I will always love vampires

I love vampires. I'm not ashamed to admit it.

Sure, I read a lot of different kinds of paranormal, but ask me to pick one type, and vampire stories are it. I've loved them since I was young, when they were horror stories first and Salem's Lot scared the bejeezus out of me. Then into high school when things got romanticized with Interview with a Vampire. The very first produced play I wrote in college was about vampires. So when people say they're tired of them? I just kind of shrug and hold my tongue, because I will almost always respond to a well-written or original vampire story.

It doesn't even matter what type of story it is any more. Sure, I read a lot of romance, but I also devour mystery, thrillers, and horror. One of my favorite vampire takes is Brian Lumley's Necroscope series which didn't even have a vampire protagonist. Those books are pure horror, too, and I devoured them like candy when they first came out.

Is it a bulletproof kink? Absolutely not. I can think of quite a few popular series that leave me cold, either because I couldn't connect with the characters or the author's voice didn't engage me. But it's a lot easier to sell me a vampire story than it is any other paranormal type.

The book that sucked me in over the weekend was Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster, a steampunk paranormal romance with a complicated hero and a smart heroine. She took the paranormal world and twisted it into a new version, where "blue bloods," blood drinkers pre-turning into a full-blown vampire, are the ruling class in England. It combines a new take on the vampire mythology with another favorite trope of mine--alternate history--so it was probably guaranteed to be a win for me. The second novel is about a werewolf, so we'll see if I respond to it as strongly, but considering she's sucked me into her world, I have little doubt I'll see the series through regardless.

This weekend, I have a release at Amber Allure as part of the no-tell motel pax that is coming out. Guess what? It has a vampire hero. And I couldn't be happier.