals and belief come from being a slayer, whereas again Willow comes to her path through her own choices.  One of the reasons I feel more in tune with Willow than Buffy is she seems more “human”. Buffy as a slayer appears to be immortal and untouchable, whereas Willow has failures. Like many people who are trying something new for the first time, she makes mistakes. It is just in Willow’s case her thing is witchcraft and those mistakes led to all sort of problems. When she creates the mother of all mistakes, letting grief control her power, she does not hide away from this. She faces the consequences and goes away to learn how to control her power.

As I mentioned this is only a small sample of the characters that were strong female characters that was part of my childhood, but these are the ones that jump into my mind when I thought about the subject.

 

 

 

IT

I was a young teen when I was introduced to Pennywise the Dancing Clown, through both the book and the miniseries. I had seen the miniseries several times but had never got round to re-reading the book. After the remake last year, it reignited the love of Pennywise, and like the character itself, had lie dormant for twenty odd years. Now as an adult I felt I could indulgence in this character. Several t-shirts and artworks were brought, but what about the novel? The one that started the love to begin with. So I have started re-reading the book. And I wonder how does it feel compared to both the miniseries and the movie. This will not be a complete comparison as the movie only has the children’s story and not the adult’s story. But I never really liked the adults anyway. They were too adult for me.

IT is always about two timelines, the children’s story and the adult’s. In the novel, the tales are intertwined, shown more as flash backs, as their memories returns once their come back to their childhood home of Derry. The tale of the self-proclaimed “Loser’s Club”, seven teens who struggle to fit into the Derry area and then have to face IT, a clown that can manifest into your darkest fears. These manifestation can be “actually” monsters, like the Wolfman or the Mummy, or more symbolic, like blood for Beverley. Only re-reading the book as an adult, I realised that Beverley’s fear, is not blood, but menstruation, womanhood and what means for her relationship with her father. She does not know how, but she knows it will change forever.

Pennywise returns every thirty years to wreak havoc on the town. This is how we have both the children’s and adult’s story. In the miniseries, as I have hinted at previously, the children’s story is compelling as the child actors are genuinely full of anxiety and tension. Pennywise is a zealot when it comes to murdering and eating children, and has no qualms about killing people who comes into his path. There are some frightening moment in the miniseries, including Richie’s confrontation with the werewolf and Bill’s photo album coming alive. The second half is all about how their experiences with IT changed them, and IT seems to lose his “power”, once re-introduced to the adult “Loser’s Club”. And here lies the problem. Why is Pennywise wasting his time tormenting the adults, when he could continue to kill and eat children as he always has done. And the adult’s acting is so much more lacklustre when you compare it to the children.

That is why I will be interested in how the adults will be approached in the modern movie. While I enjoyed the styling of the new movie, I did not relate to the children in the same way that I did in the miniseries. I was forever getting confused who was Eddie, Stan and Richie, to me at least they did not seem as defined as character as in the miniseries. It is not to say that the acting was not good, it was believable. It was more to do with the scripting, I felt.

So, which is the best, the book, the miniseries or the movie? It will depend on what you are looking for.

With the book, you have to use your imagination, and if you are someone who has a joy for reading, this book will be ideal for you. There will always be people who prefer books to movies, and vice averse. The book does go much more in-depth behind the psychology of not only IT but the children. The book gives us not only the rhyme and reason for the motives of the “Loser’s Club” but also the Henry Bowers and his gang. The problem with King’s novels is that they can feel like you have read it before. In many ways, IT is an extended version of King’s novella “The Body”. A group of youngster, on the brink of entering their teenage years who share a terrible secret and have to face up and overcome the fear of the local bullies.

The miniseries plus points is Pennywise and his building sense of dread. As mentioned, when we are at the adults story, Pennywise is not as strong, but during the children tale, he creeps about, as the viewer you are not sure if he will be “clown” or “monster” when he appears on-screen. The movie IT is portrayed more evil, but this is all done through jump scares rather than through unease. I also prefer the portrayal of Henry Bowers in the miniseries, he seems more believable as the crazed bully. There is never likely to be a portrayal of Bowers that will fit with the book due to the cutting of one important scene between Patrick Hockstetter and Henry Bowers, but in the miniseries it gets as close to it as it can.

What the film does better than the miniseries is making Derry a character in it own right. It may be a cliché, but the atmosphere of the setting can enhance the feel of a movie. In fact, the movie makes it even more sinister than the book, with a neighbour completely ignoring the murder of Georgie. There is a toxicity that is ingrained in the movie that the miniseries did not really explore. It is only hinted at when Beverley talks about a neighbour ignoring Bowers harassing her. And while I found the overall feel of Pennywise in the miniseries more creepy, the violence of Pennywise is better in the movie. The visuals are intense, the scene with the projector is the garage was a scene I actually stopped breathing for. I think it depend what you are looking for if you want to know what is better, the miniseries or the movie. The miniseries, for me, focuses on character while the film focuses on atmosphere. The ideal movie would be a combination of both and maybe the adults story in the next movie might bring this together, finally.

Where 2017 meets reality

How many books did I publish this year? None. How many ideas are being worked on? About seven. I think that could be part of the problem of why nothing has been published this year. I have to work and I want to expand my life experience, such as going to theatre and learning new skills such as archery. The duller things that need doing like cleaning and promotion. What does it mean for 2018? I will try to publish something!

I am hoping to get both Blood Brother, the next book in the Blood Bound series and the third poetry book, which is provisionally called Black Petal, Black Pages, out. A short story is still looking for home, and whether that is part of someone else’s anthology or my own is to be seen. My other projects include a play, a board game and a search about different styles of horror and how that shapes me. When and if they get done, I can not say.

If nothing else, I am on the right path. My writing has never been just a past time. It came at a time when I craved change and it was achieved and long may it continue. But all of this is for you. As we step into another new year, I want to thank all of you for your support over the last several years.

Can you believe that “The Flowering of the Black Petal” was released in 2013! It was a journey that I embarked on to save my soul during the dark times, and your company has been gratifying. It sounds like lip service but none of this would be possible without your support. Ultimately, my success come from your guys who put your grubby fingers all over my pristine pages. It is this that keeps my cockles warm and my imagination fired up. And it is you that makes it happen. So thank you and I hope you will see the characters that you love and find some new ones in 2018.

Ideas, Writing and Journey.

As an author I have often shared blogs about what inspires me, or what makes me me. What I do not do as much as I should, is tell you about what I am writing. So here it is what I am working on, and its various stages.

The main work is Blood Brother, the second book in the Blood Series. The first book Blood Bound was taken from the point of view of Pandora and Puppet Master, establishing them as powerful characters. The second book is the point of view of Strong Man and Black Petal. Blood Brother is set at the same timeframe as Blood Bound. Therefore some of the characters from Blood Bound are mentioned in Blood Brother and some even make an appearance. I have also shown behind the scenes of some of the pivotal moments in Blood Bound. There are new vampire enemies and new allies, so it is not just the same story from another’s point of view. My plan is to make this a trilogy. The final book will be the Puppet Master’s story, his turning, the events leading up to Blood Bound/Blood Brother and what happens after those books end. They have become known in my head as “Sex” “Religion” and “The Truth” as these are the themes that are heavily used in each book. As it stands this novel is about halfway completed.

The other work that is nearly halfway completed is the third poetry book. Following from “The Flowering of the Black Petal” and “By ink, paper and pen: A Tribute to Black Petal” comes “Black Petal, Black Pages”. All three books follow a similar pattern. Broken down into five chapter, each chapter contains ten poems. But each book has a “theme” or “story” to them. “The Flowering of the Black Petal” is the journey of the “weed” into a beautiful rose, although the rose is now black due to the pain it has suffered. And so Black Petal was born. “By ink, paper and pen” is a look at how Black Petal is learning to live again, through the elements of nature. “Black Petal, Black Pages” is different as it is conducted as an interview and intertwined with poems. My poetry book are written under the alais of Stormy.

Then there is the “Horrors and Man” a taped confession of a serial killer. This was originally written for a friend after he asked me to write a short story for his collection. This was someone that I only knew through poetry groups on Facebook. I somehow did something to upset him, as he abruptly unfriended me and the tale had already begin to take shape, so I decided to continue writing it and it is nearly at completion. I was also asked about writing a poem for a twisted collection about a Scottish Island and its dark secrets. However, once they read my work, they felt my style was not what they were looking for. Again an idea had already taken hold. The plan may be to do a collection of works, known as “rejects” to get them in the public domain.

A Letter *Trigger warning*

To whom it may concern,

This will be the hardest letter I will ever write and it will not have all the answers. This is just one person thoughts on an emotive subject. Depression. I was diagnosed in my mid teens with bipolar which fitted with my extreme rollercoaster ride of emotions that was my life at that moment in time. I am now in my mid thirties, roughly twenty years have passed since this initial diagnosis and I no longer believe I am suffering from bipolar. I am still suffering from depression, but I no longer get the extreme highs associated with bipolar but I still get those crushing lows.

In my adult years, especially since hitting 30, my life is entwined with depression and anxiety, interestingly mirroring my own mothers mental health, who first starting showing signs of agoraphobia around about her mid thirties. I never returned to the doctor for a new diagnosis or taken any medication for it. For me, medication scares me. Returning to my childhood experience, my mother was on medication that made her see things that were not there and as a child, that was terrifying.

But being a writer I am well versed at taking that emotional downward spiral and turning into something pretty. Sometimes the darkness is just that, too dark and I can not see to write but I am “happy” to risk those days when thoughts of suicide are overpowering to make sure that I can write the rest of the time. And that could end up being my downfall.

The reason I am sharing all of the above, albeit it in the tip of the iceberg fashion is so you know where the following words come from. A good place from someone who has felt similar. Each person feels depression differently and like I said, this is just my thoughts. And I will try to avoid going too “inspirational” but no promises.

Women, it is okay to be sad, we all have our secret sorrows, take no notice of those that call you cold because they do not understand what you hide inside. Physical scars are easy for people to read, but those that scars at our hearts are not only hard to understand but bleed more profusely. Healing from these scars is a lifetime commitment for not only your sake but the sake of those around you. Remember the future is brighter than our past.

Men, the same applies. No what the media tries to tell you about depression and men, you too have a right to be sad.You, too are allowed to worry about “the end”. It will, as it does women, compound daily. Do not worry that depression is the chink in your armour, tarnishing your “knight in shining armour” role. Anyone important will not see it as a chink, but as a source to let the light of your heart shine though. The more you care about others the stronger your sense of well being. It is okay to cry, anything from silent tears to full blown wailing and tearing at your clothes. You can do that.

We have been reminded again recently that depression and suicide are still amongst us and we must continue to talk about it. Remember feeling sad is not a sin, needing time to yourself is not a sin, and suicide is not a sin. Suicide is a tragic outcome of someone dealing with an illness far too long. We feel upset and sometimes angry when we lose someone close, and that is natural. Calling the person selfish or damned is not the answer. It has not stopped people committing or attempting suicide so far. Guilt is not a healer. Compassion, kindness, therapy, medication, mediation, whatever gets you through the dark times, those things are healers. And love. We know that these things do not stop suicide attempts anymore than guilt does. But it does a better job of it. For those of you who do not face the black dog on a regular basis it is hard to know what to do and there is no hard or fast rule.

One of the worst thing I was told during my hard battle with depression was to be told that I was “too much”. That I was overwhelming, draining and a drama queen. It was then I started to internalise the pain, and started self-harming. NEVER tell someone who has depression that it is “too much”, it hurts more than you can think. Bearing that in mind, you are not there to support their mental health. The best way is not make sure you are not the only person supporting them.

Make sure they stick to a medication routine and do not question them if they choose not to take medication. The only time intervention may be needed if they are looking to put themselves or others in danger.

Remember rational thinking will not work. Chances are their already realise that what they are feeling is not logical, being told that does not help. Validate that you understand why they are thinking, feeling, saying whatever, but try to show them the alternative. This is especially important when it comes to the irritability that often come with depression.

This is by no means a complete answer, it is just some thoughts. Depression is time-consuming most of the time. If you having someone with depression in your life, then you know it takes a mixture of patience, compassion and love to keep them on an even keel. But we also appreciate those things, even if we can not say it in the moment, or afraid to bring it up again. And if you lose us to depression, then do not blame yourself, anymore than you would if you lost someone to cancer, for example. You would have done the best for them and in the end the illness took them.

Yours faithfully,

Beverley Price.

 

 

 

Driving Music

Certain hobbies have always been important to me. Reading was purposely instilled in me by my mother. But I picked up something else from my father, by osmosis rather than directly, was a love of music. Like many people of my father’s generation, he was a hard-working man, but his leisure time was he’s, and he enjoyed his time in the pub where there was a jukebox playing. Even when we were not out and about music was always on at home.

Growing up you have to listen to your parents music and as I am getting older I am finally falling in love with that music. But the music of my teen years, for my rebellion, that had a lasting impact on me. I was a teen in the 90s, so I was heavily influenced by Indie/Britpop. But the band that I felt “got me” was Pulp. I remember the first time I heard Common People, I loved the appeal of the song but more importantly, for a poet, the lyrics that were hidden within that beat. I slowly collected all their albums and discovered that they had been going nearly 20 years before they “made it”. Different Class, the album that led me to them ended up being the album I liked the least. For me, it is the “fire record” years are my favourite. I would recommend the album “Countdown” as a starting point to find out more about this band. However, Jarvis Cocker, himself would not be happy by the recommendation as the relationship between the record label and the band was strained. I have never quite understood why Jarvis Cocker became some sort of guru to me. These were tales of a man growing up in Sheffield, a man that was at least 20 years old than me. Me, a girl in her teen, who had never really left her small town and yet I felt that he knew my life and was speaking to me directly.

Another band that ended up influencing me was Metallica. This band was introduced to me by a boy that I had a crush on. He put on “Nothing Else Matters” stating that this was his favourite song, and like a love-sick girl, I said that I loved it as well, even though I had never heard it before. Like an obsessed teen, I learnt the lyrics as proof of my love for the song, and discover the amazement behind the song, and then the “Black Album”, and then the band as a whole. Lyrically my favourite album is Re-load, and even did a theatre piece set to “Low Man’s Lyric” but I understand that some fans do not like these albums as they are “softer”. The albums that have never gelled with me were St. Anger and Death Magnetic, so I wallowed in their past glory’s. They are definitely back on form with Hardwired….To Self-Destruct and look forward to their future endeavours again.

My only regret is that due to where I grew up and financial restraints I was never able to go to concert and I am too old to start now. However, when I was in college I was lucky enough to go and see Alice Cooper live. The thrill of a live concert was amazing and fuelled my love of Alice Cooper, especially the showmanship of the man. There was the classic guillotined ending, and ripping the head off a baby (I feel I have to point out, this was not a real baby), but going with the times as well. Alice was wearing a t-shirt stating on the front ‘Britney wants me….” and on the back it concluded with ‘dead’. A Britney Spears look-alike pranced her way on stage, sing her infamous song “Hit me baby one more time”, to which Alice responded by punching her in the face, (again, not really.) It was not until years later I discovered that the Britney look-alike was his daughter. Maybe it was always the job of the father to have the connection with thier daughter through music. Alice was the first person I wanted to style myself on. I wanted my man to look like Jarvis and I wanted to look like Alice Cooper, and that would have been a very odd combination but hey that was me. Trash and Welcome to my Nightmare are my favourite albums and Posion is the favourite hit. Again I loved the imagery of the song, and growing up I wanted to be the type of girl described as “posion”. I never made it.

So honourable mentions go to Live, Meatloaf and David Bowie. Live, like Metallica was introduced to me by an ex who made a mix tape of songs for me (yes, I am that old!). The song was called Dance with you. The lyrics were so perfect. Even by my late teens, I had already become bitter by love, the man who made the tape, I was his first. I could imagine me saying these lyrics to him “The stillness is your eyes, convinces me that I don’t know a thing and I have been around the world and I came sickened to your shore and you showed me what this life is for”. Meatloaf’s “I will do anything for love (but I won’t do that), was the opening into his music. Like Pulp, I ended up loving the older stuff than the stuff that was being produced at the time. And there is no doubt that the work with Jim Steinman is the best. For an 80s child Bowie will always Jareth, the Goblin King, first and foremost. But Bowie is an delightful man who I could only hope to be anywhere as near as good as. With my current relationship I am driven to Wild is the Wind.

There are so much more that influences me and I could be here all day going through them. I do have about 250 CDS and I am getting back into vinyls as well. But these are musicians that I have consciously seen influence what I write.

Review of Graham Masterton’s Revenge of the Manitou *Contains spoilers*

Last year I was hoping to get to meet Masterton at a Horror convention but due to injury he never made it. This was one of the many books I brought in hope of getting signed and to ask about. I had the books years ago but circumstances meant that I had lost loads of them. I have recently re-read Revenge of the Manitou and I am struck by it again. This is in fact the sequel to an earlier book called The Manitou and while this one references the first, I do not think you need to have the read the first book to understand the second book.

The book centres around the Fenner family. Their son Toby sees a man in his wardrobe, in fact the man seems to come out of the wood itself. Misquamacus has returned for revenge once again and this time he will not fail. It seems that the only people who can save us are the saviour from The Manitou – Harry Erskine and Singing Rock, as their battle a whole host of Native American spirits. Now before we go any further, I would like to point out that my knowledge on Native American belief is very limited. As part of a pagan community you tend to stumble over some of the traditional tales, but they do not tend to wander into the demon side of life.

A Manitou is the spiritual life force. Another term, and one that is used in the book is Gitche Manitou, which means “Great Spirit” or “Supreme being”. As far as I can tell, and like I said, this is not my speciality subject, the names of the Medicine Men and Elder Gods are created solely for the book. Although, I imagine that they have some roots in truth. I remember reading that the creators of the film The Craft did not want to use an actual “Wiccan” God as the one that they call, in case they accidentally misrepresent him. It is a similar sense I get from the book.

The book itself has some great themes/concepts in it but they do not seem to be explored to their fullest extent. The nod to Lovecraft does not come until near the end with the calling of the Elder God – Ka-Tua-La-Hu from their banishment to water, who when risen seems to manifest in tentacle clouds.

The plot speeds forward, with little description and fleshing out of characters. This is particular evident in the few female characters in the book. Mrs Novato, who despite being a Mrs, is painted as a prim and proper maiden. Probably a lot closer to menopause then puberty and has been teaching for so long, she hates the children but thrives on enforcing the rules to them. It does not end well for her. Susan Fenner, the disbelieving matriarch is raped by bed sheets in what is the most disturbingly absurd thing I have read. Nearly as absurd as the fact that she leaves her son behind when she thinks that her husband has gone crazy and raped her himself. I am no mother but I do not think I would leave my child behind in that situation.

If you like your horror not too deep and am not bothered by a silly ending that seems counterproductive to the tense atmosphere that had been built up, then this is the book for you. If you want something a little “more real” then it is probably not the book for you. But I remember loving Masterton’s work and this has not put me off collecting the books I use to have. I have over forty years worth of books to read through yet.

Beware stimulus

It is nearly midnight and I can not sleep. This is due to two things, anxiety that has plagued me the last few days and Slenderman. Yes, you read that right. Slenderman is not a new thing, but it was something that had only been on my peripheral vision. I knew that it was an urban myth created solely for a competition and that it had taken a life of its own. That was as far as it went, until I watched the HBO’s documentary “Beware the Slenderman”.

Firstly, I would highly recommend this to anyone that has more than a passing interest in the psychology behind these sort of myths. This particular documentary looks at the case of Morgan and Anissa, who attempted to kill their best friend to please the Slenderman. This part has a heartwretching feel to it but it does not feel it is going for the “money shots”. As well as look at why the girls felt they had to do this, it looked at the history of Slenderman itself.

Now, do not misjudge me. I am not up at this time of the night due to the fact that I am scared. Something about it has got inside my head. That does not sound much better. As soon as the document finished I wanted to draw Slenderman. Now that is unusual for me, randomly desireto write, yes but to draw no.

So I ignored the urge and went to bed. I found myself lying there, thinking about different images of this Slenderman, knowing that what was in my head would not be transferred onto the page. That is what had captured my imagination in the documentary. The art that surrounded the Slenderman. unsurprisingly, there were picture of this thin, insect-like man, filling up the whole page, towering over a tiny child. However, there was several pictures that while maintaining the creepiness had him in a less threatening pose. He would be holding the hand, or hugging the child. As a cross between Jack skeleton and The Silence from Dr Who, the pale face with no features, leaves his intentions open for interpretation. Is he a truly scary entity, there solely to terrify the child, or could he be a more benevolent being? He maybe death, but he is looking after the child as their pass over, for example. But as I was lying there in bed, I had visions of him with a huge black dog and then it hit me. That is why he was resonating with me, he represented, for me at least, depression.

A faceless entity, that seems to be everywhere. Once you have first glimpsed him, he will follow you for the rest of your life. Something that has been seen an indication of death and destruction. Why could that not be a representation of depression? Maybe that is why he is seen as robbing child of their lives. For someone who is struggling with their emotions, especially “negative” ones, it could be seen as robbing a child of their lives. It might explain the range of pictures of the Slenderman. Those that feel depression has control over them, painting Slenderman as the huge insect-like thing towering over the tiny child. Those that are more creative, may have learnt how to turn these emotions into something more positive, and that is why some pictures seem to show the Slenderman guiding or hugging the child.

The desire to paint Slenderman changed to a desire to write this down because I know I would not sleep until I did. Sad, is it? I have not done any more research and this has little to do with the documentary. It is just a thought by a brain that is addled by too much anxiety but maybe someone would see what I see.

Bring me the giants.

As a writer you are influenced by other writers. I thought I would share some of the writers that have influenced me. But we are visual and audio people and this will also include some of the television and musicians who have also had a huge influence on my life as well. And I suppose the first one will not come as much of a surprise, as he is the horror writers that influences so many people, and it is Stephen King.

The first book I remember reading and it have a profound affect on me was Pet Semetary. With the now infamous line “sometimes dead is better”, this is a novel about the darkness that can follow when you mess with the natural order of life and death. As I read more and more King, there is a well-worn path of inevitability to his tales, but as this was my first experience of his work I did not see the ending coming. And this becomes a problem as I read more and more of King’s work. The speed that he can produce books, is evident in the fact that his novels follow a similar vein quite often. Bearing that in mind he has still produced some amazing books, Carrie, The Shining, its follow-up Doctor Sleep and The Cell, to name a few. I have found his early stuff and this latest stuff the most entertaining. King likes the horror to slow creep upon you, which if you care about the characters and the tale you are happy to wait for it to come, but sometimes you are left waiting for more or disappointed by the ending, (IT anyone?).

As a writer of vampire novels, I am influenced by some of  Anne Rice’s novel. Again, like King, I do not like all of her novels and some of them seem to be fillings rather than proper novels, but I can not deny the influence that The Vampire Chronicles have had on me. While I have said that the Puppet Master has been created due a man in my life, there is still lot of Lestat in that character as well. The style itself seems to filtered into my work, well maybe a poor copy. Hypnotic, downright erotic and forceful tale of love and loss which bombards the senses. More importantly, the way the vampires are represented changed thanks to this series of books.

I was lucky enough this year to meet one of my influences, Shaun Hutson. For a man whose novels are drench in creepy horror and mass deaths, he was an extremely pleasant man and was happy to discuss the change in horror novels with the lowly self-published novelist. It made my year. One of my favourite novels of his is Hybrid, it’s about a writer who is struggling to complete his latest novel, (We have all been there.) The writer is on a downward spiral of alcoholism and depression. The darkness usually reserved only for his work is now being experienced in reality, and his is about to face something that even his twisted mind could not create.

Honourable mentions such also go to James Herbert, Dean Koontz, (I borrowed Stormy from Odd Thomas as my own moniker for my poetry), Graham Masterton, Ramsey Campbell, Victorian Gothic novels, such as Dracula (obviously,) Picture of Dorian Gray and Wuthering Heights.

Again being a vampire writer it will be no surprise that I have been heavily influenced by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. You can not read about Marianne and not see Drusilla in that character. However, unlike Buffy, Pandora does not have a “Scooby gang” to help her and that might be why Pandora reached the end that she did. Being a witch myself I did add elements of Willow in the novel but not as a defined character. I am also a big fan of Sci-fi and while I am a horror writer you can see the occasional reference to sci-fi especially time travel as that has always amazed me. In fact with my poet hat on I have written an ode to Dr Who.

And as I have put on my poet’s hat, I will talk about the influences in the way I write poetry. Even though I am a poet, I do not like lots of poetry. The strongest influences are Dylan Thomas and Sylvia Plath. Thomas for his lyrical and personal approach to his poems. Plath, again for her personal approach to her work, which was often a no-holds barred free fall into madness which ultimately lead to her own suicide. At 13 my own poetry got compared to Plath’s and that was how I was introduced to her work.

But for me, one of the greatest influence on my poetry is a Jarvis Cocker, singer and lyrist for Pulp. A whole article could be written about whether or not a lyrist is a poet but I think they are, and as this is my article, then what I say goes. You may  be sensing a theme again but it is his frankness, especially about sex, that attracted me to his music. He was a rebel in his words, even if he looks like a Geography teacher. Songs that have specifically influenced me are F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E, ( I describe my poems as not chocolate boxes and roses, “borrowed” from this song,)  This is Hardcore, which is the dirtiest and saddest song of Pulp’s. The metaphor of porn, not only for how bad relationship can be, the whole circus that surrounds “celebrities”, and The Mark of the Devil, again some of the lines imagery has been used in my own work. These are my influences and they will always be,

A nightmare on lovers lane

I saw a meme which stated “Fuck Romeo and Juliet, I want a relationship like Joker and Harley Quinn”. This has come from the new film “Suicide Squad”, which I admit I have not seen but I am knowledgeable on the comics, and Joker and Harley Quinn are not lovers to idolise. Joker is both physically and emotionally abusive to Harley Quinn and like most victims, she puts up with it because “he loves her”. Harley Quinn was his doctor to begin with but she falls head over heels in love with him. Joker knowing this uses it to his advantage to manipulate her to help him escape the asylum. The physical abuse goes way beyond punches, he tortures her. Ultimately this was part of the Joker’s “mad” persona, which Harley Quinn thought that she could fix. First, through her professional role, and then through love. Joker askes Harley Quinn the one question you should never ask your lover, “Would you die for me?”. Of course, as she is so manipulated by him her unsurprising response is “yes”. None of this screams healthy relationship, but this is not the only unbalanced relationship in modern times that people are idolising.

Bella and Edward from The Twilight series seem to inspired promotion when it should do the opposite. This relationship rings several signs of control. Bella is scared by the way that he acts. Ok, he is a vampire, so that is part of that parcel but he controls where she goes. He makes this seem like it for her own good – “Stay away from the werewolves. I love you.” Again, staying away from werewolves is pretty sound advice. However, there is no hiding the threat in the following statement – “If I was not so attracted to you, I would not have to break up with you.” Maybe the reason the abuse in this relationship is missed is because one of them is not human.

However, the next couple are both human, Christian Grey and the woman. It speaks volumes that I can not remember her name. It is him that is portrayed as the perfect lover and that is what he wants. The subject of the trilogy, S&M, makes this a potential minefield, true S&M is not abuse, but Grey is an abuser and a stalker. He is constantly “in the area” where she is. Chapter two, he turns up at her work and is all arsey when another guys speaks to her. There are still strangers at this point. This is already showing signs of obsession and they are not even a couple yet. The books are then a journey through the whole gambit of control and stalking.

But, like many people I am a hypocrite. I do not idolise these couples, but I have written about an unbalanced couple. So I will state here, if you are trying to inspire to be them, don’t. In Blood Bound, the Puppet Master is a manipulator, hence his nickname! Puppet Master is a mixture of Edward Cullen and Christian Grey, a vampire who has no shame in controlling Pandora in debasing herself, despite her being a virgin. In fact, it is preference for virgins that marks the Puppet Master as evil. The control seems to be softened by the fact that Puppet Master is finding his first true love again and again. He may have also saved Pandora’s life making him a redeemable character. But then as his creator am I biased? But I would not want to date the Puppet Master, even if I am the re-birth of his true love and neither should you.