Question And Answer With Samantha Rendle

Samantha Rendle, author of House of Vampires (AmazonUK, Barnes&Noble, Silverwood Publishing) is here for an interview today!  I haven't had time to finish the book yet, but from what I've read it's really good!  Check out more about the book on Goodreads!  Now I'm going to hand over to Sam, who will tell us a little about House of Vampires before the interview... 

House of Vampires is a book about vampires and other worlds, for younger and older audiences. The main character, Pete, finds a key to a mysterious world and must protect it from the vampires, who want to use the key to turn the world upside down. He joins the Hunters, a group of people who stand against the vampires, and hides the key, but soon the vampires come after a loved one and he's forced to face them.

When did you first realise that you wanted to be an author?

Probably primary school, when we had to write a story. I wrote about sky pirates and really enjoyed it. My teacher loved it and I wanted to write more.  I also remember having to rewrite the Jabberwocky poem with my own nonsense words. That was fun.

Now, you’ve put a whole new angle to the vampire mythology: what was the first aspect to pop into your mind?  Was it a twist, a character, a name?

I had Pete’s character already, and I’d tried him in a few different scenarios before making him a vampire. The key was the next idea after that, then Lilith. Again I rewrote a few times before House of Vampires properly formed.

Of all the characters you created, who is your favourite?

Well, Pete was wandering around in my mind for a long time before I settled him into a storyline. I knew what I wanted him to look and act like, and after spending a lot of time developing I’ve grown attached to him, so I’d say Pete’s my favourite character. I also like Will and Frank, though, and I have a favourite character in the new book but I won’t say more than that!

If House of Vampires were to be made into a film, who would you cast as your main characters?

That’s a good question. I think about that quite a lot, actually! My sister always says she’d star in it! Let’s see... I think Emily Browning would be pretty good as Annie, Alex Pettyfer can play Frank, Toby Regbo can play Pete and Juno Temple can play Lilith. Also my friend Calum wants to be an actor so I’ll be nice and give him a role. He can be Will.

Are you planning a series for the House of Vampires characters?  Or are you working on a whole new project (can you give us a hint!)?

I am planning a sequel; I’m actually pretty far through it, but I’m concentrating on another supernatural adventure at the moment. Hopefully that’ll be a series, too.  This one’s about magic, and for a similar audience to House of Vampires.

You’re only a teenager: what was the hardest part of getting your book written and out there for all to read?

Well SilverWood was local, and one of the first publishers I wrote to. I contacted Helen at SilverWood and she was very interested in the book, but asked if I should see an agent first. But I thought self publishing would be easier with my age and lack of writing experience, so I went with that. I was in sixth form at the time, and I’d say saving EMA to publish the book wasn’t all too easy.

Sticking to writing, do you have any particular writing habits?  Do you need a special pen, a strict schedule and plan, or do you just let the story develop whenever you get an idea?

I got a journal for Christmas, but at the moment I already have a journal for when I need to complain about something or just write personal things down, so I just use the new one for book ideas and developing stories, and keep it with my laptop for when I’m writing.

A seemingly easy question: What is your favourite book of all time?

Oh God, that’s not easy! I love Nicholas Sparks, so I’d say Safe Haven and The Notebook, but I’m also into the I Am Number Four series and Frankenstein. There are so many! I can’t choose. I’ll go with The Notebook because I’m soppy.

A ridiculous question: If a Book Fairy appeared, and said you could be any character or creature – ever – from any book, who would you be?

Either Elena Gilbert from The Vampire Diaries because she’s gorgeous and powerful and she has two Italian vampires drooling over her, or Saphira from the Eragon series because she’s a dragon.

Final question: What advice can you give to all the aspiring authors out there?

Never throw away paper you could use for notes, always keep a pen on you and don’t rule out self publishing just because you have to pay for it.


Thank you for stopping by, Sam!   It was lovely having you!