"What Is Your Book About?"

I think every writer must get that question. It's the natural follow-up when you tell someone you're a writer. Right? There is "What do you write?" and then "Oh, what is your book about?"

My short answer: Vampires.

My long answer: Not vampires.

I hate saying "vampires" because that makes people think of the "Twilight Saga" and HBO's highly addictive series "True Blood." But, with that one word I can generally gauge who's interested in hearing more, and who tunes out: "Oh. You're hopping on that bandwagon. Sorry I asked."

The truth is I came up with the idea for "Bloodsisters" twelve years ago. The inspiration was a real-life friendship. I asked myself: What if we really did live forever? How would immortality affect personal relationships?

From there I created the story of two women, one a vampire and one a witch, from two very different cultures, who become travel companions over the course of five hundred years. My original idea was to start the story when they meet and chronicle some of their adventures - which I still may do in the form of prequels.

While this story developed I also became frustrated with how female friendships are portrayed in popular culture. We have this myth that women stay besties forever and ever and ever, without regard for different life experiences, personal growth, and circumstantial changes.

When I thought about it, the concept of immortality present two opposite challenges to personal relationships. On the one hand, if you live forever there is very little incentive to go out there and "carpe diem." This is why one of the recurring themes in my novel is a resistance to change and progress. But on the other hand, if you do live forever, you're probably more likely to take in stride all of life's ebbs and flows, because you know you have all the time in the world to go back and fix things, including broken relationships.

And so that, at its core, is what my book is about.

Also: vampires.

And: Lady ninja werefoxes.