Vampires with Napoleon? by Diane Scott Lewis

October, the month of Halloween, or All Hollow's Eve, the one night when the division between the living and the dead is at its thinnest. People would set a place at the table for their lost loved ones, hoping to see them one more time.

Ghosts, witches, and vampires. Many believe these entities really exist. The legend of vampires is usually traced back to the Romanian nobleman, Vlad the Impaler, in the fifteenth century. A man who took care of his enemies in a brutal manner-his name says it all. Next, in 1818, when Mary Shelly wrote her famous novel, Frankenstein, another participant, Dr. Polidori, penned his short work of prose: The Vampyre. Of course, Bram Stoker's Dracula, published in 1897, made the creature who rises from his grave and lives off human blood famous.

Throughout history similar creatures were mentioned in fables. A Saxon grave in England had men, women, and children, nailed down to prevent their rising and walking among the living. Though that sounds more zombie than vampire.
It was thought if you wore garlic around your neck you'd be protected. A wooden stake through a suspected vampire's heart was supposed to kill him. But since vampires are already of the 'dead', perhaps it's to keep him in place in his coffin. Vampires could also change into bats and fly where they wished, to await their next victim.

Vampire, 1895, by Edvard Munch

Years ago I'd written a novel set on the remote, South Atlantic island of St. Helena. I had so much research about the oddities of this isolated rock in the ocean, its strange flora and fauna, and the man who made it famous: the exiled Emperor Napoleon. After Waterloo, and Napoleon's surrender, the British wanted him as far away from Europe as possible.

An old map of St. Helena

What better place than an island at the bottom of the world. An island of mystery. Discovered by the Portuguese in the 1500s, St. Helena was eventually taken over by the British as a way-station, a place to drop off their sick sailors, and obtain more water and food for long voyages.

I came across a novel written about vampires involved with Napoleon's army in Russia. For my novel, A SAVAGE EXILE, to add conflict and danger, I decided to include a few vampires. In Napoleon's entourage and ones already on the island, who is hiding a dark, dangerous secret? The seductive Countess de Montholon? His officers? Napoleon's devoted valets? The Emperor himself? And who is the monster rumored to live and hunt for prey in the hills? People with strange bite marks on their necks are found murdered on the island. The beautiful maid Isabelle, who serves the feckless countess, is determined to find who is responsible before another person is killed.

 Isabelle is likable heroine, and I enjoyed watching her make the best of a bad situation. Anyone who enjoys historical romance with a paranormal twist might want to check it (A Savage Exile) out.
~ Long and Short Reviews

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Find out more about me and my writing on my website: Dianescottlewis

Diane Scott Lewis lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty puppy.