the scenes between Narain and Reg
Jameson. I realized early on that Reg
had to be someone more than just a
nemesis for Narain. And they have a
curious dynamic because of that.
Actually, I really liked writing for a
character that appears in the second
book and goes throughout the next
three (he’s featured prominently in the
fourth which is a prequel of sorts) and
in the spinoff novel. I liked the storyline
I created for him so I wanted to explore
it. It concerns what a person might do
who becomes a vampire when perhaps
the inconveniences often times
outweigh the powers. Life changes
when a person becomes a vampire and
there are things to deal with physically,
emotionally and mentally. Through his
life his fortunes have risen and fallen.
How does his character deal with those
inconveniences when his fortunes are at
a low? Narain had that issue too but
then he met Sophie who helped him in
many ways. With Sophie gone, Narain
now finds himself having to figure out
how to deal with what he is without
losing that sense of normalcy that
Sophie helped him acquire.
MAER: If you had to pick a color to
describe Narain what would that be and
why?
Page 29
LAURA: I think purple would be a
good color for him. Depending on the
shade it can be fun and playful or solid
and grounding. It can also be strong
and imposing, yet warm. Narain has a
fun personality and is often playful.
Gregarious. Yet, he knows the dangers
of what he is. So often he can come off
as severe and imposing when the reality
of what he is rears its head. In some
respects that’s his challenge: Finding a
balance with who he was (and in some
respects still is) and what he’s become.
MAER: Who are your favorite authors
to read?
LAURA: I always find the concept of
favorites difficult to define because it
often depends on the mood I’m in. I
can say this: Reading Albert Payson
Terhune’s “Dogs of Sunnybank” series
when I was a kid made me fall in love
with
reading.
Reading
The
Autobiography of Frederick Douglass
in second grade made me appreciate
how inspiring biographies can be.
Reading the collected short stories of
Edgar Allan Poe made me realize the
power of horror while The Invisible
Man by H.G. Welles got me hooked on
science fiction. “The Dragon Riders of
Pern” series by Anne McCaffrey made
me fall in love with fantasy. Piers
Anthony’s “Xanth” series is the first
series I collected obsessively (though I
fell behind I think somewhere around
the 1000th book). Interview with the
Vampire by Anne Rice turned me onto
the possibility of vampire stories. Harry
Harrison’s “Stainless Steel Rat” series
and Douglas Adams’ “Hitchhiker’s
Guide” series are the series that really
made me appreciate the mix of science
fiction and comedy. More recently, The
Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel
Wilkerson reminded me just how vital
well told history can be. And Sarum by
Edward Rutherfurd and later the books
of Ken Follett made me realize how
entertaining history could be in fiction.
You get the idea.
MAER: I can definitely sympathize
with the mood thing.
Can you share
a bit about the project you’re working
on now?
LAURA: One could argue that the
marketing of To Touch the Sun is a
current project. That’s the thing about
writing. Penning the novel is only half