Cinsearae S. is the creator of the dark paranormal/horror series, ABRAXAS. A digital artist, jewelry designer, and still-photographer, she is also Editor/Publisher of Dark Gothic Resurrected Magazine - a top ten finalist in the Preditors & Editors Readers Poll for 2008 and 2009 and winner for “Best Magazine Art. She also received the Author's Site of Excellence Award in December 2007 from P & E, and is a Cover Artist for Damnation Books. An avid fan of 'old school' horror movies (Freddy, Jason, Michael, Pinhead…) Halloween is her favorite time of the year. She has always been drawn to the flipside of life - the supernatural, odd, bizarre, Gothic and 'darkly beautiful' always being an inspiration to her. She sat down with me to talk about all of her ongoing projects.
Q: How did you get into writing?
A: I began writing all sorts of little stories when I was in third grade. Partly out of boredom, partly out of loneliness. I was an only kid, and didn't play well with others (lol!) so I began creating my own little world in my head, where it was me and my 'little sister' going on some sort ot adventure or to a place I'd never been to. Over the years, as I got older, my writing progressed to things a bit more mysterious and/or Halloween themed. I had a great interest in spooky movies when I was young, although my folks never condoned such interests, lol. I was a very awkward kid in my youth and pretty much kept to myself with reading and writing. I began with Stephen King in junior high, and also devoured books by Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine---those books were the worlds I was happy to delve in--actual reality bored the hell out of me.
Q: How did you get into writing?
A: I began writing all sorts of little stories when I was in third grade. Partly out of boredom, partly out of loneliness. I was an only kid, and didn't play well with others (lol!) so I began creating my own little world in my head, where it was me and my 'little sister' going on some sort ot adventure or to a place I'd never been to. Over the years, as I got older, my writing progressed to things a bit more mysterious and/or Halloween themed. I had a great interest in spooky movies when I was young, although my folks never condoned such interests, lol. I was a very awkward kid in my youth and pretty much kept to myself with reading and writing. I began with Stephen King in junior high, and also devoured books by Christopher Pike and R.L. Stine---those books were the worlds I was happy to delve in--actual reality bored the hell out of me.
Q: What inspired you to start working on your Abraxas series?
A: The series began as one novella I tried submitting to a publisher for a contest. Although it wasn't chosen, there were way too many characters in my head begging to have their stories told, and more plot twists that I could take that one novella to, and voila'-- it blossomed into a series (with a couple of stand-alone ones as well) and I'm working on the fifth installment as we speak! I can't quite explain what inspired it--I can only say the muse hit me one day with the first one, and it just took off from there, lol. As I developed my characters, I wanted them to be different from the usual vampires one reads about. Mine are pranic vampires--vamps that feed off of energy--but there are classic blood drinkers in the series as well. Some of them also have magical talents or are conduits for magic. The Abraxas clan itself is a medley of young adults brought together from different races and cultures living in a 'partially' secluded mansion in Pennsylvania. One character that is near and dear to my heart is Jonathan, a 19-year-old Goth who loves The Cure, is a bit of a computer geek, loves to eat, is a bit of an agoraphobic and all-around weird kid. Every now and then he'll surprise someone with a bit of worldly wisdom, or a 'weird fact'-nugget lol. I have lots of samples from each book as well as free short stories available at my website!
Q: How much research went into Boleyn-Tudor Vampire to get the historic aspect correct?
A: I have a couple of books in my own collection on Tudor history, including the 'haunted' aspects of it, lol. I also did a bit of 'net browsing to make sure dates and locations were correct, and Showtime's "The Tudors" was an immense help in the visuals department, lol. I find that time period quite fascinating, but I would NEVER EVER want to live back then, lol.
Q: Could you tell us a bit about Dark Gothic Resurrected Magazine?
A: Sit back for a bit of interesting history, lol. Back in the early 90’s before I had personal access to the freedoms of the internet and Print-on-Demand publishing, I ran a smalll magazine called Dark Gothic off the printers and stapled them together by hand. This was my first attempt at running a magazine and I absolutely loved the idea of connecting with other writers and publishing their work. Thie went on until about mid-2000, when I became involved in a very poisonous relationship, which was emotionally and spiritually draining on me, and Dark Gothic eventually dissolved and disappeared for about four years. Once the bad relationship ended, I eventually came around to being myself again and doing what I loved. I had really missed Dark Gothic, and didn’t feel ‘complete’ without it. When I discovered the conveniences of POD, I went back to work reconstructing Dark Gothic, now naming it Dark Gothic Resurrected, which made its reappearance in ‘06, electronically as well as in print, good as new and revamped, and which also explains its name!
Dark Gothic was originally born out of my frustrations and disappointments with other small press editors who I felt were rather rude and sometimes even arrogant when it came to sending my short stories or poems to them. The more I talked to other newbie writers and found out they were having the same problems (and even with some of the magazines I had once submitted to!), it was then that I got the idea to start my own magazine, in order to give those kinds of writers the chance to be published. I wanted DG to be that ‘stepping stone’ for them. Seasoned writers were also more than welcome to submit anything, but my door is always open to first-timers!
Today, Dark Gothic Resurrected is published tri-annually, and is the home of paranormal, gothic, erotic and horrific stories, poems and art, like it originally was. It also won an award from Predators & Editors in ‘09 for its magazine art. I enjoy stories that are really unique, engaging, and warped, and good old-fashioned creepiness is always a favorite! I also do my best to find and interview the freshest authors, bands, and artists of the genre, and I offer authors free promotion in the “Batty Bookshelf” section of the magazine, where I list an author’s recent or new releases by book cover, blurb, publisher, and buy-link. It has now expanded into being recognized and read overseas, and I love getting comments from readers and contributors as to how well the magazine is done, and especially how NICE I am to them. It really makes me feel good about what I’m doing. When I first decided to publish the magazine, I swore I would NOT be like a typical pompous editor who exacts a holier-than-thou attitude towards newbie writers. For one, that’s not me, and two, why have an attitude like that? Over the years, those small-press zines that gave me and other writers problems in the past are now ones that have folded. One probably doesn’t need to guess why!
Q: Where can we learn more?
A: Just visit my website, http://BloodTouch.webs.com - everything I do, from my novels to Dark Gothic Resurrected Magazine, is listed under its own page, lol. I welcome your comments!
Cinsearae S. can be reached at GratistaVampires@yahoo.com, or http://BloodTouch.webs.com
A: The series began as one novella I tried submitting to a publisher for a contest. Although it wasn't chosen, there were way too many characters in my head begging to have their stories told, and more plot twists that I could take that one novella to, and voila'-- it blossomed into a series (with a couple of stand-alone ones as well) and I'm working on the fifth installment as we speak! I can't quite explain what inspired it--I can only say the muse hit me one day with the first one, and it just took off from there, lol. As I developed my characters, I wanted them to be different from the usual vampires one reads about. Mine are pranic vampires--vamps that feed off of energy--but there are classic blood drinkers in the series as well. Some of them also have magical talents or are conduits for magic. The Abraxas clan itself is a medley of young adults brought together from different races and cultures living in a 'partially' secluded mansion in Pennsylvania. One character that is near and dear to my heart is Jonathan, a 19-year-old Goth who loves The Cure, is a bit of a computer geek, loves to eat, is a bit of an agoraphobic and all-around weird kid. Every now and then he'll surprise someone with a bit of worldly wisdom, or a 'weird fact'-nugget lol. I have lots of samples from each book as well as free short stories available at my website!
Q: How much research went into Boleyn-Tudor Vampire to get the historic aspect correct?
A: I have a couple of books in my own collection on Tudor history, including the 'haunted' aspects of it, lol. I also did a bit of 'net browsing to make sure dates and locations were correct, and Showtime's "The Tudors" was an immense help in the visuals department, lol. I find that time period quite fascinating, but I would NEVER EVER want to live back then, lol.
Q: Could you tell us a bit about Dark Gothic Resurrected Magazine?
A: Sit back for a bit of interesting history, lol. Back in the early 90’s before I had personal access to the freedoms of the internet and Print-on-Demand publishing, I ran a smalll magazine called Dark Gothic off the printers and stapled them together by hand. This was my first attempt at running a magazine and I absolutely loved the idea of connecting with other writers and publishing their work. Thie went on until about mid-2000, when I became involved in a very poisonous relationship, which was emotionally and spiritually draining on me, and Dark Gothic eventually dissolved and disappeared for about four years. Once the bad relationship ended, I eventually came around to being myself again and doing what I loved. I had really missed Dark Gothic, and didn’t feel ‘complete’ without it. When I discovered the conveniences of POD, I went back to work reconstructing Dark Gothic, now naming it Dark Gothic Resurrected, which made its reappearance in ‘06, electronically as well as in print, good as new and revamped, and which also explains its name!
Dark Gothic was originally born out of my frustrations and disappointments with other small press editors who I felt were rather rude and sometimes even arrogant when it came to sending my short stories or poems to them. The more I talked to other newbie writers and found out they were having the same problems (and even with some of the magazines I had once submitted to!), it was then that I got the idea to start my own magazine, in order to give those kinds of writers the chance to be published. I wanted DG to be that ‘stepping stone’ for them. Seasoned writers were also more than welcome to submit anything, but my door is always open to first-timers!
Today, Dark Gothic Resurrected is published tri-annually, and is the home of paranormal, gothic, erotic and horrific stories, poems and art, like it originally was. It also won an award from Predators & Editors in ‘09 for its magazine art. I enjoy stories that are really unique, engaging, and warped, and good old-fashioned creepiness is always a favorite! I also do my best to find and interview the freshest authors, bands, and artists of the genre, and I offer authors free promotion in the “Batty Bookshelf” section of the magazine, where I list an author’s recent or new releases by book cover, blurb, publisher, and buy-link. It has now expanded into being recognized and read overseas, and I love getting comments from readers and contributors as to how well the magazine is done, and especially how NICE I am to them. It really makes me feel good about what I’m doing. When I first decided to publish the magazine, I swore I would NOT be like a typical pompous editor who exacts a holier-than-thou attitude towards newbie writers. For one, that’s not me, and two, why have an attitude like that? Over the years, those small-press zines that gave me and other writers problems in the past are now ones that have folded. One probably doesn’t need to guess why!
Q: Where can we learn more?
A: Just visit my website, http://BloodTouch.webs.com - everything I do, from my novels to Dark Gothic Resurrected Magazine, is listed under its own page, lol. I welcome your comments!
Cinsearae S. can be reached at GratistaVampires@yahoo.com, or http://BloodTouch.webs.com
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