Bite Club reminder

We're meeting over at Bite Club February 1st and 2nd to discuss Rush of Wings by Adrian Phoenix! The author will be stopping by throughout the day to chat with readers, so get your questions ready. See you there!

And the winners are...

The winner of Gerry Bartlett's books in the Glory St. Claire series is...

...Jo-Anne Kenrick!


And a reminder that JESS is the winner of Jabril from D.B. Reynolds.


Ladies, please email vampchixmail@gmail.com with your snailmail address and I will forward to the authors!  Thanks, and congrats!

Reminder: Winners must return to VampChix blog to see if they have won.  VampChix makes every point of trying to contact winners.  We click on your profile.  Do you know how many people do not list their email address?  We look to see if you have a blog.  Do you know how many people do not list their contact info on their blog?  Just sayin'   It's not easy tracking down winners, so please, if you post a comment and hope to win do stop back in within two or three days to see if you did win.  Thanks!

Movie Quotes: Fright Night (1985)

Fright Night (1985) is a vampire movie about a teenage boy, Charley Brewster, that believes his new neighbor, Jerry Dandrige, is an evil bloodsucking vampire. He tells his friend, Evil Ed, and his girlfriend, Amy, but nobody will believe him. So he enlists the help of his television horror movie hero, the truly cowardly Peter Vincent, to help him slay the monster next door.

This movie has a great cast (Chris Sarandon, William Ragsdale, Roddy McDowall) and some fantastic comedic one-liners. It doesn't have the flashy special effects we are so used to these days, and it might seem cheesy, but I've liked this movie since I was 11 years old. Here are some of the best lines in the movie, but to get the real effect you would need to rent the movie.


Jerry Dandrige: Welcome to Fright Night! For real.

Jerry Dandrige: You have to have faith for this to work on me!

Evil Ed: He got me, Charley! He bit me! You know what you're gonna have to do now, don't you? Kill me. Kill me, Charley... before I turn into a vampire, and... GIVE YOU A HICKEY!

Charley Brewster: No vampire's gonna want him anyway. Probably give him blood poisoning.

Charley Brewster: Look, Detective Lennox, Jerry Dandridge is vampire!
Detective Lennox:Yeah, sure, and I'm Dirty Harry!

Peter Vincent: Apparently your generation doesn't want to see vampire killers anymore, nor vampires either. All they want to see slashers running around in ski masks, hacking up young virgins.

Bitey wallpaper and kitty-cat vamps

Download BITE ME wallpaper from Christopher Moore's website.

Moore guests at VampChix in March!

Read sections of Kaylana Price's TWICE DEAD, then order from Bell Bridge Books.

Newly undead shifter-turned-vampire Kita Nekai is coming to grips with the reality

 that her cat has not awakened since her change.

What she needs is a little time to adjust to her new liquid diet and the increasingly complex attraction to her sire, Nathanial. What she gets is a headless harlequin. With the body count rising, Kita is dragged into a dangerous game of vampire politics. Her involvement draws the attention of an ancient vampire known as the Collector who has a penchant for acquiring the unusual - like a pureblood shifter-turned vampire.

Kita still has unfinished business of her own and finds herself deeper in magical debt.

It's a bad time to be a kitten who can't slip her skin.

Kalayna Price's debut novel, ONCE BITTEN, earned rave reviews and reached #1 on Amazon.com's "Fantasy Bestseller List." TWICE DEAD returns readers to a dark, seductive world where 

magic rules and ancient loyalties collide with modern challenges.

Guest: Gerry Bartlett

Welcome Gerry Bartlett today!  She writes the hilarious Glory St. Clair vampire series, and will give away a set of the first 4 books in the series to one lucky commenter today.  You know what to do.  Start chatting!

Are You Sick of Vampires Yet?

Not me. You’d think we would be. Surely this mania should have run its course by now. Stephanie Meyer’s blockbuster series hit a nerve and there was suddenly a vampire craze that hit everyone from tweens to grandmas. What’s up with that? Where’s the appeal of blood draining monsters who come out at night and should logically scare us, not thrill and turn us on. Oh, but they do. Turn us on, that is. Hmm. Maybe logic’s got nothing to do with it. Of course we’ve known since Adam first tumbled for Eve that love and logic aren’t even distantly acquainted. There’s emotion and that elusive thing called chemistry.

Got to love chemistry. It’s why most of us lose ourselves in a romance novel. And the vampire hero makes a perfect guy to fantasize about. He’s strong, edgy and dangerous enough for us to want to tame. Remember, this isn’t reality. If we had to live with this man and wash his socks? Well, our vamps don’t bother with socks or underwear. You get the picture. He’s the man in black, wandering the streets at night looking for the woman who will finally make him happy or at least offer her neck for a little sip at her personal fountain.

What makes the authors of these vamp romances happy is that millions are still fascinated by the genre. I know I bit the bullet and added HBO to my cable package so I could become addicted to “True Blood, ” spawned by Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series. Now I’ve also got the CW’s “Vampire Diaries” on tap. And was I in the audience for “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”? You bet, along with three girlfriends and my long-suffering son who called it a chick flick. Maybe it is, but it had enough violence in it to keep him from falling asleep. Which is a must in the urban fantasy/vamp books coming out now. There has to be a combo plate of action, romance and maybe even humor if that’s the trademark of the author putting the story together.

My own Real Vampires series features a vampire heroine with extra inches in all the wrong places, Glory St. Clair, who’s trying to find the right man, laugh at her own mistakes and keep from getting staked. I like to have some fun with the whole vampire thing. Because, in my mind, any person who is turned vampire was a human first, bringing along the same baggage he or she had then, whether it’s a big butt or some insecurities. Even the men. Of course Glory’s always attracted to the ancient vampires who still don’t get the twenty-first century woman she’s trying to become. Will these guys change from being violent, passionate and strong-willed? Doubt it. Do we really want them to? Not on your life. This is fantasy after all. And I’m still not sick of it.

My next release is REAL VAMPIRES HATE THEIR THIGHS  , book 5 in the Glory St. Clair series, due out February 2. Glory has a chance to go to the Grammys with fantasy man and rock star Israel Caine. When a vamp diet guru offers her a chance to finally lose some pounds before she walks the red carpet, she jumps at it. Too bad he’s an ancient enemy of Glory’s longtime lover. Does he have a hidden agenda? Jump into this series and find out. Fresh Fiction calls it “laugh out loud” funny and Romantic Times says the series is “hot.” To learn more, hit gerrybartlett.com where you’ll find links to my Fan site, Myspace and Facebook pages. Win a package with the first four books in the series by commenting here. Good luck! 

Gerry

The CIA and Vampires, a new Vamp Bookstore

What if the following departments were tasked with developing an organizational response to the imminent public declaration of the existence of vampires?

• Department of Justice
• Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Central Intelligence Agency
• Department of Defense
• Department of Homeland Security
• Department of State
• Department of Health and Human Services

The results are interesting.  Read more at this blog.


Here's a new online bookstore (operated in Australia) dedicated to paranormal romance — FANGtastic Fiction.

Winner of Jabril is...

...JESS!

Jess, please email vampchixmail@gmail.com with your snailmail address.

Congrats!

Guest: D.B. Reynolds

Please welcome D.B. Reynolds to VampChix today.  She currently writes the Vampires in America series.  One lucky commenter will win a copy of Jabril, so give D.B. some love in the comments and be sure to check out her website!

Why Vampires?

Why vampires?  I get asked that question a lot – mostly by people who have no idea how wonderful vampires are!!!  So what turned me on to vampires?  I’ve been pondering that question this week, trying to think back to lo those many years ago and identify the very first vampire book I read or movie I saw.  That’s a tough question, because over the years since then I’ve read so, so many books.  I’ve also seen probably every vampire movie out there, some good, some … well … you know.

When I was in high school and into my twenties, I was totally into science fiction and fantasy books.  Mostly science fiction to be honest.  I’ve always been a voracious reader, making the trek to the library (or getting a ride from my mom or dad) every week to pick up a new stack of books.  I was one of those children the librarians love to see walk through the doors.  This was back in the day, and in a small enough town, that the librarian actually knew who I was when I walked through those doors!  But science fiction was my thing.  Until I came across Anne Rice’s wonderful book, Interview With a Vampire.

What a revelation that was!  No more Victorian, broody vampires, wearing long capes and top hats and seducing willowy young maidens in their beds.  No. This was NOW.  Granted Lestat had been around a good few years by the time he was interviewed, but the true revelation, the pathbreaking aspect of Rice’s book . . . for me, anyway … was that it was contemporary.  The idea that vampires had existed and lived among us for hundreds of years.

And such a vampire!  Sexy and sultry and irresistibly seductive. 

And then came Laurell K. Hamilton, whose early books were pathbreaking in their own way, and another total discovery for me.  I loved those books, loved the idea of Jean Claude and his vampires living in downtown St. Louis, of all places!

By then, of course, I was totally hooked and couldn’t get enough of it.  I sought out books and movies, old and new.  I never liked the so-called classic films, like Werner Herzog’s remake of Nosferatu with Klaus Kinski as a skeletal, buck toothed and waxy pale vamp with long fingernails.  Ugh.  What woman would ever be seduced by that?  I mean, really.

Give me Frank Langella’s 1979 Dracula any day.  Gorgeous and sophisticated, smooth and sexy.  Oh, yeah.  He can seduce me anytime. 

And I loved the evolution to Wesley Snipes’ warrior vamp, with muscles and fangs and a take no prisoners attitude.  Not to mention the third Blade movie, which was, um, not that good.  But it did feature a shirtless Ryan Reynolds, which is always a good thing.  That scene when the half-naked Reynolds is chained to the floor, flexing those gorgeous muscles … well, it still takes my breath away.  ::sigh::   

Back to books, I love what Charlaine Harris, Susan Sizemore, Kresley Cole, J. R.Ward and Lynn Viehl have done with the vampire genre.  And I especially love the urban fantasy that’s been spun lately, featuring vampires in a whole new light, like Adrian Phoenix’s fantastic Maker’s Song series with the delicious and oh so damaged Dante Baptiste.

And then there’s my own beautiful vampires.  Raphael, Duncan and my newest vampire, Rajmund, whose book will be out later this year.  I wanted my vampires to have all the seductiveness and beauty I admire, but I still wanted them to be vampires.  Every author makes her own choices, but I’ve been dismayed by the trend toward vampires who are just sensitive guys who happen to drink blood.  I wanted my vampires to be combative and territorial and vicious.  Yes, I wanted them beautiful.  But I wanted them to be VAMPIRES, not long-suffering martyrs searching for a tender-hearted woman!

So my Raphael is gorgeous and seductive, but he’s also ruthless when it comes to enforcing his domain.  If you cross him, if you betray him, you do so at your peril – your mortal peril.  And if you endanger Cynthia, the love of his very long life, there is no end to the pain he will inflict on you before you die.  Not that Cyn needs protecting, mind you.  She’s just as protective of Raphael, as he is of her, and just as capable of seeking vengeance.  I like my heroines to kick butt right alongside their vamp lovers!

So, why do I write vampires?  Because I love them.  Because they’re the ultimate bad boys (and girls) and the possibilities are endless.

While you’re here, let me know what you think.  Why do you read vamp fiction?  I’ll be giving away a copy of my latest Vampires in America book, JABRIL.  The winner will be drawn at random from those who comment on this post. 

And after that, please visit me at my blog … http://dbreynolds.wordpress.com   where I run regular contests and keep my readers up to date on my writing progress and future publications.  There are blurbs for all of my books, plus every once in a while, I post a Vampire Vignette – little slices of life with my vamps. 

Thanks for stopping by!

D. B. Reynolds is the author of the best-selling Vampires in America series and a member of the Romance Writers of America, as well as the Academy of Television Arts and Science and Motion Picture Sound Editors.  Her books have been called “smart, suspenseful and sexy” (Kelley Armstrong, NYT best selling author of the Otherworld series) and “a fast-paced story full of dark power and rough primal action” (Adrian Phoenix, A Rush of Wings.)  JABRIL received 4 ½ Stars and a Top Choice pick from RT Book Reviews (January 2010), saying, “it doesn't get much better than this second installment in the Vampires in America series. Readers will have a tough time closing the book on this riveting story,” while RAPHAEL was given a 4 Tombstone rating at BittenByBooks.com.

Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 1

It was announced that Twilight: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 1 will be released on March 16, 2010. The press release for volume one can be read at Stephenie Meyer's website. Twilight is being made into a graphic novel and will be released in two volumes due to its original length.

A portion of the press release states the following:

Twilight: The Graphic Novel contains selected text from Meyer's original novel with illustrations by Korean artist Young Kim. A rare fusion of Asian and Western comic techniques is reflected in this black-and-white graphic novel with color interspersed throughout. Meyer consulted throughout the artistic process and had input on every panel.

"I've enjoyed working on this new interpretation of Twilight," said Meyer. "Young has done an incredible job transforming the words that I have written into beautiful images. The characters and settings are very close to what I was imagining while writing the series."

And while most know the story of Twilight by now the Publisher Synopsis simply states:

When Isabella Swan moves to the gloomy town of Forks and meets the mysterious, alluring Edward Cullen, her life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. With his porcelain skin, golden eyes, mesmerizing voice, and supernatural gifts, Edward is both irresistible and impenetrable. Up until now, he has managed to keep his true identity hidden, but Bella is determined to uncover his dark secret...

Beautifully rendered, this first installment of Twilight: The Graphic Novel is a must-have for any collector's library.

Entertainment Weekly (January 29, 2010) revealed 10 pages including the cover (above) and the page shown left where Edward and Bella are in Biology class. Yes, even vampires have to take Biology! Some of the pages in EW also have color infused.

I think this is very exciting news! For Twilight fans and for young adult vampires in general. This brings the series out to another audience. One that may not have read the books yet and may read these instead. And it may spur their interest to read beyond Twilight. There are other young adult vampire series that have done something similar, such as Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives (Manga) series by Ellen Schreiber. Just as Blood Relatives are nice side stories to the Vampire Kisses, the Twilight Graphic Novel will be visually additive to the storyline and characters that are in the hearts of many Twilight fans already and may find new homes with this new release. And from what I've seen in my EW magazine and the 10 pages it is going to be a beautiful view!

I am excited to be your new young adult vampire reviewer at VampChix and hope you will check back for the next ya title. You can also find me at my blog READ~WRITE~REVAMP or at my Fresno Books Examiner site. Thank you. ~Shauna Kemp

A Little Sparkle Can Be a Good Thing

Maybe a little sparkle is exactly what a generation needed to find a light in the everyday darkness that exists in today’s world.

I know some die hard vampire fans say “real vampires don’t sparkle”.

But maybe at this point in time it is exactly what the world needed and why this new breed of vampires opened the doors to all types of vampires becoming popular again, More popular than at any other point in history.

What has made the vampire an enduring and truly immortal creature? What is it about these blood suckers that makes us love them so? Perhaps above all else it is their enduring quality, something evermore in a world of uncertainty.

In times of turmoil we often turn to "fantastical" creatures and stories to find something more interesting than the horror and mundane boredom we face in the world everyday. Turn on the news, and everything is so depressing.

It is no wonder we are turning to sparkly vampires and otherworldly creatures to give us an escape.

This generation of children and teenagers have grown up in the post 9/11 world. A world full of terror, war, economic crisis and despair. So why not fall in love with something bright and shiny? Something totally different than everything else that has come before. Something this generation can call their own.

Some writers and anti-fans have declared that the Twilight books are too simplistic, too clichéd and that Bella is so bland and completely lacking of any personality that every girl can see themselves in her (I am paraphrasing here).

Maybe that’s the point. Plus you have to remember these books were written for teens, not adults. The universal themes of a young girl feeling lost, lacking direction, torn between two guys one her friend the other someone much older and dangerous, wanting protection, seeking a place in the world…hello? Do the critics not remember what it was like to be a teenager?

I do, that’s why I understand completely the appeal of Twilight (even if my adult, feminist brain doesn’t agree with all of it).

Twilight is in many ways so simple everyone can find a place, everyone can find something appealing. Especially after you throw in some supernatural fun and a little sparkle and ta-da something fresh and new for a generation that really needed something to distract them from the world.

So please don’t over read it, let everyone have fun and focus on something not so dark and full of despair.

New Vamp Comic from DC

Debuting this week from DC Comics is “Dead Romeo,” a new six-issue miniseries illustrated by Ryan Benjamin (“Grifter and Midnighter”) and written by Jesse Blaze Snider. A relative newcomer to comics, Snider is hoping to break big with “Dead Romeo,” an ultra-violent vampire love story he describes as being something of a cross between “The Crow” and “The Princess Bride.”

The story follows John Romero, a glam rock musician who died in the 1980s, but not before falling madly in love, marrying his sweetheart and becoming a vampire. Romero returns from Hell in the present day with a chance to escape forever. All he has to do is kill one innocent virgin. But can the hopeless romantic rock singer do such a terrible thing? And if he can’t, what will his Hellish companions, the evil Hollywood Vampires, to do John if he chokes?

Guest: Lori Devoti

VampChix told you about Lori's free downloadable short story a few weeks ago.  Well, she's here today to talk about it.  If you haven't downloaded the story yet, what the heck are you waiting for?

A couple of years ago I got a call from my then editor at Silhouette Nocturne inviting me to be part of the Holiday with a Vampire II anthology. I was thrilled and I knew exactly what kind of vampire I wanted to write—dark and scary. He, being the hero, would of course be redeemable, but I wanted some scary moments when you (and the heroine) just weren’t quite sure how things were going to turn out. I was thinking caves, shredded clothing and a bit of madness.

Then he reminded me that this was a HOLIDAY tale. In other words dark, as fitting the Nocturne line, but not creepy dark.

Okay, had to make a slight change in direction.

Now as it turned out I loved my story, The Vampire who Stole Christmas, but it wasn’t scary. It was heartwarming.

So, when I decided that this year I would write some free stories both to repay readers who already search out my stuff and to hopefully lure new ones into trying my books, I knew my first story would be a vampire and it was going to have to be a little dark.

The story, LOST, is what I call an urban myth romance. It’s about a college student who goes for a drive in a cursed canyon with her sorority sisters.  The plan was to prove to the pledges that the more senior students could handle the place.

Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned.

The group is in an accident and the heroine of my story, Rachel Daniels, is the only one left mobile. She goes to find help, but what she finds is Cameron Renault, a vampire.  Cameron has come to the canyon looking for his brother, also a vampire, who has succumbed to the curse.

This story is about Cameron and Rachel and their journey out of the cursed canyon. I hope to write another story that continues where LOST ends, following Cameron’s brother and one of Rachel’s friends.  And I hope to write other vampire tales as well for both Nocturne and myself.

So, that’s what I have to offer the vampire genre, two stories...but don’t think I’m a total come lately to the vampire genre. The Vampire who Stole Christmas wasn’t my first vampire story. I started another one quite a few years ago, right when everyone (my agent included) was sure vampires were dead. (sigh, yeah, that’s right...dead)

For a sample of that story, click here...  http://www.loridevoti.com/wp-content/uploads/DeadlyDoublePrologue.pdf

And the free downloadable pdf of LOST is here:  http://www.loridevoti.com/wp-content/uploads/LostbyLoriDevoti.pdf

Young Adult vamps by Scott Westerfeld

 Peeps & The Last Days

Peeps by Scott Westerfeld is a whole new kind of vampires.  They do not fly or transform into bats or other animals.  In fact, they are rarely referred to as vampires. They are infected with a disease at a biological level and are called peeps.  Cal is one of them, sort of.  He is a carrier of the strain for “parasite positive”.  He has it, but he is not affected by it and does not display any of the symptoms.  Other than an insane appetite for meat and overly active urge to have sex, creating more peeps with past girlfriends, which he doesn’t want to keep repeating.  So, now Cal works for the Night Watch trying to find and treat peeps, not realizing there is a greater force at work than the peeps he is hunting.   There is something deep in the earth that is calling for more peeps.  Not only that, but Cal also has to find his progenitor.  The one who turned him into a peep carrier and his only clue is the…Bahamalama-Dingdong.  Yep, a drink, and it is from a nightclub that is just now back in business.  This leads him on an adventure looking for a girl he can’t remember…to find a girl named Lacey he can’t date…. to a building that’s not quite right….and cats that...the underground moving and ….well...you’ll just have to read it to find out… It is well worth the ride and will saturate your thirst, just stay above ground.  I think…

“We needed to become world-famous soon, while there was still that kind of world to be famous in.” ~Pearl, 

  In The Last Days, sequel to Peeps by Scott Westerfeld, a group of teenagers work to create a band in a time when the world is quite visibly falling apart.  Kids are being kept home from school or those with money are moving away from the city as trash piles up in the streets as the rats and cats seem to be taking over.  Pearl meets Moz when a Stratocaster is thrown from an apartment window and they both join together to rescue it and they discover they are both interested in putting together a band.  Moz and his pal Zahler play guitar.  And Pearl, the brains and resources behind it all, has her friend Minerva (Min) for vocals.  Pearl rescued Min from her house where she has been locked up “recuperating” from what many others have been “taken” away from their homes, or ran away from, for having caught the disease.  The others sensed something was different about Minerva too, but they needed a singer and her original vocals pulled them all together.  Something that even drummer Alana Ray that Zahler brought in had noticed.  Together, they formed a band.  Would they be the band to make it, to have the secret weapon? The ground definitely seemed to tremble beneath them, when they played.  And what happens when they cross paths with Cal and Lace? Cal and Lace, whom by now are doing their jobs as dark angels caring away the sick peeps and training them to help fight the ancient forces underground.  Will the band still play?  Would the ancient force beneath the earth continue to stir? Would they end up helping the dark angels or the peeps?  Find out, one tune at a time in Peeps and The Last Days.

Scott Westerfeld has a unique way of creating a whole new language in the young adult genre in each of his books series and these are no exception.  In Peeps, we learn of the Bahamalama-Dingdong, which is a new type of drink from a bar.  In The Last Days he replaces the first letter of a word with “f”, one main one is cool, which becomes “fool”, still meaning cool.  Others are “fawesome” and “fexcellent”.  Some mention of credit is giving for this in his book.  He continues in this fashion in non-vampire books of his as well, practically creating a whole new language in the Uglies series from –wa and –la after one’s name.  The main character of that series becomes Tally-wa by her best friend’s calling.  It is Scott’s unique way of writing and biological take on vampirisms that makes for an original read in young adult vampires….I mean…parasite positives!  So take a peep at it, just be careful which band you join!

Happy Reading!

~Shauna

Shauna Leigh Kemp reviews for the Fresno Book Examiner and at her own blog READ WRITE REVAMP.  Look for her to regularly review young adult vampire titles at VampChix.  Welcome to VampChix, Shauna!

The Winner of Jill Myles' book is...

...Robin K!   (Sorry to announce this late!)

Congrats, Robin!  Please email vampchixmail@gmail.com with your snail mail address.

Pretty, bloody, shiny things

Whether you're a VampChix in need of adornment or a man who desires to adorn his favorite vamp, I found a few sparklies that'll turn your head.

Here's a cute little necklace that shows everyone what kind of love bites you prefer...  It's available at an Etsy store as a 'vampire illusion necklace'.

While I was searching Etsy, I found a few other things that may interest vamp fans.

All the items from this artist are related to the Vampire Academy series.

This slit throat choker is a bit macabre, but still...

This one is Twilight-inspired, but not noticeably so.  I like it!

Just gorgeous!  My Dark Valentine bracelet

Gold Vampire fangs with blood.  Shiny!

Oh, so pretty.  Must have.  Want.  Need.  Check EJPcreations entire shop for nummy stuff!

This one attracted me because my current heroine (who is a vamp) wears roses in her hair, and in the centers of the roses are bird skulls.

Guest: Emerian Rich

Unfortunately, my love of vampires started relatively late. Being the child of ministers, I wasn’t one of the lucky ones who got to watch scary black and white movies and then spend the night under the covers in complete terror. On Halloween, if I was allowed to dress up at all, the required costume was a bible character or cowgirl. I don’t know about you, but for someone like me, who has always been interested in the dark and fantastical, brown burlap and straw hats just don’t cut it.

My first glimpse into the world of vampires was when one of my college classmates tossed me a copy of Feast of all Saints by Anne Rice. Not a vamp novel itself, my love of Feast led me to Anne’s Vampire Chronicles and I fell in love. At first, the idea of vampires did not appeal. How could I enjoy reading books about dead people who drank blood? The concept is a strange one on your first run, but as Anne’s words filled me with delight, so did the idea that immortality could transform even the dullest life into magic.

Years later, as I look back at all the vampire fiction I’ve read, there are moments that stick out like snapshots in my mind.

--When Claudia said, “I want some more.”

--My first glimpse of the baby vamp on the cover of Bloodchild by Andrew Neiderman.

--Reading the hot backstage happenings in Poppy Z. Brite’s Lost Souls.

--Lestat’s first peek at Those Who Must Be Kept.

--Learning of the magic key in House of Secrets by James A. Moore and Kevin Murphy .

Truly great vampire writing stays with us. It haunts us, bringing us back to another age, a fateful day, or an underground crypt. This is what I strive to bring to the readers of vampire fiction who, like myself, crave the creatures of the night.

Night’s Knights by Emerian Rich
Vampires on a quest for knowledge attempt to create the perfect offspring, but from the shadows an even more demonic evil threatens their immortality. Severina is an exotic beauty from the jungles of Brazil whose family is brutally murdered by the same man she later calls lover. Markham is a simple Irish immigrant striving for the American dream in 1860 when coach robbers cause his untimely death. Julien is a knight who serves as guardian angel to his family but has no clue about his predestined fate. Will a powerful mortal named Jespa be the one to save them all?

Night's Knights is Emerian's first print novel.  She is the hostess of HorrorAddicts.net and writes for the speculative fiction blog dashPunk.com. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and son.
Find out more about Emerian at: www.emzbox.com

You can now read a free sample of Night’s Knights on Mobipocket!!
http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/eBookDetails.asp?BookID=261561

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/emzbox?ref=profile
Twitter: http://twitter.com/emzbox 
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/emzbox
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Dracula Tape

When I first read DRACULA, at the age of twelve, I wondered how the Count felt about all those incidents in which he was portrayed as the villain. Fred Saberhagen’s THE DRACULA TAPE (1975) was the book I’d always wanted to write. Count Dracula tells his side of the story on the tape recorder of a car belonging to a descendant of Jonathan and Mina Harker. According to Dracula, he never intended any harm to Jonathan during the latter’s stay at the castle. Like most vampires, the Count lives mainly on animal blood; drinking human blood is an erotic experience. His encounters with both Lucy and Mina were completely consensual. He didn’t cause Lucy’s death. That ignorant fanatic Van Helsing did, by transfusing her with blood from four different men several years before the discovery of blood types. Oh, and that stuff about crosses and holy wafers? Dracula still considers himself a Catholic, even if not a very good one; he retreats from holy objects partly to maintain the illusion of their effectiveness and partly to avoid desecrating them with his enemies’ blood.

Saberhagen plays fair. Aside from fudging the date of Mina’s pregnancy, he stays faithful to all the “facts” of Bram Stoker’s novel. It becomes a different story through the Count’s interpretation of the facts. Intelligent, witty, and occasionally sensual, THE DRACULA TAPE definitely ranks as one of the top vampire novels of its decade, if not of the twentieth century. It has several sequels, of varying quality. For me, the best of the later books is the second in the series, THE HOLMES-DRACULA FILE (1978). Told in the first person alternately by Dracula and Dr. Watson, it’s effective and memorable as both a vampire novel and a Sherlock Holmes pastiche. (Clearly superior, in my opinion, to Loren D. Estleman’s SHERLOCK HOLMES VS. DRACULA, published in the same year.)

THE DRACULA TAPE predates that more famous novel of a vampire’s tape-recorded apologia by a year and deserves to be equally recognized.
Margaret Carter