I am writing a vampire novel called Shadows. The first of a series actually, set in modern-day Philadelphia.
I have been unsatisfied with the countless stories I’ve read, so I set out to write a vampire book that I want to read. As I developed the world my characters’ stories play out, I was conscious of the genre elements I liked and scrapped the ones I did not like. Here I touch on that briefly.
Shadows returns to the roots of the vampire genre and branches out in its own direction. Vampires are silhouettes of humanity, dark twins that exaggerate our virtues and vices; they are ever present, but seldom seen. Bloodless, they instead possess a black humor that collects in their stilled hearts. Vampires choose their existence, seeing it as a gift, rather than a curse. What is the price of immortality? What do you do with forever? What makes us human?
More to come …