April 25, 2008
Interview With The Vampiress
You ask if I actually believe in vampires?
I’m here to assure you that they really do exist.
My name is Raine.
And I’m coming out of the closet. I am a vampiress.
It’s been a difficult time—both accepting it for myself, and deciding to go public with it. The disease progressed so slowly, it wasn’t easy to recognize the symptoms, to move beyond denial.
Yes, that’s right. It’s a progressive disease. And there are far more of us than you’d care to believe.
It has nothing to do with being bitten—not by fictional fangs, at any rate. Nothing to do with drinking blood (which has a sharp, coppery taste that never really worked for me).
But I’m a vampiress. Make no mistake about it.
I noticed the symptoms here and there for years, but attributed them to other causes. Sensitivity. Empathy. Eagerness to broaden my horizons. I even touched on it in a previous blog on my own site. It really hit home for me a couple of years ago when I was watching a news report about a man who phoned 911 to let them know he was on his way to the Tacoma mall to commit mass murder. When the dispatcher asked his location, the reply was:
“Follow the screams.”
Forgetting who I was, what I was doing or why, the first thing that came out of my mouth was, “Damn, that’s a great line!”
Horrified, that was when I realized the truth. We, as writers, not only hunger and thirst—we absorb. We feed on it. Real-life horror, suspense, comedy, drama…and yes, romance. We hear it on the news and process it, sink our fangs in and suck it up, like genetically-altered blood. Other people’s distinctive personalitites, characteristics, confessions, gestures, stories of family and sexual escapades—like doing a line of coke.
It’s a benign sort of vampirism, of course. We don’t kill our subjects. Once we’re finished, we lick their wounds closed with a smile and understanding nod while we digest what we’ve taken from them, and keep one eye or ear cocked and ready, immediately on the lookout for our next meal.
Something to think about next time you’re sharing/conversing with an author.
You ask if I actually believe in vampires?
My name is Raine.
Let’s get together for a drink sometime.
S’truth.There’s a lot of us around.
Hello, Sister.
We, as writers, not only hunger and thirst—we absorb. We feed on it.
that is the most accurate description I think I have heard!
We don’t kill our subjects
well…… maybe a couple…..
Dennie…maybe on paper eh? LOL
Great post Raine! Ok that sounds lame. It’s a fabulous post
lol. Great post. I sometimes thought of myself as a scavenger picking the meat of the bones of peoples personalities and physical attributes, their histories, joys and pains.
But I think I like Vanessa the Vampiress much better.
I feed off real life too. When something ticks me off bad enough, I create a hero to stomp it for me in fiction. It allows me to stay sane in reality.
‘My name is Raine.
Let’s get together for a drink sometime.’
I’ll bring the stake. :)
Lol. Bernard.
And so true Raine. The other day in class my teacher told us about a woman who was using their system to run background checks on the men she dated. I immediately wrote that down in my notebook. That may be something I can use for a main character or even a secondary one, because apparently the woman dated a lot.
Hi, my name is Melissa and I’m a vampiress.
Hello, Sister.
I’ve often thought so, Bernita.
well…… maybe a couple…..
Lol!
(shhh…don’t spread it around…)
Dennie…maybe on paper eh?
Amie, our vampire clean-up PR person…
I sometimes thought of myself as a scavenger picking the meat of the bones of peoples personalities and physical attributes, their histories, joys and pains.
That’s a GREAT metaphor, Vanessa. On the mark.
I’ll bring the stake.
No, no…STEAK, Bernard.
You’re supposed to bring the STEAK.
Hi, my name is Melissa and I’m a vampiress.
Next meeting’s at my place on the full moon, sis.
Interesting post. Cool. I thought I was going to learn your real name…
Ah, maybe next time…
Tyhitia, Raine is as real as it gets.