Karen Essex - Interview and Contest

Today is a special treat for PVN readers. Bestselling author Karen Essex is here to talk about her wonderful new book Dracula In Love (Doubleday, August 10, 2010), a story told by Mina Harker about the centuries old romance she has shared with a remarkable man, and the hard choices she has had to make over the years. Karen is also the author of the National Bestseller Leonardo's Swans.

Look for contest details at the end of the post.

Hi Karen and welcome!

What led you to the idea of writing a novel centered on Mina and Dracula?

Ideas for novels are mysterious things having many threads that coalesce.  I have always loved Bram Stoker’s Dracula, mythology, vampires, and interesting female characters, especially those who have been misrepresented in the historical record. I am also intrigued by iconic literary characters like Mina Harker, characters who I believe were “underrepresented” because they were written through the lens of the period in which they were created, and without the benefit of a female perspective.

I believe that characters like Mina are as real, if not more real, in the popular imagination as actual historical figures, and that they, too, merit reexamination.  Stoker’s portrayals of Mina and Lucy Westenra, the “shadow” side of female sexuality, so perfectly fit the paradigm of good girl versus bad girl imposed on women, a paradigm that drives me nuts.  I couldn’t resist getting in there and trying to turn it on its head. 

How long have you had the idea to write Dracula in Love?

This idea came to me in September of 2006.  One day I was sitting in my office staring into space and I thought, hmm, what if I wrote the Dracula tale from Mina’s perspective?  It happened just like that.  I have absolutely no explanation for where the idea came from, but from the second it entered my mind, I knew I would write the book.

Is this your first foray into paranormal fiction? What attracts you to this genre?

All my books are loaded with mythology, and I have long wanted to write a story with supernatural elements, especially something about vampires.  But when you are born and raised in New Orleans and adore Anne Rice’s books, and in fact, know Anne Rice and once adapted one of her books into a screenplay (The Mummy for James Cameron), it’s a tad intimidating to venture into her turf!  I had to wait for the right idea. 

I am also interested in metaphysics.  I think the most interesting dialogue of our time centers around the theories of quantum physics, which I believe will eventually close the gap between physics and metaphysics.  Remember the old Sting lyric, “We are spirits in a material world?”  That sums it up. I always wear crosses, not to protect myself from vampires, but to remind myself to live at the intersection between heaven and earth.  My spiritual life is very important to me.

What is your view on reincarnation?

I believe in the immortality of the soul; that consciousness is eternal.  I believe in some form of reincarnation, but it is probably not as simple as we imagine.  I often hear people say things like, “Oh, I was Julius Caesar in a previous lifetime, and this other person was my stable boy, and that’s why he’s intimidated by me.”  I find that kind of thinking very simplistic, but I also do not see why we cannot project or focus our infinite consciousness into many different physical beings throughout the flow of time (which we all know is just an illusion anyway).

What research did you do for the Victorian background of this book?

Well, I moved to London and got a flat in a neighborhood that was developed in 1890, the year the book takes place.  How’s that for commitment?  I wanted to breathe in the atmosphere as I wrote. I thought that this kind of sensual vivid book demanded it.  I made my usual substantive study of the era, reading as many documents as possible from the period and studying the art, culture, design, sexual and social mores, religious beliefs, customs, and laws concerning the rights, or lack thereof, of women.  Victorian culture is very complex; it’s lush and extravagant, and restrained and contained, all at once. 

I almost never, ever, if I can help it, write about a place I haven’t been to, which is why I am happy that I wrote the book here in London, where much of the late Victorian period can still be seen.  I also traveled to southern Austria, which was Bram Stoker’s original choice for Dracula’s home before he settled on Transylvania.  I also went to Whitby where so much of the original was set, and to the west coast of Ireland, the birthplace of Stoker’s mother.  Strangely, I had set Sligo as Mina’s birthplace before I learned that Stoker’s mother was born there, and that he grew up hearing tales of ghost stories and Irish folklore. 

But for my taste, the most harrowing locations in my book are the treatment rooms of Victorian insane asylums.  I did a lot of research in the archives of these places, and I can assure the reader that my portrayal of those institutions are quite accurate. As far as I’m concerned, that’s where the real horror in the book takes place.

Kate Reed is such a terrific character. Please describe her to PVN readers, and tell why you decided to use her in this novel.

Ah, another bizarre coincidence!  I decided to create a character I named Julia Reed to be Mina’s old school chum, when I read in Stoker’s notes that he had toyed with including a character named Kate Reed who would be Mina’s friend.  I could not resist using the name, though we have no idea what Stoker might have done with “his” Kate.

My Kate is a lady journalist who is a foil to Mina.  Kate is an outspoken feminist, reflecting the dramatic changes that women were pushing for at that time.  She pokes and prods Mina to think beyond the social norms.  Readers are responding very strongly to Kate.  I think that she is a woman of her time but also someone modern readers can relate to.  Without women like Kate Reed, we would not be nearly as advanced in our present day thinking.  All that we take for granted now was earned with a heavy price by those types of women.

What is your writing day like? Where do you work? How do you write?

I ascribe to the “obsessive compulsive” style of delivering a book, which means that when I get into it, I almost don’t let it go until it’s done.  I know people who write a daily quota and then stop.  I cannot do that.  I wring it all out, and when there is no more, I quit.  Sometimes.  I don’t recommend this system, but it works for me.

Whether in Los Angeles or London, I write at home.  I like to get out of my environment and even find it stimulating, but unfortunately, in cafes and public places, people do talk to you, no matter how focused and busy you look.  So I get rather reclusive when I need to work.  It’s can be a lonely business if one is not careful.  On the other hand, some of the best and deepest conversations I have are with myself.  What that says about me, I’m not sure, but it’s the truth.


Karen, I believe this entire interview tells all of us what a very special person you are. Thank you for taking time to be here

CONTEST

One lucky reader will win a copy of Dracula In Love.

*To enter the contest simply ask Karen one question OR leave one pertinent comment - one chance


You may also:

"Like" Dracula in Love on Facebook  

*Link to this contest on any of the social network sites, including Twitter, or your own web page. Let me know the url:  One chance for each link.

*If you are a Google follower (see sidebar on right): One chance

*If you are a member of the PVN Facebook page: One chance

*If you are an email subscriber: One chance


Contest is open WORLWIDE! Contest ends August 20, 2010.

Karen's home page

Review of Dracula In Love