30 Days of Vampires: Scare me… please? #Prize
India Drummond knew from age nine that writing would be her passion. Since then she's discovered many more, but none quite so fulfilling as creating a world, a character, or a moment and watching them evolve into something complex and compelling. She has lived in three countries and four American states, is a dual British and American citizen, and currently lives at the base of the Scottish Highlands in a village so small its main attraction is a red phone box. In other words: paradise.
The supernatural and paranormal have always fascinated India. In addition to being an avid sci-fi and fantasy reader, she also enjoys mysteries, thrillers, and romance. This probably explains why her novels have elements of adventure, ghosts (or elves, fairies, angels, aliens, and whatever else she can dream up), and love stories.
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Some people find vampires oh-so-yummy, while others insist the idea of an 
amorous encounter with a dead man just leaves them cold (so to speak). I would have placed myself in the latter category, but then I remembered how much I loved the vampire Lestat, the jumpy chills I got watching Lost Boys, the slightly less scary but no less compelling vampires of Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series (True Blood), the fast-paced thrills of Blade, and any of a half-dozen other vampire series I've read over the past couple of years.
Time for a reality check. How could I say I didn't find vampires appealing, when that obviously wasn't the case? Then I realised my conscious mind was getting hung up on the dead aspect of the undead, while my subconscious mind was responding to the thrill and danger. The thrill came from the scare. This is why the Twilight vampires didn't do much for me, why of the True Blood vampires, Bill makes me say, "meh", but I find Eric delicious.
Vampires should scare us. That's the reason we read books about them, rather than books about accountants. Sure, we might prefer to have lunch with an accountant; we might marry one. After all, having a real life relationship with someone with a dubious moral compass and a taste for blood would be exhausting. But when it comes to an hour-long television show or a four-hour read, we want to do the mental equivalent of sky diving or a roller-coaster ride: to have our hearts pound, to scream all the way down, then to land safely at the end, perhaps a bit flushed and flustered, but in one piece.
My own books aren't about vampires. I am not sure I could come up with something new to say about them that hadn't already been done, and I try to create unusual worlds. My Caledonia Fae series starts with Blood Faerie, an urban fantasy about a serial-killing outcast faerie. A bit of danger and (I hope) a fresh concept. But when it comes to my reading, on the other hand, I will doubtlessly continue to dip my toe in the bloody pool of vampire fiction, looking for books that give me that rush that comes with reading about dangerous men who know what they want…and take it.
Today I'll be giving away a digital copy of Blood Faerie to one commenter. Tell me… why do you like vampires? Do you like ones that sparkle or the more ruthless variety?
Author website and blog: http://www.indiadrummond.com/
Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/india.drummond.author
Twitter: http://twitter.com/IndiaDrummond
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