Betsy the Vampire Queen

Today I have the privilege of having MaryJanice Davidson as my guest blogger.

For any of you that do not know MaryJanice Davidson, she is the bestselling author of the Undead series starring Betsy the Queen of the Vampires. However, that is not her only series. She also has a series about a mermaid named Fred and another with were wolves. In total, MaryJanice has over sixty-five published books. Personally I feel MJ's books should carry a warning label: CAUTION THIS BOOK CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT MAY BE HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH...YOU MAY HURT YOURSELF LAUGHING. I am not kidding, here is a woman who puts her car in a ditch, but has you laughing about it. If you don't believe me check out her blog: http://maryjanicedavidson.blogspot.com/ I had to stop reading MaryJanice's books in public, because people give me the strangest looks when I just start laughing aloud and they aren’t in on the joke.

Without further ado, here is MaryJanice to tell you how Betsy came to be.

I came up with Betsy because I got a little tired of running across the same basic vampire in the Romance section of the book store.  It seemed like the vampires were always male, always gorgeous, always rich, always well hung, always lurking or sulking in dark alleys, and always bitching about what  a burden it was, being eternally rich and young and hung.  I remember thinking, "Where are the plumber vampires?  Where are the accountant vampires?  Why are they always moody Scottish lords?"  And Betsy was born from that speculation.  She's kind of my anti-vamp:  she's not ancient, she wouldn't be caught dead lurking in an alley or sleeping in a coffin ("Oh, that is just guh-ROSS!"), and she routinely handles crosses and holy water.

As for Betsy's love of shoes, I wanted to give the character a habit that, again, you normally wouldn't run across in a more traditional vampire story.  An administrative assistant who has to save for months and months to be able to buy just one pair of designer shoes...that was a character I could relate to.  I figured a lot of us could...who *doesn't* know what it's like to have to put money aside and save for something we really, really want but just don't need?

What's funny is that most readers assume I'm into designer shoes, too, when I couldn't be more indifferent.  I'm a Payless girl:  buy one pair, get the second half price.  You can't beat that!  Also, I refuse to drop $350 on shoes that I'll just end up getting mud or dog shit on, anyway.  (I'm a small town girl, and we have two dogs.)

There are sneak preview chapters from UNDEAD AND UNDERMINED at MJ's blog and Facebook page, if you want to find out what's coming down the pike for Betsy and the gang.

Thanks MJ for taking the time out of your busy scheduled to give us a little insight on your vampires that walk among us.

                July 5th.
     Undead and Undermined 

Stop by tomorrow and hear how Maggie Shayne came up with her vamps.

Vampires among us.

Have you ever wondered how the vampire myth came about or why we can’t put it to rest? Perhaps it started much the same as any bogymen, to scare people and therefore keep them in line. Or perhaps the exaggerated story of someone’s fear. But no matter how it started vampires have been around for centuries.

So what do vampires look like? Depending on what culture you are talking about they range from a red eyed monster with green or pink hair as in old Chinese folklore to perhaps the Greek’s, where it is depicted to have had the upper body of a woman and the lower body of winged serpent. Or maybe the Malaysian culture that describes it as a head with entrails. Most of us think more about the Eastern European description of the vampire of a corpse that feeds on living blood. Personally, I prefer the newer version of a creature with everlasting beauty that can enthrall you if you look into their eyes.  Even better, those gorgeous beings that don’t need our blood at all and can live in total harmony next door. 

It has been said that even a myth is based a bit on truth. So is it possible years ago, when someone had a disease known as cutaneous porphyrias, fear and superstition took over? This would attribute to ones paleness and the inability to go out in the sun. If someone with cutaneous porphyrias where to go into the sun their skin would blister and swell, hence the burning in the sun theory. Could this be where it all started? 

Vampire lore dates back thousands of years and spans almost every culture around the world. As legends go, the first vampire was supposedly Lilith, Adams first wife according to old Hebrew Text. Others figures associated with vampirism included Vlad Tepes Dracula also known as Vlad the Impaler for his blood thirsty of impaling his enemy letting them suffer until they died. The Countess Elizabeth (Ezrabet) Bathory also known as the Blood Countess whom tortured and killed young girls bathing in and drinking their blood. 

Through the ages the descriptions change depending on what country or culture, but a few things always remained consistent, the need for blood and until recently they could not tolerate sunlight. It was Bram Stoker novel, Dracula, that actually gave way to the stereotype for vampires and the movies where vampires were given fangs, so they could drink blood with finesse. 

In today’s society, we now have thousands of people claiming to be vampires. Drinking blood, refusing to go out in daylight and some have gone as far as getting fang implants. The internet carries site after site for vampires. So do we actually have vampires walking among us?

Make sure you stop back Thursday to see how Betsy of Mary Janice Davidson's Undead series came to be.

Do you really know your neighbor?

Could your neighbor, teacher, or friend, be other than what you think they are?

Well if you listen to many of today’s authors, they very well could be.

According to Lindsey Sands, Karrelyn Sparks, Maggie Shayne and many others, your next-door neighbor just might be a vampire, even if you see them during the day. Let’s see, they portrays them as doctors, authors, even business owner. Then there is Christine Feehan who has a popular band of Carpathians. Or what about Laurell K. Hamilton who has weres teaching our children? Also Lora Adrian and her breeds.  Nalini Singh who has changelings and phy owning major businesses. And then there’s Katie MacAlister with her dragons  and demons to contend with. Oh and let’s not forget Alexis Morgan’s Paladins and Alyssa Day’s Atlanteans. And of course you have Karen Moning describing the Tuatha de Danann as soul sucking monsters and me portraying them as sensual beings that walk among us.

One could fill a page with authors and how they depict vampires, weres, fae, dragons and the rest. But where do the ideas for these creatures come from? Much of it is from folklore.  

It is said that myths are based on a portion in truth. So, is it possible we really do have vampires, were animals, dragons, fae and all the rest living next door? Is that guy next to you in the elevator or who passed you on the stairs really who you think he is? If one passed you in the street, would you know? When you hear that owl hoot or that wolf or coyote howl are they the real thing or could they be your neighbor? 

How do you feel about that?

I much prefer the way many of today’s authors depict vamps and weres. I don’t think I would mind them living next to me if they didn’t drink me dry or eat me for lunch. 

Over the next few weeks, I will be writing about some of that folklore as well as trying to get some of these authors to tell us how they came up with their idea for each creature. But in the meantime how do you feel about possibly having one of these creatures living next door?