Lost studies the magnificent palace with crimson eyes as she approaches. The half-elven vampire’s short silver hair is neatly brushed, and she is swathed in an enormous ball gown. The ungainly skirt nearly conceals the fact that she is barefoot and telekinetically hovering at times. A reanimated bunny peers over her shoulder. Lost speaks to it in a painfully polite voice. “We must be on our best behavior, Bunny.”
Character Questions
Are there any fantastic beasts where you live?
Only if you’re not from here. We have vampires, dragons, fairies, elves, orcs, mermaids, griffins, goblins, undead, gods, humans, dwarves, halflings… Mom says I shouldn’t list everything we have in Windemere. To us, these are fairly common beasts, so we only get surprised by them if they’re trying to eat us. For a tourist, I can see how they would be fantastical. I’d be the same way if I visited another world. All in the nose of the beholder.
If you encounter a dragon, what should you do?
That really depends on what species. A Weapon Dragon is always mean, so best to run, fight, or shake your finger at it until it leaves in shame. I assure you that the third option is bound to work one day. The natural dragons are friendlier as long as you aren’t a threat and they’re not jerks. I met a Kelynmire Dragon who was really nice even though he smelled like sour gas, but one day I got in a fight with a Sirynian Dragon. She didn’t like how I chipped a little off her icy wings to cool my drink. What was the question again?
What is your magical weapon of choice?
I’m glad you asked because being able to protect yourself is very important. Danger lurks around every window. The shadows watch your every move and not only because my friend Mab has that power. As a Dawn Fang vampire, I’m very strong and I have powers that make weapons fairly unnecessary. Still, you never known, so I have my bunny. His name is Bunny for obvious reasons. He can eat anything and flies almost as fast as a griffin. My little pet has the sharpest of teeth and can blast through objects if he builds up enough speed. Bunny has saved my life many times and I pay him in tomatoes.
Author Questions
Who would be your ideal reader?
I know many authors try to narrow down an age range for ideal readers, but I’ve had trouble doing that. My books are definitely difficult reads for kids under 12 unless they are advanced and mature readers. So, I focus my aim more on what a person is looking for when they pick up a book. My goal is to give people a sense of escape from reality and help them relax. If you haven’t read a fantasy book before and want to give it a try then I think my books would be a nice fit. They have a lot of magic and action, but they are very character driven, which can appeal to those who have never tried the genre before. I guess my rambling boils down to writing for the casual, escapist reader.
How much do you plan ahead of time?
I create character biographies to get a general idea of what my main heroes and villains look like and how they act. It focuses on appearance, relations to other characters, weaponry, history, and where I want them to go in the story. Personality is one line that is fairly vague. I make outlines that are broken into chapter sections, which have the basic purpose and goal. Key items, spells, locations, and events are fleshed out to before I start writing. Sometimes, I treat all of this as my real first draft because I edit it all at least once like a real book. Then, I settle in for writing and see what sticks and what gets tossed away. Outlines tend to be adjusted as I go and I always have to rewrite the one for the next book since I set up the whole series early on. This is fine because I see my planning as a skeleton and the writing is me adding the organs to my creation.
Are your books self-published or traditionally published? Why?
I am entirely self-published through Amazon. The reason is because I spent 10 years trying to get published traditionally. It was disheartening to get ignored, form letter rejections, or told that I needed to get a fan following before I could get published. That last one was the confusing response that had me consider self-publishing. I was becoming a stay-at-home parent to help my special needs son, so I thought it was a great time to try for the dream on my own terms. These days, it’s much harder to get any attention for my books without spending a lot of money, but I still think it was the right choice. I prefer to have all this control even though I’m much more of an author than a businessman. As one friend put it, I’m great at creating stories, but I mentally turn off when I need to sell myself.
War of Nytefall: Lost
As the Vampire Civil War of Windemere rages on in the shadows, a mysterious girl appears to deliver mayhem to both sides.
Rumors of old-world vampires disappearing and mortals being attacked by an army of humanoid monsters have reached Clyde’s ears. Still learning how to rule the city of Nytefall as a strong, but fair leader instead of a vicious warlord, the former thief assumes he has rogue agents on his hands. Instead, his people stumble upon Lost, a teenage Dawn Fang looking for her father and aided by a decrepit bunny that might be an animated corpse. Bounding from one side of the Vampire Civil War to another, this carefree girl will turn out to be more trouble than she looks as all of the demons of her past emerge to get what they have been promised. Yet, her chaotic actions are nothing compared to the secret of her creation, which will change the very fabric of the Dawn Fangs’ world.
It is time for the womb-born to be revealed.
The Author
Charles Yallowitz was born and raised on Long Island, NY, but he has spent most of his life wandering his own imagination in a blissful haze. Occasionally, he would return from this world for the necessities such as food, showers, and Saturday morning cartoons. One day he returned from his imagination and decided he would share his stories with the world. After spending many years fiddling with his thoughts and notebooks, he decided that it was time to follow his dream of being a fantasy author. So, locked within the house with only pizza and seltzer to sustain him, Charles brings you tales from the world of Windemere. He looks forward to sharing all of his stories with you and drawing you into a world of magic.
A reanimated killer bunny sidekick . . . OMGosh, that’s the best sidekick ever.
Isn’t it?
Thanks. Bunny is one of my favorite parts about Lost.
“Beware the Reanimated Bunny of Windemere.” I think that’s a lesson for our time.
Seriously, I found this a fun and intriguing introduction to *War of Nytefall: Lost*. It sounds like a fun book.
By the way, if you ever figure out how to follow the publisher’s suggestion of getting a fan base before getting published, let me and the rest of the world know. I think I’d be more likely to scare away a Weapon Dragon by shaking my finger at it than figuring that one out.
Having the fan base first seems like such an arbitrary barrier, doesn’t it? The fan base comes from the books (or other art) and without them there is nothing for fans to engage with.
I’ve been trying to figure out the trick to that one for about 20 years. Starting to think it’s an impossible task designed to weed people out. I mean, you need an audience to get published, but you need to be published to get an audience. If you publish first then companies can be upset that you’ve already put it out there, so it isn’t new. Lost makes so much more sense and she’s terrified of socs.
Great interview you guys. Getting the word out is such a chore, and there are any number of people willing to take your money in exchange for empty promises.
The response has been great so far, but how could it not be? Lost is such a fun character.
Sad, but true. 😦
Reblogged this on Legends of Windemere.
Terrific interview of both Lost and Charles. Thank you, Deby
It’s been really fun to do this.