My love affair with the undead
By Donna Burgess
People are always asking me why I think vampires are so hot. I could tell them the answer begins and ends with two words—Eric Northman.
People are always asking me why I think vampires are so hot. I could tell them the answer begins and ends with two words—Eric Northman.
But then this post would end up way too short. The thing is, I didn’t always think vampires were hot.
As a kid in the 70s, vampires were anything but sex symbols—at least as far as I was concerned. They were monsters, hell-bent on sucking the blood out of any one who came along. I grew up with Anthony Zerbe and his albino-white evil in Omega Man, Christopher Lee’s dashing wickedness on Saturday’s Double Creature Feature at the Belmont Drive-In and Barnabas Collins, who was so melancholy he could put any viewer searching for the nearest ledge. Either way, I was afraid of vampires. Even Grandpa Munster gave me the creeps.
However, as time pushed on and I grew older, my interest (obsession? not exactly a word that points to mental stability) evolved into something else. Vampires could be funny (Love at First Bite) and they could be ultra-redneck-cool (Near Dark), but it was not until Anne Rice’s first three Vampire Chronicle novels and Bram Stoker’s Dracula with Gary Oldman I realized that blood drinkers could be sexy (sorry, Lost Boys fans). Vampires were indeed hot. Yes, they were still monsters, but hot monsters.
With my book, Darklands: A Vampire’s Tale, I wanted sexy vamps who retained some very humanistic qualities without diminishing the beast in them. My vamps have poor attitudes toward lowly mortals. They were already adults when they transformed, so they aren’t burdened with a lot of high school drama. They are not at all comfortable in daylight (or twilight)—darkness is where they belong. I hope with this series, I can offer something to fans of sexy dark urban fantasy, as well as gritty, gory horror. It’s my little homage to the vamps of my past. I had a blast writing it and I hope that is evident to anyone who decides to grab a copy and read it.
However, as time pushed on and I grew older, my interest (obsession? not exactly a word that points to mental stability) evolved into something else. Vampires could be funny (Love at First Bite) and they could be ultra-redneck-cool (Near Dark), but it was not until Anne Rice’s first three Vampire Chronicle novels and Bram Stoker’s Dracula with Gary Oldman I realized that blood drinkers could be sexy (sorry, Lost Boys fans). Vampires were indeed hot. Yes, they were still monsters, but hot monsters.
With my book, Darklands: A Vampire’s Tale, I wanted sexy vamps who retained some very humanistic qualities without diminishing the beast in them. My vamps have poor attitudes toward lowly mortals. They were already adults when they transformed, so they aren’t burdened with a lot of high school drama. They are not at all comfortable in daylight (or twilight)—darkness is where they belong. I hope with this series, I can offer something to fans of sexy dark urban fantasy, as well as gritty, gory horror. It’s my little homage to the vamps of my past. I had a blast writing it and I hope that is evident to anyone who decides to grab a copy and read it.
Today we are offering a little giveaway—
five copies of the print version of Darklands: A Vampire’s Tale
and 10 downloadable copies (via Smashwords) to lucky winners.
For more chances to win a copy of Darklands and learn more about Donna be sure to visit her along all of her tour stops throughout February, see them all here
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Print Copies Availble to US Winners Only, Ebook Copies International
Winners TBA Next Wednesday January 26
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