Inspiration: Sampsa Auvo

I wanted to start this whole thing off with the man who has been of the most inspiration to Sarah and me for the past month and a half.

I have loved the Finnish band H.I.M since my brother, Hank, gave me a copy of their album Venus Doom. When I started writing the Galoria Hunter series, I knew I would eventually write of a man inspired by Ville Valo, the frontman of H.I.M, who in my opinion is one of the most beautiful men on Earth.

Introduced in NEPHILIM, Sampsa Auvo turned out to be that man and he has become a bigger part of the series than even I could have imagined.

BASIC

Full Name: Sampsa Jari Auvo (Samp-sa Yar-ee Ah-vo)

Birthday: November 22, ?

Species: Bein Gurth vampire

Occupation: Musician

APPEARANCE

Height: 6'3"

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Green

Piercings: Both ears

Tattoos: Multiple

FAMILY

Parents: Deceased

Siblings: None

Wife/Husband: None

Children: None

RELATIONSHIP WITH SARAH

Related by blood: No

Related by marriage: No

Met: November 6, 1991

Sampsa was one of three men who showed up on the doorstep of a very-pregnant Pam Buchheit and told her that her daughter wasn't human. Sampsa was there the night Sarah was born and from there on, he became her teacher, mentor, and only friend.

Fed up with how the Council was treating her and unable to stand the fact that he couldn't help her, Sampsa left Sarah's side and went back to Rovaniemi, Finland in 2001.

By way of mutual friend, Bruce Larkin, Sarah and Sampsa reunited in 2007 at a festival in Finland where Sampsa's band, Tsavo, was playing. Sarah was shocked to find that Sampsa had spiraled out of control and had become an alcoholic. She had just found out that she had Breast Cancer and even though he was in no shape to comfort her, she needed to be near him.

They didn't see each other again until Sampsa showed up in January 2010, three years later. With Sarah being 18 and having more maturity than almost any adult, Sampsa couldn't fight his feelings anymore and became a part of her "menu".