I hope you enjoy Tony's guest blog and will also enter the contest to win a copy of the newest release!
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When I wrote Vampires are Forever, I wanted to do something a little different. I wanted a vampire story that was whimsical while still having that frisson one expects from a tale of the Undead…what one might call The Lighter Side of Vampires or The Undead in a Lighter Vein (please, pardon the pun!)
So I sat down and listed all the clichés…villagers with pitchforks and torches storming the castle…the foul fiend calling out his defiant curse as he wings his escape into the night…the sudden shining of a light in the upper window of the abandoned manor house…the appearance of a mysterious, handsome stranger…and the inexorable plight of young women, stricken by an undiagnosed illness… Then I proceed to twist them…this way and that…until they were something else than what they were originally expected to be, and I came up with...
(Cue the sinister music)TA-DUMM…Vampires are Forever…
Setting the story somewhere other than Transylvania helped. So I made my local the little Irish village of Balleywalegh. My choice was time period was also different: 1929, instead of late Victorian as is usual. And my vampire? As Irish as they come…the dearg-due, a cross between a succubus and a vampire, which, for the purposes of this story becomes undoubtedly male.
I put it all together, stirred well and came up with an entertaining little tale…or at least, I think so.
To wit…
The vampire has returned!
…or has he?
Granted the new owner of Casa Ascuns has the same name as the monster who attacked their womenfolk but can Karel Novotny really be a vampire? He’s much younger than the other and looks nothing like that creature. He drives a Stutz Bearcat, likes the moving pictures, and dances the Charleston like nobody’s business… Still, there’s the matter of all that raw meat being delivered to the manor, and those two bulky boxes that are just the right size for…coffins…
…and then, the young women of Balleywalegh—as happened before—start dropping like flies, coming down with an illness the local doctor can’t diagnose.
Well, Dr. Donovan might not know what’s going on but the fathers of those lasses do, and they know exactly how to handle it…like their ancestors did, by sharpening their stakes and harvesting their garlic…posthaste.
Seamus Flannery doesn’t believe in vampires, which is good, since Karel is squiring his daughter Brigid around, but Seamus better work fast to convince the others. Otherwise young Karel’s going to find himself skewered and his chance to be Seamus’ son-in-law will be just a sad memory…
Vampires are Forever will be available May 15 from Class Act Books. Watch the trailer below!
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Contest Time
Tony is very kindly giving away a copy of Two Vampires Tales to someone who comments!
How To Enter
What is your favourite or/and most hated vampire cliché?
No answer = No Entry
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The contest will stay open until Sunday 22nd of May 2011 4pm CET and the winner will be picked by a randomizer. Entrants should check back to see if they have won. I do not hunt down winners and will pick new winners for any prizes not claimed within 7 days.
Labels: Author Guest Blog, Contests, Tony-Paul De Vissage
At May 16, 2011 1:38 PM, 
Andra
I really like the originality in your story! I don't really have a least favorite cliche. I think that it is up to the author to make their own vampire lore and cannon. Whatever they choose to include from the tons and tons of vampire mythology is fine with me, as long as they either have a new take on it, or the character development is off the charts. I suppose if I had to pick one, it might be the aversion to garlic...i never got that...did they have to eat it?? was it like a peanut butter allergy where you went into anaphalactic shock? lol
hense1kk AT cmich DOT edu
At May 16, 2011 7:57 PM, Aurian
I like the idea that you twisted things around, am really curious about your book. And of course, Karel is a Dutch name (=Charles).
I like the faith thing repelling vampires. If you don't really believe, the cross or star or whatever won't work for you.
What I have always believed is nonsense, is the garlic thing.
Favorite Vampire cliché for me is that they can't see themselves in a mirror and they are all evil.
Not sure which my fav is. Way back when I read Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire & I've been hooked on vampires, not to mention other paranormal characters. Your story sounds great and I'm adding to my TBR pile.
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gsryley(at)gmail(dot)com
Very clever post, Tony-Paul. I think the premise of your story is different and should make for a great read.