When people learn I write about vampires, they often ask what kind of vampires I write about. They want to know if I write about monstrous vampires or attractive vampires. Monstrous vampires are the ones closer to the folkloric roots of vampires. These are the frightening wraiths that stalk the night. Examples might include Count Orlock from F.W. Murnau’s film Nosferatu, the mindless, zombie-like creatures in Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, or even the blood-drinking Martians of War of the Worlds. Attractive vampires are those like Lestat from Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, Bill Compton from Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series, or the vampires in the film Only Lovers Left Alive.

In addition to these two broad groups, I’d argue there are hybrid vampires. These are vampires who blend in with people and might even be attractive until they’re ready to feed and their true, monstrous nature is revealed. Examples would include most of the vampires in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the vampires in Quentin Tarantino’s From Dusk Till Dawn, and the vampire’s more monstrous forms in Francis Ford Coppola’s film Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

For the most part, I tend to write about attractive vampires. By attractive vampires, I don’t necessarily mean they are gorgeous or smoking hot. They can simply be charismatic and have enough likeable traits that the reader cares about what happens to them. One big reason is that I can easily believe that such creatures could move about among humans and interact with human society. One aspect of vampires I like exploring is their immortality. If the vampire isn’t too obviously monstrous, they can explore how society and technology have changed over the centuries by being a participant in those changes.

Also, just because a vampire is attractive, can move among humans, and interact with them doesn’t mean they aren’t a monster. One of the most honestly horrific moments in my life happened a few years ago. As a writer, I go to a lot of conventions to promote my work and I meet a lot of people. There was one person I met who seemed particularly nice. We had similar taste in movies and books. We sought each other out at conventions. We even had dinner together at a social event. This was one of the people I really looked forward to seeing at events. Then one day, I saw this person’s face on the news. They had been accused of murdering two other people some years before. My stomach literally just dropped and it still scares me to this day that someone I thought was a great person could also have been capable of murder. Writing about attractive vampires allows me to explore this kind of character.

I also write about monstrous vampires. They’re the ones that scare you and jump out at you in your nightmares. It’s always fun to write purely evil bad guys and sometimes I use monstrous vampires to fulfill that role. However, sometimes monsters can be tragic figures. By their nature, vampires usually start as humans. Did they become monsters of their own volition or were they forced into a monstrous existence? Exploring why that happened and what they do about it can be fascinating.

My latest novel features both attractive and monstrous vampires. It will officially release in just a few days on February 13, but you can preorder the print book or find links to preorder the ebook here: https://hadrosaur.com/OrdealScarletOrder.php