Vampire Books Fans, Fangs and Writers discussion

The second book in The Vampire Hunters trilogy is now available. The novel is Vampyrnomicon.

Within the vaults of the Smithsonian Institute lies the key to finding the Vampyrnomicon, the Book of the Undead, that contains the history and secrets of the vampires. According to legend, whoever possesses the book can establish a vampire nation on earth – or destroy the undead once and for all. With an opportunity to end the war against the undead so close, Drake Matthews is determined to find the book. But the vampires also want Vampyrnomicon. When Master Chiang Shih and her coven of the most powerful and dangerous vampires arrive in Washington to claim the book as their own, the hunters find themselves facing their most dangerous enemy yet. With the stakes so high, so is the ferocity of the struggle.

The first book in the trilogy, The Vampire Hunters, is available from Emby Press or Amazon. The final chapter, Dominion, will be released in early 2015.

Hi, Scott!
Sounds like it might be a good one. I'm getting tired of the glorification of vampires, with the supposed sexual and romantic attractiveness of creatures who rip into your throat and drink your life away. Nice to see someone is still writing about vampires being foes of humanity. What are your vampires like? I'm always curious about the different approaches authors take to them, since I'm working on a vampire series myself. My vampires are not the super romantic type, but there is the question in my books whether they may be redeemed rather than just killed. Have you done a lot of research into vampire folklore? I have done some, and was delighted to find "fresh" material in the old traditions because some are quite different from the more modern views of vampires. I was able to use some folklore to my own ends. I would welcome more discussion. I started a thread for writers of vampire fiction that you are welcome to join. I haven't been active in this group lately, but when I get the chance I pop in and try to catch up.
What are the first and third books in your series about?

Robin wrote: "Hi, Scott!
Sounds like it might be a good one. I'm getting tired of the glorification of vampires, with the supposed sexual and romantic attractiveness of creatures who rip into your throat and dri..."

Robin,

I think you’d like my vampires. I make them pure evil with no redeeming qualities. However, unlike most books/movies that portray evil vampires as two dimensional monsters, I give them personalities and back stories and their own motivations, and make them central characters in the plot. Readers may not necessarily like my vampires, but they do become invested in them.

I did a lot of research prior to writing my book, and then came up with my own vampire mythos (which I explore in the second and third novels). I opted to have two types of vampires—the masters, who are the ruling class and can take human form, and “snuffies”, vampires who are always in monster form and are controlled by the masters (I call them “snuffies” because the masters create them in mass so they can be snuffed out to protect the ruling class). It was a matter of personal choice which aspects of the folklore I kept for my own vampires. Mine don’t sleep in coffins, turn into mist or wolves, or are repulsed by religious symbols. I maintained that sunlight is deadly, that the only way to kill them is staking/beheading/burning, and that holy water causes them pain (I kept that so I had something my hunters could fight them with). The choices I made were mostly based on the type of story I was writing.

I’ve probably given you way more info than you asked for. If so, sorry. Please feel free to ask any questions.

As for the books, the first in the trilogy (The Vampire Hunters) is the introductory book where I introduce the characters and set up my vampire mythos. The last book in the trilogy (Dominion, which is due out in early 2015) is a direct sequel to Vampyrnomicon and deals with the final battle between humans and vampires for dominion over the earth.

Thanks for the information! That does all sound interesting. I wish I had more time to read books--as I also wish I had more time to write them. Your descriptions remind me I need to sit down and figure out more of the rules and traits of my own vampires. So far, I've winged it according to each individual vampire and situation. Although they have differences from one another, there need to be some consistent guidelines. I have not, like Anne Rice, figured out how my vampires came to be.

And sorry I didn't respond to you earlier. It's another factor of my time and temperament situation. The temperament part is that when it gets late I hang out and relax to wind down before bed, and that's usually when I can get on the internet. My checking this group is an exception to my normal habit. We are lucky there was no one on Facebook to chat with tonight.

Best wishes to you in all your writing endeavors!

No need to apologize. Feel free to reach out to me if I can be of any more help.

Your series sounds interesting Scott. It is nice to see authors doing their own thing, bucking current trends. I can't say I completely buck the current trend but not all of the vampires in my series are the sappy heroes. :)

Thanks, Theresa. I had a lot of fun creating my vampire characters.

Scott wrote: "Thanks, Theresa. I had a lot of fun creating my vampire characters."

Fun is good Scott. I enjoyed creating my characters as well and watching them grow. If you don't have fun and find your characters interesting, then what is the point? If creating and writing about characters becomes boring, then it is time to hang up the hat, lol.