Monday, June 28, 2010

Guest post and giveaway: Chloe Neill


*A big Thanks to Chloe Neill for making Bite Club part of the blog tour for Twice Bitten! I am so thrilled to have her as a guest and as you know, I absolutely cannot wait for Twice Bitten to hit store shelves. As an added bonus, Chloe has generously offered a signed book and some swag to one lucky commenter (I am so jealous...kidding...well sort of)! The contest details will be at the end of this post. Without further ado...Chloe Neill!


The (Chicagoland) Vampire Mythology


Hi, everyone! I thought I'd spend a little time today reviewing the vampire mythology checklist in the context of the Chicagoland Vampires series (with some comparisons to other paranormal series).

Generally, I tried to stick to the basic biological constraints of vampirism with some tweaking here and there for the modern setting.

Soul or No Soul?

In the Chicagoland Vampires world, vampirism is a communicable genetic mutation. (I know, I know. Willing suspension of disbelief.) :) As Ethan essentially tells Merit in SOME GIRLS BITE, she never died, and her heart never stopped beating. Thus, vampirism has no effect on one's soul, nor are vampires "undead," previously-dead, once-dead, etc.

Thus, when vampires sleep (which they do during the day), they are actually asleep. They are not temporarily dead or unconscious. They can force themselves to stay awake, but this is generally difficult to do--the equivalent of a human trying to stay awake after 2 or 3 sleepless days. There are also no coffins in my world. (Cadogan House has a luxe bed for its Master, and dorm-style beds for the Novitiates).

Blood-drinking?

The Chicagoland vampires must drink blood from humans and other vampires. Blood is, as Mallory points out, "another vitamin." Vampires can (and must) also eat normal food, and do get hungry. Merit has strong smoked-meat cravings, although that may just be Merit. :)

Sunlight?

No sparkles here. ;) The Chicagoland Vampires sleep during the daytime, and have a severe allergy to sunlight. Vampire skin in sunlight would begin to blister after only a couple of seconds, and a vampire would be reduced to ashes quite quickly.

Immortality and Healing?

The CV vampires are immortal; they will not die of old age, and they appear to be the age at which they are turned. They heal quickly.


Stakes, etc.


An aspen stake through the heart will kill a CV vampire. As in the traditional myth, CV vampires can also be killed by other methods including sunlight and removing the head (usually in conjunction with other dismemberment that renders the body unable to heal). Thus, a few slashes with a katana won't kill a vampire; it takes substantially more damage.

Mirrors, Crosses and Garlic?

These three items are not part of the CV mythos. Garlic and crosses are ineffective (as it's a genetic mutation, not a demonic possession), and vampires are visible in mirrors. (The latter is true because I wanted Merit to be able to see herself post-transformation.)


Powers?

The CV vampires are generally stronger than average humans, can jump higher, and have increased stamina. They may be particularly fast ("vampire quickspeed") and, to varying degrees, can glamour humans into following their commands. Masters can telepathically communicate with their Novitiates, and some vampires have psychic or empathic abilities. Also, vampires' eyes silver when they are aroused (emotionally or physically) or hungry.

Thanks for reading today! I hope this look at the CV myth has been informative!


Contest details:

*Contest is open to US and Canada

*Must leave a comment that explains what part of vampire mythology you find the most interesting. Eternal life and a front row seat as history unfolds? Superspeed to ease your escape from sticky situations? Drinking oodles of blood from unsuspecting strangers? Just let me know and you'll be entered to win!

*Contest is open until July 8th and I will announce the winner the following day

*please leave an email address unless one is included in your profile

34 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh I find it all interesting. I don't 'see' anything that wouldn't be interesting regarding vampires. The way the myth/views around them changes from one person to the next is interesting all on its own. I especially love the imortality and eternal beauty bit. And, depending on which belief you go on, I like the mind reading ability. Always wanted to do that.


littleredride.nhood[at]yahoo[dot]com

Van Pham said...

All of the mythology seems really interesting, but i think Immortality and healing is at the top.

Love Chloe's Chicagoland Vampire series, THANKS for the giveaway!

Van
Littopandaxpress(at)yahoo(dot)com

Unknown said...

It would be the history part for me. I love history and to be able to be witness to it would be awesome!


Stephanie G
sgradel(at)gmail(dot)com


Paranormal Haven

tina werner said...

i love everything about vampires!!! the only one i find a little odd is having to be invited into a home to enter... seems a little funny to me... also the garlic (that must be a myth) ha!

thanks for the chance to win!!

tina
stampitchick at yahoo dot ca

SandyG265 said...

I think that the most interesting thing about being a vampire would be living through so much of history

sgiden At verizon.net

Rain Maiden said...

It's intersting that the CV feed off of Vampires as well as humans. This series is going on my wish list.

jnmt3@hotmail.com

Tynga said...

Thanks Anna and Chloe!
I think my favorite part are the physical strengths. Speed, Stamina, and well.. Strenght lol

I'm sure vampires would be insane hockey players *winks*

TyngaUF(a)gmail.com

tetewa said...

The thing that interests me is immortality, enjoyed the post today and I'm enjoying your series! tWarner419@aol.com

Jackie Uhrmacher said...

I love the OCD parts of the mythos, but so few people explore them. : )

LOVE LOVE LOVE this series! I really hope we get to see more of Morgan in Twice Bitten, but I'm Team Ethan all the way. : ) Any vamp who can do what he was doing to Amber and still manage to make Merit seem like she's the center of his world is, in my book, absolutely amazing. ::happy sigh::

LSUReader said...

So much of vampire lore is interesting. What intrigues me the most is immortality. Watching those you love die would have such an effect on anyone. It's so hard to wrap my brain around the concept of immortality as a good thing.

Great contest. Thanks.

Barbara E. said...

I love the different ideas of the vampire mythology that so many authors have come up with. What intrigues me most is immortality - to have lived through the ages and know first hand what it was like is fascinating to me. So the older the vampire the better in my eyes.
I like that the CV vampires eat regular food as well as blood, that's a nice twist, since it would sure help to blend in if they need to. And the fact that they are not "undead" is interesting, I like that as well, it makes more sense to me.

Erika Powell said...

I like that the CV vamps must also eat regular food along with the requisite blood sucking

sports[dot]erikalynn[at]gmail[dot]com

Dot S.(ladeetdareads.wordpress.com) said...

I am most definitely interested in those super powers. The glamouring to get others to do my bidding, what a rush!

Barb P said...

You know, there are so many different varieties of powers for the vamps, it just depends on what book, movie, etc that you're reading or watching. Personally, I would love those healing powers. I am a super klutz and am always hurting myself. Wouldn't be great to heal up ** SNAP ** just like that. Love the series and am dying to get my greedy little hands on Twice Bitten. Thanks for the contest!

Barb P said...

OOPS I forgot my address. bpatrick64113@sbcglobal.net Sorry!

Anonymous said...

Tynga- After watching the hockey playoffs I decided that many players would make great vampires-they have the cool names too. My favorites were Valteri Filppula from Detroit for the name (great villain name) and Henrik Zetterberg for the looks.

Someone needs to write a book that has hockey and vampires.

Carmen R said...

I think the most interesting would be eternal life. The idea of living forever and being able to keep learning new things would just rock.


hdtermite at yahoo dot com

marian said...

i love the vampire mythology! they are all so great but my favorite has to be immorality part

mariannguyen16(AT)gmail(DOT)com

Stacey Smith said...

Eternal life is the most cool whatching history as it happens.and you live long anuff to find the one that you will love forever.

sasluvbooks(at)yahoo.com

throuthehaze said...

I definitely find eternal life the most interesting aspect.
throuthehaze at gmail dot com

Unknown said...

I choose eternal life and a front row seat to history. I also would choose to discover a blood alternative, like Mountain Dew ;)

robin [at] intensewhisper [dot] com

Vickie said...

I like the eternal life gig and I like that Chloe's vampires eat real food as well as sipping some blood. Sleeping all day....sigh...would love that....

VWinship at aol dot com

Bethany C. said...

Living through history would be interesting, but I think the best part would be the ability to glamour humans.

b(dot)cardone(at)hotmail

Jenn said...

I like the idea of not looking any older!

k_sunshine1977 said...

i like the having-a-front-seat-to-history aspect of it...and i love how in your world, chloe, they get to eat food as well! i would miss that! :)

k_sunshine1977 at yahoo dot com

doreen lamoureux said...

Living forever and not getting any older is the best.

dorcontest at gmail dot com

Julie S said...

What I find most interesting about vampire lore is they are frozen in time and development of their bodies, but their minds can still develop and keep up with the times.

juliecookies(at)gmail.com

Chantel said...

I find the immortality aspect the most interesting. To have all the time in the world and be able to reinvent yourself over and over again.

cwilliams127 at gmail dot com

IrishHousewife said...

Vampires in their entirety fascinate me. I love everything about them and enjoy reading each new authors take on their existence and roles in society. I think the most interesting part is watching how they evolve into vampires and gain new abilities. Like mind reading telekinesis, super speed...etc.

I love this series. It's actually in my list of favorite series with early LKH, Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison, and Maggie Steifvater. I'm super excited for the book!

kdevitt2007 @ yahoo.com

Aimee said...

Eternal life. Living forever, seeing history play out n a grand scale, exploring the world at leisure because you quite literally have all the time in the world.

gevin13{at}gmail{dot}com

heatwave16 said...

I am always interested in the dead vs. undead and what's going on with their soul. I love the fact that in Merit's world vamps still have their souls. The undead part makes it a bit creepier. Plus, thanks for not sparkling.

heatwave96(at)hotmail.com

As I Lay Bleeding said...

Eternal beauty and strength!!!!

nedsped@verizon.net

Meredith said...

I love their strength--no matter what story you read, the vampires are always superstrong!

Terry Mac said...

I find most everything about vampire mythology intriquing. The only thing I don't like, is the drinking blood thing. But being able to live eternally.....there can be benefits. Seeing the world change, and being part of it, knowing what really happened because you were alive and living in it....all that is fascinating to me.
Would love to be chosen a winner of this book. it sounds like a must read for the summer.
Thank you for hosting this giveaway.

terrymac1a at hotmail dot com