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.
22 comments:
Very clever post, Tony-Paul. I think the premise of your story is different and should make for a great read.
Sounds like a hoot, Tony-Paul!
My least fave vampire cliche is the undead thingy. Bad breath! Lingering smell of rot! Just doesn't work for me.
I posted links on my facebook profile (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=765733209) and on Twitter (@BarbaraMonajem).
I don't like all vampires to be totally evil or have a smell or look dead. I like them looking hot and handsome. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com
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
My least favorite vampire cliche is sleeping in a coffin in a crypt.
This sounds really interesting. I think a really silly vampire cliche was the whole turning into a bat thing. Glad we don't see too much of that in current stories.
juliecookies(at)gmail.com
This looks like a great read. I love when things are changed up a bit.
The entire sleeping in a coffin with dirt from the homeland drives me nuts.
Thanks for the giveaway.
vsloboda(at)gmail(dot)com
Vampire cliche? The cross. Which I'm happy to say I haven't been seeing a lot of in the recent vampire stories. I guess most are starting to realize how silly it is that a simple cross could stop a blood sucker.
aliciacald(at)gmail(dot)com
My least favorite cliche is vampires being total monsters, like in the movie Dracula. I rather prefer them as misunderstood immortal outsiders.
spamscape [at] gmail [dot] com
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.
My least favorite vampire cliche is that they have no reflection in mirrors.
Skk25@aol.com
I never understood the "garlic" either.-audie@wickerness.com
My least favorite cliche of vampires are repelled by garlic, have no reflection, wear a cape but I still love them.
Thanks for the giveaway!
artgiote at gmail dot com
My favorite is sensuality of the mythical vampire. My least favorite is the vampire fear of crosses.
magalyguerrero @ live . com
What a fun blog! It's good to meet you here, and your new book sounds like too much fun!
My least fav vampire cliche is the mirror reflection thing.
Have fun with Amber and your fans, Tony-Paul!
Nancy Haddock
www.nancyhaddock.com
I don't like the no reflection. That is impossible to hide.
I like the night only hours
Nothing bugs me more than when a lot of seeds are dropped, they have to count & collect them all.
wade 2121 AT gmail DOT com
"I vant to suck your blood" I mean, I know they want to, but it's sometimes made too much of in a story.
meredithfl at gmail dot com
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
My favorite is that they are supposed to be attractive
My least favourite vampire cliché is them being evil. I prefer them to be a little wicked, but not totally evil.
Since the movies around Twilight, I don't like this sparkling-thing. In the book it sounded okay, but on screen it simply looked ridiculous.
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