Interview with Novelist Ben Wolf and the Re-Release of Blood for Blood.

One of my favourite novels is Blood for Blood, the debut novel by Ben Wolf. I reviewed this in 2015. It deals with a very unique topic, "What if a vampire got saved?" Very speculative and controversial in Christian circles! So in 2015, I felt it was worth interviewing Ben to see what he had to say about this topic.

Today, I re-visit this interview with updates since the recent re-release and its re-vamping (Ben's original pun!). What a great new cover as well! It will also give a new generation of readers the background behind this compelling, edgy, speculative novel.

So sit back and read about Ben, the author (Part 1 of the interview), then about the revamp of Blood for Blood (Part two).

First up, what is this novel about? Read on:

Blood for Blood.

Is his soul lost forever?

Or can she show him the light?

Raven Worth hunts the living every night. Their blood is his sustenance, and his appetite is insatiable. He is cursed to live this way forever—immortal, yet never truly fulfilled.

But when Raven stumbles upon a traveling evangelist and his family at a big tent revival, he finds himself enraptured not only by their message of hope but also by Calandra, the evangelist’s beautiful daughter.

Betrothed to another man with her parents’ blessing, Calandra cannot deny her sudden attraction to Raven. Though she should fear Raven because of what he is, she finds herself hopelessly drawn to him more with each approaching sunset.

As Raven and Calandra grapple with their feelings and Raven’s newfound faith, an ongoing manhunt for a dangerous criminal sends shockwaves tearing through their lives. Soon they each face a series of heartbreaking choices that will determine their fates forever.

Can Raven break the chains of his dark past and be reborn in the light?

Will Calandra remain on the lifelong path her parents have laid out for her?

Or will the two of them join together at the dawn of a new day, eternally changed?

Blood for Blood is Ben Wolf’s award-winning debut novel, originally published in 2014 and now re-vamped. This blend of classic vampire lore, romance, action, and faith elements in the historical setting of 1885 creates a gripping story that will leave you breathless. Get it now.

Okay Ben, thanks for stopping by! How about we start with you telling us a little about yourself?

Thanks for having me, Peter. Since the last time we did this interview, I now have 20+ books published across a wide range of genres including sci-fi, fantasy, horror, young adult, and children’s books. Blood for Blood is a relaunch of my debut novel by the same name.

When not writing, I practice Brazilian jiu-jitsu, play video games, and enjoy playing board games with friends. I also cook a pretty mean cheesesteak.


What inspired you to become an author and has it always been a desire of yours to write? 

I realized early on that I loved stories. Authors like Frank Peretti wrote wonderful, imaginative tales that swept me away, and one day I decided I was going to write a book at some point.

Since then, I’ve been writing goofy and action-packed stories. I finished my first novel in college. It’s terrible and will never see the light of day, but I learned from it and have gone on to publish several more books since then.

What tools have you found most successful in advertising/marketing yourself and your books?

I’m not great at marketing my books online. I’ll be the first to admit that. However, I’m really good at promoting and selling my books at live events.

I’ve come to the point now where I’m doing 30+ shows each year. It’s a lot of work schlepping those books to each show, but I have a lot of fun doing the shows themselves. I get to interact with readers in real-time, and they almost always become lifelong fans.

What has surprised you the most about becoming an author?

It’s a lot harder than I thought, and it has taken longer than I thought to get to the point where I’m earning enough income from writing for it to even be considered a part-time job.

Anyone can tell a story (and I really do believe that), and a lot of us can write those stories down and have them make sense, but writing them in a way that achieves that “easy” criteria and is entertaining for readers is another matter altogether.

It’s hard work to make everything work the way it should, and even then, I don’t think I can ever make a novel perfect. That doesn’t stop me from trying, though, and I’m getting better with each subsequent book.

How has writing and being an author impacted your relationship with Jesus Christ? 

Writing has both brought me closer to and separated me from Christ. I’ve come closer in that when I’m writing a story like Blood for Blood because it forces me to recognize and grapple with deep spiritual questions, and so that challenges my faith.

On a practical level, I’m prone to being busy and staying busy 95% of my waking hours, so I struggle to make the necessary time to spend growing my relationship with Christ. It’s a double-edged sword, and I’m still trying to find a workable balance there.

Obviously becoming an author has been a huge accomplishment for you, but can you tell us what a major goal of yours is outside of the world of writing?

I have dozens of goals for my life, writing-related and otherwise. Outside of the world of writing, I’d love to travel abroad more. I visited Australia when I was a kid, and I’d really like to go back. I’d also like to visit Italy, England, and Japan in the near future, in no particular order.

Aside from travel, I have my sights set on becoming a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu someday. It’s a discipline unlike many other martial arts in that it takes a long time to achieve that rank, and the work is consistent, difficult, and challenging the entire time.

So we know you like to write, but can you divulge to your fans out there what’s something that you like to do in your downtime when you're not writing?

I mentioned above that I’m big into jiu-jitsu. I’d love to have more time for that, honestly, but my writing/editing/live events schedule keeps me from training more than a couple of times per week. That’s how it is right now, anyway.

I occasionally steal time to play video games, too. My recent go-to is Overwatch. I’m good at it, but not great, and that’s fine. I don’t have any aspirations to try to make a career of it.

Do you think there is anything significantly different about Christian fiction, as opposed to secular fiction?

Yes. But also, no. Great quality fiction that strikes a nerve will sell and find an audience no matter if it’s Christian fiction or secular. The Left Behind series is the preeminent example of that.

With that said, authors need to target their audiences more specifically. If you’re writing for a Christian audience, give them what they want and expect. If you’re writing for a secular audience, the rules are different, and you have to know them and adhere to them in order to find success there.

This is true of every genre. They all have different rules and expectations that readers will expect. Learn them, and your chances of success in finding your audience will increase dramatically.

Your debut novel, Blood for Blood, is very edgy and speculative. That hasn’t changed in the re-released version. At the time you originally published it, this was a relatively new, evolving, not very well-accepted or understood Christian fiction genre (and one I love and read the most in). How did you come to write in this genre first and not in the safer, mainstream Christian fiction genres? 

This hearkens back to my early influences in life, particularly Frank Peretti and later, Robert Liparulo. I’ve always loved and enjoyed speculative fiction in its many forms, so it made sense to create in that genre.

What’s more, the stories that have come to me have been primarily speculative in nature, or at the very least, edgy, like you said. I don’t often get ideas for romance novels or historical novels, but I think up speculative ideas all the time. And as far as them being edgy goes, for me, that’s a must, because it makes the story more interesting and, in some ways, more realistic.

Nowadays, though, I actually aim most of my fiction at the general market. My stuff is TOO out there and TOO edgy for most Christian readers and publishers. On top of that, I’ve seen a lot of Christian authors successfully publishing general market books and finding their audiences, so that inspired me to aim for a larger audience (compared to the market for Christian speculative fiction, which is tiny).

How did B4B come about?

I actually didn't come up with the concept for Blood for Blood. At a writers conference several years ago, my friend and fellow writer Matt Sheehy mentioned how hilarious it would be if a vampire got saved. Maybe a Christian vampire could help out with a tent revival, and maybe he'd have to use a hammer and big wooden stakes to secure the tent to the ground.

The juxtaposition of the vampire using tools traditionally used to kill his kind to secure a tent to advance the Kingdom of God struck me, and the entire plot for my novel (well, almost all of it) blossomed in my head. I asked Matt for permission to write the book, and he gladly granted it.

What kind of reaction were you hoping to receive from readers of B4B?

I had hoped for readers to do two things: 1. love it and 2. buy lots of copies. Fortunately, the readers have loved it. Now I’m just waiting for the hundreds of thousands of book sales to follow.

The first run of the book garnered lots of positive reviews, and I even won the OCW Cascade Award for the book in 2015. At the time, that was validation that I ought to keep writing. Now my validation comes from hearing from readers who have loved my books.

I noticed that Luco, the pastor, is Italian. That stood out for me and I wondered where that came from? Not that it makes any difference to the story, but for some reason, it stood out to me. I also then realized if he is Italian, why you did not portray him as Catholic (seeing Catholicism is the main denomination in Italy and of those who migrate to other countries). To take this further, do you think B4B would have been just as successful if you had portrayed him as a Catholic priest and had the Biblical response from the Catholic perspective? 

Vampire stories typically involve some sort of Catholic influence because both vampirism and Catholicism are rife with symbolism. I chose not to make Luco and his family Catholic for several reasons: 1. the vampirism/Catholicism mashup has been done several times. 2. Catholics aren’t known for their tent revivals, and that was a central plot point for the book and for the vampire’s development, so I wanted to keep that in the story.

There are mentions throughout the book as to why Luco and his family wouldn’t be Catholic in the story despite that being incredibly unlikely given his Italian heritage, but I never outrightly explain why, either. Some things in fiction are better left unexplained.

As to B4B’s success, if I’d made them Catholic, I think it could have been successful, but it has been done and overdone before as I said. I’m not from a Catholic background, so I chose instead to use my evangelical background to inform their characters instead, and I think it worked out well.

Why did you set this novel in the 1800s? Was it to add to the mystique of the whole idea of vampires? 

I set the novel in the late 1800s primarily because I had just finished writing a historical western novel set in 1850, so I knew the time period, the terrain, and the type of people of that era pretty well.

The other contributing factor was that other more recent vampire stories have taken place in modern times, and I wanted to present B4B differently. I think the added mystique of the vampires was a benefit of the time period choice for sure.

I am not sure if vampires exist or if this is just part of centuries-old mythology. From researching vampire lore for B4B, has your research convinced you of their existence or made you consider that they could exist? The Bible seems to be rather silent on their existence. 

In all of my research, I didn’t see any evidence that suggested that actual bloodsucking undead vampires existed. There are some interesting coincidences, yes, but I believe they (vampires) reside squarely in the realm of fiction along with zombies, werewolves, and anything else that counts as undead.

I don’t believe they exist, but I do believe in supernatural forces both good and evil. I also have a degree in pastoral studies, and I’m pretty familiar with the Bible, but like you, I haven’t found any indication that vampires exist in real life.

After reading B4B, it seems to me that Luco’s and Garrett’s attitudes toward the question of whether a vampire can be saved most likely would reflect what most Christians would feel. Some would believe like Luco that God can and does restore a human's soul and make them a new creation while others like Garrett believe they are unredeemable and cursed for eternity as a vampire/demon. From your point of view, do you think that this is a valid assessment?

I’m so glad you asked this question. Yes, I believe that Christians typically respond in one of the two ways you mentioned to people who aren’t Christians: either they accept them and allow the Holy Spirit to do His work in us, or they reject non-Christians on some level. This rejection can range anywhere from ignoring or distrusting non-Christians to outright telling them that they’re going to Hell and the like.

Jesus taught us to respond to and approach people with love, not with hate, disdain, or negativity. Luco does an excellent job of trying to show Christ’s love to Raven (the vampire) and to everyone around him.

Garrett takes a far different approach, but he has his own set of reasons for responding that way. These two characters take different stances and arrive at very different places regarding Raven’s salvation, but more importantly, they show us the two basic paths that we can take when interacting with anyone: love or negativity.

Choose the former, not the latter.

I was expecting a novel on this topic to have created some controversy, especially among Christians, but from what I have discovered so far, this is not the case. Were you expecting this? If so, did this make you question whether to continue or were you prepared for this? 

Actually, yes. I secretly hoped the book would inspire some controversy and really make some people angry—angry enough to tell people how angry it made them. That said, I’m elated that the book has received such solid reviews, and it has really validated me in that I know I can and should keep doing this.

As I said, I had hoped for some controversy, but it hasn’t generated much. I think it just comes down to the belief that vampires don’t exist, so why should this be something we talk about? Had this book been about the transformation of a person of another religion, perhaps, or a type of person with a lifestyle radically different from that of a Christian, then yes, maybe that could have happened. I think people just understand that it’s fiction and thus there’s not much debate on it.

Your fans, I’m sure, want to know if there is more to come. Would you mind giving an exclusive glimpse of what is to come? Does this include any sequels to B4B? I can see how there could be 3 but will need to discuss that with you privately so as not to spoil the plot for those who have not read B4B. 

I had once considered writing a sequel (and I intentionally left the door open for one), but I’m not likely to ever write a sequel to this book. It just isn’t going to hit a big-enough audience to justify the time and work. If I do write one, it won’t happen for quite some time.

My next project is a GameLit story (sort of like a video game in a book) in a post-apocalyptic setting. I’m aiming at a large and ravenous audience with the hope of creating something that will appeal to readers and get lots of sales. I’ll probably run a Kickstarter campaign later this year to draw attention to it and increase the likelihood that it’ll “get noticed.”

From what I have elucidated from authors, fight scenes can be one of the most difficult scenes to write and develop. You developed these very realistically. Did you have any difficulty achieving this? I must say that because you achieved this so well, it really did contribute to a wonderful ending to this novel. 

Thanks so much, Peter. You should read some of the scenes in my other books!

Action runs in my blood. I’ve seen hundreds of action movies, studied a few different forms of fighting including sword fighting, stage combat techniques, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, and a bit of judo and wrestling, and I’ve done a little firearms training, too. I’ve done a lot of research through the years on how fights work.

(By the way, check out Carla Hoch’s book Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes if you want to learn how to write better fight scenes.)

The trick (and the hard part) about writing a solid fight scene is threefold: 1. You have to know what you’re talking about on some level; 2. you have to write everything so that causes happen before effects (ex. a guy can’t fall down before he gets punched, etc.), and 3. you have to write it in such a way that it flows well. For me, it’s a challenge to blend these elements together, but it’s one I enjoy quite a bit.

What message do you want readers to obtain from reading B4B? 

It really depends on the reader. If you’re a non-Christian reader, know that God loves you and has provided a way for you to live a better life now and have relief in knowing your eternity is sealed via your relationship with Jesus Christ.

If you’re already a Christian, it’s a reminder to all of us that we need to be careful how we treat people who are different from us because our actions, right or wrong, affect non-Christians’ perceptions of who Jesus is. So endeavor to treat everyone with love, be they vampire or not.

The final message is more selfish—if you enjoyed the book, hopefully, the message you get is that Ben Wolf is a good author, and you should check out more of his books. ;)

Did you need to conduct extensive research on vampire lore to create the type of vampires you have portrayed in B4B? I would not know where to start if I was doing this, what type of resources did you use? 

Believe it or not, I used Wikipedia as a starting point. It used to have a reputation as a hack site where everyone could just update pages, but the vampire page seems cohesive and may have even been written by one person who really knew his/her stuff. It had a good flow to it and seemed encyclopedic in its approach, so it was very informative.

Beyond that, I consumed a lot of vampire media, ranging from Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula to Twilight. (Don’t judge—you have to know what people are getting wrong, too.) Couple that with the 20+ years I’ve had of watching/reading vampire media in multiple forms and I had a pretty good basis of knowledge to write this book.

For what it’s worth, I also played Dracula in my senior year of high school in the fall production of, you guessed it, Dracula.

In short, I’ve been a vampire fan for years, so I had lots of great resources to turn to.

Is there anything you’d like to say to your readers?

Stick with me. I intend to thrill you more and more with each successive book. And by all means, tell your friends. My stories will thrill them too.

Do you have any words that you’d like to leave us with?

Vampires or otherwise, “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Where can readers find you?

Website:  (sign up for my newsletter to get a free book) ~ Facebook  ~  TikTok ~ Instagram ~ Amazon Author Page.

Thank you, Ben, for such a very informative and educational interview, you have certainly shown us the depth you went to in creating such an entertaining, well-constructed novel, giving a biblical approach to such a controversial topic. I have stuck with you since Blood for Blood's release and I encourage readers to do the same!

To investigate Blood for Blood further, click on the image below:

Readers and reviews are an author’s best asset, so I encourage any reader, to consider reading Blood for Blood and submit a review on Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest (or any other social media you subscribe to). Reviews help promote an author’s novel to potential readers and encourage the author to keep writing. Reviews also help get the author’s message (and God’s message) to the reader, whether Christian or not, who may need encouragement and support in their lives while being entertained by the story.

Please note: As an Amazon Associate, I am required to disclose that book cover images or titles of novels in this post are paid links if they are linked to Amazon and result in a sale.

Devil's Pathway (DAWN: Warriors of Valor Book 1) by Vicki V. Lucas

Devil's Pathway (DAWN: Warriors of Valor Book 1)
 

"I force myself to live by one rule: Don’t look at the demons. The two times I broke this rule still haunt me. Tonight I made another mistake. As a huge demon leered at us, I couldn’t fight the urge. I looked. And he saw me. Maybe it’s not a big deal. Nothing happened as my aunt sped beyond it in the car. Besides, I only have one year of high school left. I’ll be fine. But I know exactly what could occur. I’ve seen it too many times. Two men lurked with the demon I saw tonight. Evil clung to them, as if they had given their souls in exchange for something else. I shudder when I consider what they could be. But do vampires really exist? With everything I've seen, I wouldn't be too surprised. Where are the good guys? If there’s darkness, shouldn’t there be light? How come the angels don’t battle the demons if that is the case? Or do they? Maybe there’s a war around me that I don’t see. I just want to be left alone, and after tonight, I don’t think that’s going to be a choice."

This young adult fantasy novel weaves angels, demons, and vampires into a thrilling adventure in which angels and humans wage war on demons and vampires. The action doesn’t stop as Nic, the main character, is forced into choosing which side of the fight he is on while both sides are desperately urging him to join their army. Devil’s Pathway is a Christian fantasy novel for teens who are ready to get serious about their faith. If you like Frank Peretti's "This Present Darkness" or novels by Ted Dekker, you'll like Devil's Pathway.

The Guru's Review: 

When I had read enough of this novel to be introduced to the characters and plot lines and themes, I instantly had a gimmick for this novel: This Present Darkness (Frank Peretti) meets The Last Werewolf Hunter (William Woodall) meets Twilight (Stephanie Meyer) meets the Bible! What do I mean by this? This novel has been influenced by This Present Darkness, where angels and demons fight over the affairs of the humans for good or evil; The Last Werewolf Hunter series involves a teenage boy who is prophesied to be either the destroyer of the werewolf existence or its saviour; the Twilight series where we are shown vampire folklore, hierarchy and way of life; the bible where sin is conquered and those who live in it are dealt with accordingly from a loving but just God. 

Devil's Pathway involves the same spiritual warfare theme as Peretti's, the fight over specific humans, in this case, the main character, Nic, to influence him to choose which side he will fight on, the demon/vampire side or God's. It also about a teenage boy who is prophesied to be a mighty warrior for good or evil and his own quest to find who he is and which side he should be on (similar to Woodall's novels). Then we have the vampires whose folklore and hierachy is similar to the Twilight series (but, I must stress, whose plot is not like the Twilight series in any shape or form).
 
Despite these similarities to these there books, I am by no means cheapening what Lucas has achieved here.  This novel stands on its own merits and despite having no influence from Woodall and Meyer's world building on Lucas, (my comparison, not Lucas'), she has created a wonderful world of prophecy, supernatural, mystery, intrigue, suspense, horror, spiritual warfare, faith, redemption and fantasy and sets them in a Christian/biblical worldview. It is very successful and not only does it highly entertain, but it educates the reader and its young adult audience (hmm, looks like there is still some young adult left in this middle aged reviewer!) in spiritual warfare, the existence of angels and demons and what their purpose is in relation to humans and God, sin and its eternal consequences, spiritual discernment, resisting temptation, repentance, forgiveness and living for God. 

I have not been able to put this one down and everything about it resonates with me. Everything is balanced and in perspective. Lucas has not glorified evil, demons, vampires or encouraged the worship of angels. She has been very careful to adhere to biblical doctrine and her poetic license does not cross this line or compromise this at all. Some authors might find this difficult to do, but Lucas does this very successfully. I am very much in awe of this novel and very impressed with Lucas as an author. 

One thing that I found very intriguing about this novel is the inclusion of vampires. Angels and demons, yes, very used to them being essential to a spiritual warfare albeit Peretti-esque type novel  that this is, but vampires? I have only read one Christian novel involving a vampire and that was Blood for Blood by Ben Wolf concerning a vampire who never wanted to be such, and wanted to be free and accepted God's offer of salvation. That was treated well biblically. I also wanted to see how Lucas would treat vampires in this novel. I must say, she has developed this very well. She has successfully built their own world. They have a history (tied to a deserted and dilapidated mining town), they have a hierarchy, they have their own rules. Led by Henry and second in charge Liam, they are a force to be reckoned with. Here Lucas ties them in with the demons in that they allow them to exist but rule/lord it over them. Satan owns their souls. If they had their way, the vampires would be banished to Hell. If the vampires had their way, the demons would be subservient to them. Henceforth, the vampires want to be free of the demons rule and oppression and will seek whatever means to break this bondage. Hence, when Henry finds out about the prophecy regarding Nic, he sees how he could turn Nic into a vampire and with the fulfillment of this prophecy Nic could be the mighty warrior/weapon to assist them in overthrowing the demonic rule. As Henry states, 

We've evolved from human to immortal. We're on the same plane as them! And yet they think they're superior because they're demons.

On a spiritual level one aspect that I found interesting is the hint of salvation/redemption (and I hope is explored more in the next instalment) that one of the vampires seeks when he converses with Eli, the angel guarding Nic. Eli says to him, 

You think you lost your soul, but that's not the truth. The Devil is your Master. He holds your soul. It isn't lost.

I am looking forward to seeing what Lucas says about this theology when I interview here over the next few days. Seeing that there is no known (that I know of) proof that vampires exist, this could be interesting poetic license that she has included here and it really does make the plot interesting and exciting. It seems that this theology is very much alongside the same as that explored in the Blood for Blood novel mentioned previously. In other Christian fantasy, science fiction novels, authors have extended the salvation/redemption doctrine to the species (not human) of that world so in one sense this is not unique to this novel.

As far as the spiritual beings of demons and angels are concerned, these seem to be based on the biblical narrative. Her demons have a hierarchy, they cringe, and are hateful but fearful of anything to do with God, unrepentant. They are also hateful of humans but will use them for their own purposes, they especially hate Christians, and will do anything to derail their relationship with God and win them over to their side. Lucas' angels live up to their name (Hebrew, malach meaning 'Angel' or 'Messenger' Strong's 4397) and their function in the bible, messengers and warriors. They do not act on their own initiative, but only from specific orders from God. Their behaviour and attitude is out of total obedience, submission and love of God, or as they say in this novel, The King. 

Like Peretti, Lucas emphasizes that the strength of the angel's presence and power is in direct proportion to the prayer cover of the saints. The basis of this is that if the saints are praying for a specific cause, then God will respond with instructing His angels to answer this prayer, but that is only one way that He does this. He can and could smite the vampires/demons in this novel or in real life situations as He is Omnipotent but it seems to me, like Peretti and Lucas encourage, that He uses prayer (and His Word) to teach us to be obedient, trust, rely on, submit to Him and accept whatever answer He provides to the situation we are in or our fellow saints are in. 

Lucas is very masterful at portraying youthful characters. You know Nic, Megan, Matthew, and others are youth/teenagers by their dialogue and attitudes/behaviour. I really do appreciate this in an author, to be able to create, real like, characters that you develop a rapport with and whom you empathize. Such is the case with Nic, the main character. He comes across as complex due to the trauma he has experienced and the effects of his post traumatic stress disorder of seeing his mother murdered by his father and the demons that he saw encourage his father to commit this, and then witnessing the shooting of the school bully by his teacher. Coupled with this stress is the darkness the wells up inside him that is connected to him being able to see demons and his connection to the prophecy. I related to his emotions trying to come to terms with his loss of mother and recounting these events in flash back at strategic times placed by Lucas to show the effects of the darkness and his valiant attempts to control this in his own strength. What enhances the portrayal of Nic as this relational character is use of the first person narrative as it directly puts you alongside him so you experience what he does first hand. Makes it all the more credible.

Lucas writes well and has crafted this novel superbly. The pace in the first half is more than enough to keep you interested and wanting more and this escalates to be one really revved up machine by the second half and from here on in, it becomes one fast paced, intense and suspenseful ride with everything set in the first half coming to a head and it is here where this novel really shines and Lucas' skill is at her best. I was left panting at the end and on a cliff hanger as the ending leaves it very much open for an exciting second instalment where I reckon the reader is going to hit the ground running.

I was very impressed with the description of the fight scenes at the end between the demon hoard led by Blaise the demon, Liam the vampire second in charge, and the angels led by Malkiel, the angelic leader, together with Nic and Megan. The outcome of this is what sets the scene for a very memorable ending and setting for scene for the opening of the next instalment. 

I finished reading this novel, not just panting from this action packed second half but also from the total effect of this well crafted novel. Putting all the events together with all their interaction and connections, all I could say is WOW and WOW! 

This is up there with some of the best novels I have read. Vicki Lucas is one author that is in the top list of my favourite authors. I must find the time amoungst my review list and own books waiting to be read to read her other series, The Trap Series. 

Highly Recommended

Blood for Blood by Ben Wolf

What if a vampire got saved? 

Calandra, an evangelist's daughter, is amazed to watch as Raven, a century-old vampire, develops faith. As Raven ceases to drink blood and becomes more human with each passing day, Calandra cannot deny her growing attraction to him even though she is being courted by another man. 

Raven's newfound salvation is both a relief and a burden, as he encounters multiple vampire taboos and must overcome them. Just when Raven begins to get the hang of his new lifestyle, Calandra is attacked by bandits.

Will Raven revert to his old vampiric ways to save Calandra from certain death? Or will he rely on his faith in God to help him ransom Calandra from a new brand of evil more horrifying than he ever was as a vampire?

The Guru's Review: 

As soon as I saw the cover of this book and read the blurb that I knew this was an exceptional book. I was quite willing to buy this book, but when Wolf promoted it in a mini Facebook competition, I knew I had to enter and was one of the first 10 to enter and yes, won a copy.

It is not very often that I say this is one of the best books I have read, but this is definitely very true of this novel. I was immediately drawn in and totally absorbed into the 18th Century setting and into the lives of the Zambini family and that of Raven Worth. Sometimes I had to stop reading, very reluctantly I might add, to absorb what I had just read and deal with the awe that was beginning to take me over. This is one very well crafted novel. Wolf writes very well, and the plot structure is strong and flows very smoothly without any hiccups.

When I read the blurb for this novel, I instantly thought, "This is one novel that definitely defines what Edgy Speculative Christian fiction is all about."

Edgy due to it being a taboo Christian subject and one that is one associated with the demonic and occult and the majority of Christians are either scared of this area, ignorant of it or are discouraged from knowing about it for fear of being lured into it, or they are frowned upon by their Christian peers if it is discussed, and then there is the attitude that "Do vampires exist?"

Speculative due to the question that Wolf raises, What if a vampire got saved? And it is this that this novel addresses and I believe shows that the Gospel of Christ and His death on the Cross is for all, no exclusions.

Christian due to the the Gospel being presented to Raven and him being transformed into a new creature as mentioned in 2 Corinthians 5:17,

Whoever is a believer in Christ is a new creation. The old way of living has disappeared. A new way of living has come into existence.

Fiction well, we all know what that means!

Wolf has obviously researched vampire lore and mythology and integrated this well into the plot and in bringing Raven to life as a reluctant vampire. In other vampire novels, it is this lore and mythology that forms the basis of the paranormal romance but in this novel, it forms the basis of why Raven is unhappy and wants out of this life that has been unwillingly thrust upon him. Wolf uses this to not only entertain but to add suspense while educating in the life of a vampire. The way he has described vampire lore through the character of Vanessa and Raven accounting his entry into this existence is very fascinating reading on its own and well done by Wolf. Some of this research/lore/mythology can be easily accessed on Wolf's website with his miniseries of You might be a vampire if... which gives concise bites of information including biblical insights as well. I found this an invaluable resource and I encourage every reader to access this.

I loved the way Wolf has used the doctrine of salvation and redemption to minister to Raven's dark existence. Like his treatment of vampire lore, Wolf has done the same to the biblical response to this existence that is diametrically opposed to everything relating to God. The following passages spoken by Luco Zambini, the pastor, explains it very well and is where the book gets its title from, this first conversation being before Raven accepts Jesus,

"I believe God has a plan for your life, I believe he wants to save you and-"

"I don't have a soul to save....You forget that I am not mortal. My soul is gone."

"Actually, you're immortal because you're cursed. You forfeited your soul when you turned, and you received immortality. Either way, your're still bound to the covenant you made with sin.....You may not have chosen to become a vampire, but we've all sinned. We're all cursed, Raven. There's only way to break that curse....It's by the blood of Jesus Christ."

And in another with Luco after he accepts Christ,

"...Calandra's right, Your're heading in the right direction."

"I feel like I somehow need to make up for the wrong I've done as a vampire."

Luco shook his head. "Jesus died for your sins. His blood covered your transgressions. He atoned for your sins so you wouldn't have to."

"His blood," Raven repeated. "I still find that ironic that His blood is supposed to keep me from drinking everyone else's.

"Blood for blood, Raven," Luco said. "His blood is the substitute for all of ours, yours included. Blood for blood."

"But it didn't cost me anything. I'm cursed, damned, and immortal, and somehow God can just fix all of that with no consequences on my end? it sounds too good to be true."

"Don't misunderstand the Gospel. If you think this ought to cost you something, then you've got the right idea. When you claim Jesus as your Saviour, He claims you for Himself. the caveat in Christianity is that you aren't actually getting your life and your soul back. You're handing them over to Jesus. There's that element of sacrifice you're looking for."

"I don't feel like I've sacrificed anything that I wasn't already eager to get rid of though," Raven said.

"Don't worry about that. In time, you'll see differently. We all do."

Another conversation that Wolf had Raven understand was in response to Raven not having a soul. As Raven explains,

"I don't have a soul to save....You forget that I am not mortal. My soul is gone."

Luco states, "Actually, you're immortal because you're cursed. You forfeited your soul when you turned, and you received immortality."

When Raven accepts Jesus, Luco explains,

Now you go out and walk in your new faith, starting by not feeding tonight... You're being sanctified, Raven. Your life is changing. God is restoring your soul, one piece at a time.

Luco then encourages Raven to find comfort in the reality of Psalm 23, especially verse 3,

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

And this is what Raven allows God to do so from then on till the riveting, fast paced ending, we see that God has indeed restored his soul.

This is just some of the correctly applied biblical theology used by Wolf to minister to Raven before and after he accepts Jesus. This is one area where this novel shines.

Apart from Wolf wielding of the Word of God very appropriately, he is also a master of character development. All of these are very real and relational. No two dimensional characters in this novel. You will love Luco and see him as a great example of being the Shepherd that Jesus is (Yahweh Roi, in the Hebrew), as evidenced in him accepting Raven without any condemnation or judgement and mentoring him in his new found life as a new creation in Christ. 

Then we have Garrett, who is bitter and twisted from his past dealings with vampires and does not see Raven and his sort as redeemable and forgiven beings but as forever damned to hell and he sets out to prove this, and in doing so he loses his faith in God, his fiance, Calandra, and becomes the epitome of deception, deceit, hatred and selfishness. Quite the Pharisee is Garrett.

Raven himself is portrayed as a tortured victim of the curse of vampirism and is genuine is his quest to be free. He is one very likeable character and is very remorseful concerning the lives he has ruined and killed in order to survive as a vampire.

Calandra is one very obedient, young woman, typical of the era of the 1800s, but also as one very determined and feisty character, she is committed to the Lord and is very accepting of Raven despite her attraction to him.

The other characters of note that are developed well are Harry, the outlaw and thief. This man is very scheming and cunning and the reader picks up these vibes and instantly dislikes him and his cohorts.

Marshall is also developed well and once the reader finds out his hidden agenda, his motivation behind all that he does in connection with Luco and Raven is fully explained. This is one twist I did not see coming.

Another major twist that was totally unexpected was right at the end concerning another character and it really did change the whole setting of the plot to that point. It was very clever and I believe Wolf could do a sequel very effectively here.

With all these elements Wolf has constructed a novel that is very real and all absorbing, and while being in this mode, it occurred to me that this novel shows how we judge the level or degree of sin in another's life. How many times have we taken the Garrett attitude and treated someone, Christian or non Christian, abominably because we disliked their type of sin more than other types of sin while forgetting that Jesus died for all and every type of sin however it manifests in our lives? Luco seems to have the right attitude here to accept and love all of mankind and their sin as exemplified in the form of Raven. This novel also shows how Christians judge and treat those who are different or are far removed in lifestyle, behaviour and attitude form us. Again Luco shows the way here. He is quite the Shepherd as God is. Is this why I and many other readers like him so much? We are instructed by Paul to imitate him (Paul) as he imitates Christ. I guess this is one reason I love Luco, and also Raven as I guess there is a little (or more) of him being very different in all of us (only we know what those differences are) that we desperately would like to have the understanding and acceptance from our fellow Christians. Again, another area where this novel and Wolf shine.

If a Christian wanted to find out about vampires and the Christian response, then this novel would be one of the best places to start.

I would be one very happy reader if Wolf was to continue this story either from what I have hinted at previously or with the plot line and character introduced in the Epilogue. I am going to discuss this with the author.

I am sad with a degree of separation anxiety that this novel had to end but elated at such a wonderful last few chapters that Wolf so brilliantly constructed and tied up all the elements in this masterfully created novel.

Highly Recommended.