Immortal character, mortal feelings...

Hi all,

Probably like some of you reading this blog today, I saw last week’s episode of ‘Moonlight’ and, as a longtime writer of vampire fiction, found one part particularly resonant. At the end, when Beth and Mick are on the roof eating (well, she is) after he has turned back into a vampire, Mick tells Beth that things will be more complicated now (read: their relationship) because he’s once again a vampire. And her response is a good one. She tells him that it’s himself, not the vampire thing standing between them. Watching the episode, I had to agree with her. Mick's vampirism has nothing to do with preventing him to get closer to Beth. It's just an excuse that Mick can conveniently 'hide' behind when Beth demands intimacy. Perhaps, Mick is afraid of getting hurt. Perhaps, Mick is unsure of whether he could be the lover that Beth needs. In any case, the thing that is keeping him from being lovers with Beth is not his lack of mortality. Far from it. It has more to do with who Mick was as a mortal and who he still is inside. Beneath the fangs, so to speak:)

And that got me to thinking.

I write vampires (and about their condition) without putting a morality judgment on them, that is, I don’t see being a vampire, a bad or a good thing. My vampire characters don’t kill to feed. If they did, I might have to amend that latter statement. But anyway, I want to write about vampires and have their vampirism as just being another facet of their character. In other words, I am more interested in how they deal with life, death, love, etc. than just how they feel about being immortal. True, their problems may stem from their immortal condition (have vampire hunters chasing them) but many things that they experience, humans experience it as well (love, loss, what makes every day worthwhile). And more interestingly, how are these shared issues (my vampires are parents as well, Mina has biological child by deceased husband, Jonathan Harker) are dealt with in different (or even in similar ways) by the immortals.

And furthermore, how the vampires' mortal feelings will affect their judgment. Does the age of the vampire matter in how they deal with issues they've dealt with once long ago as humans? I think this depends on the individual vampire. Whatever the age though, even old, old vampires still have a memory or hold onto a piece of what they were like before they changed. Well, that's how I write my vampire characters, at least:)

I’ve discussed the idea of immortality with many of my online buddies. And, as I’ve said to a few, once one crosses over into immortality, they now are harder to kill but becoming a vampire doesn’t solve all their problems. It just creates a new set of problems that must be dealt with (and through writing, explored). And that’s what I find so interesting. Not the problems that center around vampirism (most of my vampires are ‘happy’ being vampires). But, rather, exploring through my writing how they now, as immortals, have to deal with some of the same (love, death, loss, parenting) and different (chased by vampire hunters) as humans do. What is also interesting to consider as a writer is how does one’s immortality affect decisions/situations that they’ve dealt with before as a mortal and now, have to deal with again as an immortal. For example, Vlad the Impaler (Dracula), as a mortal had a wife (two wives, according to some history texts) and children. For this writer, it will be exciting to have him deal with these issues he’s formerly dealt with as a mortal. Because now, as of the second book, he has both a partner, Mina and an ’adopted’ child, Quincey.

Some people say “you can’t go home again”, meaning, once you’ve lost something, it’s gone forever and you can’t get it back, whether it be a feeling, a person or a situation. Other people say that yes, it is possible. Still others feel that yes, you can try to recreate a situation, feeling, emotion, etc. and sometimes, you can even get it back, better than before. What is the truth? I dunno. Answering that question and those like it is why I write. In any case, it is something to consider as I continue writing my Dracula-Phantom series.

Take care all,
Chris