Winners of FALLEN!

With the help of random.org, I've drawn a few winners to receive a copy of FALLEN.  Please send your snailmail address to vampchixmail@gmail.com, and I'll get those in the mail to you!  Congrats!

Sassy
Candese
Dawn Ibanez
June M

Review: The Vampire Voss by Colleen Gleason

Book Description:

Regency London – a dizzying whirl of balls and young ladies pursued by charming men.

But the Woodmore sisters are hunted by a more sinister breed: Lucifer's own.

Voss, also known as Viscount Dewhurst, relishes the sensual pleasures immortality affords. A member the Dracule – a cabal of powerful, secretive noblemen marked with a talisman that reveals their bartered souls – the mercenary Voss has remained carefully neutral ... until Angelica.

Angelica Woodmore possess the Sight, an ability invaluable to both sides of a looming war among the Dracule. Her very scent envelops Voss in a scarlet fog of hunger – for her body and her blood. But he is utterly unprepared for the new desire that overcomes him – to protect her.

Now Voss must battle his very nature to be with Angelica ... but this vampire never backs down from a fight.

My Review:

Right off readers should know that Draculia are much different vampires than those in the Gardella series. Here we have not only vampires that are good and evil, we also get a book that ends with a traditional happily ever after. But fans of the Gardella series should not despair because the style of writing is very similar, as is Gleason's ability to seamlessly blend vampires into society, and history. I adored some of these characters, especially considering that these women are not your usual regency misses, which in my mind makes them way more fun. I also appreciate the attention to detail that Gleason gives all her books. I could totally see a back room in White's that solely catered to the Draculia clientele, or an establishment like Rubey's that provided them the opportunity to explore all their unique needs without censure. 

Now to Voss. Hmm, what can I say? He was at times a truly unlikeable character, selfish and spoiled, rather like Lestat in his hedonistic vampire views, but his ability to change and seek redemption was always there and it was then that Voss really came to life. It's nice to have such a deeply flawed character make such a dramatic change without seeming over the top or giving that forced/fake vibe. His struggle was very believable and kept in time to the rest of the story. It was almost like the reader is seeing Voss through Angelica's eyes because as her opinion shifted so did mine. Angelica however was entirely different right from the start and I knew that I would enjoy reading her falling in love with a vampire like Voss. How fun that she uses her ability to help girls of the ton find a suitable husband based on prediction of when the man would die. And charge for it to boot! Clever indeed.

As I mentioned, this book does end with a happily ever after. The tension between Voss and Angelica lasts throughout the book without being boring or redundant. Again, I felt that the romance angle was suitable for the type of book...which means that the characters were not ripping off their clothes with every turn of the page, but when they did it was well worth it. 

The secondary cast is a dynamic bunch and I look forward to reading about Maia, Angelica's snooty and know-it-all sister, and Dmitri, her tightly coiled vampire guardian. They promise to be explosive and passionate for sure. But it's Narcise that I am most anxious to read more about. She has a very complicated past and I'm guessing that she will have the most exciting romance of them all. It's a good thing that these books come out back-to-back because waiting isn't my strong suit and I want more of these regency vampires.

Books in this series:

The Vampire Voss (out now)

The Vampire Dimitri (April 19, 2011)

The Vampire Narcise (May 24, 2011)

Colleen Gleason's website can be found by clicking here. Go visit! You won't be sorry...the site is beautiful and easy to navigate.

*This book was reviewed by Anna Dougherty for VampChix and was obtained via NetGalley for review purposes.

Looking for a guest reviewer!

VampChix has received a review copy of BLOOD OF THE WICKED by Karina Cooper, and we'd like to give one lucky commenter the opportunity to win the book before it's pub date of May 31st.  All we ask is you review the book for us here at VampChix before May 15th (you'll get the details after we send you the book).  You don't have to be a professional reviewer, but we would like a few paragraphs summarizing the story then a paragraph with your opinion on the book.  We appreciate honesty, but if you decide you don't like the story, then we'll look for someone else to review it because we don't like to do negative reviews here (but we certainly don't need them to be gushy, either).  :-)  [US only please.]

So here's your chance!  Does this story look interesting to you?  Want to give reviewing a try?  Tell us what intrigues you about this story and we'll pick a winner this weekend!


When the world went straight to hell, humanity needed a scapegoat to judge, to blame . . . to burn.
As an independent witch living off the grid, Jessie Leigh has spent her life running, trying to blend in among the faceless drudges in the rebuilt city. She thought she was finally safe, but now she's been found in a New Seattle strip club—by a hard-eyed man on a mission to destroy her kind.
A soldier of the Holy Order, Silas Smith believes in the cause: trawling the fringes of society for the murderous witches who threaten what's left of the world. Forced into a twisting web of half-truths and lies, he has to stay close to the most sensuous and electrifying woman he has ever seen and manipulate her into leading him to the witch he has to kill: her brother. Silas doesn't know that Jessie's his enemy, only that he wants her, needs her, even as he lies to her . . . and must protect her until his final breath.

New Vampire Releases for March 2011

The March list is not overly long even though I added at least two books from February that I accidentally left off - Thirteen Years Later and The Annotated Carmilla.  Still there is plenty to enjoy.

Afterlife: An Evernight Novel
by Claudia Gray
HarperTeen (March 8, 2011)


Destiny awaits Bianca and Lucas . . .

Bianca and Lucas have always believed they could endure anything to be together. When a twist of fate not only transforms Bianca into a wraith but also turns Lucas into a vampire—the very creature he spent his life hunting—they are left reeling.
Haunted by his powerful need to kill, Lucas can turn to only one place for help . . . Evernight Academy. Bianca is determined to remain with him. But with the vampire leader of Evernight waging a war against wraiths, her former home has become the most dangerous place she could be, despite the new powers her ghostly transformation has given her.

A battle between wraiths and vampires looms, and Bianca and Lucas face a terrifying new reality. They've overcome every obstacle life has thrown at them, but is their love strong enough to survive the challenges after life?

The Annotated Carmilla
Authored by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
Preface by Andrew M. Bolan
Notes by D. MacDowell Blue
Introduction by David A. Sutton
Thornkirk Press, Feb 27 2011


Growing up in the lonely forests and valleys of Styria, Laura had only her father and two governesses for company. Until she came. Carmilla. Beautiful and fragile. Kind and friendly. As mysterious as she was devoted. But also ... hungry.

For the first time since it was published n 1872, here is a complete guide to Le Fanu's classic vampire tale. Over four hundred footnotes give detailed answers to dozens and dozens of questions. Where is Styria? When is this story taking place? What is an awl? An escrutcheon? A hippogriff? Why did Carmilla seek out Laura? Also, unanswered questions and intriguing possibilities are charted out, one by one.

Included is a preface about Carmilla from Andrew M. Boylan (of "Taliesin Meets the Vampires" fame) and an introduction about Le Fanu himself by horror author/scholar David A. Sutton.

Blood and Destiny: Ladies of St. George, Book 1
by Kaye Chambers
Samhain Publication, March 2, 2010

When the past bites, bite back.

Ladies of St. George, Book 1

For Destiny St. George, shapeshifting lioness and private investigator, her best friend’s looming wedding is little more than a reminder of her failed relationship with vampire king Marcus Smythe. Tired of being only one of many mistresses—and dinner entrees—she’s stayed away from the vampire scene altogether. Until a missing-person case forces her to seek his help.

Knowing that pressing Destiny is not the way to convince her to give their relationship another try, Marcus has been waiting her out—and his patience is rewarded when she steps into his nightclub. Now is his chance to lure her back into his arms. This time, he plans to keep her there.

Destiny’s not sure which is worse: working with Marcus, or trying to remember all the reasons she called it off with him. And when it becomes clear the case is an elaborate trap to avenge a millennia-old grudge, she finds herself caught between love and instinct—while the clock ticks down on an innocent victim’s life…
Warning: Vampires determined to take more than a bite out of the heroine. A lioness sure that she’s going to have the last word.

Dead Streets: A Matt Richter Novel (Matt Richter Novels)
by Tim Waggoner
Angry Robot; Reprint edition (March 1, 2011)

The return of Matt Richter. Private Eye. Zombie.

MATT RICHTER'S GOING TO PIECES - LITERALLY.

You've got to keep your head to survive in the teeming undead city known as Nekropolis. It's a pity crazed genius Victor Baron couldn't manage that. Now everyone wants a piece of him.

Zombie detective Matt Richter and his glamorous she-vampire companion Devona are back on the case, with another wild and wonderful investigation.

Fangs Rule: A Girls Guide to Being a Vampire
by Amy Mah (Vampire) (Author), Nicholas Reardon (Author, Editor), Heby Sim (Illustrator)
Reardon Publishing (March 2011)
Young Adult

A self help guide by Amy Mah (Vampire) for teenage vampire girls, the guide is fully illustrated by manga Artist Heby and is written in an easy to follow A - Z format explaining everything a teenage vampire girl would need to know about living life as a modern Vampire. What is fashionable to wear when eating out? Fang maintenance & how to keep your claws sharp. Should you let a boy bite you on the first date?

Easy to understand clear advice is given to every day problems Example: When you get an urge to bite: We all get those normal urges to bite things, and I must point out it is very normal, Claws are all well and good in a fight but a bite gives the extra advantage of getting a refreshing drink at the same time. Lots of girls worry about showing their Fangs in public believing that to show your fangs is rude, but don't be shy they can be a girls greatest asset (ok second greatest asset) if a boy is being rude to you, don't just snarl at him, just bite him! You are a vampire why do you think you have sharp teeth if not for sinking them into a boy that is being rude to you.

Immortal with a Kiss
by Jacqueline Lepore
Avon A; Original edition (March 8, 2011)

Born by blood to be Dhampir—a vampire hunter—Emma Andrews nearly lost her life and everyone she loves at Dulwich Manor. Now something evil is preying on students at a northern Lake District girls' school—the same school Emma's mother attended years ago.

Drawn as much by the desire to learn more about her family's secrets as the possibility of vampires, Emma finds the schoolgirls in the grip of a terrible legacy—the ageless evil of the Cyprian Queen, a dark goddess of ancient legend. Now Emma must tread a careful path—along with her old friends Sebastian, Father Luke, and the mysterious and dashing Valerian Fox—deeper into the darkness to face her most paralyzing fears . . . and perhaps come one step closer to the Dracula himself.




Lover Unleashed (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Book 9) by J. R. Ward
NAL Hardcover (March 29, 2011)

Payne, twin sister of Vishous, is cut from the same dark, seductive cloth as her brother. Imprisoned for eons by their mother, the Scribe Virgin, she finally frees herself-only to face a devastating injury.

Manuel Manello, M.D., is drafted by the Brotherhood to save her as only he can-but when the human surgeon and the vampire warrior meet, their two worlds collide in the face of their undeniable passion. With so much working against them, can love prove stronger than the birthright and the biology that separates the

Pale Demon (The Hollows, Book 9)

by  Kim Harrison
HarperCollins, March 1, 2011

Condemned and shunned for black magic, Rachel Morgan has three days to get to the annual witches’ conference and clear her name, or be trapped in the demonic ever-after . . . forever after.
But a witch, an elf, a living vampire, and a pixy in one car going across the country? Talk about a recipe for certain disaster, even without being the targets for assassination.

For after centuries of torment, a fearsome demon walks in the sunlight—freed at last to slay the innocent and devour their souls. But his ultimate goal is Rachel Morgan, and in the fight for survival that follows, even embracing her own demonic nature may not be enough to save her.









Thirteen Years Later
Jasper Kent
Pyr, Feb 2011

Aleksandr made a silent promise to the Lord. God would deliver him--would deliver Russia--and he would make Russia into the country that the Almighty wanted it to be. He would be delivered from the destruction that wasteth at noonday, and from the pestilence that walketh in darkness--the terror by night...

1825, Europe--and Russia--have been at peace for ten years. Bonaparte is long dead and the threat of invasion is no more. For Colonel Aleksei Ivanovich Danilov, life is peaceful. Not only have the French been defeated but so have the twelve monstrous creatures he once fought alongside, and then against, ten or more years ago. His duty is still to serve and to protect his tsar, Aleksandr the First, but now the enemy is human.

However the Tsar knows that he can never be at peace. Of course, he is aware of the uprising fermenting within the Russian army--among his supposedly loyal officers. No, what troubles him is something that threatens to bring damnation down upon him, his family and his country. The Tsar has been reminded of a promise: a promise born of blood...a promise that was broken a hundred years before.

Now the one who was betrayed by the Romanovs has returned to exact revenge for what has been denied him. And for Aleksei, knowing this chills his very soul. For it seems the vile pestilence that once threatened all he believed in and all he held dear has returned, thirteen years later...



Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives
edited by Justin Gustainis
EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy; 1st edition (March 1, 2011)

Got Vampires? Ghosts? Monsters? We Can help!

Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives, is your one-stop-shop for Urban Fantasy’s finest anthology of the supernatural. 14 sleuths are gathered together for the first time in all-original tales of unusual cases which require services that go far beyond mere deduction!

Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives brings together popular characters from many Urban Fantasy paranormal investigative series, for your enjoyment.

Meet the Detectives:

Danny Hendrickson - from Laura Anne Gilman's Cosa Nostradamus series.
Kate Connor - from Julie Kenner’s Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series.
John Taylor - from Simon R. Green’s Nightside series.
Jill Kismet - from Lilith Saintcrow’s Jill Kismet series.
Jessi Hardin - from Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series.
Quincey Morris - from Justin Gustainis’ Morris/Chastain Investigations series.
Marla Mason - from T. A. Pratt's Marla Mason series.
Tony Foster - from Tanya Huff’s Smoke and Shadows series.
Dawn Madison - from Chris Marie Green’s Vampire Babylon series.
Pete Caldecott - from Caitlin Kittredge’s Black London series.
Tony Giodone - from C. T. Adams and Cathy Clamp’s Tales of the Sazi series.
Jezebel - from Jackie Kessler’s Hell on Earth series.
Piers Knight - from C. J. Henderson’s Brooklyn Knight series.
Cassiel - from Rachel Caine’s Outcast Season series.

Demons may lurk, werewolves may prowl, vampires may ride the wind. These are things that go bump in the night, but we are the ones who bump back!

The Vampire Voss
by Colleen Gleason
Mira; Original edition (March 22, 2011)

Voss, also known as Viscount Dewhurst, relishes the sensual pleasures immortality affords. A member of the Dracule—a cabal of powerful, secretive noblemen marked with a talisman that reveals their bartered souls—the mercenary Voss has remained carefully neutral…until Angelica.
Angelica Woodmore possesses the Sight, an ability invaluable to both sides of a looming war among the Dracule. Her very scent envelops Voss in a scarlet fog of hunger—for her body and her blood. But he is utterly unprepared for the new desire that overcomes him—to protect her.

Now Voss must battle his very nature to be with Angelica…but this vampire never backs down from a fight.

New release and giveaway: FALLEN

I know, you're looking at the cover and wondering 'Where are the vampires?'  Looks like some angels and demons running around in that story, right?  Well, yes, the hero of FALLEN is a fallen angel on the hunt for his halo (so he can obtain his earthbound soul and become mortal), and the heroine is a demon (set on hunting and killing the hero).  It's the second full-length book in my Of Angels & Demons series, which is a part of my Beautiful Creatures world.
But fear not, VampPeeps!  There are vamps in the story.  Bad ones.  Ancient, sun-fearing vampires who have a greater plan to Walk In The Light.
So to celebrate the release of this book I thought I'd give a couple copies away.  Also, if the story appeals to you, you can click on over to my website and read the prologue and first chapter before deciding to buy. To enter to win, just leave a comment and hmm...give me your top five list of favorite paranormal creatures.  Vamps don't have to be number one, but that's mine.  ;-)
And if you're curious about my world of Beautiful Creature, stop by Club Scarlet for details on all the characters that appear in the books, and to learn if they've appeared in any other stories not their own.

Bite Club Giveaways

If you like contests, then stop in to Bite Club all week!  We're giving away a book a day, including these titles:  Surrender the Dark by L.A. Banks, Eternal Prey by Nina Bangs, Master and Apprentice by Sonya Bateman, Taste Me by Tamara Hogan, How to Flirt With A Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper.  You can enter all contest by leaving a comment on that day through March 30th.

Winner of Ultimate VampList contest

and the winner is...

Heather McAlendin!  Heather, won a copy of Romancing The Vampire by David Skal.  Please send your snailmail address to vampchixmail@gmail.com

Congrats!

Guest Blog and Giveaway with Theresa Meyers Author of The Truth About Vampires

Vampires Aren’t Just Trendy – The transformation into Pop Culture

By Theresa Meyers

Vampires. They seem to be everywhere, and with so much talk about the undead, you might have wondered what on earth could be done to make these creatures of the night seem fresh again rather than yesterday’s news. I know, it sounds like I’m touting some kind of super-power deodorant, when I say I’m talking about making the undead fresh again, but what’s really going on is that vampires have transcended from merely a trend to a fixture of popular culture. And with that comes a whole new slew of choices when it comes to getting your vampire fix.

Yes, I’ll admit, for those of us with Buffy-love in our heart, Twilight brought vampires to a whole new audience and between that and HBO’s TrueBlood, vampires do seem to be everywhere supersaturing the market. But that doesn’t mean everything that can be done with these fascinating denizens of the dark, has been done. Case in point, my new mini-series for Harlequin Nocturne, the Sons of Midnight. The first book in the series, The Truth About Vampires, just hit store shelves this week and already reviewers are commenting about how it’s something fresh and different than they’ve seen in vampires before, but appealing to those of us who dig fangs.

Our ability to create something fresh is only limited by imagination. When I was creating “Theresa’s version of vampires” I tried to keep the myths that made biological sense to me and discard the others, making up some that were knew along the way. For instance, my vampires can certainly withstand sunlight, but it gives them one heck of a migraine, similar to what you might get if you left the eye doctor’s office after having your eyes dilated. This made biological sense to me. My vampires’ vision is sharper, so like other predators in nature, wouldn’t their eyes be more sensitive to light?

I also looked at garlic and stakes and thought, hey, really, I’m half Italian (and my hero in The Truth About Vampires, Dmitri is full Italian), is it fair to have to cut out garlic? Absolutely not. So my vampires can eat it if they choose to, but they do have preternaturally sharp sense of smell, like other predators in nature, so it could be obnoxious to get close to a clove. As for stakes, they are going to sting, but if you’re talking about a creature with a fast healing ability and superior strength a little stick is going to be annoying but not take them down.


Sure there are a few things, however, that do impact my vampires. The reason being that I can’t stand all-powerful beings—they’re just boring! Everything has to have a weakness. So for vampires in the Sons of Midnight series, silver acts as a disruptor to their nervous system’s electrical impulses.

Dead man’s blood is a swift acting poison if it gets beneath their skin or is ingested (which makes sense if you consider there’s no life force left in it, so it’d be like snacking on out of date cheese which could make you sick.) My vampires are also impacted by a precious metal called orichalcum. We’ve forgotten how this alloy is produced, but it was originally mentioned by Plato in his writings about Atlantis.

My vampires also possess a venom that can liquefy flesh like some species of spiders. And perhaps the biggest nod to biology of all was the fact that my vampires are created by means of a virus. In nature viruses can take down even a top predator. It made sense to me that they could change humans. I also gave my vampires the ability to change themselves to suit the most intimate fantasies of their prey. And why not? If you’ve got a superior predator, shouldn’t they have superior skills?

I also happen to be a bit of a history nut, so I took bits and pieces of mythology, Minoan, Etruscan, Greek and blended them together to form a history for my vampire culture, explaining how it all started and the involvement of the gods in the creation of vampires in the first place by means of the virus. And my vampire society has different facets that are somewhat medieval in nature. Most of the civilized vampires live in clans with a laird and a council that lead them. The laird and council answer to a knight which in turn answers to vampire royalty. But there are those outside these structured societies – reviers, who like the Scottish border reviers merely subsist on the fringes of good society by taking what they need and moving often.

Mix in the whole revelation to humanity that vampire do exist by an investigative reporter determined to win a Pulitzer, and you can see that The Truth About Vampires is only the beginning of how these two societies will learn to live with one another out in the open and that my take on vampires is a little bit different.

As I said, a fresh take on a genre of characters we already love is only limited to imagination. Vampires aren’t just trendy anymore – they’ve transitioned, becoming a fixture of popular culture that’s here to stay. And now that I’ve given you my take on it, what kinds of things would you like to see happen in a vampire world?



The Truth About Vampires
Harlequin Nocturne - Vampire Romance
March 1, 2011
ISBN-10: 0373618549
ISBN-13: 978-0373618545

Pulling back the veil on a world shrouded in darkness, Theresa Meyers' stunning debut reveals a sinfully handsome vampire whose secret is about to exposed...

All her life Seattle reporter Kristin Reed sought her breakout story. She never thought she'd find it in the crimson lair of a real life creature of the night. Kristin never believed vampires existed—until with dark brooding eyes and a decadent chocolate scent, Dmitri Dionotte called out to her...

Dmitri and his clan's true nature was cloaked in secrecy until a warring vampire order threatened their existence. Kristin was just the woman he needed. She couldn't resist their story...or Dmitri. Her blood pulsed hot and furious when he touched her, and with his kiss, all logic fled. But each night she spent with her vampire lover brought her closer to death and destruction. A death not even an immortal could triumph over.

Giveaway Time!

How would you like to win a signed copy of The Truth About Vampires, chocolates and a bottle of Vampire Wine?

To enter leave a comment on this post

Opne to US residents age 21 and older only

Winner TBA Wednesday March 30 in the comments of this post

Winner!!

Winner of Lydia Dare's IT HAPPENED ONE BITE is...

Rhiannon Mills!

Please send vampchixmail@gmail.com your snail mail address.  Congrats!

Graphic Novel: Breaking Down

Stefan Petrucha, along with his daughter Maia Kinney-Petrucha and artist Rick Parker, have released a 50-page graphic novel which is a send up of...well, you can guess this one, folks.  ;-)

Stefan is the author of BLOOD PROPHECY, recently reviewed at Bite Club.  With BREAKING DOWN he and his daughter take a stab at the most well-known of the recent iterations of our fanged friends.  To read and view an excerpt, click here.

Vampirism Bites and the best online mag you should subscribe to

Vampirism Bites is a web series about Belle, a vampire fangirl who finally gets her wish to be turned, only to quickly discover the world of vampires is nothing like the world of fantasy she longed for.  Right now the creators have organized a fundraising program to put out Vampirism Bites II.  It's simple, home-made, but fun.  Check out the first episode, and you may want to keep watching.

If you're not subscribed to Night Owl Reviews, a downloadable free magazine, why not?  It features author interviews, reviews, articles, all dedicated to the genre we love.  So click on over and check out the latest issue!

Guest: Melissa de la Cruz

Hey, VampChix!  Melissa de la Cruz's fabulous series, Blue Bloods is a hot seller for young adults and we adults as well.  We'd planned to feature her guest spot earlier, during her recent blog tour, but scheduling only allowed us to feature it now.  So please enjoy!

My Favorite Blood-Suckers by Melissa de la Cruz

Lestat de Lioncourt: I mean, the name alone says it all: LESTAT! I read “The Vampire Lestat” before “Interview with the Vampire” so I had no idea at all that in the first book he’s the villain. (When I read “Interview” I wanted to tell Louis to quit whining.) I fell in love with his tragic flaws, desire to be human, and monstrous cruelty. Plus, tall, blond, and hot, what’s there not to like? Definitely the father of this generation’s pretty monsters.

Selene: She’s a death-dealer in black leather. What could be cooler? I absolutely love the Underworld movies – such a great mythology and a lot of fun. Selene is strong, willful and in love with the wrong boy from the other side of the tracks—Michael, the head of the Lycans, bitter enemies of the vampires.

Eric Northman: In the same mold as Lestat, Eric is dangerous and beautiful, but funny and sly as well. I enjoy “True Blood” a lot, I love the mythology and the humor in the setting. I find Bill very boring, it’s all about Eric!

Salem’s Lot: The vampires in Stephen King’s classic tale are terrifying and ugly, so I can’t say any of them are my ‘favorite’ but this book is the one that opened up vampire mythology to me. It kept me up too late at night and I could not sleep I was so terrified that there was a vampire floating outside my window. This is the book that made me believe vampires were real. I was fourteen at the time, so I totally understand when my readers ask me if I know any Blue Bloods.

Let the Right One In: A beautiful movie, about the love and friendship between two young people, an ageless young vampire girl and a young boy. What I loved most about the movie was the end, when the boy becomes Eli’s caretaker, in the same way that the older man acted as hers in the beginning—you can see the ‘end’ of their story from the beginning. Because Oscar will grow old and age, but Eli will remain young forever, which is tragic and sad for both of them. But that’s what you get for loving a vampire. :)



Please visit Melissa at her website! 





            

The Ultimate VampList is expanding!

Just when I thought the list couldn't get larger (over 4000+ titles currently listed) I've decided to add a new category for eBooks!  I already list some electronic-only books in the regular categories, but with the rise of the eBook lately I thought it would be appropriate to have an e-only page listing vampire books.

Authors who have a vampire eBook and want to be listed on The Ultimate VampList, please send the following info to vampchixmail@gmail.com: Book title, Author, Publisher (or self-pub), Genre, Pub Date, Length (novella or novel), and if it is available at Amazon send the link URL as well.
Do not send a blurb or a cover gif.  If your eBook is already listed at the VampList, please contact me anyway because some books I don't know if they are eBook only.  I will leave the current listing as it is, but also list on the eBook page.  And if your book is in e-form and paperback, please designate that as well (with pub dates for each format).

Please pass this information around!  I want the list to be as thorough as possible.  You can send updates anytime and I add them as I update the list (every few months or so), and I also tweet new listings @vamplist.  But right now, to encourage authors/readers to send in eBook titles, through Saturday, if you send in a title, you'll be entered to win this awesome book by David Skal, ROMANCING THE VAMPIRE.  Picked a copy up at Borders, and I must say, this is a beautiful book filled with vampire facts, legends, and info, and lots of fun extras like posters, stickers, cards, etc.  So send in titles (including all info listed above).

Dracula Returns

Remember Ironside, television's wheelchair-bound detective played by Raymond Burr? When DRACULA RETURNS (1973), by Robert Lory, was published, one reviewer not unfairly compared the protagonist, Professor Damien Harmon, to Ironside. A former New York police officer, Harmon was severely injured on duty and discharged from the force. Now he and his assistant, Cameron Sanchez, specialize in matters of the occult. They get possession of the coffin of Count Dracula (whom we saw being staked in the prologue) and revive the master vampire. Dracula also has a sidekick, ancient but sexy cat-shapeshifter Ktara, whose life is tied to the Count's. She approaches Professor Harmon with the offer of a supernatural force (Dracula) to help him fight evil, in exchange for his agreement to revive the vampire and thus prolong her own existence. Harmon maintains control over Dracula with a clever device implanted in the vampire's heart, a sliver of wood attached to a mechanism the professor operates by telekinesis. He nourishes the Count on synthetic blood and keeps him unconscious except when needed to carry out various missions of vigilante justice.

DRACULA RETURNS and the rest of Lory's multi-book series are primarily more occult thrillers than vampire stories. In the sequels, except for the second book, DRACULA'S GOLD, vampirism plays a minor role in the plot. They're adventure tales in which the instrument of Harmon's crusade against evil happens to be a vampire. The strangely-matched team confronts voodoo, demons, and other eldritch minions of darkness. The tension between the professor and his "tame" Dracula, complicated by the role of Ktara in the coercive relationship, adds interesting wrinkles to the quests in which the Count grudgingly cooperates. I remember these novels as fun reads, if not great literature, with an approach a little different from the many other spinoffs of Stoker's classic.

Margaret L. Carter
Carter's Crypt

Guest: Lydia Dare

Hey all!  Please welcome Lydia Dare to VampChix!  My bad! I was supposed to get this post up earlier today.  I'll blame it on the time change.  That works, right?  :-)  Lydia's latest, IT HAPPENED ONE BITE is out in stores now.  And she is giving away a copy to one lucky commenter! (US or Canada only, please.)

Several years ago on my first trip to New Orleans, a friend of mine suggested we take one of the local haunted history tours.  I (the Jodie ½ of Lydia Dare) was up for anything. Since my friend really wanted to take the Vampire Tour, I went along for the ride – or rather walk, as it was a walking tour late at night in the French Quarter. I was struck by the amazing storytelling of our guide as he brought each tale to life as we passed the buildings where the stories were reported to have taken place. I still get chill bumps when I think about some of the things we heard that night.

One story in particular has stayed with me throughout the years – the tale of Jacques St. Germain.

In the court of King Louis XV, Comte d’ Saint Germain has the feel of a real life Portrait of Dorian Gray. A handsome, wealthy man with many friends who never aged a day. In fact, the comte claimed to possess the elixir of life. And though he was always at the right functions, with the right people, no one ever saw him eat as much as a morsel of food. He did, however, often carry around a wine glass from which he sipped fairly regularly. After tiring of court life, the comte moved to Germany, where it was reported that he died. However, many people throughout Europe claimed to have seen him years after his “death.”

Flash forward to New Orleans in the early 20^th Century. A handsome, wealthy man by the name of Jacques St. Germain claimed to be a descendant of the popular comte. And like his ancestor, St. Germain knew all the right people, attended all the right functions, and never ate a bite of food – though he did love to sip wine from his glass as reported by anyone who knew him. Jacques took up residence on Royal Street in the heart of the French Quarter and in addition to being one of the city’s elite, St. Germain was a true ladies man, always in the company of one woman or another… Until one night when a paid companion screamed at the top of her lungs and then leapt from the second floor balcony of his home to the street below in her haste to escape the gentleman. She told those who rushed to her rescue as well as the authorities that St. Germain attacked and bit her.

By the time the police arrived at the home on Royal Street to ask the gentleman some questions, St. Germain had vanished. However the investigators found some peculiar items left in his residence – rugs on the hardwood floors that all covered curious red stains and bottles upon bottles of wine mixed with human blood.

Jacques was never brought to justice, but there are still apparently sightings of the fellow in the French Quarter from time to time.

There is something about that story that I love. I will freely admit that it may have something to do with standing outside the residence on Royal Street as I heard the story and probably something to do with the flare with which the story was first told to me. And though I would never like to meet the comte or Jacques or anyone else in the St. Germain family, the tale does have a bit of mysticism to it. A creature reinventing himself every so many years and starting over.

When Tammy and I decided to write Regency era vampyres, we were able to do the same thing with our heroes. James Maitland, Baron Kettering, in IT HAPPENED ONE BITE and Matthew Halkett, the Earl of Blodswell, from IN THE HEAT OF THE BITE, have both reinvented themselves many times over the centuries. James is from the Elizabethan era and Matthew was a knight from the crusades. To hide the fact that they never age, they spend one lifetime in London and one at the respective country estates. They play both the role of both father and son for each generation, always keeping their fortunes and titles in safe keeping.

We loved creating these gentleman vampyres who are too noble to ever bite a lady without being properly introduced. And we loved setting them squarely in the middle of Regency England with balls, carriage rides, and witches who are their equals.

Which era do you think would create the most interesting vampires? And what would you most like to ask them about their lives?