The Vestige

I remember when I finished the first book, I was so stoked to write the second one. Conjuring up the next story, the old characters I already had in mind, as well as some new ones that had an exciting backstory.

As soon as I finished typing the first story on my HP Laptop, I bought a new black book which had the title “Sketchbook” on the front from Barnes & Noble. (I could have bought the journal, but if I were writing on the train, and someone saw the word “journal” in the front, it would have caught a lot of attention that I do not need. Sitting down on the 7 Train, and someone to my right is looking down at my sloppy handwriting? Not cool.

Most writers know that there is always the fear of starting a new project and then leave it abandon. I had a lot of that throughout my writing endeavors, and it was with this book that I fought them off.

There were always doubts when writing the Warlock Vestige, the same with every other one of my novels. But I always pulled through and powered on, not minding how whack or cliché it would turn out. (If not published I can always edit)

However, it was a great risk bringing the Starlighter Curse to the public because I had my reservations. One being, that those who read it, would pick up on the key points and themes of the story, which some would render as a romantic novel. And in that case, a romantic series.

But I have expressed this many a time, that Vanity Horror was never meant to be a romance series. Although the first story pulled away that fantasy and sci fi genre a bit.

Starting with Jason Malero (My protagonist), in the Starlighter Curse, he is perceived in the novel as a damsel in distress. And let me clarify, that I have nothing against romance novels or protagonists that are perceived that way. In fact, I enjoyed them.

But in the Warlock Vestige, Jason Malero presented the promise as a gay male, a Hispanic one at that, to bring his character with a good head on his shoulders.

After recovering from a loss, he who took what life threw at him and used it to his advantage to become a better person. He was depended on, and trusted, he made friends who looked up to him and he to them. No holding anyone as a crutch or showing weakness out of fear that it will be used against him. But to show that he is just as capable as anyone else. As any human or spellcaster.

Creating Jason came from not seeing a lot of representation of a gay Hispanic male in modern media, and if it was, it was mostly amplifying the character’s sexual preference instead of his profession.

Sure, there were stories that evolved a gay superhero but most of it was either done as a token, or an implied idea. And given this, none I should say, gave a Hispanic origin. And if so, they were either a sex symbol, or a total joke, and the gay Hispanic male would not be taken seriously.

I resented this deeply, and I wanted to start with the foundations of who I am, and what I wanted to bring to the big picture. Talk about what makes a Hispanic man or woman, talk about the foundations of Latin American cultures and how it shapes the society today.

Vanity Horror is a supernatural element that creates this promise, and with a twist on the history and voice to those I feel should be heard.

I like to personally thank those who took the time to read the Starlighter Curse, and those who gave me a chance on spreading words and the fantasy that is Vanity Horror to the world. There so much to be done and I feel like I am just getting started, despite having worked on it for several years.

Thanks for reading this. And I hope you all enjoy reading the series as much as I enjoy writing it.

XOXO

Samuel R. Barnes