Virtual Authors Book Tours Guest Post: Meredith Allard

I'm welcoming Meredith Allard to the blog today. Meredith is the author of The Loving Husband Trilogy. I reviewed book 1 Her Dear and Loving Husband here

My Favorite Literary Vampires

For A Chick Who Reads

Meredith Allard

After a student of mine handed me Twilight in 2008, I started reading vampire books for the first time. I read a lot of vampire books in those days. After I started watching True Blood I was inspired to write my own vampire story, The Loving Husband Trilogy. I enjoyed a lot of the vampire books I read, so it’s hard for me to narrow down my list of favorite literary vampires. But I do have a few who stand out from the crowd:

1. Louis from Interview With a Vampire by Anne Rice

There is something about the inherent humanness of Louis that drew my attention from the beginning of this story. As he’s telling his tale in the interview to the young reporter, he’s conflicted about his life as a vampire, and I liked that about him. I liked that he hadn’t given himself over entirely to the animal-like vampire nature. Lestat is a fascinating character, but I’ve always liked Louis better. Louis strikes me as reluctant to entirely let go of being human, which is perhaps why he needed to tell his story. I think this book is where I first realized that a vampire might have a conscience. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my own vampire, James Wentworth, is also conflicted about his vampire nature.

2. Dracula from, well, Dracula by Bram Stoker

To be fair, Dracula himself is a meanie so in that respect I don’t like him all that much. But he’s so smooth, so suave, so enigmatic, and the way he sneaks around to accomplish his dastardly deeds is rather entrancing, to me and to the characters who share their blood (willingly or not) with the aristocratic vampire. I also loved Stoker’s storytelling, the way he tells the tale using newspaper clippings and diary entries. You can see how that influenced the Loving Husband Trilogy because I also use fictional primary sources to help tell the tale—in my case I used blog posts and television shows.

3. Bill from True Blood

Since the Sookie Stackhouse stories originated in Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampires books, I’m considering Bill a literary vampire. My Loving Husband Trilogy exists because of Bill (or Stephen Moyer, the actor who plays him, whichever comes first). There’s an episode early in the first season of True Blood (I think it’s episode four, but don’t quote me) where vampire Bill is giving a talk at Sookie’s grandmother’s church. Someone shows Bill a picture of his family from his human days before the American Civil War, and Bill becomes so emotional at the remembrance of them. That’s what first inspired Book One in the Loving Husband Trilogy, Her Dear & Loving Husband. Here’s this vampire who has everything humans only dream of—extraordinary strength, immortal life—and yet he becomes so emotional at the sight of the ones he loved as a human. That’s where you see the connection between Bill and my vampire, James.

4. Edward from Twilight

I’m compelled to give Edward a nod because if I hadn’t read the Twilight books I wouldn’t have read any of the other vampire books I mentioned, and I wouldn’t have started watching True Blood. And then the Loving Husband Trilogy wouldn’t exist, the thought of which makes me very sad indeed. So thank you, Edward.

Publisher Copperfield Press (April 1, 2011)
Series: Loving Husband, #1 (trilogy)
Category: Paranormal Romance, Fantasy, Some Historical
Tour Date: September, 2013
ISBN: 9780615472607
Available in: Print & ebook,  268 Pages James Wentworth has a secret. He lives quietly in Salem, Massachusetts, making few ties with anyone. One night his private world is turned upside down when he meets Sarah Alexander, a dead ringer for his wife, Elizabeth. Though it has been years since Elizabeth's death, James cannot move on.
Sarah also has a secret. She is haunted by nightmares about the Salem Witch Trials, and every night she is awakened by visions of hangings, being arrested, and dying in jail. Despite the obstacles of their secrets, James and Sarah fall in love. As James comes to terms with his feelings for Sarah, he must dodge accusations from a reporter desperate to prove that James is not who, or what, he seems to be. Soon James and Sarah piece their stories together and discover a mystery that may bind them in ways they never imagined. Will James make the ultimate sacrifice to protect Sarah and prevent a new hunt from bringing hysteria to Salem again?
Part historical fiction, part romance, part paranormal fantasy, Her Dear and Loving Husband is a story for anyone who believes that true love never dies.

About Meredith Allard:
Meredith Allard has taught creative writing and writing historical fiction workshops at Learning Tree University, UNLV, and the Las Vegas Writers Conference. Her short fiction and articles have appeared in journals such as The Paumanok Review, Wild Mind, Moondance, Muse Apprentice Guild, The Maxwell Digest, CarbLite, Writer's Weekly, and ViewsHound. She is the author of the Loving Husband Trilogy, Victory Garden, Woman of Stones, and My Brother's Battle (Copperfield Press). She lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. Visit Meredith online at www.meredithallard.com.
Meredith on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormeredithallard
Meredith on Twitter: https://twitter.com/copperfield101
Meredith on Google+: https://plus.google.com/101687256587444508026/posts?hl=en