Monday, October 22, 2012

A "SPOOKTACULAR" BREED OF VAMPIRE......



Hey - ROCCO and I are pleased to be part of the "Spooktacular" Giveaway Hop - Because, as most of you might know, Halloween is ROCCO's favorite Holiday (would you expect any less from a tuxedo cat???)

In honor of Halloween, and in the spirit of the season, I'd like to talk about my favorite paranormal subject...Vampires.

I've had a love affair with vampires ever since I saw the original DRACULA with Bela Lugosi when I was a kid.  There was just something about those ebony eyes, sparkling, commanding, as they peered over the rim of his black satin cape, that took my breath away.  In my later years, I was introduced to the world of Stephen King through SALEM'S LOT, which still today remains my very favorite King book.  King took us through the world of vampires with eerie ease, and while the Rob Lowe telemovie was a bit truer to his tome, I have to confess I'll always be partial to the David Soul two parter (who could ever forget Bonnie Bedelia in that coffin, trying to seduce her ex-lover into getting - gasp - THE BITE!

When I was a teenager I was obsessed with a certain gothic soap opera - yes, that's right.  I was - and still am - a confirmed DARK SHADOWS addict.  I've even gone to the conventions!  I was such a freak I even managed to wangle myself an invite down to the studio where I met my biggest star crush of all time - Jonathan Frid.  I was, of course, tongue tied (what do you expect, I was 15) and I think the thing that amazed me most was the fact his real voice was NOTHING LIKE BARNABAS'S! (Can't wait to see what Johnny Depp does with this role!)  Ben Cross was good in the 1991 nighttime remake, but oddly - it just wasn't the same, although now I watch the old DVD's and think : "they actually got paid for this? Cripes, I can see them looking at the teleprompter!"

But you know what?  I didn't care!

Vampires in paranormal romance today are steamy and sexy, and there really are no hard and fast rules.  Like Angel, some can walk in daylight (just not direct sunlight) some prefer the nightlife, some are just damn bloodthirsty while others fight on the side of humanity.  I have a few vampire heroes in my books - in SOAPSUDS, SEX AND SILVER BULLETS (coming April 2013 via Amazon/PubIt) Logan Slade is a detective.  In NO REST FOR THE WICCA (indie, published through Amazon). Cole St. John is a special forces agent for the PFSU - Paranormal Forces Special Unit.  What do these two men have in common, besides hotness, you ask?

They're a breed of vamp known as INHERITOR.

Now, I'd like to take credit for the breed, but I actually came across the information on the Internet.   to wit:
Inheritor vampires TYPE ONE: These vampires are much like the Genetic vampires, except they are born. Like Sanguinarians, the vampire trait will lay dormant inside them until around the age of 13 - 26, when they awaken. When they body reaches the late stages of puberty, it releases a chemical which awakens the vampire and begins many physical changes in the body. As a result of this, most Inheritors look around 19 - 20 years old their whole life. Most of the time the parents of the vampire will be human and vampire, or both vampires. There must be one vampire parent. Inheritor vampires live to around the age of 350-400 years old.

Inheritor vampire TYPE 2: Sanguinarians are the "mortal version" of the Inheritor vampires. They still require and crave blood, are sensitive to sunlight, and have many of the traits the Inheritor and Classical vampires have.  However, Sanguinarians do not live much longer then the average human being.
Of course, to make it my own, I've taken some liberties - my Inheritor vamps are more human than humans, and age to a VERY HOT mid-30's, but you get the idea.  There are more types of vampires out there than just the typical Dracula/Barnabas sleep in the coffin during the day rise at night to suck a maiden's blood type.  As a matter of fact, that type (referred to now as a "classical") is getting pretty passé.  After all, didn’t' Angel show us just how a vampire can survive among humans, and how hot one can be?

The mystique of "the bite" never changes. Considered the ultimate sexual experience, in old lore people thought after 3 bites the victim turned into a vampire.  Other mythology had the victim rising as a vamp after the vampire drained them of their blood.  Another way to "turn" someone was to bite them, then have them drink their blood.

In summation, there are no hard and fast rules concerning vamps anymore - or any other type of creature for that matter!  Isn't that great for us writers!  We can create whole new worlds of vampiric hotness for you, the reader! (And for us, too!)

And in case you’re interested, here’s a link to find out more about types of vampires:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Are_there_many_types_of_vampires#ixzz166aONWLg


I'll be giving away an e-copy of either NO REST FOR THE WICCA, RAVEN'S KISS OR RAVEN'S QUEST, ALONG WITH A $15 AMAZON GIFT CARD, TO ONE LUCKY COMMENTER!

jUST LEAVE YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS AND TELL US WHO YOUR FAVORITE VAMPIRE IS!  WINNER WILL BE SELECTED USING RANDOM.ORG.

HAPPY  HAUNTING!

Giveaway Hop Page Link



the winners of our Vicki Lewis Thompson giveaway are:  Low Country Blogger and June M! Congrats - Vicki will be in touch after the 25th to send you your prize!


TONI AND ROCCO
INCREDIBLE BLOGGING CAT

104 comments:

  1. The tales of vampires have certainly evolved. I certainly enjoy the stories of sexy, hot vamps rather than the gruesome stories of old.Thank you to all those authors with great imaginations.annpa@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've recently become a fan of Sinjin Sinclair from the Jolie Wilkins series. But I think my all-time NON-book vampire will always be George Hamilton from "Love at First Bite." :D

    Pam (pbedison1@gmail.com)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello Pam!
    Sorry to say we're not familiar with Sinjin, but definitely agree on George Hamilton! both THE HUMAN and I love Mr. Hamilton, that role in particular! Meow, and thanks for posting! Good luck w/the giveaway

    ReplyDelete
  4. I haven't seen the new Dark Shadows movie and I was one who wasn't hooked on the series, although my friends in middle school used to try to get the bus driver to speed so they could watch it! My niece (who you can thank for introducing me to supernatural chick-lit), watched the whole series via Netflix DVD's and said it was laugh a minute...not only were they looking at the teleprompters,you could hear people coughing in the wings, and once in a while a boom shows in the scene.How funny.
    I did watch a Dark Shadows knock-off,"Strange Paradise", but it didn't go one long.
    I can't say I love vampires...I'd probably be a vampire slayer!It's a little wild, but I liked 'John Carpenter's Vampires' and 'VanHelsing' If I had to chose one, it might be Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer....he had something vulnerable about him in his awfulness!
    And I truly enjoyed "No Rest for the Wicca".
    tonettemjs@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meow, and thanks for your support, Tonette! We're glad you enjoyed WICCA and we also think slayers are cool!

      Delete
  5. Favorite by far is Charlaine Harris' take on vampires, they are so true to their nature, yet torn between "coming out of the coffin" and living amongst humans. Eric would have to be my favorite in the series.
    My favorite movie vampire movie is Queen of the Damned, i've watched it at least 25 times
    cubicleblindness@ hotmail

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. wow - 25 times! Close to my record for watchng Gone With theWind!

      Delete
  6. My favorite Vampire is Eric from the sookie stackhouse series
    christina schmidt
    tragedy6996(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm not a big fan of vampires, but I just finished Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so I'll say Spike. I don't know how much I like him, but he's certainly interesting and complex.

    Kayley F.
    freshmankay[at]gmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Spike was certainly an interesting character - i think i'd pick him over Angel myself

      Delete
  8. Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries is my favorite!

    julylightning [at] yahoo [dot] com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we don't watch the Vampire Diaries, but may start! It sounds very cool.

      Delete
  9. I enjoyed PN Elrod's series with Jack Fleming, Vampire Detective.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. haven't heard of that one- hm, a vampire detective/ I will have to check that one out!

      Delete
  10. Replies
    1. thanks Jennifer- looks like spike is a big favorite among vampire lovers

      Delete
  11. I'm a fan of Damon, I admit!
    carolinemcmaster@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meow, methinks I shall have to get the human to tape the Vampire Diaries - or maybe rent 'em, since CAblevision has done away with Channel 11 in our area....thanks for the post!

      Delete
  12. My favorite vampire is Marius from Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles

    Raelena
    throuthehaze at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. now there's a different answer - it has been a long time since we've read Anne Rice - i do remember "Interview with a Vampire" both book and movie, though!

      Delete
  13. I would have to pick Damon from The Vampire Diaries....
    e(dot)baker219(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  14. I saw the Johnny Depp Dark Shadows movie and very much enjoyed it! As a fellow fan of the original show, I thought he did a great job.

    My favorite vampire character is probably Vishous from the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J.R. Ward. LOVE those books! :)

    Thanks for a GREAT giveaway! :)

    Marie
    songbird1613 at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Another new series to check out! Thanks for the kind words, Marie, and thanks for posting! Meow!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Meow, thanks to all who've posted so far! Sure is interesting to see what vampires y'all have chosen! We hope that you'll stop back once in awhile, we have great author interviews and giveaways every month!

    Coming on October 31 - Jessica Sims! Meow!

    ROCCO Out!

    ReplyDelete
  17. My favorite vampire is Eric Northman from Charlaine Harris' series but I LOVE the actor who portrays him on True Blood. ;)
    Maggie C maggie at literary winner dot com

    ReplyDelete
  18. I think my favorite vampires are either the vampires from the "love at stake" series (Gotta love me some vampires in kilts. ;-) ) or "black dagger brotherhood" series. I have a friend of mine that writes about "emotional vampires" although i have a couple of her books i haven't quiet gotten a chance to read them yet. :-/ They're on my list for next spring when i get caught back up on my reading. I love the vampire lestat from anne rice's books. Well from the first three i read. I wasn't able to read much more then that without the books putting me to sleep. :-/

    Thanks for being part of the hop. :)

    Terri M
    Oklahomamommy0306 @ Gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome! And vampires in kilts, eh??? gotta check that out...

      Delete
  19. My favorite is Ethan Sullivan from Chicagoland Vampires series.

    roseannh95(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  20. Well, let's see. . . there's Angel from Buffy, Adrian and Dmitri from Vampire Academy, Bones from Night Huntress . . . I could go on for a while here. :) BTW love your Nathan Fillion button. Hasn't he played a vampire somewhere along the line?

    Melissa (GFC)
    melrailey(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good choices! Thanks, we love Nathan too :) He was on Buffy Season 7 but didn't play a vampire - although he most certainly would make a very sexy one! thanks for posting.

      Delete
  21. my favorite vampire is spike from buffy, thanks!
    carawling(at)hotmail(Dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  22. I love Myrin from the Morganville series by Rachel Caine!
    huntress023(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ah, Morganville! We'll have to try and get Rachel on the blog! thanks!

      Delete
  23. I honestly don't have a favorite vampire. I guess I have yet to read a book with a vampire I like in it. haha P:

    bookishbrenna@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  24. I loved Bram Stoker's Dracula...though rereading it recently, I found the ending much flatter than I remembered, and The Count tame in comparison to modern bloodsuckers.

    nanze55 at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. true...modern bloodsuckers are much more vibrant! In many ways...

      Delete
  25. My favorite vampire has to be Jean Claude from Anita Blake Vampire Hunter.

    AmethystDaydreams at zoho dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Megan, I think you're the first to reference Anita Blake series! Thanks for posting

      Delete
  26. I liked the vampire in Salem's Lot by stephen king.
    twoofakind12@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, he was really "spooktacular" especially in the tv movie -both of 'em.

      Delete
  27. ihaveanevilsister@gmail.com

    Buffy definetly!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Technically, she was a slayer :) but we love Buffy too!

      Delete
  28. My favorite vampire is Edward Cullen. lol
    Jennifer Rote
    wildnmild4u at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  29. I have to go with Eric the Viking Vampire from the Sookie Stackhouse series. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I have to go with Spike too. He was my first and I will always love him the most.

    proudarmymom32(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  31. Damon Salvatore. He's gorgeous and I love his sarcastic comments.
    magic5905 at embarqmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Im not familiar with him. What series is Damon from?

      Delete
  32. Eric from True Blood

    bacchus76 at myself dot com

    ReplyDelete
  33. Edward is my favorite vampire :)
    Tamar
    tamarsweeps-at-gmail-dot-com

    ReplyDelete
  34. George Hamilton ,in a comedy - Love at first bite. ;-)
    r.d1@myfairpoint.net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think i mentioned somewhere above we love, love, George Hamilton in that movie! thanks for posting and sharing!

      Delete
  35. As I sit at the computer, we are anticipating the arrival of Hurricane Sandy (or Tropical Storm Sandy - i'm not sure what she is now) so hopefully I will be able to continue to answer posts here. If we should lose power, the blog will resume as quickly as possible afterward withthe wrapup to the "Spook Hop" and post from Jessica Sims! Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Thanks for the giveaway!

    My favorite vampire is Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

    Holly
    hhollyhal at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  37. hmm my fav vamp is Dmitri in Vampire Academy


    katie_tp(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  38. Definitely Angel! Love David Boreanaz!

    gokarter418 (at) aol (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
  39. My favorite vampire would have to be wither Eric from the Sookie series, Vlad, or Ian from the Night Huntress series. My favorite series based on vampires (and other things that go bump in the night) however, is Kim Harrison's Hallows series.
    snhoveln (at) gmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You've reminded me i have to try Kim Harrison's series! thanks.

      Delete
  40. I love Bones and Vlad from the Night Huntress series! Thanks for the giveaway :)
    Lacey
    laceyblossom1(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  41. Not sure..Anna Dressed in Blood? Thanks for offering! Happy Halloween!
    Katieamanda1(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anna Dressed in blood? Intriguing and another one I must look into...

      Delete
  42. I love Rhage from the Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward, and also Eric Northman on True Blood! Yumm!!

    darlenesbooknook at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Darlene, thanks for o\posting! who done'st love true blood!

      Delete
  43. Eric from True Blood without a doubt :)

    vampiremistress2010(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  44. OK, not sure if you know this one or not, but Nick Knight was my fave. He was the lead in a show called Forever Knight. Still love that guy.
    las_va@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, yes, Les, I do remember Forever Knight! And I'm especially fond of the name Nick for reasons that will soon become known!

      Thanks for posting!

      Delete
  45. My fav was Angel from the Angel series.
    erma2167@sbcglobal.net

    ReplyDelete
  46. My Fave vampire is Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I don't like angel so it always surprises me when people say they like him haha! Cause Spike is so much more sexier!

    red_tigergirl2(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. lots of folks think Spike is sexy, Sarah! Thanks for posting.

      Delete
  47. My favorite vampire is Damon from The Vampire Diaries

    s2s2 at comcast dot net

    ReplyDelete
  48. My favorite vampire is Gareth/the Greyfriar from the Vampire Empire trilogy by Clay and Susan Griffith, though I adore Mircea from Karen Chance's Cassie Palmer series, too.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Eric on True Blood. :) or Wrath in the BDB books.

    vslavetopassionv(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  50. OMG.. of course, My favorite Vamp was Angel from well.. Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. xD ahaha... David is too sexy for words.
    Ehehe... or Brad's Vamp, Louis, on Interview with the Vampire. xD

    Judi
    arella3173_loveless@yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  51. I have to say Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer! I know everyone loves Angel (I do too, David Boreanaz is one fine man) but I like Spike for his attitude!
    Thanks for participating in the Spooktacular Blog hop! OceanAkers @ aol.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Looks like Spike and Eric are two popular vampires! and yes, Juliana, Spike definitely has attitude!

      Thanks to you and Judi for posting!

      Delete
  52. I love Louis in Interview with a Vampire

    fencingromein at hotmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  53. Dracula, or course! (Unless The Count from Sesame Street...counts)
    Thanks for the awesome giveaway!
    star_chaser76(AT)yahoo(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, we love the Count from SS! Thanks for posting!

      Delete
  54. Damon from the Vampire diaries is extremely hot

    ReplyDelete
  55. I like Spike from Buffy but I really like Damon from Vampire Diaries!

    kareninnc at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  56. Tough choice. I love Vlad Tepesh & Bones from Night Huntress series. I also love Eric from True Blood/Sookie Stackhouse series. I love all the BDB especially Vishous & Rhage.
    I am a vampire lover. Love them all.
    christinebails at yahoo dot com

    ReplyDelete
  57. lestat
    teressaoliver at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  58. Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries.

    fmd518 at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  59. I love Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer! He's too funny!
    Kaci Verdun
    kacidesigns@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  60. Either Lois or Lestat from Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles!

    stephward84(at)hotmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  61. Looks as if Spike and Damon rule! thanks to all for posting! remember you can still enter the giveaway till midnight tonight1 Happy Halloween.

    ReplyDelete
  62. I would have to say Spike!
    Tara
    e(dot)sadlersfan(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  63. Spike for me too!!


    gisu29(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete