An interview with L.A. Nantz author of Incubus Succubus: Awakening
Hello and welcome to 10 Quick Questions with Dave, Today I am chatting with L.A. Nantz author of the Novel Incubus Succubus: Awakening
First let say thanks to you for agreeing to this interview, now let’s get to it.
Me:
What can you tell us about your novel, and where can we find an excerpt of it?
L.A.:
First let me say thank you for taking the time to be with me today, and for being so wonderful as to offer up this interview.
Now about my novel, its not your traditional vampire novel, by a long shot. Rather than do the love and romance that so many do, or the oh I am so lonely stuff that is done, I have opted to go for a sprawling adventure that will take 5 books of over 500 pages or more to tell. It centers on Stephen the main character and Selena. Stephen has lived thousands of lives over the centuries, so old that he has begun to forget not only who he is but who he has been.
The main reason for this becomes clear as you read; he is suffering from a fever that is slowly killing him. He encounters Selena who not knowing what Stephen is takes him and attempts to care for him. Because of this, things in her life get turned so completely upside down that she can no longer live in her home town. This is however something she has dreamed of for a long time.
She steals blood from Stephen one night while he is still sick and has a doctor friend inject it into her. She did not however get what she had hopped for. What happens after that is epic, and when Stephen recovers and realizes what she has done, he sets out to catch her and...
Well he's not sure what to do after he catches her. The book follows both as they play cat and mouse from the desert up to and through New Orleans and all the way up to Michigan. The other characters in the book are vivid compelling and loveable or easily hated depending on your taste. The one thing I am certain of is once you start you won't be able to stop, and when you get to the end you will both curse me and beg for more.
Me:
How long have you been writing?
L.A.:
I started writing when I was in the 2nd grade and actually won my first prize as a writer at that time as well. A short story called "the great Snail race". I was in competition with grades 2nd – 4th over the entire state of Mississippi, and managed to win 2nd place. It was one of my proudest and saddest moments in my entire life.
Since then I have written off and on with no real ambition to be a writer, you know hiding what I had done away and not showing it to anyone. It was a friend of mine (whom is now also my editor) that encouraged me to write professionally. I owe her a lot, before I was published, I had won another writing contest hosted by Writerscafe.com, it was the "prodigies of horror" contest, and I won first place, the other entries contacted me saying they never had a chance after reading my story. It was a very proud moment.
Me:
I read over your profile on your page and you indicate that your Novel Incubus Succubus: Awakening is a different kind of Vampire story, can you elaborate on that a bit?
L.A.:
Yes… My vampires are not immortal in the traditional sense. Rather they live the normal life spans you and I live, dying of old age, some times. And always being reborn. What make them immortal is their never ending memories of every life they have ever lived. Also in my world vampires are born, they can not be made by being bitten or infused with the blood of other vampires.
You may ask yourself then how is it that Selena became what she did? It's a two part answer, the first is that, Stephen is no normal vampire, what he is I will leave for you to read. The second part is that Selena was herself a vampire and never knew it. she had spent her entire life refusing to believe anything, trying to live a normal life. I don't go into great detail about this book one. And have considered giving more detail about her in either book two or three. Also there are three types of vampires that are revealed in the first novel.
Me:
Are you working on a sequel and where can we find your works to purchase?
L.A.:
Well as I've stated above yes I am working on several sequels at the same time. Books 2, 3, and 4 all have portions of them done. Book two is almost finished and getting better every time I get back to it. You can find my book for order from any book store at this time or directly from the publisher
Lulu.com (http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=1076784 )
Me:
Have you always been into horror and gothic themes?
L.A.:
Gods yes, from as early an age as I can remember, I've always been in love with dark and disturbing themes and subjects. As you can imagine I was never one of the cool kids but I was certainly never bothered too much. :D
I remember when the movie Fright Night came out and everyone was screaming and jumping at the Drive-in Theater, I was laughing my ass off all the way through it. Gods that movie is funny.
Me:
Switching gears here for a moment, I understand you are going to be handling our PR needs for the site, do you have a back ground in that?
L.A.:
Well that has changed, due unfortunately do to my failing health. Which is why it took so long for me to get back to you on this. I was recently put on S.S. D. and spend most of my time trying to find time to just work on my own projects. I have many great ideas that I will gladly share with the rest of the family here, and will if asked advice on things but, will not be able to be in charge of the PR.
It's a thing I regret but have to do, stepping down from that position.
Me:
How long have you been involved in promotions and what kinds of plans do you have in mind for Review A Book?
L.A.:
I've helped promote privet shows for bands, dominatrix, and fashion shows in the Detroit area. I even promoted myself as a Rune Reader for years and had a standing clientele for just as many years. Even though I have stepped out of that light, I still get request from quite a few of those who know my talent and need a little light shown on their futures.
As for what plans I had for Review A Book, plans included viral adds on YouTube, websites to help back those up by giving a Real feel to the stories laid out in the videos. The inspiration for this was the viral campaign launched by True Blood on HBO.
Its always a good idea to set up book signs in venues that your novel are targeted at, for me a book signing was in the works before my health failed at a local underground dance club. It was going to be a costumed ball, "come as your favorite vampire".
Door prizes would include signed copies of my novel, customer art in the Vampire Font's I created for my novel and pictures with the author.
I still want to do this but it has to wait. Please feel free to use this idea for your own works.
Me:
Where would you like to see this site go, say in a year from now, how do envision us?
I would love to see this site as a place for Indie authors to go and find the support and encouragement to not only keep writing but to get the much needed face time that currently the big publishers can provide. I would love to see this site be able to compete with them in advertising and promotion of books. I've looked into book trailers and their cost and was horrified to find out just how much they cost. One thing I would like to see happen is someone step up and for a much lower fee, provide this service to all those who are in the family here. And if someone comes up short have a fund that we all contribute too, to make sure everyone can get at least one book trailer created and posted to youTube.
In order for us Indie authors to truly compete with the big publishing houses we need to truly join together in all things to make sure we can prove you don't need the big houses to succeed or survive as a writer in today's world.
Me:
If someone were looking for help in promoting a novel or service off this site what kind of advice would you give them?
L.A.:
Look to the member's directory and find out who is doing what, contact them and express your needs to them or to the group as a whole. Describe what you have done and are doing and what you need help with.
Don't be shy or afraid to ask for help. The goal as I see it for this group is to grow not only as an individual, but as a family. No family can grow if none of its members support the other.
Me:
I end with the standard, what's next for you, where do you see yourself in a year, in five years and beyond?
L.A.:
I hope to finally have my first published novel not just available to order but on the shelves of book stores, to be signing them and talking about it where ever I can.
In the next five years I hope to publish not only the next few entries in the Incubus Succubus line, but to publish my short stories, and poems, as well as the Table Top RPG that I created to support the Incubus Succubus Line as well. Yes I am a very crazy and busy little monster. :D
One of my other projects can by found over at:
deviantart.com ( http://vodalok.deviantart.com/ )
First let say thanks to you for agreeing to this interview, now let’s get to it.
Me:
What can you tell us about your novel, and where can we find an excerpt of it?
L.A.:
First let me say thank you for taking the time to be with me today, and for being so wonderful as to offer up this interview.
Now about my novel, its not your traditional vampire novel, by a long shot. Rather than do the love and romance that so many do, or the oh I am so lonely stuff that is done, I have opted to go for a sprawling adventure that will take 5 books of over 500 pages or more to tell. It centers on Stephen the main character and Selena. Stephen has lived thousands of lives over the centuries, so old that he has begun to forget not only who he is but who he has been.
The main reason for this becomes clear as you read; he is suffering from a fever that is slowly killing him. He encounters Selena who not knowing what Stephen is takes him and attempts to care for him. Because of this, things in her life get turned so completely upside down that she can no longer live in her home town. This is however something she has dreamed of for a long time.
She steals blood from Stephen one night while he is still sick and has a doctor friend inject it into her. She did not however get what she had hopped for. What happens after that is epic, and when Stephen recovers and realizes what she has done, he sets out to catch her and...
Well he's not sure what to do after he catches her. The book follows both as they play cat and mouse from the desert up to and through New Orleans and all the way up to Michigan. The other characters in the book are vivid compelling and loveable or easily hated depending on your taste. The one thing I am certain of is once you start you won't be able to stop, and when you get to the end you will both curse me and beg for more.
Me:
How long have you been writing?
L.A.:
I started writing when I was in the 2nd grade and actually won my first prize as a writer at that time as well. A short story called "the great Snail race". I was in competition with grades 2nd – 4th over the entire state of Mississippi, and managed to win 2nd place. It was one of my proudest and saddest moments in my entire life.
Since then I have written off and on with no real ambition to be a writer, you know hiding what I had done away and not showing it to anyone. It was a friend of mine (whom is now also my editor) that encouraged me to write professionally. I owe her a lot, before I was published, I had won another writing contest hosted by Writerscafe.com, it was the "prodigies of horror" contest, and I won first place, the other entries contacted me saying they never had a chance after reading my story. It was a very proud moment.
Me:
I read over your profile on your page and you indicate that your Novel Incubus Succubus: Awakening is a different kind of Vampire story, can you elaborate on that a bit?
L.A.:
Yes… My vampires are not immortal in the traditional sense. Rather they live the normal life spans you and I live, dying of old age, some times. And always being reborn. What make them immortal is their never ending memories of every life they have ever lived. Also in my world vampires are born, they can not be made by being bitten or infused with the blood of other vampires.
You may ask yourself then how is it that Selena became what she did? It's a two part answer, the first is that, Stephen is no normal vampire, what he is I will leave for you to read. The second part is that Selena was herself a vampire and never knew it. she had spent her entire life refusing to believe anything, trying to live a normal life. I don't go into great detail about this book one. And have considered giving more detail about her in either book two or three. Also there are three types of vampires that are revealed in the first novel.
Me:
Are you working on a sequel and where can we find your works to purchase?
L.A.:
Well as I've stated above yes I am working on several sequels at the same time. Books 2, 3, and 4 all have portions of them done. Book two is almost finished and getting better every time I get back to it. You can find my book for order from any book store at this time or directly from the publisher
Lulu.com (http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=1076784 )
Me:
Have you always been into horror and gothic themes?
L.A.:
Gods yes, from as early an age as I can remember, I've always been in love with dark and disturbing themes and subjects. As you can imagine I was never one of the cool kids but I was certainly never bothered too much. :D
I remember when the movie Fright Night came out and everyone was screaming and jumping at the Drive-in Theater, I was laughing my ass off all the way through it. Gods that movie is funny.
Me:
Switching gears here for a moment, I understand you are going to be handling our PR needs for the site, do you have a back ground in that?
L.A.:
Well that has changed, due unfortunately do to my failing health. Which is why it took so long for me to get back to you on this. I was recently put on S.S. D. and spend most of my time trying to find time to just work on my own projects. I have many great ideas that I will gladly share with the rest of the family here, and will if asked advice on things but, will not be able to be in charge of the PR.
It's a thing I regret but have to do, stepping down from that position.
Me:
How long have you been involved in promotions and what kinds of plans do you have in mind for Review A Book?
L.A.:
I've helped promote privet shows for bands, dominatrix, and fashion shows in the Detroit area. I even promoted myself as a Rune Reader for years and had a standing clientele for just as many years. Even though I have stepped out of that light, I still get request from quite a few of those who know my talent and need a little light shown on their futures.
As for what plans I had for Review A Book, plans included viral adds on YouTube, websites to help back those up by giving a Real feel to the stories laid out in the videos. The inspiration for this was the viral campaign launched by True Blood on HBO.
Its always a good idea to set up book signs in venues that your novel are targeted at, for me a book signing was in the works before my health failed at a local underground dance club. It was going to be a costumed ball, "come as your favorite vampire".
Door prizes would include signed copies of my novel, customer art in the Vampire Font's I created for my novel and pictures with the author.
I still want to do this but it has to wait. Please feel free to use this idea for your own works.
Me:
Where would you like to see this site go, say in a year from now, how do envision us?
I would love to see this site as a place for Indie authors to go and find the support and encouragement to not only keep writing but to get the much needed face time that currently the big publishers can provide. I would love to see this site be able to compete with them in advertising and promotion of books. I've looked into book trailers and their cost and was horrified to find out just how much they cost. One thing I would like to see happen is someone step up and for a much lower fee, provide this service to all those who are in the family here. And if someone comes up short have a fund that we all contribute too, to make sure everyone can get at least one book trailer created and posted to youTube.
In order for us Indie authors to truly compete with the big publishing houses we need to truly join together in all things to make sure we can prove you don't need the big houses to succeed or survive as a writer in today's world.
Me:
If someone were looking for help in promoting a novel or service off this site what kind of advice would you give them?
L.A.:
Look to the member's directory and find out who is doing what, contact them and express your needs to them or to the group as a whole. Describe what you have done and are doing and what you need help with.
Don't be shy or afraid to ask for help. The goal as I see it for this group is to grow not only as an individual, but as a family. No family can grow if none of its members support the other.
Me:
I end with the standard, what's next for you, where do you see yourself in a year, in five years and beyond?
L.A.:
I hope to finally have my first published novel not just available to order but on the shelves of book stores, to be signing them and talking about it where ever I can.
In the next five years I hope to publish not only the next few entries in the Incubus Succubus line, but to publish my short stories, and poems, as well as the Table Top RPG that I created to support the Incubus Succubus Line as well. Yes I am a very crazy and busy little monster. :D
One of my other projects can by found over at:
deviantart.com ( http://vodalok.deviantart.com/ )
Tags: author, horror, interviews, novel, vampire
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