Literary Spotlight: Susan Goggins, aka Raven Hart

Susan Goggins, the real name of Raven Hart, has been a newspaper reporter, a speechwriter and technical writer. She wrote romances for Harlequin and Zebra and with the late Virginia Ellis, created the vampire series beginning with The Vampire’s Seduction and The Vampire’s Secret, which she is continuing on her own with Vampire’s Kiss, The Vampire’s Betrayal and the January release, The Vampire’s Revenge.

Q: Vampires are quite hot in literature and films today. Why are people drawn to this soul-challenged entity?

A: Vampires’ immortality, power, and beauty both seduce and fascinate us. We want to know whether the vampire character can rise above his or her nature and use their powers for good or evil. How much of their humanity—in terms of justice and mercy—can they retain? How much do they want to and why? As powerful as they are, we have something they have lost and often long for--They have been cut off from the grace of God, often through no fault of their own. And for that we can also pity them.

Q: There is about the horror of vampirism a sexual undertone: a sense of simultaneous repulsion/attraction. Why is this combination so alluring to readers and film goers?

A: Romantically speaking, vampires are the ultimate “bad boys.” Bad boys are those brooding, motorcycle-riding, rule-breaking males who are oh-so attractive but who you can’t take home to mom and dad. Vampires are the forbidden fruit whose danger is not just to our reputations, but to our very mortal lives and even our immortal souls. We who have a thing for the bad boys just love the men who make our heads say “no, no” and our hearts (and our various other body parts) say “yes, yes.”

Q: Who are some of your favorite contemporary authors of vamp lit? Why?

A: I love L.A. Banks’ Vampire Huntress series. That series has everything—an epic star-crossed love story, and incredibly rich and fascinating world, a hip urban vibe, plus lots of action and violence. I just love it.
I also love Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series for its intensity and pacing and sensuality. I adore Charlie Huston’s Joe Pitt vampire novels because of their gritty noir prose and great plots and characters. I admire the way he has re-imagined Manhattan and the boroughs of New York as parcels of territory in vampire gang warfare.

Q: Your vampire, e.g. Jack McShane, a sexy, blue-collar, NASCAR-loving vampire, varies from the stereotypical isolated Byronic- type character. What made you give your vampire an updated twist and how do readers relate?

A: Initially it was to create a lot of contrast with the series’ other main character, William Cuyler Thorne, who is the traditional Byronic type. Then Jack’s character just grew and grew until he took over the series. Even though he’s a working class guy, he’s really deep. He prefers NASCAR, but he knows a lot about the arts and literature. He’s quite a fan of Shakespeare, actually, and likens himself and his love interest, Connie, to Romeo and Juliet. Connie calls him “The Renaissance Redneck.” Judging by my email, Jack has quite a few fans. People seem to really relate to him.

Q: Why did you decide to do a vampire series?

A: I just adore vampires. Always have, every since I first read Interview with a Vampire, and was hooked for life. And then there was Buffy, and I along with millions of others, fell in love with Angel and Spike. I always thought that Spike was the greater hero because he had to fight against his evil nature first because of love and then because it was the right thing to do. He really had epic character growth through the long arc of that story.

Q: What kind of support/networking did you experience in being a member of the Georgia Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America?

A: I would never have gotten published without GRW. I met wonderful women who were generous enough to share their knowledge with me and encourage me. And through GRW I joined a series of critique groups whose members struggled along together and helped each other very step of the way to publication. Out of frustration, I wanted to quit a time or two along the way, but my critique group members literally wouldn’t let me. I remain grateful to them for not letting me give up.

Carlotta Holton is the author of Salem Pact and Touching The Dead, and is a member of the National Federation of Press Women and an affiliate member of the Horror Writers Association.

Carlotta Holton has just received her second award for Touching the Dead from the National Federation of Press Women Communications Contest. Click here to purchase the book.