What I love most about vampires is...

The Madison Vampire Coven consists of...wait for it...authors based in and around Madison, WI who write about vampires. Currently we have four members, and I asked each to complete the following statement.

What I love most about vampires is...

Jordan Castillo Price, author of Hemavore:

"What I love most about vampires is their vulnerability. I think the ways in which vampires can be harmed are much more interesting than their powers. Depending on which mythologies you draw from, your vampire characters could be vulnerable to sunlight, running water, garlic, or holy relics, just to name a few things. Spin these vulnerabilities into your storyline and you could end up with some really fun elements. What about a vampire who makes a living selling "native earth" to other vampires online? Or maybe an As-Seen-On-TV acupressure bracelet that allows vamps to cross bridges over streams and rivers without freaking out? Vampire weaknesses allow for really compelling world building."

Anna Black, author of "The Temptation of Mlle. Marielle Doucette," found in The Sweetest Kiss: Ravishing Vampire Erotica:

"What I love most about vampires is that as humans we can both envy and pity them. We can envy their immortality, fantastic strength, hypnotic power and, in some cases, their preternatural beauty. We can yearn to be like them and yet, at the same time, shun and even dread becoming one of them. That is where pity comes into play. We can pity their isolation from humanity and, possibly, each other. We can acknowledge that even as they are envied they are also hated and hunted. They are the shadowy reflection of our most impassioned and fearsome desires."

Fred Schepartz, author of Vampire Cabbie:

"What I love most about vampire is that they're so damn sexy. Even when they're not sexy, they're very sexy. They're hideous, but they're beautiful. They are that thing that we fear most, a creature above us on the food chain, a creature that means sure death or worse. And yet, they are so fascinating, we would just love to meet a real vampire sometime."

And yours truly, author of Blood Groove and, coming this July, The Girls with Games of Blood:

"What I like most about vampires is they can represent things in a way that makes us see them anew. Whether it's xenophobia and superstition (Dracula), loneliness and narcissism (Interview with the Vampire), or the terror of sexual relationships (Twilight), vampires stand in for things we otherwise don't want to acknowledge or discuss. In fact, I'd make the case that if a vampire isn't a metaphor for something else, there's no point in writing about them. The vampires that last are the ones who are more than just monsters."

Leave a comment completing the statement, "What I love most about vampires is..." for a chance to win a signed advance reader copy (ARC) of The Girls with Games of Blood. Deadline is May 14!