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Feb162010
Guest Author: From Student of History to Writer of Fake History by Sarah Jane Stratford
by Carolyn • Posted in Guest Author
Today I have the pleasure of welcoming Sarah Jane Stratford. Sarah Jane received a master’s in medieval history from York University in England and now lives in New York. She is the author of The Midnight Guardian, which is her first novel.
So, please give a warm welcome to Sarah Jane…
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From Student of History to Writer of Fake History
When I’m asked how I got the idea to write a book about vampires fighting Nazis, the most honest answer is that I didn’t – the idea got me. Since that has an embarrassing tendency to come across as a lot more pretentious/fatuous/ridiculous than I’d like, I try to go the deeper, but more meandering, route to answer properly.
I’ve always loved stories – fiction and non, reading and telling. I ended up a history student because it meant I could spend most of my time delving true stories (or someone’s idea of truth, anyway), when I wasn’t writing fanciful stuff of my own. Then I became enchanted with the idea of studying history in a place where a lot of recorded history had happened, so I went to the University of York (the UK one) and wrote a thesis on women in the middle ages, which cured me of any romanticism I might have still possessed regarding long-gone eras. Time travel only looks fantastic if you have a TARDIS (and David Tennant, but I digress).
The thesis also cured me of any interest in academia beyond the academic. For me, the only logical course left after gaining a degree in history was to write fake history. I started by writing a screenplay called ‘The Tale of the Torturer’s Daughter,’ a comedy set in medieval England with a plot about torture, romance, and good hair. To be fair, I think that was less influenced by my love of history than my love for ‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail.’
Although I’m obsessed with stories and events, when it comes to my work, it’s always about the character first. Brigit, my vampire heroine, is the strongest I’ve worked with thus far, so in a way it’s not surprising that we’ve had such an incredible journey. Rather, the surprise was how completely she came to me. There she was, this British vampire, trying to escape Germany via train in the early days of World War II. Why was she there? What was going on? And how on earth did I start writing about wartime vampires? Brigit answered the first two questions for me very quickly. As for the last, I put it down to two things. One is a fascination with resistance movements and the stories inherent to war. They are dark and terrible but often full of inspiration and can show the polar opposite of humanity’s capacity in goodness and evil. And since vampires are traditionally considered the exemplar of evil, it made sense to introduce them into this history and see what happened when they were juxtaposed against the definitive evil of the Nazis. I suspect none of that would have happened in my head were it not for the second influence of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer.’
Part of what I loved about ‘Buffy,’ besides the brilliant writing, was that it was so respectful of history and research. It used traditional vampire lore as a basis for building a newer, deeper, more textured and exciting mythology. And the characters were continually looking to the records of the past to help them defeat evil in the present. ‘Buffy’ reinvigorated my slightly dormant passion for intelligent fantasy and science fiction. I’m pretty sure I would not have found the inspiration to mix fantasy and history so boldly were it not for ‘Buffy.’
Much though I (mostly) love research, I have found that it’s best to write the story first and then go back and study aspects of each given period for accuracy and depth. I always find I have to be careful when it comes to research. That is, the recovering historian in me gets obsessed with details that, in the scheme of things, are not very important. I want to know exactly what was where and how it looked and while I think that’s valuable, it means I can end up spending months buried in research, having a lovely time but not actually writing. As they say on Twitter: #FAIL. When it came to ‘The Midnight Guardian,’ I sometimes forgot that I was writing fiction and fantasy and that the needs of each must be paramount. Finally, I gave myself a sound talking-to and never looked back. It was all about trusting the characters and letting them guide me to the truth of their story. Ultimately, that’s the only thing that matters.
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The Midnight Guardian
Sarah Jane Stratford
St Martin’s Press
13 October 2009
Summary
Although it is not the vampire way to interfere with human politics, they remember the destruction of the first World War. Their food supply was badly depleted, leading to a vampire famine, and a devastating vampire war. When London’s vampire tribunal senses that Hitler is paving the way for another human war, they are determined to break the spine of the Nazis before much more damage is done. But as they delve deep into Hitler’s war machine, they discover that the Nazis are more monstrous than they ever imagined, and that they are more encumbered by their inhumanity than they ever thought.
A vampire saga in the tradition of “The Vampire Chronicles”, the debut title in this exciting new series follows the beautiful and cunning Brigit’s attempt to escape from the continent and return to her long-time lover Eamon in London, while shepherding out dangerous cargo that is the only hope of salvaging their mission. As Brigit, a millennial vampire, over a thousand-years old and possessed of special powers earned by age, hurls toward her destiny on a Reich train, she is tailed by vampire hunters and Nazi officers out to destroy her. Her soul’s eternal love waits for her across the channel, and she’ll need his strength and the strains of humanity yet alive inside her if she’s ever to find her way back home.
9 Comments
Interesting take on vampire fiction!
I've got an MA in US History, love it, teach it, but am definitely not creative enough to write fake history.
Great guest post!
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I adore history! Vamps vs. Nazis have got to be the most interesting premise I've heard in awhile. I cannot wait to read this one.
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Great post! I loved this book
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Great interview! I love history and vamps so for me this sounds like a great combination! I've had my eye on this book ever since I read prophecygirl's review =)
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This sounds like a great book. I'm a history major so I love history too. That's why I love Anne Rice's books. She combines historical elements with her paranormal characters. I will definitely be checking this one out. Great guest post!
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I've never heard of the book. Great post, very interesting.
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Thanks for stopping by everyone! I'm reading The Midnight Guardian right now and so far it's good! This is Sarah Jane's first novel so thanks for your support with this guest post!
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great post, I loved her comment about women in the mideval time period I love that period of hiistory even though it wasn't the best for women, I definetely going to pick this up
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Awesome post. I've become really interested in vampire lore lately. I'm taking a Victorian lit class and part of the focus is on the Gothic and vampires. So much fun and so interesting! Definitely going to be checking this book out!
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