to the vampire. Of all the creatures of legend and lore, the vampire has always fascinated me, because what they represent is so unerringly, unforgivably human. They are the manifestations of our id, the promise of a world without consequence, without end. As a wise person once wrote: 'Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It's fun to be a vampire.'
Throughout my life, there has always been a vampire mythos to suit my life at that time. As a child, I had the Count from Sesame Street, and the legend of Dracula. As I moved into reading more grown-up fare, 'Salem's Lot was my true, brutal introduction to their kind. Then The Lost Boys made vampirism cooler than anything else on the planet. Anne Rice added the sexiness. As I got ready to leave home, Buffy was there, growing up alongside me.
As I started fussing around the idea that I wanted to be a writer, the first idea that came to me was a vampire story. I started writing it at the age of 19, and it was my first foray into something more than the short stories and abandoned screenplays that I had written to that point. It was about a vampire called Adam, a daywalker born in the midst of his mother's turning, a story that opened in the hospital with his birth.
I was maybe three chapters into writing it when I heard about a cool new vampire comic book movie coming out at the cinema. It even had Wesley Snipes in it (at that point undeniably the coolest of the action megastars of the age) and so I popped along to the flea pit in Sunderland along with some friends to see Blade and watched in horror as the first three chapters of my nascent introduction to the world of novel writing were played out on the big screen. Possibly the worst example of cosmic coincidence I ever experienced.
The idea got shelved, and more ideas came and went over the years. It would be well over a decade before a story would really grab me and refuse to let go — my first book, Blood on the Motorway. But I always knew I'd circle back around to the vampire again, one day. When I did, it seemed only fair for the creature of my night to retain the name, Adam.
I've dedicated this to my Dad, who left us nearly two years ago, as I write this. He would have probably hated it, as someone who never really liked anything with beasts or creatures, spaceships or dragons. But he would have been immensely proud of me nonetheless. I miss him every day.
There are so many people I'd want to thank for this story, not least the creators of all this wonderful lore, from Bram Stoker on down: King, Rice, Schumacher, Newman, Harris, Whedon, Bigelow, Lindqvist. One of the great joys of playing in this sandbox is choosing which lore you're getting to use. I also want to say that I wouldn't have been able to make this story what it is now without the book The Vampire: A New History by Nick Groom. If you're interested in the facts and the fiction behind this lore, it's an indispensable read.
As always, all the love in the world to Ellen, Rose, and Jacob. Thanks for continuing to put up with all my nonsense.