Tag: Vampires

Vampires, Sevastopol, and Leo Tolstoy

Posted C. LaVielle6 CommentsPosted in Synchronicity

There are an amazing number of chilling accounts of what we would call vampirism in the historical records of Eastern Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. (see The Secret History of Vampires: Their Multiple Forms and Hidden Purposes) And so I decided that the vampire in my second novel would be from 19th century Sevastopol. He was a civilian doctor there during the Crimean War and the Russian army “requested” that he stay and work in the field hospital when the British and French fleets arrived, captured the area south of the city, and began bombing. The Siege of Sevastopol has been lurking in the back of my brain since I studied it in high school European History. I don’t remember anything I learned about it and I’m even a little shaky on the particulars of the Crimean War in general, but the name sounds so romantic and exotic that I thought it would be fun to have Iskander, my vampire, live in Sevastopol… Read More »

Vampires and Synchronicity

Posted C. LaVielle1 CommentPosted in Getting Published, Synchronicity

So how’s this for synchronicity? I submitted the first 7500 words (about three chapters) of both “The Remaking of Molly Adair” and “Molly Adair, Beware” to the Orycon writer’s workshop. This is a great deal. You meet with two published authors and another writer who has submitted a manuscript. One pro critiques your manuscript and the other critiques the other author’s. The two submitting authors critique each other’s manuscripts. So you get two valuable critiques and the chance to ask two published authors questions about your manuscript. The whole thing costs $10. I have been dithering about my second manuscript. Much as I hate to join the throng of YA fantasy authors who are writing about vampires, I’ve decided to add one to my cast of characters. The piece of information that Molly needs will have more impact and drama if it comes from vampire’s cold, red lips. However, I know nothing about vampires, and started plotting a quick and painless way to learn about… Read More »