Review Fix Exclusive: ML Worthingham Talks ‘The Gloaming, Rise of the Stealth Vampire Elder’

Review Fix chats with author ML Worthingham, who discusses his new book, “The Gloaming, Rise of the Stealth Vampire Elder,” which chronicles the perilous struggles of European vampires, fighting to survive amidst the harsh reality they’re faced with following the slaughtering of their ancestors in the eighteenth century.

About the Author:

ML Worthingham is a dark fantasy writer and author of his debut novel, The Gloaming. He grew up in Mill Valley, California where he started writing fiction as a teenager. When he isn’t writing or delivering innovative new technology, he can be found traveling the world, mountain biking, or just getting another cup of coffee. Worthingham currently resides in Silicon Valley.

For more information, visit www.thegloamingbook.com and connect with ML Worthingham on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

The Gloaming, Rise of the Stealth Vampire Elder is available for purchase on Amazon and other major booksellers.

Review Fix: What inspired this book?

ML Worthingham: As far as inspiration, I would have to say Amsterdam first, and Europe in general. I think the second time I was visiting Amsterdam something about the feel of the city made me think of vampires. The architecture and the cobblestone streets. I had always been interested in the vampire myth but never fully satisfied with most of the other interpretations, so I created my own.

Review Fix: What authors did you read as a kid? How did they affect you?

Worthingham: As a kid, I read quite a bit, my family went to the library every two weeks. For fantasy, it was JRR Tolkien, and CS Lewis. Science fiction was Ray Bradbury, Philip K Dick, Issac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke. As I got older Hunter S. Thompson and John Steinbeck. Cannery Row is still one of my favorites. I think they all impacted me, but I went through a period in my life due to working in technology in which I had to read so much non-fiction that I neglected fiction. It was really George RR Martin’s Game of Thrones series, and the Kindle that got me back into fiction. If you move every few years you start to realize all your books weigh a lot. The Kindle solves that problem.

Review Fix: Why do vampires still matter?

Worthingham: I don’t think there will ever be a time when vampires don’t matter. It’s such a primal desire to live for eternity, or at least for a very long time that it will never go completely out of style. I do think they were overdone, and really pushed into the realm of pure pop with the twilight saga and others. It seems like zombies are the pop thing now, but personally they just bore me now.

Review Fix: How would you describe your writing style to someone who’s never read you?

Worthingham: I’m a storyteller, I write to entertain, both the reader and myself. I strive to paint characters that really come alive. Occasionally, I even make fun of those characters based on their actions. At the end of the day it’s just supposed to be entertainment, and escape.

Review Fix: What makes this book unique?

Worthingham: First off, it’s told from the perspective of the vampires, and is not what I would call horror. Although it has its share of violence. That’s not necessarily unique, but what I came up with after first starting to think about the book is what I call the physics of the vampires. How is it possible for them to exist? My vampires don’t live for eternity and don’t turn every person they bite into a vampire. It’s a genetic pre-disposition, a reaction to a virus. This gives them plausible limits, and more potential obstacles. My intention was never to make people afraid of vampires, I think we are beyond that. We have things like genetically modified organisms, and artificial intelligence to be afraid of now. Maybe it’s genetically modified organisms created by AI.

Review Fix: Who do you think will enjoy it the most?

Worthingham: Vampire fans should definitely check it out, but I also think it would appeal to a much wider sci-fi and fiction audience. It’s unique in its perspective, meshing modern day themes with the vampire myth.

Review Fix: Bottom line, why must someone read it?

Worthingham: It’s a unique spin on the vampire myth and good entertainment.

Review Fix: What’s next?

Worthingham: If you have read the book you probably know there is still a lot of unfinished business. The last word in the book, a demand essentially from Karolina to Valentin, is the first word in the title of the second book. Right now, I have notes and pages on two more books in “The Gloaming” series. I also have pages and notes for a few other novels unrelated to vampires one of which is about Silicon Valley. All fiction.

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add?

Worthingham: I think the vampire myth can be a personal preference, and some people are expecting a specific formula they prefer. You should just keep an open mind. The other thing is if you don’t like a character I probably don’t want you to. The book lives in the gray areas of both morality and character personality. Of course, that just potentially sets a character up for some sort of redemption in the next book, or not.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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