Why Billy the Kid and the Vampyres of Vegas?

So, I’m sure you’ve read the announcement today about of the new short story, Billy the Kid and the Vampyres of Vegas which will be published online on the 22nd November as part of The Lost Tales series.

Although the series is called The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, neither Nicholas nor Perenelle are the most popular characters. Sophie and Josh score fairly highly with the fans, but the three most popular characters are Scathach, Billy, and Machiavelli. I get more mail for these three than all the rest combined. So, when I decided to do a new story in the series, it was clear that it had to feature the fan favorites.

The structure of the Flamel books means that each episode takes place over a day or two. The action in the entire six book series takes place over one week. But because all the characters have had full and interesting lives before they appear in this story, it means that I can (and will) go back into their histories to tell some of the stories they allude to or hint at in the text.

This was a fun story to do. Its just over 15,000 words and takes place about two years before the events in The Alchemyst. And, just as the title suggests, it features Billy the Kid, the vampyres of Vegas and Scathach. Yes, I do know that Billy tells Machiavelli that he has never met Scathach.

Now, you’ll find out why.