Q & A with Susan Stec, Author of The Grateful Undead: They're So Vein

Author Carlyle Clark

Susan Stec is a longtime member of TheNextBigWriter. She is a Top 10 Reviewer and has been writing and refining her novel, The Grateful Unead: They're So Vein as a member of the site. The book was recently published by Black Matrix Publishing, LLC. As Susan will elaborate, They're So Vein is far from your ordinary vampire tale.

1. Tell us a bit about The Grateful Undead: They're So Vein

Well I should probably say right out that They're So Vein is NOT your teenaged daughter's vampire story. It starts out when a cheeky, potty-mouthed tyke takes a bite out of the protagonist, Susan, in a public bathroom and goes home with newly acquired fangs and a body to die for. Her family of non-estrogen producing women takes one look at her and a domino effect quickly ensues, leaving only one member who doesn't want to die for a tight butt and perky boobs, the sole voice of reason. The women soon find out feedin' ain't easy when they're forced to turn to dime-store literature for answers.

Susan's Bible-toting sister, JoAnn, inadvertently turns a raccoon into a ‘vampoon’—talk about screwing up the whole eco-system. PETA would be so pissed. And her vamped-out eighty-three-year old mother, mixing blood with pleasure, begins to seize, with gusto, the moments she'd missed in her sexually-deficient life. Problem is she loses a few good men along the way. Their antics get the attention of the almighty vampire council and a wolf is sent with a warning. He looks real hot after he shifts, naked and all, which is probably why no one listens to the Were's threats.

2. Where did the inspiration come from?

I came up with the idea after a humorous dream in which my crazy family of women were turned into vampires. After I stopped laughing, I sat at the computer and figured if I could write the book, they really would be immortal. Once I cut the girls loose in my world, there was no dragging them back out again.

3. Tell us about your path to publication.

After the tedious and bumpy road of developing a good query, I thought I was ready and began the process by contacting agents. After a lot of rejections I queried publishers and got quite a few more. That's when I jumped on the net and started following agents and editors on twitter, and their personal blogs. At the time, all I heard were agents and editors saying, "If I have to read one more query with vampires or werewolves I'm gonna puke! Come on people! Can you say, 'original'?"

Sending out queries for another vampire story during the 'Twilight' craze when the market was flooded with vampire books was not one of my smarter moves. In hindsight I should have done my research. Instead of giving up I put the book aside for a year and wrote two more in the series. Then I began to query again. Only this time I bypassed agents' and went right to small press. Black Matrix publishing offered me a contract about three months later. The novel was released in April 2011.

4. I love the cover, who thought of it?

Thank you. While my daughter Jeni and I take our daily walks, we bat ideas around and together we came up with the casket and legs idea. I did some artwork and sent it to my publisher who turned it over to his artist, Char Reed, and she worked her magic. Char also did the back cover.

5. What's next?

I'm thinking the second in the series will be released in 2012 and that will give me time to do the fourth while we wait to release the third in the series. At the moment, I've decided to take a break from my vamp-women and work on a middle-grade YA, also urban fantasy, with fairies.

6. How has TheNextBigWriter helped you?

Plain and simple, Sol, I would never have gotten where I am without my NBW family. They inspire, educate, support, and together we have made my work marketable—my dreams come true. If I listed everyone on the site that gave input, offered help with editing and content issues, brainstormed: title changes, book trailers, blog development, artwork, word count, marking, writing a query—I can go on and on—you'd run out of page room.

7. Anything else you would like to add?

It's been a pleasure developing my writing on your site. I've learned so much both personally and professionally. I thank you for the opportunity to share my experience and my book with your members.

Here are a few web sites where you can meet the characters, view the trailers, and find the book:

http://thegratefulundead.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Grateful-Undead-Theyre-So-Vein/113043665460273
http://www.amazon.com/Susan-Stec/e/B004H6YF7M

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