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Karen Koehler - Slayer and Dragon's Blood


© Linda Suzane

When Karen Koehler couldn't interest any of the New York Publishers in her series of vampire novels, she took to the Net and self-publishing. The first book in the series: Slayer is offered as a free download, in a wide variety of formats from her site: http://www.khpindustries.com/covenhouse.... The paperback version is available from Xlibris for $19.54. http://www2.xlibris.com/bookstore/bookdi...

Her second book in the series: Slayer: Dragon's Blood is currently available as a free download from her site and will be available in paperback in 2002. Karen conceived of Alek Knight, a dhampir and vampire slayer, before the appearance of the movie Blade, which follows a sword wielding slayer, and her series certainly has no connection with Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. She admits to being influenced by Japanese Anime and role-playing games, but her stories, although they have the flavor of role-play, do not follow any official game dogma such as the Masquerade. She has created her own world of vampires and even has her own online role-playing game.

You can download her books on her web site The Covenhouse http://www.khpindustries.com/covenhouse.... At the Covenhouse, you can learn about upcoming books in the series, the characters, read short stories written by her and fans, and join her online role-playing game.

Karen said this about herself. "I'm a total New England girl, they say. My short stories and novels almost inevitably deal with urban legend and terror. Many readers find my work unsettling, disorienting or downright odd. But if you love rainy streets, the teeth ringing sound of swords clashing in the night, vampires, lost love, lost hope, redemption, conspiracies and dark fairy tales, you are certain to enjoy the Slayer novels."

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Karen, tell us more about yourself?

Well, I am 28 years old this year, and I wrote Slayer when I was 21, making me one of the youngest authors in America. I get a lot of surprise from fans when they meet me because of that. They think I'm the author's daughter, and I have to say, "No, no...I don't have any children. I don't have a husband or a life...I just write these bizarre stories."

Is Slayer your first book? What other stuff have you written?

Yes, Slayer was my very first novel but certainly not the last. I have another novel, Scarabus, emerging from Black Death Books in 2002, tentatively. Scarabus is a much slower narrative for me. It's a historical horror novel about a young Egyptian boy who is given almost godlike powers and his war against a cult of zealots. I am also working on two young adult series. One, The Books of

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