Thursday, January 27, 2011

Vampires should die... oh wait a second...

Vampires have been done to death... or have they?

Personally, I'll read just about anything. I'll read vampire stories and I don't think I'll get tired of reading them any time soon. And if you walk through a bookstore, you'll see vampire books everywhere.

That said, am I in the minority here? Are people sick of reading vampires stories? Or are you still reading them?

I've written a few short stories about vampires but not a novel. I'm trying to decide if I should write some more vampire shorts or shorts involving selkies. I'm leaning toward the vampires considering that one of the main characters in Champion of Valor is a selkie.

Which short stories would you be more like to read - vampires or selkies? Oh, I should mention that the vampires are more traditional vampires - horror, not romance. These vampires are creatures of the night. I vant to suck your blood and leave you to die kind of vampires.

14 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I prefer the more traditional vampires or stories with a horrific slant. Near Dark, Blade, 28 Days of Night - that sort of thing. (Sorry, only movies come to mind at the moment.)

Anonymous said...

I'm not tired of vampires yet. Maybe the ones of a sparkly nature.....LOL. I love a vampire story, especially one with a twist. :)

N. R. Williams said...

I enjoy some vampire stories, and I know I should know, but I don't know what a selkie is?

That's my two cents.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, fantasy author

Sophia said...

I think 'the market' is getting pretty saturated with vampires. Just look at all the book-to-TV shows on at the moment. Maybe less so the kind that eats people instead of wanting to be friends/lovers.

I'm not a short story reader but with selkies at least you're not fighting against every other vampire story to be heard, so that would be my suggestion. Plus, if you have a selkie in your novel your short story could act as a sort of tie-in, demonstrating aspects of that world/culture/physiology.
- Sophia.

Cherie Reich said...

I still love vampires, both horror and romantic. In fact, my novel Virtuoso has vampires in it, but they lean a little more towards bad creatures than I really want to be with you.

As for short stories, vampires are cool, but I bet there aren't that many short stories out there about selkies. I'd love to see more of those.

Colene Murphy said...

I LOVE vampire stories but I just haven't been in the mood to read them for a little while. I think they are one of those great things that will always come back around. You know? Some ideas are fads that will be hot for a while and then fade forever but vampires have a boomerang quality.

Colene Murphy said...

* And you should write whatever the heck you want to write!

mshatch said...

I'd love to read something new and original with vampires but Colene is right; you should write what you want.

Unknown said...

Vampire stories are starting to revert to the old ways - just look at The Passage and American Vampire. I think there is a great market for more vampire stories and shorts make for a easy read. Selkies are good too but not everyone knows what a Selkie is so you'd have to do some explaining which can drag down a short story where everyone knows what a vampire is.

Lola Sharp said...

I still love a GOOD vampire story, but I do think the market is pretty saturated. But, with a fresh twist, written well, there'll always be a market.

Write what you heart wants to write.

Hugs,
Lola

Golden Eagle said...

I don't mind vampires (although I am a little disturbed by the blood-sucking thing still) as long as the book is written well with strong characters, plot, and an interesting setting. Basically, as long as it meets any other standards I might use for another kind of novel.

Theresa Milstein said...

I guess it depends on the vampire story. I've written one but I feel it's atypical. Then again, it didn't sell. But maybe I gave up to early.

I'll read anything that has a good story and great characters. I didn't think I liked science fiction, but a couple of novels have proven me wrong.

LTM said...

I'm going on a year now of being completely vamped out... :D At the same time, I really liked Jessica's Guide and would probably still read something well-done. So write your story~ :o) <3

Carol Riggs said...

I have to admit, I've always been kinda "meh" about vampires, even tho I love fantasy, sci-fi, etc. (Altho I LOVED Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde.)

I read on a blog post somewhere recently about introducing a new twist to genres. Like, how steampunk came into being. Merging 2 dissimilar genres in a way that's never been done. I love the idea of being genre-bending and unique. Most plot lines have been taken, so being unique in OTHER ways is very cool!

Happy weekend!