Oh, the dark and sexy creatures of the night. I have a long love affair with vampires. I remember as a teenager sleeping with my window open and making sure my neck is bared in that direction. Even on cold nights. I watched The Lost Boys hundreds of times. Hey, it was a great movie at the time and the vampires in it were hot. Kiefer Sutherland was supernaturally gorgeous.
There are many kinds of vampires in fiction these days. I like a little twist on the traditional model. I still love the fangs, the pale skin that will burn to ash in the sunlight, the preternatural senses and grace, and the predatory nature. Not all vamps need be super gorgeous or clever. They don't need to fly or shape change. I like Charlaine Harris' take on vamps that only a few individuals have certain powers. Eric Northman is one of the few that can fly. Mmmm, Eric. Uh, anyway, yes, carrying on.
The vampire origin myth is a fun one to play with. Cursed? Demons? Virus? It could be any number of things. The origin of the vampires also play into their nature. I like seeing vampire characters struggling with their dangerous essence. Not only fighting for themselves, but for their love interests. It adds another level on to the romance.
There's a lot of vampire fiction out there right now. Will the readers start to lose interest? No, I don't think so. I love vampires as much as I did twenty years ago. The legends fascinate me. I've been seduced by a flash of a fang and the hungry glint in their eyes.
Do you prefer your vampires traditional or with a different twist? Or a little bit of both?
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I don't think readers will start to lose interest either. Like you, I've been fond of the pointy-toothed ones for years.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind playing about with the myths, although some things seem a little ridiculous to me. I do like to have reasons behind their little idiosyncrasies though, whatever they are (i.e. why can't they be seen in a mirror, etc.), rather than just being told "this is how it is".
Yeah I can't help in either. I'll always be a fangfanatic at heart:)
ReplyDeleteMmm...Eric Northman.
ReplyDeleteOh, sorry. Forgot what we were talking about there. :D
Yeah, I always will love vampires. I like the traditional ones, but a twist is good. It keeps them fresh as long as it isn't silly, unless that's what the author was going for.
I love the Lost Boys too and I still think its a great movie! Kiefer was hot...but that danger, oh! He was really great at giving off the "I'm DANGEROUS" vibe.
ReplyDeleteI really don't care about the origin or backstory...I'll take a vampire story any day. I guess we have a bit in common!
I enjoy vamps in m reading, but I prefer the scary "I'm going to suck your blood" kind.
ReplyDeleteI think my first vampire reading experience was Twilight. I don't remember reading a vampire story before that... Anyway, I really enjoyed it! It's what opened me up to the whole YA paranormal romance category. And things have only got better since then :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm not a vamp expert, but I like a little of both :)
ReplyDeleteI've even seen a vampire book that had vampirism in the form of alien invaders. Didn't really care for that one, though. I prefer my vampires sexy and seductive. But not necessarily sparkling.
ReplyDeleteYou know I've never written a vampire story. I've had a couple of poems and articles published in HUNGUR which is a venue for other-world and non-western culture vampires.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE vampires- The Lost Boys is an awesome movie- do not watch the sequels, please please do;t they are so bad I almost cried. I love all kinds of vampires-except for the heavily angst whiny ones- because that's just not sexy.
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