Story Feature: Nosferatu by TateCsernis

Genre: Paranormal

Story Rating: For Everyone

Story Blurb: • Book 1 of the Nosferatu series •

Alucard's a reclusive, former-god-hunting vampire lord. Zalith's a promiscuous warlord who comes from old money and an ancient demon bloodline. When the pair meet, Alucard's quiet life is turned upside down, and Zalith's 600 years of meaningless conquests appear to be at their end.

Alucard has lived a terrible life. Born into the Diabolus, a cult of estranged witches dedicated to freeing Lucifer from the void, his mother was slaughtered seconds after his birth, and he grew up in darkness until he was ready to do what he'd been born to doーdie. When offered immortality to escape his fate, Alucard was reborn as the world's first vampire.

Four hundred years later, on the tower of a rustic castle, Alucard meets Zalith. But Alucard isn't so keen to work alongside a demonーfor demons and vampires are natural foes. To both their displeasure, however, they are teamed together to work for Damien, the tyrant Numen often worshipped by man as God. And the task: moving endangered vampires from Zalith's world to Alucard's.

With a year to complete their missionーalongside ridding Dor-Sanguis of Alucard's nemesis and Werewolf Queen, AdaーAlucard and Zalith must work together to do what needs to be done. But as they strive to reach their common goal, both the vampire and demon perceive an intimidating truth; they were both missing something in their very different lives. But would they have time to grasp it?


✙ MxM Romance ✙ Enemies to Friends to Lovers ✙ Slow Burn/Soap Opera\Slice of Life ✙

Word Count: 281,000
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✵ NumenVerse year: 957

What if the supernatural refused to remain in the shadows?
This story takes place on an alternate Victorian earth claimed by paranormal beings.

{Ambys2022 winner}
[15x Featured]

2020 - 2023 ©Tate Csernis

What gave you the inspiration for your story?

✰ When I was 13, I started writing a high-fantasy series called Warlock. This series was heavily inspired by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (the game), Destiny (the game), Merlin (BBC series), Naruto (Anime), Attack on Titan (Anime), Berserk (Anime), The Vampire Diaries, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Game of Thrones, and Harry Potter. It quickly grew into 6 books, and one character in particular stood out to both myself and the fanbase. Alucard. In Warlock, Alucard first appeared as an antagonist, but Warlock's main character, Kathrina, bonded with him and saved him from being killed by the second main character, Elijah, who was tasked with killing the 'Elementals', eight minions they needed to slay before they could take out Lucious, the 'big bad' of the entire series.

Alucard returned in book 6, and this was where we got to know a lot more about him. I was co-writing this installation with my best friend and co-writer Julia Bland, who had her character, Lucian, enter my world. With Lucian came his father figure, Zalith. Because I pants and don't plan, Julia and I just let things flow--we let the characters write the story for us--and at first, we thought that Alucard and Zalith were good friends who worked together several hundred years ago, because Lucian reveals to our cast that Alucard was around Zalith a lot, and it was Alucard who has been taking care of Lucian since Zalith disappeared.

Things changed when I delved into Alucard's backstory. Alucard and Zalith spelt it out very clearly for us that they were in fact a couple--they were mated--and I enjoyed writing this backstory so much that I decided Alucard and Zalith deserved their own book--a prequel.

1 prequel very quickly turned into an ongoing 8 book series. Alucard and Zalith have both taken over my brain and my heart, and I could write about these two guys forever (and I just might end up doing so.) Nosferatu has become an infinite series.

Did you plot or pants your way through your story?

✰ I 90% pants and 10% plot

How does writing energize you?

✰ Writing has been my passion ever since I was a child. Being able to create whole new worlds where anything is possible makes me feel alive. I often say that if I couldn't write for any reason, I'm not sure what I'd do. Writing is everything to me.

What are your writing habits? (Or what does your writing space look like?)

✰ Something that comes up a lot when I talk to other writers is that fact that I write so much so quickly, and when they ask how, I say: I have no clue LOL it can be seen as a gift and a curse, because where I can write a whole 300k novel in a month or two, if I stop to take a well-needed break, my brain will start begging me to get back to work. I love keeping myself busy, and when I don't write, I start getting...depressed, I suppose.

What part of your story was the most enjoyable to write and what was the most challenging?

✰ I love and sympathise with Alucard so much. He's spent 400 years working tirelessly for Damien, who he has been manipulated into believing is the only person who will ever care for him. He's lost anyone he ever got remotely close to and hasn't even felt the touch of another person in centuries. He thinks that it's his purpose to work until he dies. He's alone, he's depressed, but he does his best for his people. They're the closest thing he'll ever have to family.

But then he meets Zalith. Zalith first appears as this smirky, flirty, promiscuous demon who aims to sleep with Alucard at some point during the mission they've been forced to work on together. He, like Alucard, has never known real love, and he has spent 600 long years unknowingly searching for it through his pointless conquests.

These two polar opposites are enemies at first, but as the mission progresses, and with the more time they spend together, they get to know one another and get closer. However, Alucard has built walls so high that they intimidate even Zalith. But he gets through. He somehow manages to convince Alucard that there is so much more that he could have. Damien isn't the end all and be all. Alucard could have something real, and so could Zalith. They essentially save one another in more ways than one, and this was my favourite part about writing this first book.

The most challenging part about writing this story was when I had to write every Alucard and Damien interaction. Damien is a tyrant and treats Alucard like total crap. Alucard deserves so much better, and every scene I had to write where Damien bullies Alucard, my heart ached, my hands didn't want to keep typing, and all I wanted to do was hug Alucard.

What does literary success look like to you?

✰ I have always and will always be writing what my heart wants. I find that writing something that I enjoy is the best way to go, because a reader can tell through your words that you're fully into the story, too, and it has a better outcome, in my opinion, than writing something that you're not entirely passionate about.

And as for success, just having my shelf lined with personal copies of all the stories I've written is a great success for me. Being invited to Wattpad's Serialized program back at the end of 2022 was a total shock and surprise, and that got me to several of my Wattpad milestones. I might not have 20 published books with millions of reads and fans, but knowing that both Wattpad and readers are enjoying my works is success enough for me.

But I'll always keep aiming for more: more completed stories, more eager fans, and more characters and worlds that I'll hold in my heart forever.

What is your favorite trope to read and write?

✰ Enemies to friends to lovers/enemies to lovers. I love the tension that stories with this trope begin with. I adore seeing characters that once hated each other realize that they have a whole lot in common and actually enjoy one another's company. Pretty much all of my stories feature this trope, but The Alderon Duology and Nosferatu portray it best.

If you have to describe your writing self in three words, what would they be?

✰ Gay, Gothic, Plot twist

What's your favorite story on Wattpad?

✰ When I first came to Wattpad, I felt a little lost. But then I found 'Mathew and the Chimney Sweeps' by @matthewchimneysweeps - we read each other's story, and I loved this book so much because it gave me Matilda and Oliver Twist vibes, two of my favourite stories from when I was younger.

Why is it important to have diverse voices raised in both our literature and on Wattpad?

✰ The world is a very diverse place. People need something to relate to. I speak from personal experience when I say that being able to read LGBTQ characters helped me discover who I truly am. For a long time in my life, I felt a huge, empty hole in my heart. Something was missing. It got so bad at times I'd cry because I had no idea what it was. But then I started reading stories with gay leads; I started writing Nosferatu, and I began expanding my knowledge on the LGBTQ community. I didn't even know trans men existed because I came from a very sheltered family. But reading gay stories and writing gay characters helped me understand that what was missing inside me was Tate. I am a trans man, and I have all the diverse voices and stories as well as my own writing to thank for this.

And I am sure I am not the only one who has been through this. Diversity helps people feel valid, seen, and like they are not alone. Everyone needs something to relate to, everyone needs something to help them discover and accept themselves, and without diverse literature, voices, and movies/shows, I am sure there would be millions of people who felt like I did: lost, confused, and alone.

Is there something that you're working on right now that you're comfortable sharing with our community as a promotion?

✰ I will always be working on Nosferatu. This series is everything to me, and the characters will always have a massive, special place in my heart. They don't only live in the Nosferatu books, though. Both Alucard and Zalith show up across all of my works, whether it be that we actually see them or that they're mentioned. These two helped build the entire universe my stories are all set in, and they have become immortalised...in more ways than one.

Offline, I've been working on something else: Daegelus. In a sense, this story is a rewrite of Warlock, the series I earlier mentioned that started this whole thing called Tate's writing. It's a dark romantasy, and will feature some familiar faces.

Another story I'm slowly working on is The Redblood Trials. This is another werewolf story and centres around some lore mentioned in both Nosferatu and Greykin Mountain. And of course, Alucard and Zalith will be showing their faces at some point.
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Thank you so much for this opportunity! <3