Carrie Clevenger, Interview
Carrie Clevenger, Interview
By Michelle Pillow, www.michellepillow.com
Carrie Clevenger’s paranormal erotic romance novel, Crooked Fang, brings together zombies, vampires, and music. Though she owns three guitars, she admits that she can’t seem to grasp the concept of actually playing them and, “as girly as it sounds, for now they are pretty in my office.” She’s obsessed with building a rat rod (if you’re not a classic car aficionado you may have to google it…we’ll wait). And, she has a collection of paper beer coasters from around the world.
* * * * *
Q: In your book, Crooked Fang, you delve into the world of vampires and zombies, but added a different spin on both. How so?
Carrie: My vampires vary, depending on whom you’re talking about. Xan Marcelles, the main character, happens to be a dude that lives upstairs in a bar. He plays bass in a cover band, tries to stay aloof, and is generally mediocre at both if you ask him. There’s also a fringe race of vampires, the Nesferata, that are dependent on blood and still alive. There are a number of vampire classifications, although Crooked Fang doesn’t delve too far into that.
My zombies (better known as the Wretched) are also vampires. Whether from a bad turn into fangville or infection, they are bad news. The difference is, they are infectious and only are strongly attracted to attack healthy vampires. In a way, they are the sole illness that every informed vampire fears. The problem is a bit more complex than just random transmittal as well, but if I told you, I’d spoil an important plot point in Crooked Fang. 
Q: What myths or legends inspired you? Is your world different?
Carrie: I think that if one is going to utilize established mythology/legend, it’s important that it sport a different take. Add a dash of common role-playing lore, Ricean (yes, I totally made that term up for Anne Rice) blood drinkers, and a generous helping of Tarantino-styled (one can only aspire) dialogue—you’ve got a good recipe for Crooked Fang’s method.
The world itself is society as we knew it in 2010, which is when the story takes place. My vampires are invisible in plain sight, as in masquerading as human.
Q: Why do you think readers, and society in general, are fascinated by the paranormal
Carrie: Maybe it’s the allure of the unknown. A sort of immortality, even. Magical creatures that heal when injured, have a good deal of strength beyond that of ordinary man and incredible agility…not to mention some vampires are admittedly attractive. Or not. I wouldn’t want to find a Wretched in my bed. Eeek.
On the other hand, you’ve got ghost legends and suppositions that evoke a spectrum of emotions, from comfort in believing that a dear one remains close by in some form, to terrifying paranoia that this continued existence has become a haunting. A reminder that we are so very fragile, when compared to supernatural beings such as werewolves or vampires.
Q: What are your favorite paranormal shows, movies and books?
Carrie: For shows, I’m going to have to go with the heavyweights, such as The X-Files, The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock, Tales from the Crypt and my new obsession (I’m very behind in popular television, eep!) Supernatural.
In movies, I rather swerve in a different direction and love alien-related. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the Alien series, and so forth. Okay. I admit I watched Ghost a million times, but only because I regularly had to spend time with a Swayze fan.
Books. I. love. Horror. Edgar Alan Poe, Dean Koontz, Stephen King. I’ll admit that my reading material tends to be reference/non-fiction. I’ve got quite a few books collected on hauntings and famous ghosts in preparation for a future series that I tentatively call The Cold Fires.
Q: Do you believe in the supernatural? Or are you a skeptic?
Carrie: Definitely a skeptic, but open-minded. It drives the husband nuts. I wouldn’t be so on-the-fence if there weren’t thousands of related experiences from an enormous range of personalities. It’s difficult to discredit a legend or myth unless science provides a more socially-acceptable answer, which it sometimes cannot or has not. Whether real or fantasy, paranormal stories will always remain intriguing and most likely, inspirational.
Q: Have you ever had a paranormal experience?
Carrie: My father has. Long story short, he and a man of faith stopped out of curiosity at a supposedly-haunted house not too far from Austin. While walking the property, both men were filled with an unexplainable sense of dread and felt extremely unwelcome. That’s how Dad put it: They were not wanted there. The sensation increased and in the Texas heat, quickly convinced my father and the preacher to get in the truck and leave. As Dad drove away from the place, the passenger side window imploded, shattering it completely. The preacher wasn’t harmed, but horribly shaken. Upon recollection, my father muses that perhaps it was what the preacher stood for that made the difference.
Neither man ever returned to the place. The house burned down a few years afterward and was demolished, as far as he knows.
I tried researching the location using the internet, but this incident occurred during the early 90s, and before everything was recorded as it is now. Someday, I hope to drive down there and look in the town’s archive. I’d love to confirm the story.
Q: What kind of paranormal creatures do you wish you could meet?
Carrie: Honestly? Any. The positive existence of one sort could mean there’s another. And another. I’m not sure exactly if that would be a good thing…
As for sitting down for a talk with any of them? I suppose a very old vampire that promised not to have me for his or her supper so I could pump them for historic event validation. I’m kind of geeky in that way.
Q: If given the chance, would you become a vampire?
Carrie: Heck yes, I would. Or not. Until a vampire comes along with an offer, I’ll not put too much thought into that sort of critical decision.
Yes would mean that I get whatever perks come with the position, so to speak. But if the sun truly is fatal to vampires, that might be super hard to give up. I just came off of a completely nocturnal job because it’s been horrible for my health. Then again, if I were supernatural, staying healthy might not be an issue.
To say no would be incredibly difficult also. It would mean declining a chance to become something new, possibly superior and to gain an understanding of a completely different species.
Very hard question to answer!
Q: How would you react if you came face to face with a vampire?
Carrie: Oh dear. I would most likely err on the side of caution and run like hell. If what I’ve mostly read is true, he/she would be very dangerous and best avoided. But I’d be so curious afterward, I’d probably walk right back into the situation to investigate. And die in some horrible blood-sucked manner in the process.
Q: What does the future hold for your writing?
Carrie: I would love to have my old energy back. I was recently diagnosed with fibro, among other possibilities, so plans have changed. I had originally thought to churn out two more Crooked Fang series novels, and instead have modified them to be novellas, which lead up to a massive endgame in a second novel I’m simply titling Zero. This means I took out all the pacing so Xan just immediately gets into trouble. Okay, I’m kidding. But not about the novellas.
On the back burner, I have the afore-mentioned Cold Fires series, which is actually a ghost’s story. It’s not yet fully plotted out, so I have little to offer but that it’s about a former rockstar dies and meets the Grim Reaper. The river Styx is a highway and Death drives this incredible car…I hope this series idea works out; it’s going to be fantastic.
Presently, I update my blog whenever a flash fiction idea smacks me in the brain and participate in a great circle of flash fiction writers on Twitter under the hashtag #fridayflash. Paranormal is normal to many of us!
Thanks for joining us, Carrie!
You can learn more about Carrie and her books at her websites, www.crookedfang.com and www.carrieclevengerstories.com .
The post Carrie Clevenger, Interview appeared first on Pillow Talk Blog.
