I was recently featured in the Coyote Chronicle for a Q&A written by Emmanuel Gutierrez. The Coyote Chronicle is the newspaper of my alma mater, Cal State San Bernardino, so it was particularly gratifying to be featured in their pages.

Martin Lastrapes: Alumnus & Author

By Emmanuel Gutierrez |Features Editor|

Acclaimed author and CSUSB alumnus Martin Lastrapes published his second novel, The Vampire, the Hunter, and the Girl, topping Amazon’s Hot New Releases in Vampire Horror during its first week on sale.

Lastrapes won the Paris Book Festival’s grand prize and the Hollywood Book Festival for General Fiction for his first novel Inside the Outside. He was runner-up for the New York and San Francisco Book Festivals.

Lastrapes earned his Bachelor’s degree in English/Creative Writing and graduated after completing his Master’s in Composition in 2006.

The Vampire, the Hunter, and the Girl is a “whimsical vampire horror,” set in the Inland Empire, following Adam and Jesus—the vampire and the hunter—vying for the heart of Olivia when an unbeknownst, fateful presence changes everything.

The first chapter of the novel is available free of charge to those who sign up for the mailing list on martinlastrapes.com.

The following interview between Martin Lastrapes (ML) and myself (EFG) was conducted via e-mail—viewer discretion is advised.

EFG: You have two novels published, The Vampire, the Hunter, and the Girl being your second, as well as three short stories self-published on Amazon, you’ve won the Paris Book Festival’s Grand Prize and Hollywood Book Festival for General Fiction (congratulations), host a podcast, grown an awesome beard, and teach English. Is there anything you can’t do?

ML: Well, thank you very much! In particular, thanks for noticing the beard. I was beginning to think nobody cared. The three shorts were published by Exciting Press, which is run by my buddy Will Entrekin. Now, to answer your question...

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