A warm welcome to author Alex Beecroft joining us today to talk about new Riptide release “Sons of Devils”, book 1 in the Arising series.
Alex talks about the book being inspired by Dracula and their is a giveaway to participate in!
Welcome Alex 🙂
I’m not even going to pretend that Sons of Devils wasn’t directly inspired by Dracula. Why would I? Have you read Dracula? Even though it’s now a little outdated, it’s a genuinely enjoyable book, and at least half of it is brilliant.
Bram Stoker is a master of gothic atmosphere, and the part of the book set in Transylvania is to my mind breathlessly gripping and fascinating. When I first read the book, the predator/prey dynamic between Dracula and Jonathan Harker was erotic, and the Romanian setting was unfamiliar and interesting and capital R romantic. I wanted more.
But then the action shifts to England, thus – for me – losing the unfamiliarity and Romance. And with Jonathan Harker presumably dead any kind of erotic charge now fades for anyone who doesn’t like heterosexual pairings… And pretty much my interest in the novel falls off and is gone. No. I wanted to find out what happened to Jonathan. I wanted him to escape and travel through more of that fascinating setting, having interesting encounters and close scrapes until he either defeated Dracula or joined him.
It took me many years of chasing after other vampire novels and wondering why they didn’t deliver the same thrill to realize that it wasn’t the vampire part of Dracula that I was enjoying at all. Half of it was the intense relationship between two men, and half of it was the scenery. Without the setting, none of these other stories were as good. So it didn’t come as any surprise to me that when I began research into Wallachia I absolutely fell in love with the country. What a place! What a beautiful place.
But it did surprise me that it was a very different place than the Transylvania of Stoker’s story. I expected a bleakness in which not much had happened but trees growing and wolves howling, and in fact I discovered a country with roots that were splendid even before the Romans got there. A diverse country full of Dacians and Saxons and Romani, with ancient links to the Ottoman Empire. With lyrical and oddly affectionate folk stories – much softer and more humane than the Brothers’ Grimm stories – and nobles with iron hearts. Such a place! How come more people hadn’t used it as a setting already? I had to put that right.
As far as the intense relationship between two men went, I realized as I got older that a lot of the erotic charge of the vampire came from the Victorian sense that sexuality was something bad and wrong, whose lure was therefore evil – it was a sin whose wages were death. When I realized that, the charm wore off. I don’t want to be suggesting that two guys falling in love with each other was bad or wrong in any way. I don’t want to be perpetuating that whole bodice ripper thing whereby the innocent protagonist has to be forced to have the sex they secretly really want but can’t allow themselves to consent to. Rape culture. Blergh!
That’s not for me. My characters like to take responsibility for their own sexuality, thanks. So my gentlemen’s love for one another is a force of strength for them both, and my vampires are, as they originally were, monsters.
Basically, Sons of Devils is my version of what Dracula should have been, if only it had been written to suit me. I hope it will suit you too!
About Sons of Devils
British scholar Frank Carew is in Wallachia to study the magic generator on nobleman Radu Vacarescu’s land. There, his party is attacked by bandits and his friends are killed. Pursued by a vampiric figure, he flees to Radu’s castle for help.
Unfortunately, this is precisely where the vampires came from. If allowed, they would feed unchecked and spread their undeath across the whole Earth, but Radu maintains a shaky control over them and keeps them penned in his tiny corner of the country.
As Frank recovers from his assault, Radu finds himself falling for the young man. But loving Frank and not wanting to lose him leaves Radu vulnerable to his demons’ demands. Can he bear to let them feed on the man he loves? Or must he give in to their blackmail and set them free to feast on his entire country?
Now available:
About Alex Beecroft
Alex Beecroft is an English author best known for historical fiction, notably Age of Sail, featuring gay characters and romantic storylines. Her novels and shorter works include paranormal, fantasy, and contemporary fiction.
Beecroft won Linden Bay Romance’s (now Samhain Publishing) Starlight Writing Competition in 2007 with her first novel, Captain’s Surrender, making it her first published book. On the subject of writing gay romance, Beecroft has appeared in the Charleston City Paper, LA Weekly, the New Haven Advocate, the Baltimore City Paper, and The Other Paper. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association of the UK and an occasional reviewer for the blog Speak Its Name, which highlights historical gay fiction.
Alex was born in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and grew up in the wild countryside of the English Peak District. She lives with her husband and two children in a little village near Cambridge and tries to avoid being mistaken for a tourist.
Alex is only intermittently present in the real world. She has led a Saxon shield wall into battle, toiled as a Georgian kitchen maid, and recently taken up an 800-year-old form of English folk dance, but she still hasn’t learned to operate a mobile phone.
She is represented by Louise Fury of the L. Perkins Literary Agency.
Connect with Alex:
- Website: alexbeecroft.com
- Blog: alexbeecroft.com/blog
- Facebook: facebook.com/AlexBeecroftAuthor
- Twitter: @Alex_Beecroft
- Goodreads: goodreads.com/Alex_Beecroft
To celebrate the release of Sons of Devils, one lucky winner will receive a $10 Riptide credit and one ebook from Alex Beecroft’s backlist! Leave a comment with your contact info to enter the contest. Entries close at midnight, Eastern time, on March 18, 2017. Contest is NOT restricted to U.S. entries. Thanks for following the tour, and don’t forget to leave your contact info!
I’m still not well-versed in the Draculaverse (real or revised), though I’ve always been intrigued by the setting!
vitajex(At)Aol(dot)com
It is a great setting! It always surprised me that so few books use it, and even that Bram Stoker under used it. Thank you!
Congrats on the new book. I have always loved the whole erotic feeling that most vampire stories have as a background. The whole male male thing going on in most vampire stories is probably the reason I love that whole genre. I can’t wait to read this book.
heath0043 at gmail dot com
Thank you! But I should warn you that there isn’t much of an erotic emphasis in this one. It’s kind of the Jane Austen of m\m vampire novels 😉
Congrats and thanks for the post. The book and cover look great. I love your stories, especially ones like this, the historicals like False Colors and Capt’s Surrender.
– TheWrote [at] aol [dot] com
Thank you! Yes, I love history but I love fantasy as well, so things like this which are a mixture of both are my jam. I hope you enjoy it 🙂
I really like Gothic novel, Dracula is one of my favourites. I read a lot on the myth in the past, and have read several versions of the story since I first read Bram Stoker’s at fourteen (that was a long time ago… LOL). I love your books, and the particular perspective you give to your stories. so I’m looking forward to reading your version, Alex
susanaperez7140(at)Gmail(dot)com
Thanks Susana! Dracula’s a bit like Brideshead Revisited for me – they change locations and characters half way through and lose me as a result. I hope this one doesn’t do that!
Dracula was always my favorite monster in both print and film, especially old B&Ws. Congratulations of the new release and I look forward to reading it.
j DOT stonewright AT gmail DOT com
Thanks Judy! Yes, there are so many sexy vampires out there these days I felt it was time to take it back to its roots and try to make them monstrous again. I’m glad you approve.
congrats on the new release, it sounds intriguing
leetee2007(at)hotmail(dot)com
Thanks, Lee! I hope so. It starts off highly influenced by Dracula, but as with most of my stuff, it ends up pulling in Atlantis and flying carpets and other such stuff. Bram Stoker would roll in his grave.
Happy release day, Alex! Your post makes me realize that in the back of my head that I consider dracula and vampire differently though these two were basically the same creature. Right? Somehow I thought dracula as a more darker between the two.
Well anyways… now I’m intrigued by this version of Dracula from you. Looking forward to read it!
puspitorinid AT yahoo DOT com
Yes. I know what you mean – nowadays vampires are such a sexy staple that we’ve almost forgotten they were supposed to be horrific. Swimming against the current as always, I’ve tried to make monsters of them again. I don’t honestly see what’s so sexy about shambling corpses trying to get into your room to drink your blood. Thank you!
Thanks for the post. It’s a shame that a setting so rich in history & culture isn’t feature more often in books.
legacylandlisa(at)gmail(dot)com
It really is! I mean, I came for the vampires but I fell in love with the country, folklore and history. It seems like an amazing place. One of these days I hope to be able to visit 🙂
I’ve not read many vampire stories but I’ve watched a few movies and enjoyed the different variations I’ve seen.
humhumbum AT yahoo DOT com
Thanks! I don’t think you need to be familiar with vampire lore or anything to enjoy this. Probably better if you aren’t, in fact, then you won’t be continually comparing and contrasting 🙂
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I haven’t read Dracula, but I’d love to just for the part that got you thinking in this direction. Thank you for another wonderful post, and for someone who’s already got the book and wants to read it, you have me even more excited to read it!
caroaz [at] ymail [dot] com
I have the book, but , I don’t know when I’m going to read it