Cursed to roam the untamed west as a vampire, Ezekiel Carson, once a devoted man of God, is haunted by his past. Feeding on bandits and spending his nights satisfying his endless lusts, he has found his life is empty.

We talked with writer, Mark Tarrant, about the vampire gunslinger, The Blood Rider.

The Big Bad Wolf: Can you give our readers a synopsis of The Blood Rider?

Mark Tarrant: The Blood Rider is the story of a vampire in the Wild West. Riding at night and drinking from blood-filled canteens serving his own brand of justice on those he feels deserve it. Bandits, corrupt soldiers, Demons, living dead, or witches. They all will feel his wrath.

The Big Bad Wolf: Who are the main characters?

Mark Tarrant: The main characters of the book series are Ezekiel Carson and William Hamilton, a school teacher who seeks out the Blood Rider for help. In the comic books and short stories, the Blood Rider a.k.a. “El Diablo Blanco” is the main character − a lone, pale blood-thirsty gunslinger, traveling at night across the wild deserts and mountains from town to town, running into strange and horrific situations.

The Big Bad Wolf: Was Ezekiel Carson born a vampire, or was he turned?

Mark Tarrant: Ezekiel Carson was a man of God, heading west to start a church with his family. After his family was killed by bandits, and he was at death’s door, a vampire found their camp and gave him the “curse” so that he could seek revenge.

The Big Bad Wolf: Since this is a vampire western, will we see lots of blood?

Mark Tarrant: There is a fair amount of blood, because of the nature of the harsh land, brutal creatures, and just plain bad folks who do bad things to people. The west could be very dark and unforgiving. Our hero has to eat blood to live though he won’t feed on women or children, due to his moral up bringing, he still finds creative ways to fill his canteens with the red stuff and mixes it with Tequila or brandy to keep it from going bad out on the trail.


The Big Bad Wolf: Is this an ongoing, or mini series?

Mark Tarrant: This is an on going series. The first book is available as well as a mini-comic. My goal was to write several short books, comics and short stories, similar to Conan the Barbarian or The Spider. Fun, pulpy actions stories using the Wild West and monsters. The Blood Rider is a dark bitter anti-hero who looks out for humans, though it’s considered a flaw to other blood feeders.

The Big Bad Wolf: Is it color or black and white?

Mark Tarrant: The comics will be in black and white in a collection book, with a color cover.

The Big Bad Wolf: Who is the comic published through?

Mark Tarrant: I'm working with Free Lunch Comics (www.FreeLunchComics.com) for both the mini-comic as well as a new compilation companion book that will feature both comic stories and short stories.

The Big Bad Wolf: When is the release date?

Mark Tarrant: The original book The Blood Rider is available through www.TheBloodRider.com as well as through Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble online. The new companion book is scheduled for an October 2008 release.


The Big Bad Wolf: How much is The Blood Rider book?

Mark Tarrant: The Blood Rider is $12.95.

The Big Bad Wolf: Who's the creative team on the book?

Mark Tarrant: That would be me, Matt Ryan and Steve Kanaras from Free Lunch Comics, and my editor, Justin Klenosky.

The Big Bad Wolf: Where can our readers find out more about The Blood Rider?

Mark Tarrant: You can go online to www.TheBloodRider.com and find lots of pictures, art, an animated trailer, an audio chapter and reviews. I also have a Blood Rider MySpace page at www.MySpace.com/thebloodrider.

The Big Bad Wolf: In closing, what would you like to say to our readers about The Blood Rider?

Mark Tarrant: In closing…hmmm I would like to say I hope you guys enjoy the Blood Rider as much as I do writing about him and his adventures. If you want a clean cut prissy Victorian greasy long-haired vampire, JUST WALK AWAY, If you want guns, guts and a pair of fangs then visit www.TheBloodRider.com and saddle up and hit the bloody trail, because he doesn’t run out of bullets…he runs out of bodies.

The Big Bad Wolf: Thank you for your time, Mark. Good luck with The Blood Rider!

Talk about the Mark Tarrant - The Blood Rider Interview.