Galen ( Ronin Enterprises, Inc. ISBN 0-9660744-0-8), is the first published book in a trilogy written by Allan Gilbreath. Nominated by Writer’s Digest Magazine as the Best Self-Published Novel in 1997, and for the Mid-South Science Fiction Association's Darrell Award for best first novel, Galen tells the story of the vampire, Galen, and the two women who enter his life.

In Galen, Allan Gilbreath introduces the reader to a vampire tale quite unlike other tales found in the market today. I confess to being quite skeptical at first, but while Galen does have its flaws, it provides an interesting story that engages the attention of the reader. I found myself intrigued by Allan Gilbreath’s portrayal of the modern day vampire, and asked him if he would be willing to answer some questions for this column.

The Interview:

When did you start writing and what was it that pushed you to seek professional publication?

I suppose that I have always scribbled down notes and ideas for as long as I can remember. After years of designing role-playing game adventures, I don’t think that I actually got serious about professional writing until the late 90’s with the advent of the Internet. Before, it was difficult at best to find venues to help you develop your ideas. Basically, you had to be in a writing program somewhere or subscribe to a lot of literary magazines. Now, anyone with a website could be seen by a worldwide audience. The new technology made it easier to come in contact with other struggling writers, editors, and publishers not to mention fans looking for something outside the major publishing houses.

I also have a life-long love for the art of story telling. The idea that I could share my wild ideas with anyone who was interested held a very powerful attraction for me. I attended a few local book readings and signings just to see what happened at them. It did not take me long to develop the desire to be the writer on the stage telling my stories.

Did you encounter obstacles in your goal to become a published author? Can you tell us about these and share how you overcame these obstacles?

The worst obstacle to overcome was myself. It took a few form rejection letters to convince me that perhaps I needed to refine my work. Apparently, I discovered, a decent story and good grammar are not enough to get published. While I found plenty of folks that were happy to hand out ideas, I finally got some wonderful advice from Beecher Smith, the editor/publisher for Hot Biscuit Productions. Instead of just turning me down, he told me what he really wanted to see and even went so far as to give me a couple of hints. I took the attitude of a kid getting a test back and told to change some answers until it was an “A” paper. My short story “My House” was published in Monsters from Memphis produced by Hot Biscuit Productions. The ensuing book signings and public appearances turned out to be very educational and an absolute blast.

I suppose that the moral of the story is that I learned that there were many ways to say the same thing on a page. A writer seeking publication needs to do his or her homework as to the type of work an editor normally accepts and work from there. It makes getting published a little easier.

Can you name some of the people/authors whose work influenced you?

The first writer that I remember captivating me was Jules Verne. There is just something about the way his works flow that allows you to easily suspend disbelief and ride along on the adventure with the characters. It is hard not to love watching a grand adventure.

Then, I discovered Edgar Allan Poe. A story could be dark and disturbing. It did not have to have a happy ending. Characters could be flawed, as a matter of fact it was their flaws that made them interesting. The “Cask of Amontillado” completely changed my idea of what a story could be.

T. H. White’s The Book of Merlyn let me see that fiction could carry a message. In fact, the more truth you could squeeze into your story, the more compelling the fiction. It gives the reader something to identify with.

Every fan, storyteller, writer, editor, and publisher that I meet at events, conventions, and signings all show me something new.

I found Galen quite interesting. It is quite unlike other vampire stories I’ve hear or read about. Would you like to share something of the inspiration behind your novel?

When I first began working on Galen, I ran into a few problems with the modern vampire genre in general. There is just no way that a creature that delicate (sunlight) or who has to kill that often could possibly survive in a modern world. I decided to do a little research on actual vampirism. The depth and breadth of historical information shocked me. There are literally thousands of serious works on vampires published, including earlier books that recorded the legends, and in some cases, the ongoing investigations. I found myself freed from the modern movie idea of what a vampire was, so I started looking for a real life heir apparent. Amazingly, it was the evening news that gave me my base idea of what a “real” vampire is.

The news exposé was about the modern phenomenon of what they termed the “romance bandit.” In a nutshell, this is an average or so looking guy in his 40’s or 50’s who targets a single, career woman, usually in her 40’s. He wines and dines her into a whirlwind romance, sweeping her off her feet. He always has an interesting occupation such as financier or diamond merchant, but his “big” deal always seems to get bogged down. The end result is a woman who, after a few months, is jilted and financially wiped out. The bandit has disappeared to prey on his next victim. I knew I had found the basic idea of a modern vampire. Someone who would move through the modern world and find victims with some skill and daring.

What made you decide to take the self-publishing route?

After literally dozens of rejection letters all stating that they either had enough horror writers or that work “just did not fit their marketing profiles,” I was emboldened by the publication of my first short story “My House.” I got to see some of the inner workings of the publishing business, thanks again to Hot Biscuit Productions, and realized it was, more or less, a matter of determination and grit to publish a work yourself. Yes, there were lots of steps at that time, but nothing that could not be done. Amazon.com had also appeared on the horizon and would sell books by independents “online.” I decided to take the plunge.

I know some people can be quite negative when it comes to self-publishing. How has the response to your novel been, so far?

Since I did not use any commercial “vanity press” type companies and did everything myself, I slid under the bad press radar for a “vanity” publication. The reaction to Galen actually exceeded all my expectations. Galen sold well with that new “online Amazon.com” thing and book signings were well attended. The character, Galen, still gets an occasional bit of fan mail even though the book came out in early 1998.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of taking the self-publishing route?

The real advantage to true self-publishing is that you are basically starting your own publishing company and imprint. You get true control over every aspect of your project. You can produce the exact product you want.

The disadvantages to self-publishing are numerous. First, if you use a self-publishing service, company, or imprint, your work will be assumed to lack any form of editing or professional polish. I’m afraid that the Internet and new printing technologies have proved to be a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can give a newcomer a chance to be seen. It also allows anyone to produce anything of any quality – no matter how poor.

If you are going to truly self-publish and do it all yourself, it is expensive and time consuming. You will have to learn lots of new skills in desktop publishing, word processing, and image manipulation/creation, or you will have to pay for these skills. You will have to have a large number of books printed (usually 1,000 or more) to make the book economically feasible and you have to story them and transfer them to a shipping warehouse. This does not even begin to address promotion. If you are truly going to self-publish, then resign yourself to opening your own publishing imprint. You are going to spend the same money and do the same amount of work either way.

What was the most difficult part about writing Galen?

I discovered after a couple of chapters that the characters in the story did not like that wonderful outline I had spent weeks creating (just like I was taught in English Lit class). As I began developing the actual personalities of the characters, I had to adjust the story line. I had put ideas in the outline that would not work in the actual story. I had to learn that the outline was the guide not the law.

The most difficult part of writing Galen was simply the writing. It takes a great deal of time and effort to put out a good short story of less than 10,000 words, a story told in a single sitting, so to speak. The task of telling a story through chapter after chapter without wandering or losing focus is an act of will. Night after night, you do a lot of typing, reading, and rewriting. I had to learn the self-discipline of novel writing.

Apparently, a part of us (who we are, what we believe in) comes through in the writing of a novel or a story. Which part of Galen would you say is most resonant of yourself?

I will confess that Galen does apparently ( or so I am told ) get one trait directly from me, more or less. The character counts on mundane activities making the public invisible to the vendor and thus untraceable. This counting on the mundane grind of the modern world to provide cracks to exploit is a character that I have been said (however unjustly) to possess and use upon occasion.

Galen has been nominated for awards as best first novel. Has this changed your attitude towards your work? If so, in what way?

I don’t think that being nominated for awards actually changed my attitude towards my writing. It did help give me the reassurance that this was something I wanted to pursue. Anytime you spend as much time and effort as a writer does producing a book, you will always have that hope that someone out there will like what you have done and a dread fear that someone might not. Nominations, awards, and fan mail all help keep you motivated. I recently received the 2006 Darrell Award for Best Short Story for a supernatural detective story called “Lepus Europaeus” which was published in the anthology Modern Witches, Wizards, and Magic. I have to admit, it is a thrill and tremendous honour to be recognized in this way. Awards also have a way of introducing your work to new fans that may not have found you yet.

Do you have a daily schedule for writing? How much time do you spend each day on a project?

Oh, would I love to tell you that I have the wonderfully strict daily schedule, but, that would be amazingly untrue. Sadly, I still have to pursue the whole “real job” part of life to keep the lights on and the koi fed. I do, however, make a concerted effort to spend at least ten hours a week actually writing, not doing writing-related things like answering email and bull sessions with other writers. I actually have a big, nicely framed sign over my desk that says: Do Not Confuse Effort with Results. It helps to keep me on task.

I read that you write poetry. Do you have a poem that’s especially close to your heart? Would you like to share it with us?

Ah, my poor poetry. Such as it is, since writing a vampire novel, I don’t get asked about poetry very much any more. I love the act of creating poetry. It is like boiling an entire language down to its most intense flavour then trying to say as much as you can using the fewest possible words. I do have a couple of nice short works that I don’t mind sharing.

The first is a shot at a haiku:

The day is cluttered and complicated.
With a cleared mind
I pick one tree at a time from the forest.

The second, I wrote for a friend having a truly trying day.

Tulips through the Snow

Into our daily lives
Troubles come and troubles go.
Some are like winter days
Biting winds cold with snow.

We feel so overwhelmed
We give in to despair.
Nothing looks alive
In the cold winter air.

With each passing day,
This I surely know,
Our spirits survive adversity.
Our souls continue to grow.

We wait and gather our strength,
Let our determination show.
We overcome the winter of despair
Like tulips through the snow.



Are you working on another novel? If so, would you mind giving us an idea on what the next novel is going to be about?

I actually have several projects that I am working on completing:

Dark Chances and Final Kiss are sequels to Galen. I seem to have left enough unanswered questions and ideas in the first book, that I need two more books to wrap the story line up nice and neatly.

Global Observational Detective Systems (GODS) is a true sci-fi based on our culture’s current obsession with security cameras, satellite capabilities, and what happens if it goes awry.

From the Dark Recesses is a “best of” collection of my published short stories complete with author’s notes about each one.

I would like to thank Allan Gilbreath for his generosity and for the time he took to answer these questions. Dark Chances, the sequel to Allan Gilbreath’s first novel, Galen has recently been released, and will soon be available from Kerlak Enterprises as well as from Amazon.com. Galen is also available from Kerlak Enterprises as well as from Amazon.com.