It’s a week of vampire stuff, so we’re meeting a few of the authors from the forthcoming SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire anthology, coming soon from Mocha Memoirs Press. Today we’re delighted to have Vonnie Winslow Crist and Penelope Flynn with us…
‘In Egypt’s Shadows’ by Vonnie Winslow Crist
I never write vampire stories! Which is why it’s extraordinary that I wrote two vampire tales in 2020, both of which are to debut in anthologies this October.
The first vampire story, ‘An Unkindness’, was inspired by a grave-robbing scheme from a century ago in which my great-grandfather participated. Easy inspiration.
The second story, ‘In Egypt’s Shadows’, was written after I saw the submission call for SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire edited by Nicole Smith. When I read the stories needed to feature vampires from the African diaspora, my mind immediately went to Ancient Egypt.
I thought, “What better place to set a vampire story than in a culture which survived millenia?” It seems to me, myths and legends which last across thousands of years must speak to something at the core of our humanity.
But I didn’t want to focus on the positive aspects of living forever—instead I wanted to look at one of the negatives: unless you’re in love with another vampire, you’ll endure countless heartbreaks. Or worse, what if your true love is human, she refuses to change, and you just can’t forget her? Which is the beginning place of ‘In Egypt’s Shadow’.
If you want to discover how my protagonist, Akhon, resolves this dilemma, and if he’s able to be with his true love, Kebi, you can find ‘In Egypt’s Shadows’ in SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire. The anthology is filled with wonderfully horrific stories of vampires from the African diaspora.
Vonnie Winslow Crist, HWA, SFWA, is author of The Enchanted Dagger, Owl Light, The Greener Forest, Murder on Marawa Prime, and other award-winning books. Her stories appear in Chilling Ghost Short Stories, Cast of Wonders, Amazing Stories, Killing It Softly 2, Blood & Beetles, Horror for Hire: First Shift, Creep, Mother Ghost’s Grimm 1 & 2, Devolution Z, Monsters, Scary Snippets: Halloween, Re-Terrify, Samhain Secrets, Forest of Fear, Re-Haunt, Coffins & Dragons, and elsewhere. Still believing the world is filled with mystery, miracles, and magic, Vonnie strives to celebrate the power of myth in her writing. For more information: www.vonniewinslowcrist.com
‘Unfleamed’ by Penelope Flynn
The main character in ‘Unfleamed’ is Yannara Stone-Tejan-Forza a woman of apparent African descent who is soon to be named head of the human-vampire hybrid clan that minds the business holdings and households of the society of vampires called Revenants. And here’s some background…
In 1887 a cargo ship from Narva, Estonia, called the Dimitry ran aground near a coastal town of Whitby, England the home of the ruins of a Benedictine monastery located roughly 250 miles from London. Coincidentally, in 1888 Jack the Ripper baffled Scotland Yard with a string of grisly murders in Whitechapel where women’s bodies were defiled and mutilated in a manner that was no less than… monstrous. Against this backdrop, in 1890 Bram Stoker traveled to Whitby, toured its ruins and heard of its maritime tragedy. The Dimitry became the Demeter and Narva became Varna, the ruins of the Abbey… inspiration for a decaying castle in the Carpathians. All these have been woven into the foundation of the 1897 tale we now know as Dracula.
The story ‘Unfleamed’ is a corollary to the Dracula tale introducing the vampire/human hybrids who are bound by duty and blood to care for the households and business holdings of a vampire society known as Revenants. Called to London in 1890 to be announced as the new head of clan for the hybrids, Yannara Stone-Tejan-Forza is uneasy. Her consort has been dispatched to Morocco. She and her children are in an unfamiliar city and she is being trailed. ‘Unfleamed’ follows Yannara as she unravels the mystery of who is stalking her and discovers how her decision to discipline a barbaric Revenant may have paved her enemy’s path to her front door.
The concept of the hybrids who are called Renfields actually arose from the character Renfield in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. I posited that if there was one “Renfield” who was an acolyte of Dracula why couldn’t there be an entire family of Renfields (who weren’t insane) that managed the affairs of an affluent society of vampires? This was the beginnings of The Chronicles of Renfields.
In the Renfields tales, Revenants are not of this world. They come from another dimension, i.e. a universe called the A’Obeinur. In their Home worlds Revenants are stable, erudite and competent but emigrating to this world caused a bifurcation of their natures separating the genteel from the feral. From worlds that were shrouded in twilight and shades of gray to a world with extreme dichotomies – bright days versus dark nights, vast oceans and nearless endless deserts, great poverty versus obscene wealth – a world which they unironically call the Paradox. With the many physical limitations imposed upon them by their enviroment Revenants engineered their own assistants by breeding with Paradoxans. After a time it was no longer necessary for Revenants to breed with Paradoxans and each Revenant House sponsored its own family of Renfields.
Renfields have created a veritable empire which includes their traditional wing and Renfield International, the corporate wing. Renfields are located on every habitable continent and cater to the needs of Revenants of every culture and creed. Although Renfields and Revenants share a blood lineage their societies are stratified where Renfields are constantly reminded of their servitude. Add to this the rampant suspicion of Paradoxans, and Renfields – though affluent and intelligent – live a precarious existence.
The Chronicles of Renfields: Regarding Koescu (published 11/11/19) tells the Renfield/Revenant tale from the perspective of an ageing Revenant who is given a new lease on life. The Chronicles of Renfields: The First Book of Ramona which is scheduled for release on 10/31/20 tells the tale of Ramona Stone-Tejan-Forza, the heir apparent, to climb the Renfields ladder to become the clan’s corporate and traditional arms.
Links:
www.Renfields.us or www.Renfields.net
www.Patreon.com/Penelope_Flynn
SLAY, full of some fantastic authors, is available to pre-order now:
Thanks, John, for featuring us. “Slay: Stories of the Vampire Noire” is a great read, and I hope your readers will decide to check the anthology out. 🙂