I'm an Unabashed Vampire Girl by Vivien Dean

When it comes to paranormal creatures, I am a vampire girl all the way. Oh, sure, I like to read about shifters and the occasional zombie, but point me in the direction of a bloodsucking, morally ambiguous, could-be immortal, and I start salivating at the possibilities.

They don't even have to be romantic figures. I cut my teeth on Salem's Lot, and Brian Lumley's Necroscope series was my horror crack in college. It's the inherent sensuality they evoke that gets to me, even when they're monsters. Because what's more sensual than having someone's mouth on you, sucking out your very life?

I have my favorites. Gary Oldman's Dracula. Spike from Buffy. Mitchell from Being Human. Too many to list, really. They tend to be tortured types, too, flogging themselves for past sins almost as often as they end up making a poor choice that only warrants more self-flagellation. Or they go the other way, completely unrepentant and glorying in their lifestyle choices.

So when it came time for the no tell motel pax, I flashed on how unsafe motels would be if you were a vampire in need of sanctuary. Anyone could cross that threshold, both good and bad. That spawned the idea of Sutter being on the run, and what it would take for him to survive, and thus, Max, my ex-Marine who's now stuck in the backwater town he grew up in, was born. Letting their romance germinate from those beginnings was a real delight, because it had been too long since I'd written a vampire story of my own.

A lot of times, vampires are portrayed as naturally dominant, and while there are certainly those in Sutter's world, I wanted to write about something different. I went with the belief that a naturally submissive human wouldn't necessarily change his preferences as a vampire. Sutter gets off on making others happy, though his sire certainly crossed a line and ultimately drove him away as a result. When he meets Max, he's in a completely vulnerable position, which evokes every protective instinct Max possesses. The relationship that evolves becomes very much about what they can give the other, on every level. That, to me, is what romance is all about.

Who are your favorite vampires? I'm always looking for recommendations!

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Threshold by Vivien Dean is now available at Amber Allure.

If you'd like the chance to win the entire pax collection, just leave a comment on today's post. On Saturday, a winner will be picked at random from all the comments made this week on the blog. Comment on all, and that's multiple chances to win!