Interviews

June 26, 2000

Rudolph's Corner -- At the present time are you planning on
writing Little Vampire novels indefinitely, or do you have an
end in mind for the series?

Angela Sommer-Bodenburg -- Actually I do not have a plan
with regard to writing Little Vampire novels. I thought that
volume 16 "The Little Vampire meets Count Dracula" would
be the final one. However, I am already working on volume 18
and really do enjoy it. As long as I continue to have fun
writing about the Little Vampire, I think I should do so.

RC -- What does the creative process entail for you? For
instance, do you plot out where everything is going first or do
you make it up as you go along?

ASB -- As for the creative process I do not know where I am
going. Often I have an idea of how the story might end.
However, sometimes the story develops differently and it is
me who follows it. While I am writing I am communicating
with my characters. They talk to me. It is a kind of
meditation, and when I cannot hear my characters anymore
then it is time to stop writing for the day. However, I look
forward with much anticipation to resume my writing the
following morning.

RC -- Of all of your various artistic endeavors, which satisfies
you the most?

ASB -- Writing is the one that satisfies me most, next to
painting.

RC -- Do you have a personal favorite Vampire story?

ASB -- As for my favorite Vampire story I would say it is
probably vol. #7 The Little Vampire in the Vale of Doom.
But I am not sure. Normally, it is the one I am working on.

RC -- How about a personal favorite character?

ASB -- My personal favorite character is: Anna, the Little
Vampire�s sister.

RC -- How long have you and Burghardt (for those who don't
know, that's her husband) been together? Has he been an
inspiration in your creative processes?

ASB -- Burghardt and I met in 1977. Since then, his support
and love has been very inspiring to me.

RC -- What was the first piece of work of yours to be
published?

ASB -- Some short stories and poems were the first works
published in anthologies before my first two books were
published in May 1979: "The Little Vampire", and poetry:
"Sarah with the Wolves"

RC -- Please describe some of the obstacles that you had to
face in your efforts to get published.

ASB -- As for the first volume of The Little Vampire I had
submitted the first chapter to some publishers and was told
that such kind of book dealing with vampires and cemeteries
would not be suitable for children. As for my writing of poetry
I had to learn that writing for children would disqualify me
from being published as a poet. I would have been better off
writing under a pseudonym. However, it is the Little Vampire
who allows me to be a free lance author, and I am very grateful
for this.

RC -- Is there any special significance to any of your
characters' names?

ASB -- A character�s name is very important to me. I need to
visualize the character, and the name helps me to do so. So
any of my characters� names has a meaning, and I would
change names until I would feel comfortable with it.

RC -- Do you feel that the translations of your work have
been handled properly?

ASB -- That is a very thoughtful question. Being translated
into so many languages(30) it is almost impossible to control
the quality of all the translations. In the past there were some
translations of my books that had been handled very poorly,
and in one case it was just insulting. However, in most cases
the translations have been truthful and accurate.

RC -- In the future, if you were ever going to release a special
anniversary type edition of the original Little Vampire story,
is there anything you would want to change and/or add?

ASB -- There will be a special edition of the first volume "The
Little Vampire" in Germany, a kind of collectors� item.
However, I do not intend to change anything.

RC -- I admire the artwork of Amelie Glienke. How did you
come to work with her (?) and do you have any plans to work
with her (?) again in the future?

ASB -- As for the illustrations of my German books it is the
German publisher who sends the illustrations to me for my
approval. As for the foreign editions, such as the Japanese
editions, I did approve of the characters, and then the Japanese
artist was free to work on her own, and her artwork is really
outstanding.

RC -- Also, do you have any plans to do your own
illustrations at any point?

ASB -- This kind of work is so different from my way of
painting that I prefer not to do my own illustrations.

October 2, 2000

Rudolph's Corner -- How old are you and when did you start
acting?

Anna Popplewell -- I am 11 and was 9 when I started acting.

RC -- Were you familiar with the Little Vampire series before
you got the role of Anna (if so, who was your favorite
character)?

AP -- Yes, and I have to say I always liked the way Anna
could only drink milk.

RC -- What type of an audition process did you go through
before getting the part?

AP -- I went to several auditions, about 5 in total, and read
script and had a screen test each time.

RC -- Tell me about one of your favorite memories from the
filming of the movie.

AP -- I have to say that sporting fangs and flying are high on
my list but the company was definitely the best thing.

RC -- Did you and the other actors (for example, Rollo and
Jonathan) become friends? What was working with them like?

AP -- I made good friends with them and their sisters who
decided to come to set. I think that they both look great in the
film and that they both act very well.