Who was the real Count Dracula? A bloodthirsty vampire? A medieval prince? A ruthless
tyrant? Or a famous voivode who skillfully defended his land?
In 1442, on a somber morning in Wallachia, Vlad and his younger brother,
Radu, bid farewell to their weeping, heartbroken mother. Their father has given
them to Sultan Murad II, ruler of the Ottoman Empire, to prove his loyalty to
the Turks.
One of the boys will adapt well to captivity. The other won’t…
The Impaler tells a gripping true story of passion, betrayal, resentment, and
revenge—and an obsession to conquer and rule.
****
Excerpt:
The prince invited them
all to an extravagant feast, but they could have never guessed the cost...Vlad orders his servants and soldiers to board up the hall immediately.
The beggars look at the vagrants, the sick ones look at the food, while the
mothers look at their children, holding and squeezing their tiny hands. Then
everyone turns their heads to their right to see many serv- ants bringing in
large planks of wood and metal. They start boarding up the room under the
terrified looks of the poor and sick. Ready to leave the great hall, some head
toward the exit, but Vlad’s soldiers block their way.
Others, the more pious ones, give thanks to the Lord for such a copious
feast. They knock themselves over, trying to escape. They push each other and
drop the food they hid in their sleeves or underneath their caftans. It falls
to the floor. Now they know they are cornered. Wherever they look, they see
soldiers and servants. They are nothing but a herd of cattle trapped within the
gates of a stable when the storms and thunders hit the plains. Torches are
brought in. Burning torches.
Vlad still stands, unflinching. “You will never go hungry from now on.
You will never suffer from hunger or thirst, from pain or aches. Your burdens
will be lifted.”Startled beggars and horrified vagrants throw themselves on the floor
and cover their heads.When Vlad nods, servants and soldiers set the hall on fire.
****
I recently caught up with Lucia
in Vancouver, BC, at UBC after her class and took her to the Flying Pig for
drinks. We ordered maple-bourbon smashes and I asked her about the resent
release of her debut novel, The
Impaler:
1.
Your
novel “The Impaler” was released by Black Opal Books this past October and
tells the tale of Vlad, Prince of Wallachia—otherwise known as Count Dracula.
Some will see this as another version of Bram Stoker’s Count Dracula legend. Is
there any similarity? What is the main difference in your story from the
Dracula legend and how would you describe “The Impaler”?
I believe the only similarity between the two
versions is that both Bram Stoker and I based our novels on the same character,
Count Dracula. We both placed our stories in medieval Transylvania and
described the bloodthirsty prince through our own perception.
The main difference between our novels is that
Stoker associated Dracula with vampirism. He portrayed Vlad as a bloodthirsty vampire.
He based his novel solely on his
imagination, creating an imaginary character. He has never set foot in
Transylvania.
My novel is based on facts. The events, names,
places and characters in “The Impaler” accurately portray Transylvania and
Wallachia of the Middle Ages during Vlad’s reign. I was born in Transylvania,
visited Vlad’s castles, and studied this historical figure in school.
2.
What
inspired you to write “The Impaler”?
The idea of writing a novel on the real prince
Dracula, also known as “The Impaler,”
came to me a long time ago, when I realized that he was wrongly perceived as a
vampire and that very few people knew that a real historical figure existed
behind the fantasy character. I do
remember vividly the moment I decided to tackle this subject. A few years ago,
I was waiting in line at a grocery store in Portland, Oregon where I used to
live. The clerk asked me where I was originally from, and when he learned that I
was born in Transylvania, he asked me if that place really existed and if
vampires lived there. I joked and told him that there were vampires in
Transylvania and that I was one of them, to the bemusement of the other
shoppers. He really believed me and said that he had never seen a vampire
before. That was the moment I knew my mission was to inform people like him
that Count Dracula really existed, that he was a real prince, and to inform
readers about the significant role he had in the medieval history.
3.
I know
you did a lot of research to assure historical accuracy. Can you tell us a
little about that process?
You are right, Nina. This historical thriller is
based on extensive research that I conducted using chronicles, biographies,
pamphlets and historical materials in both online and paper format. It was very
important to me to convey the real story of Vlad Dracula, the prince of many
faces, and to accurately portray this controversial historical figure during
his reign in the Middle Ages.
4.
Vlad is
painted with vivid detail—the nuances of his complex and paradoxical character
flow with a chilling reality. What process did you use to achieve that?
I have
always been fascinated by Vlad’s persona. I remember studying Vlad Dracula in
my history class in high school. His powerful image haunted me through the
years. I admired his strength and skills, and his ability to rule in a lawless
country. I was appalled by the gruesome atrocities he committed. But were there
any other ways to defend your land, your country and religion in the Middle
Ages?
I used the
present tense to depict Wallachia and Transylvania of the 15th
century. This is because the scenes unfolded in front of my eyes, like a vivid movie
with clear images, distinct voices, sounds and colors. I could hear the
protagonists’ dialogues, I could feel their emotions, I could see their facial
expressions, the clothes they were wearing, and the interiors of the medieval
castles. I could sense their anger, or resentment, their love or hatred. In
fact, I visualized everything. I felt I literally lived in the Middle Ages, and
that I was part of the story.
It seemed
that I was either the spectator at times, one of the protagonists, or the
narrator. There were times when I could hardly remove myself from the scenes I
depicted so passionately and get back to reality.
It has been
by far the most thrilling and fascinating literary adventure I have ever
experienced.
5.
You are
an acclaimed poet and teach writing at UBC in Vancouver. Do you think that your
poetry background had any affect on your prose writing for “The Impaler”?
It surely
did. My poetry background allowed me to get in touch with my inner feelings and
perceive the protagonists’ emotions in depth. The use of metaphors, epithets,
comparisons, and analogies in the novel gives the story a more realistic and humane
aspect that the readers can easily identify with.
6.
Can you
describe your writing process for completing this book? How long did it take to
finish?
Writing
this novel was an assiduous project and required extensive research. I first
started by brainstorming ideas and gathering the information I needed about the
places, characters, historical facts and events I was going to depict in the
novel. I consulted many online and paperback chronicles and articles for
accuracy and relevance to my story. I researched several books and catalogues
at local libraries and learned about medieval life, food, clothing, literature,
arts and culture, as well as social diversity. I also read about the Ottoman
Empire and the role it had in medieval history. The next step was to create the
outline—the skeleton of the story. Then I started building on what I had and
developed, as accurately as I could, the life of the real Prince Dracula. It
took me a little over two years to complete the book.
7.
Tell us a
little bit about your current writing project.
I am currently working on a couple of projects. One
is a fictional novel on dating and relationships, yes, that’s right, the new
trend that millions of people around the world experience nowadays. It is
entitled, “How I Met You Online.” The
other project I am working on is a book for non-native college students, “100 ESL Board Games.” I’m also
translating fairy tales and legends, as well as poetry from Romanian into
English.
8.
Where can
we find your other books?
My books can be found on Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com,
Kobo, Kindle, BlackOpalBooks.com, All Romance, Alibris.com, and other fine
retailers where books are sold.
Thank
you, Lucia!
Lucia Gorea is a Canadian poet and writer
who has authored fourteen books, award-winning poems and articles. Some
of her books include Welcome to America!, Journey
Through My Soul, ESL
Games and Classroom Activities,
Yukon the Polar Bear, and Speak
English for Success.
Originally
from Transylvania, Romania, Gorea graduated from the University of Bucharest
with degrees in English, French and Linguistics then earned her PhD in English
and Education from Atlantic International University. She taught various
post-secondary English and writing courses in the USA before settling in
Vancouver, Canada, in 2005 to teach and write. Gorea founded Poetry Around the
World, a multicultural reading series in Vancouver to help promote non-native
poets and writers, and hosted radio and television poetry shows. Lucia
Gorea is also a professional translator and was selected as keynote speaker at
The 8th International Symposium on Translation, Interpretation, and
Terminology in Havana, 2013. Gorea’s interest in history
inspired The Impaler —her debut novel.
Lucia Gorea lives in Vancouver, B.C.
and teaches English at the University of British Columbia, Mosaic Language
Centre, and Atlantic International University. She is currently writing her
second novel. Visit www.luciagorea.com to find
out more about her writing.
Nina Munteanu is an ecologist and internationally published author of award-nominated speculative novels, short stories and non-fiction. She is co-editor of Europa SF and currently teaches writing courses at George Brown College and the University of Toronto. Visit www.ninamunteanu.ca for the latest on her books. Nina’s recent book is the bilingual “La natura dell’acqua / The Way of Water” (Mincione Edizioni, Rome). Her latest “Water Is…” is currently an Amazon Bestseller and NY Times ‘year in reading’ choice of Margaret Atwood.
