Nolene-Patricia Dougan A native of Ireland and author of several works in horror fiction, Nolene-Patricia Dougan has been called the new Anne Rice by the Californian Chronicle. Born on April 13, 1977 in Belfast, County Down, Nolene later moved to the townland of Ravara, where she draws inspiration from the isolated rural landscape that surrounds. Here, Nolene talks to Chris High.

Where did the idea for Vrolok come from?
When I was 15, I went to see Bram Stoker's Dracula with Gary Oldman. The start of the film shows Vlad the Impaler battling the Turks…His wife is so afraid of a Turkish Invasion that she throws herself from the battlements of the castle. I became fascinated by this epic romantic tale and started to do my own research into these characters. That is where the idea for Vrolok came from.

This is a book about transition and growth. Were these intentional themes that you wished to follow? What made you write the book in this way?
I started the book when I was about 15 or 16 and picked it up sporadically over the next 10 years. I suppose the characters grew and developed as I did.

Isabella is a multi-faceted character. How difficult was she to create?
Isabella's character was not that difficult to create. As I started writing, she took on a life of her own. I would say there is a lot of me in her–I don't go around biting people, don't worry! She is stubborn, quick-tempered, and very independent, which are qualities that unfortunately I possess. I also think I was heavily influenced by some of the great female characters in literature. Catherine Earnshaw from Wuthering Heights, for example.

How much research time did you put into the story, and where did the material come from?
I researched quite a lot of the characters. I did use the Internet, but it was usually only a starting point. I would find a historical character that I liked or [that] fit the story, and then I would read as many books as I could on a particular character. For example, I was fascinated by the story of Joseph Kavanagh, an Irishman who was present at the storming of the Bastille. His job was to basically incite the mob and whip them up into a frenzy so that [they] would in fact storm the Bastille. He also was a major figure in quite a few of the most bloody events during the revolution, including the September massacres, but unlike most of the others who took part in these atrocities, he was not punished when the revolution was over and simply disappeared. I love little historical mysteries like this, and with each historical character that I wrote about I wanted to solve each little mystery so that lovers of historical fiction would appreciate the book as well.

You have also started www.spinetinglers.co.uk How did that come about?
It is very hard to be a writer these days, and most publishers and agents will not talk to you unless you have a proven record. I wanted to start up a site dedicated to dark fiction that would help writers get their work read and assessed by their peers and also give them something to write on their proposal letter.

I believe that there was a little bit of trouble when you launched the site initially.
There was. The site was hacked by a Turkish extremist group three times in the space of weeks…. When I looked into their background, they seemed to be targeting sites run by women and also sites that they considered occult, which I suppose they believed Spinetinglers was. It was very disheartening to have the site crash so many times, especially as we were getting a very high hit rate. The site was launched on 6 June 2006–a good day to launch a site dedicated to all things dark fiction–and has had 2.5 million hits so far.

What do you hope to achieve with the site, and how can visitors contribute?
Spinetinglers has two competitions: a monthly short story competition and a Book of the Year award. We want Spinetinglers to be a site where authors can be heard by readers and writers alike…With its growing readership, hopefully it will be a site which will launch the careers of some of the future stars of dark fiction. We also hope to develop it into a print magazine next year.

You were chosen to be the face of the World of Women Exhibition in 2003. What did that entail?
My sister, Jo-Anne, is a jewellery designer and had designed a fabulous ruby necklace. She needed someone to model it. I got my picture taken and I thought that would be the end of that. Suddenly, my face was everywhere–in newspapers and magazines. I was going into work, and people were asking me if I was a model. I am definitely not! I was officially chosen to be the face of the World of Women exhibition soon after, which meant more pictures and a TV appearance or two. That is the last time I do a favour for my sister!

What is your usual writing day like? Can you give any tips to aspiring authors?
I usually try to write a couple of pages a day, and then I spend the rest of the day researching what I am writing about. I also try to read as much as I can. I alternate between a contemporary novel and gothic literature. I love anything written in the 19th century, anything from Arthur Conan Doyle to Mary Shelley.

What's next for Nolene-Patricia Dougan?
Well, I am working hard to develop Spinetinglers into a print magazine, which should happen next year. I am also working on the prequel to Vrolok as well as a short story anthology. I also want to write a contemporary tale set in Northern Ireland, which is where I grew up. So I suspect I am going to be very busy for the next few months.

C. H Chris High - Author Multi-media Promotion Service www.chrishigh.com

More information can be found at www.vrolok.co.uk

Vrolok