Guest blogger Denise K. Rago offers self-publishing advice (giveaway included!)

Guest blogging today is Denise K. Rago, author of Immortal Obsession (which has a gorgeous cover, shown to the right). Denise is here to chat about her novel and to offer inspiration and guidance to writers frustrated with the seemingly impossible task of breaking into print.  Be sure to check out her contest details for an autographed copy of Immortal Obsession at the end of her post.

Self-Publishing: Blood, Sweat, Tears and a Leap of Faith

by Denise K. Rago

Writers need time to write. No matter how many things we do well, if we want to be successful, we will have to trust a lot of the details to other folks.

As a self-published paranormal romance author trying to finish her second novel, I constantly struggle with finding the time to write and promote my work. True, writing is a very solitary process, but that’s where it ends. Collaboration is key if you want to reach readers. And the burden is bigger on self-published writers, who are navigating the writing world largely on their own.

If you’re thinking about self-publishing your first book, here’s a glimpse into my experience – and some advice from the trenches!

ASK MORE EXPERIENCED WRITERS AND EDITORS FOR HELP.

After completing my first draft, a dear friend suggested I contact a gentleman with decades of experience in the publishing business. Lou Aronica is a publisher, editor, and author who runs WWW.FICTIONSTUDIO.COM.

Hesitantly, I contacted Lou, who was kind enough to read the first several chapters and then ask for my entire manuscript! After receiving his eight-page letter, I took his suggestions to heart. Though I disagreed with some of them, I agreed with most of them, and I credit him with being the first person to help reshape my manuscript.

Thankfully, through writing workshops, I have come to depend on other writers for their honest opinions – because they understand me like no one else on this planet (not even my loving husband). We root for one another yet understand the painful process of personal expression. No one will feel the trials and tribulations, nor the magic gleaned from a sentence well-written, like another writer. It’s natural to fear showing one’s work to others, but it is essential to garner feedback in order to improve.

So after the first redraft, I turned to Lou again, who suggested I ask a copy editor to fine-tune Immortal Obsession. If I ever gave advice to a writer, it would be to find a professional, someone who does this for a living; not your best friend or your English Literature professor, but a professional copy editor. And pay them. Their fee is worth it, because their job is to read your manuscript with a critical eye and a fresh lens, not boost your ego. My copy editor advised me on which paragraphs to toss, those that needed to be moved around and at times helped me refine the point of view. I must admit, I took most of her advice too, and that’s another thing: I listened to the folks to whom I paid good money for their services. Why else would I hire them?

IF THE AGENTS DON’T BITE, GO YOUR OWN WAY.

Now all I needed was an agent (or so I thought). I spent the better part of 2008 querying dozens of agents, but only one asked for the first 50 pages of my novel. After too many rejections to count, I was beginning to rethink my position as an unknown author. How long would I have to wait to get my novel out into the world? How could I leave my fate in someone else’s hands, anyway?

I began to think the unthinkable: self-publishing. I turned to three people whose opinions I trust: one of my writing professors, a very famous author, and Linda Lauren, the fourth-generation psychic medium and owner of Linda Lauren’s Embracing The Universe, who has given my much guidance over many years and has been more than instrumental in this entire experience (www.lindalauren.com). Ironically, two of the three women mentioned the same publishing company in the same day, Amazon’s CreateSpace. I took that as a sign.

Portrait of Christian Du Maure. Artist: Pauli Verridicci.

Another fortuitous discovery pushed my novel along as well. Earlier in the writing process, I had discovered that a coworker was a professional artist. Over coffee one afternoon we began to collaborate on creating portraits of some of my characters. Beginning in 2007, over the period of two years, she created portraits based on my descriptions. Today, many of them are now on my website, which leads me to two other folks who have changed my life and the vision of my novel.

BUILD AN ONLINE PRESENCE TO REACH YOUR READERS.

All authors need websites, whether they have agents and publishers or not. But it’s especially important to market yourself online, where so many readers gather to find, discuss, and buy books. I knew I needed a website, and another coworker suggested a company based in San Diego called Well Versed Creative.

Founded by a young couple with experience not only in graphics, but also in editing, marketing, and copywriting, I hired Well Versed Creative to get my novel (and me) “out there” online. I gave them the first few chapters of Immortal Obsession, plus a few websites of other authors that I admired and a link to my old blog, and I turned them loose. Lindsey Donner, owner and wordsmith, is a writer, editor and marketing expert, while her husband, Luis Cortes, works behind the scenes on graphics and web development. He created beautiful images from my world of the written word on the screen.

Lindsey suggested a social media marketing plan that included revamping my presence on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. Though I have been blogging for years, Twitter is something I was hesitant about, but Lindsey encouraged me to try. Twitter can be a crucial tool to an author’s online success. Honestly, I still feel tentative about it, but I take my career seriously enough to work at the hard stuff!

WRITING IS SOLITARY, BUT PUBLISHING IS NOT.

Since October of 2005 when I began writing Immortal Obsession, I have been faced with many decisions and challenges. I would be lying if I said it was easy; however, my confidence has doubled since last spring, when I decided to take my career in my own hands while collaborating with other professionals along the way. Now, my book can be found in local bookstores or ordered from any of the big booksellers, and my website provides a hub for all of my endeavors, from book launch parties to guest blog posts. Who would’ve thought?

Writing may be a solitary endeavor, but Immortal Obsession is a tapestry created from many influences and visions.

Denise K. Rago is a paranormal romance author whose first novel, Immortal Obsession, was published in September of this year. You can reach Denise on her website, http://denisekrago.com, where you can also read an excerpt of her book – part love story, thriller, vampire romance, and paranormal romp that takes place in Revolution-era Paris and modern-day New York.

CONTEST RULES
Denise is offering a free signed copy of Immortal Obsession. For the chance to win, head to the comments section and tell us which aspect of self-publishing sounds the hardest. If you speak from experience, feel free to share a challenge you've encountered.  I'll randomly draw a winner from the entries.
The contest is open to all countries.
Deadline: Thursday, December 9, 2010.

Denise K. Rago online:
http://www.denisekrago.com
http://www.facebook.com/dkrago
http://twitter.com/DeniseKRago
http://denisekrago/blog
Read an Immortal Obsession excerpt on Scribd.

SHADOWLAND DVD release day and contest winners

Indie vampire film Shadowland makes its debut on DVD today.

A taut reinvention of vampire lore, Shadowland opens in modern-day North America, where construction workers uncover an old stone cross and what appears to be a wooden stake. They remove the stake from the ground, allowing Laura (Caitlin McIntosh), a slumbering vampire, to revive and rise from the earth. Beaten and weak, Laura is unable to speak, remember who she is, or even the fact that she is a vampire!

Earlier this month, Pirate Pictures generously offered a free copy of the DVD to two Suburban Vampire visitors.  Here are the winners:

Shain Brown
Ron Oliver

Congratulations!  Thanks to everyone who entered. Be sure to check out my interview with Shadowland director Wyatt Weed for more info about the movie and insights into its creation.

Last chance to enter my Shadowland DVD contest!!

Tomorrow morning (Nov. 30, 2010) I'll be drawing two winners for the Shadowland DVD contest.

Head to my interview with Shadowland director Wyatt Weed for the full contest details.

Good luck!

P.S. Music Monday will return next week.

Vote for the Best Vampire Movies, TV Series, & Web Series of 2010

It's your chance to have a say in the best vampire entertainment of 2010. There are separate polls for each category, so please scroll down to vote for the TV and web series.  Polls close January 4, 2011.










Feel free to tell us your favorite vampire novel, graphic novel, reference book, etc., in the comments section. There are far too many vampire books published each year for me to compile a fair poll for the books category.

Winner of Scott M. Baker's THE VAMPIRE HUNTERS

The winner of a copy of Scott M. Baker's The Vampire Hunters is. . .

Wenj

Congratulations! Please send your snail mail address to suburbanvamp AT gmail DOT com.

Thanks so much to Scott for joining me at Suburban Vampire and for offering the giveaway. If you missed his interview, check it out here.

Interview & giveaway: Joanne Valiukas, author of DANANN FROST FALLS FROM GRACE

"Joanne Valiukas has created an imaginative, sweeping romance with characters you can care about."

—www.bookdout.wordpress.com

Today's guest is Australian novelist Joanne Valiukas, author of Danann Frost Falls from Grace and the Ancient Blood series.  She's here to chat about her take on vampires and angels, as well as her marathon approach to fiction writing.  

Suburban Vampire: Welcome, Joanne. Tell us about your Danann Frost books.

JOANNE VALIUKAS: My Danann Frost books are a complete story in their own right, but they are a companion tale to my Magnum Opus, the books I lovingly call "The Ancient Bloods." Those books reveal all of the mythos surrounding my creation of vampires and their origins. We find out how vampires came to be and the path taken by vampire kind to the present day. Danann’s story is a snapshot in the grander scheme of things. A lot of my fans are quite offended when I say things like this, though; they love Danann so much.

Danann is an angel, a creature that exists as pure light and energy in a world beyond our own. She visits our plane of existence to learn what humans are like, though the concept is strange to her. She is seen by an eight- hundred-year-old vampire prince, who believes that she is a goddess. Seth is Irish and was raised on Celtic mythology taught to his kind by the one who made them vampire. Naturally, intrigue ensues and after all manner of trouble, despite their love they are separated. The first quarter of the book (which is available for free download from my website joannevaliukas.com) is set two hundred years in the past. We then zoom forward to the here and now in Melbourne, Australia—a most cosmopolitan city—and we begin to find out what happened and why. There is drama, intrigue, danger, revenge…all culminating in a tale that people tell me makes them bad mothers. Once they start reading, they cannot put the book down. (LOL)

SV: What are your particular vampires like?

JOANNE: My vampires can be living or undead. Living vampires age at the rate of around one human year for every decade that passes. At some point, they must decide when to cease aging and then become undead. The undead shapeshift at the full moon and become whatever creature the vampire who sired them was. Again, we find out in the Ancient Bloods how this comes to be. I wanted my vampires to be dangerous and determined, capable of awful things yet not totally losing their humanity. They are like a more intense version of a human; humans can do horrible, awful things too, and it was this notion that I wanted to explore.

SV: Your writing career started at the age of thirty-nine, when you sat down and wrote your very first work of fiction for ninety-nine days straight. What was that process like?

JOANNE: It came as a real shock. Not that I could do it for ninety-nine days straight and come out of that with five books, because that is the kind of crazy thing that I do, but more because not only was I loving what I was doing, but it was coming so naturally to me. It was like the characters in my head were telling me what to write, and I was just copying down their life stories. I had one point that was bizarre for me: one of my characters left, and I was in mourning. It really felt as though I’d lost someone that I love, and there were other characters who mourned with me. It was a truly fascinating experience.

It was funny when I first began. I assumed that writers wrote to music, and so I tried, but it did not work for me, not straight away. It wasn’t until I needed to be in a particular mood for a scene that I played something appropriate and, all of a sudden, it was working for me, so much so that listening to music became a necessity, but it was one that I had to learn.

Once I began writing, I would write from the minute I got up each day until I went to bed in the early hours of the morning. I even wrote forty-eight pages one day…it was the most amazing experience, and I was lucky that my family indulged my mania and were so supportive.

SV: If you could go back in time and talk to your younger self, would you encourage yourself to start writing sooner?

JOANNE: No. I always hated writing with a passion.  It seemed like a chore, but I am a different person today. Everything I write comes from a depth of emotion that life and experience have given me; we all experience tragedy in life, and I draw on that emotion for my writing. I needed to be the person that I am now for all of this to have worked so well for me.

SV: Bloodsucker fiction has taken over the literary world. What do you feel sets the Danann Frost books apart from other vampire novels?

JOANNE: Two things. First, I came up with a somewhat different mythos surrounding vampires. There is a dark, seductive draw to this genre for me but one that also holds a large element of danger. I wanted to bring to that very real character traits; ones that my readers could easily identify with. The thing that I believe sets my story apart from others stems from my most cherished attribute as a writer, and that is that first, foremost, and forever will I be…A READER. It is because of this trait that I believe if I am going to share my stories, then I owe the best that I can produce for those reading my work. I aim to never use easily contrived convenience, and I always try to address the hard issues. I try not to ignore things that need to be addressed and I NEVER, EVER break the rules that I created. I try to produce stories that are deep in plot and character development, stories that feel relatable, even if they are not, and stories that my readers invest themselves in. My readers seem to feel that my characters are their actual friends, and I must confess, as a writer, there is no greater reward.

SV: Where can readers learn more about you and your books, including your upcoming novel, Danann Frost Embraces the Darkness?

JOANNE: My website, joannevaliukas.com, or my Facebook Fan Page, also under Joanne Valiukas.

SV: Thanks so much for visiting Suburban Vampire, Joanne. Best wishes to you and your novels.

JOANNE: No, thank you Catherine, so very much for this opportunity. I love sharing my passion for reading and now writing too…to escape into another existence is transcendent, and so many writers over the years have done that for me.  It’s nice to know that I can now do that for other people.

CONTEST RULES:

Joanne Valiukas has graciously offered to give away a free copy of Danann Frost Falls from Grace. To enter, head to the comments section and tell us your favorite angel character. If you don't have a favorite, leave a comment for the author instead. A winner will be randomly drawn. U.S. AND CANADIAN ENTRIES ONLY, PLEASE.
DEADLINE: Thursday, December 2, 2010

Music Monday: Outkast's funky DRACULA'S WEDDING

We're heading back to 2003 for today's Music Monday feature: "Dracula's Wedding," by hip-hop duo Outkast. The song is off their Speakerboxxx/The Love Below two-disc album, and I dare you to listen to it without getting the phrase "but I'm terrified of you" stuck in your head.

I had a hard time deciding which video version to share--I couldn't find an official one from Outkast.  I decided upon a fan-made tribute to both "Dracula's Wedding" and the 1987 film The Monster Squad (which, incidentally, is getting a remake).



iTunes:

FangYourself.com, Team Twilight, & Vampire Mob Season Two

Team Twilight is running a FangYourself contest on Facebook that ends today, and they'd love to have vampire fans head to their site to cast votes.

FangYourself.com is a new game on Facebook that allows the everyday person to transform him or herself into a vampire. I haven't tried it out myself, but you can check out the gallery of brave souls at www.fangyourself.com/galleries/vamps. Dare I try it? I might.

To help Team Twilight with their contest, head to team-twilight.com.

I also have some Vampire Mob: Season Two news, straight from Vampire Mob Headquarters:

Since October 29th, 70 backers have donated $4,009.50 to our goal of raising $10,000 to make season two.

We have new rewards, including the brand new Vampire Mob logo shirt
and our most popular reward, the "We are all famous to a few people" shirts, back in stock in all sizes!

Drop by http://www.VampireMob.com and click on the Save Season Two banner to find these rewards and more.

Every backer gets thanked by name in the credits of every episode in Season Two!

Vampire Mob is now available in French, German, and Klingon subtitles.  Yes, Klingon. The web series is also now closed-captioned for the hearing impaired. Congrats to the Vampire Mob team for making their show so accessible.

Winner of Clay & Susan Griffith's steampunk vampire novel, THE GREYFRIAR

Here's the winner of The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, Book 1), by Clay & Susan Griffith:

Dawn M.

Congratulations! Please send your snail mail address to suburbanvamp AT gmail DOT com.

Thanks so much to Prometheus Books for offering the giveaway, and thanks to Clay & Susan for chatting with me last week and sharing their writing process as a husband and wife team.  If you missed their interview, you can still read it here.

Thanks also to everyone who entered by listing your favorite married couple, fictional or otherwise.   We had some pretty varied responses, and some book titles came up that I need to check out.  Vampire Wire's Marta Acosta mentioned Nick and Nora Charles of The Thin Man, a classic novel and movie series that, for some reason, has come up a few times recently, both here at a Suburban Vampire interview and in Entertainment Weekly (it sounds like Johnny Depp wants to make a new Thin Man movie after he plays a vampire in Dark Shadows).

If you're bummed you didn't win a vampire treat this time around, I have two other contests you can still enter:

The Shadowland DVD Giveaway
Contest for Scott M. Baker's The Vampire Hunters

Interview & contest: Scott M. Baker's THE VAMPIRE HUNTERS

Joining me today is Scott M. Baker, prolific short story writer and author of The Vampire Hunters.

Modern-day vampire hunters wage a brutal battle against the undead in the nation's capital.

As former Boston cops, Drake Matthews and Alison Monroe thought they had experienced it all... until they found themselves tracking down a serial killer who turned out to be one of the undead. Stopping him cost them their careers and almost their lives.

Thanks to an influential and anonymous benefactor, Drake and Alison find a new job ridding the streets of Washington, D.C., of the vampiric threat terrorizing the nation's capital.

Only this time, Drake and Alison are not facing a single vampire but an entire nest...

Suburban Vampire: Welcome, Scott. There's one question I have to get out of the way before I ask anything else: At your website, www.scott-m-baker.com, you feature your pet rabbit Cocoa, whom you describe as "the inspiration for the character Van Helsing." Is your Van Helsing character a rabbit... or did Cocoa actually inspire the creation of a human character?

SCOTT M. BAKER: Van Helsing is a rabbit. I wanted to give the main human character, Drake Matthews, a pet both as an exposition device and to show his vulnerable side. Van Helsing's back story - that he was the only living thing to survive a vicious vampire attack against a family, an attack that Drake was unable to prevent, so Drake gave Van Helsing a home rather than send him to a shelter to be put down - plays well into the themes of the hunter as protector and that no one should die alone. Plus, the nature of the relationship between the two generates key character and plot developments throughout the trilogy.

I chose to make Van Helsing a rabbit because, of all the pets someone could have, they are among the most defenseless. It also helps that I have six rabbits at home, so turning one of them into a character was a no-brainer.

SV: Now that we've cleared up the Cocoa mystery, please tell us about your trilogy, The Vampire Hunters. Who are The Vampire Hunters?

SCOTT: The Vampire Hunters are Drake Matthews and Alison Monroe, two Boston cops who traded in their badges for stakes to hunt the undead in Washington, D.C., and Jim Delmarco, an engineering student drafted into the cause. They are a departure from the usual vampire hunters in pop culture who are Chosen Ones, dhampyrs, or animators, or who possess some form of supernatural power. As much as I enjoy these characters, I always felt that supernatural edge gave them an unfair advantage when battling the undead. I wrote The Vampire Hunters to explore the theme of the hunters as human, with the same emotional baggage and physical weaknesses as the rest of us.

SV: What led you to create a vampire series set in Washington D.C.?

SCOTT: I'm familiar with the area. I've lived in northern Virginia, about twenty-five miles south of Washington, for the better part of the last twenty years.

SV: You've also authored short stories with fantastic titles such as "Rednecks Shouldn't Play with Dead Things" and "Deck the Malls with Bowels of Holly," which have been published in e-zines and anthologies. Do the stories themselves contain the same dark humor as your titles? How would you describe your writing style?

SCOTT: Yes, both those stories have a lot of dark humor, especially “Deck the Malls.” When I originally pitched that story to Living Dead Press, I described it as Dawn of the Dead meets Army of Darkness with zombie reindeer.

My writing style varies slightly depending on the nature of the story. My first short story -- “Incident at Ironstone Lane” -- was torture porn. “Cruise of the Dead” and “Dead Water” focused more on horror and suspense, while The Vampire Hunters trilogy is action/urban fantasy with an undertone of humor. The only constant throughout all my work is copious amounts of blood and gore.

SV: How long have you been writing fiction?

SCOTT: I started writing my first horror novel back in 2003. Prior to that, I had written a techno-thriller about North Korea acquiring nuclear weapons and blackmailing the United States. Unfortunately, I was trying to find a publisher right after 9/11 and was told the market for that type of book had collapsed. So I switched genres and have never regretted it.

SV: What books and/or movies led to your interest in horror and vampires?

SCOTT: I'm an old Monster Kid, going as far back as I can remember. I had horror movie posters plastered across my walls and the complete collection of Aurora Monster Models. Weekends were spent in front of the TV watching Creature Double Feature on WLVI Channel 56 and Chiller Theater out of New Jersey.

Contemporary influences are Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and Brian Keene's The Rising. Joss Whedon's plot and character development are outstanding. And I love the way he can insert a touch of humor into the most intense scenes and still make it work. The Rising rekindled my passion for zombies. Brian brought the zombie genre back from the dead (pun intended), and I've been an avid fan ever since.

SV: You've also written a zombie novel called Rotter World. Do you have a preference between zombies and vampires?

SCOTT: Zombies. I've had a lot of fun with vampires, creating an entire mythos and exploring the various nuances of evil through the characters. But for me, nothing can match the horror of a good zombie story. It's apocalyptic fiction at its best. Society melts down, governments become ineffective, and people are turned into an unstoppable horde of the living dead that preys on the survivors. Those who survive have to tap into inner strengths most of them never knew they possessed. I know people who laughed off the genre as pulp until they saw what happened in New Orleans following Katrina.

SV: Where can readers learn more about you and your fiction?

SCOTT: The best place is my blog, Scott M. Baker (author) at www.scottmbakerauthor.blogspot.com. I have links to my short stories that are still available online (“Incident at Ironstone Lane” and “Rednecks Shouldn't Play with Dead Things” in Necrotic Tissue's autumn 2009 edition), plus links to purchase the print anthologies my stories have appeared in, as well as my full-length books. I frequently blog about status updates, upcoming book signings, and other items of a general horror-related interest. You can also find links to follow me on Facebook and Twitter.

SV: Thanks so much for joining me in the burbs, Scott. Good luck with The Vampire Hunters and all your stories.

CONTEST RULES:
The Vampire Hunters is a story about humans hunting vampires, or a tale of good vs. evil. Scott M. Baker asks, "Who is your favorite vampire and vampire hunter, and why?" If you answer his questions in the comments section of this post, you'll be entered to win a free copy of his novel.
DEADLINE: Friday, November 26, 2010.

Contests! . . . and a BLACKBIRDS update

Don't miss out on the three contests currently running here at Suburban Vampire:

Contest for Blood Justice by David Burton (Update: SandyG265 is the winner of the Blood Justice giveaway!)

Interview and Contest: The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire, Book 1) by Clay & Susan Griffith

Shadowland Interview & DVD Giveaway

I'm posting very little non-contest news right now, because I'm in the final stretch of getting my young adult novel, Blackbirds, ready to submit to my agent.  I'm hoping to turn the manuscript in next week. One of my critique partners, YA novelist Ara Burklund, posted the following kind words about Blackbirds on her website:

"Every chance I got this week, no matter how small, I rushed to my computer to keep reading. Her story questions had me right where they wanted me: stuck in their pages, frantic to find out what happened next. And the ending? It delivered. Big time. Totally didn't see it coming but in retrospect, it left me thinking, Of course! Just the way a good ending should."

Join me over at www.catwinters.com, twitter.com/catwinters, and Facebook for updates.

Interview & contest: Director Wyatt Weed chats about SHADOWLAND

Joining me today is Wyatt Weed, writer and director of Shadowland, an indie vampire film that's taken the festival scene by storm.  To celebrate Shadowland's upcoming DVD release (November 30), Pirate Pictures has graciously offered to give away TWO copies of the movie to Suburban Vampire readers.  Details are listed at the end of the interview. 

A taut reinvention of vampire lore, Shadowland opens in modern-day North America, where construction workers uncover an old stone cross and what appears to be a wooden stake. They remove the stake from the ground, allowing Laura (Caitlin McIntosh), a slumbering vampire, to revive and rise from the earth. Beaten and weak, Laura is unable to speak, remember who she is, or even the fact that she is a vampire!

The Shadowland trailer:

Director Wyatt Weed

SUBURBAN VAMPIRE: Welcome, Wyatt. Shadowland takes the unique point of view of a lead vampire character (Laura, played by Caitlin McIntosh) who rises from the grave with amnesia. How did the original ideas for Shadowland come about?

WYATT WEED: The idea for Shadowland actually came about while I was walking by a construction site in LA one night. There was a huge hole in the ground, and for the life of me it seemed like the angel statues on the nearby buildings were watching over the hole. What were they watching for? What was in that hole? A demon? A monster? A mysterious woman? That idea of a woman crawling out of the hole really struck me - why on earth would a woman be crawling out of there?!? If you can come up with a really good explanation, it will probably make a good story.

When I got the opportunity to do a feature film, I thought I could turn that construction site inspiration into an interesting low-budget horror film. But I was reluctant to do a low-budget vampire film right out the gate - there's enough of those, and I didn't think the world needed one more. But the story just screamed to be a vampire film, so I decided early on that if we were going down the vampire road, we would treat it seriously.

The amnesia/cut throat idea came into it early because I wanted her to talk as little as possible - I wanted to tell as much as I could through her actions, and after buried underground for a hundred years, it seemed logical that her mind would be a bit fuzzy, vampire or not. Actually, my original intent was to do the film with no dialogue at all, but that seemed a bit ambitious for my first time out.

The fact that I created a female lead is because I find them interesting. There aren't a lot of strong female characters, and I personally have good relationships with women. I respect women, and tend to work with a lot of women, primarily as producers. You can shift from moments of strength and action to moments of softness and sensitivity very quickly with female characters.

SV: What genre(s) would best describe Shadowland?

WYATT: Horror-suspense. It has a bit of action and a bit of thriller, but it mainly shifts between horror and suspense. It really isn't classic horror or suspense though, either. I try to ignore classification and just make a film. Sometimes that works, but sometimes it bites you - people want to define things, and want to be able to sell your film a certain way. I do think there's enough classic horror/vampire in it to win over the vampire fans.

SV: Who are your writing/directing influences?

WYATT: Classic directors that I really admire are John Sturges, Richard Fleischer, Howard Hawks, Michael Curtiz, Alfred Hitchcock, William Wyler, Billy Wilder, Byron Haskin, Robert Wise, and Otto Preminger. These were directors who could tell a story in one shot, keep the dialogue moving, and weren't afraid to let a scene breath occasionally. They could make you focus on exactly what they wanted you to see and feel within the frame.

As for modern directors, I follow Spielberg, of course, but also Richard Donner, Danny Boyle, David Fincher, Martin Campbell, James Cameron, and Robert Zemekis. I keep my eye on J.J. Abrams - I thought MI:3 was pretty damn good, and Star Trek was just flat-out great. I like Zack Snyder a lot as well.

For writing, I go back to Howard Hawks. That guy could make dialogue fly. Ernest Lehman was great, and of course, the amazing William Goldman. Re-watch Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid any time and it's still great. In the modern era, I learned a lot from television writers. The West Wing was some of the best stuff I've ever heard or seen, and that's mainly Aaron Sorkin. United States of Tara and Glee are both quite good. I also never missed an episode of ER or Studio 60 when they were on.

SV: Shadowland has clearly been a festival darling, winning numerous awards, such as Best Feature Film (Fright Night Film Festival), Audience Choice (Vampire Film Festival), and Best Director (Yellow Fever Independent Film Festival). What were some of your festival experiences like with this film?

WYATT: Ego building? Seriously, the festivals were really great. It wasn't about critics or film snobs or trying to sell the movie - it was about finding audiences. Film festival crowds really want to be there, to seek films out, to find new things. They really wanted to come see a vampire film, and I'd say about 90% of the time, they enjoyed it. People bring a whole new perspective to your film - they see things in your movie that you didn't, get new meaning from it. Laugh in different places. People were complementary, and we had a very broad audience, from teens to grandmothers.

SV: What are the challenges of filming a vampire movie?

WYATT: I would say the challenges are similar in any low-budget film, that you only have so much money and you're trying to get enough of what you wanted down on film so that your original vision stays intact. With a vampire film, there are certain things that viewers have come to expect - fangs, stakes, crosses, burning in sunlight, transformations, and so on. So I really wanted to try and get those things right, not only for an audience, but for me. Some of my favorite vampire films - like Interview with the Vampire - were really slick technically without being in your face. It was tough to do some of those classic elements and keep them looking good, but also to keep the show from coming to a halt so we could say, "Oooh - look at THIS!!"

I also think it was important that the film be played straight. This could have easily become camp, and I was trying to maintain that old-fashioned, Hammer Horror type of melodrama.

SV: Vampire entertainment is obviously everywhere these days. What makes Shadowland stand out from other undead entertainment?

WYATT: The care that we put into it. The richness of character development. The willingness to break with studio standards and do something different. The fact that we did this at a high level of quality while so far outside of Hollywood. And all for the cost of what a Hollywood film would spend on craft service.

SV: You have several upcoming events to help promote the Shadowland DVD release. Feel free to plug some of your appearances here so fans can have a chance to meet you and the cast.

WYATT: Oh gosh, let's see...we are having a release party on the day that the DVD hits the streets, November 30th. That will be here in St. Louis, and we are inviting the public to come out and see us. We will have DVDs for sale, and they can meet the cast and crew. We will announce our location for that on Shadowland's Facebook page (facebook.com/ShadowlandTheMovie), as well as in the "Events" section on our website, www.ShadowlandTheMovie.com.

On Saturday, December 4th we will be making an appearance at Family Video in Springfield, Illinois, from 3pm to 7pm. Caitlin will be there, signing autographs and taking pictures. We'll have our big vampire wings there as well, so you can pose with those. More details for that are on the Events page on our website.

You can also reference the website for the info on Midwinter, a vampire and LARPing convention in Wisconsin in January. Producer Gayle Gallager and I will be there with wings, DVDs, and a screening of the movie.

The DVD can also be pre-ordered now on our website.

SV: Thanks so much for joining me at Suburban Vampire, Wyatt. Best wishes for you and Shadowland.

WYATT: Thanks for the opportunity to talk. I never get tired of talking about my movie!

CONTEST RULES:
Pirate Pictures is offering a Shadowland DVD to two (2) Suburban Vampire winners.  The contest is only open to U.S., Canadian, and UK residents.

For your chance to win, head to the comments section and tell us which aspect of Shadowland most intrigues you (The amnesia?  The wings?  The actors?--whatever your reasons for wanting to see this film.).  I'll randomly pull two winning names from the entries.

DEADLINE: Tuesday, November 30, 2010 (the date of Shadowland's DVD release!)