Archive for the ‘Romance Vampire Novels’ Category

David A. Patrick, a student at Bethlehem High School for three years, finished his first novel in the summer of 2006 and published it the following year in the fall with iUniverse Publishing; he titled it Nero Demare and the Legend of the Vampires.

Patrick’s first horror novel was based largely off his own experiences except for any vampire encounters; however, he did face spiritual attack during the writing of this book. Family issues exploded enormously, ministerial duties swallowed his time, and the book was becoming far more difficult to finish. However, these problems compelled him to complete his writing so that the world could peer into the spiritual realm through the story of a young boy.

Seven-year-old Nero Demare believes in vampires and grows up admiring their mythical slayer, Duke Angtrav. But little does Nero know that he himself carries the bloodline of the vampire slayers.

Throughout his childhood, a mysterious man watches over Nero and saves him from a fleet of the bloodthirsty brethren, who take their orders from King Orthendarh, a master far worse than Dracula ever dreamed of being. Without Nero’s knowledge, this man continues to watch over him, knowing that the world will one day need Nero.

As he grows older, Nero learns that it is his destiny to save the world from the malicious clutches of the vampires. Vampires soon cower in fear at the mere mention of his name. But sinister forces conspire to condemn the entire world to darkness, and only Nero Demare can save mankind from destruction.

Nero Demare and the Legend of the Vampires is a fast-paced story of good versus evil and the battles waged by both sides.

This novel was written predominantly for gothic fans and other avid horror readers but only for young adults due to the graphic violence and mature themes.

So, not being into TV quite as much as most people, a friend had seen True Blood Season 1 on TV and she knew I loved vampires so she told me I had to get this series when it came out on DVD.  Well, I found a great price on a boxed set and I knew that I had to pick it up and look.  I read just the short synopsis on the back and knew that I really wanted to own this DVD set. Upon getting home I began to watch in amazement. 

I really can’t stand the stupid way that some films portray vampires, almost as cartoonish, characters that are not real.  What really drew me into this series and kept me coming back for more were the characters who were real and gritty and not like the monsters that you see in those 1930s werewolf, vampire, Frankenstein movies.  They were modern people living real lives.

Vampires are discriminated against and are openly vampires who drink synthetic blood as their way of fitting in. The same ideas that we have about the old movie vampires works against these guys too. They do need blood, but don’t have to kill for it. There is tons of synthetic blood available at vampire bars, and socializing too. Some people won’t accept them. Others want to jump their bones. There is plenty of dating between vamps and regular folks. This causes some interesting complications in life. The DVD set has extras that are a lot of fun to see. I always enjoy those little “making of” stories that you sometimes get. The bonus features have some juicy bits too. The books were just so likable that it was no surprise how good the show is.

It is the little things that really appealed to me. The girl is a waitress and has to deal with all sorts of customers. She gets visits and advice from fairyesque friends and avoids werewolves because they are some what grouchy among other things.I love to read, and the fact that they made one of my favorite stories into a series is just killer. You don’t have to be freaky for vampires to like it. If you thought Twilight had promise and wished you could have gone to school at Hogwarts then this is the adult series that you have been waiting for.

In the 1990s, the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a cult hit.  Based on an 1980s film with the same name, it attracted millions of viewers and ran for several years – despite its somewhat cliché subject.  Though its following was less-than mainstream (and that of its spin-off Angel even less so), it earned a place in American television and pop culture history, receiving critical acclaim for its use of vampires and demons as metaphors for the challenges of growing up.

After the era of Buffy came and went, many assumed that the theme of vampires, at least for a while, would disappear, too.  In recent months, however, these mythical creatures have come front and center.  From Twilight to True Blood to The Vampire Diaries, vampire-themed television shows and films have become all the rage.  More and more television watchers find themselves switching their high definition televisions to HBO to watch True Blood and flocking to theaters to see Twilight than ever before.  And while before, vampire-themed entertainment was somewhat taboo, today, it is more popular than ever.

What does this recent obsession with these creatures that have existed in myths and fairy tales for hundreds of years mean?  There is no clear answer.

A most obvious and perhaps correct answer is that this vampire rage is simply a fad.  With the success of the Twilight book series and subsequent films, it is easy to argue that many in the entertainment business simply jumped on the bandwagon in hopes of making a quick buck.  With the increasing popularity of satellite TV, television stations are competing harder than ever for viewers’ attention.  Knowing that the attention and interest of audiences has been piqued by the vampires of Twilight, writers and producers hope that similarly themed shows have a similar effect.  Much like the reality craze of the 1990s, the vampire craze may be nothing more than simple domino effect.

There are, however, other explanations.  Though vampires have recently reemerged with a great amount of force in media and entertainment, they have been a fixture of storytelling for hundreds of years.  Vampires appear in stories that date back hundreds of years ago.  The myths of wooden stakes, crosses, garlic and sunlight are drawn from tales told long, long ago.  Maybe, the inclusion of these blood-sucking creatures in our literature and cultures actually says something about us.

What, of course, the existence of vampires in our mythology could mean is tough to pinpoint.  One possible explanation for the current craze, however, could be linked to the reality of the world around us.  In a world that seems to be increasingly in crisis, mythological and incredible tales serve as an escape.  Vampires and demons serve as manifestations of the evils we face in real life – war, crime, poverty, etc.  We switch our HD TVs to these mythological shows in part to escape from often much darker realities.

When we tell stories about these creatures, demonizing them but also giving them depth and complexity, we also tell stories about ourselves.  Vampires will not be disappearing from satellite TV anytime soon, but that may be a good thing after all.

There, I said it.

His name is Edward Cullen and he’s the lead character in the book Twilight, the first in a series of four books (five if you count the most recent partial transcript posted online) written by Stephanie Meyer.

The story goes something like this – Bella, a Plain Jane high school student whose parents are divorced, moves to Forks, Washington to live with her dad. At Forks High School, she meets Edward Cullen, a beyond gorgeous fellow high schooler with pale skin, extraordinary physical capabilities and a slew of weird behaviors nobody can explain.

Readers of Twilight soon learn:

1.  Edward is a human-friendly vampire who “feeds” only on animals.

2.  He’s never been more attracted to anyone’s smell than Bella’s.

3.  He can read everyone’s mind but hers.

4.  He desperately wants to be with Bella but is utterly afraid he’ll hurt her, both physically and emotionally.

5.  He must protect Bella from non-human-friendly vampires, one who is particularly evil and will stop at nothing to kill her.

I’m embarrassed to admit I’m obsessed with the Twilight series. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I’m a 38-year-old married mother of three and that Stephanie’s books were written for the under-18 set, of which I am not officially a part. Or that I’ve been able to get nothing done around the house with my nose jammed in a Twilight series book for the past month. Or that I’m planning a night out with a host of girlfriends to see the Twilight movie premier on November 21st, while wearing a t-shirt that says “Bite Me”.

What in God’s name has gotten into me? Apparently, the same thing that’s gotten into the rest of the worldwide female population I suppose…young and (ahem) old alike.

I hear the millions of visitors to Entertainment Tonight Online, upon seeing the Twilight movie teaser broadcast, subsequently crashed the popular entertainment show’s website due to an influx of online traffic in the hours following the broadcast.

Everywhere you look and listen – on TV, on the radio, in print and on the Internet, it’s all about Twilight. Up until a few days ago, the movie’s promo people were busy running full-blown, full-page Twilight ads front and center on the home page of MySpace.

In just three short weeks since posting Twilight Layouts to SpaceGravy.com (http://www.SpaceGravy.com) a social networking design website, they’ve become the most popularly-downloaded designs the company has offered in its three-year history.

Many of my friends, who are also in the over-30-married-with-children crowd, have read every book, are heading to the movie premier on the 21st and have fantasized on more than one occasion about falling “unconditionally and irrevocably in love” with Edward.

So what gives?

Is Twilight so popular because it’s all about angst-ridden forbidden love? God knows how enticing angst-ridden forbidden love can be.

Are women just generally obsessed with a dark and profoundly romantic love story?

Is Edward’s appeal so appealing we can’t get seem to get enough?

Do we secretly wish to be damsels in distress, waiting for our knight in shining hemoglobin to swoop in and rescue us?

Have we used our fantasies about Bella and Edward (Edward in particular) to escape our otherwise uneventful lives?

Does Edward’s love for nondescript, run-of-the-mill Bella make other nondescript, run-of-the-mill ladies believe there’s a remote chance someone like Edward could fall in love with them too?

Or is the seemingly unattainable love between Bella and Edward so magnetic, we can’t seem to tear our page-turning selves away from what happens next?

Who knows?

All I know is that I love Edward the Vampire. And in my warped little desperate housewife mind, he loves me too.

Offering an absolutely stunning fantasy novel about life, death, family and growing up, Neil Gaiman doesn’t seem to be bothered by the fear for death and the dark that repels people from visiting graveyards at night. He doesn’t even consider that death and fear shouldn’t be themes for a children’s book. In his best-selling novel, “The Graveyard Book”, Gaiman combines the charm of life with the macabre of death creating a delightful metaphor of childhood.

Presenting the graveyard as a sanctuary from danger and reflecting the boundaries between the graveyard and the living world, “The Graveyard Book” starts with the murders of a husband, wife and daughter that are already accomplished when the story begins. The fourth member of the family, an 18-month-old baby, escapes Jack, the mysterious knife-wielding killer, and toddles to a nearby graveyard.

Following the baby’s scent, Jack enters the graveyard. Although he is sure the baby is there, still he cannot trace him. Confused and disturbed, he tries to understand what a baby boy would do in a graveyard at night and all of a sudden he decides to leave the graveyard and take the downhill street. Convinced that he had mixed the scents, Jack heads off.

The graveyard’s inhabitants, a vampire, a witch and the ghosts of the dead, save the boy and nurse him. A ghost couple, Mr. and Mrs. Owens, adopts him and gives him a name. As Bod - the short for Nobody Owens – grows older, he gets used to the dark, learns the secrets of the graveyard, receives the Freedom of the Graveyard and learns his strengths and weaknesses.

Scared that Jack would return for him, Bod learns how to hide in plain sight and decides to stay at the graveyard, quiet and unreachable, until he realizes that all his accomplishments have no value in the world of the living. So, then he decides to confront the enemy.

Bod is a pleasant character. Although he feels lonely, he knows that his graveyard friends love him. Possessing great courage for his age and knows how to think properly, Bod grows up in maturity and good judgment. His education comprises both of Renaissance humours and Victorian manners, but also of how to fade, slide and dream-walk. The characters that surround Bod are also wonderful with their distinctive behavior and characteristics and all together they induce to the reader the norms of a graveyard.

Great writing doesn’t have to be pompous. Meticulously balanced between mystery and revelation, “The Graveyard Book” is a masterpiece of children’s literature. Ranging between hunt and meditation, triviality and craziness, this brief, spicy adventure has mystery, stimulation and insight in equal doses. Gaiman’s excellent writing and Dave McKean’s illustrations offer that little extra something that makes “The Graveyard Book” a book of quality, atmosphere and fantasy. Mc Kean’s drawings, without being frightening, reflect the physical differences between Bod and the inhabitants of the graveyard. The boy is depicted as a solid person, while the other characters are rather ethereal.

“The Graveyard Book” is an outright appealing story that is skilfully narrated through an amusing cast of ghostly characters. Gaiman conveys the message of freedom even if this is exercised among gravestones and creates an almost homey atmosphere. Readers focus on the scary and unreal story of Bod, but Gaiman’s writing is so expressively sincere that readers are carried away in a magic world. This contradiction between fear, mystery and magic makes “The Graveyard Book” a haunting prose.

“The Graveyard Book” will be adapted for filmmaking and directed by Neil Jordan, the Irish Academy Award-winning director.

Stephanie Meyer captured the interest of reader’s when she authored the novel and series Twilight which quickly made its way to the New York Times Best Sellers’ list. The novel tells the tale of vampires and romance. The main character, Isabella Swan or Bella, falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen, when she moves to a new state from her hometown in Arizona. Stephanie Meyer is an award winning American author who continued writing the Twilight series with New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. She is a fan of writing for young adults in the fantasy, romance, and science fiction genres.

The success and many award recognitions made the novel a great inspiration for movie makers. The novel was adapted to film in 2008 and was directed by Catherine Hardwicke. She has also worked on award winning films such as Thirteen, Vanilla Sky, and The Nativity Story. The movie starred actors Kristin Stewart and Robert Patterson. Just like the novel, the movie also received numerous awards and worldwide recognition. It won almost every award it was nominated for at the MTV movie awards, and won: best movie, best male performance, best female performance, best fight, and best kiss. If you haven’t seen the movie, you can tell just from the awards won how great the film adaptation of the novel is.

The Twilight series can now add to its resume, in addition to award winning novel and movie that it is being written as comic books. More specifically, it will fall under the graphic novel category which is a type of comic book. Entertainment Weekly reported that Young Kim will be the artist for the graphic novel, and that Yen Press will be publishing the series. The characters in the graphic novel are being drawn to look more like anime characters rather than being depicted how Kristin Stewart and Robert Patterson looked in the movie. According to an article on EW.com, Stephanie Meyer will be playing a large role in the production of the comic book, and will oversee all the panels being drawn. There hasn’t been a scheduled release date for the graphic novel, but it is definitely in the works. 

As you can see, Twilight has transformed from print to movie and now back into print as a graphic novel. People are wondering if the fans will be receptive the graphic novel because of the anime style which it’s being created in. The novel and the film adaptation were very successful, so comic book readers will have to wait and see if its success will continue.

Heroines always go home with a vegetarian.  But they dream about the bad guy.  Why is that?  They’re safe with their hearts’ desire but their body’s lust pushes them out of their comfort zone and makes the story that much more interesting.

Now, that vegetarian isn’t always a vamp.  Vegetarian = someone who won’t bite our heroine (at least…his bite won’t turn her into a vamp!)  But that bad boy is always a vamp.  And he always really, really wants to nibble on the heroine.

Two wildly popular series, Twilight and True Blood, have this down to a ‘t’!  Bella is our heroine and even tho Edward repeatedly puts her in danger, she never falls for Jacob, the vegetarian.  Sam, Alcide, Quinn…Sookies’ veggie list goes on and on.  But first she’s with vampire Bill and then Eric catches her eye and won’t let go….I can’t wait to find out what Sookie gets into next!

Even The Vampire Diaries follows this “forbidden fruit” story.  Stefan can’t stay away from Elena and Elena SHOULD fall for Matt, the best friend who has been around forever and is clearly her perfect match….But Stefan and Damon are right there in the way.

Clearly it’s lust for the unknown.  The vegetarian is our constant…he’s always there to pick up the pieces.  He’ll always love you and always support you and will take you back no matter how many times that stupid blood-sucker breaks your heart.  And somehow, in every story, our heroines’ life is perfect and then the bad guy shows up and sows a seed of discontent…and we’re off and running!  But I guess it wouldn’t make much of a story if there wasn’t discontent.  Who likes to open a book that says “and they lived happily ever after.  THE END” on the first page?

A book around teen boy dying next to cancer? Fiction?All I know about this book is that there is an 18 year old boy who is diagnosed next to cancer and he tells no one, not even his parents. He lives life to the fullest and get the girl he wants before he dies. I know the cover had a picture of…A book just about loneliness?I need a book that’s considered a classic (like something by Oscar Wilde, Virginia Woolf, etc.) that’s main theme is roughly speaking loneliness or solitude or reclusion, anything along those lines. Can anyone name a few titles, please?

Some of my favorite Paranormal Romance series (That are all WAY better than Twilight):Rachel Morgan by Kim Harrison, Sookie Stackhouse by Charline Harris, Anita Blake by Laurell K. Hamilton, The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice.

How many people in this world dream of becoming a vampire after reading Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga?  How many girls fell in love with Edward Cullen’s fictional character which of course made Robert Pattinson’s image an instant vampire hottie? Many of us think its crazy yet the endless question of ‘What if’s’ and sincere wishes that these mythical creatures do exist is far from being wiped out.

So let’s say vampires are real. What is the first thing you’ll say when you come face to face with a vampire? Would you ask him his name or will you be scared to say anything at all? Would you run as fast as you can without looking back or stay and pinch yourself to know if you’re awake? There’s really nothing I can come up with but thousands of question.

And when you become a vampire, what’s the first thing you’re going to do? Would you hunt down and kill your enemies? Would you become a “vegetarian”? Do you want to see the world? Just like Bella, are you willing to give up your family and loved ones or opt to turning them like you instead? What if you’re not strong enough to resist your thirst for human blood? Will you become a monster and justify your nature? Will you be able to find some friends? Will you be ready to face that world if it might not even be close to what you have dreamed of? Have you ever thought that you might not exactly become what you expect like Stephenie Meyer’s description in her books? Would you still want to become one if vampires do live in coffins at night, burns in the sun and does not posses angel-like beauty after all? Not to mention you’d live like that forever, literally. I’m pretty sure you’d think twice, thrice, maybe more? Alright, that’s a little bit of an understatement, I guess. These are just some of the few crucial things to consider though since vampirism spells i-m-m-o-r-t-a–l-i-t-y and immortality means eternal boredom and loneliness if it wasn’t what you wanted. Worst if you have nothing to live for. At least, Bella has Edward.  Your mind might be clouded with eagerness for infinite damnation, power and beauty to think clearly. Isn’t this a little bit shallow and self- centered motive to crave for this kind of existence? Obviously, it is. We all know that the quest for eternal life is as old as our history and the main reason is the love for oneself and power. Now tell me, why do you want to become a vampire? That’s right, the three basic reasons; immortality, beauty and power. You may already have decided what to do with all these situations or the attitude of crossing the bridge when you get there was the best option you can come up with.

But then again, I can’t stop people from believing that it is maybe, just maybe possible. Besides, this world we live in is full of mystery. Phenomenon of unexplained events and creatures or beings for that matter still lingers around us; which makes life more amazing. These little wonders give human minds something to work on to, right?

As everybody can imagine Transylvania is all about stunning scenery and terrific places. Everyone knows and fears Dracula; still everyone wants to travel to Transylvania.  Start packing without any worries. Most of the tours are guaranteed to depart on the dates given, as Transylvania Live do not insist on a minimum number of bookings before departure.

Add turtlenecks, garlic and scarves to the top of the packing list, muster some courage, and summon your sense of adventure. The ultimate adventure awaits in a distant land where a 15th-century ruler terrified all who dared to challenge his ways.

   All along the Transylvanian way, the terrifying touring unfolds against a backdrop of some of the oldest forest and unaltered land in all of Europe. Transylvania shrouds itself with thick quilts of old pine, projects the Carpathian mountains’ stark peaks and then soothes its visitors with natural mineral spas.

A Vampire’s Lineage   The vampires caricatured for silent films, best-selling novels, cereal boxes and even “Sesame Street” all descended from Vlad III Draculea, a Romanian prince who reigned in the 15th century. The prince earned the nickname “Vlad the Impaler” for the merciless ruler’s gruesome method of doing away with enemies. His given surname, Anglicized as “Dracula,” is derived from the word meaning either “dragon” or “demon” in his native tongue.   Irish writer Bram Stoker drew inspiration from Vlad the Impaler for his novel “Dracula,” published in 1897. The book’s antagonist, a vicious Romanian count with a thirst for young blood, rises from his coffin bed and masochistically preys upon British newlyweds Jonathan Harker and Mira Murray. Decades later, the iconic vampire gave actors, including Bela Lugosi, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and Gary Oldman film roles they could really sink their teeth into.

Retracing Dracula’s Tracks   If they dare, travelers on the Dracula trail can follow the vampire prince from birth to burial. Vlad Dracula entered this world in the Transylvania town of Sighisoara, noted for one of the region’s few walled fortresses. The house of Dracula’s birth, marked with a modest plaque on the door, now multitasks as a restaurant serving Romanian cuisine and a small museum of medieval weapons used during Vlad’s rule.   Although Castle Bran is strongly associated with Vlad Dracula, the foreboding edifice actually has the weakest historical ties to the Impaler. Perched at the apex of a narrow, climbing road near the city of Brasov, the massive stone building clearly inspired the cinematographers and animators who worked on just about every “Dracula” film project.

 What remains of Vlad Dracula’s real abode can be found about 50 miles northwest of Bucharest near the town of Tirgoviste. The fortress ruins are almost inaccessible, requiring a climb of 1,500 steps up a mountain that overlooks a river basin. The castle served Dracula as a refuge from advancing enemies as well as a place to watch their demise. Among the palace ruins, visitors can make out the overlook tower from which Vlad viewed impalements that took place in the courtyard.   Vlad the Impaler’s own finale happened by assassination, after which his remains are said to have been entombed in the Snagov monastery just north of Bucharest. The 16th-century monastery, accessible only by boat, is situated on an island in the middle of a lake. Romanians still revere the ruler who defended their nation against the Turks, and continue to honor Dracula with a portrait and vases of fresh flowers near his resting place.Dracula Tours in Transylvania

Departing from Bucharest from June till September Vampire in Transylvania, the Awarded Dracula Tour offers a 7 days trip back in time, following Jonathan Harker’s footsteps but revealing the genuine historical facts and places. Includes the unique medieval citadel of Sighisoara – Vlad the Impaler’s birth place, the Saxon city of Brasov, Bistrita Citadel, the royal Peles Castle, the mysterious Bran Castle as well as Dracula’s Castle in Borgo Pass. In addition, the special activities prepared, all along the itinerary, bring out the essence of the genuine Transylvanian Folklore.

A 3 day Vampire in Transylvania short break including Killing of the Living Dead magical ritual is also available based on the low cost flights to Transylvania.

The itinerary of the Vampire in Transylvania tour was a major source of inspiration for Travel Channel. Transylvania Live has assisted them on a documentary based on Transylvanian dark legends.

A 12 day Halloween in Transylvania – Dracula Tour is offered in October with departure from Budapest, Hungary. It includes an unforgetable Halloween Party in the citadel of Sighisoara, Vlad Dracul birthplace.

More details on www.visit-transylvania.eu, www.visit-transylvania.co.uk, or www.dracula-tour.com .