"Just the slightest tweak in history makes all the difference in its outcome...
Tudor England. It is during the reign of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. As her time in power nears an end, Anne is greatly disheartened by the false accusations of adultery, high treason and incest she is arrested for, and the cold-heartedness of her father for his lack of defense in her honor. Upon her death, she vows revenge on those who have wronged her, and the simple change of her death sentence from beheading to hanging grants her the opportunity to execute her wish on those who betrayed her.
Unknown forces of inconceivable dark magic abounds. Anne discovers she has risen from her grave because of her denouncement of God just moments before her hanging, and resurrects two others from their untimely, wrongful deaths--her brother, George, and her favorite court musician and dear friend, Mark Smeaton. This unlikely trio will drive Whitehall Palace to madness, bringing those closest to Anne to their knees, begging for mercy and forgiveness.
Once Anne executes her justice among those who have failed her, the last and final question will be whether Anne will finally have peace, or find comfort in haunting England forever" (from author's website).
It seems that everywhere you turn these days we are hearing about a new sci-fi/fantasy adaptation of a classic novel or historical characters. Why do you think that there has been this sudden explosion in the popularity of these types of books?
Perhaps its a curiosity of sorts, more or less a "let's see what happens if we do this..." type of thinking with authors, and then comes the curiosity of the readers in wanting to see what the authors did with such well known and popular characters. But it's like a fad; a sudden explosion of it for a couple months, it runs crazy for a while, and then it dies down. It's the same way with a lot of the movies we see today, as well. I wrote BOLEYN Tudor Vampire out of sheer fun, first starting it back in December. I have a great interest in Tudor history, not to mention Showtime's The Tudors, and it became a huge inspiration. After watching the series a couple of times, my muse wanted me to write a horrific 'revenge' tale for Anne Boleyn. I WANTED her to have some sort of vengeance for all those wrongful accusations she was charged for--hell hath no fury like a woman scorned! Then I tweaked Anne's execution so she'd be able to come back to get said revenge, then from there it became a dark, horrific romp. I don't want the book to be put in a 'mash-up' category, because that wasn't my intent. I simply love vampires, and having Anne Boleyn become one sounded like a really interesting idea. But considering the current events of the popularity of other mash-ups out there right now, I can easily see why BOLEYN could get thrown into that category, if it hasn't already. Bad timing, I guess, lol.
I imagine that many people who read these new adaptations have not read the classic that they are based on. Do you think that with all of these new spins on old classics more people will be intrigued to pick up the classic version as well?
I would hope so! Books that are based on classic novels are a bit of a double-edged sword. Yes, they're getting people to read, and yes, they're a source of literary entertaimnent...but the idea that someone's classic novel has been revamped by another author makes me feel uneasy. I would hope that after reading a revamped classic, that a reader would want to pick up the first book that started it all. It could also help create more reader groups and get people to socialize more and talk about the classics and their tweaked versions.
In your book, Boleyn: Tudor Vampire, the main characters are Anne, her brother George, and one of the other accused, Mark Smeaton. Why did you pick these particular characters for your story? And why vampires?
Well, for Anne it was easy. Being tried for so many heinous crimes---adultery, incest, treason, being called a 'witch'--- I think that's more than enough to get any woman's blood boiling, lol. And since she considered her brother George her best friend, plus knowing he died because of her, it seemed a logical choice. Mark was another victim of circumstance, but also another good friend to Anne. When Anne awakens as a vampire, she resurrects her brother as one of the undead. She does the same to Mark, who refuses to be part of her shambling horde at first, so she returns him to his grave. He joins a bit later as a ghost instead, knowing how much Anne has a dark sense of humor, and wants to help her with her horrific plans for Henry and his followers. Having Anne as a vampire felt sensual, and I could do a lot with that, as her and Thomas Wyatt have a very strained relationship in the story. I couldn't see her as any other type of creature!
What sort of research did you conduct in the writing of this book?
I have books in my own collection, as well as doing some research online. I also had excellent visuals, considering I have The Tudors and The Other Boleyn Girl on DVD.
Do you have any other plans in the works for future books in this style or other works in progress?
I definitely have other works in progress, involving my ongoing urban vampire series, ABRAXAS, and another 'period' story, set in the early 1900's, but I have no intention of creating any more 'mash-ups', lol. BOLEYN, again, was written for fun, and was just a side-project. As long as BOLEYN entertains the readers, and sparks interest in those wanting to investigate Tudor history further, or encourages an inspiring author to get their pen out and start writing themselves, then I've done my job.
Thanks to the author for this wonderful interview. If you want to read an excerpt of the book or to check out more about this book and author, please visit the website.
Perhaps its a curiosity of sorts, more or less a "let's see what happens if we do this..." type of thinking with authors, and then comes the curiosity of the readers in wanting to see what the authors did with such well known and popular characters. But it's like a fad; a sudden explosion of it for a couple months, it runs crazy for a while, and then it dies down. It's the same way with a lot of the movies we see today, as well. I wrote BOLEYN Tudor Vampire out of sheer fun, first starting it back in December. I have a great interest in Tudor history, not to mention Showtime's The Tudors, and it became a huge inspiration. After watching the series a couple of times, my muse wanted me to write a horrific 'revenge' tale for Anne Boleyn. I WANTED her to have some sort of vengeance for all those wrongful accusations she was charged for--hell hath no fury like a woman scorned! Then I tweaked Anne's execution so she'd be able to come back to get said revenge, then from there it became a dark, horrific romp. I don't want the book to be put in a 'mash-up' category, because that wasn't my intent. I simply love vampires, and having Anne Boleyn become one sounded like a really interesting idea. But considering the current events of the popularity of other mash-ups out there right now, I can easily see why BOLEYN could get thrown into that category, if it hasn't already. Bad timing, I guess, lol.
I imagine that many people who read these new adaptations have not read the classic that they are based on. Do you think that with all of these new spins on old classics more people will be intrigued to pick up the classic version as well?
I would hope so! Books that are based on classic novels are a bit of a double-edged sword. Yes, they're getting people to read, and yes, they're a source of literary entertaimnent...but the idea that someone's classic novel has been revamped by another author makes me feel uneasy. I would hope that after reading a revamped classic, that a reader would want to pick up the first book that started it all. It could also help create more reader groups and get people to socialize more and talk about the classics and their tweaked versions.
In your book, Boleyn: Tudor Vampire, the main characters are Anne, her brother George, and one of the other accused, Mark Smeaton. Why did you pick these particular characters for your story? And why vampires?
Well, for Anne it was easy. Being tried for so many heinous crimes---adultery, incest, treason, being called a 'witch'--- I think that's more than enough to get any woman's blood boiling, lol. And since she considered her brother George her best friend, plus knowing he died because of her, it seemed a logical choice. Mark was another victim of circumstance, but also another good friend to Anne. When Anne awakens as a vampire, she resurrects her brother as one of the undead. She does the same to Mark, who refuses to be part of her shambling horde at first, so she returns him to his grave. He joins a bit later as a ghost instead, knowing how much Anne has a dark sense of humor, and wants to help her with her horrific plans for Henry and his followers. Having Anne as a vampire felt sensual, and I could do a lot with that, as her and Thomas Wyatt have a very strained relationship in the story. I couldn't see her as any other type of creature!
What sort of research did you conduct in the writing of this book?
I have books in my own collection, as well as doing some research online. I also had excellent visuals, considering I have The Tudors and The Other Boleyn Girl on DVD.
Do you have any other plans in the works for future books in this style or other works in progress?
I definitely have other works in progress, involving my ongoing urban vampire series, ABRAXAS, and another 'period' story, set in the early 1900's, but I have no intention of creating any more 'mash-ups', lol. BOLEYN, again, was written for fun, and was just a side-project. As long as BOLEYN entertains the readers, and sparks interest in those wanting to investigate Tudor history further, or encourages an inspiring author to get their pen out and start writing themselves, then I've done my job.
Thanks to the author for this wonderful interview. If you want to read an excerpt of the book or to check out more about this book and author, please visit the website.
Copyright © 2010 by The Maiden’s Court
I have not yet read any of these paranormal takes on classics or historical figures. I am curious. Several friends have read the Austen ones and enjoyed them.
ReplyDeleteI'm not into bloddy covers, but this is a nice one.
Fun twist! Makes me wonder if Catherine of Aragon could come back as something undead and continue her standoff with Anne :)
ReplyDelete