I read some, and then visited with people involved in this curious, exciting and somewhat misunderstood sub-culture. I met with a fang maker, who offered to fit me for an exquisite pair.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I became friends with the leader of the underground vampire world. He had a fangsmith, so I had a pair made... It has become kind of my signature thing.
I was immediately smitten with an attraction to this culture, not in the sense of high culture but of the basic way people behaved towards one another.
One of the things I've always loved about queer culture is the openness and passionate curiosity about love, desire and the myriad forms of affectionate ties.
I always identified with that feeling of being an underdog. So I always was looking to connect with and meet people from other cultures, to experience people living a different life that I am.
I've always had an interest in the fashion side of pop culture.
As I was writing, I realised I wasn't sufficiently extrovert to gather enough interesting souls with tall tales around me. I was no Louis Theroux. But neither was I interested in exploring my inner life in public, in the manner of a Jonathan Raban.
I've always been fascinated by mythology or, in modern parlance, by X-Men or vampires.
I have made things for Calvin Klein and other designers, and it's interesting to see the way each person approaches it.
I have great family and good friends; the stories I told became popular, and people all over the world bought them.
I couldn't go now to a brand that had a niche attitude like... gothic. I couldn't do that. Well, I could do it, but I wouldn't find it interesting, challenging.