Vampires and Corsets: An Interview with Colleen Gleason, Author of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles - Page 5

So, yes, there is a basic similarity.

However, there are many more differences. First, Victoria isn’t the reluctant hero that Buffy is. She actually embraces the chance to do and be someone different—whether that was something she yearned for deep inside, or whether the fact that she was Called and that prompted these feelings, we don’t know — but Victoria is willing to take on the role.

Another difference is that Victoria is not the only vampire hunter, or Venator, in her world - again, unlike Buffy, who has the whole world on her shoulders. (And much as I love Buffy, that was always something that sort of worried me. I mean, while she was stuck fighting all the demons and vampires coming out of the Hellmouth, who was protecting the rest of the world? Like, my city?)

Victoria’s powers are enhanced through a strength amulet, the vis bulla, and she can and does remove it, and Venators can refuse to wear it - or even to accept their Calling. Unlike Buffy, whose powers are part of her and cannot be shed - she has no choice, whereas Victoria does.

Also, in the mythology of the Gardella world, the vampires all have souls - they’re just warped and malevolent. And their history is unique - who they are and their hierarchy is all very different from that of Buffyverse.

So, while many of the elements of the Gardella Vampire Chronicles world will appeal to Buffy fans, once into the story, and especially as the books progress, the differences will become much more obvious and profound.†

Are you a fan of Jane Austen? Do you have a favorite novel?

I love Pride and Prejudice, and Northanger Abbey. I do, of course, own the famous BBC version of P&P featuring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle - who I personally find to be much better cast than Keira Knightley and Matthew McFayden (although I really enjoyed that movie version as well).†

You mention in The Rest Falls Away that there are other Venators out in the world besides Max, Victoria, and Aunt Eustacia. Will Victoria get to meet some of them?

Yes indeed… there are more Venators to meet in Rises the Night and The Bleeding Dusk. In fact, in both books, Victoria spends some time in Rome, which is where the Venator headquarters — if you’ll forgive the modern term — is located. The reader will get a much more in-depth sense of the Venators and their history during these next two books.†

I’ve read that you would like to continue Victoria’s story for another five books and then pick up with a new heroine. Would you pick a completely new time period? Or just pick up where Victoria leaves off?

Article Author: Katie Trattner

Ms. Trattner works for a non-profit agency where she is thankful for any internet time she can squeeze into her day. In her free time she reads one of the thousands of books stacked in her tiny apartment.

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