Hello again fellow Vagabonds. Please give a big and warm welcome to friend and author Charles O'Keefe. His debut book, The Newfoundland Vampire, just released in April and he has been awesome enough to let me interview him. Join us to learn more about O'Keefe and his great Urban Fantasy.
OBVB: Hey
Charles! Welcome to Offbeat Vagabond. Can you tell the readers a little bit
about yourself?
CO: Hey Diana :) Thank for having me!
Sure, I can do that. Well I’m 35, married, no kids, two cats, I work a regular
9-5 job and I just published my first book a few months ago called “The
Newfoundland Vampire”. I am a strict vegetarian, animal activist and I do what
I can to help the environment. I also love to meet new people and I’m always up
for a good chat/argument :).
OBVB: What
authors have influenced you to write? Any favorites?
CO: A friend of mind published a book
about 6 years ago; Shannon Sullivan and it did influence me a little. Aside
from local obviously Bram Stoker, Anne Rice and I think a little bit of Stephen
King and Robert Jordan.
- Jordan is a favorite; I quite
like Peter David (though I have not read anything by him in a long time),
Ernest Hemmingway, J.R.R. Tolkien, Marion Zimmer Bradley and George Orwell.
OBVB: When
did you realize you wanted to be a writer?
CO: I have always been creative but
really, it took years for me to realize that I wanted to be a writer and get my
work published. Therefore, I would say it only seriously entered my head about
6 years ago.
OBVB: I
know you love vampires. Do you have an absolute favorite vampire, books or
movies?
CO: I loved the early Anne Rice books,
up until “Memnoch the Devil” after that, it goes steadily downhill in quality.
In terms of characters, I love
Lestat, he is a great character, such a great mixture of good and evil. He gets
to display such a wide range of emotions and experiences in the books, much
more than was shown in the two movies.
For movies, I would pick “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992). While it is not faithful to the book for much of it
the costumes, special effects and general atmosphere created is so good. Plus
Gary Oldman is a fantastic Dracula and Anthony Hopkins is excellent as Van
Helsing.
OBVB: Now
I know it took about a decade to write this book, when did you finally take the
dive and start writing The Newfoundland Vampire?
CO: Technically I started in back in
2002 but the serious writing did not begin until March 2010. I was on vacation
and had plenty of time to myself, a switch just went off in my mind and I
decided I was tired but making excuses and putting it off and was ready to get
serious about working on my novel.
OBVB: The
Newfoundland Vampire came out back in April; can you tell everyone what it is
all about?
CO: Sure I’d be happy to. It’s about a
geeky 23 year old university student who desperately wants a girlfriend. When
he finally achieves that goal, his life is completely tuned upside down as he
discovers his dream woman turned him into a vampire. From then on, he must
learn to control and use his new powers and prepare to defend himself from the
threats this new world he is thrust upon soon make apparent.
OBVB: I
love the idea of a nerd becoming the vampire he wanted to be. Besides becoming a
vampire, is there any other supernatural creature you have always wanted to be?
CO: Thanks! :) I tried to put an
original spin on the vampire myth and I thought this was one way to do it. I’m
not sure about always but I also think a lot about being a shape changer, how
cool would it be to became any animal, person or even object you want? Just
being able to fly would be such an amazing experience I think.
OBVB: I
love that all your characters are actually based on you and people you know.
But if you can pick anyone to be Cassandra, who would it be and why (actress or
not)?
CO: I have never meet anyone who
actually acted like Cassandra (she is a fantasy woman after all) so I would
pick an actress. Since I know she can be a good vampire I would pick Deborah Ann Woll from “True Blood”. She would need to be a few years older and have
slightly longer and more curly hair but overall she would be perfect :)
OBVB: I
know you are more up to date with films, are there any movies coming out that
you are dying to see?
CO: If you mean I’m a slow reader than
yes that’s true. Well I’ve seen Avengers twice now, so that itched is
scratched. I am really looking forward to “Batman: Dark Knight Rises”. Christopher Nolan has
done such a wonderful job that I can’t wait to see what his has in store for
Batman in this final part of his trilogy. Batman is also my favorite superhero,
so it is an easy pick.
Also “The Hobbit” by Peter Jackson
is another one I really can’t wait for. I loved all three of the Lord of the
Rings movies and the fact that Jackson gets to do not one but two Hobbit movies
really gets my geeky nature excited (it’s also one of my favorite books :) )
OBVB: You celebrated your birthday last weekend; can you tell everyone what you how you celebrated?
CO: How nice you to mention it,
thanks! :)
Sure, I had a busy weekend. Friday night I had people in to an old
fishing stage (partially owned by the father-in-law and mentioned in the book)
out at the Battery (a narrow street that goes right beside St. John’s harbor)
for a party (plus a book signing earlier in the day). Saturday I went to a
wedding and Sunday I had a book launch (and reading) at bar in downtown
St. John’s, it was a fun and exciting weekend!
OBVB: Besides
writing, what else do you like to do? And can you tell the people about
Geekfest?
CO: As I mentioned above I like go for
hike/walks when it is nice outside. I enjoy reading, TV, movies, a little bit
of acting, board games and role-playing games. Ahh Geekfest, one of my better
ideas in the last few years ;) That would be one weekend a year when myself and
a bunch of friends (this year 7 others) go to my parent’s summer home in Brigus
for near non-stop role-playing action. I’m lucky enough to have been playing
D&D (among other games) with friends for over 20 years now and we put in a
good 12-15 hours total over the course of one weekend playing various RPG
games, it’s a lot of fun and something I look forward to every year (this year
was the third time).
OBVB: Last
but not least, what other projects do you have planned? Any news on the sequel
to The Newfoundland Vampire?
CO: I would to someday write a
non-fiction book on role-playing games and all the great experiences (both
imagined and real) I’ve had from playing almost 25 years but finding a
publisher (and the time to write it) could be tricky. Aside from that, I can
give you a little info on the sequel. Joseph and Cassandra have to leave
Newfoundland with a task they are given and their relationship is tested once
more. I’m going to present Joseph with some more difficult choices and he’s
going to get to meet another “good” vampire who just happens to be a celebrity,
that’s all I’m saying for now!
OBVB: Thank
you so much hon for dropping by. Glad to finally have you here.
CO: You’re welcome Diana. Thank you
for having me! Excellent questions and also you have a great blog and it’s a
pleasure to be here, everyone’s busy I know. Thanks again for the questions and
the review! :)
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About Charles O'Keefe
Charles O’Keefe lives in the
beautiful province of Newfoundland, Canada, with his wife and two feline
‘children,’ Jude and Esther. He works as an inventory manager and
enjoys many hobbies and activities that include writing, reading,
watching fantasy/science-fiction movies and television shows, gaming,
poker, walking, acting, and of course fantasizing about vampires.
More on Charles O'Keefe:
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Check out my review 4 star review:
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