October, Halloween, and Vampires….
A Guest Post by Tamela Quijas
Hmmm, the mere thought is scrumptious, on all counts.
I never really paid attention to vampires prior to a few years ago. Up until about 2005, I had steered clear of the entire genre-inducing vamp. Honestly, did you ever look at the men from the helicons of Hollywood? Take a gander at the images of Nosferatu, Bela Lugosi’s Dracula, the vamps in Van Helsing, or even Mel Brook’s Dead and Loving It. You’re stomach will churn, you’ll clutch your pillow close, and you’ll close your eyes in horror. On the other hand, in Mel Brook’s case, you’ll laugh until you can’t breathe. Neither one is sexy or very appealing.
Granted, if I were male, I would have loved every second of breast revealing, fang gnashing, gossamer dressed creature of the undead. There’s a ton of buxom beauties in various states of undress in just about every horror film ever created. Remember Salma Hayek in Dust Till Dawn? I think she made a million male fans with one shot of her…ample assets.
Being female, the options were nothing more than gruesome, vomit inducing, and disgusting.
With the turn of the new century, Gerard Butler stepped into the role of Dracula 2000. Yes, I know, the movie was a total bomb but….bear with me, ladies….have you really looked at him as a vampire?
Damn! It was about time the cinema decided to put a HOT man in the leading role of the king of the undead!
So, 2005 sent that little spiral of hmmmm running through my mind. The undead male could be just as sexy as the female creatures of the night and just as lethal in his entirely rippling muscle, penetrating gaze way….
And it was nice to see one with a bit more of a toned torso than Gary Oldman.
Let’s fast forward to what inspired me to write about the secret world of blood and passion…
Blame it all on Mick St. John, CBS’ golden boy vampire from Moonlight. He was a vamp with a heart—hungering for blood and hating every moment of it.
What was it about Alex O’Laughlin that caused him to have millions of adoring fans?
It was those soul-searching eyes, an everlasting love that would endure eternity, and his deliciously wicked undead charm. Mick didn’t need to use any of his powers to change a person’s mind, to alter their perception of events. He was Mick…pure despite the evil curse and woman that had stolen his soul, repentant despite his damnation, and an all out good-looking good guy.
Yeah, that’s what I’ll call it…It was his charm, his finesse, and his outright humanity.
Did I happen to mention he was something else to look at? Smooth, elegant…goodness, the list could go on for hours! Just finding all the adjectives to describe him makes me wipe at my chin…LOL
So, like a million other star struck fans who watch rerun after rerun of Mick and Beth, I became addicted to the entire vampire legend. Before I knew it, my own vampires were spiraling from my overactive mind, and they were the type that made me cringe in disgust. Vampires could be a little bit more human in personality.
They could care, ache, and feel…
They could be filled with regret, longing, and a desperation that could last centuries…
Above all, they could love someone for eternity…
The Russian vampire Demetri emerged from the depths of those musing, inspired by Moonlight, seeking his own stalker in Blood of the Beast.
One tale led to another, as only vampires can do among mortals, and The Blood Chronicles were born.
Blood of the Beast and Blood Moon are available at 1 Place for Romance, All Romance EBooks, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Smashwords.
Tamela Quijas-Author