Storm Constantine: Bewitchments and Fulfilments

If you saw Storm Constantine at a SF convention, you’d notice her. Even in a room full of armed Klingons, seven-foot Wookies, scantily-clad Xena wannabes and undead creatures of every ilk, Constantine turns heads. And if you caught one of her panels, you’d probably be charmed by her juxtaposition of surreal fantasy and wry humor, and rush out to buy one of her books.

Which isn’t as easy as it ought to be. Her books are much harder to find in the U.S. than in her native England. And if your taste for fantasy begins and ends with the latest Tolkien clone, Storm Constantine may not be for you. If, on the other hand, you’re ready to explore several of the strangest worlds you’re ever likely to find without benefit of opium or absinthe…

Crescent Blues: The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit — and its sequels, The Bewitchments of Love and Hate and The Fulfilments of Fate and Desire — portray a society in which the Wraeththu, a race of long-lived, magically gifted and exotically beautiful hermaphrodites are gradually replacing the humans from whom they evolved. What inspired the Wraeththu and their world?

Constantine: The main inspiration for the Wraeththu books was the alternative music scene I was involved in at the time. This later became the phenomenon known as Goth, but in the early Eighties, it was a very different scene than what it is now. It flirted with the iconography of death, vampires, etc., but in a playful mischievous way. It did not take itself too seriously, and was not at all gloomy and melancholic, as Goth often has the reputation to be now.

Goth evolved from Punk in the late Seventies, and was also influenced by the gay scene. In the beginning, a lot of the best Goth clubs were gay clubs, especially in Birmingham, which is the biggest city near where I live. The people around me, in bands, in clubs, were all very androgynous. Many of them seemed like fantasy creatures. Some of the gay guys had amazing clothes and hair — they taught us what we could do with ripped fishnet, leather and black lace! You can imagine how this influenced my imagination in the Wraeththu books.

Do you see the action in the Wraeththu novels as taking place in the future of our world or in another, alternate reality?

I think it’s really an alternate reality. Whenever a new writer asks me for advice about what kind of book they should write first, I always say they should write the one they’ve always wanted to read but have never found. That was what Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit was for me. It was a fantasy world I created, and in which I wanted to play.

Are Wraeththu a purely artistic creation, or do they have a political or metaphysical symbolism?

Metaphysically, they refer to the dual, hermaphroditic nature of the soul, which is an idea that comes from alchemy, among other sources.

The Wraeththu’s somewhat exotic sexuality is a defining aspect of their culture, and thus an important theme in the books. Has the eroticism — and often homoeroticism — of the Wraeththu trilogy affected your ability to reach your audience? Have you experienced either censorship or criticism that limited your readership or notoriety that helped increase it?

When the books first came out in the United Kingdom in the Eighties, they were seen as quite ground-breaking. Few fantasy or science fiction writers had addressed sex and sexuality so openly. I was lucky that the majority of readers and critics welcomed this, but I did have a problem with a couple of feminist reviewers who refused to review the books. They said my work was misogynistic, because the Wraeththu came from males rather than females.

To me, this was missing the point. The Wraeththu are male and female in one body. In one way, I was trying to say that men could do with being a bit more like women. In my view, this is not misogynistic. I have never been censored, fortunately, and I don’t think notoriety increased my readership.

My work has gradually become more widely read, and I like to think this has been because of word-of-mouth from readers who liked my books and wanted to recommend them to others. I have never had major publicity from any of my publishers, but in some ways I’m glad about this. I know the books are successful because of what they are, not just a big, blaring promo campaign.

What is the significance of the Kamagrians, who appear in the final volume of the trilogy and seem to be a new race evolving from human women as the Wraeththu evolved from human men?

The Kamagrian were an experiment really. I wanted to play around with the concept of Wraeththu and bring in a more feminine element — perhaps, if I am honest, as a response to some of the criticism I received at the time. The Kamagrian are a race I might explore further if I do any more Wraeththu material, which is becoming ever more likely, strangely enough.

When I first wrote the books, I had synopses mapped out for several more volumes, but no publisher wanted to take them because the Wraeththu books were not major best-sellers. Therefore, I had to compromise and write something different. But the fact that the trilogy has remained in print in America for so long, and still continues to sell, has proved there’s mileage in the idea. There were so many themes in the books that could have been expanded and explored.

With Burying the Shadow and Stalking Tender Prey, you began a new series based on the legends of the Watchers and the Nephilim or Grigori. Could you tell us something about these new works, and the research that has led you to write them?

I have always been interested in the legends of fallen angels, since I first discovered them back in the mid-Seventies. “Burying the Shadow” was my first foray into writing fiction on the subject. I wanted to write a book about angels and vampires that did not mention either of those words once. It was a bona fide fantasy novel, set in an invented world, but the Grigori trilogy, which came much later, was dark fantasy, set mainly in this reality.

One of the reasons I came to write the Grigori books was because of the encouragement of a friend, earth mysteries writer Andy Collins. I’d finished Calenture and was pondering what to do next. Andy knew I shared his interest in the Nephilim and kept saying I should write the definitive novel about them.

At the time, he was researching a non-fiction book on the subject, which was later published as From the Ashes of Angels. He used psychics in his research, and much of the material he got from them could not be verified as fact, so therefore, had no place in a serious study of the subject. However, it was perfect for fiction — luckily enough for me. Andy let me adapt some of this material for the books. It appeared in the visionary sequences of the story. The subject was so huge, one book couldn’t do it justice, which was why I wrote it as a trilogy.

Your Grigori books draws upon myths and legends from many cultures. Do you use these exactly as you find them, or do you transmute them as needed to meet the demands of your artistic vision?

When working with ancient legends in the Grigori material, I tried to keep them as faithful to their sources as possible. In other books, I have been a bit more “creative” with established myths. The trilogy I’m working on now, which begins with Sea Dragon Heir, contains mythology from many different cultures, but I’ve reinvented them to create a new belief system.

You were one of a very distinguished list of contributors to Crow: Shattered Lives and Broken Dreams, an anthology of stories inspired by the movie The Crow. Was it difficult for someone as original as you to work within the limits of a story originally created by someone else?

No, because Ed Kramer, one of the editors, encouraged me to write a Wraeththu story for the collection. It seemed to fit into the concept of what The Crow was all about.

Have you ever participated in other group or shared world projects, and if so, how did that go?

I’ve done quite a few stories for shared world anthologies. I wouldn’t even attempt to do so if I didn’t find the source material inspiring. Most recently, I’ve worked with Phil Brucato, who used to be an editor for White Wolf, on his Mage material. Mage is a game, and I don’t play fantasy role-playing games, but Phil’s ideas are so vivid and creative, it was a pleasure to take a stroll in his invented world. Phil no longer works at White Wolf, but we’ve stayed in contact and hope to collaborate on other things soon.

I understand that Storm Constantine is your real, legal name, not just a pseudonym, but not the name you were given at birth. How did you come to choose your name?

I changed my name about fifteen years ago, when I first got my work accepted by a publisher, because I’d made a decision to begin a new and better life. It seemed an intensely magical and significant act not just to create a name to write under but to take it legally too. As to where it came from, I can’t really remember now. I know I loved the name “Storm,” but why “Constantine?” Don’t know, but it obviously felt right at the time!

You’ve indicated that being a writer enabled you to make a career out of telling stories, which you’d been doing all your life. How did it change when you made the shift from unpublished to published, and then later when you left your day job to write full time?

The reason I made the decision to write seriously, not just have a zillion half finished projects lying around, was because I realized I had to do something to get out of the nine-to-five job trap. I hated that life. It involved staring at the clock all day, wishing my life away. It is not a good way to live. So, I had immense persistence and determination to change things.

My first goal was to work at a day job part-time, which I achieved after I sold my fourth book. It was very strange at first. I actually felt guilty about being at home, doing something I loved rather than having to go out to work every day, grumbling, complaining and miserable. My father and stepmother also experienced this feeling when they retired early, so perhaps it’s just something that’s ingrained into us.

It took me about six months to get used to the freedom, and during that time I found it very difficult to write, but eventually I settled down into my new routine. I finally gave up the day job completely a few years after that, although I continued to do a few hours a week for a local charity, and also took some freelance work for a computer training company. More recently, I worked at our local college as a lecturer in creative writing. At the moment, I write full-time, but I might do other things that interest me again occasionally, should the opportunity arise.

If you hadn’t become a writer, what do you think you’d have done with your life — and how different do you think you would be today?

I shudder to think!

Tell us something about the influences that have shaped you as an artist. For example, your work seems infused with images from music and the visual arts. What musicians and artists influence you?

I’m influenced by many things, but I suppose Pre-Raphaelite art is one of my main inspirations. All the pictures have a story to tell. As for music, I tend to have a “sound-track” CD for each book I write. Listening to it helps me visualise the world I’m creating. My taste in music is very varied, from classical to techno-dance. Examples of soundtrack CDs are Aion by Dead Can Dance for Burying the Shadow, Let Love In by Nick Cave for Stalking Tender Prey, and Leftism by Leftfield for Scenting Hallowed Blood.

What do you think about the current state of the Goth music culture? Is it growing, dying, stagnating, changing or what? Are there any particular musical trends right now that excite you?

In England, Goth is in the doldrums. It doesn’t really exist any more and any bands that are still clinging to the wreckage seem very derivative. Nothing new is happening. In the States and Australia, and parts of Europe, Goth continues to thrive. To be honest, I don’t really have much contact with that scene now, not since I stopped working with bands. The music I listen to most now is alternative dance, I suppose.

Have you ever read a book that was so in tune with the way you think and what you strive for in your writing that you found yourself saying, “Damn, I wish I’d written that!”

Oh yes! When I first read a book by Helen Dunmore (which was A Spell of Winter) I just adored it. She’s more of a mainstream than a fantasy writer, but her writing style, her ideas and the sensuality of her work are just brilliant. By sensuality, I don’t mean sex, but just the way she invokes all of the senses through words. You can almost taste, smell and hear her prose. Similarly, there’s Kate Atkinson, who wrote a fantastic book called Human Croquet. These women are superb authors. I’m in awe of their skill and hungrily await their new novels. In the fantasy genre, I love Tanith Lee’s work. She has inspired me for years, even though I think what we do is very different.

How have the things that influence you changed over the years?

I don’t think they have much. I’m still inspired by good movies, good books, good art and good music.

How does one of your works begin? Can you trace the genesis to one particular thing: a character, an image, a phrase?

It’s been different for every book. I might see a TV documentary (as with Thin Air that’s just come out in the UK), or I might see a movie that inspires creative ideas, or read a non-fiction book or a newspaper story. It might just be a feeling, a color, a dream, something I see during a journey, or a conversation overhead in the street. Anything can spark off a story.

How much are your characters inspired by real people? If we met your friends, or watched your favorite movies or bands would we see the real life models for some of the Wraeththu or Grigori?

There are bits of people I know in my characters, but I don’t think they’re recognizable as such. The only time friends appeared in my work as characters in themselves was in Sign for the Sacred. That was a deliberate act, and had their approval.

What’s your writing process like? Do you plan a great deal or work more spontaneously?

It’s a bit of both. I generally have a synopsis for the whole plot, but that tends to change as I write, and the characters come alive for me.

Similarly, how do you see your work developing in the future? Do you have a definite idea of where you want to go with your art, or do you prefer to let your direction evolve spontaneously?

I don’t have a definite idea of where I want to go, and wouldn’t really want to have. I’ve got about half a dozen synopses for novels that I want to write over the next few years, but they may be put to one side in favor of new ideas. I certainly want to do more non-fiction, along the lines of Bast and Sekhmet: Eyes of Ra, which I’ve just finished writing with a friend, Eloise Coquio. I’ve also written a self-development book with Debbie Benstead, called The Inward Revolution, which was published in the UK last year. Both of these books are being shown to American publishers at the moment, so here’s hoping they find a home over there.

What do you hope to achieve that you haven’t yet achieved?

I would like to see a movie of one of my books one day, but I appreciate that the finished article would undoubtedly be very different from the novel.

Imagine that someone has never read a Storm Constantine book — how should they begin? Not just which book should they choose, but what is the perfect atmosphere in which to read it? (I thought silk velvet cushions, rose incense, and wine in exotic glass goblets might be a good start…)

I love your suggestions, although the incense I’d go for would be more of a sandalwood/patchouli mix rather than rose! However, that said, I like to think people can get into my work in more mundane settings in order to escape from them.

A lot of my readers take my books on the train to work with them, or read them in their lunch hours. To me, a novel should create a kind of virtual reality, so that people can become totally immersed in it, with nothing jarring to jolt them back to reality. Curling up to read in exotic surroundings is the ultimate bliss, but a good book should be able to transport the reader beyond the physical realm. This is what I aim for and which I hope I achieve.

I’d just like to finish with news concerning my books in America. [Publisher] Meisha Merlin will bring out Scenting Hallowed Blood, the second volume of the Grigori trilogy this summer, and a limited edition collection of my short stories, called The Oracle Lips, is due out imminently from Stark House Press. There’s a possibility that some of my back catalogue novels will be published in the States, but at present I have no definite dates for this. A major American publisher is currently negotiating for Sea Dragon Heir, but superstition forbids me to say more until the contract is in the bag!

I have an official Web site, which gives information about all forthcoming projects and appearances. I read all the messages in the guest book on the site and respond personally to any questions from readers.

Donna Andrews

Donna Andrews is the author of Murder with Peacocks, which won the St. Martin’s Press/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Award in May 1998.