Lorelei Bell's Take on Vampires: Her Debut Post!

So pleased to welcome Lorelei Bell, on to this blog!


My interest in vampires came in my teens watching the old horror classics of “Dracula” on TV late at night. I never did like that Dracula (or vampires in general) was the heavy, or villain. The one who inspired terror in all the living folk in the village, to be hunted down like a rabid dog, beheaded, staked etc. in his own coffin. I'd ask myself, “Why couldn't Dracula get the girl—the woman of his desires?”


Later, in adulthood, when I took up the pen and strove to put down my vampire stories, there was no such genre as “urban fantasy” or “paranormal romance” where vampires were hunks and women sought their attentions. Vampire works went under the heading of “horror”. Eventually, though, Anne Rice came to the rescue and brought a different type of story to the vampire genre. Whether she intended it or not, we all began to look at vampires differently. They have a story, each and everyone of them; they have different personalities, and their own motives and desires—just like everyone else on this planet.


In Vampire Ascending/Sabrina Strong Series I wanted the vampire to be more multi-dimensional, have more on his list of things to do than to drink blood, and I'll admit sex was part of this mix.




Furthermore, I wanted to create a heroine who has to learn who and what she was throughout the series, rather than plopping my readers somewhere after the beginning of the story and doing a lot of back story.



When it came to my vampires, I wanted to expose a large array of personalities, and they include the twins who were Beatles fans when they were turned, and Vasyl, who was a priest during the first century of Christianity when he was a human, and has continued his vigil for the sibyl. And, of course my seven-foot 1,000+ year old Viking, Bjorn Tremayne, owner/CEO of Tremayne Towers in Chicago. And then there is Nicolas who becomes Sabrina's romantic interest in the first book... but can she really trust him?




In my books, my vampires do have a reflection. They also have a heartbeat, but it's rather slow. Most of them can't go out into direct sunlight, and most of them sleep—not in a coffin, but in a bed. Depending upon their religion when they were alive, they shun those religious symbols, are unable to walk onto hallowed ground, or a church—but again if they were pagan, this wouldn't bother them at all. However, I've kept the “holy water” in tact for all vampires, as well as demons.




I felt that my vampires had to have their own hierarchy and governing system. Ba'al Demons are the enforcers of the vampire laws. In the first book, “Vampire Ascending” it is against vampire law for them to hunt humans. Instead, they've set up a donor program that works well, and do have their own bottled blood—some is 100% human, others are human and animal mix and depending upon the price there's less human blood in the mix. Bjorn has something he calls the “sanguine team” made up of elves—because their blood is not desired by the vampire. Thus they pay humans who choose to become their blood donors... and sometimes their bed partners. Sex and blood are both important to my vampires. They are a lusty lot!



My vampires all have their own personalities; you will not find a cardboard baddie among them. They each have their own needs, wants, and desires, and do fall in love—in other words are capable of human emotions.




When it came to creating my story, and my heroine in this series, I chose not to go with the kick-ass chick who went after vampires, demons or whatnot. I did not want her to work in some sort of newly created bureau (as in Karen Chance, Keri Arthur, and Kim Harris novels). I didn't want to do a lot of back-story. I wanted to begin at the beginning with my reluctant hero, Sabrina Strong, a sometimes quirky twenty-one year old who has this unique problem where she can't hold a job because she is a Touch Clairvoyant. Thus, when her father dies, she is forced to take something she can actually do. So when she answers the add for a clairvoyant, she isn't expecting to work for vampires. However, she is quite aware that they exist—even though most people don't believe it, or know that vampires, shift changers, werewolves, and demons do exist right along side them.

LINKS:


Vampire's Trill: http://www.amazon.com/Vampires-Trill-eBook/dp/B006GSS29Q/ref%3dsr_1_?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323540900&sr=1-1



Vampire Ascending: (this is a site which will take them to wherever they need to buy) http://vampireascending.copperhillmedia.com/

My Blog: http://loreleismuse-lorelei.blogspot.com/