As far back as I can remember, I enjoyed "Dracula" stories more than any other.
I first met Count Dracula at a Scholastic Book Fair in Middle School in the form of a graphic novel. As a budding fine artist myself, I fell in love with both the characters, the story, and the illustrations.
I moved then to the novel by Bram Stoker and I became inflamed with the desire to write vampire stories. At age 12, I began drawing Dracula scenes and writing short stories about vampires.
Allow young Ellen to read adult novels and by age 14, I was reading vampire fiction intended for grownups - with sex and profanity, oh my!
Voraciously, I purchased every novel about vampires on the bookshelf, and this was before online shopping. I would be AT AN ACTUAL BOOKSTORE surfing actual shelves for new vampire books. I gobbled them up, reading them sometimes 20+ times.
This whole time and into high school and then college, I continued to read vampire books and write vampire stories. My career plans had nothing to do with writing - I never dreamed to be a writer at this time. I was training to be a psychologist and when I reached my senior year of college, I had decided I would get a Masters and work with the elderly.
But.
Instead.
I got married to my high school sweetheart and a year later, we had our daughter. I quit work and became a mommy. I wasn't until my daughter was 10 years old did I pick up writing again.
This is when I wrote THE JUDGING. My first novel took 3 years to write and I immediately wrote Book 2 and then a new novel called RABBIT: CHASING BETH RIDER. Over the years, all three of these became bestsellers and spawned two separate series' that I love dearly.
So by now, 2020, I have written and published more than 40 vampire-themed novels and stories and I still have dozens left in my head!
My next blog, I am going to discuss a character named Androni from the end of one of these series. He has commanded me to write him a spin-off novel and I will comply. If I refuse, he will haunt my sleep and keep me up at night. It's true.
Okay, let's go read. You might be surprised to hear that even though I am writing a new vampire novel right now, I am reading a cozy mystery about a woman and a Boston Terrier. Yes! I am a reader, too and now that I write vampire books, it's been years since I read a vampire book by someone else. Sure, I will go back and read my favorites from the 80's, but I have not read the new stuff. I should... I know... maybe later.
HUGS to you all and stay well!
~ ellen
PS: If you enjoy vampire novels (and I am also writing a cozy mystery series with NO vampires but a snarky cat, LOL) - please sign up for my newsletter. Here's a link and it provides a free book, The VAMPIRE Magician!
https://dl.bookfunnel.com/z0c7dpe1am
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