Poll about vampires

mdin · Apr 12, 2010

This evening I was discussing this with a friend, and I thought I'd put this here. I'm very curious about the results.

Mara · Apr 12, 2010

The vampire craze has pretty much been going on since Bram Stoker.

mscelina · Apr 12, 2010

Yep. A pre-contracted co-writing series with my publisher. First book done, second book out in a few weeks, final book due in October.

And, quite frankly, I really like the story and the genre. Although there's a lot of vampire overkill out there, I'd like to think that our vampire tale which is original to its Gothic roots is entertaining. It was entertaining enough to warrant a top ten P&E Readers Poll finish this year.

The industry may think that vampires are done, but obviously the readers don't agree.

maxmordon · Apr 12, 2010

mscelina said:
The industry may think that vampires are done, but obviously the readers don't agree.

Hey, if they're getting done it means people are buying it.

mdin · Apr 12, 2010

It seems obvious the vampire genre is still pretty popular. What my friend and I were discussing was actually the evolution of the vampire from a "monster" centered firmly in the horror genre to more of a mythical creature, one where most modern vampire authors consider themselves as writing urban fantasy.

Nivarion · Apr 12, 2010

I've got vampires. They aren't main characters but they do make an appearance.

I like my vampires strong, cunning, and heartless. Especially when the MC is on the menu.

Or when I have an MC slowly descending into vampirism. Hmmm, might be a plot there.

Talihashi · Apr 12, 2010

I love vampire stories, I really do but with my writing I'm trying to be more unique. As in not using vampires, elves, fairies, dwarfs, dragons and whatnot.

defcon6000 · Apr 13, 2010

I had an idea for a futuristic version of a vampire, but no outline or anything solid at the moment. Just an idea.

I kinda wish robots would become the next craze.

Zoombie · Apr 13, 2010

My WIP has no vampires. It has demons made of trash, the souls of serial killers bound into their implements of murders, animated corpses of car-crash victims fused with the wreckage of their cars, psychopathic invisible orthodontist, cthulian nightmares from the depths of our collective subconscious, and a race of bugs that lives beneath the sewage system who are the real source of 95% of the cocaine on the market.

But no vampires.

CScottMorris · Apr 13, 2010

First novel has no vampires. Second novel(in outline stages) *kind* does. I have a parasitic race of intelligent nematodes feed on blood. When they get big enough, the hosts blood is not enough, and they need to feed. The host vomits up a length of the worm to feed. An obscene, toothed proboscis. But they don't act like vampires in any way. Not immortal. They don't have any of the standard vampire powers.
From what I am reading on agent's blogs right now, the market is rather tired of vampires. Or any other supernatural beings attending highschool and falling in love with humans.
Anybody have any ideas what the next big thing will be?

Cathy C · Apr 13, 2010

Vampires will never go completely out of the reader's consciousness. They were "over" when Tanya Huff was selling. They were "over" when P.N. Elrod was selling. They were "over" when Laurell K. Hamilton was selling and now they're "over" because Twilight is selling. And yet . . . they're STILL selling.

We sold a horror/romance vampire (our Thrall series) with vampires of a totally new sort years ago when vampires were "over". We nearly made the short list for the Bram Stoker award. Two votes shy.

And yet . . . notice my BRAND NEW series below, starting in June. Heh...

FOTSGreg · Apr 13, 2010

My latest story accepted over at Bewildering Stories has vampires, but it's not the main theme (PI who attracts weird cases is the central theme). The Light Of An Oncoming Train was described by a reader down in SYW as a story about a guy trying to find something which also has vampires in it.

They're not the sparkly type either (though the story has its fair share of humor).

SPMiller · Apr 13, 2010

Mara said:
The vampire craze has pretty much been going on since Bram Stoker.

Or earlier.

I'm no fan of vampires, but there has been strong demand for well over a century, and I can't see that changing anytime soon.

Chris P · Apr 13, 2010

The only SFF I've written (and all of them shorts) are either technology or spirit world. Vampires have never appealed to me, not even Bram Stoker's or Anne Rice's. In all honesty, when I started reading Twilight I thought Meyer was spoofing the genre (I mean, come on, the main character is named Bella!)

Adam · Apr 13, 2010

I have an epistolary novel in the works about the life, death and undeath of a vampire. Very rough at the mo, but it'll get written eventually.

Shadow_Ferret · Apr 13, 2010

Yes. My WIP has some vampires in it. They aren't the focus of the story however.

BlackMagic528 · Apr 13, 2010

That would only be the cornerstone of my writing . . . .

cryaegm · Apr 13, 2010

Nope, not anymore at least. People might think they are vampires in my novel, but they're really not. The next novel I want to write (not the second one in my sig), I plan to have vampires, or at least an incubus, but it won't be like Twilight or what people (girl teenagers) consider to be vampires now.

Lydia Sharp · Apr 13, 2010

I had to vote "no" but that's a little misleading. I have a sci-fi novel (ideas only, nothing actually written yet) on the back burner that has an MC with definite vampire-ish traits. I don't know when I'll ever get to it, though. It's not one of those stories I feel I *must* write anytime soon.

jennontheisland · Apr 13, 2010

No.

I've never had any desire to write vampires (mostly since I write romance and fucking a dead thing that sucks blood is just icky).

I didn't mind reading Anne Rice, up to Memnoch, and I suffered through Dracula in school, but beyond that, not even in my reading pile. Never really had any interest in them at all.

Anaquana · Apr 13, 2010

Zoombie said:
My WIP has no vampires. It has demons made of trash, the souls of serial killers bound into their implements of murders, animated corpses of car-crash victims fused with the wreckage of their cars, psychopathic invisible orthodontist, cthulian nightmares from the depths of our collective subconscious, and a race of bugs that lives beneath the sewage system who are the real source of 95% of the cocaine on the market.

But no vampires.

Holy crap! I so want to read this!!

Yes, there are vampires in my series. They're the big bads in my first book and the third book features a race of vampires created by the government.

geardrops · Apr 13, 2010

I do not care for and have never cared for vampires. They don't particularly interest me as a concept. Though Bram Stoker's DRACULA was a pretty good read.

DeleyanLee · Apr 13, 2010

I'm waiting for vampires to go back to cursed, blood-sucking monsters who no mortal in their right mind really wants to have sex with.

I want them to have that aura of danger and mystery and evil and all the things that made them cool to start with.

But, then, I often want that with all the creatures and monsters that have been Hallmarkanized in the last 40-50 years.

dirtsider · Apr 13, 2010

Not at this point. I wouldn't rule them out but my current WIP doesn't seem to be heading in that direction.

And I don't consider the Spark-lites to be vampires.

CScottMorris · Apr 13, 2010

Vampires will never go away completely. They are part of our collective dreams/nightmares. They are powerful, mysterious, dangerous, and sometimes sexy.
But their popularity waxes and wanes. There will alway be vampire novels. But right now, the market is saturated with urban romances featuring vampires and werewolves. Publishers are buying fewer vampire novels, because fewer titles are selling. People are tired of vampires. It's called 'market fatigue'. I said fewer novels, not zero novels. Vampire stories will always sell. And if you can sell one now, then you can be assured it's a good one. I speak not from experience, of course. I am not published yet, and have no vampires in any of my work. However, I spend a great deal of time informing myself about the state of the publishing world/process. Take what I say with a grain of salt.
Also keep in mind, there are still more vampire books being sold than steam punk, which is what I write.

Poll about vampires

Do any of WIPS or manuscripts from the past 3 years feature vampires?

Yes. I have vampires or creatures people might consider vampires.

No. I do not have vampires.

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