Author: Eric Wilson
Located in: Nashville, TN
Submitted: January 20, 2008
Tell us a little about yourself. I love Jesus. I love fiction. I love stories that explore life's complexities, while discovering some light in the darkness. I hope to capture some of that tension through interesting characters and plots.
What was your motivation behind this project? As a kid, I traveled with my missionary parents in Romania. Later, I heard the traditional vampire stories centered in that region and found myself intrigued at the spiritual battle that is so inherent. I thought, why not mix the ideas of "The Screwtape Letters" with the excitement of "This Present Darkness"? Of course, my novels spin off in their own directions.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? First and foremost, I hope to provide great entertainment. If I wanted to preach sermons, I'd write non-fiction. That said, I do hope to challenge readers to see the world in a different way, to have their eyes opened to new things and spiritual realities.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? I was especially intrigued, as I researched the trilogy, by the fact that demons throughout the Bible seem to interact with the physical world only through a host, while the heavenly angels eat, take people by the hand, and appear physically often times. Could it be that our physical senses are so subject to temptation precisely because the Enemy of our souls has been stripped of that ability himself and tries to subvert it in God's creation? These types of ideas kept me turning pages of the Bible while thinking through the plot.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? I love C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, as well as Stephen Lawhead. I'm a big fan of Brandilyn Collins, Ted Dekker, Robert Liparulo, Tim Downs, and Melanie Wells (to name a few). I keep growing and learning. I love books and hope to pass on that joy to others.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: A vampire book in the Christian bookstore? That's the obvious question. Well, my series is based on biblical history, with an ultra-modern spin on the idea of evil. Really, though, like an great story, it's about human struggles to understand identity and purpose. Why are we here? Is there a Creator? If so, how are we to interact with Him?
