Exeter the setting for new novel

By Scott Nixon
Times-Advocate Staff

A former Exeter resident is paying tribute to her old home town by making it the scene of her recently-released novel.
Kathleen Mendelin (nee Speziale) recently published "Vamplitude", a novel inspired by the music and persona of musician/actor Rick Springfield
As Mendelin, now living in Kitchener, explains, the book deals with "vampires, comets and a struggle with keeping the faith."
"Vamplitude" was inspired by Springfield's CD "Shock/Denial/anger/Acceptance."
Mendelin, who has met Springfield more times than she can count, recently traveled to Nashville to see him in concert and present him with a copy of the book.
Mendelin graduated from South Huron District High School in 1986 and left Exeter for university. A couple of years ago, she started writing a short story that eventually "took on a life of its own" and became a full-length novel, "Vamplitude".
At the time Mendelin started writing her book she had recently recovered from a bad accident that she called "life changing". Springfield's music helped her with her emotional healing. A fan of his music since the 1970s, Mendelin says Springfield "writes with such depth and understands the female mind." She describes him as generous and funny and someone who has "the best heart in the world." Some of his lyrics are included in Mendelin's book.
She said Springfield's fans are like a family and offered her support while she recovered from her accident.
As Springfield is a fan of vampires and science fiction, Mendelin said he was eager to read her book.
As for Exeter, Mendelin says it always felt like her hometown, even though she didn't move here until Grade 4. She said she quickly felt at home in Exeter and was always comfortable here.
"It's the prettiest town I've ever seen." she says. "It's just a beautiful town."
The street she grew up on, Carling Street, and the Exeter Library both make appearances in "Vamplitude", which has a cliffhanger ending. Readers have been encouraging Mendelin to continue the story, something she may do. She has also written an unreleased fictional children's book based in Exeter.
Mendelin says readers of "Vamplitude" have been giving her very positive feedback and she ran out of copies on her trip to Nashville. She's seeing Springfield again in May and plans on taking more copies with her.
The book is available online through Volumes Publishing and at vamplitude.com
Mendelin says some of the proceeds from sales of her book will go to a fellow Springfield fan in the U.S. who is battling breast cancer.