Sunday, June 27, 2010

Guest Blogger: Vampire Professor Bertena Varney, Giveaway!

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful discussion! It has been great having Bertena here. I'll ask her to come back again soon. I wrote a name on a little piece of paper for each comment, and put them in my mini coffin, and picked one. The winner of a copy of one of my books is: Marty. Get in touch with me Marty, and let me know which book you want, and where you want it sent. Many thanks to everyone who participated!
Introduction

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion as to why women love vampires, why there is a sudden rise in vampire literature, and basically, why are vampires everywhere today?

But did vampires really just come to be crazy-popular recently, or have we been slowly accepting them into our lives since we were children? Maybe women in our 30s were born and bred to love vampires. Or maybe not.

Let’s take a look at someone my age who grew up with Bunnicula, Count Chocula, and the Sesame’s Street’s the Count. It is rather simple. Long gone are the days of children cowering in the dark from fear of the vampire. The 1970s opened the door to change that not only affected the image of the vampire, but how we accepted them into our lives. I had one that taught me to count, one that taught me to love and the other taught me to make friends. The vampire has been the constant through each stage of our development. So it would be only natural for them to be a part of our adult life.

Childhood

When our mothers were growing up, vampires were portrayed as the rat like Nosferatu or the strange, foreign speaking, Bela Lugosi style vampire. However, as we grew up they were portrayed as the cute Count von Count on Sesame Street. They were accepted into our daily society and as we grew, they no longer had to be explained or labeled; we simply knew by sight that the creature on the television. or the character in a book was a vampire. Simply put, everyone knew what a vampire was through simple phrases or placement of symbols.

The year I was born, General Mills introduced a new cereal that claimed to “bring monsters into your breakfast everyday.” The first of six monster-themed cereals was Count Chocula, a Nosferatu-looking vampire that was portrayed as rather comical looking. The Count would yell “I vant to eat your cereal.” As a result, the adults fled in fear but the children invited him and his friends, Franken Berry, Boo Berry, and Yummy Mummy in to enjoy breakfast, the most important meal of the day. The vampire was no longer scary to us and would become the first part of our day. We loved these monsters and looked forward to eating them daily.

After we finished eating our cereal, the next step in our morning would be to turn on the television to Sesame Street. Here we learned to count by a Bela Lugosi looking vampire named Count von Count. He was obsessed with counting and would count anything that came his way. He would even count himself if there was nothing to count. I know I laughed at his spooky castle, coffin, and bat friends. I did not fear him.

Then when we went to school, we read Bunnicula, a beginning reader book that told the story of a cute bunny that is also a vampire. Bunnicula was adopted into a new home where the other pets, a cat and dog, were fearful and didn’t accept him. Through different adventures, the cat and dog finally acclimated to the “different” and “new” member of the family. This was a perfect story of teaching us how to accept differences in other children and accept vampires as humans.

As we grew older there were reruns of television shows like The Munsters, The Addams Family, movies such as The Littlest Vampire, and cartoons such as Count Duckula, The Groovie Ghoulies, and Batman vs. Dracula. The vampire was now a friend and no longer a monster to be feared.

The Teen Years

The '80s actually were packed with 10 huge vampire movies, from pre-teen ones like The Monster Squad, the campy Vampire Kiss and Once Bitten, the dark Near Dark, Salem’s Lot, and The Hunger and the coming of age My Best Friend’s a Vampire and Fright Night. But the most pivotal and influential of my teenage years was, of course, David and his brothers in The Lost Boys. What teenage girl did not dream of David or Michael coming through your window and sweeping you away. Star seemed to have it made in our eyes.

These movies again did not strike real fear in us about vampires. Near Dark may have given you a little thrill, but in the end the bad boy turned good and got the girl. The beginning of our love for bad boys would begin during this time and vampires are what the media gave us.

The College Years

During college, I came “out of the coffin” with my love for the undead boyfriend.

There were television shows and movies such as the Forever Knight, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Interview with the Vampire, and Blade, just to name a few. Vampires were everywhere and finally the subject was addressed. We could fall in love with a vampire and it was ok -- maybe not safe, but ok. So began my search, and ultimately academic research, into why these hideous monsters are now longed-after lovers.

I was a sociology major and, of course, was interested in why we love vampires. As a result I wrote my master’s paper on, The Search for the Lure of the Vampire. It was a great study but really had me looking back at my life as you have seen above.
There were sexy vampires such as Angel who wanted to be Buffy’s boyfriend but I always rooted for the biggest bad vampire -- Spike. He got my motor running. Who wanted a vampire who hated who he was when you could have one with hundreds of years of love making experience and could really knock you off your feet? Remember the hot and crazy sex scenes between Buffy and Spike -- yow!!

Adult Years

Vampires who were also bad boys were also, in many ways, a hero looking for his place. We love the sexy Henry Fitzroy, Mick St. John, Eric Northman, Bill Compton, Louis, Lestat, and the countless other sexy vampires in media. So, why should we not be attracted to them when many times what we get in real life is Al Bundy or the King of Queens?

Why can’t we long for that vampire who has had centuries of love making experience to share with just us? Why can’t we love the monster within while sexing the vampire on the outside?

True Blood has been the most recent television show that has been popular but there has been a vampire show on television since Dark Shadows broke down the barriers in 1966.

Conclusion

So ladies, let’s embrace the hot sex, snazzy dressed, perfectly carved, sexy vampire and just know that the vampire craze has been boiling upwards for just under 45 years and we are here to say BRING IT ON. We can love them with no shame, while passing this on to our daughters. I wonder what the outcome will be in regard to them, because it is not as subtle as when we were young girls. Do you think the vampire will be too tame for our daughters, and they will have to look for a bigger and badder monster to satisfy their needs?

Lexington-Vampire-Examiner
Paranormal-Literature-Examiner





**************************

I will be giving away a copy of THE VAMPIRE SHRINK or DARK HARVEST to one commenter who answers both Bertena's question and my question. I'll select a winner and post it here on Wednesday night. Feel free to post as many answers as you wish. Each comment will be entered into the giveaway drawing.

Here is my question: What is the name of the bad vampire who threatened Kismet in her office? (answer can be found on the excerpts page of my website: http://www.lyndahilburnauthor.com)

60 Comments:

Blogger Cecile Smutty Hussy said...

***Waves to Ms Linda!!!! Hey honey!!!!

No need to enter me, you know Dev already lives at my house!!! So much so we are waiting for his third book, lol!!!

Now to anyone reading this post.... You have to enter for this contest! These are some awesome books by an awesome woman!!!!!!!!!
Hugs to you Ms. Linda!
Hope all is well!!!!!!

9:01 PM  
Anonymous Lori Baker said...

Hmm...sounds like Bryce is a very naughty vamp... :)

9:17 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Cecile- thanks for stopping by. I have both books and I agree they are awesome!

11:23 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Lori- thanks for stopping by.

What about my question- Do you think the vampire will be too tame for our daughters, and they will have to look for a bigger and badder monster to satisfy their needs?

I am dying to know what you think

11:47 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

In the old days all it took was a cape and a medalion of a certain design and you knew you were looking at a vampire. Maybe the hairstyle had a bit to do with it. You know the Dracula look.

11:47 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Naw... have you seen Batman vs Dracula? Not exactly a good time. Course I friend of mine said that the Joker in that was abou as creepy as they had ever seen the Joker.

11:50 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Course there were also the 2 Batman/ Dracula comic books. Red Rain and something else ... I forget what. They are nice and ever though they don't really count in continutity they have shown up more than once. Course, Frank Miller always said what do you have when you look at Batman and squint? Dracula.

11:54 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Marty- the vampires of today do look normal.. that is why accept them so easily into our lives via books, television, or movies.

I kindda liked the old capes- the aristocratic look. It had a sexiness about it.

As far as Batman vs Dracula.. I watched it a long time ago and rerented it but didn't get the chance to watch it again.
I always think of it as Batman fighting an evil part of himself.. they modeled him so close to a vampire- the whole Bat, cave, out at night, bad sexy boy - definitely like a vampire

11:54 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Marty- I just read your third post... and that is so true

11:56 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

You knocking Married with Children.

11:56 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

It's a great show but Al Bundy in NO Eric Northman:)

12:04 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Do you think the vampire will be too tame for our daughters, and they will have to look for a bigger and badder monster to satisfy their needs?

Probably, you know kids. Grownups are dumb and we cannot possible like anything they like. So yeah, with the manstream popularity of vampires something new is going to have to break through. There are already cliques of werewolfs wandering the halls of some schools.

Vampires are calm, cool, and collected. Almost always in control. And with many many years of various practice. Werewolves are primal, frantic, and bearly ever in control. Between the 2 I generally perfer the vampire. For both the control and I don't like my house smelling like wet dog.

But, as for what the children will replace the vampire with? unknown. I doubt it will hit full blown satanism, butthe kids always have to be edgy. You got to do something to drive your parnets insane when you are young. Mummies? Maybe... I could work with mummies. We lose the wraps and let them come back as kind of lesser gods. Much like the Mummy movies once the poor bastard has rebuilt hisself from the other guys. I could see something like that perhaps. I feel that there will always have to be a level of beauty to what the kids go for. The monster will always have to be pretty. Course, I would like to see one where it wasn't. Maybe, they will latch onto bridge trolls.

What is the name of the bad vampire who threatened Kismet in her office?
Bryce

I looooooved The Vampire Shrink and I would probably flat foot back into a burning house for my signed copy.

12:18 AM  
Anonymous Lori Baker said...

Do you think the vampire will be too tame for our daughters, and they will have to look for a bigger and badder monster to satisfy their needs?

Vampires are classic and they come in all shapes, sizes...and appetites. I think that our daughters are gonna love vampires for the same reason we love them -- for their power, position, and their take-charge persona.

Vampires have been around forever, I don't see them taking a backseat to another 'monster' any time soon.

Vamps will evolve to satisfy our needs, but they will always be here and we will always go looking for them.

5:03 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Great Post! No one has mentioned it and I'm still kind of surprised - our daughters of today are reading the Twilight version of vampires. And while that does pave the way for them to enjoy the more mature ones of paranormal suspense, urban fantasy, paranormal romance and the like, it also open the door for them to jump in with the love affair their mom's have had for years with the mystical creature.

I may not be a huge Twilight fan, but I read all four, and Ms. Meyer can spin a good tale for her target audience, and isn't that the whole point?

Her world may not be dark enough for me, but she has brought a whole generation into the vampire craze and has made this current boost in popularity more mainstream (if that's even possible!).

And Bryce was in the office - but I haven't read it so I'd still like to win!!

6:03 AM  
Blogger Lynda Hilburn said...

Hi, everyone! Thanks so much for stopping by. I'm happy to have Bertena here this week. We met in person at the Sirens Con up in Vail, CO last year and we've had a nice connection ever since. She's been going gangbusters with all her Examiner articles. Congratulations, Bertena!

Cecile: It's always so good to see you. You're the biggest sweetie for saying such nice things. I really appreciate you! I'm working on the third book, and am exploring options for new publishers. Thanks for your support, my friend!

Hi, Lori. He certainly is!

Marty: I'm so happy you liked The Vampire Shrink. Don't go running into burning buildings! LOL

C.J.: Thanks for commenting! My fingers are crossed for you.

7:42 AM  
Blogger Cecile Smutty Hussy said...

Hey Ms. Linda!!!
Of course you know I am one of your biggest Cheerleaders!!!! You are more than welcome!!!

And it is always nice for you to showcase other authors and such!!!
And I do apologize Ms. Bertena ~ for I did not even give you a shout of hello. I was just so excited to see Ms. Linda giveaway her books to a lucky winner!!!

It is a pleasure to meet you Ms Bertena!

9:08 AM  
Anonymous G W Pickle said...

This is my first time to this site and to me, this is a very interesting topic. As a kid, I would usually dress as a vampire. I watched all the old vampire movies, TV shows, and spoofs like Dracula, Dead and loving it, staring Leslie Nealson or Dark Shadows. Yes there is something about a vampire that says sexy, erotic. I am a published author with 1 SF novel out and an erotic vampire romance soon to be released. I like to believe that the vampires are not demonic or followers of Satan. I like stories where they're written as good, not evil. While Ms. Meyer's Twilight series is a big hit, I think they are too powerful in some areas and not enough in others. As I see it, the problem with a hero that powerful is that you have to create an equally or more powerful villian. Then you get caught up with a lot of other problems. I'm sorry to say I've not yet read any of Professor Bertena Varney's books, I will soon remedy that. Of the vampire stories I've read, Lynsay Sands stands out as one of the best. They have flaws and she uses humor quite well. The family business (of the vampire family she writes about) is a blood bank and blood research (for vampires).
I feel that the vampires that we grew up reading/watching were written more for the horror or shock value. The vampires today (for trhe most part) are written as more intellegent, realistic, and savy. IMHO, todays vampire stories, in a lot of ways, are better than the original ones. I feel that the popularity of vampires will continue for a long time, because the writers will continue to make them better and more apealing to the reading and movie going public.
G W Pickle

9:09 AM  
Anonymous G W Pickle said...

The answer to the question,what is the name of the bad vampire who threatened Kismet in her office?
Bryce.
Bryce sounds like an interesting villian.
Bertena said...
Lori- thanks for stopping by.

What about my question- Do you think the vampire will be too tame for our daughters, and they will have to look for a bigger and badder monster to satisfy their needs?

I am dying to know what you think

Your first question:
Do you think the vampire will be too tame for our daughters,
my answer to # 1:
No, Any author worth their salt will make them interesting and better than the vampires of yesterday.

Your second question:
will they have to look for a bigger and badder monster to satisfy their needs?
My answer to #2:
Again no. I feel that todays writers have and will write better stories and plots and not have to rely on bigger & badder is better to satisfy their needs. I feel the readers will want a smarter vampire. One who uses their mental abilities as well their physical ones. I feel that these are the reasons the vampire stories are gaining in popularity. To me it is the same for any story. To be good it has to have a good plot and story line. It has to also be told in an entertaining way and not bore the reader to death.
G W Pickle

9:48 AM  
Blogger Heather said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

10:01 AM  
Blogger Heather said...

What is the name of the bad vampire who threatened Kismet in her office?
Bryce
Hey Bertena. :-)

Nice blog. As for your question, I am certain it will take something bigger and badder in the future, and here is my reasoning.

As much as we (as a culture) like vampires, we are now being inundated with them. With the insane popularity of the Twilight Saga books and movies, Vampire Diaries on the CW, and True Blood, it seems like everywhere I turn it is Vampires, Vampires and more Vampires.

My kids LOVE Buffy. (I carefully select which ones they watch because of their ages.) My 9 year old is constantly nagging me to let her read the Twilight books and watch the movies. In the 3rd grade cries of Team Jacob and Team Edward abound. The terrifying aspect is being blunted by the romantic side. "Yeah, okay, so they drink blood." That used to be repulsive. Not so much anymore.

By the time the next generation grows up, vampires are going to be akin to their teddy bears and it will take something much worse to put that tingle of terror in the spine.

I leave you with one of my favorite Buffy moments where she takes a swing at an icon... "You think I don't watch your movies? You always come back." - Buffy to Dracula

10:11 AM  
Anonymous Leslie said...

Enjoyed the article the historical look was intriguing. I never had really thought about it like that and yes, there are a lot of vampire references beginning at a very early age.

As I was reading I was thinking that Lestat was my first literary vampire, but realized that wasn't right. I did read Dracula in about the 4th grade. My youngest daughter, 16, has now read the first 3 Anne Rice vampire tales.

I am new to Linda's books. I'll definitely hit bookstore!

10:18 AM  
Blogger Denise Verrico said...

Great article, Bertena! I always enjoy reading your pieces. My first vamp was Barnabas Collins on the Dark Shadows TV series back in the sixties. I rushed home from grade school to watch him every day. He wasn't as sexy as Spike, but he was cool. You know my feelings on vampires from my book that you reviewed, Cara Mia. I say let them be the bad boys they are meant to be and don't forget the bad girls either! These books sound great.

10:28 AM  
Blogger Sweet Vernal Zephyr said...

I think the vampire is constantly morphing and that our daughters will still find them irresistible! At least that is what I hope. I have visions of laughing with her as we exchange vampire crushes.

Thanks for the contest! Bryce is the answer you are looking for.

Miranda
mdwartistry at yahoo dot com

10:56 AM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Lor- I like the power, position, and their take charge personality comment you made.

You know this is so true. In some ways the vampires I have read and read now have given me confidence- it's like hey anything's possible- let's do it.
Yeah they have some mystical powers but I think their most important power is confidence and persuasion that we all can gain. It's a good thing for our younger girls - especially in today's society. Vampires say "It's ok to be confident in your abilities, go after what you want, and live life- even if you are undead:)

Thanks for making me think about that. Hope to see you soon.

11:51 AM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

C.J.
I tread likely with Twilight. At the Sirens con where I met Lynda, I was doing a presentation like this and all of a sudden the topic got changed to Twilight and I almost couldn't finish my presentation. I spoke about Mina from Dracula, Buffy from BTVS, Sookie and Vivkie Neslos from Blood Ties and of course Kismet. I asked the group of mostly college students if they had heard of these because they were big vampire fans and all I got was no but I know who Bella is. I was sooo disappointed.

But you are right. It is molding their generation to choose which type of vampire they like to read and I say that there is enough vampires out there for all of us.

11:56 AM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

C.J.-
Also in regards to C.J. - she too is an author of a great vampire book - Vampire Vacation.

It is the perfect mixture of a strong female vampire, mystery, and erotic scenes. In today's literature sometimes all you get is erotic.

Lynda's books are much the same- Kismet is a strong professional female in today's world who makes her won choices. She too adds just the right mix of erotic, mystery, and scary vampires.

I hate to see the vampires not fight. I love the fight scenes in other books. The blood and grossness doesn't bother me.. it's something I miss.

11:59 AM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Cecile- it is ok. and it's very nice to meet you. I too was a fan of Ms. Hilburn. I had actually used an interview that she had done in the paper that I presented at the Sirens Conference.
I did not recognize her. I was new to writing and did not realize that authors were to available to their fans.
She had on a Vampire Shrink t shirt and I said , "OMG, I have been looking for that book to read and can't find it!" She replied "Well I am the author and I can help you with that."
I then found the book table, bought the book, she invited me to lunch and we talked and she signed my book.

I was so shocked. She is the one to inspire me to continue my column. At that time I had actually let it go. Lynda was a huge inspiration.
And I thank her for that :)

12:05 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Greetings G W Pickle.

You spoke about the problems with heroes. They have to struggle against the villain. And if they are too powerful then the villain has to be more powerful. And soon you are sliding down the ever more increasing scale of power. I love occult detective stories. But, those are also some of the worst for that to happen. I love the Teddy London books by Robert Morgan who is just a pen name for C. J. Henderson. And there is always the Anita Blake novels by Laurell K. Hamilton. I am in no way saying these are bad books. I love them. It is just that the heroes in them go from being just pretty much regular people or very low powered to being walking gods (almost).

I will also agree that there is still alot of stuff that can be done with the vampire, but there are several other authors that are working on different things within that field. I recently, picked up a book called "A girl's guide to guns and monsters" in it there were several stories similar to what we are seeing in True Blood and Being Human. If vampire exist what about everything else that stalks the night. I have always been big on if you are going to have one super have them all.

12:07 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

You know, anytime I get to contemplating too hard on the mystique of the pretty vampires. I remember a meanwhile I saw in a Johnny the Homicidal Manic comic once. It is the awesome. There was a kid bitten by a pretty vampire and it didn't turn out all that well. You never know they might be dicks.

12:10 PM  
Blogger Cecile Smutty Hussy said...

That is awesome!!! Oh gosh, I love stories like that!!!!! Thanks for sharing that!!! You two are great!

12:11 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

GW Pickle- where you when I was a kid and needed friends to play on the playground and watch shows with? LOL

I will definitely add Lynsey Sands to my list of to be read books.

And I agree with your comment the vampires are more intelligent and like humans but also with that touch of monster that cannot be tamed. It's the best of both worlds and I do like them sooo much. If you couldn't already tell.

In regards to books, I am definitely not a fiction writer and am really just a freelance blogger and at times news writer.
Here is my main site with links to the others.-
Lexington Vampire Examiner- http://www.examiner.com/x-12968-Lexington-Vampire-Examiner

My official website that tells about me is http://searchforthelure.webs.com

Please check it out. I will eventually write an academic book but I leave the hot vampire writing to Lynda, C.J. and Denise that have commented on here

12:12 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Bertena -
You spoke of some vampire books being too erotic. I am sorry. Allow me to show you my personal drum set.
Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake books. In the beginning I feel that they had the right mix of plot and eroticism. But, around the ninth book Obsidian Butterfly we went into the deep end of eroticism and plot was delegated to something that had to occur between bumping uglies. I have heard that this caused some readers to leave her and other readers to find her. I have stuck with her because I really do enjoy to plot points. And as of late she seems to be either coming back out of this forest of eroticism or I am getting used to it because I really didn't notice it so bad in the last book I read Harlequin. And I am looking for the time to read Blood Noir right now.

12:23 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

12:24 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Miranda-

I hope this so happens with your daughter and believe me there are enough people here that can suggest books appropriate for each age..vampires, as I said, can be in our lives as soon as we hit the crib.. but no one sees the Count in the cute little nursery room dangling over the crib on the musical mobile.
But, I think it would be great to be able to share a bonding time like this

12:28 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Denise- thanks for stopping by..and yeah I think most of us have grown up with them.

If you did comment here and you didn't grow up with them how did you get introduced to the sexy vampires?

And Denise your books are definitely unique as well. I view them as sci fi vampires- as soon as science gets involved. They are awesome!

thanks for the comment

12:31 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Marty- btw I have to give credit about the Al Bundy comment- that was Lynda's original commen.
I LVOE it!

12:32 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Leslie- thanks for the comment.

Being a sociologist I look at everything that affects our life and the things at the beginning always do- whether we know it or not.

It's nice to look back and think about why we began to read or watch them?

12:35 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Marty- I think you are right in having one supernatural creature leaves you open to pull more in. Look at Charlaine Harris' books- there are vampires, werewolves, shifters, fairies, witches, maenads, gnome, and much more. they all make for a great story.

And I will have to read that book as well.

12:38 PM  
Blogger Lynda Hilburn said...

Hey, everyone. I'm sneaking moments on the computer in between clients at my day job as a psychotherapist at the mental health center. Great discussion!

Cecile: Hugs to you!!

G.W.: Thanks so much for stopping by! I enjoy Lynsay's books, too. I initially asked her to do a blurb for The Vampire Shrink, and she kindly read the book, then said she thought it was a mite too sexual for her. But she was a doll about it.

Heather: Thanks for the comment. Yes, Buffy really changed the landscape for vampires!

Leslie: I'm glad you dropped by, and if you check out my books, I hope you like them. I remember reading Bram Stoker's book when I was just barely old enough to go to the library (right down the street) by myself. That book changed everything for me (I'm sure my mother would say that's a BAD thing, lol).

Denise: It's nice to meet you. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Hi, Miranda! Nice to see you. Thanks for commenting.

12:41 PM  
Blogger Lynda Hilburn said...

Bertena: I was disappointed, too, when participants at various fantasy cons only wanted to talk about Twilight. I like Twilight, but there are so many more wonderful vamp tales!!

LOL. I remember our meeting at Sirens Con. Actually, it was so great for me to meet someone I could talk to. Prior to that moment, I'd been pretty much sitting by myself. I tend to be very shy in large gatherings and your friendly willingness to befriend me made my whole day better!

I'm so thrilled to hear I inspired you! Thanks for telling me that. I'm sending a big cyber hug.

12:46 PM  
Anonymous Chelsea B. said...

Well, I don't know, but I sure hope my future daughter loves vampires as much as I do! I could definitely introduce her to some great movies, tv shows, and books!
And would the bad vampire be Raleigh? I enjoyed all the excerpts!

12:46 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Heather- I definitely see your point..vampires are big now but big things go down and then back up. vampires have never really disappeared.. they went for a rest and came back bigger and better.. or that's my opinion..lol

My everyone here has got me so pumped up. I can go on and on with this topic.

I know I asked about daughters because of the romantic aspect of the vampire but I have a son who graduated last month and it's funny how I did him the same way.

He wasn't allowed to watch scary movies till he was 16 But I did allow him to watch Twilight.

He really doesn't have a real feel for vampires... Nightmare on Elm Street had him up for 2 days with no sleep.

He did watch Interview with the Vampire and Queen of the Damned liked the music in it (he is a music major) but the vampire thing to him is Edward. His girlfriend loves Twilight so for their anniversary he played Bella's lullabye for her and she swooned. I quickly threw in a few YA books like Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber and Vampire Diaries by L.j. Smith and said - go read these too. She of course came back and said she liked the nice ones but the others were too bad.. lol

But I think I got off subject but I am bringing it back around. I do think that the goth vampire kids are saying. " Hey we have been doing this longer than you"

But, I need to stop there-- and listen to what others have to say before I tell too much.

And nice to meet a fellow Buffy fan. Hope to see you on my page as well.

BTW- I LOVE the quote

12:50 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Chelsea B

Welcome and thank you for stopping by. What brought you into the world of the vampire?

12:53 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Lynda- I am shy too and very awkward. And was just so star struck hence why I thought I was bothering you...funny.

and yes thanks for everything

1:05 PM  
Blogger Mary Kirkland said...

Lynda, that for having Bertena here. I think this is a great blog post. Oh and Lynda, I love your books! I'm a huge, huge fan of Vampires so your books are just what I love to read :)

Now about the questions...I think we can only go up from where we are with the Vampires in the movies right now. I grew up watching Forever Knight, Dracula with Bela Lugosi, eating Count Chocula and loving the vampires at Halloween everywhere.

Things have changed over the years and I think things will change again in the future.

4:04 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Thanks, Mary. It's nice to know that someone else has appreciated the same thing.

Thanks for stopping b

6:04 PM  
Anonymous Andrea said...

Hello Everybody.
I'd like to answer the questions. The name of the vampire is Bryce, and as far as Bertena's question as to our children. My daughter is 8 years old and LOVES Edward. She has been begging me to take her to see Eclipse as soon as it is released. I'm sure as she grows up, her interest will change; however, I'm not sure what could be more alluring than the sexy vampires that she is growing up with!!!

6:13 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Thanks Andrea. I have another question- does she like other monsters or vampires? Or is it only Twilight?

my little nieces love Twilight but tend to like anything scary too. I was just wondering

6:52 PM  
Anonymous Andrea Williams said...

Bertena,
Kaitlin, my daughter, tends to like anything scary. She tells ghost stories with her friends, and loves to watch scary movies (if we let her). She is really into Twilight, but that is probably because I am always reading the books, watching the movies or listening to the cd's. Oh and of course, she thinks Edward is cute!!

7:56 PM  
Anonymous Lori Baker said...

I feel like I am among friends and I must share my secret...I'm not a fan of the Twilight series. Now while this may be a shocker to everyone, it can't be as shocking as it is to me.

When I think of vampires, I think of Jean Claude (the early LKH books), Betsy the vampire (Davidson), and even Kisten and Ivy (Harrison).

I'm anxious to read The Vampire Shrink...what an interesting twist.

Way to go Bertena, you've given us much to think about. :)

8:41 PM  
Blogger Cassandra said...

Hi Bertena, Hi Lynda!

The idea of the loner, the outsider who is also a bad boy trying to redeem himself, is incredibly romantic. Add the fangs and it becomes more than romantic, it becomes HAWT! lol.

Personally, I think it's built into our feminine psyche to fall for that kind of hero, and age be damned. So no matter what kind of monster thrills future generations of women, I think the basic qualities will apply.

Lynda, your answer is Bryce. But no need to enter me, sugar. I've got your books and loved them all. ((hugs))

C.C.
The Midnight Moon Cafe

9:28 PM  
Blogger Cora Zane said...

Oh my, I love me some sexy vampires... The first vampire I remember while growing up was Frank Langella. He was scary, yes, but I thought he was also mysterious and handsome.

That was the 70s, though, and a lot has certainly changed about vampires since then. Thankfully, they no longer wear bellbottoms or sideburns. ;0)

I think there will always be a fascination with vampires because the theme behind their existence in many ways mirror timely human desires: to find love, sate our lust (whether seen as shameful, something to be concealed, or what-have-you), and to seek our own personal immortality.

I don't necessarily think the vampires our daughters and granddaughters will write or read about will be the same creatures we know now. For example, hundreds of years ago, in some cultures, vampires were believed to suck blood through a victim's nose! Yikes! *_*

Looking back on vampires in literature and movies, vampires tend to go through cycles of being horrific and romantic, interchangeably. I can only imagine the multitude of variations, changes, and manifestations vampires will undergo over the next generation. BUT, I can say that if I'm still around then, I want to read about them in all their new forms.

That was a big long post I didn't intend to put y'all through. Sorry! Vamps do that to me. ;0)

10:00 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Lori- feel free to speak here. We all love vampires of one sorts of another.

Depending upon my thinking that day is how much I like Twilight. Overall it is good and I used to get really excited about it but not so much. I am hoping Eclipse will be better tomorrow night.

True Blood is hard to watch too because I have read the books and keep hoping Alan Ball will stick more to the books but he doesn't. It almost seemed like the last book she wrote was tailored more to the movie

see here we go again- another new topic

11:34 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Cassandra- welcome! nice to see you here. Congrats too. For those of you that don't know Cassandra's blog- Midnight Moon Cafe made the top blog list on my Paranormal Literature Page. Thanks for stopping over here.

and I agree - those fangs - so the symbol of the phallic- is sooo hot plus being a good bad boy really does help

11:37 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Cora Zane- if you look back through the blog you will see that vamps do us all that way:)

Yes the trends go up and down. The late 1960's Dark Shadows and Anne Rice's book- Interview with the Vampire in the 70's- yes I said 70's and as you noted Langella in the late 70's revived the vampire from death since the Hammer Films in the early 1930's when they were still dark monsters.

It's hard to think that Dracula was only written in 1897. Only 113 years old..John Polidori's Vampyre was written at the beginning of the century and Varney the Vampire: Feast of Blood was written in 1845...before Stoker made vamps famous..just a little history

11:45 PM  
Blogger Lynda Hilburn said...

Chelsea B: Thanks so much for dropping by! I'm glad you enjoyed the excerpts.

Mary: You're such a sweetie to tell me you like my books. I appreciate the support!

Andrea: Nice to meet you. Thanks for coming by.

Lori: I hope you like The Vampire Shrink. Don't feel bad about not liking Twilight. Luckily, there are enough great vampire books/movies to satisfy anyone's tastes!

Hi, CC: I love the Midnight Moon Cafe! Thanks for stopping by to comment. Thanks for the sweet words.

Cora: Frank Langella's version of Dracula was a turning point for me. He added a layer of sensuality to his relationship with Mina that hadn't registered with me previously. That was the first time I really got the emotional component of the story. Thanks for commenting!

Off to work . . .

7:22 AM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Wow.. no posts today..ok guys..come on pass the word to your friends and have them come on over.

also here is the link for my review of Eclipse- Check it out-

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-12968-Lexington-Vampire-Examiner~y2010m6d30-Eclipse-the-best-Twilight-movie-yet

I have to say that Emmett was my favorite vampire in this movie then Alice then Jasper

2:40 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

"Do you think the vampire will be too tame for our daughters, and they will have to look for a bigger and badder monster to satisfy their needs?"

The vampires that I love are not tame in the least! The bigger and badder the vampire, the more I love them! I love Spike, Lestat and Dracula - you can't get badder than them. Although I enjoyed reading the "Twilight" books and watching the movies, those tame vegetarian vamps just don't do it for me. They may be nice to look at, but they don't make my motor run.

Barnabas Collins is the first vampire I fell in love with and as a child, I thought he was very scary. Now that I'm older and rewatching the "Dark Shadows" series, I realize Barnabas is a little like Edward Cullens - much too tame.

The 2nd vamp I loved was Barlow from Stephen King's "Salem's Lot" - talk about a bad vampire!

So the answer to your question, Bertena, is NO - I don't think vampires and other supernatural creatures will ever become too tame. There is always going to be the bad vamps and weres in the "Anita Blake" series by Laurell Hamilton and "Southern Vampire Mystery" series by Charlaine Harris - just 2 of my favorite paranormal writers out of many.

The answer to the 2nd portion of your question is also NO - children don't want anything to do with what their parents loved, so I think they may be on to some other craze by the time they hit their teenage years.

Great article, Bertena!!

And for Lynda's question: "What is the name of the bad vampire who threatened Kismet in her office?"

That would be the vampire Bryce.

12:04 PM  
Blogger Bertena Varney said...

Bobbi

Thanks for stopping by. I know there is something about the bad boys that get you going. Not to give away spoilers of the movie but Emmett was awesome and you could see the dark side of him if she had written a little more in.
and the back story of Jasper was very sad and showed him more bad but the vampire who if you have read the books and then watched the movie that did great with revenge and showed no mercy was Rosalie... this movie was definitely not as light but I could see how Myers could have made it really really dark if she had wanted.

thanks for stopping by and for all of your support- in all ways

12:11 PM  
Anonymous Lori Baker said...

...picking up the thread on True Blood...that's another series that I never really got into. I read the first one, but none since. There are so many though, I'm thinking I should try another one for grins and giggles. :)

You're right Bertena, there are so many different flavors of vampires, how could we not like them?!

5:57 PM  

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