The Newfoundland Vampire - Charles O'Keefe

While I’m not usually the most profound person (and I don’t think the Material Girl is either) there is a line from a Madonna song that goes an unexamined life is not worth living and I have to agree with her. I think one of the best parts about being a creative person is the ability to look at your own life and imagine how it could have been different. What if you had gone out with that woman from residence instead of meeting someone online? What if you had taken that job out of town instead of playing it safe with one close by? What if vampires were real? What if you met one, would you want to be turned?

Obviously some questions can go more into fantasy that just what ifs but my point is that for me writing The Newfoundland Vampire wasn’t just an exploration of the vampire nature (along with some geeky fun, sex and plenty of action of course), it was also a journey down memory lane, with a twist. If you had the chance to make different choices, would you? For me I think my life could have turned out very different with different choices made and while in reality I can’t change the past, in a fantasy setting like my novel, I could do whatever I wanted.

I’m not saying I’m unhappy with my life but like most people I wonder, think about the road not taken. I think if a certain sexy redheaded vampire was real, I would have followed her anywhere. Aside from all this introspection, I also wanted to produce something using my imagination and be recognized for it, have people appreciate it and even make a little money.

Letting your imagination take off and bringing a story to life is a great thrill, one that couldn’t have happened without Kathy (my editor at Distinguished Press), friends, family and my own determination. Putting out a novel isn’t easy, it’s a labour of love but one for me that was well worth it in the end. Joseph, my alter ego and main character of the book, gets to do things I never will (as well as things I would never want to do). I wanted to express my feelings and ideas on topics both fun and serious, my love of Dungeons and Dragons, board games and Star Trek. The importance of helping others, helping the environment, being a vegetarian and caring for your family and friends is all in there too.

Writing this book was the best way I could think of to express my thoughts, feelings and my imaginary world. I hope you’ll spend some time there, it’s something I want to share with everyone and it’s a place where I hope you’ll have as much fun learning about as I did creating.

Oh and don’t worry, there’s more stories to come, book two should be out in November and book 3 is already written. Thanks for stopping by and I hope to hear from you sometime in the future.