WiHM 9 Presents - W.J. Onufer

Hadley Price, the formidable Vampire known as the Guardian Angel, was used to dealing with inconveniences caused by Humans who got in her way.
But when Hadley’s daughter, the young Vampire Svetlana Magnovska, is put in danger, Hadley and her Vampire lover, Nathan Hughes, uncover a threat to Vampires that spans across the Seven Worlds. Now Hadley is poised to take revenge on the interplanetary Human cabal called Torch.
No one messes with the family of the Guardian Angel.

1) Tell us about your main character
 
In Tales of the Vampire Hadley Price books, my main character, Hadley, is a petite, red-head. Sexy. Down right cute. But that carefully cultivated facade conceals that she’s a Vampire of great power. A superior of her kind. Hadley is merciful with those who deserve it and brutal with those who don’t. She is a proper lady, sometimes to the point of being a snob about it. And she has a particular disdain for rude behavior. Hadley’s brand of justice has made her well-know in the Vampire community where they refer to her as The Guardian Angel.
The Guardian Angel is also a family woman. For the last two hundred years Hadley’s been in a monogamous relationship with Nathan Hughes- a Vampire who is one hundred fifty years her junior. They are absolutely faithful to each other and they have given me no indication that they want to be anything other than that. So this is not a cliche Vampire story where the main character is involved in some sort of love triangle. Hadley and Nathan are a couple who are doing everything right- on an eternal scale. Svetlana is the young Vampire who is Hadley and Nathan’s ward. They are a Vampire Family but this is not a Disney film. They are Vampires. They drink blood. They really enjoy sex. And the occasional violent mutilation. Nathan and Svetlana are always at Hadley’s side in her adventures across the Seven Worlds.
 
2) Do you think females are underrepresented in the horror genre?
 
Representation is not the issue. The issue is the opportunity to present great stories by people of either gender who have the talent to create a great end-product that features either gender as characters.
Mary Shelley is recognized as the author of the very first science-fiction novel. “Frankenstein”. That, of course, went on to be more popularly known as one of the great horror stories. Her gender was irrelevant. If she didn’t have the writing chops, she couldn’t have written such a masterpiece.
And that’s the point. Who is or isn’t represented in the Horror genre should reflect those who have the talent and the interesting characters to present the public with enjoyable entertainment. The gate keepers of that would be wise to welcome talent and interesting characters into this genre, not because of a gender, but in an indifference to it.
Do you have the chops (a little horror double entendre there) or not? Gender should be irrelevant.   
 
 3) Tell us about your book(s)
 
The Tales of the Vampire Hadley Price are books with the same continuing characters. There is a greater story arc and I do know the conclusion to it all. In Hadley’s books, there has already been implications that she has a specific destiny. Her books are adventure stories as she slowly discovers her greater mission.
 
4) Why is horror writing important to you?
 
Writing is important to me. Telling a good story is important to me. People having a good time reading what I write is important to me. After it’s all said and done, creating a quality end-product for the reader is what it’s all about. Get your ego out of the way and create that great end-product. I’m never more content than when Hadley takes the spotlight and I’m in the background.
It just so happens that the stories I write use horror as a literary device. Most of my characters, after all, are Vampires. And in that, it is possible to have too much of a good thing. So I combine horror with humor. Look at it this way- which is better? Alice Cooper or Marilyn Manson? Now I’m a bit biased on this because I grew up with Alice Cooper. But, to me, Alice is better. Why? Because he can scare the hell out of you one moment, then the next moment, he’ll make you laugh. Marilyn Mason is just relentlessly dark. There is no interesting variation. Now I know there are those who will disagree with my choice here. Each to their own. It’s just that I’ve always kind of liked the horror/humor mix in the movie “An American Werewolf in London” and the TV series, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. The humor is that much more funny and the horror is that much more horrific because there’s a contrast.
Besides, I write about a cute little hottie bad-ass who is an immortal blood drinker. Her husband is romance novel book cover model handsome and her daughter is supermodel perfect. And they’re all Vampires. That’s scary as hell. And damn funny if it’s not taken way too seriously. The most interesting stories are character driven. True horror can’t be achieved without relating to the characters, without caring what happens to them. Everything else is just torture porn. And that’s fine if that’s what you’re into. Each to their own. But one of the best ways to identify with a character is through humor. And horror writing is important to me because horror is the best foil to humor. And the both of them, together, make for a much more textured story.
 
5) Who is your favorite female horror author?
 
Hmm...there’s so many good ones out there right now. I’d have to go with Laurel K. Hamilton. Again, her Anita Blake books have that true horror and true humor that I like.
Speaking as a writer, not as a reader, I’d have to include the early Poppy Z. Brite stuff. It’s so  existential. I wish I could write with that kind of intensity. I mean, I can and do. But I couldn’t maintain that brilliance of a gritty darkness for a whole novel like she/he did. (Maybe that’s why I fall-back to humor.) The writing is amazingly good. Yes. Granted. It lacks the humor I prefer, but damn, Poppy Z. Brite could write.

About the Author:

Warren Onufer a.k.a. W. J. Onufer has been a lifelong fan of science fiction and Vampire fantasy. His first full-length novel, Beckman's Folly: Tales of the Vampire Hadley Price was published in the fall of 2015. And now with the new full-length novel, Torch, the Tales of the Vampire Hadley Price saga continues. Warren’s professional history includes employment in commercial radio and as a movie reviewer for The Entertainment Review Magazine. He is the co-host of the Grace and the Author Podcast and a contributing writer and contributing voice talent for the popular online audio drama series The Byron Chronicles. Warren is a coin collector and a knife collector. And of course he haunts libraries and bookstores on a constant quest for the old and the new in books of all genres. He lives with his three imaginary Vampire friends in Chicopee, Massachusetts. Warren is available for guest author appearances, seminars and book signings.

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