May 14
2008

When bad isn’t bad enough

Since the ladies so nicely elaborated, I’ll do the same.
Why do I write paranormals… hmm. I blame Anne Stuart. It’s all her fault.
Way back when, I got my hands on “Night of the Phantom” and I practically devoured it. (Which reminds me that I have to re-read that one.)
That got me started on paranormals. Then I read Tanya Huff’s Blood series and that got me started on vampires. I love em to bits, blood and death and all. I wrote vampires in a time when everyone went “Vampires don’t sell”. Friends of mine wrote them too, told the same thing. It never stopped us.
As a result I know way too much about death and dying.
Today, a vampire romance is nothing out of the ordinary. Take Christine Feehan for instance. Her Carpathians are essentially vampires, dressed up a little differently. Still vampires though.
You have Sherri Kenyon and her Dark Hunters – they’re also vampires. In a sense. Again, dressed up differently, with a different slant and a different history but alas… a rose by any other name – is still a rose.
Today, I’ve moved on from the vamps. My critters are different, they don’t fit with the monsters, yet in a sense that is what they are. Still big bad and not domesticated though. You wouldn’t want one of them living in your basement.
Or maybe you do. :)
As for why… You think I know the answer to that? The bad guys turn me on, that’s all there is to it. I guess the paras are badder than your average biker dude, or maybe not.
I’ve read some pretty hefty bad guys before that didn’t come equipped with a set of very sharp teeth.
I write because I have to write. I can’t not write, I’d go insane. Certifiably so.
So I do what keeps me sane and put pen to paper… hopefully someone will like it and then maybe you get to read it too.

May 12
2008

Vampires, Love em or Hate em

No, I’m not talking about loving or hating the books written about vampires. I’m talking about how the vampires are perceived and which way do you prefer it. As long as there have been vampire stories, they have been depicted as dark, deadly, and seductive. Many authors have taken these two different ways. Vampires are either the heroes or the antagonists. So are you with Buffy who says she likes her men evil? Or would you prefer the hunter of vampires? I can go either way. After all sucking blood and killing people really isn’t that sexy however you dress it up. But that thrill of the bad boy or the lost soul. In popular culture, Angel springs to mind as the soulful vampire remorseful of his past deeds. Here’s where it gets tricky, the bad guys on Buffy… The Master, yeah, he’s not hot and there is definitely no question that he is evil. But if you take Spike, hmmm. He’s sexy and the British accent is always a plus. He’s evil but he’s willing to change. And even when he’s evil, he’s a vamp in love. Whether you believe vampires are another evolution from the beginning of time or created by a person betraying or renouncing God or created by a God or Goddess, they will continue to entrall us.

What role do you prefer for the blood-suckers, hero or antagonist or both?