Gabrielle Faust Interview
One of the missions of Vampire Fest is to sing the praises of the unsung hero of popular fiction, the vampire literary genre. Though vampire novels and non-fiction have long been derided by the uninitiated and academia, the world of the undead has held a great fascination for the general public for centuries. Vampire literature remains a highly profitable part of publishing and, along with its many sub-genres (romance, historical, erotic, adventure, humor, chick lit and Young Adult, to name just a few), provides some of the hottest reads on Amazon today.
VF: Gabrielle, can share your background with us?
GF: I have quite a diverse background. I spent the first eight years of my “professional” life as a graphic designer/art director and abstract painter. I worked for a variety of advertising agencies and boutique design firms in Texas while I pursued a name as an abstract artist in both the Austin and Houston gallery scenes. Writing has always been a tremendous passion for me, as great if not greater than my love affair with art, but it wasn’t until about five years ago when I decided I had had my fill of the agency world and was truly longing to pursue my dream of becoming a published author. It was then that I began to throw myself full force into finishing the first of the ETERNAL VIGILANCE vampire novels and my first collection of poetry, BEFORE ICARUS, AFTER ACHILLES. Since that time I have completed, via my publisher Immanion Press, the first two ETERNAL VIGILANCE novels, as well as a second collection of poetry entitled CROSSROADS, which debuted in March of this year from Seraphemera Books. I have also pursued an active career as a horror and science fiction industry journalist. My work, both as a journalist and short story author, has appeared in publications such as Doorways Magazine, Ladies of Horror and Darkened Horizons, as well as websites such as Fear Zone, Fatally Yours and SCI FI Wire. In 2007 I became a professional member of the Horror Writers Association and am the Southwest Regional Representative for the International Order of Horror Professionals. I am currently at work on the third novel in the ETERNAL VIGILANCE series while I complete my 2009 book tour…
VF: What first attracted you toward the vampire literary genre?
GF: I was first introduced to vampire literature by my mother in fifth grade when she gave me her copies of Interview With the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat. I had always been a fan of vampires since I could remember, having been enthralled with vampire movies and television shows such as Nosferatu, Dark Shadows and Fright Night, but I had never actually read a vampire novel before that point. I was instantly absorbed into Anne Rice’s tales and the tragically romantic portrayal of her vampires’ world. After the first two novels, I eagerly devoured any piece of vampire literature I could get my hands on, and still do to this day. While my view of vampires and, thus, my attachment to their world, has evolved over the years to have a much more vast and intense perspective, initially I believe my attraction to the literary genre stemmed from my association with their inability to ever truly feel at home in a human world. Their innate loneliness and isolation was something I identified with as a child, having grown up in a very dark and tumultuous household. As a child I not only felt their pain, but longed to have the power they held, not only over mortals, but over time and life itself. It was mesmerizing and addictive…
VF: What are your favorite vampire novels?
GF: Of the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles, Interview With the Vampire, The Vampire Lestat, Memnoch the Devil and Tale of the Body Thief. I was also heavily influenced by Brian Lumley’s brilliantly different take on the genre with his Necroscope series. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova is another unique approach with a very romantic historic literary voice, which I found quite entrancing. Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite and Renfield: Slave of Dracula by Barbara Hambly are absolute favorites of mine. Bram Stoker’s Lair of the White Worm and Dracula are always excellent classics as well...
VF: Tell us about your novel, Eternal Vigilance.
VF: We hear you are working at turning your novel into a screenplay – What has that process been like?
GF: Yes, it is a very new and exciting development this year! I have only recently begun writing the screenplay adaptation and, so far, it is coming along quite nicely! I have also teamed up with the legendary director/producer/writer Gary Kent who will be working with me on the script, once he returns from Europe at the end of May. I am hoping to have the adaptation of the first two novels, which will be combined for the first movie, completed by the end of the summer.
VF: If you could cast any actors in the world in Eternal Vigilance the movie, who would they be?
GF: In an ideal world, I would love to see these actors in some of the main parts. Of course these are only a few of the characters, but they are the core…:
• Tynan – Kyle Schmidt (Blood Ties) or Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy)
• Seafra – Alexander Skarsgård (Kill Your Darlings)
• Phelan – Luke Goss (Hellboy II)
• Tatsu – Daniel Henney (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) or Jason Scott Lee (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story)
• Lillian – Sophia Myles (Moonlight) or Carrie Preston (True Blood)
• Tiernan – Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine)
• Khanna – Julie Benz (Punisher: War Zone)
• Jasmine – Brittany Murphy (Sin City) or Rose McGowan (Charmed)
VF: You worked in the marketing world in your pre-Eternal Vigilance life. How have you been able to use that with Eternal Vigilance?
GF: Honestly, it was the best of blessings. I cannot imagine being an author and trying to manage the promotion of your work without a solid background in marketing and design. I have been able to apply my understanding of advertising, graphic design and promotional marketing in an intense way in order to build both an online presence, as well as a solid reputation within horror and sci-fi organizations an conventions. From designing 99% of my marketing materials to writing press releases and contacting magazines and websites for reviews, it has truly helped me to have the skill set built from my advertising background.
VF: You’re doing it all – Can you tell us out your upcoming comic book?
GF: This is also a very new evolution of the series. As of right now I, along with award-winning artist Ashen Gray, will be combining our styles in a collaboration on the ETERNAL VIGILANCE comic book adaptation. Seraphemera Books, out of Houston, Texas, will be acquiring the rights for the adaptation from Immanion Press and will be publishing the series. Ashen and I hope to have the first book completed and in print by the end of the year!
VF: What can we expect to see from you in the future?
GF: There is so much in the works right now that it’s quite mind-boggling, even for me! You’ll definitely be hearing more about the film and comic book adaptations of ETERNAL VIGILANCE. I am currently at work on the third novel in the series, as well. I also have several collaboration projects in the works, including one with the Bram Stoker Award winning author Michael Marano for which I have created a series of detailed illustrations and a full color dust-jacket for his new collection of short stories entitled STORIES FROM THE PLAGUE YEARS. I will be touring steadily for the next year promoting EV1 & 2, as well as my new collection of poetry CROSSROADS, so between being on the road most of the time and all of the aforementioned projects, I think I’ll have enough on my plate for the next few months at least! You can always find more information about everything I am working on, as well as where I will be each month for the book tour, on my websites at www.gabriellefaust.com.
Francesca, VNN
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