An Interview with Isabel Giovanni
We're
sitting – well, she is, I'm safely ensconced in six feet of garlic – with
Isabel Giovanni, spokesperson for Clan Giovanni and a very classy vampire
indeed.
Thank you for taking time out of your busy night to talk to me!
Buona sera, signore. Thank you for visiting with me. I always enjoy
entertaining willing guests. Trespassers, though, I have to admit that I do not
look kindly upon. All of the garlic in Italy wouldn't help them.
From your home and much of your writing here on PanHistoria it’s clear you
are a fan of the World
of Darkness setting. The Carpe
Noctem novel is based on that. What makes WoD more interesting to
you than more traditional forms of Vampires and gothic settings, such as Dracula
by Irish author Bram Stoker?
Yes, I am a huge fan of the old World of Darkness. White Wolf has a new World
of Darkness line out now which some criticise as being 'old WoD lite'.
I'm not sure if that is fair or not, as I've not really involved myself in that
new universe. The beauty of having the luxury of writing with others of like
mind is that we can continue to explore and play in the old WoD settings.
For me, the appeal of this setting is the dark conspiracy that is enveloping the
world. Settings in the classics, like Dracula, focus very much on
personal horror, which is fantastic, but in such settings, once the villain or
monster is hunted down and finished off, the story ends as there are no more
threats to fill the emptiness. It really is 'The End' and life continues on. In
the World of Darkness, the threats are like the Hydra; cut one head off
and out pops another if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, out pops three.
Typically the WoD setting based in a contemporary time period. But
you've started several threads that are going as far back as the Middle Ages.
What are you looking to explore there, and does that bring you back toward a
more classical form of gothic vampirism?
Yes, that's true. Vampire: the Masquerade was the first in the series and
firmly set in the modern world. Over time, as the mythos grew, White Wolf began
releasing supplements for those who wanted to play in the decades past. It's an
amazingly huge and complex world and there is so much to explore as a writer and
player.
What I want to explore in the threads set in the past are how the supernatural
cabals, secret societies, and sects began to infiltrate the human world. There
is more room in the past for interactions between the different factions of
vampires, mages, and werewolves that is lacking in the modern setting. There the
battle lines are drawn and set as the world moves closer to apocalypse.
I think the threads occurring in past settings are closer to the classics.
There, the supernatural creatures, human magii included, are the undisputed
masters of the night. Human civilisation, while advanced, isn't as much of a
threat to them as it is in the modern setting. Then technology grows by leaps
and these creatures find their world is shrinking down around them and that
humanity is getting stronger, and we leap into the modern setting. For me, it's
a challenging and satisfying mix.
How far does the gothic extend in your life? In The
Craft Faire you spoke of Tepes hats. Is that just a coincidence or did
you want to make them because they refers to Vlad Tepes? Any other activities
you do that might be seen in a similar vein?
Are those not the cutest hats! They also knit up fairly quickly and aren't so
complicated that I have to turn the telly off when I'm knitting them. To answer
your original question first, though, I do remember the days of the Bat Cave and
Bauhaus, when fishnets had holes in them because they only sold the blessed
things at Halloween and not all year long. If you'd like, I'm sure I can find my
Elder Goth membership card around here somewhere. Now, other than subversive
knitting patterns, because crafting doesn't have to be so darned perky, the
gothic influences still current in my life are my music and my BPAL perfume
collection. I remember going to see the Sisters of Mercy at the 930 club a few
years ago and thinking, 'oh dear, they've gotten old!' and then thinking the
same about myself when I had to go to work four hours after I got home.
In a similar vein [bravo for the pun] I also enjoy the steampunk genre… or gas
lamp fantasy as some call it. I think the genres compliment each other well in
intersections; the idea of artificial intelligences and the subtle horror of
creator and creation as they struggle to come to terms with what defines
'soul." C.U.R.S. [Cambridge University Roleplaying Society] created a game
called Broken Gears that explores this idea in a world set in 2045 after half of
humanity is destroyed by one of their constructions. I could never find anyone
interested in running and playing a campaign in that world, so I'll get my genre
fix reading Ian McDonald's Desolation Road this July.
You also write as Granny
Weatherwax. That has to be quite the mental switch from Isabel. How do you
do it? What part of your muse is Granny?
Some days, it's not as hard as you'd imagine. Granny and Isabel each have a
streak of snark in them, and depending on my mood, I can leap frog from one to
the other fairly easily. Other days, their differences are enough that I do have
to focus solely on one or the other.
Honestly, I'd have to say that Granny stems from the part of me that gets
frustrated with the man-made insanity that goes along with daily life. She's my
satirical outlet when I need humour and not horror.
My countless spies among the kindred tell me you are an avid – some say
obsessed – football (soccer to our American friends) fan. So, do vampires
enjoy football? Is that really allowed? Which team has your favour?
Yes, your eyes and ears amongst us have the right of it. I adore calico, the
beautiful game, and am an ardent supporter of AC Milan. I also follow a few
teams in the English Premier League, amongst them Chelsea and Man City. I do not
play, of course, but that does not stop me from being a spectator whenever time
allows. Thankfully, modern technology makes it possible to catch whatever
matches I have missed and then watch them at my leisure.
Is that allowed? Of course it is allowed. As long as the sun is well set before
a match, there are no other restrictions upon me… although there was that one
night when Arsenal knocked Milan out of the running in the UEFA Champions
League. The family was slightly put out by the clean-up effort involved at that
English pub. What? I apologised to elders and gave an extra tithe to the family
coffers.0
Here's hoping your team wins! Thank you for your participation, it's been a
delight to talk to you once again.
Grazie molto, although I am getting terribly used to seeing them in the
no. 3 slot on the league tables. Thank you for visiting with me. I enjoyed the
evening and our conversation very much.
>> Visit Isabel Giovanni's Home