Welcome, Sirius!

SIRIUS (they/them) is the author of The Dread South Series, the Gentleman Demon series, the Wirekillers series, the Draonir Saga, and multiple short stories included in various anthologies including Frontiers of Fright from the Denver Horror collective, and several literary magazines. When not writing, they are spreading blasphemy as the reverend of the Laughing Man House or doting on their beloved dogs.

About Rising Sun Over the Devil’s Nest (part of the Dread South series)

Abraham Van Helsing is part of a proud lineage of vampire slayers who share the same name. Ever since his grandfather left Germany for the small town of Sweet Providence, Texas, their family has been on the run from the very vampire who made their name synonymous with monsters. But Abraham wants to leave that life behind. After years of near-death encounters and running from his past, he is ready to retire and let the Helsings die with him. However, the dead do not like to rest. And this time when Dracula finds him, it is to ask for his help. A nest of vampires have made Cyclone saloon bar their home on the ancient bloodsucker’s territory, and he calls upon the best hunter he knows to wipe them out.

Interview with Sirius

Tell us about yourself – what is something readers would be surprised to find out? 

I’m not sure if there’s a lot that readers would be surprised to find out about me. I used to be a drag king, my mobility started declining when I was 25 and I was using mobility aids by the time I was 29. I write all the time because it’s what I love to do and is pretty much all I’ve ever wanted to do with my life. I play a reverend on the weekends. I have two dogs, but I would have five if my partners allowed. 

What is it about the Weird West genre that draws you to it? What are your favorite aspects or examples of this often-underappreciated genre?

A lot of my journey in this genre has been through the Southwest, namely different parts of Texas. For me, as a writer, I cannot divorce my queer experience from my Southern upbringing. My whole angle for the Dread South series has been that queer people do live in the South, and especially in the rural South, and we experience a lot of erasure but we deserve to be heard. So, I really like taking queer people and putting them in Southwestern stories where they can get plagued by vampires, devils, and other monsters just like any other character at the end of a horror writer’s pen. I was really inspired by the landscape, especially when writing stories like A Great + Terrible Revival where I pictured enormous white tents against the backdrop of a putrid sky and a dead-man-walking tornado. There’s so much contrast between that and, say, Rising Sun Over the Devil’s Nest where it was hot and dusty, and there’s sweat dripping from the vampire hunter’s brow while blood is flowing everywhere. The other layer is that religion is a huge part of Southern culture, and Texas is a huge Evangelical state that hosts a lot of megachurches. I like writing about the big churches and the small ones, too. The power dynamics of rich pastors with lots of influence and the hold they have over small communities fascinates me. 

Isolation is another theme that is easy to play with within the Weird West genre. A simple example of that is in Blackjack + Moonshine—Jessie doesn’t have a car, so he has to walk everywhere unless the devil comes by to pick him up in a shiny convertible. When you’re alone, you’re queer, you don’t have any family and you don’t have your owns means of transportation—it’s so easy to be consumed by the coyotes (who are in this case, the devils waiting for you just as the sun goes down). 

I’ve had a lot of people roll their eyes and make a face and go ‘oh my god, Westerns’ in front of my event tables with so much disdain. I’ve had double that amount of people message me about how much they have enjoyed a particular story and how much it resonates with them, and that is what keeps me going. 

What inspired you to write this story?

Sleeping on the Blacktop by Colter Wall, coping with my grandfather’s death, and a ruling passion for putting a 50-year-old cowboy in a Situation. And, honestly, I learned so much about German immigration to Texas that it inspired me to take the story further in other volumes. 

If you were living in the Weird West, what kind of character would you be?

I’d like to think that I’d be a lot like Abraham, the vampire hunter in cowboy attire, but I’d probably be closer to one of those shiny rhinestone wearing chaps who gets their teeth knocked out for running their mouth.  

Are there any other writing projects you’re working on?

I have quite a few I’m working on at the moment! I’ve just wrapped up my yearly dark fantasy project, and Hymn of the Hanging Albatross is next. Hymn is a return to a previous storyline from my book Gospel of the Cuckoo, and follows a snake-handling cult leader in rural Alabama. Staying in the Dread South line, I am also working on All Bets Are Off! (about a game show host who gets in deep with the devil), Dead and In Color (a return to my televangelist and his deal with the devil), and O, Abraham which is a return to the Helsings and their history, and a lot more vampires and splashy gore. Outside of the Dread South, I’m also making a return to a favorite serial killer character of mine with a project I am co-writing.

What are you reading right now?

I’m actually in the middle of a few books, but I’ve returned back to my favorite fantasy The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner for some inspiration. 

Favorite weird west movie/book/comic/etc. and why?

Oh my gosh—well, I think one of my favorite Weird West books as of right this moment is definitely Neon Moon by Grace Reynolds, which I had the privilege of getting a chance to read early. It’s either out now or about to be out, depending on when this interview is posted, and I highly recommend you give it a read. It’s such a refreshing take on the genre while also being a lot of fun and plenty gory, which always seals the deal for me. 

As far as movies go, From Dusk ‘Til Dawn has a big place in my heart for all the alterations it made to my brain chemistry. And, honestly, does Pearl count? Maybe it doesn’t fall perfectly into “Weird West” but it is my favorite Texas horror story. 

On My Way There by Lydia Von Hof is an excellent Weird West song. 

Anything else you’d like to add about writing or the Weird West (tips, etc.)?

There’s a lot of nuance that goes into writing for the American Southwest, so doing your research is paramount. 

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