The Author

I teach ninth graders English at Niskayuna High School in upstate New York. I also teach fantasy and journalism and advise the Anime Club and school newspaper.

The Inspiration

The inspiration for this story was Stephenie Meyer's gender reversed Twilight reimagined Life and Death. She's one of my favorite authors, and I felt that she could have gone much, much farther in reimagining. That led me to obsessively writing my first novel, Cypria.

While I kept the basic outline, I changed everything else. I mined the details from my own life. Family history in Pennsylvania, study abroad in Mexico, and my love of nerd pop culture all became part of the story.

The Setting

Minersville, PA

For some reason, I wanted every detail of the setting to be as accurate as possible. Although I'm from Pennsylvania, I had never been to Minersville, which meant I had to research everything. Fortunately the internet provides an incredible amount of data on just about everything. By lucky chance, I decided to use a local cafe with a nice Facebook page, and ended up being invited there for a book signing. Terry received me graciously despite my having inflicted the evil undead upon his Christian establishment. Of course, he asked why I chose their town, and I explained about my ancestral connection. You can spot my coal miner great 2x grandfather John Hopkins' portrait in my picture with Terry below.

Mexico

Part of the book takes place in Mexico because Helen wants to show Alex the country of her birth. I drew upon the experience of a college study abroad in Morelia. Like the characters in the book, I also made an excursion to Zinapécauro. I took the photo on the bottom left in 1988, which coincides with when the long-lived Helen lived there.

Cover Secrets

From the illustrator: a little Easter egg about the title font is that it's based lightly off a famous wall tile in Mexico City and the flower on the C is the national flower of Mexico—the dahlia pinnate!

The entrance to the mine is modeled on a bridge in a Brooklyn park, though it's not dissimilar from the brick or stone arches used at the entrances to early twentieth century mines in Pennsylvania. The weird yellow light really did happen on Christmas eve in 2015 when the book is set. As to why Helen's wearing a parka for unseasonable 60 degree weather, you'll have to read chapter 12!

Reviews

"Seventeen-year-old Alex Clarke is a bit of a geek. He lives in the Pennsylvania Dutch country and finds himself the love interest of an amiable Mexican vampire girl. Vampires are not supposed to fall in love with real live boys, and if they do they may face death. This is Edgar's first book in what he hopes to be a series of Minersville Vampire books. The Niskayuna High School English teacher has done a nice job at capturing the dialogue and behaviors of teenagers. This book moves along well with just the right amount of humor."

—Jack Rightmyer, The Times Union, Albany, NY, October 28, 2018

"This charming vampire romance turns gender roles around and really plays with the dynamic between a human boy who thinks there's nothing remarkable or special about him and the girl next door, who also happens to be a powerful vampire. The characters really pull you in and their flaws, their insecurities, and their desire to be understood and loved is what makes this book so compelling."

—Kerry McQuaide, Goodreads

For parents

Parents should be aware that these books are young adult vampire romance. The content of the first book includes descriptions of teen love and desire, some drinking blood by vampire characters and some violent death. I recommend the first book for grades 6 and above.

The couple's intimacy proceeds farther in the second book, which also includes some more graphic violence, including torture and vampires eating hearts. A character experiences the memory of traumatic sexual violence and struggles to cope by calling a rape crisis hotline and visiting a support group. I recommend the sequel for grades 9 and above.

I would put both books in the context of choice reading available to students in most secondary school media centers.

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