CORNWALL, Ontario – This isn’t your teenage daughter’s vampire book – quite frankly she shouldn’t be anywhere near it.
But Memoirs of the Mongrel King, the three-year labour of love by Cornwall’s Dwight Dugas (who can now add author to his resume) could speak to the silent masses who want more from vampire novels than a love story wrapped up in a black cape.
Mongrel King is the first in a three-part series called Empire of Magnus the self-published author is looking to get off the ground later this year.
Book one is heavy on sex, vulgarity and violence, and Dugas is quick to point out, it’s not for kids.
“It’s a vampire book that doesn’t sparkle,” Dugas said, with pun fully intended.
He is, of course, referencing the Twilight series, which became a worldwide sensation both in print and on the silver screen.
Dugas doesn’t like his horror stories that way, and has penned a book that gets back to the roots of the genre.
“I grew up on horror films,” he said. “I guess I got desensitized early.
“It seems (the genre) now is geared towadrs young adults and teenage girls.”
Mongrel King tells the story of Darrien Xavier, and Englishman who is born of two different vampire factions. Xavier’s life is a tragedy, filled with prison time. He eventually fleas his native country to New York City, where he is eventually kidnapped by vampires looking to use to his dark powers for world domination.
Hey, it’s horror novel – what did you expect?
Dugas said he wanted to explore the depths of human deprevity, but on a supernatural level.
“If you look at human beings and how we treat each other…If they (vampires) existed, how cruel and power hungry would they be?”
If you read the book, you’ll find out.
Mongrel King is available on amazon.com for download and Dugas said plans are in the works to order a collection of the novel in time for a spring distribution locally.
There are two more books to come in the series, and while Dugas has begun work on the second, he is taking time off.
The three years it took him to write Mongrel King came with a heavy price.
“It led to issues in my marriage and that was the toughest part,” he said. “Thank god my wife (Shannon) is as good as she is.
“I put all of myself into writing (the book). I’m going to take a year off before I get back into it.”
Mongrel King can also be found online here, where readers can find the first chapter available for free and links to purchase the complete work.
