Suzy McKee Charnas - Vampire Tapestry
same choice he's always made -- to retreat into his long sleep rather than try to complete the change into being a real human being, emotionally and behaviorally. This really is the story of his life, as it shapes up every time he wakes up and launches himself into our world again; so there's no point writing it over again, because we know how it (always) comes out. His fear of choosing the drastic change of attempting to really join humanity is his fatal flaw, and his inescapable tragedy. If another story about him comes to mind, I'd be happy to revisit the old beast; I enjoy his intelligence, his furtive attraction to his prey, and his ruthlessness. He's good company -- on the page, that is.
Will you write any more Vampire stories, or is it a subject that you are done with?
Again, there's no telling. I feel done with it at the moment, but that was what I thought when I finished writing the novel and yet another book and a short story came later.
What do you think is behind the overwhelming popularity of the Vampire?
From a very few vampire novels when VAMPIRE TAPESTRY was published in 1980, we are now inundated. Anne Rice made a bundle on them; Steve King's SALEM'S LOT is still in print. Writers know that a vampire novel that attracts attention will often stay in print, making money, for decades, and may even be bought for the movies. And there's a huge readership out there that's always looking for a good vampire read. So there's a strong commercial incentive from the authorial point of view. As for why these stories are so popular among readers, that's mysterious and probably very complex. I think that vampire tales started out as plain thrillers -- here comes the monster, but we shall prevail! -- and cautionary tales: yes, death is horrible and nobody can convincingly explain the God who supposedly loves us has built death into every single one of us, but *look*, this is what happens when you fly in the face of divine will and insist on living past your allotted span! It's awful, it's lonesome and tortured, it's being hunted down by decent folk everywhere, and you end up going to Hell for it! When that got done to death, writers began looking at things from the vampires' point of view for a change.
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