Editorial Director Lou Anders writes that Pyr SF hasn’t yet published “an out and out, unabashedly vampire book,” because he’s “been looking for the right vampire book, the kind of vampire book that says ‘this is how Pyr does vampires.'”
Apparently, he has finally found that book. Husband-and-wife writing duo Clay and Susan Griffith have grabbed Anders’s attention with a series to be titled Vampire Empire. The first book, to be titled The Greyfriar, is an alternate history steampunk vampire novel, which he expects to publish in late 2010 or early 2011.
The Griffiths say “Vampire Empire is the culmination of our love of fantasy, history, and rousing pulp adventure. The world of the novel consists of familiar Victorian history blended with strange twists to create a vast tapestry of politics and war fueled by odd steampunk technology. We think our take on vampires will excite you. But mostly, we promise that we know, as any reader does, characters count more than anything else.”
Anders tells us the Griffiths “specialize in blending fantasy and historical adventure in prose and graphic novels. They have published works ranging from the dark fantasy novel Banshee Screams (Pinnacle Entertainment, 2002) to many issues of the satirical comic book The Tick (NEC Press). Clay and Susan met, probably not surprisingly, in a bookstore. Clay is a professor of history and Susan has a background in journalism, technical writing, and graphic design. They were married in Scotland, the country that provides much of the setting of Vampire Empire. Clay and Susan live with a cat in North Carolina. They have been writing together over 20 years, and are still married.”