Horrorview faithful may not believe it, but our reviewers don’t just watch scary stories, we read too!  Last month, I had the chance to read the first installment in the Vladimir Tod series, “Eight Grade Bites”, about a rather unique teenage vampire.  Author Heather Brewer took time from her endless tasks of minion management to answer a few interview questions.  Welcome Heather!

HV: First of all, tell Horrorview’s readers what made you decide to create Vladimir Tod.

Heather: First off, I'm a huge horror lover. Even more so, I'm an enormous fan of all things with fangs. But something that bothered me whenever I put a vampire book down was that it was never exactly the kind of thing I wanted to read. I wanted scary stuff, mixed with humor, and a touch of blood and chocolate. So…that's when Vlad popped into my head. And I've been hearing voices ever since.

Vladimir is so believable, and more than a few of your readers can certainly relate to a lot of his personality and experiences.  I mean the human stuff, not the vampires, but then again, knowing the Internet….  What did you do to get into Vlad’s perspective?

I really tapped in to my junior high/high school years. They sucked, big time. Writing EIGHTH GRADE BITES was pretty therapeutic for me after all the bullying I went through back then. Add that to the fact that my 13 year old son, Jacob, and I are extremely close…and well, it was surprisingly easy to get into Vlad's head.

There are a great number of vampire historical names snuck into the book, from the town’s name of Bathory, to the city of Stokerton, and more.  It helps to create a nice second tier of atmosphere when you’re moving the scenes outward from your main character.  Did you find it hard to keep the story from getting either too dark or too comedic?  There’s a great balance of both, and I imagine that was hard to achieve. 

I'm so glad you picked up on those. In fact, I've snuck an enormous amount of historical vampire references into the book—I'm curious if anyone can name them all. (I'm a sucker for history, what can I say?)

Actually, it flowed very easily from the gruesome to the giggles. I did have to rely on my instincts, though. After so much dark stuff, you need a reason to laugh. It helped to vary chapters between Vlad's point of view and the big bad guy's POV. But, I confess, I loved writing both.

The characters in “Eighth Grade Bites” are so well created, with each sort of representing one particular facet in Vlad’s universe.  What or who was the inspiration for Otis Otis?  He’s certainly unique and pivotal in the story.

There was absolutely no inspiration for Otis Otis, believe it or not. But I like to think he's that person we all want in our lives at some point. Odd, scary, uniquely strange, at times wonderfully insightful….or is it just me?

The environment in which the vampires are introduced is pretty unconventional.  I loved the few nuggets about their origin and organization.  I’m going to venture that you’ve got the whole vampire culture mapped out at least mentally.  Should readers expect more exposure to that culture in the future books?

Absolutely! In fact, much of the next book in the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series (NINTH GRADE SLAYS, April 17, 2008) deals with vampire society. And of course, readers will learn more and more about Elysia as the series progresses.

As for having it mapped out…I know every last facet by heart.

There is a particular scene involving a news broadcast (which I don’t want to reveal for spoiler reasons), but Vlad’s internal monologue is hilarious.  I couldn’t keep from thinking of John Cleese’s delivery in The Parrot Sketch from Monty Python’s Flying Circus.  Was that something that fed into the story or is that just the mental ramblings of a horror reviewer?

As much as I'm a huge Monty Python fan (and fan of British humor altogether), I'm proud to say that one was all me.  

I always ask directors about odd stories from the set.  Do you have a single story that stands out during the creation of Vlad and getting him to print?

I'd have to say that the day I contacted my local Red Cross to ask a series of questions about blood and its storage…and got hung up on was pretty funny. I'm fairly sure they thought I was some psycho killer. Or maybe a vampire. Either way, from now on, I'm sticking with Google for research.

One of the great promotions you have done is around the Minion buttons.  Care to talk about that a bit?

Sure! I was trying to think of something cheap, portable, and cool that readers would like to assist me in promoting my Vlad books, and then it hit me—buttons! I absolutely love wearing funky buttons (My favorite reads "I (heart) being awesome"), and I was sure they would too. So I contacted Sean over at Busy Beaver Buttons (www.busybeaver.net), and we went over a few design ideas. The buttons (or "Minion Bling", as I call them) are a huge hit, and from what I understand, they're being traded in schools (and in at least one instance, stolen from fellow classmates). I ship them out to fans for free—so if you want some, just contact me through my website: www.heatherbrewer.com.

Finally, how bout a little teaser on what readers can expect from Vlad in the future? 

Here's a taste of the future: In Vlad's freshman year, he'll experience a new friendship, travel to Siberia, learn more than he could have dreamed in junior high about vampire abilities (not to mention vampire society), face down a slayer, and maybe…live through it all.

NINTH GRADE SLAYS is really where Vlad's story begins. So hang on tight!

Thanks for the time, Heather.  For those interested, Heather and Vlad live over at www.heatherbrewer.com.