In the Systema Paradoxa series, various writers have told their own stories about “real life” cryptids, i.e. animals whose existence is unconfirmed by science. Y’know, Bigfoot, The Loch Ness Monster, Mothman, etc.
But in Ty Drago’s new Systema Paradoxa novella Blind Devotion (paperback, Kindle), he instead tells the fictionalized story of a “real life” interaction people had with a cryptid.
In the following email interview, Drago talks about why he took this approach to this sci-fi novella, as well as what else influenced this story.
To start, what cryptid are you writing about in Blind Devotion, where does it live, and what does it do?
Well, when I was invited to write a cryptid novella for Systema Paradoxa, the Van Meter Visitor caught my eye because of its brief window of sightings and the high degree of credibility of the witnesses. It’s one of the more well-documented small town cryptid cases, still utterly unexplained. Oh, yes. My imagination could do something with that.
And then what is Blind Devotion about, and when and where does the story take place?
Blind Devotion chronicles the five days in 1903 when a huge winged creature with a glowing horn was spotted, night after night, in the middle of the small town of Van Meter, Iowa.
The events are told through the eyes of the entirely fictional Hank Trotter, the teenage beggar and the son of the notorious town drunk. Largely ignored or denigrated by the townfolk, Hank’s lonely life is brightened by his friendship with Alexandra Harrer, the blind orphaned niece of Van Meter’s wealthiest resident. To put it simply, Hank is in love, though he can’t imagine a reality in which someone like Alex would ever return his affection.
But all that changes when Alex comes to him in the night begging for help. Someone…she won’t say who…is in trouble and she has to find them. But when the search for this “someone” yields only a bizarre sighting of an impossible light on the town rooftops, Hank becomes uneasy. And the next night, when the light turns out to come from the forehead of a huge winged creature, his unease turns to fear. What is this mysterious monster that the whole town is talking about? And what does the girl of his dreams have to do with it?
To say any more would be a crime.
So, did you start out with the Van Meter Visitor in mind for your story, or did you have the plot of Blind Devotion worked out and then realize the Visitor would be the best one to make it happen?
I might be in the minority when it comes to authors in this series in that I had a well-documented well of sightings to use as an outline. To answer your question, I would say that the Visitor absolutely came first, with Hank and Alex’s love story growing out of it.
You kind of already touched on this, but why did you want to write a story about that particular cryptid, and then where did you get the idea for the plot of Blind Devotion?
This story is something of a departure for me. The more I looked into the Van Meter Visitor, the more it became clear that the events in 1903 begged to be fictionalized. Some folks have suggested that it must have simplified things to have so much of the basic story told for me, but that just isn’t the case.
In the writing world, there are two types of authors. “Plotters” make outlines and plan things out before ever penning a word, while “Pantsers” write by the seat of their pants, letting the story take them where it will. I definitely fall into the latter category. Blind Devotion was one of the hardest pieces I’ve written exactly because it had an outline of sorts that I needed to follow. I need to jump through a good many hoops to make my story fit the documented facts. It was frankly exhausting, but I think the final novella speaks for itself. I’m very proud of this work.
As you said, Hank is the son of the town drunk. Is there a specific reason you made Hank the son of the town drunk as opposed to the daughter of the town heroin addict or the father of the town meth head or something else?
The story of the Van Meter Visitor is set in rural Iowa in 1903, a time when methamphetamine hadn’t yet been invented and heroin was very hard to come by.
Besides, Hank is a literary allusion to Huckleberry Finn, whose father was an abusive drunk. I spent a lot of time crafting the right kind of outcast to be my hero.
Now, many of the Systema Paradoxa novellas have been urban fantasy stories. Is Blind Devotion one as well, or is it something else?
Honestly, Blind Devotion falls more into the category of science fiction than fantasy. Without giving too much away, my “truth” about the Visitor revolves around a secret that’s older than mankind.
Blind Devotion is not your first published work. In fact, it’s not the only thing you’re publishing in 2025, which we’ll get to in a moment. Are there any writers, or specific stories, that had a big influence on Blind Devotion but not on anything else you’ve written?
As I said before, Hank Trotter, the hero of Blind Devotion, is loosely inspired by Huckleberry Finn. He’s a lonely teenage boy who is desperately in love with his best — and only — friend, and the story revolves around what he decides to do in order to honor that love. So, I guess thanks go to the great Mark Twain.
What about non-literary influences; was Blind Devotion influenced by any movies, TV shows, or games?
Not really. While some of my other work has its roots in non-literary sources, Blind Devotion draws pretty much all of its energy from Twain and from the fascinating true story of the Van Meter Visitor.
Rosie, Pippin, Merry
And what about your pit bull Rosie, and your hens Pippin and Merry? How did your pets influence Blind Devotion?
Again, I don’t want to give too much away. But the argument can be made that my pitty, Rosie, was the inspiration of my incarnation of the Visitor. If you want to know more, I suggest you read the novella.
Now, as I mentioned a moment ago, Blind Devotion isn’t the only book you’re putting out this year. You also have a horror novel called St. Damned, which came out in January, as well as a historical novel called New Americans. Let’s start with St. Damned. What is that book about?
St. Damned is basically my version of a good old-fashioned ghost story. Think of it as a haunted house tale on steroids.
It takes place in Camden, New Jersey, on a lonely street by the river, long ago abandoned, and overshadowed by its neighborhood church, St. Damien’s. Mia Lakatos is a disgraced paranormal investigator who is forced by circumstance to return to St. Damien’s five years after a disaster there that destroyed her reputation and nearly took her life.
And is it a straight horror novel or a specific kind like psychological horror?
Oh, this one is straight up gory horror. I pulled out every stop I could think of. The villain Mia faces is Jonah Ray Barton, the sadistic spirit of a deranged serial killer who has collected the souls of his victims and turned them into his own personal army of slaves.
Moving on to The New Americans, what is that book about, and when and where does it take place?
The New Americans is an ambitious project. Six books. It’s a historical novel about three Sicilian brothers who are forced to flee to America during the Great Italian Arrival in 1915 and the turns their individual lives take as they struggle, successfully or otherwise, to become American.
It’s patterned off a set of cassette tapes my father recorded right before his death in 1992, which are themselves inspired by the grandfather’s storied life as an immigrant and bootlegger during the early years of prohibition. As you might imagine, it’s a very personal story for me.
And when will that be out?
I’ve partnered with Gray Rabbit Publications to make this one a reality. As of now, we don’t have firm publication dates, though 2025 looks likely. Stay tuned!
So, did you write Blind Devotion, St. Damned, and New Americans at the same time or back-to-back? I ask because I’m curious if they influenced each other, especially given how they’re in different genres.
Oh, they were all written at various times and for various reasons. This may sound corny, but I like to tell the story that’s in my heart at a given moment. One of my publishers once joked that she never knows what I’m going to send her next. Every book is so different. I consider that a high compliment.
Going back to Blind Devotion, is there anything else you think a potential reader might want to know about it?
Blind Devotion is a cryptid tale, certainly. But, at its heart, it’s a love story with some unique action, quite a bit of mystery, and a lot to say about what is to be human. I really, really hope you’ll check it out.
Finally, if someone enjoys Blind Devotion, which of your books that are already out would you suggest they check out next?
Well, if science fiction is your thing, I humbly suggest Dragons, my sci-fi / fantasy genre-bender that takes a very new look at some very old creatures of myth, or my two-part novel series Checkmate, which is a near-future retelling of [Baroness Orczy’s] The Scarlett Pimpernel. In all modesty, I’ve built a pretty diverse library of works. There’s something for everyone!
