Sunday, January 3, 2010

The Use of Vampire Myth

Every author uses the mythology in a different way and we could debate the usage for many posts. We'll suffice it to say that each book is unique. One aspect that I found most relevant to this story was the use of a vampire's scent. During their initial meeting (pages 19-22) Eric emits an individual scent that seems to almost call to Angie. She is "lured" into ignoring the warning bells in her mind about what Eric is doing to her. Later she questions herself about her behavior and wonders if she was slipped some sort of drug. Each time they are together Angie notices Eric's scent.

Another "behavioral" quirk that Angie Notices about Eric is that he almost seems to read her mind. She often wonders if she is saying her private thoughts aloud. Eric doesn't use these things to harm her in any way and he doesn't seem like a vile vampire either. Both of these traits could easily be used for nefarious purposes and so it was nice to see them used for a nice vampire.

What is your favorite myth used in Once Bitten? Would it bother you if your boyfriend could read your thoughts or cloud your judgment? Do some myths fit better with good vampires or villains?

6 comments:

susan said...

I do not have a boyfriend who can read my thoughts but my husband of 46 years sure can. Today I turn 63 and early this morning he said to me. I know what you want to do today..visit with the authors and chat. Talk about knowing me. That is exactly what my plans were and I had not even said it out loud. susan L.

Cyd said...

The use of sunlight was my favorite myth used. It wouldn't bother me if my boyfriend could read my thoughts but I don't think he could keep up with my scatteredbrain thoughts.

Anonymous said...

Susan- So funny about your husband reading your mind! My husband and I have only been married for 11 years and I swear he knows me better than I do:)

Cyd- What a hoot!

Gypsy Jane said...

Hmmm - his scent and she is under his power... perhaps Eau de Vampire is the pheremone cologne the cosmetics industry has been looking for!

Unknown said...

Eau de Vampire, I love it! That could make somebody a lot of money, especially if it was Eau de Edward Cullen. :>)

Eric's scent is a lure for humans, his natural prey. I was trying to think of some way to make him irresistible rather than the standard ones. The sense of smell is underused in books, I think, but it's not hard for readers to imagine smells, both lovely and horrible.

Jen D. said...

Favorite would have to be the scent thing. Nothing like a little Eau de Come Hither and Blackout to turn a girl on.

I don't know how comfortable I would be with my boyfriend knowing ALL my thoughts unless of course he was going to follow through on the ones about cleaning dishes and doing laundry. ;-)

I think most powers can be attributed to both good and evil. It all depends on the type of vampire story you're looking for.