Suppose you meet a vampire at a party, and you know
he's one of the undead. Now suppose he asks you for a date. Would you say
(1) I never date vampires, (2) Let me think about it, or (3) Your place or
mine?
Within the last few decades, vampires have been
portrayed as real sex symbols, handsome and debonair. But it wasn't always
so. Centuries ago, people actually believed in vampires, creatures shown to
be ugly and desiccated. In eastern Europe, especially, people dug up graves
of anyone suspected of being one of the undead and drove a stake through the
heart or burned the corpse.
All of that changed with the publication of Bram
Stoker's "Dracula" in 1897. Now the vampire was portrayed as being more, well,
human. At the time of its publication, "Dracula' didn't garner the fame
that later years brought to the novel. Yet Stoker's novel set the standard
for vampires that would last for years.
With Anne Rice's publication of "Interview with a
Vampire" the bloodsucker underwent yet another incarnation, this time as a
troubled, introspective hero. And since then, we have seen an absolute
plethora of novels and movies centered around the undead. Now, we see the
vampire as a sexy, romantic hero, one any woman would die for.
In my contemporary vampire romance, "One More
Tomorrow" my heroine, Stephanie (Stevie) doesn't at first realize that the man
she has fallen in love with is a vampire. Imagine her shock when she finds out
what he is and that he's over one-thousand years old.
Here is a truncated version of Stevie's reaction
when she discovers that Galan, the man she loves, is a vampire.. . .
Galan sat down on the bed next to her, but she slid
away. "If only you knew how I wanted to tell you, how it hurt not to reveal
what I truly am."
"Yeah, I'll just bet that broke your heart."
"Dearest, you are breaking my heart now."
"You don't have a heart."
He nodded, pain and misery on his face. "My heart
is not like yours. But this much I tell you, and I beg you to believe
me. I never sought my vampirism. It was forced on my whilst I lay drugged
and unconscious."
"And you expect me to believe that?"
"No matter, it's the truth."
She had to be by herself. It was all too much to
take. If what he said was true--and she had to take him at his word--what a
horrible burden to bear until the end of time.
She raised a finger to catch a tear sliding down
her cheek. "You'd better go now, leave me alone. And I think--" Her voice
caught. "--and I think it would be best if we stopped seeing each other."
"You need time to get used to the idea. I'll
call you later this week."
"No! You don't understand. This is
'goodby'. I don't want to see you again."
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