An upcoming comic book writer and artist, Lia Scott Price has used her skills as a writer to create the Vampire Guardian Angel graphic novel series. Now, in honor of Women in Horror Month, I talk with her about early interest in writing, the graphic novel series, and upcoming plans for the series.
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, when did you get into horror in general? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?
Lia Scott Price: I first time read the Amityville Horror in my grandmother’s house in the Philippines. My first horror movies were The Exorcist, The Omen, Rosemary’s Baby, and the Hammer Vampire Films. I also watched 1970s Filipino vampire movies. That’s what got me hooked. I grew up in old ancestral houses and played in a 200-year-old church in my mother’s ancestral town of Pila, Laguna, Philippines. There were bats in the church that I thought were vampires. I pretended the old houses were haunted. Maybe they were, who knows! There are always haunted places everywhere!
Me: When did you first discover your passion for writing? Were you always interested in the creative arts growing up?
LSP: I was always reading. I began writing my own stories in the 70s when I was 10 years old, and they were mysteries or ghost stories. I grew up surrounded by Filipino mythical monsters and I used to hunt them at night, thinking they were real. (They most likely are!) I took creative writing and journalism in college. I liked to write about things that were way out of the ordinary and I eventually became a published horror author.
Me: Who were some of your favorite writers growing up? Do you try to take influences from their style with your own voice in your work?
LSP: Stephen King was my favorite, even though all of his novels scared me, I still kept on reading them! I saw just how gory descriptions could get but still be readable and “cinematic” even before the films were made.
In 2001 my own style of writing was more influenced at first by short story writer Gabriel García Márquez. I wrote my very first published short story featuring a Philippine mythical monster in that writing style and it was actually included in a published anthology alongside Stephen King’s work!
In the early 2000s when I went into filmmaking, I actually wrote my first horror novels in script format and then filled in more details. I even tested out the dialogue with an acting class that I was writing scripts for. If it worked, it went in the novel.
Me: What is your writing process? How do you stay focused on writing?
LSP: I play a “what if” game. I always ask myself: “What if my neighbor is a serial killer? What if that house had a portal to another universe?” It’s a game I play when I start to write, and I think about an unexpected thing that something ordinary can be.
Me: Is there any specific type of genre you prefer writing? Is there any style or format you find easier to get into even without a preference?
LSP: I’ve actually moved from novel writing and script writing into comic book and graphic novel writing. I now prefer stories that are quick and to the point. It’s much easier to stay focused without losing the point of the story.
Me: As the creator of the Vampire Guardian Angel Comic Book series, what can you tell us about it?
LSP: It’s a result of my “what if” game. What if guardian angels were sick of saving us and tired of our whining for help to them? What if they were really evil? What if I turned them into vampires and serial killers? That’s the premise of the story. Your everyday guardian angel rebels, becomes a vampire, and now everyone’s guardian angel is a vampire. Not only that, they are serial killers. Because they are still guardian angels, they have to answer prayers, but now they just want to put humans out of their misery, so they mercy-kill. However, they can only target you if you pray for help from your guardian angel. The prayers act as a beacon and summons them. They now know where to find you and…you are dinner. If you pray, you become prey. From that one “what if” came a vampire trilogy novel, films, comic books, and animation.
Me: Where did the inspiration for it come from? Were there any unique stories about its conception?
LSP: I was born in the Philippines. I attended a lot of religious festivals in my ancestral hometown of Pila, Laguna. I was always fascinated by how everyone had a belief in a higher power that they expected to save them, and I used the “what if” again to question that belief. Why do we always rely on someone or something invisible or mythical to save us? What if something we think is good is actually evil? Do you really know who or what you are praying to or summoning? It’s like that in real life too. You never know who to really trust. It’s not meant to be disrespectful. It’s just questioning the supernatural. That’s what horror is, an exploration of the unknown.
Me: Were there any challenges in creating the universe within the series? How do you balance out the need for world-building with telling the creative story within the series?
LSP: I made myself a character. I built my world around what I thought it would be like if my characters were real. It’s like a mental cosplay. I have to immerse myself in their world.
The challenge is to not worry about whether people will like the story or not. If you have a passion for something, then make it your own. Live it, enjoy it, and know that this is your own process of creation.
Me: Once it was finally written, what was the process for having it published?
LSP: I’m a self-publisher. I self-published using print-on-demand services that also made the comic books and my novel available on Amazon. Then I decided to go digital and offer PDFs of my work on liascottprice.gumroad.com and also via a subscription at patreon.com/liascottprice and I found it was a lot easier to publish the comic books digitally because there was no limit to the pages I could draw and no time constraints: I could upload a page whenever I wanted.
Me: How did moving from comic books and graphic novels to full-length animated videos on youtube.com/liascottprice challenge your writing skills?
LSP: I found it more challenging to try to summarize stories into 5 minutes or less for my animation shorts. And how to get fewer lines of dialogue or description in without losing the point of the scene.
Me: How do you do to keep your creative energy flowing?
LSP: I promote on social media and I also draw and practice animation every weekend. I stay motivated since my goal is to make a horror anime out of my comic book series one day!
Me: What else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers?
LSP: Currently I’m working on mini animation that’s less than 20 seconds and is published on my Instagram page @liascottprice and I’m working on learning more animation so I can eventually turn my comic books into a feature or episodic anime film.
Me: Lastly, being that this is our Women in Horror Movement, what special message do you have for any women out there looking to join in the industry in any capacity as you are one yourself? Thank you again for your time!
LSP: Thank you again for including me!
My advice would be:
Keep asking “What if “
Keep pushing the envelope
If you have a story to tell, do so. Don’t worry about what others think. Those who love your work will support you.
Find a way. Find a way to publish, produce a film, or write a story. There is always a way, even if you start small. The point is, start.
This is what horror is: it’s questioning what’s normal and turning it into something abnormal and even disturbing. If I can scare someone with my stories, I’ve done my job as a horror writer.
This interview ran as part of our 2024 Women in Horror Movement celebrations! Click the banner below to check out our complete coverage:
Comments
Post a Comment