Music Monday: Sinead O'Connor, Lee Perry, & vampire reggae

I need to post a short but sweet Music Monday feature today so I can catch up after being away for Thanksgiving. Today's spotlight adds to the long list of songs titled simply "Vampire." Here's Sinead O'Connor's (yes, that Sinead O'Connor) "Vampire," off her 2005 reggae cover album Throw Down Your Arms. Directly below her clip, you can listen to the original Lee Perry version, called "Ketch Vampire."







iTunes:

A turkey break & my latest contest

I'm heading on vacation and won't be checking my email (or any comments) until Monday, November 30. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates the holiday of the turkey!

In the meantime, feel free to enter my contest for HOW TO DATE A VAMPIRE by Sophie Collins.

Contest: Sophie Collins's HOW TO DATE A VAMPIRE

Octopus Books USA just released a book called HOW TO DATE A VAMPIRE by Sophie Collins...and they've offered a copy for me to give away! Here's some info from the book's press release:

If you’ve been jealous of Bella and Buffy, and the thought of New Moon has you hankering for a bad-boy date, help has arrived. A new book, HOW TO DATE A VAMPIRE (November 2009; $12.50) provides just the right amount of advice to help you land a fangsome fella. Author Sophie Collins shows you how to aim your sights at the night, in a handbook packed with quizzes, charts, and fail-safe guidance on how to show him what's so special about you and set his pulse (if he had one) racing! From "love at first bite" and clues on how to "date" your vamp (figuring out his actual age), plus where to draw the line with a boy who literally knows all about you, Sophie Collins has tips and tricks such as:

• Eat Meat! (after all, the guy has a major iron deficiency)
• Reading your vamp’s body language (hint: if he’s staring hard and his eyes have turned dark, you’ve crossed the line from love interest to entree, and it's time to go)
• Learn to tango—hot Latin dances have a powerful pull for vampires
• Great date ideas that don't involve going out for a Type-O milkshake.
• Discover how to see into the heart of a guy you can't see in the mirror.


CONTEST RULES:
1. U.S. and Canada entries only please.
2. To enter, in the comments section below, answer this question, "If you were to go out with a vampire, where would you take him or her for the first date?" An Italian restaurant with the smell of garlic in the air? A blood bank? Let your imagination run wild.
3. Deadline--I'll draw a winning name Friday, December 4. Good luck!

How to Date a Vampire Facebook Page

Winners of Gail Carriger's SOULLESS

The winners of my contest for Gail Carriger's Soulless are jeanette8042 and Jake Lsewhere. Congratulations! Please send your snail mail address to catkarp[at]gmail[dot]com. Thanks so much to everyone who entered...and for the enthusiasm for Gail's debut novel. If you missed my interview with Gail Carriger, check it out here.

Music Monday: VAMPIRES WILL NEVER HURT YOU

Today I'm featuring My Chemical Romance's "Vampires Will Never Hurt You," from the group's debut album, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love, available from Eyeball Records. Hope you enjoy their good and gothy clip, in which lead singer Gerard Way reminds me of The Cure's Robert Smith with tamer hair. And congrats to the band for appearing on the cover of Alternative Press's Most Anticipated Album of 2010 issue.



For couples looking to bring "Vampires Will Never Hurt You" into their wedding ceremony, here's the Vitamin String Quartet version:





My Chemical Romance on iTunes

Contest for SOULLESS ends tomorrow

Just a reminder than my contest for Gail Carriger's Soulless ends tomorrow. Good luck!

Enter here.

Vampire Marketplace: Team Alice T-shirts

A blogging buddy alerted me that he's opened a Team Alice Cafe Press Store. He's created various shirts, sweatshirts, and even a Team Alice teddy bear. Check it out...and support the unsung characters of vampire entertainment: vampire women.

NEW MOON breaks records...but is it any good?

I think we have the answer to the question I recently posed over at VampireFilmFestival.com: "Will New Moon rise above Twilight at the Box Office?". According to MSN.com, New Moon grossed an estimated $26.3 million at midnight showings Friday, breaking Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince's midnight record of $22.2 million, set last July.

If you've already gone out and seen the movie, what do you think? Better than Twilight? Do the wolf transformation scenes look any more realistic than they appear on the commercials? My Twilight-viewing buddy (my sis) lives out of state now, so I probably won't be seeing this one in the theater. Feel free to sound off about whether or not the movie was worth the hype.

A New Moon/Duran Duran tribute

I've been so determined to work on my current manuscript this week that I ignored my Music Monday...and I didn't get a chance to pop online earlier to say happy New Moon day! To help with the New Moon celebrations, I'm going to share a clip of the song that always go through my head whenever I hear the title (which probably makes me sound as old as the Cullens). Here's Duran Duran's "New Moon on Monday"...on Friday. In my recent poll, 74% of my visitors said they'd be seeing New Moon in the theater. Hope those of you out there seeing it tonight are enjoying it.



Or perhaps this Duran Duran flashback is more appropriate...

SOULLESS and NEW MOON reminders & news

My contest for Gail Carriger's Soulless is still going strong. If you want a chance to win this clever steampunk/vampire/werewolf/Jane Austen-inspired novel, head over to my interview with Ms. Carriger to enter before Monday.

I'm also running my New Moon poll until the movie's premiere this Friday. Cast your vote in my sidebar.

Speaking of which, my article "Will New Moon Rise above Twilight at the Box Office?" is now available over at VampireFilmFestival.com. Here's an excerpt:

Will even more fans head out to see NEW MOON, which, in addition to heartthrob vampires, offers werewolves and a heated love triangle? Or will the next installment of THE TWILIGHT SAGA suffer a sophomore slump found in past mega-series such as STAR WARS and INDIANA JONES? Read more.

Another vampire video that'll make you snort milk through your nose

If you enjoyed the BarelyPolitical.com emo vampire video I shared earlier this month, I suggest you check out another highly entertaining clip that was brought to my attention this morning. Here's the message I received: "We've made a video highlighting the world's greatest Twilight tribute band-- Twilight Time! Warning-- uncontrollable dancing alert!"


More info: http://www.travisandjonathan.com

Interview and Contest: Gail Carriger's SOULLESS...a steampunk vampire novel

I'm thrilled to continue my November Orbit Books spotlight with novelist Gail Carriger, whose debut release, Soulless, blends together vampires, parasols, werewolves, Jane Austen wit, and the world of steampunk fiction. Orbit Books has graciously offered two copies of Soulless. If you'd like the chance to win one, simply respond in the comments section whether or not you're new to the world of steampunk. If you're already familiar with the genre, feel free to list a favorite book or movie. If you're new to it, hopefully you'll want to give it a try after reading Gail's interview. I'll draw a winning name on Monday, November, 23, 2009. U.S. and Canadian entries only, please.

Catherine Karp: Thanks so much for joining me, Gail. Please tell us about Soulless and your main character, Alexia Tarabotti.

Gail Carriger: It's delightful to be here, thanks for hosting me. Soulless is Jane Austen does urban fantasy meets P.G. Wodehouse does steampunk, in an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink mash-up of genres. Alexia Tarabotti is a soulless spinster with strict ideas on propriety, who ends up embroiled in a supernatural mystery and fending off Queen Victoria's grumpy werewolf investigator over the issue of lisping vampires.

CK: At your website, GailCarriger.com, you explain, "There are two main kinds of steampunk. The first, which shall be called here, traditional steampunk, envisions a future as the Victorians imagined it. The writings of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne are good examples. The second, industrial steampunk, sees a far future world that harkens back to Victorian culture, for example a bustle dress made of kevlar."

How would you describe your use of steampunk in Soulless?

GC: I'm far more of the first variety, which is to say that Soulless is alternate history depicting a different kind of Victorian future/past. I took a look at various points in history, re-explained a number of its odder mysteries (like the British Empire) via the presence of immortals, made said immortals tinker with the technology, and had the timeline diverge as a result.

CK: Were you a fan of steampunk before writing Soulless...or did the story come before you stumbled upon the genre?

GC: Oh, I was a fan of the aesthetic. I adore the look of steampunk, probably stemming from an unhealthy BBC costume drama addiction. Then I slowly became interested in the writings of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, stumbled onto Phillip Pullman, and was hooked.

CK: The same question goes for vampires: were you a vampire and werewolf fan before embarking upon your own tales of creatures of the night?

GC: Not as such. I came at vampires via the appeal of the modern aesthetic (I do own my own pair of very nice fangs) combined with a literary interest in 1800s gothic fiction (unwisely nurtured in high school by a succession of deluded teachers): The Castle of Otranto, The Vampyre, The Monk, Fall of the House of Usher, and, of course, spoofs like Northanger Abby. I suppose you could say I found my bloody path the old-fashioned way.

CK: Any favorite vampires from lit, film, or TV?

GC: I don't think he really counts, but I love Dorian Gray. I have a real soft spot for Mina Murray in The League of Extraordinary Gentleman graphic novel series and I adore the character of Drusilla on Buffy. Not to sneak in werewolves, but I was turned to the furry side by Klause's brilliant YA novel Blood and Chocolate.

CK: Humor also plays a role in the novel. In a publishing world that likes to file books in neatly categorized labels, was it difficult selling a steampunk/paranormal/fantasy/comedy-of-errors novel?

GC: I really really thought Soulless would never sell because it was too many sub-genres and the marketing department for any given publishing house would give it the royal heave-ho. Fortunately for me, Soulless seemed to charm people despite themselves and I had a couple of different publishers interested rather quickly. I've still not recovered from the shock.

CK: How long have you been writing fiction?

GC: I believe I wrote a cerebral and undoubtedly allegorical novel about calico cats and flying carpets. It took me a couple of days and was, my mother claims, a masterpiece of modern literature. I was eight. That would be my first major fictional attempt, fortunately things have improved since then ~ although probably not as much as I should hope. If you read carefully you may spot the fact that Soulless still contains the very brief appearance of a calico.

CK: Your website indicates a fondness for steampunk-related fashion and historical millinery, and Alexia Tarabotti dons a highly fashionable outfit on the cover of Soulless. What can you tell us about creating the steampunk "look" and your own clothing designs.

GC: Most of the time for public appearances I prefer rockabilly vintage dress, basically because I am on a one-woman quest to bring fashion back to the SF/F world. For everyday, I tend to twist normal wear in a steampunk direction ~ preferring steamy or industrial jewelry, knickerbockers and boots instead of jeans, Victorian-influenced blouses and vests, and military-style leather jackets. At steampunk events I have a number of Victorian dresses and corsets, one of which is decorated with brass spoons ~ why not?

CK: Where can readers learn more about you, Soulless, and your next installment of The Parasol Protectorate series, Changeless?

GC: The best place to start is on my web page at http://www.gailcarriger.com but you can also friend me on facebook, twitter, blogspot, or livejournal, all under gailcarriger.

CK: Thanks so much for joining me, Gail--and for introducing us to your highly fascinating fictional world.

GC: It was a pleasure, thank you for inviting me.

If you'd like to read an online interview with Lord Akeldama (the main vampire in Soulless), head to booktionary.blogspot.com. And Orbit Books is currently offering a Alexia paper-doll dress up game.

And don't forget to respond in the comments section for your chance to win a copy of Soulless right here at Suburban Vampire!

TEMPEST RISING winners

The winners of my contest for Nicole Peeler's Tempest Rising are kalynnick and Kris. Congratulations, winners! Please send your snail mail address to catkarp (at) gmail (dot) com.

To enter the contest, you had to answer the question, "If you could morph into any type of animal, which would you choose?" The top choices were members of the cat family, followed by canines and birds. Two people picked squirrels, which I thought was pretty interesting. Perhaps that could be the next trend in horror: cute, nut-gathering, shapeshifting beasts.

Thanks to everyone who entered! Be sure to head over to NicolePeeler.com for more info about her novel.

Nicole Peeler contest reminder & Vampire Film Festival winners

Quick reminder: tomorrow morning, lucky Friday 13, is your last chance to enter to win one of two copies of Nicole Peeler's Tempest Rising. I just spotted Nicole's book on display when I first walked into my local Barnes & Noble yesterday, so you don't want to miss the opportunity to check out this up-and-coming fantasy writer.

My November Orbit Books spotlight will continue thereafter with an interview with Gail Carriger.

And the Vampire Film Festival Awards have been announced. Here's the full list:

1. Outstanding Vampire Feature: The Revenant (USA)
2. Outstanding International Vampire Feature: D’Entre Les Morts (France)
3. Outstanding Vampire Short: "Initiation" (Canada)
4. Audience Award: Shadowland (USA)
5. Gothic Film: "The Music of Erich Zahn" (USA)
6. Best Mythic Film: "Shrove Tuesday" (United Kingdom)
7. Best Anime: "CannibAlien" (Japan)
8. Best Vampire Portrayal: Estes Tarver, "Mr. Moonlight" (USA)

Congratulations to all the winners! For more info about the 2009 and 2010 festivals, please visit VampireFilmFestival.com

New Poll: NEW MOON

I'm working on an article about the chances of NEW MOON being a bigger box office hit than TWILIGHT, which inspired me to put something on Suburban Vampire that I haven't done in a while: a poll. My blog used to be known for its vampire polls, but I've faded them out due to time constraints and the fact that several such polls have popped up across the blogosphere. I'll be running my annual Best Vampire Entertainment of the Year poll starting December, but for now you can head over to my sidebar and give your input for the following question:

Do you plan to head to the theater to see THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON?

I'll be curious to see how the second offering of the series does compared to the first movie...and I'll be sharing my theories in my aforementioned article, coming soon to VampireFilmFestival.com

Music Monday: WHEN DARKNESS FALLS

If you're still craving Halloween music, check out the dark sounds of Nox Arcana, two composers who've released ten albums together, including a Gothic Christmas album and tributes to Poe, the Brothers Grimm, and Dracula. I first heard of the band through the (sadly) now-defunct Dark Realms Magazine, published by Monolith Graphics--a company created by Nox Arcana founder Joseph Vargo. Here's a selection from Nox Arcana's newest album, Blackthorn Asylum: a song called "When Darkness Falls."





Nox Arcana on iTunes

Transylmania trailer

I'm still pondering which song to feature on today's Music Monday. In the meantime, I'll post the trailer for a vampire movie hitting theaters December 4: Transylmania. The film boasts scantily clad college kids, vampire movie spoofs, and the tagline "Euro-trashed! Euro-smashed! Euro-slashed!" Sure to be an Academy Awards darling. For more info, check out transylmaniathemovie.com. Extra credit goes to the poster designer for the use of a half-naked male instead of the typical half-naked female (despite the shot of his undies hanging out).

Bonus offer for Nicole Peeler's TEMPEST RISING contest

Good news! Nicole Peeler offered to include autographed bookplates for the two people who win copies of her novel Tempest Rising. Check out all the contest details here.

Dracula laments not being Edward Cullen

BarelyPolitical.com just sent me a vampire music video that's part of their "Key of Awesome" show, and it cracked me up, so I thought I'd share it. Where else can you find Dracula singing, "I'll never be an emo vampire," and expressing his hilarious anguish about being an out-of-date vampire in an Edward Cullen world?

Interview and contest: Nicole Peeler, author of TEMPEST RISING

This month I'm spotlighting Orbit Books, a leading publisher of Science Fiction and Fantasy. To kick off the celebrations, I've interviewed Orbit author Nicole Peeler, whose just-released novel, Tempest Rising, combines vampires with legendary creatures that can morph into seals.

Orbit Books graciously offered two copies of Tempest Rising for me to give away. To enter the contest, in the comments section below the interview, answer the following question: If you could morph into any type of animal, which would you choose? Deadline: Lucky Friday, November 13th. U.S. and Canada entries only, please.

Catherine Karp: Thanks so much for joining me, Nicole. Tempest Rising does indeed contain vampires, but your heroine, Jane True, is actually a creature called a selkie. Please explain a little about that particular legend.

Nicole Peeler: Thanks so much for having me! As for selkies, they are legends that originated in Scotland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland, which tell of human/seal shapeshifters. Unlike werewolves, however, selkies don’t so much shift shape as they do take on or off their skins, like a seal coat. This is why - within the real mythology, although not in my books - their seal skin is also their vulnerability: if you steal their skins, you’ve stolen their ability to shift shape.

CK: How did you first become interested in selkies? And how did that interest lead to Tempest Rising?

NP: I read very voraciously, very young, and I always loved mythology. The thing that always struck me about the selkie legend was the tragic story of the selkie maidens. The male selkie legends are your typical stories about faerie folk knocking up human women while their husbands were at sea - what must have been a common way of explaining unexpected offspring without pointing fingers at Sven, the blacksmith with the huge anvil. Anyway, the legends involving selkie women are usually tragic stories about men who stole their skin, either unwittingly or on purpose. That night, a beautiful woman would show up at the man’s house, and they would marry and have a family. Until someone - usually one of the children - would find the skin hidden somewhere, and give it - entirely unwittingly - to the mother. Although she loves her family, the lure of the sea would always be too powerful, and the selkie maid would leave her human life and return to her sea and her selkie husband. Sometimes she took her children, but usually they were left behind, as well. I always wondered about what happened to these children . . . they lived on land, but they were partly of the ocean. What was that like? Did they have some kind of power, etc. These musings are at the heart of Tempest Rising.

CK: How do vampires come into play in the novel? And are there any other paranormal creatures involved?

NP: My central world building idea for my series was to take the problem that inspired Jung’s ideas of archetypes (why do all these diverse cultures, some of which had no contact with each other, have similar mythologies?) and apply to it Occam’s Razor: the idea that in a given situation the simplest solution - however improbable - is usually the correct one. The obvious answer to Jung’s query, then, becomes the idea that these creatures must exist. So I populate my world with everything we know and love from our myths, fairy tales, and horror stories, but with a twist.

One of the creatures I obviously had to have was a vampire, as they are one of the great archetypal myths. But, at the same time, my secondary approach to these myths is to twist them. In my imaginarium, we humans created stories out of our glimpses of the supernatural, but we got things wrong. So my vampires are very specific to my world, and, while they do face a specific set of issues having to do with their sanguinary existence, they’re very different from Stoker’s Dracula or Rice’s Lestat.

VF: Who would you say has it easier, vampires or selkies?

NP: Jane isn’t a true selkie; she’s a human/selkie hybrid. Part of the reason I did that was because I couldn’t imagine, and I still can’t, writing a series based entirely on a selkie. They’re seals, after all. They bask on rocks and play in the ocean. They don’t do much, really. My vampires on the other hand, live very complicated lives. They have to feed, so they have to live amongst humans. They’re very political and very social creatures. So, in my world, it’s definitely a lot easier to be a selkie. All you need is a flat rock warmed by the sun and you’re in seventh heaven. Your only big challenge is to avoid getting clubbed.

CK: You're an Assistant Professor of English Literature at Louisiana State University in Shreveport, so clearly reading must be a love of yours. What are some of your all-time favorite novels?

NP: Oh dear lord, too many to name. I did my doctoral thesis on Philip Roth and Martin Amis, two great loves of mine. But I also adore Iris Murdoch, Jean Rhys, Robertson Davies, Hemingway, D. H. Lawrence . . . If I really started listing I’d be here all day. I’m a very, very passionate reader, and I’ve been very lucky to have had an amazing education both in high school and at Boston University, where I was made to read just about everything.

CK: When did you start writing fiction?

NP: When I wrote Tempest Rising, actually. I’d taken a creative writing elective course, one each, in high school and college, just to pad out my schedule. But at that point I wasn’t very good at writing fiction. I was always a very good writer, but not of creative things. And yet, everyone always told me to “become a writer,” as if it were something one just ticks off one’s list of things to do that day. I’d always responded that it wasn’t going to happen, till one day I read a book by Charlaine Harris that inspired me to write my own urban fantasy. Three months later I had a rough draft, three months after that I had an agent, and a few months later we had a three book deal. It’s been crazy, and I still have no idea what happened, what I’m doing, or what’s coming next. I’m just enjoying the ride.

CK: You're making your fiction debut with Tempest Rising and deserve a hearty congratulation for breaking into the cutthroat world of publishing. What was your road to publication like?

NP: Again, I’ve had a really bizarre story that’s not at all “normal.” That said, I also have the most unimaginably thick skin possible, from being an academic. People say that publishing is cutthroat, but they have no idea what academia is like. If publishing is cutthroat, academia is Jack the Ripper-style evisceration. So I’m very, very, very used to rejection, and I’m also very used to doing things that I am pretty sure I will, indeed, be rejected from. Therefore, I approached querying agents as I did applying for academic jobs: I did my research, wrote my letters, and then I queried everyone and their mother. So even though I got an agent very quickly, and did quite well sparking interest, etc., I was also rejected by dozens of agents before landing the amazing Rebecca Strauss of McIntosh & Otis. So yes, I was very successful, very quickly. But that’s because I hit the market hard, and was hit right back - a lot, and oftentimes in the gut - till I found the right audience. In other words, you can’t fear rejection in this business, because you WILL be rejected, time and again.

CK: Any advice for aspiring novelists hoping to break into science fiction and fantasy?

NP: Do your research, take the time to world build, and know what you want to write: know your tone, your intended market, etc. And then write, every day, till it’s out. Once it’s out, you can make it purty. But it has to get out, onto the page, so start writing.

CK: Tempest Rising will be followed by Tracking the Tempest and Tempest's Legacy. Will this be a trilogy, or do you have any more books in the works for this series?

NP: I have more books planned for Jane True, as well as another trilogy in the works that’s set in the same world, but with a very different protagonist facing a very different set of pressures. And she’s awesome. I’m so psyched about writing this new series it’s unbelievable.

CK: As an Assistant Professor of English Literature (no pressure here), what is your theory about the current vampire and paranormal craze in the world of fiction?

NP: I think our current cultural obsession with vampires makes perfect sense. On the one hand, UF and para-rom are entirely escapist. Everyone’s living through a lot of bad stuff right now, so it makes sense that people want to get away from their everyday existence. But if we look closer, we can see that a lot of urban fantasy is shifting the parameters of more traditional horror. Whereas traditional horror stories often talk of an enemy hidden within that must be destroyed by the valiant vampire hunter or government agent, UF is almost entirely about discovering the “enemy” within, only to find out that they’re not really the enemy. Instead, vampires turn out to be complex and sensitive individuals, while the people in positions of power and authority (the vamp hunter, the government agent, the clergy) are often discovered to be authoritarian, intolerant murderers who fear that which is different. In other words, I see a lot of urban fantasy as questioning authority as well as undermining the sorts of militant political stances that insist we must be “with” a cause or “against” it.

CK: Where can readers learn more about you and Tempest Rising?

NP: You can find out more at my website, NicolePeeler.com, on Facebook, and I’m also on twitter as NicolePeeler.

CK: Thanks so much for joining me, Nicole!

Once again, for a chance to win one of two copies of Nicole Peeler's Tempest Rising, answer the question "If you could morph into any type of animal, which would you choose?" by Friday, November 13th. Good luck!

Music Monday: The Rosen-dance Video

Here's another musical offering from Jordan Galland's dark comedy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead: The Rosen-dance Video. As explained at Undead News, "A DJ known as Dancelvania put a beat under [the character] Theo Horace's dialogue where he teaches the vampire slave girls to turn humans into vampires."

I've been long awaiting this particular vampire film's arrival at a theater near me, but, thankfully, they continue to provide Music Monday opportunities to keep me entertained in the meantime.



More Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead music:

Contest winners: VAMPIRES and WEREWOLVES

My young assistant pulled the winning names for Vampires by Joules Taylor and Werewolves by Jon Izzard:

GFDesignz, elaing8, and E.J. Stevens

Winners: Please send your smail mail address to catkarp (at) gmail (dot) com.

Thanks to everyone who entered by joining the debate of which creature of the night has it easier, vampires or werewolves. Thanks also to Media Masters Publicity for kindly offering three sets of the brand-new handbooks.