UT graduate publishes erotic fantasy novel

A small, yet bold red band wraps around the cover of author Randy Vanadisson's book "Coven of Celsus." "Warning: EXPLICIT!" states the band, cautioning the reader to the outlandishly graphic content lurking between the covers of his novel, which he calls "The most dangerous vampire story ever told."

"Coven of Celsus" is 270 pages of sadism, erotica, torture and sex—a lot of sex. Inspired by Marquis De Sade's "120 Days of Sodom," "Coven of Celsus" is not the typical vampire novel in the style of Twilight or the Vampire Chronicles. "Celsus is mixed with blood, murder and erotica," said Vanadisson. "It's the worst of the worst."

A Minnesota native, Vanadisson received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Toledo. He lived in the Toledo area for some 25 years before moving to the state of Washington. He began writing Celsus in the early 90s while traveling through Germany. "I only had about 20 to30 pages written and just left the book sit for 11 or 12 years," said the author. "Then while working on another book sometime later, I noticed that the two stories sort of fit together and after changing some character names and reworking some themes I had one solid story."

Though the first edition of "Coven of Celsus" was released in 2007, Vanadisson did very little to promote the book as the writing and structure in the novel were poor. One critic reviewed the novel and stated, "There's a diamond there, it's just wrapped up in crap." In 2009 Vanadisson set out to rework his story. Released in October 2009, Vanadisson called the latest edition a "proper novel."

"The first edition was interesting, but technically horrible," he said. "It was like the first draft, the second edition is the same story, just revised to be a better novel." For the first edition, Vanadisson wrote under the pen name Shauna Tully so as to avoid controversy with his employer at the time. "It ended up working out well because a lot of people thought that some woman wrote this erotic vampire book," said Vanadisson. "People liked the idea of that." Since then the author has changed jobs and writes with the name Randy V.

"Coven of Celsus" focuses on a young woman as she comes into herself in an unfortunate way. Elizabeth is a depressed 27-year-old who has always felt a little different and odd. One winter evening, she crosses paths with Celsus, a mysterious man who seems to understand what she is going through. Elizabeth soon finds out that she is part of a family or coven of vampires and Celsus is the leader. Celsus, a character who is evil beyond reason, soon entices Elizabeth to join the family. She is then entranced by the members of the group as she becomes more deeply involved in the coven. What follows is a dark and evil truth and a life that Elizabeth may not have known.

From serving as a former federal air marshal to playing with multiple heavy metal rock bands, Vanadisson said he draws inspiration from all of his experiences. "I've lived a crazy life already. At times it does not feel like it all actually happened," said the author. "But it did."

Much of the novel is set in the Toledo area, but some scenes are located in Ireland and Rome. Vanadisson extensively researched for Celsus, even visiting Italy before incorporating the city into his novel. Vanadisson develops each character with great tact. The leader, Celsus, is even based on a Greek philosopher―with the same name. In the novel, Celsus is the reincarnation of the real philosopher.

Somehow the word "explicit" just does not do this book justice in explaining how graphic it is: murder, blood dripping from quivering lips, intense scenarios where vampires take advantage of helpless mortals, bizarre sex scenes. And yet, beneath the erotic horror, "Coven of Celsus" does seem to have a lesson steeped in vampire fiction: immortality may not be all that it is cracked up to be. The characters in the novel are bored with life and only derive joy from the most insane sadistic practices.

Vanadisson crafts a disturbingly good erotic vampire novel. "I write best when I do not restrict myself," said Vanadisson. "If I think of something really far out or graphic I just put it all down." He jokingly said that many of his friends think he should get counseling.

Any reader who wishes for another level of intensity that popular vampire books just don't provide will not be let down by "Coven of Celsus."

Warning: A terrifying vampire novel, "Coven of Celsus" is not for those easily offended.