Vampire’s Dilemma

By Penny Ash, Ellie Fleming, Roberta Rogow and 5 more

Life doesn't stop being complicated just because you're dead.

In the old days, vampires were sexy, ruthless, and evil. They could, and would, compel the living to do whatever they wanted. They owned the night. Unfortunately, being undead in modern times has unexpected and disturbing challenges.

Now nine authors take an amused, and sometimes grim look at the problems some vampires face in the twenty-first century. In "Thin White Duke in Sneakers," a newly turned environmental activist and confirmed vegan has some serious issues with his politically incorrect vampire diet. Family life is disrupted in "Uncle Dmitri" when the police suddenly want to know what kindly Uncle Dmitri might be doing at night besides driving a cab. A young artist in "Take My Breath Away" desperately seeks a real vampire to turn her into an immortal only to discover she will still need to get a job to pay her rent. In "The Face on the Coin," unlife is complicated by obsession, a vampire ghost, and time travel. "Farmer" is a tale of the far-future where humans may well be hunted off the face of the Earth. "Sunrise Decision" is the compelling story of a young marine in Fallujah who can only stop a murderous predator by making his own, personal life and death decision. In "They Shall Take Up Serpents," a predatory Revivalist preacher is brought to justice by a vampire and a cage full of snakes. In "Sale Season," intrigue and vampire romance haunt the art galleries of Europe while "Cursed Blood" asks the eternal question: Do you always have to bite the one you love?

These authors were inspired to write by various TV shows, from Star Trek, Forever Knight, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (& Angel) to White Collar, Burn Notice, Vampire Diaries, Being Human, etc. and have made the leap from fanfiction to professional writing. All these stories are original universes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Wildside Press
• Release date: May 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781434448620

Book preview

Reviews for Vampire’s Dilemma

[wingedwolf · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Old-school literary writing abounds in this collection of vampire shorts. Romance, horror, and mystery - very unique and unusual stories.

[ninetiger_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an eclectic collection of nine vampire stories, and as such, has something for everyone's vampiric preferences. Some stories combine supernaturals as in Robin H. McIntyre's The Face on the Coin. Here spectral detective Brownie (a la Sam Spade) cracks a case that has twists and turns a plenty. If we are lucky, perhaps, he will get his own "casebook" one day. The author's attention to the details of the time period of the 1950s also adds to the story.In Sale Season by Ellie Fleming, the action takes place in Italy and the vampire's story is a poignant one that harkens back to the 1500s and hard, grey choices.All of the stories are by women who learned the craft of writing by creating fan fiction, and the individual essays at the end of each story are revealing of each person's journey on the writer's path. The thoughtful Introduction by Jacqueline Lichtenberg focuses on the importance of fan fiction as an area of literature where new authors are born, much like the hot, blue young stars of spectral population I in spiral galaxies. And her first line clearly demonstrates how perceptions regarding fan fiction have changed over the years:"They used to laugh at me for taking fan fiction writing seriously. Today, I get scoffed at on Twitter if I don't."Having started in writing myself with creating Thundercats fan fiction back in the late 1980s, her essay took me down memory lane and my own time attending Science Fiction conventions. At many panels, I remember published authors looking down their collective noses at fan fiction. It was funny that so many of those writers never wrote anything that resonated with me.So, if you like good vampire stories that take the time to develop both character and plot, and have substance over style, check out Vampire's Dilemma. The name says it all; the Conflict is Key!MGP