Derek Gunn didn't reinvent the vampire novel. Instead he stripped it back to its roots, in the process tearing away the pretensions other writers have used to humanize the fabled bloodsucking monster. His books are not comforting paranormal romances; they are violent and visceral supernatural thrillers.
Derek Gunn has fashioned a bleak (is there a happy?) post-apocalyptic world where the depletion of the global oil supply has led to economic ruin, followed by the stagnation of technology. Modern society collapses into tribal fiefdoms. But the challenge of trying to survive under these conditions is trivial compared to the terror when vampires make their appearance. Since antiquity, vampires have bided their time hiding in the margins and cracks of civilization. Now vampires emerge into the chaos to enslave humanity and take their place at the top of the food chain.
Vampire Apocalypse: Decent Into Chaos (Black Death Books) is the second installment in Gunn's Vampire Apocalypse trilogy. Humanity is in retreat after near annihilation by the vampires. The young and impetuous Peter Harris gathers remnants of the human army and enlists seasoned vampire hunters for a desperate counterattack against their undead overlords. The vampires seem all powerful but even they have mortal weaknesses. Behind the monolithic façade of the victorious vampire forces, dissent and rivalries threaten to plunge the vampires into civil war as the factions compete for human blood and scarce resources. The story is an intense battle of human against vampire, vampire against vampire, and even human against human. Every author introduces a unique take on the vampire mythos and Gunn uses the concepts of anti-vampire bullets coated with a special substance and thralls--humans infected by vampires but not yet completely undead. Thralls provide the cannon fodder in the vampire campaign against humans.
While his vampires are thoroughly evil, Gunn's humans are not angels. They're complicated characters with separate, often conflicting motives and agendas, which add richness and texture to the plot. The narrative provides plenty of surprises. The hero, Peter Harris, struggles to keep his band together while they escape one trap after another in their quest to destroy the vampires.
Gunn learned about vampires from Saturday night horror movies shown on the BBC. His fascination with fantasy and the supernatural led him to pursue creative writing with an emphasis of thriller over horror. When asked about his writing style, Gunn explained that he doesn't write a detailed outline but has a clear idea of the story direction and ending. He admits being pleasantly surprised by the turns in the story when he puts his thoughts to paper. Gunn's literary influences include an eclectic assortment of masterful writers: Steven King, James Herbert, Graham Masterton, Robert Ludlum, Clive Cussler, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. On his journey to getting published, Gunn's traveled the frustrating, lonely road we writers know too well as he's collected his share of rejection letters. And his perseverance has paid off. His success as a writer has yielded the publication of three novels and a movie deal for A Word Torn Asunder, the first book in the Vampire Apocalypse series, with producer Robert Lawrence (Die Hard: With a Vengeance, Clueless).
Gunn listed his two favorite thrills at getting published as: holding the first copy of the published book, and seeing his book on the shelf of a bookstore. When his friends discover that Gunn writes vampire novels, they laugh and think of him as a little strange (no doubt having a movie deal mitigates much of that strangeness).
Book three of the series, Fallout, is due in 2009. Gunn is at work on a stand-alone novel, The Estuary, a zombie thriller. He lives and writes in Ireland. He works as a networks specialist in a multinational company and is married with three children. Visit his website at http://www.DerekGunn.com
Mario Acevedo is a member of ITW and the author of the Felix Gomez vampire detective series from Eos HarperCollins. Coming March 2009, the next Gomez vampire adventure: JAILBAIT ZOMBIE. Mario lives and writes in Denver, Colorado. http://www.marioacevedo.com
