Oct 12, 2010

Scott Nicholson -Blog Tour and Contest

Join Scott Nicholson on his blog tour and get a chance to win a Kindle DX and other prize


Cycle of the Vampire


My first exposure to the vampire myth was through The Count on Sesame Street and his commercial counterpart, Count Chocula, who adorned the front of a sweetened cereal that I lusted after to no end.

 So my youthful blush with the big bad bloodsucker was hardly the kind to spark fear, and I never put my head under my pillow and trembled through the night in fear of a vampire’s fingernails scratching against the window. I just didn’t really think of them as scary, since even at an early age I was fairly rational and had plenty of real-life horrors to choose from.

All that changed in 1972, when “Kolchak: The Night Stalker” made its appearance on network television. What made the most impact on my reeling prepubescent mind was that the vampire wasn’t flapping around the sky above a crumbling European castle or sleeping in a coffin somewhere across the ocean. Instead, it was right there, next door, down the street, in a world with cars, hospitals, traffic lights, newspaper reporters, and actual dead people.

I didn’t go on an instant orgy of vampire fiction, movies, or subculture, but I began paying more attention to them— Morbius, the creepy clown in whiteface of Marvel Comics fame, and the old Boris Karloff depictions—especially when I began writing horror. My trope of choice was often the ghost, because I found I could make up my own rules for their motives and behavior and, being willfully ignorant, I assumed all vampires had to do to survive was avoid the sun, garlic butter on toast, and pissed-off noblemen in top hats.

By the time I had made the jump from rock-n-roll to a dedicated writing career, Anne Rice, Poppy Z. Brite, Laurell K. Hamilton and others had rewritten the rules for vampires, and the established monster of centuries took a postpunk strut on the catwalk. The creatures of legend had gone into the closet and come back out again, wearing kick-ass heels, sunglasses, and attitudes.

And here were are, in the Twilight era, and You Suck, and Vampires Suck, and vampires are funny again, and before you know they’ll have their own brand of cereal, and the whole wheel will begin its slow turn again…

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For every book of mine that hits the Top 100 during the tour, I will throw in an extra Kindle 3 giveaway. Tell your friends. Amaze your neighbors. Shock your therapist.

Scott Nicholson is author of 12 novels, including the thrillers  Speed Dating with the Dead,   Drummer Boy,   Forever Never EndsThe Skull RingAs I Die LyingBurial to Follow, and  They Hunger.

CONTEST

To be eligible for the Kindle DX, simply post a comment below with contact info.

Feel free to debate and discuss the topic, but you will only be entered once per blog.

Visit all the blogs on the tour and increase your odds.

I’m also giving away a Kindle 3 through the tour newsletter and a Pandora’s Box of free e-books to a follower of “hauntedcomputer” on  Twitter. Thanks for playing. 

Contest is international!

Complete details at  http://www.hauntedcomputer.com/blogtour.htm

105 comments:

Aik said...

Nice post!

aikychien at yahoo dot com

Bibliophile said...

Vampires were supposed to have been "over" 2 years ago, but tell that to the readers. Somehow I can't see zombies or mummies replacing them as the next sexy monster.

debbie said...

I think the menancing vampires from books like Salems Lot, will always be my favorite. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy all the other more pretty vampires, but they don't get my heart racing like those do.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com

SandyG265 said...

Count Chocula cereal hasn't ever gone away. The Target near me gets all three of the monster cereals in every year for Halloween.

sgiden at verizon.net

Julie S said...

Vampires are a really interesting creature because they can be made scary and terrible, or sexy and mysterious.

Awesome giveaway.

juliecookies(at)gmail.com

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

Scott, I'm really ignorant of your books but all that is about to change. Love, love, love all the vampires be they nasty or sweet.
salvagin@verizon.net

Author Scott Nicholson said...

Hi Dot, thanks for "sampling" me.

Debbie, Julie, I think that's one of the lasting appeals of vampires is they can be used for many types of role-playing

Sandy, save me some of that cereal!

Scott

Bookhound78 said...

I've never considered myself huge vampire fan, although two of my favorite books are about vampires: Dracula by Bram Stoker and 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King.

-Neal

Katie said...

Thanks for the chance to win!

kt1969 at comcast dot net

Bethany C. said...

I see someone already beat me to pointing out that vampires have had their own cereal for years in the form of Count Chocula. Awesome contest!
b(dot)cardone(at)hotmail(dot)com

monapete said...

Thanks for the chance to win this contest!!

monacart32 at hotmail dot com

Unknown said...

I do love a good vampire book, but there seems to me way too many out there these days.

randymir@gmail.com

author Christa Polkinhorn said...

I had absolutely no interest in vampires until a friend mentioned Twilight. I took a look at the books and thought "yuk." Then I sampled one and, well, I have to admit, I was smitten. Yes, all you haters of Stephenie Meyer, it's true. I couldn't put the book down and bought the whole series, watched the movies. Obviously my introduction to vampires was totally unrealistic (the "nice" Cullen family, gorgeous Edward). The only sign that my taste of literature isn't totally messed up is the fact that I also LOVE Scott Nicholson's fascinating books. "The Vampire Shortstop" in Thank you for the Flowers is a great story with a lot of heart!
Christa
cpolkinhorn@msn.com

Anonymous said...

I never really was afraid of vampires either. Thanks a lot Count Chocula!

authorjcphelps@yahoo.com

Douglas Dorow said...

My introduction to vampires was the day-time soap Dark Shadows. I've been afraid of vampires ever since.

Can't believe my mom let my brother and I watch it, but then again, watching it and hiding under the blankets, we weren't bothering her.

dwdorow@gmail.com
ThrillersRus.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

I've never seen Kolchak: The Night Stalker, but both you and one of my friend's has mentioned it recently - I think I need to check the show out.
I had the same introduction to vampires that you did - The Count and Count Chocula. I think Vampires became scary to me with the Lost Boys. Since then, I've watched Vampires follow the circle you mentioned Scott and honestly, I'm glad we have silly ones again. I love my horror, but I also love humor and I think Vampires are great characters for both of those ideals.

calseeor (at) gmail (dot) com

Lori A. said...

Vampires are scary. :)
ljatwood at gmail dot com

https://booksthoughtsadventures.com said...

OMG...I loved watching Kolchak when I was little...I will never be over vampires...I am vampire obsessed but only the Twilight, Blue Bloods, Vampire Diaries, Morganville Vampire kind...

pattyden2@aol.com

Teawench said...

I always have and always will love vampires, both in fiction & non-fiction. Their popularity in fiction seems to come & go but they'll never go away. And that suits me just fine.
teawench at gmail dot com

Weston Kincade said...

Great post!

wakincade AT gmail DOT com

Unknown said...

Great post!

Thanks for the chance to win!

ashleysbookshelf[at]gmail[dot]com

Karen Bell said...

My brother and I loved Kolchak when we
were kids. And my favorite show when I was little was Dark Shadows. I guess I've always been weird. lol

bluefrog62@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

I am a follower and email subscriber. I have always loved reading above vampires. I think they are very interesting and different from other paranormal creatures. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com

chey said...

Hi Scott,
I remember the Count too. We got exposed to vampires fairly young!
chey127 at hotmail dot com

LaQ said...

Boy do I remember all those vmpire things. lol I was a devout "Kolchak" watcher..lol
Love to have a Kindle!
LaQ

Cathy M said...

I got hooked on vampire stories with those author's you mentioned. And Kolchak was one of my favorite shows way back when as well.


caity_mack at yahoo dot com

LaQ said...

And I forgot to leave my contact info. Oops. :$

LaQuiet(at)gmail(dot)com

Jeff said...

Julie said...
"Vampires are a really interesting creature because they can be made scary and terrible, or sexy and mysterious."

This is how I would describe the women I know!

author Christa Polkinhorn said...
"Obviously my introduction to vampires was totally unrealistic"

You don't think they are real in the first place, do you? I like that the Cullens made the decision to be "nice." There are many others in the stories who are not "vegetarian." Have you read "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella"? Stephanie had it for a while on her website so her fans didn't have to buy it :)

This guy's reaction... Edward - Schmedward! Alice (Ashley Greene) is the HOT one, especially in her short, black, vampire hair. I like Victoria (Rachelle LeFevre) too, though she is not a Nice vampire. I really LOVED her in "Hatley High", a cool chess movie for us nerds.

I agree with Christa that the vampire shortstop was very cool, and endearing, I wish he were better able to protect himself.

Tell me you saw the Castle episode last year "Vampire Weekend." I would not be in line for veneers, but I think they are cool. Interesting commentary on the vampire craze. Great show!!

Oh yeah, Quentin lives! Or was it Barnaby?

Jeff White whitejw@ameritech.net

Candace said...

I love that vampires can be good or bad, scary or gorgeous (or both). Great topic!
candace_redinger at yahoo dot com

Kathy Habel said...

Thank for the chance to win.
bkhabel at gmail dot com

Monster A Go-Go said...

VAMPIRES!?! I am surprised you wasted a whole blog tour stop posting on vampires! Jinkies, Scott! You'd think you'd write about something nearer and dearer to your heart---GOATS--and the evil menace that steals them away from you...the dreaded CHUPACABRA!!! (Oh wait... maybe you hit that topic in September? I get confused...)

Alas, I don't have time to go into your bizarre goat longings today. I am piled sky high with work here at the office (my internet is still NOT working at home --and , YES, I DID call and complain again to the phone company...) and I have a test tonight in my microbiology class---so I need to cram for that as well. I'll leave your discussion on vampires and other things that SUCK with YOU!

CHEERS!

author Christa Polkinhorn said...

Jeff: "You don't think they are real in the first place, do you?"
Hmm, well, next time I'm in Siena, Italy, I may check this out. LOL.
No, of course, I meant "realistic" in the sense of how we in general think of them. Wrong term. I like the nice Cullen family.
Christa

Unknown said...

Hmmm. I can't quite recall when I started to see vampires as scary. The Count was my first exposure to one--and the Hilarious House of Frankenstein--but I don't think I ws scared of one until Lost Boys.

Kate Scott said...

I'd love to win!

kate[at]parchmentgirl[dot]om

jpearson said...

I never thought of it that way before-- very intersting! i would definately eat some Jean Claude crispies or some Lestat crunch!

i.pearson@comcast.net

Anonymous said...

I loved Count Chocula! These days, I prefer nuts and twigs cereal.

I am so NOT into the vampire craze. In the early days of vampire/paranormal romance, there were good stories with interesting characters. Recently though, it just seems like an excuse to write graphic p0rn.

My teenaged daughter does like the genre though, so several years ago I read Twilight. I could only get through a couple chapters of the second book, the writing just isn't that good, no where close to JK Rowling.

lorraine_lanning[at]yahoo[dot]com

Regge Ridgway said...

Twilight isn't about the vampires I was raised to believe in. They don't even seem to have fangs.

bdiane34 said...

I love any horror/vampire books, movies!!
sweokgrl@gmail.com

sohamolina said...

I am a newsletter subscriber and my contact info:

eddiem11@ca.rr.com

or @sohamolina on twitter

Brenda Wallace said...

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the vampire creatures that sprang forth from deep untouched areas of the Appalachian Mountains in They Hunger, but, normally I do not seek out vampire reads. I admit that if I tried some other vampire books, that I might enjoy them, but I have plenty of great novels right now on my TBR pile. varbonoff22 at cox dot net

Anonymous said...

My love of vampires, ghosts, werewolves, and assorted other creatures started with Dark Shadows. And now I write about such creatures. LOL

Unknown said...

Vampires will never dead because they are the UNdead. Duh.

michaellmartinjr[at]gmail[dot]com

Anonymous said...

I love Vampire storys, the more the merrier. I love the way this guy writes :)

Anonymous said...

What no "Dark Shadows" ???

Barry
http://gnostalgia.wordpress.com
anamchara@gmail.com

Dee Martin said...

loved Night Stalker - and I don't care if you write vampires, ghosts, or goats as long as the story is good. Someone said something about it being an excuse to write porn and I second that. I like paranormal romance with actual romance and I like stories where the woman isn't a complete wimp and the characters are people I end up caring about and hate to lose when I finish the book. Just my 2 cents.
deedeekm@gmail.com

Carissa said...

Interesting Post!


preternaturalprimer@hotmail.com

katsrus said...

My forst vampires were Bela Lugisi in Dracula and Dark Shadows. Great post.
Sue B
katsrus(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

guess all things come and go in cycles

stephanie dot pridgen at gmail dot com

Amy said...

I've always love vampires - way before it was "cool" and probably well after the vampire craze has died down.
Thanks for the kindle giveaway!

Estella said...

I love vampire books!

kissinoak at frontier dot com

Anonymous said...

That's a new look for you...

Linda Kish said...

Count me in, please.
Thanks for the chance to win.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

HODGEPODGESPV said...

ever since dawn of the dead i have been zombie free. sorry...just too ucky. spvaughan@yahoo.com

Icedream said...

Thanks for the trip down memory lane, I had forgotten all about Night Stalker. (I also watched Dark Shadows)

waitmantwillie at hotmail dot com

Carol said...

I remember Dark Shadows!

I, too, amd getting a little tired of all of the vampire hoopla.

hendy said...

I love vampires and all the rage surrounding them.
hmhenderson AT yahoo DOT com

Joe F. said...

Love the blog... and the free kindle.
Thanks,
Joe

josafisch@yahoo.com

Cathy W said...

Love this contest!
cjwallace43 at gmail dot com

Sharon S. said...

LOL! It is coming full circle. My first intro to vampires was Stephen Kings Salem's Lot . Talk about an introduction, I didn't sleep well for a while after that.

Anonymous said...

Count Chocula is the first vampire I was exposed to as well. Never even thought of that.

bunkercomplexATgmailDOTcom

Deanna said...

I would LOVE a Kindle DX. Thanks for the opportunity to win one! :)

P.S. Click on my name for my contact info. ;)

Anonymous said...

Nice post. I'm trying to think of my first vampires besides The Count. Maybe Lost Boys?

carolsntoebook at yahoo dot com

Gail said...

Long ago the vampires characters were seductive, then over time they became repulsive ugly creatures. Today they are sexy and sensitive... I definitely prefer today's vampires, kind of like a romance story with a twist!
Gail in Florida
cowgirl3000 AT gmail DOT com

Inanna said...

Vampires should be vampires. And they should be scary, not sparkly! :P

My prediction? The next big "thing" is going to be angels or something angel-related.

inannajourney at gmail dot com

Paul McMurray said...

Scott, poor Darren (Kolchak) had to fight the vampires one-handed because he had to hold onto his goofy hat with the other.
Paul
mrlucky@charter.net

Unknown said...

Carl Kolchak: The Night Stalker was the man when I was growing. Always fighting evil. I really miss that show.

My daughter has read all the Eclipse books but she says that is all needs to go away. Too idealistic

dalelmurphy(at)gravesidetales(dot)com

n2france said...

OK Scott, it's confession time. How many of the recent vampire movies how have you actually watched?

Anonymous said...

I wish I had your superb memory of when you first became aware of vampires. Interesting post!

stacypilot at yahoo dot com

Jesse said...

I think my first exposure to vampires was a Doctor Who tv episode "State of Decay".

I don't think I have ever read a vampire novel. Never was into the vampire craze. I used to think there aren't much you can do with vampires so I've found them rather limiting as characters. With all the vampire craze going on, it's pretty apparent that you CAN do new things with vampires.

Several people have mentioned Stephen King's "Salem's Lot". Apparently that book made a lasting impression on them. Perhaps I should check that one out.

-Jesse
conrad.jd (at) gmail (dot) com

Cori Westphal said...

Still following you Scott! Thanks!

coriwestphal at msn dot com
@coriwestphal

Jeff said...

Inanna, have you read "This Present Darkness" by Frank Peretti? Great angels book.

Anonymous said...

Was the count a vampire? I loved that little guy when I was little. Vampires are here to stay it seems. Wondering what the next monster phase may be?
Thanks for another good read Scott.

Julie
pjtansey@hotmail.com

Mary Kontrary said...

Oh, I loved The Night Stalker! And remember Barnabas from the soap opera Dark Shadows (1969)? So cool! But my first exposure to vamps was a lot darker when I shivered through Stoker's "Dracula" for school in the early '60s.

Nice post. Brought back some neat memories. mkip at aol dot com.

Kristie said...

We have some of the Dark Shadows T.V. series here at my library. Talk about a blast from the past.
kristiedonelson(at)gmail(dot)com

Doreen said...

I believe my intro into vampires was 'The Lost Boys'..loved that movie! :) I don't think I've seen Night Stalker.

Anonymous said...

I remember when Looney Tunes did a movie that had a vampire in it.. Well, the movie had all kinds of monsters, but Porky Pig and Sylvester end up in Transylvania at Dracula's compound. Hilarity ensues.

I don't think I had any idea that vampires were supposed to be scary until I was older and saw part of Interview With The Vampire.

I wonder if that Looney Tunes movie is on Netflix...

Stefanie647@msn.com

Stacey Smith said...

I love Vampires of course Were's are getting up there in to my top fave's
sasluvbooks(at)yahoo.com

Kimberly K. said...

That was a really interesting view on the cycle of Vampire's in our culture.

kellysydow at yahoo dot com

Hank Brown said...

I think you meant Bela Lagosi, Scott. Borris Karloff was most famous as the Frankenstein monster. Up until the revamp (hyuck hyuck) of vampires, werewolves and other monsters in the '80s, emulating those 2 actors' portrayals was a tradition on Halloween. If a kid played Frankenstein (or if the monster was depicted in a cartoon, etc.) he walked ponderously with arms stretched out before him, as Karloff had in the first Frank film. When playing any vampire (including the Count on Sesame Street), the pretender would approximate Lagosi's eastern European accent.

Hank
Twitter: MachineTrooper
http://twofistedblogger.blogspot.com

EVA SB said...

I didn't encounter vamipres until my mid-teens but of course at that time I was really into 'bad boys' so it was love at first bite.

Unknown said...

I enjoy reading vampire tales. Thank you for the post. ....Tiffypoot @ (aol.com)

Pink Panther said...

First encounter with vamps... nice! :)
You can reach me at luvpinkpanther@gmail.com

Unknown said...

i cant help it. i love those darn twilight books. except the end. i cant believe the editor allowed that.

hancoci_s at msn dot com

Unknown said...

i cant help it. i love those darn twilight books. except the end. i cant believe the editor allowed that.

hancoci_s at msn dot com

Author Scott Nicholson said...

Denisha, I watched Twilight (I think I fell asleep near the end). I am not sure I've watched any other recent vamp movies. I do dimly recall this old Twilight Zone (or other type show) where this priest puts a crucifix on his bullet to kill the vampire gunslinger. That one was kind of spooky.

Yeah, you're right, Hank, Bela was the famous model for The Count--better go fix that one!

Scott

Nancy said...

Been meaning to read (or see) the Twilight series..everybody who has seems to like them. Guess I'm just a little slow...maybe it's because I'm not really into vampires?
xox
Nancy
nancyareid@gmail.com
Tiếng Việt français 中文(繁體)

MarjoleinBookBlog said...

great blog and contest!

marjoleinbookblog at gmail dot com

Abbi said...

I loved Count Chocula and BooBerry
kidpack05 at yahoo dt com

booklover0226 said...

I think vampires will always be my favorite, though I do enojoy shapeshifters, too.

I'm getting into demons and fallen angels, now.

Thanks,
Tracey D
booklover0226 at gmail dot com

Kim said...

Still following the blog tour. Go Scott!

skeltons3 at hotmail dot com

Unknown said...

Enjoying the blog tour!

dreamer dot ima at gmail dot com

Horror Books said...

I have a love hate relationship with vampires. I love the classics -- Dracula and Carmilla and some of the more creative and well written stories like Salem's Lot, The Passage and Let the Right One in but I have trouble getting through a lot of the paranormal romance and urban fantasy where the vampires are the good guys.

I can't read Anne Rice's vampires or Stephenie Meyer's books, although I've tried.

I tend to like vampire tales where the vampires are handled differently -- like Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons. His were the first psychic vampires I'd read about and they were scary.

Thanks for the chance to win,
Greg "The Undead Rat" Fisher

theundeadrat (@) gmail (.) com

James Rasmussen said...

I can't lie...I'm a vampire fan. But no...that doesn't equate to Twilight fan.

jamesemr (at) gmail (dot) com

Riva said...

I think Dark Shadows was the vampire entry piece for many of us 50-somethings. Mom wouldn't let us see scary movies, but figured that if it was on daytime TV it couldn't be too bad.

dulcibelle [at] earthlink [dot] net

Betty: Reflections with Coffee said...

The Pendulum sways.

bmcbroom at gmail dot com

jpearson said...

I loved dark shadows-- is that ever on in reruns-- shoot everything else is.

Maybe we should start a bring back dark shadow blog!

i.pearson@comcast.net

Em said...

I *HEART* vampires! I mean really - even if we never find out the 'real truth' about them, it's always a great story of living forever, drinking blood, loosing loved ones, sex.... LOVE IT!
emily_erickson@yahoo.com

Nastassia said...

I like vampires, I like the movies and the books with vampires. I don't mind the nice , pretty vampires but I rather the darker nature of vampires.

dekad1(at)hotmail(dot)com

A.P. Fuchs said...

To be honest, I’m not happy with the current vampire era. They’re too nice, too sparkly and too "kid friendly."

A lot of people might boo me off the stage for thinking so, but vampires are monsters, not friends. Sure, they might appear friendly at first to gain your trust, but in the end, your neck is their dinner.

Coscomentertainment [at] gmail [dot] com

www.canisterx.com

POSSESSION OF THE DEAD and ZOMBIE FIGHT NIGHT available for the Amazon Kindle. Grab your copies here!

Unknown said...

Hi,
I love all vampires..from the dark and dangerous to the gorgeous and loving..even to the cereal..always have always will..Can't explain it..I just am..

Happy Halloween to All..

Great Contest..
:)

baby_blackroze@yahoo.com

doreen lamoureux said...

Awesome post and Awesome event.

dorcontest at gmail dot com
Glad I found you, too.

Heather said...

I would love to be entered!
littlebearries@yahoo.com

sablelexi said...

Lol..vampires going full circle? They can't get away from Twilight fast enough for me.

jlynettes @ hotmail . com

Anonymous said...

hufflepuffgrl13@yahoo.com

Aleetha said...

wow, You have a lot books but I see none of them in local bookstore.

Talk about vampire, I still adore the Count on Sesame Street. And one book which talk about vampire which make me feel goosebumps is The History by Elizabet Kostova.

aleetha.ally at gmail dot com