Happy Anniversary, 'Human'

So, as it turns out, my novel Human is celebrated a publishing anniversary yesterday. I don't generally keep track of this (though I should), but I had the occasion to be notified in advance of the post going up from Renaissance Press today. I figured I could use this day to talk a little bit about the book.

Firstly, as many of you know, I really didn't want to write the thing. I felt Vampire stories as a genre were well and truly drained. My brain, however, is an absolute bastard, and decided that there would be nothing else going on inside of it until I got this story out of it and onto a record of some kind. The conversation between myself and my brain went something like this:

Brain: (out of nowhere) Hey, you know what you need to write?
Me: No. Absolutely not. The genre is played out. There's nothing new or interesting going on inside it. It's trite and obnoxious. I'm not doing it.
Brain: Yes you are.
Me: No I'm bloody not.
Brain: Yes. You are.
Me: No.
Brain: Yes.
Me: No.
Brain: Yes, you are. And there's nothing you can do to stop it. *immediately begins replaying scenes over and over until the poor writer is forced to comply*

You see, I had no choice. Every writing session was spent writing this vampire story while also cussing out my own damned brain in equal measure. Fun times.

While this book wasn't the smoothest write I've ever had (thanks in large part to my own resistance, I think), it did go quite well. The only other hurdle I encountered writing it was right at the beginning, with the character of Alicia Wilde, who becomes Aleksandar's love interest. She started off as a journalist. But that just wasn't working. Nothing worked in the story while she was a journalist. The minute I changed her occupation to police officer, however, and suddenly everything clicked. The story started to flow.

I'm fortunate that this happened right at the beginning of the writing process, so I didn't have to go back and change an awful lot.

The result was actually, as I look back on it, decent. I like the story a lot, and I have a soft spot for the main character. What can I say? I love tortured souls. And Aleksandar Svetoslav is definitely a tortured soul.

So, the final story came together quite nicely. If you're new to this blog, and to me, here's the back blurb:

At the behest of the vampiric Shadow Council, Aleksandar Svetoslav, Prince of his House, moves to America to re-establish their foothold there. It was a territory lost when opportunistic vampire hunters laid waste to the hedonistic House Üstrel. He did not expect to find the assets of House Üstrel in such shambles. 
Nor did he expect that this tedious mission would lead to the beautiful police officer Alicia Wilde, who resurrects feelings in him that he had long thought dead. He certainly did not anticipate her partner, Detective Stephen Brody, who not only knows what Aleksandar is but has vowed revenge on all his kind. 
Things spiral quickly out of control as Aleksandar is drawn into a cat and mouse game with a deranged kidnapper targeting those closest to him. Betrayal draws Aleksandar and Detective Brody together in a frantic battle to save Alicia and the city from a true monster.

It's gotten some pretty decent reviews, too. My favourites are:

Carrière has combined her keen historian’s mind and romantic soul in creating Aleksandar Svetoslav, a character who demands your attention and then takes you on a darkly compelling journey.
- Evan May, author of Easter Pinkerton and the Case of the Heretic Blood

S.M. Carriere masterfully writes this tale in such a way that you cannot simply put it down... In a genre that has been retold many times over centuries, I have to say it's my most favourite vampire book.
- Susan via Goodreads.com

Sexy, gritty and refreshing.
- RJ, via Amazon.com.

Not bad, considering how much I hated it in the beginning! There really isn't a moral to the story, except that maybe write the thing, even if you hate it. It might turn out better than expected.

Also, my brain is still a bastard, even if it was right, in the end.

If you'd like to read Human, you can click here to get to the purchase links. It's a good read for the season, actually!

Right, I have to go back to do real work now.

​Slán go foill!