So I need feedback on this project I'm thinking of embarking upon

[SweetZombieJesus]

Ever since I can remember, I've had sort of a fixation on vampires. No matter how bad the movie is, I'll always watch a vampire flick. But, I've always hated a lot of the mythology surrounding the genre, and most importantly, the whole concept of vampires ALWAYS being the predators and humans always being hapless victims. So I've been thinking about writing a series that's sort of a secret history of vampires of my own devise, wherein I establish sort of a symbiotic relationship between man and vampirekind, where vampires feed on humans, but humans also use vampires as footsoldiers in some of their more demonic ventures (the Holocaust, the Spanish Inquisition, etc.)

Anyway, what I'm wondering is, would anyone aside from those creepy vampire roleplayer people be interested in reading like, say, a trilogy of books or a comic series like this?

[leftofthedial]

1. you can't go wrong with the vampire theme

devlop some good characters and go for it.

Interesting twist.

[SweetZombieJesus]

4. Actually, I've got some great characters already

Basically, the main story revolves around three warring vampire clans, one a ruling class of aristocrats, another a group of anarchy worshipping drug-addicted vampires who the ruling class uses to do their dirty work, and a clan that tries to maintain a fragile balance of peace between humans and mankind, but is also at odds with a secret governmental agency who's job is to monitor vampire activity and make sure it doesn't venture outside the guidelines of the peace treaty negotiated during the Cold War, wherein vampires would be allowed to exist provided they only congregated in urban areas and fed on the lower class and certain elements of society the government deems "disruptive".

Basically, the ruling class clan has been forced to share power over the vampire nation with the third clan due to a treaty signed by the leader of the ruling class clan. His son is plotting secretly to eliminate the third clan with the help of the second clan, but the second clan's leader plans to doublecross the ruling clan in order to gain its resources and start a nuclear war.

I've also got a whole bit on vampire religion, the dominant one being sort of a perverted, Satanic version of Catholicism, that only a fringe group of vampires believe in.

[leftofthedial]

6. Sounds terrific

You have a great "well of conflict" there.

Do it!

[starroute]

14. You need a human story to keep it interesting

Not human as opposed to vampire -- but human in terms of strong, recognizable emotional situations. It's the old pulp cliche of "a sympathetic hero struggles against overwhleming odds to attain a worthwhile goal." That's how you get the reader to identify.

So find a character in this whole web of betrayals and double-crosses that the reader can care about (preferably someone who is trying to buck the system and avoid total catastrophe) and tell it from their point of view. Even if you want the story to end apocalyptically, the effect will be stronger if it's seen through the eyes of someone who is trying to avert it.

[SweetZombieJesus]

17. I'm toying with the notion of one of the "good" vampires adopting a human

And raising him to infiltrate the government agency and take it down from the inside. He could succeed in his task of foiling the plot of the anarchist clan, but when his "father" is killed in battle with the son of the aristocratic clan, he goes off the deep end and pumps himself full of strength enhancing drugs in order to fight his adopted father's killer.

[CanuckAmok]

2. I'm soooo there! n/t

[nuxvomica]

3. Make it a book

"The Secret History of Vampires" sounds like a book I'd pick up and I'm no aficionado.

[SweetZombieJesus]

5. The working title at the moment is "Phantom Nation"

I'm thinking of making Nixon be the one who sets up the shadow agency that polices the vampires when he was Vice President under Eisenhower.

[villager]

7. you've got an alternate history novel...

..and a vampire yarn. Get writing!

[Dogmudgeon]

13. Phantom Nation

I think the title has been used already. " _____ Nation" has become a cliche over the last few years. A quote from Crowley, suitably obscure, might do you much better, especially with the vampophile and neo-gnostic cognoscenti.

I'd also consider Andrew Jackson as a contender for starting an early anti-V agency. He was the first firy populist president, and overturned a lot of the Founding Fathers' works in his day.

Good luck with the project!

--bkl

(Edited for title error.)

[catpower2000]

8. Definitely yes.

I read all genres, but I've definitely been interested in vampires since Anne Rice captured my imagination in my teens.

Go for it, and if you need an editor, I'm offering my services. :)

Cat

ps. How are you feeling?

[SweetZombieJesus]

9. Better, thanks

I'll start writing when I get back from staying with friends on Tuesday.

[Mel]

10. Yes! Yes!

I would! I would! :hi: me likes Vampires!
That's Mel and you can pm me when they are ready for reading I'll bookmark this thread.

Hey, I think I need to add you onto my picks for what DU'er would you want to meet list. ;)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=105&topic_id=147463&mesg_id=147463

[Dogmudgeon]

11. Vampology Re-Vamped

Vampirology (?) usually presents Vampires as decadent, sexy, faux-European apostate Catholics. But most cultures world-wide have legends similar to those of the EuroVamps, and they're frequently tragic characters.

Even the European legends predate Christianity, and there is considerable evidence that the Vampire in European culture predates the Indo-European influx of about 3000 BCE.

That might be a good background exploration -- how EuroVamps evolved from neolithic folk culture to American Goth Lite.

--bkl
And the porphyry thing has been beaten into submission.

[SweetZombieJesus]

16. Well, I don't think I'll go all Tolkien with it

I'm just going for a loose back history, and I'm using the idea that vampires know as little about their origins as humans do, perhaps even less, and most of the history will be centered around the fact that as humans became more technologically advanced, they became capable of eradicating all vampires fairly easily, and they use this fact to their advantage by extorting the vampire nation to do their bidding.

[Astarho]

12. Go for it

Vampires aren't really my thing but even I have written a few short stories with them. People are always looking for a new twist on the vampire myth.

I remember I had a similar idea a few years back, only I had a probllem with vampires being the top preditor, so I introduced another mythological creature that was even stronger than vampires.

[Dogmudgeon]

15. Suggested Reading

Zenna Henderson's series of books about The People.

Not really about vampires, closer to witches, but a lot of interesting insights about other-ness.

A movie was made from a piece of the first volume around 1972, and it may be available on video/DVD.

--bkl