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Blood Cove: Self-published novel a vampire story set in Haida community

Book is by local man Ignatius Fay, along with writing partner Raymond Belcourt, who's originally from the area

If you're a fan of vampire novels and films, whether that's “Twilight” or “Interview with the Vampire” or even 1922's “Nosferatu,” you're probably going to enjoy the self-published novel “Blood Cove.”

The book is the latest effort by writing team Ignatius Fay and Raymond Belcourt. Fay lives in Levack, while Belcourt is originally from Blezard Valley, but now lives in Leduc, Alberta, a community near Edmonton.

“Blood Cove” is about a man named Gabriel who's turned into a vampire in Romania in 1721. 

He travels across Europe in search of vengeance, then for a childhood sweetheart. Gabriel crosses the Atlantic, becomes a fur trader, helps build Casa Loma in Toronto and runs liquor for Al Capone during Prohibition.

By the year 1980, he's living among the Canadian northwest coast Haida people, working as a high school teacher. A young Haida boy goes missing, and it turns out that Gabriel is hiding him and using him as a blood source.

Fay explains that in this fictional world, vampires often kidnap a person and lock them away somewhere to periodically use them as a blood source.

“But not enough to turn them into a vampire, not enough to kill them,” he said. “That way it's like their own bank, and that way, they don't have to go out into public and create a problem.”

But the vampire Gabriel isn't the only supernatural being in “Blood Cove.” The story also involves the Haida mythical raven Yáahl

A shape-shifter, trickster and protector of the Haida people, Yáahl disapproves of Gabriel's actions.

“They become at loggerheads,” said Fay, adding Yáahl doesn't care what Gabriel does outside of his community, but says “you can't be doing that here.”

An epic confrontation between beings at opposite ends of the supernatural realm ensues.

Fay said he thinks the book is appropriate from the young adult age group and up. “To be quite honest, I think it would make a pretty good movie, the way the story was written,” he said.

The book's authors actually met more than 40 years ago. Fay, who used to own three Cortina Pizza outlets in town, gave Belcourt his first job at the age of 14. 

They reacquainted in the early 2000s, and collaborated on a photography-poetry book. 

They have since collaborated on several short stories and two other books, including their latest effort, “Blood Cove.” Fay has also published an anecdotal history of his life, in two volumes.

“We make a very good team,” Fay said. “We've done a number of projects since 2008. We're already like 'What do we do next?' We're getting more complex all the time.”

A launch for “Blood Cove” takes place in Edmonton Thursday, Feb. 27. 

However, there will be no book launch here in Greater Sudbury, as Fay has been disabled since 1986, and is too medically fragile to take part in such an event.

The book is available for purchase online through websites such as Amazon, where it's listed for sale for about $23


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