How do you turn into a vampire?- for a novel?
It's fiction, so you can make the turning process be whatever you want. Most novels I've read entail a vampire draining the human until almost death, then forcing the human to drink their blood - human dies, and re-wakes as a vampire. However, I've also read novels where: the vampire's bite alone infects the victim and they turn into a vampire just from a bite (or repeated bites) (The Strain, Twilight) There are a lot of stories though, where humans cannot be turned into vampires - vampires are their own race, and you are either born one, or you are not (Black Dagger Brotherhood, Rulers of Darkness, Poppy Brite's series) I think my favorite way I've read is in Jemiah Jefferson's vampire series. There is a graphic explanation of it in the book, Fiend. The human is drained to the point of death, then fed vampire blood, then the human's body completely breaks down into a puddle of bloody, gorey, goo, then reforms as a vampire, with all flaws of the body gone - makes me think of that scene from Hellraiser :) Oh, in Supernatural, all it took to turn Dean into a vampire was for him to injest vampire blood, then drink blood to finalize the process - no human death of his body required. This is how it is for The Lost Boys also.
Any funny vampire novels out there?
Here are some of the best vampire works I have read: Dracula by Bram Stoker Mina by Marie Kiraly The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles Kim Harrison’s Rachel Morgan series about a witch who is a bounty hunter and works with a vampire and a pixie Carrie Vaughn’s Kitty Norville series about a werewolf radio talk show host Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden series about a wizard private investigator in Chicago Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series For Young Adults: Sweetblood by Pete Hautman Midnight's Choice by Kate Thompson, part of a trilogy that begins with “Switchers” and ends with “Wild Blood” Companions of the night by Vivian Vande Velde If you just want to kill some time and have some fun reverting back to childhood, check out The Bailey School Kids series by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones. They have some humorous titles like "Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots" and "Dracula Doesn't Rock and Roll". Others I have heard about: Amanda Ashley Maggie Shayne Katie MacAllister Sherilyn Kenyon Blood Books by Tanya Huff Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris the Dark series by Christine Feehan the Last Vampire series by Christopher Pike Brian Lumley New Moon and Twlight by Stephenie Meyer Bloodsucking Fiends and You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore Cirque Du Freak series by Darren Shan Salem's Lot by Stephen King Sonja Blue series by Nancy A. Collins the Black Dagger Brotherhood series J.R. Ward Christopher Golden Nightwatch, Daywatch and Duskwatch by Sergei Lukyanenko the Neteru series by L.A. Banks Undead and Unwed, Undead and Unemployed and others by Mary Janice Davidson Got Fangs and Circus of the Darned by Katie Maxwell Blue Bloods and Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz Glass Houses and The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine L.J. Smith the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole Sunshine by Robin McKinley Stephen Spruill Shannon Drake
What are good settings for a vampire novel?
I wanted to write a vampire novel (protagonist is a vampire), trouble is I'm having trouble starting it, but I think if I can at least get an idea for what kind of setting I want I can get the ball rolling so I was just wondering what is a good setting for a vampire novel or alternatively what have been some of your favorite settings? I do know that I want a more "darker grittier" style to my story, and I also want to move away from the whole vampires are sexy seducers or the friendly neighborhood vampire thing. They should be terrifying monsters not lovers. For example would a more familiar/relatable modern day setting set in the big city with a secret supernatural world work better than fantasy medieval Europe as a dark vampire story setting. Also I thought about a post war apocalyptic setting since vampires aren't too common portrayed in that kind of setting so maybe I should instead think of a setting where I hardly see vampires in.
What cliches are overused in vampire novels?
Hey, Ive got an enormous vamp book collection i started over a decade ago and the most common 'cliche' vampire story lines are: - dark, mysterious predator turns good guy saves the day - Jaded vamp falls in love with human (insert a few far out complications here) live happily ever after (human normally changes) - plague proportion vamps killing off 'innocents' so either goody human hunters or vamps save the day If your talking in terms of abilities/traits (which in my opinion can make for a fab read or render your story a crippled stinker) then its got to be: - flying in any form - transforming into various animals (the big ones are obviously the bat and crow) - compulsion - super gorgeousness .... although i personally don't so much mind this one ;) - paper white skin - super strength/running abilities - day-walking or confined to night depending - luring 'prey' in with sex appeal - lots and lots and lots of MONEY...wtf. Your asking for the cliches that are overdone, which is not a hard question to answer. But as someone devout to vamp books (yep, even Ms. Meyers versions although they do rank rather low) it is an entirely more difficult question to answer when you ask 'can I write a readable, marketable vampire book, without brutalizing the fantasy and much loved image that draws weirdos like me in' which quite often includes one or more of the cliches I have listed. Further-more, you walk a fine line between between being too cliche and respecting the vampire and his/her potential fans. I both urge caution and whole heartedly cheer you on in this respect. Personally id include some traditional traits but PLEASE have something new to balance it out! It's not about being overdone (despite a few people who'll say it is...hello CENTURIES of vampire literature and its still strong says something!) but making it your own :) Good luck.
Are vampire novels ruined forever because of Twilight?
Twilight hasn't ruined anything. I honestly, like her version of vampires and werewolves somewhat better, but that's probably the only thing in her book that I found got me reading her books. The story was typical, her writing seemed to trail on somewhat and Bella whines and annoys me like you wouldn't believe. I have friends that still like the original vampire books a lot more then Twilight. Twilight just changed the perspective on otherworld characters. Plus, it also means the next time you want to take out a book at the library with creatures from other worlds, AKA vampires, there will be way lesser chance the book is already taken. Half the people who like Twilight will stick with the future books written that are similar to Twilight and the others will be free to take to the other half. But it's just a matter of personal likings. XD Think about the positives!