reviews_and_ramblings | In the Spotlight: Michael Schiefelbein

The Book: A savage and sensuous chronicle of a contemporary vampire seeking vengeance against God.

An interview with Michael Schiefelbein author of Vampire Vow

"I wanted Jesus. That's how it started. Yes, the Jesus they built a religion on, the one they say rose from the dead."

With this opening sentence, it becomes immediately clear that this is not a typical novel, and by the time you have raced through the remaining 213 blood-soaked, terrifying pages, it is clear that Vampire Vow is not a typical vampire novel either.

Victor Decimus is perhaps the most horrifyingly amoral creature of the night ever created, and yet in Michael Schiefelbein's skilled hands he is almost as attractive as he is repellent. Combining sex, religion, and blood lust is a tricky business and not for the faint of heart, but as we discovered from our conversation with Vampire Vow author Michael Schiefelbein, he knows whereof he speaks:

Alyson: Your novel violates quite a few taboos-the sex-religion combination, the subject of Jesus' sexuality, vampires and Jesus-I mean, you have a man falling in love with Jesus and becoming a vampire to spite him. Are you nervous about reactions?

Michael Schiefelbein: Like crosses burning on my lawn? The thought has crossed my mind, especially here in the Bible Belt. But I strongly believe in a real, human Jesus who might have been gay. Who knows? And to me, the ultimate tribute you can pay someone is to desire him, body and soul. In terms of sex in the novel, it's appropriate. Victor, the protagonist, is a ruthless, passionate Roman guard who uses sex to assert his power. He's not admirable for that, but his fury with depictions of Jesus as otherworldly and asexual is justified. Victor certainly exploits the Church by posing as a monk and pretending to play according to the monastery's rules. But he also brings some flesh and blood-no pun intended-into spirituality.

Alyson: So the idea of Jesus as a lover isn't blasphemous to you?

Michael Schiefelbein: Some of the great Christian mystics saw him that way.

Amazon: Vampire Vow

Other Books in the List:

Vampire Thrall (2003)
Amazon: Vampire Thrall: A Novel

Vampire Transgression (2007)
Amazon: Vampire Transgression

Blood Brothers (2002)
Amazon: Blood Brothers: A Novel

Body and Blood (2007)
Amazon: Body and Blood

The Vampire Maker (2009)
Amazon: The Vampire Maker

The Author: Michael Schiefelbein is the author of six books, including the Lamda Literary Award-nominated novels Vampire Vow and Vampire Thrall.

After spending ten years studying for the priesthood, he graduated from the University of Maryland with a doctorate in English. He has lived in Italy and Washington, D.C., and he was a professor of writing and literature in Memphis, TN. He now lives in Modesto, California where he practices his calling full-time as a minister of the United Church of Christ. He is the pastor of College Avenue Congregational Church in Modesto, CA, 85 miles east of San Francisco. Schiefelbein was ordained in 2005 after graduation from Memphis Theological Seminary. At Memphis’ First Congregational Church, he was chaplain of Pilgrim House, a hospitality center for homeless families, people in difficult circumstances, and college interns doing community service. In the Literature and Languages Department of Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Schiefelbein taught many courses beyond freshman composition and sophomore literature, including Honors World Lit I and II, the 19th-Century British Novel, the 19th-Century American Novel, Creative Writing, Victorian Prose and Poetry, Junior and Senior Seminar, and Special Topics courses in Dickens and in the Bible as Literature.

Rev. Michael Schiefelbein and his partner, Steve Klinkerman, were married in Canada in 2005 on their 10th anniversary. In the June 2008 newsletter from College Avenue Congregational Church, the Rev. Michael Schiefelbein says, "This is the most traditional thing I'll ever say as a pastor: I urge all of you couples living together and calling yourselves partners to make honest people of yourselves and get married."

"For us, it's a cause of celebration," said Schiefelbein. "It's a matter of recognizing relationships that exist and have existed for a long, long time, some for 30 years, some with children or property. It gives dignity to their relationship and helps them to have that standing in the community."

It also, he added, is a matter of faith for many."It's a faith issue because people are all created in the image of God," he said. "This is recognizing the worth of every person to enter into a covenant with another person and be held accountable within our community of faith."

He rejects the views of Christians who say that homosexuality is a sin or a perversion."In Galatians, it says: 'No Jew or Greek, no slave or free, no male or female.' The distinction (against homosexuality) that Christians make shouldn't happen. We recognize we're all one in Christ." (From The Modesto Bee)

http://awfulagent.com/clients/schiefelbein.html

Top 100 Gay Novels List (*)

External Link to the Top 100 Gay Novels List (simple - without photos)

External Link to the Top 100 Gay Novels List (wanted - with photos)

*only one title per author, only print books released after January 1, 2000.

Other titles not in the top 100 list:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog/top50MM

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