Why I Love Vampires

Please welcome our Guest Author Tina Folsom.

Tina: Ever since I can think of, vampires have fascinated me. At first when watching Nosferatu, I was scared out of my skull, but when I saw Dracula (the Gary Oldman version), my feelings were entirely different. So I started to examine what I’m truly drawn to when I think of these preternatural creatures. Is it their strength, their superiority, or even their sexuality? Or is it something much more elemental, something much more at the heart of each human’s existence?

Mortality—I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m scared of dying. The thought that I’ll be gone one day, my thoughts and my mind vanishing into thin air as my body decomposes, has me hoping that soon the scientists will invent something that stops the aging process and has us live longer. I feel like bargaining: just an extra 20 years, please. And then I start thinking about the vampires. And it hits me: what attracts me to them is their immortality.

The attraction that lies within that one word is undeniable: immortality. It gives you the chance to see more than just a tiny slice of history. It allows you to be part of different eras, to experience the shifts that span generations. And to constantly change yourself. You can reinvent yourself with each change in society, live so many different lives, and experience everything that’s on offer. Who could resist?

Even in my relatively short life, I’ve seen the world change. When I grew up, there were no computers, and look at us today. Personally, I can’t imagine not having a computer. Plane travel has become common day. Most young people have never seen a rotary phone or used a typewriter. Imagine the changes a vampire would see: to go from a horse-drawn carriage to an automobile to a plane.

But this intimate look into history as a vampire isn’t all that attracts me to this creature. We probably all remember our first love. Who thought it would last forever? (*raises hand*) Yet, it didn’t last. But then later, we find our one true love and we think how could I have wasted all these years? I met my husband when I was already in my mid-thirties. Now we only have a relatively short time left. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know that we have eternity with our love, with our soul mate? A vampire has that. When he finds his true love he can say “I love you for eternity.” And mean it.

So maybe that’s what our fascination with vampires (or at least mine) is all about: our fear of mortality, and our wish to love and be loved for eternity.

And that’s why I write vampire romances: my characters will live and love forever.

I currently have two vampire series published: Scanguards Vampires (4 books out so far, book 5 coming at Christmas 2011), and Venice Vampyr (3 novellas out so far).

Links for Tina Folsom's books:
 
Yvette's Haven
 
Tina's Website
 
Tina's Romance Website

Please note this wonderful offer: Tina's first book in the Scanguards Vampires series, is currently available for free on Amazon. Check it out here: Samson's Lovely Mortal (Book 1 in Scanguards Vampires series)  This book is also free at the Apple iBook Store. Enjoy!!

And here’s an excerpt of Yvette’s Haven:

Kimberly’s constant chatter provided an easy background noise to drift off to. She couldn’t tell how long she was out, but it couldn’t have been long. Kimberly was still essentially telling the same story, or maybe it was a variation of it, when Yvette’s senses caught something else.

First, a grating noise reached her ears; it sounded like somebody was trying to pry an old door open, the rusted hinges providing the music fitting for a horror movie. The hairs on the back of her neck instantly stood sentry while she tried to get her bearings. Something was wrong about the sound. Disturbing.

Yvette sat up, her spine stiff and alert.

She trained her eyes on the door, but nothing moved there, and no sound came from it.

Crank!

There it was again. It came from the outside; that much was sure now.

Yvette yanked her head toward the window at the same time as a ray of sun burst into the room. She froze just long enough to feel a bite of pain from where the sun touched her arm.

“No!” Haven’s shout jerked her out of her trance as did another cranking sound. She finally realized what was happening: the fucking witch was prying away the plywood planks to let sunlight into the room, making good on her earlier threat!

“Shit!” Yvette yelled and jumped up, nearly colliding with Haven.

Panic struck her like a lightning strike, then she felt Haven’s hand grabbing her.

“Move!” Haven screamed and pulled her with him. She tumbled more than ran with him as he swung the bathroom door open and flung her inside ahead of him, the rays of the sun on their heels. She slammed against the sink before she heard the door close behind them with a loud thud.

Only a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling illuminated the tiny space which wasn’t any bigger than a six-person elevator.

Her heart raced and beat into her throat. Behind her, Haven’s breathing was just as erratic. When Yvette turned toward him, she didn’t even get a chance to thank him for his quick action, because his arms came around her instantly and pulled her tightly to his large chest. One hand on the back of her head, the other around her waist, he squeezed her against him.

“Oh, shit!” he gasped on an exhaled breath. “That bitch!”

Yvette swallowed hard, unable to form any words yet. The shock still sat too deeply in her bones. She’d frozen, even though it had only happened for an instant. She’d never frozen before.

Haven put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away a few inches. “Are you okay? Did the sun get you anywhere?” His concerned eyes scanned her body, the slight tremble in this voice only underscoring his worry.

Yvette shook off his hands. Having had her face pressed against his naked chest had been temptation enough. She needed to sever her contact with him before it was too late. “I’m fine. Thanks.” She wasn’t, but she would be.

He nodded briefly, then turned to the door. But he didn’t open it. “Wesley?”

“Yeah?” his brother’s reply came instantly.

“Take the blankets from the cots and hang the window with it. Make sure you get the sides as well so no light will filter through.”

“Okay.”

Then Haven turned back to her and crossed the one-foot distance that was between them. There was no getting away from him in the miniscule bathroom. His look was serious when he gazed at her, making her aware again of how much taller and bigger he was. “You can beat the shit out of me later, but right now I have to hold you.”

And just like that, he pulled her back into his embrace.

“What—”

“Shh. Not now, Yvette. I almost had a heart attack thinking you’d die right in front of me.

Her heart made a flipping motion as if somebody had installed a trampoline and was jumping up and down on it. This big, bad vampire slayer was worried about her. The man who’d confessed that he’d killed other vampires to avenge his mother had saved her with his quick thinking by pushing her into the windowless bathroom. And now, he was holding her in the tightest hug she’d ever found herself in as if something bad were to happen if he’d let go. A hairline crack appeared in the door to her heart as her next thought took root.
Haven didn’t hate her.