PBR: Today we are talking with the renowned author Kane. Thank you for sharing some time with us to discuss your new book, Aleron.
Kane: It is mine as well as Aleron’s pleasure to talk about the beginning of his life as a vampire and choosing me to tell his tale.
PBR: I was very much impressed with your describing the thought process of your character, Aleron, as he becomes seduced into changing from human to a vampire. Your attention to detail and credibility is awesome. Tell us, how have you researched material for your book?
KANE: I’ve been a fan of vampires and other fantastical beings for as long as I can remember. I have watched and read many different tales of the undead and out of that entertainment was born a desire in me to reveal the true history of the vampire, or should I say the Strigoi. I began researching the origin of the vampire and various vampire folklore worldwide. Of course my journey began and ended with Eastern Europe, through the America’s, Africa, and Asia. However; simply reading about it wasn’t enough. My thirst had been awakened and I felt a need to feed it. So I decided to journey into the heart of the legend that is Vlad, in Brasov, Romania. From here I journeyed to Bucharest, and many other surrounding cities. Here I was able to marry my new found knowledge with the smell and feel of Transylvania. I submerged myself into an underworld of gothic culture emerging with enlightenment, for I too felt reborn.
PBR: What literary works of others have most influenced you?
Kane: I am quite fond and appreciative of the writings of Bram Stoker and Anne Rice, both of which has influenced me to reveal my story as it was shared with me by my new and only friend, Aleron.
PBR: Aleron is an epic achievement, how long has it taken you to write this story, and what else was going on in your life during the process?
Kane: ‘Aleron’ is a summation of willful submission to listen to the things that are often unheard and fourteen months of writing and rewriting. Just like everyone else, I had a life and loved ones to tend to. Therefore, my writing took place often times during late night and the wee hours of the morning. That is the time when the phone ceases to ring, the television becomes a blur, and all sound is absent. Music to a writer’s ears.
PBR: Perhaps a silly question, but what are some of your personal beliefs of the super-natural, paranormal or spirit world?
Kane: Before starting my research into the undead, I imagine my perception of those things were quite typical of our modern age. However, now I am certain of nothing. It seems I can no longer conclude that we are alone as the only intelligent beings on earth. There are indeed things that occur that we cannot see or even imagine. The little noises that wake you at night when you think you are alone; the feeling of paralysis when you desperately try to move your body after your mind has already awaken; the absolute feeling of experiencing something for a second time when you are sure you have never experienced it before are all signs of phenomena that we do not understand. And it is that ignorance that allows themto thrive.
PBR: In your opinion, how would you describe the perfect audience for your book, Aleron?
Kane: The perfect audience is any and everyone who enjoys a good book. And especially those who question what is real and what is fantasy.
PBR: What struck me as fascinating about writing a piece set in the 18th century is the lack of being able to reference terms, expressions and artifacts of modern day civilization – even needing to keep the vernacular to an appropriate time frame. What are some of the ways you go about placing yourself into the past for allowing your creative referencing of events and observations unique to that time period?
Kane: Very good query. Conveying time and place are essential in good writing. For a writer asks a reader to meet them in a place and time that the reader may or may not be familiar with. That is why we ask where and when. I studied ancient Romanian dialect, culture, and political and social struggles of that era. Everything we experience is constantly evolving, and so I had to turn back the hands of time so the reader can taste the environment and to tickle all the senses.
PBR: What are some of the awards or recognitions you have won on your work?
