The Making of A Vampire Novel

I thought I might share with some of the readers about what it was like writingCountess Irene Von Stroganoff without giving out any spoilers. But I hate when I look at the back of a book and they tell you half of the story, so I won't wreck it for you.

I kept having this vision of writing about a castle siege while working on another book. Finally, I suspended work on that other book, and started Countess Irene. Medieval Castle Sieges are very interesting, considering the nasty lengths that they would go to, trying to get at each other. I have previously studied this, and wanted to build a story around it.

So then I did some research on daily Eastern European-ish medieval life. But I did not want to just write historical fiction. Admittedly, that requires total immersion into research to do it properly. However, since I do have a good background in studying history, I do have a leg-up in writing the medieval setting thing.

I wanted the story to be more fantasy-tastic. I like writing super-battles. So what is cooler than vampires? They can be as powerful, as evil, and as funny as you want. I probably sacrifice sales because I write what I want to, not what the market dictates, but you gotta have some fun, right?

My style has always been reliant upon dialog and action versus setting description. This is because I believe my strength as a writer is in the dialog. My characters for the most part, have very distinct dialog that puts their motives and background on full display, thus making them unique.

My weakness is in building up the settings. If I thought it was that important though, I would correct it. I don't like reading excessively long settings or backstories. This slows down the novel to the point that the reader doesn't know if any tension or action is ever going to take place. When I am editing my writing, which I do up to six times per work, my drafts actually get longer each time rather than shorter. This is because I am adding things that will enhance the story, or are necessary to make it understood.

Also, with each succeeding book that I have written, I have relied more and more upon adding humor. I love writing humor. It entertains the reader who wants constant entertainment. If I had to write without it, I wouldn't write at all. I don't take myself too seriously, so it does come natural for me. But I am also learning how to add jokes to the story even when I am not in the "jokiest" of moods.

My stories are not all jokes, however. It is an important responsibility of a writer to include themes that are of benefit to the readership, and it gives the characters depth. We are what we eat, but we are also what we read. I don't want to be responsible for feeding my readers junk food that will sway them to make unfortunate decisions in their personal lives. You will always find my sincerest beliefs tucked into the opinions of characters. I owe that to my readers, is what I am trying to say.

Another consideration I had in writing Countess Irene, is that of strong women. I have always been around strong women, so that just comes natural to me. I like strong women in stories because they still are not expected to prevail, so that makes them an underdog in the eyes of many. I love it when the underdog wins in a big way.


Countess Irene Von Stroganoff, was both satisfying to write and a lot of work. I hope you will considering going to the Amazon page and taking a look at it.