Darkspell (Deverry #2) by Katherine Kerr

Title: Darkspell (Deverry #2)
Author: Katherine Kerr
Publisher: HarperCollins, 1994

We continue our journey with Nevyn as he comes up against the sinister Old One – a dark dweomer master who has sent his operatives into Deverry to steal a magical jewel and sow dissent. Of course Jill and Rhodry soon find themselves entangled in the plot, and Katherine Kerr also takes us on a secondary journey to examine more of our central characters’ past lives, and how these influence current events.

The template of the warrior-maiden seems to be cast for Jill, only in her past life we get to know her as a priestess in service of the Moon Goddess’s dark phase. Events unfold that have definitive repercussions much later, as the souls bound by a shared wyrd seem fated to re-enact certain patterns until they’ve worked out their issues. Of course the outcomes are never quite the same, but there is always an undercurrent of tragedy.

New characters include Rhodry’s father, who is one of the Elcyion Lacar, or elvish folk, and also Rhodry’s half-brother, Salamander. We are also introduced to the mysterious McGuffin – a magical ring (surprise, surprise) – that is supposed to be Rhodry’s birthright, though we are yet to discover the full circumstances that suggest Rhodry will be playing a more important role in Saving The Day.

Apart from the retrieval of the magical jewel of the West (that’s quite chatty too, thanks to its imbued spirits) that the dark dweomer practitioner Alystyr (shades of Crowley, perhaps?) and his two bumbling acolytes attempt to steal for the Old One, and which Jill, Rhodry and Nevyn then intercept, there really isn’t much else that happens in book #2.

Granted, the world-building and characterisation, as well as magical system, is what keeps me turning the pages. I find that this time round I am a bit annoyed with the good/light vs. bad/dark dweomer divisions. Also, the stereotyping of protagonist vs. antagonist in that the evil is portrayed as physically repulsive and some degenerate (and queer, for that matter) was not to my taste. But I must point out that I feel fantasy has evolved over the years to take a less dualistic approach, or at least in my experiences as a reader when showing a preference for protagonists that are not necessarily squeaky clean or particularly nice (um, hello Jorgy-boy a la Mark Lawrence).

Villains have, in my opinion, become more ambiguous in their negative and positive traits when it comes to fantasy literature. This is a good thing, because in my opinion, it’s closer to reality, but it must also be kept in mind that I feel Kerr’s earlier writing slips into an era when hard lines between good/evil were still the norm.

Yet, these issues considered, this remains an enjoyable story that has stood the test of time, especially since many of the details have remained foggy from the first time that I read this novel when I was a teen.

Masha du Toit's Crooks and Straights

Today I'm excited to introduce you to Mash du Toit. She's a fellow Capetonian, and I recently proofed her YA contemporary fantasy novel, Crooks and Straights. Also, at the end of this blog post, we've got a question and ebook giveaway for readers, so keep your eyes open for a chance to lay hands on an ebook version of Crooks and Straights. I absolutely adored the story and pretty much gobbled it up. Masha weaves in her love for her location and its people with a magical reality that is utterly bewitching. So, welcome, Masha, and tell us more about the setting for Crooks and Straights, and also a little more about the initial story seed that sparked it.

The seed that sparked this story  came to me out of nowhere – I pictured a South African girl putting sunblock on a little Irish fae. I liked the idea of a supernatural foreigner in South Africa, suffering from the sun on their pale skin. The rest of the story grew from there. What would South Africa be like, if magical creatures from other countries came here – possibly as refugees? What would they be fleeing from?  How would they survive here?

Who are the main characters people will encounter? Can you tell us a little about the challenges they will encounter? 

The story is about a girl called Gia and her family. Gia is sixteen years old, and she's at that stage where she's enough of an adult to chafe at her parents' restrictions, but still not quite ready to stand on her own in the scary world out there. As the story starts, the family business has fallen on hard times, and they've moved into a distinctly working class neighbourhood. This means that Gia is seeing another side of life, one that was hidden from her before. In particular, she's seeing the magicals – the trolls, fairies, werewolves and other creatures who live among humans in this version of South Africa.  As she explores this new world, she accidentally sets off a train of events that puts her little brother Nico in danger.

What were some of the challenges with the story that you encountered, and how did you overcome them?

One of the important characters is Nico, Gia's little brother. Nico is not like other boys. He cannot speak properly, and it's clear from the start that he has some kind of mental or behavioural abnormality. This was a challenge for me. Firstly, I had to spend some time with children who are not neurotypical, so that I could base Nico on a real child instead of on my preconceptions of what such a child would be. Then, although I based a lot of his traits are that of an autistic child, Nico is not autistic. The reason for his difference becomes apparent only quite late in the story. So I had to find a way to portray him as "different but not autistic" without seeming simply to be writing an uniformed version of an autistic child.

Was there a particular scene that is one of your favourites? Then, to flip the coin, was there a scene that you struggled with?

I think my favourite scene is the one where Gia's mother, Saraswati, comes to have a late-night chat with Gia, and gives her a belated birthday present. At that stage in the story the two of them are not getting on very well, and they both need to find a better way back towards one another. Saraswati tells Gia how she felt the very first time she saw her (Gia was adopted), and Gia starts to realise how life must seem from her mother's point of view – something she's not been very good at doing up to that point. For me, the heart of this book is Gia's relationship with her mother. In some ways, Saraswati is the real heroine, and the book is about Gia discovering her mother's story.

A scene that I struggled with? I think this is one that a lot of writers come up against – how to introduce the story-world to the reader, without simply "info dumping", writing a long, boring lecture that slows the story down. Gia attends a lesson on magical creatures near the beginning of the book, and that is also the place where the reader gets enough information to be able to understand how her world works. Or at least, I hope so! I had to rewrite that quite a few times, removing all the things I was so proud of figuring out, but that the reader really did not need to know about.

You've got a few other titles out. Can you tell us a bit more about your other works?

My other books are a two-book series The Story Trap and The Broken Path. Like Crooks and Straights, they are urban fantasy books set here in Cape Town, and, like Crooks and Straights, they are both illustrated by me. The Story Trap is about a girl, Rebecca, who goes into an unexplained coma. Her sisters discover that the coma is the result of a witch's spell, and the book is about their attempts to bring Rebecca back. In The Broken Path, Rebecca has recovered, but she longs to be back in the magical world that she inhabited while she was in the coma. All of this is mixed up with a witch who is willing to do just about anything to save the ocean from humanity's pollution.

What aspects of your home town do you find inform your writing?

I'm heavily influenced by my surroundings. I write about magical creatures and impossible situations, but I love making them seem normal and real by setting them in the places I see every day – like Cape Town station, or the Civic Centre, or Main Road Woodstock. This has the effect of giving me a sort of double vision wherever I go, as I "remember" the story events that played out all over my version of Cape Town.

Can you tell us a bit more about your literary influences? 

I have so many!  Some of them are obvious, like Charles de Lint or Diana Wynne Jones, both writers who like to mix up the every-day world with magic. Garth Nix is another one, the master of monsters. Others may not be that apparent – I love the humanity of children's writers Arthur Ransome and Elizabeth Enright, who have such empathy and respect for their characters. And recently, I've been entranced by Jonathan Stroud, who has a unusually delicate, wry, moral angle to his writing. I read pretty much everything though, from old classics to popular genre fiction, and all of it feeds into my writing.

Getting back to Crooks and Straights, you've left the story at a bit of a cliffie, which suggests there's more to come. Are you able to tell us more at this point?

Oh yes indeed! I worried about that quite a bit, but in the end, decided that I could not fit the entire story into a single book. I've already started on the sequel and am having a lot of fun with it. Quite a few werewolves in this story, and the sea is important too – I'm figuring out a new angle on mermaids. It helps that I've just started doing volunteer work at the Two Oceans Aquarium.  Lots of source material there.

And now, for the question. Masha wants to know:
Is there a magical creature that doesn't often get featured in books, that you would like to read more about? Tell me about it! Email Masha at masha.dutoit@gmail.com.

Links:
Kindle versions on Amazon.com, Kindle versions on Amazon.co.uk, online first chapter.
My "books" site with info on all my books is here and my Google+ profile.

Meet Ash Corvida, fellow Para Kindred author

A big welcome to Ash Corvida, who's also one of the contributing authors in the Immanion Press Para Kindred anthology, and who's here today to share a little bit in a Q&A. So, Ash, what do you love about Wraeththu Mythos?

Storm's writing style and the imagery she creates around Wraeththu are so deliciously rich and conjure such an intoxicating blend of thought and emotions, that I was instantly hooked. Also her world populated by a species of hermaphrodites, who have grown from human stock but developed far beyond human shortcomings and whose dream it is to evolve and explore the limits of their abilities resonated deeply within me. I feel that she takes a rather accurate account on where the world might go if we don't get a grip, but then she turns this rather dreary scenario into something new and wondrous with Wraeththu rising like a phoenix from the ashes of humanity.

The books offer an inspiration to start thinking on new paths and to search for new options within each individual. Who knows, maybe there is a har hiding deep within us, a beautiful and powerful creature, who can awaken us to our full potential?

Everyone’s story will have that spark that set the wheels spinning? What was yours?

Actually I was going to write a completely different story, something dark and deeply disturbing about some stray Teraghasts. But because I had not been writing for a long time I started out on a practice piece. It was supposed to be just a quick and short one of course. But soon enough I was pulled into the green depth of the jungle sharing the adventure and wondrous discoveries with my protagonists, while the idea for the other story went back to sleep. I might still write that one at a later point though.

Without giving any spoilers, can you share a bit about your story?

Torghyn and Marach are young hara of a hunter tribe, living on the edge of the rainforest. Their leaders believe that the only way to survive is a primitive life abandoning all technological and spiritual advancement and they use the decline of humanity as proof of their convictions. They also claim that there are demons stalking the jungle, fearsome creatures of fire living in the nearby volcano, who will punish any har overstepping their rules. Thorgyn and Marach doubt the truth of those legends and dreaming of a better life one day set out into the jungle to venture far beyond the allowed hunting grounds, where they make some very intriguing discoveries.

Are there any underlying themes you visited?

One I guess is that no matter how great your inborn talent or abilities are, fear and the need for control can reduce any person to either a power hungry tyrant or a little wheel in his machinery.
Also I always wonder about technologies which work with nature instead of against it and like to explore the possibilities.

Then, a little bit about yourself and your influences.

A loner as a child I spent much time outside in nature daydreaming myself into a world of my own peopled with demon-angels and other strange creatures of my imagination. There also was a great urge to capture the impressions of those worlds in art, sculpting, painting, composing and playing music or writing poetry and stories.  Over the years I kept up the dreaming when almost everybody around me "grew up" and lost interest in such fantastic worlds. Later a deep interest in spirituality provided a new layer to the kaleidoscope of inner impressions and discoveries and I found new inspiration in myth and legend.

And of course I was a fan of science fiction and fantasy, from way back in the old days, when in Germany besides the first seasons of Star Trek on the TV, The Lord of the Rings and some books by authors like Heinlein or Asimov, stories of that genre were still mostly sold in dime novels, a kind of literature which I was not allowed to read. But nothing could keep me from it for long, after a friend loaned me her stack of Perry Rhodan and Atlan dime novels, which I read in secret at her house, I was corrupted. I was also deeply inspired by those few fantasy novels which were among the first to be translated in to German, especially Michael Moorcock's Elric and Tanith Lee's Vazkor cycles. These will stay with me forever I think.

Maybe somewhat surprisingly I grew into a rather rational person anyway, currently working in programming and web design. My many interests reach from science and technology to psychology, history, foreign cultures and philosophy.  This part of me is the sceptic, who keeps my feet on the ground and food on the table.

But actually no matter what I do, I am always on the hunt for more inspiration, because art in any form is the core of my life.

More Art and writing by Ash Corvida.
Also see my experimental writing blog.

Meet Martina Bellovičová, fellow Para Kindred author

I'm totally blaming Martina Bellovičová for the fact that I ended up in the Para Kindred anthology. You see, if it wasn't for her, then I'd still be wondering whether I'd give this a bash. So, Martina, a HUGE thank you for your encouragement. It's her turn for a spot of Q&A today. Martina, what do you love about the Wraeththu Mythos?

What's not to love? There are, of course, all those elegant, androgynous creatures, who start out as a kind of subculture and gradually get familiar with their new abilities to become something powerful and amazing. I think the issue of humanity evolving towards a unisex society is very actual and Storm's idea predicted (in an idealized and fantastical way, of course) the challenging of the gender binary and exploring the areas inbetween that is presently beginning to happen in fashion, arts and in the society itself. But, believe me, this is just the top of an iceberg.

Rather than having a main character or two, both trilogies present a wide range of different characters, none of which is boring or shallow, and many of them undergo tremendous development. The characters belong to different tribes, ranging from the desert-dwelling nomads to nordic sea-farers, and every tribe has a distinctive mentality and powers that set them apart from the others. The spirituality, the magic and the system of deities is also thoroughly devised – so thoroughly, in fact, that a separate non-fiction book exists to cover the magic and rituals used.

What I love most, though, is that the books are so thought-provoking and have so many layers. You can revisit them multiple times, and each time find something you haven't discovered before.

Everyone’s story will have that spark that set the wheels spinning? What was yours?

From the call for submissions, I understood that this collection was to explore areas that have not been covered in the previous books; the more obscure individuals or exotic tribes. All the novels and short stories that have been published so far took place in what used to be America or Europe. Being interested in Japanese and Chinese culture, I have always wondered, whether there were any hara in former Asia, and if so, how did their society develop and why did they have so little contact with the others. A Japanese har finally appeared in the sixth book, having been summoned to perform a role of a teacher-guard, adept in martial arts, but the readers didn't get to find out anything about his background. That's why I decided to write a story set in Japan and answer the questions for myself.

I imagined that due to its remote location, Japan could have cut itself off when the global apocalypse hit the Earth, preventing the virus from spreading from the mainland. Being on a superior technological level, the Japanese might have managed to build resilient constructions, in which people would be able to survive. Under such conditions, it would take a long time for the Wraeththu to infiltrate the society and begin to form indigenous tribes. Humans would be strong enough to fight them, while on other continents, they had long ago been subdued. This was to become my main theme in the story.

Without giving any spoilers, can you share a bit about your story?

The story is set in Japan, about fifty years after the apocalypse. Most prefectures have been declared quarantine zones and the majority of the surviving population lives in "neotowns", huge complexes of underwater structures, made to outlast any natural disaster or enemy impact.

Meanwhile, the Wraeththu have formed several small tribes on the islands. They live in unity with nature, dwell in temples, follow ancient rituals and train both their bodies and minds. Despite having all the technology at their disposal, people are slowly dying out due to the ageing of population and low fertility. The fact that the Wraeththu do not seem to grow old doesn't escape them, and quite naturally, they aim to experiment on abducted hara in order to reap benefits for the declining human race.

In my head, I have conceived an extensive background for the Asian hara, drawing from Japanese mythology, but in the end, not much of it has been used, because the story would have expanded into a novel. Instead, I have focused on the tension between the two main characters: Kiyoshi, who is a leader of a Wraeththu tribe, and Satoru, a human scientist that experiments on hara captured by the army. Kiyoshi sacrifices himself for the sake of his tribe, agreeing to help Satoru with his research, but time shows he is much more than a willing victim of torture and has a working plan. During the process, the scientist learns more and more about the Wraeththu, and his beliefs are gradually being challenged. It was interesting for me to follow the slow transition of a human, who initially felt tremendous hostility to the new race, and to play with the question whether or not any kind of relationship could be born in such conditions.

Are there any underlying themes you visited? 

An important theme for me, one that reflected also on my story in the previous collection, is the question whether or not the Wraeththu are making similar mistakes like humans had. I have intentionally made the story quite ambiguous, hoping that people will be on doubts which side to sympathize with. Not sure how much I succeeded in that, though.

Then, a little bit about yourself and your influences.

I am a translator and beginning author from the Czech Republic, an occasional singer and keyboardist, an editor at www.steamzine.cz and life style goth/steampunk. In my free time, I organize subculture events, dance tribal or Irish dances and have lectures at fantasy cons. Yes, I tend to spread myself too thin, because the inner need to be creatively active constantly drives me forward.  Going back to writing, I have published several short stories and a comic so far, all within the fantasy genre, written lyrics for a number of underground bands and I'm currently working on a steampunk novel.

I cannot really specify my influences, because I have read hundreds and hundreds of books in my life, my apartment is bursting with them, and I believe that each book gave me a little bit of inspiration and urge to write. In the fantasy genre, I have always been looking for something more innovative than typical high fantasy or young adult romance novels. The Wraeththu definitely fall in that category, it has been a joy to write about them and I would like to thank Storm Constantine for giving me the chance. My other story that has been published in this universe, "The Bridge", can be found in the in the previous Wraeththu collection, Para Imminence, and I would like to encourage everyone to read it.

For the longest time, I was resisting the temptation to make a personal page, but I have recently decided to place all information regarding my activities at least on Facebook.



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Meet Para Kindred author Suzanne Gabriel

We remain with all things Wraeththu today with Para Kindred author Suzanne Gabriel, who's dropping by to subject herself to a little Q&A. Welcome, Suzanne. Do tell us what you love about the Wraeththu Mythos?

I connected immediately with these stories as I have always been fascinated by how societies see the concepts of male and female. Boys don’t cry and love sports. Girls love pink and shopping. Boys are big and muscular. Girls are petite and graceful. Who makes up these rules?

Growing up I was a tomboy; I rescued earthworms (still do!), got muddy (I still do that too!), but I also loved ballet class, and make-up. When I was very little I decided that our spirits were not male or female and that gender/gender-identity must be something that was on a sliding scale; something fluid.

I also love that fact that the post-apocalyptic world is the result of the slow decay of humanity rather than zombies, or aliens.

Everyone’s story will have that spark that set the wheels spinning? What was yours?

So many people are so driven, so ambitious, and want to be the biggest, the best, and the most powerful. They allow their career to define them. They say they are happy, but sometimes I wonder. In the past few years I’ve seen a number of people forced to drastically re-evaluate their priorities due to job losses, or health, and sometimes relationship changes. I thought it would be fun to pull the rug out from under a career-focused har and see how he adjusted.

Without giving any spoilers, can you share a bit about your story?

Tobian is ambitious and driven healer who aspires to further his career, but after a sudden fall from grace he finds himself far from home and learning to adapt a new pace of life. He discovers that despite his elite training, he still has much to learn and there are still mysteries to explore.

Are there any underlying themes you visited?

Oh dear… I’m not sure. Resilience and adaptability? Curiosity and acceptance?

Then, a little bit about yourself and your influences.

My parents had wanderlust so I grew up in USA, Canada, UK, and back in Canada again. I’m always looking for a label so that I could more easily describe myself but since I’m a little bit main stream, a little bit hippie, a little bit science geek, history buff, … I can’t! When asked, my eldest says “the weirdest mix of dark humour, science, and new age hippie”. I have way too many hobbies and too many books on my ‘must read’ list. I’m such a skeptic that I am constantly questioning the things that I believe in.

Follow Suzanne on Facebook or check out her blog.

Meet Para Kindred author & co-editor Wendy Darling

 Today I hand over my blog to Wendy Darling, who's played a pivotal role in helping to curate and build the Wraeththu Mythos. Over to you, Wendy...

I first encountered Wraeththu far later than I wish I had – 2001 was the pivotal year – but thirteen years later, I feel like it’s something that’s been with me forever.

Para Kindred is the latest of many projects I’ve undertaken with Storm Constantine, exploring, expanding, celebrating, illustrating the world of Wraeththu. From this, the latest of three anthologies, to working with Storm on her novels, to the hundreds of fan fiction stories I’ve collected or edited (and those many I have written), I am deeply satisfied by the fact this world and its characters seems to go on and on, carried forward both by its creators and its fans.

My Stories

In coming up with my contributions for Para Kindred, I fell into the same pattern I had with the prior two anthologies: one story was either done before I started or came all at once in a rush, while the other was quite a bit of work, dragged out over time. So I guess it was like the mom whose first labor takes two days, an agony, and second labor happens so fast her baby is born in the car.

“Sea and Shore” was the story that came to me first and the one I started on first, but ultimately gave me some trouble. The kernel of the idea came to me when the theme was first suggested: mutants and enigmas of Wraeththu. What could have happened to some hara? What would be interesting?

I don’t want to spoil my story, so I’ll say that after I had my idea, of a particular mutation, I knew the setting immediately: coastal Maine. Not only did I grow up with that area as one of my favorite places, but only last fall I had a fantastic weeklong trip there with my mother. Images and sensations were still fresh in my head, and that helped me immeasurably when I sat down to work.

Unfortunately, having the setting and basic plot didn’t solve all my problems. My first struggle was point of view. I started out writing in the first person, which I usually do well with, but I felt like the tale was spinning out without getting to the point. Then I switched to the third person and decided I would alternate with the story of the other major character. But still it wasn’t working somehow. So I gave it a rest and meanwhile focused on all the submissions I had to edit!  For this collection I edited four stories, plus Storm’s two, so it did take some effort to get through the drafts and finalize those.

But one night, when I had a pause in between edits, I sat down to start writing “Sea and Shore” over, from the beginning. Only when I started typing, a whole different story came out! The first line sort of popped into my head as I was sitting down and I typed it out and kept going. I started out with a har talking to his harling, not knowing where I was going, but within the first page, I figured it out, and four hours later I had come up with a story I was very happy with, called “Dysphoria.” This story is more about “throwbacks” than it is about Wraeththu “mutants” and meanwhile also handles issues of gender identity, one of my abiding life interests. That it came so easily was a shock.

It was two weeks after that, and with the deadline clock ticking, that I finally started up on “Sea and Shore” again. Working on just a couple of chunks a night (one character section, then alternating to the other, then stopping), I finished it up in half a week. When I sent it to Storm to edit and proof, I was worried she would find it rough and disjointed, but to my surprised she said it sounded like it had flowed out of me without much effort. This was not the case but glad it gives that impression!

About Me

A Yankee who’s been based in Atlanta, Georgia, for a shocking  number of years, doing tech work, I have somehow managed a sideline as an author and editor of both Wraeththu Mythos fiction as well as non-fiction writing and other genre writing.

With Bridgette Parker, I was co-author of Breeding Discontent, published by Immanion Press in 2003 as the first Wraeththu Mythos novel. Over the years, I’ve been involved in Wraeththu in many different capacities, including editor of Storm Constantine's revised Wraeththu Chronicles, webmaster of the Inception and Forever Wraeththu fan web sites, and staff at several Wraeththu conventions. I also co-edited the two prior Wraeththu Mythos story collections, Paragenesis: Stories from the Dawn of Wraeththu (2010) and Para Imminence: Stories of the Future of Wraeththu (2012). Both anthologies include two of my own short stories, plus essays related to Wraeththu. I have undertaken other Immanion Press projects, including editing an epic fantasy and at one time working on the press’s web site.

My full time job is rather unrelated to this. I’m a web projects manager at Emory University, handling a ton of digital communications (web sites, blogs, social media, video) related mostly to medical research and discovery. Much as I actually love my job, I am completely helpless when it comes to engaging in side projects and hobbies, including photography, architecture and writing.  One of my side projects is a blog about Art Deco architecture that has a legion of Tumblr fans that I never dreamt possible.

To find out more about me, a few helpful profile links: 1) social connections on my About.me profile, 2) author/editor/reader profile on Goodreads, 3) micro-blog on Twitter and of course 4) Facebook.

Para Kindred: The River Flows

Today I'm going to chat briefly about my contribution to the Para Kindred anthology, a story entitled "The River Flows". At the time of writing I was revisiting the first of the Wraeththu tales, that I had last read in 2009, so much of the world-building was fresh for me. Consequently I felt the outsider's fascination with the Wraeththu. 

One of the facets of the Wraeththu Mythos that I find utterly fascinating was the status of women in the new order; how the advent of the Wraeththu had in a sense freed women from the tyranny of men. And that's when Eva came to mind.

She is the not-so-impartial observer who watches the changes unfold and, when her time comes, helps nudge more change into being. She herself takes on a role in the new world yet at the same time she is aware of her status as being an outsider. 

"The River Flows" unfolds in one of my favourite regions in southern Africa: the Cederberg, which is situated slightly inland from our West Coast. This is a semi-desert set within a mountain range cut through by lush river valleys. Many ancient rock art sites belonging to the bushmen can be found here, and the place itself is steeped in history. The contrast between the different landscapes within this region is awe-inspiring. One moment you'll be walking through verdant lucern fields or vineyards then you'll find yourself in a shale band of strange, twisted sandstone rock formations, or wandering across a sand flat covered in restios (reed-like grasses). Venerable cedar trees endure in the kloofs, and if you are lucky, you might find the rare snow protea on the slopes of the Sneeuberg or red disas flowering by a waterfall. Leopards still leave their spoor if you know where to look.

I spent many childhood holidays on a farm here, and there's a part of me that constantly wishes to revisit this world in my fiction (perhaps a subconscious need to escape from the routines of city life). Of course when I saw the call for submissions for the Para Kindred anthology, my plot bunnies began to hop about madly, and I had to ask myself: How would the farmers living in the Cederberg react with the downturn in socio-economic conditions preceding the rise of the Wraeththu? What would happen when the first Wraeththu came calling? Which of my favourite African myths can I work in? (A hint: I'm fascinated by tales of the watermeid.)

Africa is a harsh land, and those who wish to live in her more arid regions must be, by nature, willing to be hard. This is not always easy for those who are of a more sensitive disposition, and I wanted to show the conflict that arose between father and son. I also explored the sense of obligation a woman has to a family she has worked for her entire life. Eva is trapped by her sense of duty, and the Wraeththu Taym does more than enchant the farmer's son; he is the catalyst that allows her to cut her bonds and find her own path and make her own fate.

Para Kindred anthology author ES Wynn #wraeththu

Today I've another Para Kindred contributor on board. A huge welcome to ES Wynn! 
What do you love about the Wraeththu Mythos?  

So much. Honestly. When I first started reading Storm's work, I was drawn by the elegance of these angelic, post-human beings, by the idea that we (as humans) could become something greater, something more than we are. The post-apocalyptic landscape appealed to me, but more than that, I think, it was the unique take on the post-apocalyptic idea that Storm puts forth which grabbed me most fluidly.

I grew up in a pagan household on one side and a wildly pentecostal household on the other, so powerful, ecstatic spiritual experience has always been a part of my life. Seeing that kind of ritual drama expressed so vividly in such a richly detailed post-human race is definitely one of the things which has drawn me to the Mythos most strongly– there's nothing else like it. Nothing else I've seen, anyway. It's that whole “the world has ended, now we can truly be who we were meant to be, and the world is so much wider and more wondrous than we imagined” concept that truly, deeply resonates with me.

Everyone’s story will have that spark that set the wheels spinning? What was yours?  

One of the things I've always found most tantalizing about the early years within the timeline of the Wraeththu universe are the hints and stories which indicate the role that medical experimentation might have played in the creation and spread of the Wraeththu. As a writer, I've always been drawn to the creepy side of sci-fi, the sort of dark, transformational lab experiences where technology which offers such hope and promise for the future is bent toward sinister ends. Story seeds like that are always fun and exciting to explore, and so when I received the notice that Para Kindred was open for submissions, I saw a wonderful opportunity to create something which delved into that darker side on one hand, and into the more dream-like, spiritual side of Wraeththu on the other.

I was also in the final stages of completing a book called Like Oceans of Liquid Skin (which features an antagonist as “fluid” as the main character in Wolf) when the call came in, so I'd mark that as an inspiration as well. I have a soft spot in my heart for skinwalkers and creepy, fleshy shapeshifters.

Without giving any spoilers, can you share a bit about your story?

I like to think that Wolf reflects my favorite aspects of the Wraeththu universe. It's a story of awakening, of transformational experience with its roots in the ashes of the material world and its branches in the sky of a dream-like after-world. It's the story of one being's journey of self-discovery while the world of man and the world of Wraeththu spin on without stopping. In the story, we follow the main character through some of the most recognizable ages of the Wraeththu, but events unfold at a distance, as Wolf is not a central character to change. Wolf is rather something more like an observer, lingering in the hinterlands, with a wholly unique story to tell.

Then, a little bit about yourself and your influences.

When it comes to influences, I am a sponge. I read everything I can, and try to dissect and understand the writings of other authors across any and all genres. My biggest influences are probably Storm Constantine (of course) Cormac McCarthy, Peter Grandbois, Damon Knight and Samuel R. Delany.

As for myself, I like to keep my bio simple. I'm a huge fan of sci-fi and of the surreal. I'm the author of over fifty books and the chief editor of a number of web journals through Thunderune Publishing. I'm always working on something new.

Catch up with ES Wynn here...

Meet Para Kindred author Maria Leel

Today I'm pleased to have fellow Wraeththu Mythos Para Kindred author Maria Leel visiting for a quick Q&A. Welcome, Maria. What do you love about the Wraeththu Mythos? 

The books that comprise the original Wraeththu trilogy, now the Wraeththu Chronicles, have been my constant companions since late 1989 when, during a lunch break from work, a copy of The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit mugged me in Hammick’s bookshop and insisted on being purchased. I confess I wasn’t terribly productive for the rest of the afternoon when I returned to the office. The trilogy has moved house with me more times that I can count; it has travelled around the world with me and to this day still occupies a prized spot on the bookshelf nearest to my bed. If you had told me then that I would have the opportunity to contribute stories to that world I loved so dearly I simply would not have believed you.

I have been fascinated with the ‘post-apocalyptical’ genre since childhood probably because I’ve been at odds with the dominant human culture from a very early age. I grew up in the 70s at the tail end of the hippie era surrounded by beautiful people with long hair and glam rock... And then you give me a whole trio of books set in a post apocalyptic Earth filled with amazingly beautiful creatures with long hair... Well, there was no hope for me!

Everyone’s story will have that spark that set the wheels spinning? What was yours?

Two things really. At the time the call for submissions to Para Kindred went out I was studying some of the work of Dr Paul Stamets, a pioneering American mycologist (check out his TED talk), specifically his work on fungi’s ability to clean up contamination. I mean, did you know that there is evidence at Chernobyl of slime moulds siphoning radiation out of the air and using it as their own power source? That and fungi’s role as a great underground information and resources network in primary forest; a genuine living phenomenon which for me had great resonance with the Na’vi’s ‘deity’ in the film Avatar.

I was reading Paul’s book Mycelium Running and my brain was literally pounding with the possibilities.

Around the same time I happened to re-watch a film called Raise the Red Lantern about a young girl who willingly becomes a concubine in the oppressive household of a wealthy warlord. I found her story both depressing and compelling.

Then the call for submissions came in and I was left wondering how I was going to bolt together a bunch of mushrooms and dynastic China into a workable story... without resorting to something hallucinogenic...

Without giving any spoilers, can you share a bit about your story?

The story centres around Chenga who lives in the dynastic territories of the Far East where ritual, protocol and tradition are valued above all things. Despite this, Chenga enjoys an almost blissful childhood thanks to his hostling, Lian, and his human teacher, Master Deshi-Tu. Chenga is fascinated by herb lore and enjoys a rare ability to hear the whispering chatter of the fungi that grow in abundance in his forest home. Master Deshi-Tu promises to teach Chenga the secret of the threads when he comes of age.

But Chenga’s childhood is tragically cut short and he is sent as a child bride to become the tenth consort of a wealthy and powerful dynastic overlord. Depressed and desperately unhappy, Chenga finds the overlord and the regime of his household cruel and divisive and he longs for freedom. Eventually the threads call to him again and he begins to see how escape might be possible.

Are there any underlying themes you visited?

Primarily the complexity of the living world – we really don’t understand how it all works and we mess with it at our peril. It’s all about relationships.

Oppression is another major theme. The dynamics of controlling and abusive relationships are both hideous and fascinating both in the case of an individual species’ abuse of a natural community and that of a single individual’s abuse of another. Stories need conflict and inevitably oppression is a good source for that.

I also think that literature is a particularly good medium for exploring the dynamics of abuse and bringing this hidden form of warfare into the light.

Then, a little bit about yourself and your influences.

My first degree was in Ecology and much of my work has been in the field of conservation so my stories all have strong link with natural systems and the landscape.  I have travelled widely and lived in some pretty isolated places and those experiences tend to weave their way into my writing whether I wish them to or not. I am deeply grateful to Storm Constantine for welcoming contributors to the Wraeththu mythos and allowing fledgling authors to test their wings in the world of published writing.

I come from a family of dancers steeped in the folk traditions of England. My extended family are Morris dancers and from an early age I was surrounded by people with painted faces, dressed in wild costumes, bearing an assortment of curious instruments. This has led to a fairly relaxed attitude to the unorthodox.

Originally from the flat Fenlands in the east of England I now live on the hilly Welsh borders with my husband, two geriatric cats and a varying number of chickens. We have recently taken on a large urban garden which we are in the process of turning into a permaculture paradise. We’ve just put in a mini orchard and our next challenge is to convince our neighbours to allow us to bring in a couple of piglets to tractor up the patch where we plan to put the forest garden. Wish us luck with that one ;)

See my author page with Immanion Press is where you can also find details of my Wraeththu novel Song of the Sulh. I can be found on Facebook.

Storm Constantine on Para Kindred

Today I am honoured to host Storm Constantine, who joins us to discuss her latest release, the Para Kindred anthology of Wraeththu Mythos short stories, which features original fiction not only by her, but also Wendy Darling, Martina Bellovičová, Ash Corvida, Nerine Dorman, Suzanne Gabriel, Fiona Lane, Maria J Leel , Daniela Ritter, E.S. Wynn. 
Welcome, Storm... 

One of the best aspects of compiling Wraeththu short story collections, such as Para Kindred, is that it gives me the opportunity to revisit the half-completed Wraeththu stories I have, some of which date back thirty years or more. For this latest anthology, I wrote one completely new story, and then turned to one of the ‘oldies’ for my other contribution.

The first, ‘Painted Skin’, was inspired by an image I remembered from a folk tale – that of a fairy woman who’s a beautiful and bewitching creature from the front, but whose back is hollow and that of a rotting tree. I can’t even remember where I first came across this image, although my friend and fellow writer Tanith Lee also remembers it, and thinks it might have been in a Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. I’ve not yet trawled through my big collection of his stories to find out. I did discover, via a Danish friend and subsequent searches on the internet, that there is a Danish myth about the Elle folk, whose females were as described above, but whose males were hideously ugly and could spread pestilence. Both genders were not actively malevolent, as far as I could gather, but objected strongly to humans reacting negatively to their appearance. Once riled in such a way, through unintentional laughter or horror, they could turn nasty. The idea of the hollow woman has always fascinated me, and the idea came to me how to include it in a Wraeththu story. ‘Painted Skin’ was the result.


I began the other piece, ‘Without Weakness’, way back when writing the original Wraeththu trilogy, not long after I’d completed ‘The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit’. It features two characters from the trilogy – the Kamagrian Kate and the harish Ashmael. A human enclave has managed to survive in the wilderness of Megalithica, despite attacks from rogue Wraeththu tribes. Nicholas, the youngest son of the Ferniman family, is particularly threatened by these enemies, not least because of his innate unusual abilities, not generally found in a human. The barbaric Wraeththu want to claim and incept him.

Ashmael and Kate, representing the more advanced tribe of Gelaming, seek to help the humans, and overcome their hostility. Initially, I planned the story to be a kind of romance, with love conquering all, but when I revisited it, so many years later, different ideas came to me. I had things to say about those who claim to ‘know what’s best for you’, when really all they know is what they consider best for them. In particular, this applies to medical professionals, who are often blinkered to say the least, and prone to promoting the latest fad or obsession. In the story, this involves the subject of inception – is it ever ‘necessary’, and if professional therapists consider it so, are they right? ‘Without Weakness’ was an interesting story to write, even if it was rather more difficult to produce than ‘Painted Skin’, which poured out without much effort on my part. Originally I’d planned for it to be a novella, and despite choosing to make it a shorter work, it still came in at 40 pages or so when it was finished.

Both stories were very enjoyable to write in their different ways. I hope to compile another Wraeththu story collection in the future, again with the help of other writers, to explore other aspects of the Wraeththu Mythos.

Bio: 
After seventeen years of being professionally published, Storm decided that the only way for her books to stay in print for any length of time was to publish her back catalogue herself. With Immanion Press, she intends to rectify the typical fate of books, which is to have the "shelf life of a magazine".

Storm underwent a cursory art college education, but found it too restricting creatively. After a series of mundane jobs, she began writing seriously, and her first book, "The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit" was published in 1987 by Macdonald Futura. Storm has written approximately 1.5 books a year ever since!

In the 80s and 90s, she frittered away some time managing bands, and caught the publishing bug from producing fan club magazines. After giving up the musical distraction, Storm embarked on the fiction project, "Visionary Tongue", which was a regular magazine of dark fantasy/fantasy/sf stories. She enlisted the help of several writer friends to act as editors, so that up-and-coming writers would have the chance to work with a professional, and pick up tips about their craft and the industry.

Immanion Press is undoubtedly an extension of what Storm began with Visionary Tongue. As well as her own work, and the back catalogue of friends and writers she admires, Storm is keen to promote new talent. As to what she's looking for, she says:

'It's difficult to define what I like, but it has to be different. I admire a slick style, believable characters, vivid yet economical description and an engaging story. I also like a certain level of quirkiness, as long as it isn't too self-conscious! A few of my favourite writers are Alice Hoffman, Tanith Lee, Jack Vance, Steve Millhauser and Jonathan Carroll, which might give people a potential idea of what appeals to me. I will edit the books that most appeal to me, but we also have a team of other editors who are all very thorough at what they do. I am known as rather a task-mistress with authors I work with, though - so be warned!

Featured author: Maria Imbalzano

Today's featured author is Maria Imbalzano, who's here to tell us a little bit more about herself and her novel, Unchained Memories (for which there's an excerpt at the end of this blog post). Welcome, Maria, and over to you!

I was born in Trenton, NJ , in the heart of Chambersburg, the Italian section of town. My father was a barber and my mother, a State employee, who also taught me to jitterbug at the tender age of four. We loved to dance in the living room while watching American Bandstand. Hardly star material, but I was driven nonetheless.

The product of a Catholic School education, I learned the basics, and took for granted  I would be successful doing something, even if it entailed cutting hair. I attended Rutgers University as a psychology major, but after three years decided I liked political science better.

My first job led me to Manhattan where I worked as a paralegal for four years before attending Fordham University School of Law. There I learned to think like a lawyer, write like a lawyer, and speak like a lawyer, all while living like a pauper in the city of my dreams. Living in New York City, albeit on a tight budget, allowed me to indulge my love of ballet, art museums, and theater. Did you know you could walk into a theater after intermission and no one checks your ticket? I enjoyed the second half of many plays as well as ballets.

My love of reading dates back to my childhood when I would borrow at least four books from the library every week. During the summer, I would sit in the house and read, until my mother, totally frustrated, would send me outside to play and lock me out. I always found my way back in.

However, I must confess, I hated to write. In every English and writing class throughout college, I dreaded trying to be creative. As a friend from law school so aptly put it, “The reason why we’re here is because we don’t have a creative bone in our bodies.” I agreed.

Despite my dislike of creative writing back then, I embraced legal writing, and was first published in Volume 5 of the Fordham International Law Journal. My article was entitled “In re Mackin: Is the Application of the Political Offense Exception an Extradition Issue for the Judicial or Executive Branch?” I would advise you against reading it, for you will surely fall asleep.

Following law school, I returned to central New Jersey and took a job at a local law firm, where I have been a partner for many years. My area of practice is divorce, and while emotions run high and clients are living through the worst time of their lives, I find the practice very satisfying.  In addition to litigation,  I have added mediation and collaborative divorce to my repertoire, which are much more civil ways of dealing with issues in family law cases.

In addition to practicing law and raising two daughters, I’ve been working towards my second career.  Memoranda of Law and Legal Briefs, although fascinating, pale in comparison to writing romance/women’s fiction. So how does one transition from divorce lawyer by day to romance writer by night? That’s the beauty of having two distinct passions.

Blurb: 
As a rising medical malpractice attorney, Charlotte Taylor believes in standing up for the injured, giving them a voice, and advocating for their rights. She couldn't do it for her mother, so she does it for others, even if it means losing the love of her life.

Dr. Clayton Montgomery believes in working hard and playing even harder, until he reconnects with Charlotte. Barely noticing her crush when he tutored her ten years ago, Clay has a chance to make up for lost time when the beautiful lawyer comes back into town...until he discovers her chosen career path.

Now, philosophical differences soon become a reality and Charlotte is faced with the choice of representing a client against the hospital and against Clay. Will Charlotte give up her career and her tribute to her mother for a second chance with the man who got away?

Find Unchained Memories on Amazon, or check out Maria's website. Follower her on Twitter, like her on Facebook, and friend her on Goodreads.

EXCERPTRed. Hot. Sexy.
Like magnets, Clay’s eyes clicked on Charlotte, unable to repel the force holding them. Her chestnut hair was held up in a loose, sexy do that had him itching to pull the pins to release it. Her strapless dress showcased a long neck and creamy shoulders that called out to be kissed. His involuntary focus on her lovely traits throughout the evening had made him a rude dinner companion; unable to answer even the easiest of questions.
He had come here tonight to socialize with the powers that be at the hospital, to talk up the ER, to lay the groundwork for future requests. But his concentration had been directed elsewhere. Since he’d squandered his opportunity to network, he should leave. But here he was at the bar at ten-thirty, waiting for a scotch and soda. The band was heavily into their Motown set and many of the revelers packed the dance floor.
Across the room, Clay zeroed in on Charlotte talking to a group of men, her red gown like a flame in a sea of black. He smiled. She sure knew how to turn heads. His included.
But he knew her better than those clowns. He knew the sweet, tough eighteen-year-old who’d lost her parents within hours of each other. The broken girl whose emotional health had worried Dr. Collins, their Chief of Surgery, much more than her physical wounds.
As the band segued into a slow song, Clay covered the distance between them. “Excuse us, gentlemen, but the lady promised me a dance, and I’d like to claim it now.” He deposited his drink on an empty table and guided her toward the dance floor.
“I don’t recall promising you a dance.” Her beautiful face held the hint of a smile.
“You don’t? I must have dreamed it.”
He pulled her into his embrace, and moved with the music around the floor, feeling like one of the luckiest men there. Although she hadn’t promised anything, she glided around the room, following his lead. Her perfume intoxicated him more than any drink ever could, and the  movement of her graceful body against his had his heart palpitating.
Little Charley Taylor had certainly grown up, and he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to know her now. As an adult. Ten years removed from the time their lives had intersected. 

Para Kindred anthology

Okay, so some of you'll know by now that I have a story that's appearing in the upcoming Para Kindred anthology that's being published by Immanion Press later this month. Well, there's great news, there's a give-away currently happening on Goodreads and you can jump in on the action here. I'm totally stoked that one of my stories is appearing in this collection.

The androgynous and mysterious Wraeththu have risen to replace humanity upon a ravaged world. Following on from the successful anthologies Paragenesis and Para Imminence, this collection of tales focuses upon the enigmas that might be found within the disparate tribes – how Wraeththu could have – or will – develop in strange and unimagined ways.

Based on the world created by Storm Constantine for her Wraeththu novels, the stories in this collection explore different, intriguing aspects of bizarre mutations and specialisations that have arisen, hidden within the developing Wraeththu tribes and throughout the corners of the world. Shape-shifters, semi-mythological beings, or hara who have evolved in other unexpected ways, Para Kindred expands the horizons of the Wraeththu world, touching upon countries – such as those of the Far East and the African continent – that have not appeared in the Mythos before.

Para Kindred features stories from ten writers, some of whom are well known within Wraeththu fandom and/or have written Wraeththu Mythos novels published by Immanion Press. Also included are two new stories each by Storm Constantine and Wendy Darling.

Featuring stories by: Storm Constantine, Wendy Darling, Martina Bellovičová, Ash Corvida, Nerine Dorman, Suzanne Gabriel, Fiona Lane, Maria J Leel, Daniela Ritter and E S Wynn.

Six of the Best with Icy Sedgwick on The Necromancer's Apprentice

We recently celebrated the release of Icy Sedgwick's The Necromancer's Apprentice, published under Dark Continents Publishing's Tales of Darkness and Dismay line. Today I have Icy hanging out here at my spot to answer a little Q&A about her world-building.

Welcome Icy! Sum up The Necromancer's Apprentice up in no more than 16 words. Go!

A young magician gets an opportunity of a lifetime and squanders it through impatience!

Tell us about the City Above and the City Below?

They're not quite one on top of the other – they’re more alongside one another, but one is above ground and the other is below. The City Above is a gleaming sort of place, criss-crossed by a network of boulevards and canals, and the Underground City is a Dickensian warren of slums and 'unusual' emporia selling everything from more time to lost voices. Jyx and his family live in the Underground City but he managed to win a scholarship to the Academy in the City Above, so he has to make the trip above ground every day to get to school.

Jyx constantly overreaches himself. What motivates him as a character?

He desperately wants to prove himself because he's obviously painfully aware of his poor background, and many of the other students at the Academy look down on him because he doesn't come from wealth or status. He knows he's naturally talented, but he doesn't pace himself because he feels the Academy are holding him back. Besides that, he also recognises the application for the magickal theory that he's learning out in the real world, and he's continually looking for ways to earn more money to repay his mother for all of his school supplies that she's paid for.

4) If you could put together an EP with five tracks to accompany The Necromancer's Apprentice, what songs would you choose?

Naturally The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Paul Dukas, which people would recognise from Fantasia. I listened to a lot of Egyptian-themed music and movie scores so I'd also add Enduring the Eternal Molestation of Flame by Nile, and The Legend of the Scorpion King from The Mummy Returns soundtrack. I think I'd probably also add In the Hall of the Mountain King by Edvard Grieg and Toccata and Fugue in D minor by JS Bach.

What happens when people die in Jyx's world and why are necromancers necessary?

So-called “ordinary” people are still buried and mourned in what I suppose we’d consider a traditional Western fashion, but those who possess considerable knowledge or power are interred differently, and a link is maintained between their body and their soul in case anyone ever needs to contact them again – in this case, the necromancer would perform the duties, and would act as ‘interpreter’ between the living and the dead because the necromancer can traverse the Veil between the worlds. There’s only one necromancer, Eufame Delsenza, and she doesn’t just perform this function of mediating between the dead and the living, she also does a lot of magickal research herself, as well as performing more political or diplomatic roles. She probably doesn’t need to mediate between the Cities and other magickal institutions but Eufame is very much of the view that if you want something doing well, you’d better do it yourself.

Will we be seeing more of this setting in the foreseeable future?

Yes, I'm planning a couple of short serials about other characters in the Underground City, and there's a sequel planned in which we'll meet the necromancer general's siblings, which are far older and scarier than she is. It's a fun setting to work in, it lets me explore daft little ideas that I have and spin them into something creepy, or something magickal.

Bio
Icy Sedgwick was born in the North East of England, and lives and works in Newcastle. She has been writing with a view to doing so professionally for over ten years, and has had several stories included in anthologies, including Short Stack and Bloody Parchment: The Root Cellar & Other Stories.

She spends her non-writing time working on a PhD in Film Studies, considering the use of set design in contemporary horror. Icy had her first book, a pulp Western named The Guns of Retribution, published in 2011, and her horror fantasy, The Necromancer’s Apprentice, was released in March 2014.

Website: www.icysedgwick.com
Twitter: twitter.com/icypop
Facebook: www.facebook.com/miss.icy.sedgwick
Google +: plus.google.com/+IcySedgwick/about

The Bloody Red Baron by Kim Newman #review

Title: The Bloody Red Baron (Anno Dracula #2)
Author: Kim Newman
Publisher: Titan Books, 2012

Now that I’ve read book two of Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula series, I’m beginning to wonder whether I am the right reader for his stories. Granted, I’ve pushed through because I felt I needed to see what he’s plotted, but by the time I reached the end of The Bloody Red Baron, I remain ambivalent about Newman’s execution. And the thing is, I really want to like him – especially because of his subject matter.

Newman continues to look at an alternate world history had Dracula survived, and picks up after the catastrophic events in book one. Vampires and mortals now fight side by side in the trenches of Europe while Dracula nurtures his secret weapon: shifted vampires that take to the skies to do battle against the Allied flyers. It’s Sopwith Camel vs. mutated bat monster, and things are not looking good for the jolly old chaps.

Dracula’s forces swarm across the continent, eerily reminiscent of the horrors of World War II rather than WWI. We welcome back old friend like the much-older (and wiser) Charles Beauregard who, although not nearly as spry as when we followed his doings in book one, nevertheless maintains a steadying influence in book two. Kate, whom we met briefly in book one, takes a more central role now paired with Edwin Winthrop, a mortal who plays a dangerous game in order to take down the chilling Bloody Red Baron.

In this novel, Newman pays tribute to many WWI epics, much of which I admit went over my head. If you grew up on a staple of Biggles books, then you’ll no doubt gobble up this story and relate to it far more than I did.

What I feel I must mention is that once again I didn’t connect with Newman’s characters. The ending, again, didn’t feel as if it tied together satisfactorily (much as in book one). The use of Edgar Poe as a viewpoint character was an interesting story arc, but ultimately felt like a bit of an author-insert on whim, and ultimately I feel that there is too much emphasis on aesthetics and world building rather than story craft.

That being said, there are most likely hundreds if not thousands of readers out there who will cheerfully disagree with me and have absolutely no problem with these points.

So, I’ll leave my review at that. I enjoyed the human/vampire dynamics and ambiance, and Newman’s attention to detail is as always faultless.