Thursday, August 4, 2011

The H&W Gang Have a Campfire Chat About Vampires by Jess Haines


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by Jess Haines
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Hello there!

Jess Haines here.

I’m the author of the urban fantasy H&W Investigations series (HUNTED BY THE OTHERS, TAKEN BY THE OTHERS, and the upcoming DECEIVED BY THE OTHERS.

I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to some of the cast—Shiarra Waynest, the lead character, Sara, her business partner, Chaz, her on-and-off werewolf boyfriend, Arnold, a mage who lends her a hand, and Alec Royce, a vampire Shiarra meets in the course of her adventures.

Shiarra and her friends are going to talk about vampire folklore.

Over to you, Shia!

~*~

Arnold: I hope someone brought marshmallows.

Sara: I’ve got some. Plus chocolate and graham crackers. Let’s make with the s’mores!

Shiarra: I brought some Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Smirnoff Ice!

Chaz: I thought you said you were picking up beer?

Shiarra: No, I said alcohol. These aren’t as nasty as Bud or Miller, and I didn’t think it would be a good idea to get drunk around the vampire.

Royce: Afraid I’d take advantage, Ms. Waynest?

Shiarra: Always.

Sara: Wouldn’t be the first time.

Royce: I beg your pardon?

Arnold: Hey, c’mon. Let’s get on topic, here. I want to hear the vamp’s take on the Alp and the Blutsauger.

Shiarra: Um. The what?

Royce: They are both Germanic legends. It was believed that a shapeshifting vampiric creature called an Alp would prey upon women in their sleep, causing them nightmares and sucking blood from their breasts.

Chaz: Dude! Seriously?

Sara: That’s just sick!

Royce: I have my suspicions that the legends were started by Weres rather than one of my kind, as I have yet to encounter one of us who is capable of shapeshifting.

Chaz: Oh, that’s right. Blame it on us.

Arnold: Well, the legends did say that an Alp would keep its hat on no matter its form. Weres usually tear their clothes in the process of shifting, so it makes sense that a hat would stay on if they took an animal form.

Chaz: Don’t you start, now.

Shiarra: Chaz, just… don’t.

Sara: Ugh. Nightmares forever.

Arnold: You want nightmares? Look up the Krasue sometime. Actually, on second thought, don’t.

Shiarra: O-h-h-h-kay. What about the other one? The blood-what?

Arnold: Blutsauger.

Royce: Why the German legends?

Arnold: I’ve got family in Munich.

Royce: I see. Well, regardless, I’m not finding this conversation particularly stimulating.

Shiarra: Poor you. Well, I like the modern fairy tales. Especially in movie form. Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt were hot in Interview.

Sara: So was Kiefer Sutherland in The Lost Boys.

Arnold: The vampire chick in that movie was pretty hot.

Chaz: I liked Aaliyah in Queen of the Damned.

Arnold: That movie was such crap, though.

Chaz: Yeah, but did you see the outfits she wore? Smokin’.

Royce: Personally, I found that film too painful to sit through.

Shiarra: Offended by the way they portrayed vampires?

Royce: Offended by the horrific mess they made of the story, the acting, and the effects.

Arnold: Wow. Who knew the vamp was a movie snob?

Royce: Watch it, spark.

~*~

You can learn more about Shiarra and the rest of her friends in HUNTED BY THE OTHERS.

If you'd like a chance to win a signed copy of the book, see details below.

Visit me on the web:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
Fan Forum

Thanks again for having me and the gang over, Velvet!

~end

Guest post, The H&W Gang Have a Campfire Chat About Vampires, created for August Thrills-n-Chills event by Jess Haines, author of Hunted By Others
© 2011. All rights reserved.

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by Jess Haines
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--~ Book Giveaway courtesy of author ~--

Hunted By The Others
by Jess Haines

Win a copy of this book!

Open to all.

Offer ends: August 31, 2011

TO DO: 3 parts
Answer questions from Jess...

1. What kind of vampire folklore creeps you out the most!

2. Have a favorite obscure vampire legend? Tell me about it!

AND, leave your email (if I don't already have it)

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Contest has ended - winner is here

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~*~

* image source campfire

~!~ August Thrills-n-Chills schedule ~!~


20 comments:

  1. Hi Gang :)
    Well hi to almost everyone *whistles*

    Can't say I know any obscure legends at all. I just hail from the frozen north and we do not have any vamp legends at all here. I guess they all froze to death

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  2. 1) What vampiric folklore creeps MOI out the most, is the hairy palms (yuk) some were said to have :P

    2)Hmm - the only obscure legend I'm aware of is what is called 'the Judas Kiss' - where the original curse of vampirism was passed down the blood line of Judas as retribution for betraying Christ. In this scenario, the vamps are said to be red-headed (and oddly enough, there are other paranormal legends featuring red-haired progeny).

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  3. Oh, and better yet ... myself and all my siblings, etc are red haired Irish.

    I'd make a lousy vamp since I'm a vegetarian ;D

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  4. The vampiric folklore that creeps me out the most is compulsion! {shivers} The thought that someone could just look in my eyes and make me do anything is awful!!
    Unfortunately I do not know any obscure legends, although I have heard of The Judas Kiss which M.A.D. mentioned above!
    jwitt33 at live dot com

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  5. I think I have to agree with Julie that the compulsion is the creepiest. And I don't think I know any obscure legends.

    ruby95660[at]yahoo[dot]com

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  6. Now I want to know about the Blutsauger!!!

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  7. 1. What kind of vampire folklore creeps you out the most? Most ridiculously, the aversion to garlic. It seems too arbitrary it has to make you think what on earth: since garlic is sort of nature's antibiotics, does that make vampires human-sized scary-ass germs? Yuck!

    2. Have a favorite obscure vampire legend? I don't know if it constitutes as obscure, but I love Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla (a Gothic novella about a female vampire, it was written before Bram Stoker's Dracula).

    advakramer (at) gmail (dot) com

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  8. Hello there and greetings from Germany!

    1. The immortality of the vampires.
    How can anybody endure centuries of undead living. At first it seems temting, but after all the things that you could do over the years are done, it's sure as hell that at some point it gets boring...and what happens if you are bored through the years, even through the centuries...you some really dumb things (for example see Caligula, nothing made him really happy. So he sticked to excesses...)

    2. As a rpg player and a fan of White Wolfs' "World of Darkness", to which the splat "Vampire the requiem" belongs.

    There is a legend how vampires are tied to the funding of the city of Rome and how they steer their course of the city. It's really good...

    oathsworn75[at]googlemail[dot]com

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  9. The one thing about vampires is immortality I could not even think about living forever!
    I love reading about vampires and how every book I read their is something new about vampires I didn't know! Vampires are my favorite!
    tishajean@ charter.net

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  10. I think the vampire folklore that creeps me out is their ability to "shine" someone. That is control their thoughts.

    I don't know to much obscure vampire folklore, but I do know quite a bit about Vlad the impaler. That he was what influenced Stroker's story. I do know that they don't know exactly how many people he murdered but I have seen ranges up to the millions.

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  11. I really get mad at the uglies the mean vamps that are just not redeemable :) As far as folklore, I don't know if this is obscure or not, there is the story about the woman who bathed in virgin blood - now if that does not creep you out I don't know what will :) I may be wrong, because I have heard so many versions of this tale, but I believe is is based on a historical person - if anyone knows who that is I am curious :)

    Thank you for participating in this awesome tour and giveaway opportunity.

    dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com

    ReplyDelete
  12. 1. What kind of vampire folklore creeps you out the most! - Aside from the terrible things Vlad did. The digging up the body, cutting off the head, turning it around and the sleeping in dirt is pretty bad.

    2. Have a favorite obscure vampire legend? - I dont think I really know a lot of obscure ones. At least not that I can think of now.

    bacchus76 at myself dot com

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  13. 1. What kind of vampire folklore creeps you out the most! - Their immortality. I mean, if I were given the chance to live forever, but have to witness my friends and family leave me one by one and endure the pain, I'd rather die than being alone in this world.

    2. Have a favorite obscure vampire legend? - No, sorry.

    aikychien at yahoo dot com

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  14. I'd have to say the thing that creeps me out the most is the whole possibly turning into a bat or another creature thing. I mean come on stick to one paranormal. Bats are just the ICK! yuck yuck ahhh

    I don't have any obscure legends - heck most of what i know comes from old b movies and the current vampire books that are out there.

    tlabunski <at) gmail

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  15. 1. The sleeping in coffins and old crypts. Brr...
    2. I don't know any vampire legends, only what I've learned from novels and movies.

    spamscape [at] gmail [dot] com

    ReplyDelete
  16. 1. The Garlic thing, it's just so... weird and randome, I sort of want to know where this came from.

    2. I have yet to find a vampire legend that I respect beyond the original by Stoker...

    kimi142002 (at) hotmail (dot) com

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  17. The sleeping in coffins is the creepiest! If you are claustrophobic how does that work?
    Thanks for the giveaway!
    chickenherder@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  18. 1. Compulsion is the creepiest to me. I don't want anyone to have that type of power over me.
    2. I don't know of any obscure vampire legends.

    lillieblue613(at)gmail(dot)com

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  19. The blood sucking in general creeps me out.

    I don't have an obscure legend, but have loved reading the others in comments.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
  20. 1.) Creepiest to me is grave dirt, and also what's up with the aversion to sunlight?
    2.) I like the legend of Philinnion.

    ReplyDelete

 
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