Daily Dose | Vampire Love Stories

The thrill of Twilight: New Moon opening is beginning to rev to a fever pitch. I like vampires. I like the story choices that different authors make. I like twists to the legends such as Kelley Armstrong’s vampires that must kill one person a year to sustain their existence. Romance and vampires is hardly a new concept, it has been around since Bram Stoker’s original monster pursued Mina Harker with ardent passion. In Interview with a Vampire, there were multiple layers of passion – the passion of Lestat for Louis’ depth of feeling and the passion of Louis for Claudia, despite her madness and the hints of deeper stories beyond the fabric of the present. In the Vampire Lestat, we saw more passion – particularly between Lestat and his mother Gabrielle and finally, the passion of the Queen in the final chapter and of each of the vampires for the tassels of their mortality. Rice textured her stories with so many complex layers that it is easy to forget the basic passion at the root of it all. Great Vampire Love Stories

The best vampire love stories are the ones that leave you aching. They are the
tales that summon a tear or a sigh. The passion in vampire love stories leave
you aching to see it to the bloodiest resolution and the characters dancing with
death.

Buffy and Angel; Buffy and Spike

Two incredibly different love stories, but both involve vampires and forbidden
resolutions. For Buffy, Angel was her first love and in some ways, her truest
love, pure and platonic because it was forced to be so. For Spike, however, the
vampire given to his passions – from his mad love for Dru to his commitment to
change for Buffy. Remember, Spike went around the world to earn a soul because
he loved her. Unlike Angel, his soul was a blessing, not a curse. Sadly, neither
couple got a happily ever after.

Stefan, Damon and Elena

In the original books, the love Stefan felt for Elena began as a reflection of
his passion for Katherine. However, once we met Katherine, we saw the shallow
depth of the pool of thought. Despite Stefan and Elena’s love, something about
Damon remained compelling. He is a monster who embraces his blood lust
gleefully. So why did so many of us root for the bad boy? The power of love,
redemption and passion are a commitment of the vampire tale.

Andre Lebrel and Diana Tregarde Ahhh, this takes me back. Diana Tregarde starred in three contemporary, urban fantasies by Mercedes Lackey. A witch, she crosses paths with Andre in the novel Children of the Night. The flirtation is mild, but heats up quickly as the two set out to save the Romany that Andre protects and more from dark evil. It is a classic tale of good versus evil with a playful passion thrown in. I always wanted more of these books to delve deeper into their story. Vicki Nelson and Henry Fitzroy; Vicki Nelson and Mike Celluci Vicki is an ex-cop with a disorder called Retinitis Pigmentosa. The disorder is gradually eating away at her eyesight, but never say die Vicki makes her living as a private investigator. A series of crimes puts Henry Fitzroy in Vicki’s cross hairs. Henry, the son of King Henry VIII did not die as history reported, but became a vampire. Now he makes his living as a graphic artist. Vicki and Henry’s attraction is very push-me-pull-me until he must convert her into a vampire when she nearly dies. Now vampires in their world are very territorial and instincts force them to drive each other away, Henry is the one who goes, though and it’s Mike Celluci, Vicki’s ex-partner who steps up to protect and be with her. Blood Ties was such a great series that actually made the leap to television for a while. Sookie Stackhouse and Eric Northman

Yeah, I know – everyone loves Bill, but I am a huge Eric fan. Eric’s fascination
with Sookie gradually evolved into love and not just the possessive, I need to
conquer you for status, but genuine love. The series is already tantalizing us
with glimpses of Eric’s early obsession and frankly, I hope it does follow the
passionate trail blazed by the books.

Do you have a favorite vampire love story?

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A lifelong writer turned author, Heather Long's first book Remembering Ashby is available for purchase at Sapphire Blue Publishing. Coming soon is the urban fantasy: Prime Evil. The Daily Dose explores books, television, writing and more -- all topics that Heather enjoys.