Q&A: 'VampCon' Author; Book Premiere Tonight at Roslindale Library

Tonight join reluctant vampire, Jonathan Stoker, as he uncovers the truth in "VampCon" - the debut novel from local Roslindale writer Armand Inezian. The book release party is tonight at the Roslindale Library. Event starts at 6:30 p.m., with a reading beginning at 7 p.m. The event is free.

Inezian answered some questions from Roslindale Patch about his new book, vampires and more.

Patch: You live in Roslindale? For how long?

Inezian: My wife and I bought a small cape house on Florian Way in 2004. That's near the corner of Hyde Park Avenue and Neponset. Before that we lived in a small condo in Brighton. As we began to consider having a family, we knew that we would need more space than we could afford in Brighton, so we started looking in different neighborhoods, and eventually wound up here.

Patch: Is this your first book?

Inezian: VampCon is my first published book. Previous to VampCon, I had written a number of short stories and a short story collection reflecting my Armenian heritage which I self-published. But for all intents and purposes VampCon is my first first novel.

Patch: Your book features a "reluctant vampire" - what does that mean?

Inezian: The main character, Jonathan Stoker, was turned into a vampire against his will, and that forces him into a life of isolation. He misses his family, and various facets of being human (including booze). And he has little interest in vampire society.

Patch: Talk about the plot of the novel.

Inezian: Thanks for asking that question, because it lets me quote my favorite one-sentence synopsis of VampCon: “Jonathan Stoker, a reluctant vampire, must come to terms with his own dark side, and his responsibilities to his human son while fighting a conspiracy that holds the key to the creation, and possible extinction, of all vampires!”

In terms of tone, the book has more in common with shoot 'em up thrillers than recent romantic fare (like Twilight). In terms of plotting, I think the writer I am closest to is Patrick Lee who is the author of a trilogy of alien-technology books, but if you haven't heard of Patrick Lee, one recent Amazon commenter on VampCon said VampCon was like “True Blood meets X-Men”, and I thought that was a fair comparison.

Patch: Why do you think vampires are such a part of American popular culture?

Inezian: Vampires are great because they are thematic blank slates. They can stand for anything. If a vampire kills poor people, then he can be a stand-in for the rampant excesses of capitalism. If you focus on a vampire's need for blood, it can be a stand-in for drug addiction, and the list goes on. Additionally, purely from a writer's perspective, they're great to use as characters because they never have to anything boring, like file taxes, or mow their lawn or take bathroom breaks.

Patch: Where would a vampire hang out in Boston? How about Roslindale?

Inezian: Beacon Hill of course! Our vampire would be tucked away in one of those old family mansions that always have the blinds pulled down, but near enough to late night pedestrian traffic so that they can snatch a drunken victim after 3 a.m. If our vampire was in Roslindale, he would be in that large brick warehouse on the corner of Cummins Highway and Washington Street, across from Adams Park...

My own vampire - Jonathan Stoker - would feel more at home in one of those autobody shops off Hyde Park Ave. He's blue-collar like that.

Patch: Would you want to be a vampire?

Inezian: No, but I wouldn't mind becoming a wizard. Actually, I've often thought that one nice thing about being a vampire would be the amount of money you could save. Think about it: no rent, no food bills, and, well, you would probably save money on heat.

Patch: Tell us about your book opening/reading at the Roslindale Library tonight at 6:30 p.m.?

Inezian: Once I had a release date for my book, I contacted the library, and the Friends of the Roslindale Library were really wonderful about agreeing to host my book release party. We'll have some snacks and reading and a Q&A. If people want to come by, I'll be selling copies of VampCon for $10 (tax included). Part of the proceeds will go to the Friends of the Library. The event starts at 6:30 and I'll start reading at 7 p.m.

Patch: Where can you buy the book?

Inezian: Unfortunately, right now, the book is only available online. I say unfortunately because I like to support local bookstores when I can, but Greyhart Press, my publisher, is based in the UK and does not have a US distributor except for Amazon. You can get print editions and Kindle editions from Amazon.com, and if you have a Nook, iPad or Kobo reader, you can get ePub editions online, at either Smashwords.com or Diesel Books. I will also be selling the book by hand at the release party and at Rhode Island ComicCon (On Nov. 3).

Patch: Anything else you'd like to share about the book, yourself, etc.?

Inezian: If people want to find out a little more about me, they can link to my blog at Inezian.com, and I also want to encourage any avid readers to friend me on Goodreads.com, which is a fun social app. It's kind of like FaceBook, but for people who like to talk about books. I log into Goodreads almost daily.