Fragraham Lincon is one the most proliferate writers of fan fiction with more than two dozen works under his belt spanning various genres. He is also founder of the Carrie Fernandez Appreciation Society, webmaster of his own site The Home for Unwanted Fanfics, and writer of the web comic UBERGEEK. His Castlevania works include Rouge Bitten, Dark Reign, and many others. His current Castlevania story is Black Legacy.

1. For starters, would you please talk about which Castlevania games are your favorite and why?

While I had played some of the older Castlevania games in my youth Castlevania 64 and later Legacy of Darkness are what truly pulled me into the series with the Victorian air and dark feel. The use of history and the era furnishings and architecture impressed me perhaps because my parents are antique salesmen thus some of that rubbed off onto me.
 
2. Many of your stories take place in the Casltevania: Legacy of Darkness “universe.” Why did you choose to emphasize your works on this particular game?

To write fan fiction one needs source material and this particular game I think is the ideal source material. Not simply a confrontation between good and evil like the older games it has twists and turns in the story with deep and fascinating characters. Though much of the game even after Legacy of Darkness filled in the gaps is left to question and those questions lead to inspiration.


3. In general how do you feel about including original characters in fan-fictions that did not exist in the original game such as your own Fallenstein, Simon Weissel, Griffen, etc.?

 
Sometimes a story is written entirely to support the character and other times a character is created to advance the story. In the case of Fallenstein and Elie I wanted to set a Castlevania story in WW2 and these characters fit well into that setting. In the case of Griffen a new protagonist was needed given the setting. I chose to break tradition with him opting for a more comical Belmont character who knew nothing about the struggle against Dracula. Simon I created as a support for Griffen as a much more traditional Castlevania character which shows in the choice of name, his name being a reference to the best known but also most stereotypical of Belmonts.

4. Games many times offer little insight into the personality of characters that we control. How did you tackle the job of giving character to the protagonists of Casltevania: Legacy of Darkness, specifically Carrie, Reinhardt, Henry, and Dracula?

Much of the character personalities have already been exhibited. Dracula has had centuries to display personality but I think Symphony of the Night and the movie adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula paint him as a much more tragic figure. As compared to a more flat, entirely evil villain it was an easy choice to make. However no one can write without pouring a bit of themselves into their work. I think Henry in fan fiction would show the most variance as he displays the least personality. Thus writers have to take what they know about his situation and history and build his personality anew based on how they themselves would react. To a lesser degree that can be said about any character. Carrie I've written for the most and thus I've developed the most rounded personality for. As well the writings of other authors will influence one's writing by showing a previous example of a personality. This I believe is why the fandom has a fairly unified view of what certain personalities are like especially Carrie, Alucard, and Dracula.

5. Could you please talk about your inspiration to write your original trilogy of stories, Rouge Bitten, Dark Reign, and Finale.

 
I'll admit these were my first dabbles into Castlevania fan fiction and not my best though they do still carry some merit. Rouge Bitten is actually a rewrite of an older fanfic called "Once Bitten" I'm honestly embarrassed by my lack of description in that one. Finale too is missing some key plot points from the Castlevania series that I simply was not aware of at the time it was written. I'm most satisfied with Dark Reign as it stands alone quite well without any support of the CV universe.

6. Why did you choose time travel as part of your story?

Mostly I was inspired by CV64's use of WW2 era technology in the mid 19th century. 1935 model motorcycles for instance as well as a model zeppelin, machine guns and so on. It gave Dracula a more sinister edge to have him manipulating the world's most horrific war behind the scenes than to simply say it occurred while the world's most evil villain was asleep.

7. Just out of curiosity, in one of your stories you have a character named Elie and later one named Weissel. Was it a conscious choice to name the  characters after the renowned author Elie Wiesel writer of the award winning novel NIGHT?
 
You're a well read individual. Night directly inspired me to write Dark Reign and the character Elie was my own personal nod to the writer of the novel Night. Though the character Elie is not meant to be the author mind you merely a reference to him.

8. In Finale, Dracula kills Alucard. Can you please talk about your decision? For example, was it always in you mind to kill him off, how does it feel to kill off one of Casltevania's most beloved characters, and in retrospect would you have done anything different?
 
Alucard I felt had no life outside his own hatred for his father. Without Dracula he would have no purpose. Or perhaps this is a "sins of the father" sort of thing. Not every character can have a happy ending unfortunately. All victories must come at a cost and Alucard was the best candidate for this. If you recall though the entire cast died in the ending. Alucard made the choice not to come back to life. I think I should have written an additional scene to clarify that.

9. After having finished basically two trilogies of two stories based off characters from the LoD characters, you returned again in your Crimson trilogy. Why did you choose to continue with another AU story based on the same characters as opposed to using another game as a basis?

My love of this game perhaps. Or that I find the Victorian era the ideal setting for horror. Not quite modern but beyond medieval. Though I'll admit Black Legacy was mostly inspired by a series of dreams I had. I wanted to retell the Castlevania story as a Victorian horror novel rather than an action game. This meant far more focus on the psychological and reduced emphasis on action. Though I do try to retain the game's sense of Victorian atmosphere. My intent upon completing this will be to alter the names and make a number of edits to transform it into an original work of fiction.

10. Your Crimson trilogy features a very strong and dramatic role for Carrie. The motif of her not being able to cry until she had finished her journey of  revenge was a very poignant one. Why did you choose not to chronicle the actually battle between Carrie and Dracula?

The Crimson trilogy was presented as a compliment to the in-game story. I felt it unnecessary to portray something already within the game. Imagine it as a set of extra cut scenes if you will. An insight into the characters. This is actually the purest form of fan fiction I believe. A compliment to the existing story that does not attempt to retell something already there or change the status of events there in.
 

11. Devil’s Repent features a softer Dracula than you have portrayed in your other stories. I myself like to portray Dracula as a tragic character rather than just a purely evil one. Which do you prefer or which do you find more interesting?

I'm drawn to the idea of a Dracula torn between good and evil. Someone whom despite branding himself as evil and accepting his fate still has a tiny shred of humanity within him. Something we on rare occasion see a glimpse of. Just as flawed heroes are more interesting than perfect ones, I find villains whom can not be called entirely evil are more interesting to reader and author alike than those whom are entirely evil or those whom eventually turn away from evil. A true tragic villain is one who isn't entirely evil yet still can not escape the darkness of his fate. Too many authors these days forget that this is the true nature of tragedy.

12. In your story, Last Rites, Henry is your protagonist of choice. Did you enjoy writing the character and if you did would you consider returning  to the character in spite of you comment stating the contrary? Perhaps to tie up the mystery surrounding the ultimate fate of Henry’s father?
 
I enjoyed Writing Henry's story and giving a rather unknown character a personality. I felt that it wasn't so much my work though as doing something that should have been done in the game its self. But just like the game I chose to leave an opening. As Giles and later Henry's parents were tied by family loyalty to Dracula Henry is no exception and Giles is indicating that Henry or his children will in time be called upon to serve Dracula upon his return. Weather or not Henry can escape that fate I leave up to the reader.

 

13. What direct influences have helped shape your Victorian horror story Black Legacy?

I found dreams and nightmares to be my greatest inspiration. Writing my nightmares gives me control over them so in a way it's a form of self therapy by taking power over that which makes me afraid and turning it into my creation.
 
14. What Castlevania characters would you like most to write?

As much as I've enjoyed writing Carrie I feel other than completing black Legacy I've written her from every angle possible. Anything further would just be rehashing the same idea. After completing Black Legacy I feel it will be time to hang up my fan fiction hat. I'm getting older and fan fiction is mostly an area for teenagers and those in their early 20's. As I'm approaching my mid 20's working and soon returning to college as an art student to pursue my own dream it will become increasingly important that I focus on my original works as they'll move from being my hobby to my career. I know some may see this as sad that I'm leaving fan fiction behind but I do hope in time you'll be reading my officially published works. Who knows some day others will be writing fan fiction based on my material. Circle of life.
 
15. As a writer, what do you consider your biggest obstacle?

Currently my job stands as my biggest obstacle. It leaves me with little time to write. Though I do bring my sketch pad with me now and draw much more than I used to my focus has shifted toward art rather than writing. I suppose that means time constraints hurt me the most. I will attempt to finish black legacy but things will be going more slowly now. On top of that I have a bad habit of taking on far more projects than I should. Currently I'm working on a Mega man Doujinshi (the non H kind), Black Legacy, Operating CFAS, HFUFF, my web comic UBERGEEK, as well as my newest website Castlevania: Disharmony. That's not even including my other hobbies including model building, drawing, the anime club, gaming, and of course that robot if I ever get around to building the thing.
 

16. What helps inspire you to write? Movies, music, other?

Inspiration is everywhere. I don't try to draw anything directly from other fiction though as it results in derivative work, but often I do let concepts seep into my subconscious to filter through later as more original ideas. I tend to daydream a lot so I suppose that's where I begin building stories in my head.

17. What do you consider to be the biggest problem (s) plaguing Fan-Fiction?

I've seen a lot of fan fiction in my day and when I just started it was horrible. Lack of description, terrible spelling and grammatical errors, just plain poorly written storylines, and godlike author insertion characters, and I too was guilty of such in the late 90's but today's crop of writers are a whole different breed. The classic problems of fan fiction are things of the past. Perhaps why there's been such a decline in the fan fiction MST art form. Today's problem I believe is lack of originality. Just check fanfiction.net's Castlevania section and you'll find hundreds of Alucard centric fan fictions and most of them are essentially the same story with different wordings. Coming up with something that hasn't been done before, using an unpopular character, using a character who may not even be your personal favorite, or whom you may not even like. It takes courage and creativity to do these things but they pay off. I took a risk writing a Henry centric fanfic and it's one of my best works. You'll notice even when I write Carrie centric fan fiction I try not to stray too close to the Carrie and Malus romantic pairing.
 

Of course following that lack of originality, I find fan fiction as of late lacks the most basic of writing elements. The twist. There needs to be at least one surprise change before the ending otherwise the story comes off linear and predictable. I give as an example the short novel "Of Mice and Men." Famous or not it was the most predictable things I've read. Utterly lacking any surprise or twist. From page one the ending was obvious. I hope not too many people follow this. However too many twists can also hurt a story. There's a certain balance that must be achieved.

18. Where do you stand on the 2D/3D controversy? Also, being a big supporter of both Castlevania 64 and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, what are your  thoughts on the recent Lament of Innocence?

I may be an old school gamer but I say if something works it works and judging a game simply on its appearance will never do. It's about the content of the game. Certain games transition well into 3D such as the sonic the hedgehog series. Others not so well such as Mega man. Don't get me wrong the Mega man Legends series had an excellent story but it in no way retained the mega man feel and game play was only marginally entertaining. I'll admit the guilty pleasure of shooting the Lego men though.
 

In the case of the 2D and 3D Castlevania games. Legacy of Darkness was a masterpiece. Anyone who can get over their hatred of 3D could see that. However it was hurt by 2 things. First of all that it was originally rushed and the rather incomplete Castlevania 64 was shipped. While a decent game on its own we only got half of what the creators intended. second of all there are fads in gaming. It was released on the N64 and a the time hating the N64 was very popular. I feel a lot of great games were overlooked because of this similar to the SEGA Dreamcast and SEGA Saturn systems. Lament of Innocence though I am not so happy about due to the decision to change the most significant part of the Castlevania story. It was entirely disrespectful to the previous writers whom worked so hard to build a history. I can't abide by those who disrespect those who came before them.
 

19. Do you think that the relative unpopularity of the 3D Castlevanias’ give Fan Fictions based on their characters a disadvantage as opposed to works starring characters like Alucard, Juste, Richter, etc.?

The characters of legacy of darkness seem to share the top spot with Alucard as the most popular subjects of fan fiction. I like to boost my own ego by thinking I was partly responsible for that. Though the 3D outings are still less popular among the casual gamer audience. Though I've never had much sympathy for someone who wants to call themselves a fan yet doesn't bother to learn about their fandom.
 

20. If Konami would let you write any Castlevania story, what story would you write?

I think it's obvious. A sequel to Legacy of Darkness featuring the classic cast, a few new characters and a grown up Carrie. Perhaps featuring time travel to the WW2 era. One can only imagine a character like Cornel whom previously has seen machines no more complex than a horse drawn carriage, reacting to aircraft and tanks. Castlevania is a series based on horror but rarely does the element of fear come into play. But what's scarier than being 20 miles behind enemy lines knowing there's an entire army of guys with guns who have nothing better to do than shoot you.
 

21. Any words of wisdom for future Fan Fiction writers?

Yes. When writing characters remember that human beings are dynamic. They have many different facets to their personalities and these facets aren't always non-conflicting. One my not think about it but imagine Dracula laughing at a joke, or Alucard eating ice cream and getting a brain freeze. Don't be fooled by the face you see on the surface, write every character as someone who laughs, cries, and thinks deep thoughts. Place yourself in their shoes and give them a thought process.
 

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