Cover Art by Alison Hunt

Here we are at the start of the War of Nytefall recollections.  Not sure what else to call it and my brain isn’t braining as well as it should.  Loyalty is what started the series that depicts the vampire civil war of Windemere and introduces readers to Clyde.  It would be a more action-oriented, darker humor series than my previous work as well as investigating the balance between monster and human.  So, what are the general details?

Clyde is a vampiric thief who has been caught stealing from the Sun God and is in the process of being executed by light magic.  The Great Cataclysm strikes at that moment, which buries him for 50 years.  He is dug out by his old partner Mab, which brings him back into the world of vampires.  Only difference now is that Clyde has been changed into a Dawn Fang, which makes him stronger.  He can also turn other vampires into Dawn Fangs.  He allies with his old friend Xavier Tempest and the true loyalty of friends are revealed to kick off the Dawn Fang vs Old World Vampire war.

A Dawn Fang is a vampire who has a heartbeat, can eat regular food, doesn’t have to kill when drinking blood, and can walk around in the sunlight.  They are faster, stronger, and each one has 3 abilities in a physical/mental/magical system.  Most of the vampire characters were originally ‘Vampire: The Masquerade’ characters, so I couldn’t pull myself away from that.  Some of the abilities acted as doors to more than 3 abilities and there were hints that at least one character had an extra.  Either way, the Dawn Fangs are extremely powerful compared to their predecessors and that gave me a lot to work with in battles.  I mean, they could really wail on each other and walk off injuries that would kill others.

A key point I kept trying to bring up in promos and on my blog was that the Dawn Fangs also had human emotions and needs.  They felt love and friendship and sadness.  I tried to make it clear that they weren’t monsters to the core.  Clyde’s whole thing was that he’s so powerful and has a rage ability, which makes him question if he will lose his humanity at some point.  That’s why he has Dawn Fangs live secretly among humans before they’re discovered.  His plan is to prove that they aren’t monsters since they are already there with no incidents.  Many of his kind continually prove that they aren’t monsters.  That’s why it was frustrating whenever I got comments from people saying ‘I liked your first series, but I don’t like vampires’.  War of Nytefall is about vampires, but not with them being the villains terrorizing humans.  It’s about the rise of a vampire nation that wishes to live in piece with mortals.

The hardest part of Loyalty was that I had to introduce 13 characters within the main and secondary cast.  It was a lot of juggling and struggling to give each one enough to get their purpose across.  Some were easier than others like the Vengeance Hounds (Titus, Bob, and Luthor) being a group, Lou the silent butler/bodyguard, and Gregorio the neutral mentor.  All of the others needed more solo time for interactions.  If not in this book then throughout the series.  This is why I had to comb over my outlines to make sure I used everyone or gave a reason for them being either absent or minimized during this specific adventure.

Would I change anything?  I would probably tighten up a few character introductions since I couldn’t push anyone back to another volume.  All of them needed an opinion on seeing the emergence of a new breed of vampire.  Since Clyde could turn Old World vampires into Dawn Fangs, he became a greater threat to those who refused to accept the change.  If I introduced a character later, they wouldn’t have a strong opinion because they weren’t there for the reveal and betrayals.  Maybe I would drag the drama out a little more over the course of the series too.  Guess I got a little impatient on some plotlines because I was juggling a lot.

Some fun questions:

1. Do you think vampires always have to be monstrous?
2. What would you do if you were betrayed?
3. Do you believe Clyde’s dream of Dawn Fangs and mortals living together in peace is realistic?