Underworld’s Hero

With the upcoming release of the latest vampire vs. werewolf film, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, I’ve been pondering my inexplicable affection for the first two Underworld films. By all rights I should hate them: at first glance they’re surface-intense, drama-light, filled with inconsistencies and missed dramatic opportunities. They use the tattered trope of sexy, leather-clad vampires and sexy, hairy-bodied … Read More

Steampunk bloodsuckers: Perfect Creature

As we near the April 2009 release date of my vampire novel Blood Groove, I’ll periodically discuss favorite vampire-themed books and movies, looking at what makes them special. One of the strengths of the vampire concept is that it can symbolically represent almost anything else. It’s been used to represent disease, nihilistic freedom and even the dignity of past eras. … Read More

5 cool things about Dracula

As someone whose vampire novel will be published in the spring (Blood Groove, from Tor Books, will be released March 31, 2009), I’m fully aware that the gold standard, the top of the heap, the absolute pinnacle of vampire literature remains Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. Without it, the vampire as a popular figure would have a very different image, … Read More

Interview: Fred Schepartz, author of Vampire Cabbie

I’ll be joining author Fred Schepartz at the Barnes and Noble store in Madison, Wisconsin’s East Towne Mall on October 27, where we’ll each read from our vampire novels. Mine, Blood Groove, doesn’t come out until next spring, so it’s a sneak preview; Fred’s Vampire Cabbie is available now. The reading starts at 7 p.m. Schepartz drives a taxi for … Read More

"I see you marrying a corpse…living in a grave…!"

As we near the April 2009 release date of my vampire novel Blood Groove, I’ll periodically discuss favorite vampire-themed books and movies, looking at what makes them special. It’s not every movie that can overcome the total miscasting of its titular character, let alone a title that is completely misleading. Yet 1943’s Son of Dracula, starring Lon Chaney, Jr., does … Read More