1. Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder, The Vampire Diaries)
I watched all 8 seasons of TVD for the first time at the start of 2024, and Damon was the funniest, sexist, most amazing character in the whole series—but also the greatest vampire of all time for several reasons.
First, he was really good at being bad. Such an unrepentant predator, who loved being a vampire, was a refreshing change from other moody, angsty boys (like Stefan and Edward). Second, he had a good backstory, including being a complete romantic. Third, he was so romantic, he waited centuries to wake his beloved only to discover she had never been entombed and never loved him. He was consistent in his devotion and fell for her human doppelganger so hard he even gave up being a vampire for her (sigh). Fourth, his relationship with his brother turned out to be core to his story arc and to the show, and it was so good to see him evolve to embrace his brother at the end. Made me cry.
Finally, I have totally fallen for Ian Somerhalder the amazing environmental activist and animal lover, such a good, generous person and only resembling his character, Damon, in that he’s smart, funny, and sexy. I really hope my husband isn’t reading this, but he’s probably guessed I’m infatuated, because he caught me one morning talking to Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley live on Fireside! My husband said, “Good thing I’m secure, as another guy might wonder why his wife is talking to her vampire lovers at 5am.”
2. Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard, Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire series/ Trueblood HBO series)
Next on my list (which you may have guessed is based on sexy, romantic, and funny so far) is Eric Northman. I read all the Sookie books, and Eric on the page won me over. Alexander Skarsgard’s version was even better! Trueblood is one of the best vampire shows of all time (great drama, great acting, plus oh so funny at times), and since you’re reading this on a paranormal blog, you probably already know that. If you haven’t watched it yet for some insane reason, go and watch it now.
3. Dracula (Frank Langella, 1979)
I saw this version at the theater when I was six years old (you can calculate my age based on that if you’re good at math). I was so bummed I slept through Star Wars because I was only four then, but I stayed awake and terrified throughout this Dracula. My mom took me along to way too many horror flicks growing up, and I saw several Christopher Lee Dracula movies, but I fell in love with this Dracula because of Frank Langella’s sex appeal and the love story with Lucy (rather than Mina like in the Bram Stoker version). Remember I was only six, but the Shadow archetype that Dracula represents is so powerful I understood it loud and clear. I re-watch this version almost every Halloween and keep imagining Dracula and Lucy ending up together centuries later. Her smile at the end as his cape flew away in the sun could be interpreted in different ways, and I choose the romantic, immortal ending.
4. Dracula 2000 (Gerard Butler, 2000)
Dracula is the ultimate vampire, so of course he ends up on my list twice! Gerard Butler plays a fantastic version—dark, haunted, compelling, dangerous—and this 21st century version of the story was a great change of pace. A plane crash instead of a sailing ship for one thing! Check it out.
5. Spike (James Marsters, Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
While Spike isn’t my physical type, James Marster’s fantastic acting, the romantic turn he takes, and above all the funny (such clever wit) wins me over! Angel doesn’t even make my list because he’s a bit like soggy bran cereal. Spike turns from villain to romantic sop and finally to the ultimate hero of the whole series. What great character development. This was way before Damon followed a similar character arc, so it was also groundbreaking.
6. Ilsa (My lead character’s, Eva Thorne’s, evil twin turned vampire)
This is the only female on my list, but I had to mention my book series somehow! Ilsa was evil before she became a vampire (animating dead mice through necromancy as a child), and I suspect she was responsible for Emily’s death (a wasting sickness to prevent further heirs to the Thorne criminal empire), although no one has connected the dots on that one yet. As a vampire, she shows everyone how it’s done, and quickly eliminates her dead sire’s harem of vampire brides before taking over leadership of the most frightening cabal of immortals manipulating the fates of royals and nations. No one does evil like a Thorne.
7. Jean-Claude (Anita Blake series Laurell K. Hamilton)
Back to sexy vampire lovers. Before the Anita Blake series got too ‘erotica’ and boring for my tastes, I loved Jean-Claude, because of his brilliant business savviness, unfailing support for Anita, and ability to really work the sex appeal whenever he wanted anything. I’m pretty sure no one in these books was monogamous, but I would have ranked him higher if it had been more of a ‘true love’ connection between Anita and Jean-Claude. I’m a romantic at heart.
8. Lestat (The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice)
While I liked Brad Pitt’s Louis in ‘Interview with the Vampire’, my favorite vampire in Anne Rice’s universe is Lestat. It might be because I read this book first, and it was the 1980s, and I totally loved the rock star vampire lifestyle. I also liked the flashbacks to his 1700s storyline which was linked to the first vampires, ancient Egyptian—Isis and Osiris—favorite deities/prehistoric figures of mine.
9. Michael (Jason Patric, The Lost Boys)
Another fave 80s movie of mine is ‘Lost Boys’, which also stars Kiefer Sutherland. This one had a good mixture of sexy, 80s rock style, a great soundtrack, and some funny moments (loved the grandpa). Michael is the vampire who makes my list because while he was only a vamp for a short time, he played it well. He had a similar cool, sexiness I normally associate with a great Dracula, plus he fought his growing evil side to save the girl and the kid. I do prefer the Hero archetype over the Shadow, no matter how seductive the dark can be.
10. Jerry Dandrige (Fright Night 1985 with Chris Sarandon, and 2011 with Colin Farrell)
Jerry is on the list just because the name alone makes me smile. I never wanted to be bitten by either of them, and never wanted either to win, but I loved watching!
Who makes your list? Any fantastic vampires I’m missing out on?
Eva Thorne
Book 5
Lorel Clayton
Genre: Romantic Fantasy/Mystery/Paranormal/Steampunk
Publisher: LC Books
Date of Publication: 15 June 2024
ISBN: 9780648676072
ASIN: B0D3ZRH22F
Number of pages: 351
Word Count: 73,249
Cover Artist: Clayton Colgin
Tagline: Coming home again can be a killer.
Book Description:
Eva Thorne saved the world but hopes no one remembers when she returns to Highcrowne six years later to start a new life. Low key this time. Right.
All she ever wanted was some independence, including the freedom to knock bad guys in the head when needed, but the private investigator gig never worked out for her. She has no choice but to try, yet again, when the Elf Queen commands her to track down the political rival plotting her assassination—there’s no proof but the queen knows someone wants her dead.
As if that wasn’t already the antithesis of a low-key case, the first egg produced by their near-extinct Avian rulers in centuries is stolen. Only the famed Eva Thorne can solve the case. No one understands that she’s not the same person she used to be. She’s been learning necromancy, not detective work, and they won’t think so highly of her when they realize she tried to bring back the God of Death, who they all fought so hard to defeat in the first place.
Excerpt:
A flash of lightning sent shadows looming, blocky figures in
dark raincoats, as they hefted my steamer trunk from the hold and onto the deck
of the airship. Rain pummelled them, driven sideways by the wind. Crew
scrambled to tie ropes after several corroded brass moorings tore free of the
old dock. The deck swayed beneath me, so I widened my stance. I shifted into a
fighting pose and pulled the serrated sword from its bone sheath. My Ashur was
the weapon of choice for Solhan ladies, but I was no lady.
“Where do you think you’re taking that?” I asked, my ominous
tone punctuated with thunder.
The thugs in raincoats froze, surprised to see me. Someone
had drugged my meal and barred my cabin door from the outside. Fortunately, I
had invisible Bogle companions following me everywhere, always the first to eat
my meals, not because they were official food testers but because they were
eternally hungry. They also removed the metal bar from the outside, so I
escaped without needing to cut through the cabin wall, which I would have done.
I would do anything to protect that trunk.
“No pithy comeback or plausible excuse?” I said,
disappointed. “You two really are thick. Who do you work for?”
The deckhands saw my drawn blade and froze too. This old
dock was not Highcrowne, likely a pirate mooring off the usual air routes.
Either they were trying to find refuge in the storm, or they were in on it too.
I didn’t think they were pirates, else they would all be armed and coming at me
with swords, but something was off about them. That’s what I got for eschewing
the premier airship liners with their security protection, courtesy of Rose
Industries. I’d been trying to lay low, but it looked like I would need to be
laying low a few bad guys instead.
“We don’t want any trouble,” one of the crew said, raising
his hands.
“Untie us and get us back underway and there won’t be any,”
I said. I didn’t know how to fly this thing, and so I couldn’t kill them, as
tempting as it was. The two holding my trunk, however…. “I told you both to set
that down. Gently.”
They obeyed. Never trust anyone who complies so quickly. Not
in this line of work. I ignored the crew, their hands full of ropes, their
bedraggled clothing too threadbare to hide any weapons, and I went for the
raincoats.
One whipped out a flintlock pistol. Fool. It was too wet to
fire. The other was slightly smarter, revealing a bullwhip. He was fast too. He
struck, wrapping it around the tip of my sword before I got to him.
The one weakness of a serrated blade was how
easily it could be caught, but that usually worked both ways. It was fantastic
for disarming an opponent, and if it was sharp enough—as mine was—it sliced
right through anything, including leather. His whip lost a third of its length,
and a heartbeat later I had the tip of my sword pointed at his eye. The one
with the useless pistol donned brass knuckles and came for me, but I wasn’t
only a good swordswoman, I was a necromancer. Big mistake.
About the Author:
Lorel and Clayton were teen sweethearts, brought together by a fierce love of
books (and hormones). Despite being married for almost 35 years, they are still
madly in love and still writing. As writing partners, they meld logic,
creativity, and genres. Fantasy, science-fiction, mystery, horror, steampunk,
thriller, romance, classics … they read them all, and if they can mix them they
will!
Still reading? Want to know more?
Lorel has a PhD in molecular biology and Once Upon a Time did cancer research
before turning to the dark side (aka marketing), but she uses her powers for
good, helping raise funds for charity. She loves books, movies and animals, and
would gladly spend all day with a cat on her lap and the wind in her hair
(Conan reference there), while tapping out a story on her keyboard. Or maybe a
movie script. With coffee of course. And lots of chocolate!
Clayton is a classically trained painter turned digital artist who now glares
at the AI generated images currently obliterating the slim chance artists once
had of earning a living. Clayton is severely dyslexic but loves books and
storytelling. He adds vast imagination and a discerning ear for effective prose
to their creative collaboration, not to mention the book cover art.
Born and raised in the western United States, they traveled to Sydney,
Australia in 1997 and never left, finding the sunshine and beaches of “Oz” too
irresistible.
Look
them up if ever you’re Down Under.
Website: https://lorelclayton.com/
Twitter: https://x.com/lorelclayton
Newsletter:
https://lorelclayton.com/subscribe/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/lorelclayton/
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/lorel_clayton
BookBub:
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lorel-clayton
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorLorelClayton/
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