Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Mary Hughes on Vampires, Sausages and (shudder) Pistachio Fluff

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Actually, I asked Mary to tells us about her version of vampires and how the Meiers Corners vampires are different. As a longtime fan of all things Meiers Corners, I was delighted with her post.


Thank you, Nancy, for having me here today!

 What makes your vampires different from the others out there?

Keeping it real.

I can’t claim to have read every vampire book or seen every movie or show. But there are three ways I know of to “make” a fictional vampire—physically (like the plague in I Am Legend), magically (like the witches’ spells in The Vampire Diaries), or morally (divinely cursed like Dracula). Mine are the physical variety. The underlying mechanism has yet to be revealed, but there’s one noticeable aspect that sets my v-guys apart.

My vampires don’t drink blood for their stomachs—they drink it for their veins.

Like humans who can’t make their own blood, my vampires must have regular transfusions (taking their transfusions by mouth).

I like this a lot (especially for romance) because it’s hard to have a real relationship with someone who looks at you as a giant barbequed chicken. My humans are donors, not dinners. Even better, vampires only have to drink about three times a month (just often enough to replace dying red cells).

Now, I do have to say that my vampires have many similarities to those out there. They’re strong, fast, rich, highly sexual and fall in love hard with one person. There’s a group of savvy warriors united by the mysterious Ancient One to protect humans.

But real physiology grounds my vampires, no matter how whimsical the plots get. The blood they drink goes directly into their veins instead of their stomachs, which is frankly more authentic to me because the stomach digests blood. Mini-rant here—feel free to skip to the next paragraph :). That’s one reason I have a problem with turning rituals where the human drinks blood. How effective can blood be, churned up with gastric acid? Assuming it stays down, that is. In humans, blood is an emetic—drink enough and you, um, you know. Email me if you don’t :).

Of course, because my vampires don’t use blood for food, they have to get their energy another way. It’s not revealed yet, but there are indicators they get it from being buried in the soil (perhaps like plants do) honoring the “native soil” needed by Dracula, and the vampires-sleeping-in-graves legend.

The physical differences also have a real social impact. Those who successfully make the change keep their human intellect and morals: silly, smart, wise; good or bad. So on one hand we have the Iowa Alliance living in harmony with humans, and on the other we have the Chicago Coterie trying to take over the world. Some vampires don’t make the change successfully. They lose what makes them human, becoming pure vampire hunger uncontrolled by their rotting human brain. There’s a nice tension between the good guys protecting humans, the bad guys using them as minions, and the rogues mindlessly hunting them.

Lastly, some vampire characters are developed ignoring popular lore. Lore may not be real, but popular means a lot of people understand vampires in terms of the legends. I try to honor all legends that are physically based. My vampires are hurt by silver. They get a buzz from running water. Sunlight fries them. They do have reflections, but no reflection is part of the divinely-cursed vampire mythos (no soul). After being undead long enough, they can turn their bodies into mist; longer yet and they can shapeshift. These all have real reasons tied consistently into the physical nature of my vampires. Which will get revealed eventually :)


Biting Oz Blurb

Real vampires do musicals.
Biting Love, Book 5
Gunter Marie “Junior” Stieg is stuck selling sausage for her folks in small-town Meiers Corners. Until one day she’s offered a way out—the chance to play pit orchestra for a musical headed for Broadway: Oz, Wonderful Oz.
But someone is threatening the show’s young star. To save the production, Junior must join forces with the star’s dark, secretive bodyguard, whose sapphire eyes and lyrical Welsh accent thrill her. And whose hard, muscular body sets fire to her passions.
Fierce as a warrior, enigmatic as a druid, Glynn Rhys-Jenkins has searched eight hundred years for a home. Junior’s get-out-of-Dodge attitude burns him, but everything else about her inflames him, from her petite body and sharp mind to what she can do with her hip-length braid.
Then a sensuous, insidious evil threatens not only the show, but the very foundations of Meiers Corners. To fight it, Junior and Glynn must face the truth about themselves—and the true meaning of love and home.
Warning: Cue the music, click your heels together, make a wish and get ready for one steamy vampire romance. Contains biting, multiple climaxes, embarrassing innuendos, ka-click/ka-ching violence, sausage wars and—
shudder—pistachio fluff.



Having enjoyed every visit to Meiers Corners, I look forward to meeting more of the quirky residents and the hunky, hot vampires who love them. this series bring a whole new meaning to hot stuff!!!




20 comments:

  1. I want to thank Mary for being here, and apologize for the mess Blogger made of the post - it was perfect last night and every night since I set it up, but the day it goes live.....

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    1. Hey Nancy! Thank you so much for having me here today, and letting me gab on about my vampire world-building :) I'm thrilled to wrap up my Author's Angels tour at the blog of a great friend who's been there since the beginning!

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  2. Good guest post! There is a lot of lore about vampires and I think it's neat to combine different combinations of it and yet try to keep it "real". Thanks for the giveaway

    junegirl63 at gmail dot com

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    1. Maria, hey! Thanks so much for your kind words and untiring support! You make cyberspace a lot nicer :)

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  3. It looks great Nancy. Great post and I love your vampire world. Its real and hilarious!

    Marika
    maw1725@gmail.com

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    1. Hey Marika! Oh, thanks so much for the love! There's a lot of background research and planning that is hopefully transparent to the reader but makes the Biting Love reading experience richer. Thanks for your support!

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  4. I am so going to read this book!

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    1. Hi Delphina! There's a free short story prequel, Oz Bites, if you're interested in dipping in a toe. Although I do have to say Nixie is a bit more outspoken (some would say mouthier) than Junior :)

      http://www.amazon.com/Oz-Bites-ebook/dp/B008MAJ3JE/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1
      https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/85246
      http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/oz-bites-mary-hughes/1105649454?ean=2940044733084&format=nook-book

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  5. I've always enjoyed your books - not just for the connection factor but that you have such a quirky sense of humor and you seem to revel in it!

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    1. Hi Leanna! Thanks for your nice words! In real life I try to be a model of decorum. LOL. I don't always make it but I try. But on the page, well, who wants to read that? So my inner quirky gets to come out in the sunshine and play :)

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  6. Loved the first one. I really like the twist about your vampires drinking blood for their veins. Thanks for the giveaway. Do you have a set number in the series or is it continuous?

    mythic021@gmail.com

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    1. Hey Vanessa! Thanks for the love :) I'm loosely configuring the series around the four bad guys. I say loosely because I originally planned a quadruple trilogy (12 books) but then I got the opportunity to write The Bite of Silence--I really wanted to tell Twyla's story--and that blew that, lol. I don't know how long it will take but I will have an end to the series when the Ancient One meets the boss monster.

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  7. I havent had the chance to read Biting Oz yet but so far have LOVED all the others. Can not wait to read it.

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    1. Hey Cherie! Thanks so much for reading them all--and for the love!

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  8. I haven't read any of your books but they are now going on my wishlist. I loved your blog and its got me really interested in reading your stories!

    susanmplatt AT hotmail DOT com

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    1. Hi Susan! Oh, I love hearing that you enjoyed the blog--I thought maybe I'd gone into too much detail. It's a button topic for me :) Nancy was nice enough to indulge me and I'm glad she did! You should know that the first books are more focused on the relationships (hot), the humor, and the action, but we'll be seeing more of the worldbuilding in future stories.

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  9. These books are freakin' awesome! Just bought at Samhain and will be reading soon!

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    1. Shelley, thanks so much for your awesome support!

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  10. I have them almost all tbr, looking forward to reading them. thanks for the insights.

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    1. Hi Mary Jo! Thanks for your kind words! The books are mostly hot vampires, humor, and action--but in Biting Oz the characters just the start of finding out about the things I discussed here :)

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