What makes vampires sexy?
May 01, 2021 12:01 am
Old + superhero = vampire
A parliament of shapeshifting owls. A tiny corpse. A woman framed for murder.
When I wrote the Alternate Susan series, my goal was to create an urban fantasy that had no vampires, no angels or demons, no werewolves, and no humanoid fairies. The problem with this is that I really like vampires. Vampires are sexy and dark and mysterious.
So I broke down what it was that made them so interesting. First, vampires are old, which as an author means that I get to stick in elements of historical fiction without having to do truckloads of research. I made Paul a Baby Boomer who still looked like a young man because he’d been basically put into magical stasis for a few decades. He’s a bit backwards and old-fashioned, and this is sometimes charming and sometimes less charming.
Secondly, vampires are part of a secret second world with mysterious powers. You have guilds and camilas and houses and master vampires controlling weaker vampires. So I created the parliament of owls, and had Paul be a newer, weaker member of non-human but sentient predators who can shapeshift and disappear at will.
Thirdly, vampires are associated with darkness. This is why most of the Sunwards are owls. Because owls are merciless and silent killers who could absolutely kill a person if they set their mind to it. Owls are even cooler than wolves, in my opinion, and underused in urban fantasy.
I really loved the Sunwards and the character of Paul. One of the fun things about urban fantasy is that it lets me play around with race and identity and gender and a lot of other things I think about without getting too political. I love creating new societies and seeing how they interact with each other.
Mulberry Wands is the strangest and most creative novel I’ve written. You don’t have to have read Alternate Susan for it to make sense, though it will probably help. If you've read it, please write a review! Get it here.
Today's question: What’s a cooler animal: owls or wolves?
As a half-raven, half-woman shifter, Harper's very existence is illegal. Rumors of a hidden community of raven people draw her north, but she won't go without her brother. Available on Amazon.
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Gratuitous cat picture
This is Hades. The foster mom told us he was born on Halloween, so he is about six months old since it's now Beltane. He is noisy and incredibly affectionate and he loves to play fetch.