None were more prevalent back then than the original king of monsters...the vampire. Stephen King made us fall in love with the iconic Dracula story in his classic novel of small town vampire horror, Salem's Lot. Many copy cats were to follow. Anne Rice took a unique spin in her take on the sympathetic views of those glorious children of the night and their eons old bloody back history.
And in films, certainly. While John Carpenter brought us the teenage slasher film Halloween and the scifi horror remake The Thing, the 80s had plenty of bloodsucker classics like Fright Night, Near Dark, and some others. But for me, it was The Lost Boys. The cool young up and coming cast, the look and feel, and the soundtrack was pure 80s cheese and that's a good thing.
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Glenn: It’s like you said, man, the 80s offered so much for kids and teens. It was loud and colorful, neon and new. Even late-70s movies like Star Wars, Alien, and Jaws were still relatively new (or recent). MTV led a youth movement and brought rock stars into homes daily, hell, hourly. I knew I wanted to go back to that period in time and weave my own adventure in the midst of all that magic.
The vampire love story is nothing new, but I knew my story of Rocky and November would stand out if I made a few altercations to the vampire lore and placed it in the best beach town in the best era.
Also, I remember watching so much Unsolved Mysteries and 20/20 with my mom growing up that I had to use some of that paranoia in here. Those two shows more than any other really opened eyes to the amount of evil that lurks out there. I was able to tie some of that into the antagonist’s doings. I think that definitely gave the adults in the book another level of realness, which is what really digs you into the story.
Chris: One of the things I loved about this book was lots of 80s drops and references sprinkled quite liberally throughout. That must have been a lot of fun. Also, the location of Old Orchard Beach, Maine, is place you know well, I take it?
Glenn: Anyone that has read my books knows that I love pop culture references. It’s definitely a part of my voice. I need a soundtrack, I need my readers nodding along when they see, say, Duran, Duran, pop up before their eyes. 😉 It’s part of making YOU feel invested in what’s happening. That said, I often wonder if my references might alienate some of the younger horror readers out there. Lucky for us, the 80s seem pretty cool to kids right now.
As for OOB, man, that is my happy place. I don’t get there as much as I wish I could. I told my wife we’re retiring there and she says no, but I have a couple more decades to work on her. 😊 I know quite a bit about the it, but I did additional research for the book. I made up plenty of places, but there are quite a few accurate streets and areas. If you’ve never been there, make it your next (non-Covid) destination.
Chris: Having grown up in the 80s as a teen myself, you really captured what it was like being a teenager in that time. I found the young female love interest for Rocky rather intriguing. Where did you come up with the name November?
Glenn: November was the girl that lived next door to me when I was 5 or 6. She was my best friend and I remember thinking she was sooooo cool all the time. Probably had a crush on her, as much as a little kid can, but her name and that memory of her awesomeness has stuck with me my entire life. I wrote a song called “The Record Store” and the girl in that song was November. “She said her name was November, that’s a name I will always remember” and there’s a line a bit later that says, “Now I can’t get this girl out of my blood” A sly reference of what this girl might be. I certainly had USCA brewing in my head percolating in my brain well before I finally sat down to write it.
Chris: Finally, I've never been one of those who bashed the success of the teen heartthrob vampire series, Twilight (but have never read the books). You keep an element of young "coming of age" romance and make it both sweet and realistic, but keep the vampire element scary and original at the same time (leaving out spoilers). Was it a deliberate and conscious decision to add in a unique spin on a type of story that's been, pardon the pun, done to un-death?
Glenn: Not really. I never read the Twilight books, but I did see all the movies. They were very CW and I do remember one seen in the last movie where they have all these big characters getting killed, and I recall sitting up in my seat at the theater and thinking holy shit, that’s actually awesome….turns out it was just a character seeing a possible future. I thought, damn, that was the best scene from any of the flicks and they totally dropped the ball. Oh well.
It’s possible that moment might have been luring in my mind, too, but I never set out to correct some error. I only know how to write like me, so I just follow my brain where it wants to go. I did a bit of the sweet and innocent mixed with really horror in my last book (The Window), and I definitely went way dark on the horror in that one. While I love the book, it was a bit hard for some readers, so if anything, I know going into this one I did decide to put a soft cap on how hard the horror went. That said, I think it came out really well. By doing that “soft cap” I hope I opened the story up to any reader of any genre out there to enjoy. As a horror lover, I love how it turned out. It still has plenty of… bite.
Chris: Thanks, Glenn, for taking the time to answer these questions. Now everyone who hasn't yet, go grab this perfect summertime (or anytime) horror beach read! You can find his latest at bn.com and Amazon, available in hardcover, trade paperback and ebook from FlameTree Press. His previous books like THE WINDOW, THE HAUNTED HALLS, BECOMING, BLOOD AND RAIN, among others, come highly recommended! Go #GetRolfed!
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