‘Seeker’ is the opening chapter of the epic fantasy horror series ‘The Books of Sam’. Author JP Frankham combines real-world struggles, romance, obsession, and manipulation with themes of horror to deliver a unique take on vampire fiction.
The story of ‘Seeker’ follows Willem, a man stuck in a rut and looking for a way out. A chance at romance unknowingly draws him away from everything he knows and into a world he could never imagine.
Ahead of the book’s publication, we spoke to JP Frankham about ‘Seeker’, his ‘Books of Sam’ series and how he’s looking to make his mark on the world of horror fiction.
‘Seeker’ is available to pre-order here.
Can you give us the elevator pitch for ‘Seeker’ and the ‘Books of Sam’ series?
‘Seeker’ is a story about one man’s life which is finely regulated by his work and his dysfunctional relationship with his family, and his desire to break out of that by meeting up with his online ‘boyfriend’. Meanwhile, somebody appears to be manipulating him. And there seems to be three suspects; Charlie, Robin, Frederick… or are they one in the same…?
‘The Books of Sam’ is an evolving series that begins with a blend of real-world drama and a study of one’s identity, with ancient prophecies and a finely structured society of vampires called upiór. But ends up becoming something quite different as truths are revealed, new identities forged, old ones emerge, and the history of the upiór is to revealed to be something much more ancient than anybody could have suspected…
In ‘Seeker’ you’ve blended fantasy and horror elements with the real world. Was there anything in particular that drew you to writing a story like this?
I am eclectic in the fiction I enjoy, and over the years that has evolved through various genres, and as I’ve got older, I find myself more fascinated by the drama of real life. What makes people tick, and how complicated we tend to make the simplest things in life. Add to that my long-standing love for horror fiction, it was an obvious choice to merge the two into what, I believe, can be called urban fantasy. Real-world stories, dealing with real people, thrown into supernatural shenanigans with a darker, much more horrific edge. It’s very me!
Without giving too much away, can you tell us about the book’s two main characters Frederick and Will? How did you approach developing the characters and how do they play into the overall narrative of the series?
Two of the main characters, certainly. To my mind, there are actually four. Will, Frederick, Jake, and Curtis. In some way the three adults are all quite similar, almost different aspects of the same personality types in many ways. The obsessive, the neurotic, the manipulative, and the deeply fragile. All of them struggle with who they really are on a base level. Add to that, none of the three are quite so set in their sexualities as they may like to think. And then we have Curtis, a two-and-a-half-year-old boy, who’s nephew to Will, and by extension a kind of surrogate nephew to Jake. A true innocent caught up in the middle of everything.
Developing characters is, to my mind, pretty easy. All I need do is look around to get inspiration; people I know, people I meet, people I observe on the streets. But one thing I don’t do is tie my characters down to one kind of personality, or set in stone specific reactions, habits, rhythms, because I feel in real life nobody is one type. We all have different aspects, different sides that we show to different people, and none of us truly knows how we’ll react to any given situation until we are in it. And that’s the way I approach my characters, treat them like real people, and hopefully, their responses to what the plot throws at them will be determined by who they are at that moment of their story.
We got heavily invested in the relationship dynamics throughout the book. How did you approach writing these elements?
I’m glad to hear you became invested. There have been a couple of renditions of ‘Seeker’, with various types of readers, since the very first draft I wrote back in 2008, and one thing has always been clear is how people react and become attached to the characters. In the original structure of the book (or books, as one has now been split into two – with some creative editing), the real-world stuff played out for the first half without any hint of the supernatural horror, and it was only halfway, during that first night in Southend that I revealed what was really going on. And that certainly worked for a few of the early readers; they were sucked into the drama, the relationships, and then couldn’t put it down when the book was turned on its head. And writing it that way, meant I as the author, was able to become invested in the lives of Will, Jake, and Curtis, get to know them properly before I allowed myself to dip into the darker recesses and introduce Frederick and his ‘family’ into the narrative.
When you know you’re writing a story that will take place across several books, does that change your approach to writing at all? How did you approach plotting out ‘The Books of Sam’?
It’s been an evolution. Initially, I wasn’t planning on writing a series, but it became obvious during the first draft that it needed more space to breathe and so I alternated between it being a trilogy or a tetralogy. But the longer I spend time with it, the more I re-read and revise, the more it seems clear that the story (and by the story, I mean the characters’ own journey) has very long legs, as more and more new characters emerge and they all become more interwoven. Indeed, last night, while reading through this new edition of ‘Seeker’ (I like to re-read, to keep things fresh in mind so later books don’t contradict) it occurred to me that another ‘guest’ character hasn’t finished their story, and so once again it’s the character that dictates to me their story, and all I can is keep telling it until it’s done.
The plot of ‘Seeker’ centres around an ancient vampire prophecy, and you’ve added your own twist to typical vampire lore. Which, if any, famous vampire stories inspired you?
So many! I have loved vampire fiction since I was young; I expect it was the TV series of The Little Vampire that might have done it, that and comedy vampires in cartoons. But, for proper inspiration, I’d have to turn to the old faithfuls of Dracula, I Am Legend, and the Vamphyrric duology by Simon Clark, as well as the writings of Tom Holland (not the actor or the director!) and Anne Rice. Indeed, one review stated that ‘Seeker’ is like Anne Rice meeting Stephen Donaldson.
Did you feel any pressure creating this world, knowing that so many people had their own perceptions of vampires and the lore surrounding them?
Not really, as there is so much vampire lore out there. Almost every country has its own lore, with some crossover and people and thus traditions spread out all over the globe. Every writer who has ever written for the fictional vampire has been inspired, usually, by their own cultural traditions. And some have been lucky enough to add new things to the lore (like 1922’s Nosferatu, which added the death by sunlight gig, a thing that has been pretty much synonymous with Western vampire lore for decades now), so if anything I add gets replicated elsewhere I shall take that as a huge compliment. I have tried to add a little something new, mix it up as it were, by taking elements from different traditions.
As someone who has been writing as long as you have, what changes have you observed in the fantasy and horror genres, and where do you think ‘Seeker’ fits?
Well, it seems to me that urban fantasy is growing more and more popular. And vampire fiction continues to evolve. I would like to think that ‘Seeker’ fits nicely as a continuation, and sometimes a direct response, to the more watered-down version of vampires we’ve seen since Anne Rice made her mark.
Most popular vampire fiction, especially in Hollywood, has been a continuation and, often, an attempt to replicate what Rice did (not started, however, since that honour goes to Bram Stoker and John Polodori). I’ve taken much of that romantic idea of the vampire, as this lover of humanity, and tried to give it a darker edge again. Although, as with most stories, there is a romance element, ‘The Books of Sam’ tends to take it into darker area, less love and more obsession.
Do you have a favourite character or moment in Seeker, or a part that particularly stands out to you?
Most likely, and no doubt it would change the next time I am asked this. But right now, it’s the moment when Jake starts to realise the change he is going through; first during the all-nighter before Will leaves for Southend, and then when Will goes communication black-out and the effect it has on Jake. There are some wonderfully tender moments there.
Is there anything in particular that you’d like readers to take away from reading ‘Seeker’?
Sure, and it’s that we don’t fit in little boxes. Nobody is one thing, we’re all different people, all unique and yet all very much the same. I hope, most of all, as well as enjoying an involving and affecting story, they go away feeling that the people in our lives are the most important thing.
Finally, can you share any teasers about what readers can expect in the next book of the Books of Sam series?
More obsession and revelations. If ‘Seeker’ was the set-up, then ‘Oracle’ will be the deeper exploration of the lore, as well as a deeper exploration of Jake’s emotional state, while we’re introduced to the key player of the series… and that’s Sam himself.
Seeker by JP Frankham is published on September 12th 2024. Pre-order today from Amazon, Bookshop.org, or Waterstones.