PHOTO: Hunter Blain, the creative force behind the “Preternatural Chronicles,” continues to enchant readers with his unique blend of humor and fantasy.
He Promised His Best Friend Immortality—Then Wrote Him Into Legend
Hunter Blain’s interview reveals how a promise to a late friend inspired his bestselling urban fantasy series, blending humor, action, and heartfelt storytelling.
H unter Blain proves that the most unforgettable stories often begin with the most deeply personal promises. What started as a pledge between two lifelong friends has grown into one of contemporary urban fantasy’s most distinctive and emotionally resonant series, transforming grief into adventure and memory into immortality. It is a remarkable testament to the enduring power of storytelling, where fiction becomes both tribute and celebration.
Blain has established himself as a compelling voice in modern speculative fiction through his acclaimed Preternatural Chronicles, alongside the Sol Saga and the gripping Chronos Paradox series. His novels effortlessly combine razor-sharp humour, exhilarating action, supernatural mythology and genuine emotional depth, creating stories that entertain while reminding readers that courage, friendship and loyalty transcend even death itself. His distinctive narrative style, often described by readers as bold, irreverent and cinematic, has earned him a devoted international readership.
What makes Hunter Blain especially fascinating is his ability to balance laugh-out-loud comedy with moments of profound humanity. His characters feel authentic because they are rooted in real relationships, real loss and real hope. Beneath the vampires, angels, werewolves and time travel lies a deeply personal exploration of love, remembrance and the promises that shape our lives.
In this engaging interview, Blain reflects on the extraordinary origin of John Cook, the creative process behind his unforgettable worlds, his passion for urban fantasy, and the collaboration with acclaimed narrator Luke Daniels that has brought his stories vividly to life for audiobook listeners. His warmth, wit and honesty shine through every answer, offering readers an inspiring glimpse into the imagination behind one of urban fantasy’s most entertaining and heartfelt literary voices.
Hunter Blain masterfully weaves humor and emotion, creating a literary world where friendship and fantasy intertwine beautifully.
What inspired you to create John Cook, the vampire protagonist in the Preternatural Chronicles?
John Cook and I grew up together in the little Texas town of Burleson. He was my best good friend to the point where we started calling each other brother.
John was the best guitarist I had ever seen, able to spit out crazy licks from Yngwie Malmsteen and John Petrucci without even breaking a sweat. While I dabbled in my short stories of differing genres, letting him read and critique my work. We pushed each other to be better in a way that only best friends could do.
One day, John had finished reading one of my more thriller-esq short stories, and said, “You should write a book about me.”
To which I replied, “Hell yeah, dude. What do you want to be?”
“A vampire. But not one of those sparkling ones!”
“Done.”
John, wanting me to improve on a gift I had been given, sealed my fate with his next words.
“Promise.”
“What?”
“Promise you’ll do it.”
“O…kay…? I promise.”
I was thrown off because it was such a vulnerable thing for him to ask, even if he phrased it with stoic confidence to the point where it was almost a demand. But beneath the surface I could see his desire to be on paper just like our favorite protagonists, Harry Dresden and Atticus O’Sullivan.
It wasn’t until a few years later that the weight of that promise would change the trajectory of my life.
In April of 2014, on a Sunday morning, my mom called me. I knew something was up because everyone knew I liked to sleep in on my days off, and wouldn’t dare wake the beast from his slumber.
I can still hear her sobs as I answered.
“It’s John…he’s dead.”
Her words were barely coherent, but once my sleep strangled mind registered what she was saying, everything went still like my soul had been dropped into a near-frozen lake, swallowed by water that blurred my vision as my body stared blankly at the ceiling. I still remember how the shadows cast across the popcorn texture from the early morning sun, wavered like dancing flames as my eyes flooded with tears.
John had been in a car accident in the early morning, leaving me without my doppelgänger…my best friend…my brother.
Fast forward to 2018 and I am sitting in my nutrition store that I owned, feeling a calling that wouldn’t be denied. It had grown inside me like a stubborn tree pushing through a concrete path.
I opened my laptop, created a blank word document, and titled it John’s favorite quote from the 1989 Batman, “I’m Glad You’re Dead.” We would repeat the Jack Nicholson line at least once a day, on top of a plethora of other movie quotes that have found their way into my books, such as clever girl, or anything from Arnold.
The name “I’m Glad You’re Dead” also fit because John wanted to be a vampire in the story. And as everyone knows, vampires have to die as they accept their dark gift, only to be born again as an immortal creature of the night.
When I told our circle of friends about the urban fantasy eulogy, everyone wanted to be in it as well. That’s how we get Depweg the werewolf, Valenta the neutral angel, Richard the treant, Nathanial the warlock, Greg the shaman, Collin the SAC for the FBPI, along with many others that have joined since the series began.
It took a year for me to write book 1. But I didn’t stop there. John’s favorite number had always been 13, so I wrote out a series arc for 13 novels of John the vampire, with an ending that no one will see coming. Teehee.
The 3,000+ reviews on Amazon tout the series as “Deadpool as a vampire.” So I think I held true to my promise that I wouldn’t make John into a “sparkling vampire.”
And now, with 10 books of the 13 out, along with a novella and side novel, John Cook lives on in the theater of tens of thousands of reader’s minds across the entire world. Everywhere from the Philippines to Canda. India to Australia. People in the UK have heard the name John Cook. And because of that, he will live on, forever, next to his literary heroes, Harry Dresden and Atticus O’Sullivan.
“John Cook and I grew up together in the little Texas town of Burleson.” – Hunter Blain
In your words, how would you describe urban fantasy?
What I like to tell people is think of it like the Harry Potter books or movies. When Harry is in the castle, there’s no technology like cellphones or TVs. But there’s plenty of dragons and magic. That is fantasy. But when the gang makes their way to modern day London, and the houses expand, buses squeeze to the thickness of a grilled cheese, and magic is wielded amongst the normal humans, that is urban fantasy.
I simply say it is realistic fantasy set in today’s time. For instance, my books take place in Houston, Texas. But still have plenty of the creatures people have come to love, like the Fae, werewolves, wizards and warlocks, and of course, angels and demons.
How would you best describe your style of writing?
Reviewers are overwhelmingly labeling the series “Deadpool as a vampire,” and I think that is beyond a perfect explanation. There is a ton of immature humor, along with a heavy handed dose of action that would rival any 90’s blockbuster.
For anyone interested, I give out book 0.5, “Deliverance” for free if they sign up for my newsletter at www.hunterblain.com. It is a 12,000 word novella that is the perfect tasting for my style. If someone reads it and laughs, they’ll love the rest of the series. If they don’t dig the silly humor and story, then no loss to them because it was free!
What role does narrator Luke Daniels play in bringing your audiobooks to life?
I was beyond lucky to have Audible Hall of Fame Narrator, Luke-freaking-Daniels, agree to be the voice of John and gang. What’s more, is the guy gets it. I will maybe give him 3-5 notes per book. Everything else is purely Luke. His comedic timing is on point. His voices are top notch. And he has a great sense of humor in that I mess with him at least once per book—which honestly works perfectly considering I break the fourth wall in the series all the time. I think in the last book, I had John wave to the camera and say “Hi Luke!” Which Luke was forced to read like the serious, accomplished actor that he is. The power I wield over Luke is only rivaled by those that sit atop the waterpark slides, nodding from behind their aviator sunglasses at the riders when it was their turn to go.
But in all seriousness, Luke has become a great friend who has a heart of gold, and is also like seven feet tall. And for those reading this across the pond, that’s like 3 labradors tall (I can’t remember what metric you guys use. Something about stones?).
