Blog Talk Radio: Jeff Trek interviews Daven Anderson, author of “Vampire Syndrome”

Join me on Blog Talk Radio next Saturday, November 29th, 2014 at 5:30PM Eastern Time for my interview, hosted by Jeff Trek.

“Can a vampire with Down Syndrome survive? “Vampire Syndrome”, the novel that truly goes where no paranormal story has gone before. Join us as we welcome Author Daven Anderson and his world of extraterrestrial vampires to the program.”

Author Daven Anderson discusses his “Vampire Syndrome” Saga with Jeff Trek on Blog Talk Radio

Interview with Jack Wendell

Time for me to try something new in the new year.
A character interview, a concept inspired by Joleene Naylor,
but written in my own style.

Spoiler Warning: This interview takes place between the end of “Vampire Syndrome” (book one) and the beginning of “Vampire Conspiracy” (book two).

Welcome, readers of the Vampire Syndrome blog. Today we are proud to feature an interview with Jack Wendell. Currently Jack is between novels one and two, flying in the Council of Thirteen Presidential Jet on his way to Romania to rescue his dear friend Zetania Vinescu from the alien Pure Vampires who kidnapped her in the last chapter of “Vampire Syndrome”. Accompanying Jack in the Gulfstream G550 are Damien Tepesh, Chief Venator of the United States region, and Jack’s new adoptive parents, Ronald and Diane Pepper.

***

Interviewer: Good evening, Mr. Wendell, I’m (redacted), official record-keeper of the Council Of Thirteen. So nice to meet you. (Interviewer and Jack shake hands)

Jack: Hey, wait a minute, how’d you get on this plane?

I: The same way you did, through the door.

J: How come I didn’t see you?

I: I’m Stacy Burnside’s co-pilot. I was in the cockpit until now.

J: Oh, okay.

I: Now let’s get down to business. Tell the Vampire world about yourself.

J: My name is Jack Wendell and I’m nineteen years old. A few months ago, I became a Vampire cause a girl named Janine Perrino got Vampire rabies and bit me.

I: Not the most pleasant way to become a Vampire… (chuckles)

J: Tell me about it! President Lilith told me most of us become vampires from sex.

I: Yes, indeed, sexual intercourse.

J: That’s how Damien and Lilith turned Coach Ron and Diane into Vampires.

I: Ah, yes, Ron and Diane Pepper. Ron was your Special Olympics coach until his recent recruitment into our community.

J: You call that a recruitment? They didn’t get much choice about it.

I: Well, more like drafted, I must admit. And how do you feel about Damien and Lilith turning the Peppers?

J: Why didn’t they ask me first before they did it?

(Damien interrupts): Lilly never was very good about asking people before she…

I: Uh, excuse me, Chief Venator, sir, I’m interviewing Jack here. For the Council record.

(Damien): My apologies. Carry on.

I: Okay, so Jack, let me re-phrase the question. Ron and Diane, now they’re Vampires: Is this good or bad?

J: Good, cause they’re my new family. I guess Lilith wanted to be my new mom, but it didn’t work out. She said she might not be the best mom for me.

I: Indeed, Damien and Lilith did seem to agree that they might not be the best candidates to be your new parents.

J: I love Coach Ron and Diane, and I’m so happy they’re my Dad and Mom now, but I’m scared we’re all gonna get hurt.

I: The Pures. 😈

J: That’s the bad thing. What if the Pures find out about us?

I: The Pures know about your new parents. They’ve been monitoring the Peppers’ cattle mutilation website with a stolen laptop that we’re monitoring.

J: I meant, when they find out Coach Ron and Diane are Vampires!

I: And working as Council investigators, I might add.

J: That’s not funny.

I: No humor intended, Mr. Wendell. We’re in a tough situation here. And you’re heading right into the eye of the storm.

J: But I’ve gotta rescue Zetania from the Pures!

I: Which will put you in grave danger…

J: I don’t care!

(Damien): Cluj Napoca Team has already surrounded the Pures’ hideout.

(Diane Pepper): Oh my, aren’t we confident, Damien?

(Damien): We’ll hit ’em after sunrise so they can’t come out of their cave chasing after Jack.

I: Excuse me, I’m trying to conduct an interview here!

(Damien and Diane, in unison): Sorry!

J: If I can get Zetania out of there, maybe she won’t declare war on the Pures.

I: Her number one enemy for 122 years? You’re quite an optimist, Jack.

J: I’m gonna talk her out of it.

I: Jack, I hate to play devil’s advocate here, but if the Pures killed Zetania, she wouldn’t be able to declare war on them.

J: But then all the rest of the human Vampires would want to kill the Pures cause they killed Zetania. There’d be a big war anyway.

I: Great point, Jack. I can see why Damien and Lilith accepted you into our community.

J: After Damien tried to kill me a couple of times.

(Damien laughs)

(Interviewer continues): And why are you so willing to risk your life to rescue Zetania, Jack?

J: She would do it for me. I know she would. Maybe if I save her, she won’t want to go to war with the Pures cause she knows how bad she could lose. If I get her out of there, she won’t want to be captured again. See?

I: Yes, actually, I do. If you’re right, that is. If Zetania doesn’t see your rescuing her as a golden opportunity to re-group the Romanian Vampires and…

J: Then I better talk her out of the war harder!

I: I wish you the best of luck with your mission, Jack. You’re gonna need it.

J: Thank you.

Next Big Thing interview questions

Tagged by Deadly Ever After blog.

What is the title of your book?
Vampire Syndrome

Where did the idea come from for the book?
I finished reading the four Twilight books, and thought I could write something better. A special-needs vampire protagonist hero was the first thing that came to mind.

What genre does your book fall under?
Two versions, young adult and “erotica”.
I wrote one little vampire wife swap scene and I get tagged “erotica”! Geez Louise… 😉

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
An unknown young male actor with Down Syndrome as Jack
Christian Bale as Damien
Jessica Chastain as Lilith
Minka Kelly as Zetania
Alan Cumming as Les

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Can Down Syndrome vampire Jack Wendell overcome his fellow vampires’ prejudice against his kind and take his rightful place in the vampire community?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I’m signed to PDMI Publishing.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
First draft in omniscent POV = six months. Ground-up re-write in limited-multi first-person POV’s = another year and a half!

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
My book is truly unique in its genre. There are no other books I know of that feature a special-needs vampire. Basically, if you take the mawkish sentimentality out of Forrest Gump, then add vampires, sex, violence and aliens, you have “Vampire Syndrome”. 😈

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
The special-needs individuals I’ve worked with for the past two decades inspired me to create a dignified, wise special-needs hero that they could be proud of! 😀

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I invented a whole new vampire mythos that makes sense in both scientific and folkloric terms. There are two types of vampires in my story, humans and “Pures” (the latter are humanoid carnivorous predators of extra-terrestrial origin). Pures’ skin burns in sunlight, due to their home plant having full cloud cover, and they are averse to garlic/onions because no acidic plants exist on their home planet. Pures also have inner gravity (enabling them to cling to walls and ceilings) and are “immortal” (ie: no “end-of-life” sequence in their DNA).

The interesting factor here is that the human vampires traditionally view special-needs vampires as a liability, but the fearsome Pures see the potential in Jack. 😉

We All Dream Of Iced Screams

Wax Audio: “Enter You”

Time for another Vampire Syndrome snippet! 😈

I’m standing near the entrance of a cave. The stars and a crescent moon are the only lights in the sky, yet I can see all the colors of the surrounding landscape as clearly as if it was daytime. Deep green grass and bright green leaves in the bushes at night. How can this be?
A man in a long black coat points toward the cave. His deep voice startles me.
“It’s time, Jack.”
Time for what? I look at my watch. Three-thirteen a.m.
I take a step, then hesitate.
Somehow, I know I have to go in there. But I don’t want to. Not just because caves are so spooky. I know something’s in there, waiting for me.
The man clears his throat and points again.
I walk slowly to the entrance. Looks okay so far. Time to go inside. It’s dark in here, but I can see everything clearly. The rock walls are filled with little sparkles of gold. Is this an old gold mine? Or maybe it’s all fools’ gold, like in the prospector shop near Buena Vista that Coach Ron and Diane took me to when I was eight.
A crashing noise, coming from farther down in the cave, startles me. Could have been a rock falling. If I keep telling myself that, I might even believe it.
The tunnel becomes steeper as I go down. A very cold breeze is blowing hard on my back. How come I’m not shivering? I don’t even have a jacket on, just a t-shirt and jeans. My brain knows how cold it is, but my body isn’t bothered by it at all.
I pass through the end of the narrow tunnel. Check it out, I’ve just entered a huge underground cavern. The ceiling is full of pointy rocks. Some of them are dripping water. This looks like Carlsbad Caverns, but without all the bright lights. How come I can see all the colors? Lots of brown, green, red, orange and tan. This place is a rainbow of rocks. The white crystal coating on top of the big brown boulders in the right corner makes them look like a giant bowl of frosted cinnamon rolls. Wish I had my camera.
To my left, one of the icicle-shaped rocks breaks from the ceiling and lands in a puddle of water. Was that the same rock-falling sound I heard before? I hope it was. Maybe an icicle rock falling on the floor of this cavern sounds different in the tunnel than it does here. At least I hope so.
I feel an urge to enter the dark tunnel directly in front of me. As if someone inside is calling out to me. But I didn’t hear a sound.
“Jack.”
I heard it that time.
No, I didn’t hear it. It’s coming from inside my mind. Am I hearing voices?
“Jack.”
A woman’s voice. Doesn’t sound familiar, but for some reason, I recognize it.
Gold and silver sparkles on the walls light my way along the tunnel. I increase my pace from walking to running with no extra effort. Feels like I’m moving on a fast conveyor belt.
At the end of the tunnel, a small cave. A beautiful woman stands before me. Her long, curly black hair covers the shoulders of her gold-trimmed black dress.
I know her, she knows me.
Her head is bowed down. Tears trickle down her face. Why is she so sad?
The woman yells, “Look behind you.”
I whip my head around.
Two pale white ghosts. One man, one woman. Both crying out, “Jack.”
It was the ghost woman I heard back in the cavern. Same voice, but now she’s speaking directly to me.
I dash in front of the sad woman. She leaps into my arms and I carry her. How can I be lifting her so effortlessly? I’ve had a harder time lifting a bag of kitty litter.
More ghosts approach us. The sad woman screams in terror. I have to get her out of here.
I run. Fast. Too fast. Even carrying the sad woman in my arms, I’m zipping through the tunnels and caverns like I was downhill skiing. Except I’m running uphill. How can this be?
The echoes of the ghosts calling out my name fade in the distance as I dash up the last tunnel.
Once we escape the cave, a crowd of people watch as I stop running. I release her from my arms and she stands up. We wave to the crowd. She leans down to hug me, her long black hair brushing against me as she kisses my cheek.
The crowd applauds and hollers. I study the people. Where’s the man in the long black coat?
Several men hoist me into the air as the crowd chants my name. Awesome, I’ve become their hero. The woman I rescued begins swaying her hips like a belly dancer. Two women join her in the dance.
I look toward the cave entrance. The man in the long black coat went in there. Somehow, I know he did. I’ve gotta get him out of there. The ghosts will get him.
A woman’s voice. “Jack?”
A nudge on my shoulder. How can that be? I’m way on top of the crowd carrying me.
“Jack?” I know her voice.
Someone just touched my hair.

***

Special thanks to Emily Guido for featuring Vampire Syndrome in Fangs and Hearts Week! 😀

Fangs And Hearts Week – Review & Interview

Thank you so much for featuring me, Emily!