Vampires are handy characters, as they can do double duty as monster/villains and the classic, misunderstood romantic hero.

One of the things that may appeal to teenagers is that vampires never change - they're frozen in that age.

He's that reluctant hero, and he's a fairly classic version of it. He reminds me of characters I always liked, Mad Max, Dirty Harry, Han Solo, where there's more going on than what they're letting on.

The vampires in the 'VAMPS' series judge each other as harshly as they judge humans, and basically, vampires don't get along very well. So you've got a culture that's from cradle to grave like the worst high school you've ever been in.

If your dear heart is wounded, my wild heart bleeds with yours.

A real hero doesn't expect to be thanked or even recognized.