Guest Post: Top Five Innovative Vampire Books, by Ashley Madau

It's no secret that I love VAMPIRES! So when new author Ashely Madau wanted to post about her top five innovative vampire books, I said, "Bring it, baby!!"

So let's check her list out. And feel free to tell me your top five innovative vampire books. But first, check out her new vampire book, called Morningside.

It’s easy to get caught up with bad-ass vampires, a killer love triangle, broken engagements, assumed clones, and enough sexual tension to drive anyone crazy.

Does society really know what it means to be a vampire? What it feels like? Tastes like? The struggles of going through life in a state of unacceptance, and using every fiber of your being to change?

MORNINGSIDE shows vampires in a new light. Humanity believes them to be one thing, without any deviation-- the perfection of a human hunter. One woman is able to prove them wrong. Trapped between both the mortal and immortal realms, she becomes the line between humans and vampires, and both the differences and similarities they share. When her life is put at stake, the worlds begin to collide.

MY TOP FIVE INNOVATIVE VAMPIRE BOOKS

#1 Dracula, Bram Stoker

'Cmon, this was a given. Since, as far as we know, vampires don't exist, and their mythology is present in many different cultures, the top innovator for pulling it all together was the one and only Bram Stoker. And what an innovator he was. There were no published vampire stories before him, so essentially he had to come up with it all (pulling, of course, from the ancient stories passed down), but still! Look at what vampires have become, and how none of it would have been if it weren't for Mr. Stoker himself. A true visionary, a true talent, and perhaps a true vampire...?

#2. You Suck, by Christopher Moore

As I thought this through, I knew I would be completely biased in putting You Suck at the very time of this list, after all, it is my favorite book of all time. Though you see that didn't stop me in the least. You Suck deserves to be here. As far as vampire novels go, many adopt a very somber tone, many times as lifeless as the vampires themselves, but You Suck brings new life into the creatures of night. It's likely the most humorous vampire novel I've read, which makes it an innovator among the adventure/terror/horror vampires of popular literature.

#3. Queen of the Damned, by Anne Rice

This was a no brainer; Ann Rice has been writing innovative vampire tales for longer than many of us have been alive. Queen of the Damned was no different. Sure, I saw the movie (Stewart Townsend as the vampire Lestat was downright delicious) before picking up the book, but there's no doubt the book is leagues above the movie. The way Anne Rice went back into the history of vampires and how it all began is innovation enough, let alone intertwining it with complex characters and stories.

#4. The Twilight Saga, by Stephanie Meyer

You have to give credit where credit is due. As far as a vampire story and characteristics go, Stephanie Meyer has a very unique representation, and added a new level of humanization to the idea of vampires. From complex relationships with their would-be meals, to the Volturi coven in Italy, it's a great adventure through a new concept of vampires.

#5. The Undead Series, MaryJanice Davidson

Another in the vampire humor genre, MaryJanice Davidson has created a hilarious vampire character, a ton of sex, and a new view on how a recently turned to vampire individual copes, and tries to maintain some of their humanity (it's hard and hilarious, as you'll hear protagonist Betsy narrate).

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Ashley Madau was born in automotive Michigan in 1990, and up until recently had lived there her whole life. She now resides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as a creative advertising professional, with her new husband, dog named Furler, and cat named Dexter (who’s a girl). Of a strong Romanian heritage, Ashley has always been fascinated with Vlad Tepes, and more specifically, vampires. Morningside is her debut novel.