Illustration | In the Night

As you all know, I like to discuss what influences me as a writer. I’ve talked about favourite novel H ERE, but I have another book to discuss. This one is a graphic novel and features yet another dark troubled boy.

Eric Draven.

Before I continue, I must add the graphic novel only tells us his first name. It was the iconic film version of the novel, which I mentioned in my post here, that gave us, the surname of Draven. Whether James O’Barr had a say in this, I do not know.

One day you are going to lose everything you have. Nothing will prepare you for that day.

So begins the introduction by John Bergin for The Crow, the haunting graphic novel by James O’Barr

It is a dark but powerful story about love, loss and revenge.

Eric and Shelly are madly in love, and plan to marry, but when their car breaks down, they are in the wrong place, at the wrong time, with devastating tragic consequences. Eric is shot dead, and Shelly is brutally raped, beaten and killed.

Eric is brought back from the dead to avenge his and Shelly’s death. James O’Barr’s drawings are a masterpiece. He shows us Eric’s pain, how his memories haunt him, and his deadly violent revenge against every single one of the thugs that are to blame for his sorrow. Eric is indiscriminate, nobody is spared, but you feel for him, and his agony at being unable to save the woman he loved and still loves so much.

In the end, in spite of the darkness and the tragic story, The Crow is a story about love, and how its power can transcend even death itself.

As John Bergin writes in the introduction to the novel:

James wrote a love letter called The Crow, the most beautiful love letter I have ever read.

I agree. It is a beautiful if tragic, love letter.

Another reason I adore the novel, is due to its strong rock influences. O’Barr was deeply influenced by rock music when creating it. Specifically the music of Joy Division and The Cure, but rock musicians also played a part in the shaping of Eric’s looks. James saw Bauhaus perform, when he was stationed in Berlin, in 1981. I imagine he must have been struck by Peter Murphy’s features since Eric does bear a passing resemblance to him. However, Eric’s movements are based on Iggy Pop. I find that rather fitting, as Peter Murphy himself, was influenced by Iggy as well.

Do you as a reader, or a writer, have a favourite novel that’s affected you deeply? If not, a film? or music?

Thought it would be fun to have a bit of darkness for December to counteract the seasonal festivities. I’m sure a lot of you already know Joleene. If you don’t, here’s a chance to get to know her and see what a talented lady she is. I could not resist the thought of chatting with an author who’s written about my favourite dark boys/girls: Vampires.

Joleene Naylor is an independent author, freelance artist and photographer. Her published works include the first two books in the Amaranthine series: Shades of Gray and Legacy of Ghosts. The fun eBook 101 Tips for Traveling with a Vampire and the useful How to Get a Cheap Book Cover, a great book with many tips on how to create professional book covers at very little cost.

Her current projects include Ties of Blood, the third in the Amaranthine series and illustrating The Terrible Turtle Conspiracy, a weekly web comic written by Jonathan Harvey. She also freelances doing book covers for others. You can read more about her awesome covers here and see many examples on her Flickr page here.

As you can see, Joleene is one busy lady so I am very grateful to her for taking the time to do this interview, and without further ado, here she is…

Alannah: You’ve written 3 vampire related books and are working on the third book for your Amaranthine series. What is it about vampires that inspires you to write about them?
Joleene: Vampires rule. Zombies drool. Seriously, I love vampires because they can be anyone, from any time period. It’s like the best, or worst, of our world’s history mashed into a giant ball. It’s also a chance to explore history without all the characters having to go back to it. And with those historical figures come historical attitudes. They can be dangerous and violent; the mighty warrior tearing through the field of bloody enemies. There’s also something intriguing about the vampire’s immortality. They’ve seen so much and watched things change, and how would that be? There’s so much noise in the modern world that we tune out because we’re used to it, but what would it look like to someone who isn’t?

A: Did you have any concerns over writing a vampire novel in the midst of the Twilight-mania we’ve had to suffer?
J: There are vampires in Twilight? Really? Where? *ahem* I actually wrote the first draft of Shades of Gray in 2006 and in fact had started the sequel(s) before I’d ever heard of Twilight. When I started querying, Twilight was all I heard about on the forums, and even from friends. In fact, one told me that I was “just writing mindless romance for preteen girls” but if I ever “wrote anything real” to let him know. Needless to say, their attitudes really cheesed me off! After I self published, I was advised to use Twilight mania to boost sales. But, most of the Twi-Moms don’t like my series. It’s too violent and they especially tend to object to a semi-graphic scene that happens while Katelina is kidnapped by Claudius.

A: Who is your own favourite character and why?
J: If I say “not Katelina coz she annoys me a lot”, is that bad? Okay, I have two, actually. The first one is Jorick, the dark vampire hero of the series. He actually is pretty complex and fills several roles; he’s the sexy lover, the angst riddled sinner, the warrior/hero who swoops in and saves the day and sometimes he’s that father-figure that “the children” try to irritate purposely. What I love the most about him are his faults, though he still has that sweet, gentle, romantic side and, being fictional, he manages to actually admit he’s wrong occasionally, and apologize.
The second one is Verchiel, a vampire that no one’s met yet. He debuts in book three, and he wasn’t supposed to die, but he was so much fun that I couldn’t kill him off. He’s Jorick’s opposite; where Jorick’s so serious about things, Verchiel is very flippant and casual. Needless to say, Jorick hates him, and has a lot of cause to.

A: What prompted your decision to self-publish and did you ever attempt going the traditional route first?
J: I read on an internet site that all agents were really clones of the evil Zorgon. Okay, maybe not. But that’s more interesting than the truth. I originally looked for an agent. But, I hit right in the middle of the vampire craze, so the response was “no more vampires.” But I didn’t want to just abandon it. Plus, the more I actually researched what I’d be getting into – like that I couldn’t do my own cover – the more unattractive it started to look. Then I discovered that most traditionally published authors are still responsible for their own marketing, and in all honesty that was the only thing I wanted a “real” publisher for in the first place.

A: Do you have any advice you could share with us regarding self-publishing?
J: When people say, with genuine surprise, “Wow, your book is actually good!” Don’t snap, “Of course it is, you prongless fork!” Also, one of the things I kept running into when I was looking for an agent was advice to un-personalize everything to look professional. One site even recommended removing lists of bands you like, lest it “offended”. Maybe that’s great advice for agents, but it’s not so great for being an independent author. One of the cool things about the self published authors is that there’s no filter between them and their fans. And, a person with no personality is unmemorable.

A: What is the one bit of advice you wish you had been told about when you first began as a writer?
J: That it’s okay to be scared, angry, frustrated, stuck, bitter, upset or even jealous. A lot of writers skim over those things when they’re handing out advice because it’s “not professional” to admit it. That was one thing that really drew me to Ruth Ann Nordin, because she was so honest about how the process affects you. Sometimes you feel like you’re surrounded by a bunch of Mary Sunshine’s who are all cool, calm and collected, and you’re thinking “what’s wrong with me?” But there’s nothing wrong. It’s like teen sex in the 50’s. They’re all doing it, they’re just not talking about it.

A: You have quite a lot of artistic interests/talents. Is there one you have a preference over the others and if so, why?
J: The one that pays. Okay, no, I’m joking. I’ve actually contemplated this for the last year. In the end it’s the visual art that wins, I think. I’ve noticed that when I first meet people, or make new profiles, etc. I’m more concerned with saying “Look what I drew!” than saying “Look what I wrote!”.

A: Have you ever suffered from writer or artist’s block, and do you have a technique to get past them that you could share with us?
J: I find a hot shower usually heats up my brain and will make me come up with something. Really, the best thing for me is to quit being a baby and just do it. For the first hour whatever I churn out will be complete rubbish, but after that it starts to pick up, and pretty soon I’ve forgotten that I was ever blocked in the first place.

A: You also design book covers, how did you start out?
J: My first cover was for Stevie Rey’s The Hillbilly Bible, but it was actually Smashwords that started the “real” work. Mark Coker maintains a list of cover artists for hire, so I sent my name in. I didn’t have a lot of business until after I did some free covers and had a portfolio built up. People think it’s hard to do book covers because it’s almost impossible to find information on it; like it’s this mystical, secret thing. But, anyone with a computer and a reasonable eye for layouts can do it. That’s why I wrote the book How to Get a Cheap Book Cover, to try to demystify the process and say “yes, you too can do this!”

A: One of your interests is Manga comics, and you’re currently illustrating The Terrible Turtle Conspiracy, a weekly web comic written by Jonathan Harvey. When did you start drawing and what drew you to comics?
J: The Evil turtle Overlords are currently reviewing my answer before I’m allowed to publicize it. While we wait, why not check out http://TerribleTurtles.com? Approved Answer: I really can’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing. I’m a nut for the whole Japanese anime style and I wanted to “grow up, move to Japan and draw cartoons” until my Dad explained how animation frames work. That’s when I decided to do comics because it was “easier”. I abandoned it, though, until a few years ago when I did a darker manga called “Butterfly Soul” as a Halloween project. After that, Jonathan had the idea to turn his weekly silly stories into a comic and being a huge Jonathan Harvey silly story fan, I jumped on it immediately.

A: Is there anyone whose work you particularly admire; and what is it about them that makes them special to you?
J: Miss Piggy. She can beat up a bunch of ninjas and her hair still looks great. Seriously, when I was a kid we went to church with a woman named Elaine. I’m not sure I’d say I admired her work, so much as her ability to just let it all roll off of her. She absolutely didn’t care what anyone else thought, or whether they liked her or not. That’s something I have tremendous trouble with. And there was a woman, whose name I’ve forgotten, who was a “mouth drawer”. She’d been an artist, gotten in some kind of accident and lost her hands, and yet years later she turned out gorgeous stuff by holding a pencil between her teeth. That kind of devotion is just awe-inspiring.

A: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
J: I’m hoping that someone will win the lottery and give me a big chunk of money, so I’ll be lounging in style. I’d also like to think that I’ll have Katelina and Jorick off on their “quest”, that I’ll have the Redneck vampire spoof finished, that Jonathan and I will have our Terrible Turtle novel done, and that I will be somewhat more organized in time management (hahahahahahaha!)

A: Lastly, a fun question – You’ve on a desert island and can only bring one book, one CD and one DVD, which ones do you choose and why?
J: The Survival Guide for Living on a Desert Island by Serve I. Vorr. Heh-heh. Seriously, the book would have to be the complete Edgar Allan Poe because it’s a mix of short stories and poems and by rationing one a day I could drag it out. I like movies, but music is more important so the DVD would have to be the HIM Love Metal Archives, Volume I, and the CD would then be Roxette’s 1992 album Tourism. Twice the music, plus I get to look at Ville Valo

I don’t blame her, Ville is nice to look at
Hope you enjoyed this. Proud to have Joleene on my blog as she is doing what I hope to be doing some day and is a great inspiration. I had plans to make this a monthly feature but sadly, time constraints have put a stop to that idea, before I even got started. Too many plans, too little time I’m afraid.