Friday, January 18, 2008

Sex and The Vampire

Sex and the vampire.

I’ve written a couple of vamp novels and have to say for me that whole bad boy appeal just makes my toes curl. I adore the tall dark and non-human aspect of the vamp lover. And while my vamps are quite comfy in their skins and never lament about not being human, they do have their own brand of angst of emotional wounds.

Recently I started writing another vamp book and plan for it to be a book 2 in the Savannah setting I created for All I Need. In writing it, I've added quite a few other elements such as werewolves and another yet unnamed species of dark and mysterious. (g)

This whole process made me think about vampires and their kindred ghouls and what exactly about them appeals to us as women and as readers.

The biting aspect during the heat of sex can be sexy if conveyed just right. Then there is the vulnerability of the vampire. He's tall, he's dark and oh so sexy, but he can be destroyed by something so simple as sunlight. Does that bring out the protective instinct in us? Or does it just keep him from being godlike in his immortality?

Could it be the fact he outlives everyone he'll ever know, humanwise that is? Or does his immortality appeal to us and capture our imaginations? He's died and been restored as a non-human so in effect he's defeated death. Power over life.

So what elements of a vamp book grab you? Is it the dark side struggling to be good, but just not able to make it? Is it the rescuing of a wounded hero? Or is it just the eternal lure of the bad boy?


Sandra said...

I fall for the tortured hero, regardless of his species, everytime. Canine, feline, vamp, it don't matter, I fall for them. They always make me want that HEA for them so badly. I get tears in my eyes all the time whenever I read a tortured hero book.

Or a bad boy. Man, those just make me want to drop and assume the position. hehe. I really love those books where in the end, he is still a bad boy, just with one woman (or man) on his arm and in his bed. You may be able to remove all but one woman (or man) from the bad boy, but you can never remove the bad boy from him. Make sense?

Ciana Stone said...

For me the best vampire tales are those who allow us to see behind the mask and into the heart of a person who knows that unless they establish relationships only with their own kind, the people they come to care for will pass out of their lives in what is a relatively short amount of time for someone who is virtually immortal. To try and understand the fear of allowing his/herself to love, and the restrictions it will place on the amount of caring this being is capable of is the key element for me.

And yeah, the bad boy element IS a nice seductive temptation :)

Nicole Austin said...

I love tortured heroes. For me the allure a little of all the things you mentioned. Then add in that if they turn a woman she doesn't really ever age. That's a definite enticement. Make him a bad boy too and I'm in lust! *g*

Julianne said...

Ahhh, the bad boy. Who doesn't love a bad boy and all that he can offer sexually? I think I'm drawn to the possibilty of the bite during sex and the meeting of each other's mind to experience and feel what the other is feeling. To know that the vamp is immortal but also just wants to love like anyone else makes me want to melt.

Sally Painter said...

Hey Sandra,

Yeah it makes a lot of sense. The bad boy is just part of who the hero is. Thank vampire bats!

Sally Painter said...

Great insight Ci. I think you hit on the aspect of immortality that gives such angst to vamps. Loneliness.

Sally Painter said...

Nic! I love the way your mind works.

Sally Painter said...

Jules, I find that 'bite' aspect pretty sexy too when conveyed right.

Sandra Cox said...

Sally, you and Ciana have been me-me'd. Details available on blog:)