An established Chestermere author is switching storytelling genres, but diving into the horror romance realm.
“It’s about a vampire who falls in love with someone who is much more dangerous than she expected him to be,” MariusPintea said.
Pintea is no stranger to writing horror short stories and poems but was inspired to write the horror romance Concubinus after his mother jokingly asked when he was going to write a romance story.
“Horror is not a new genre for me, but this is the first time I’ve written a novella that’s horror romance,” Pintea said. “I personally enjoy the more romantic stories, and plays like Romeo and Juliet, and I was thinking about the kind of romance I like, instead of what other people are used to seeing.”
His original concept idea for Concubinus was about the reality of finding a significant other, and the expectations that coincide.
When writing, Pintea ran into challenges, like deciding which point of view he wanted to tell the story from, and finally deciding to tell the story by switching from both characters’ perspectives in each chapter.
For now, Concubinus is a one-and-done project for Pintea.
“I always go into a story with that mindset,” he said. “If I go into it with sequels in mind, I feel like I have to hold myself back.”
Before starting to write, Pintea spent time reading and watching horror romance stories.
“Because it’s a different genre, I had to study up a little bit, to figure out what makes this genre work,” Pintea said. “What keeps people wanting to read it, and why it’s appealing. I feel like I had to learn that before writing this book.”
Pintea read traditional folklore to tell a classic story, but in a new way that readers aren’t expecting.
“I read a lot of folklore, and romance stories through history,” he added.
Pintea is hopeful that readers will be entertained by the story, but also get a bittersweet feeling at the end.
“When you meet your significant other, it’s not as simple as you think it is,” Pintea said. “It’s not all fairy tales and perfect happy endings, there are still trials to come.”
Going forward, Pintea is working on two other projects, and frequently updating his YouTube channel with book updates.
Concubinus is now available on Amazon.
