Author drawn to the dark

Wednesday, March 02, 2005
By NATHAN COSTA

SPRINGFIELD - Cynthia Zeuli has always loved a good scare.

Now after years of reading any book that had the word "blood" in the title, she is the one doing the scaring. She is the author of two horror novels, the most recent titled "Succulent Crimson."

Zeuli, 34, was born and raised in Springfield, where she spent much of her youth with a pen in her hand. She said she knew she wanted to be a writer, but what kind of writer, she wasn't sure.

"Since the minute I could hold a pen in my hand, I knew that I wanted to write," said Zeuli, a 1988 graduate of the MacDuffie School. "I started out wanting to write 10 James Bond novels, but quickly realized that wouldn't be possible."

She wrote some poetry - in her mind bad poetry - while she was young, but really found her niche while in a genre writing class at Emerson College.

Zeuli had been a journalism major, but instead opted for creative writing because she liked to use her imagination for creating characters and bringing them to life. It finally gave her the chance to create things that were otherwise impossible.

The main goal of the class was to complete a novel by the end of the semester. Students were expected to complete a chapter per week, then share what they wrote with the rest of the class. When Zeuli announced that she wanted to write romance novels, many people snickered.

"Romance novels have this reputation, you know, of the bored housewife thinking of Fabio," said Zeuli who graduated from Emerson in 1992. "But every week, I would read my chapter, and the people that laughed at me became hooked. I thought that I must be pretty good."

Zeuli was the only one in her class to actually finish writing an entire novel in one semester. But after failing to have the novel published, she realized that the romance genre wasn't for her.

Though she'd always been fascinated by vampires and mythical monsters, it was only after reading authors Anne Rice and S.P. Somtow that she wanted to write horror.

"Anne Rice is my inspiration," Zeuli said. "She can reflect the beauty of her characters and settings so well. She can make a vampire eating someone beautiful."

Zeuli has used Rice as an inspiration while creating her own work. She spent two years living in the French Quarter of New Orleans, where Rice is from, soaking up the atmosphere and experiencing things that would help when writing her novels.

"It was an experience of a lifetime. New Orleans is so atmospheric," Zeuli said. "It's like another country. The architecture, above-ground cemeteries, and the huge cities of the dead are just incredible. It spoke to my dark side. I loved living there."

Zeuli has released two books, both from ArcheBooks Publishers. The first, "Bound by Blood," was released in 2003, and the most recent, "Succulent Crimson," in October.

Her novels aren't your typical slice-and-dice horror stories. Though her books are bloody and graphic, the romantic in her tends to show through as well.

"I can't avoid it, I'm a romantic at heart, and it comes out in my work," Zeuli said. "I think it gives my book a different appeal, more on the Anne Rice side of the spectrum."