FACETIME- A Werewolf in Virginia: Rocker turned author discusses book

Andy Deane.
PHOTO BY WILL WALKER

As the lead vocalist in goth band Bella Morte, Andy Deane is no stranger to the dark arts. No, this isn’t another story of wizardry and a boy-who-lived, but one filled with werewolves and rock music. Deane, 31, now has fans thirsting for his book.

Even before hitting bookshelves, his newly-published novel, The Sticks, hit #1 in pre-sales and #2 in digital downloads at Horror Mall, a top independent online horror shop.

It’s almost scary how successful the move has been. Deane readily concedes that having a band gives him a bit of a foot into the horror doorway and an immediate fan base, so the fact that copies of The Sticks sell briskly at concerts should be no surprise. But Deane beams as he recounts how the "brutal" horror magazine Rue Morgue raved that his book is "nearly impossible to put down."

So it's popular in the underworld, but can readers expect anything more than just a werewolf tale?

"It's very humorous, and the characters are very human," says bandmate Tony Lechmanski, who says readers will easily relate to Deane’s characters, no monster affinity required.

The road to authorship began, perhaps appropriately for an oft-touring musician, on a road trip. Somewhere between Salt Lake City and Charlottesville, Deane realized he had something more monstrous: over ten thousand words.

Next steps were the same for any new author: edit the story, show it to friends, and find a publisher. The veteran of the music industry admits he was clueless about publishing.

"I spent a day in Barnes & Noble, just borrowing their research books and trying to figure out how to get a book deal," says Deane, “but I ended up going home just pissed off.

"I went home and just started writing [to publishers] on MySpace, which is probably the least professional thing you could ever do. But I was stupid enough to do it."

It’s pretty clear his tactics paid off at Delirium Books. The indie horror house that launched the career of Brian Keene, author of The Rising and a hot-shot in zombie horror, agreed to publish.

Now, the self-proclaimed workaholic says he has already finished a second horror novel, is working on a third and fourth, and even contemplating a book tour. Hey, isn't he supposed to be depressed or angry?

"I'm a happy dude," explains Deane, "but with a natural inclination to darker things."
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Deane discusses and reads his first novel, The Sticks, at 7 pm Thursday July 23 at the Barracks Road Barnes and Noble.  Signed copies will also be available.