By Jeanne Willard Hometown News Staff Writer
ORMOND BEACH, Fla., April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- When Valerie Hoffman was a
19-year-old college freshman, she fell asleep in her dorm bed and awoke the
next morning unable to see. She never regained her sight.
Fast forward almost 25 years later and Hoffman, 43, chatted with fans
and signed copies of her first novel Jan. 20, 2007 at Barnes & Noble
bookstore in Daytona Beach.
Although Hoffman's book, "Vampire Royalty: The Rebellion," is fiction,
the story of her life makes a good read.
The Ormond Beach resident is the oldest of seven children. Both her
parents were blind; her father lost his vision at the age of 15, her mother
as a toddler.
It's not clear if there's a direct hereditary connection between her
parents' blindness and her own retinal detachments, but all of her siblings
are sighted, said Hoffman.
Waking up to a world of darkness was terrifying, she said. There was a
lot of screaming and hysteria on her part.
Whisked away to rehabilitation for six months, she relearned how to do
everything -- eating, dressing, and cooking, Braille -- and received a
guide dog.
After a brief marriage and a move to Florida, she completed her
associate degree at Broward Community College, but then hit a brick wall
when it came to pursuing a higher degree.
"Merely because I couldn't find my way to get to the school," Hoffman
said, recalling her frustration at the lack of public transportation to a
four-year college.
A news article regarding her plight brought volunteers who offered to
drive her to school.
Relying on others for transportation was only one of many obstacles she
faced, including ordering special textbooks on tape and securing volunteers
to read test questions and research materials aloud.
"What everyone else could do in one step took me two to three steps,"
Hoffman said. It was extremely time-consuming and stressful, she said.
Hoffman earned her bachelor's and master's degree in social work and
went on to earn a doctorate in pastoral counseling in 1997.
Currently a psychotherapist with practices in Ormond Beach and Daytona
Beach, she married her second husband, Norm, in 1997.
Hoffman said her drive and motivation could be traced to her childhood.
"I grew up very poor, in a crime-ridden section of New York," she said, and
realized that an education would help her escape that fate.
Although she's enjoyed a successful professional career, she has always
been interested in writing. Special computer equipment allows her to hear
what she types.
Hoffman describes her vampire novel as a mixture of intrigue, politics
and romance set in Washington, D.C.
A fan of classic horror films as a child, she was drawn to the myths
surrounding vampires, such as their power to mesmerize humans and live
forever.
"They're sexy, seductive and charismatic," said Hoffman.
"Who wouldn't want to be like Tom Cruise?," she said, referring to his
1994 movie, "Interview with the Vampire: Vampire Chronicles."
Reading novels such as hers is a way for people to identify with their
darker side, without actually engaging in it, Hoffman said.
According to one of the books reviewers, "'Vampire Royalty: The
Rebellion' grabs you by the throat, but more importantly, it grabs you by
the heart."
Vampire Royalty: The Rebellion is available at: Amazon.com, Barnes &
Noble, and VampireRoyalty.com.
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