Amy Wilkins, Digital Production Coordinator at Harlequin, did a little research for me to see what vamps make the top of the lists as all time favs in the Harlequin offices. Check it out. See any of your favorites? Who did they miss?
“The gutsy, gritty heroine of Jen Armintrout’s BLOOD TIES series, Dr. Carrie Ames…I was hooked from Book ONE by her street humor, her vulnerability in love and her eventual triumph against all odds in having a second chance at life. I love medical drama, and the stories didn’t pull any punches spilling blood and vital organs from the outset, and Jen really sank her teeth (couldn’t resist) into the vampire mystique with some interesting twists on the usual conventions.”
—Jayne
“Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Maybe it was the accent? Maybe it was the trench coat? Maybe it was the fact that I was a sixteen year-old girl with raging hormones? Regardless, Spike is, and will always be, my favourite vampire. Granted I didn’t pay much attention to him after he became all “soulful”, but when he was bad…he was good. He was the antithesis of Angel – he drank, he smoked, he was love’s bitch, and he had much better chemistry with Buffy. While I didn’t love the story arc they ended up taking with his character and their relationship towards the end of the series, I was able to sustain my love through oodles of fanfiction, with help from Nancy Holder’s wonderful Buffy novels. From eyeballs to entrails, Spike is my absolute favourite vampire.”
—Olga K.
“- Angel—do I really need to say why he’s my fave? Anyone who knows Buffy knows why he’s fab
– Spike—he’s…Spike—what else can I say? I guess the same as above — anyone who knows Buffy knows why Spike is so great
– all the vamps in Lost Boys (the original), I think because they were one of my earliest exposures to the vampire-as-bad-boy, and of course I especially liked Michael (Jason Patrick) and his conflicts over adjustment to his new “life”
– Nathan from Jennifer Armintrout’s BLOOD TIES books—sometimes referred to as Nolan when it was Cyrus talking to/about him — because he feels so deeply
– Selene from Underworld. Because how cool and deadly did Kate Beckinsale look in all that leather? So not fair!”
—Angela H.
“Count Saint-Germain. Chelsea Quinn Yarbro wrote a series of historical vampire novels centering around Saint-Germain. He’s not your typical vampire. Having been around for 4,000 years, he’s lived through some interesting times in history, and these novels are as much historical novels as they are paranormal romances. Saint-Germain is not typical of the vamps you find in vampire fiction. To save on labor, I’ve copied an excerpt from an Amazon reader comment that describes how he’s different: ‘He IS a hero, not an anti-hero. You won’t find fangs, gore, horror and supernatural violence in [these books]. Our vampire is an exceptionally nice guy, sophisticated — quite civilized really — who just happens to have walked the earth since the beginning of time, practically. He does not personify evil, and, unlike other vampiric creations, he is able to stroll about in daylight as long as he carries soil from his homeland in his shoes. He does need blood to survive — but the human donor must be willing to give a pint or two or he won’t drink. And true emotional attachments nourish Saint-Germain as much as the blood he takes. So the concept of “love” and affection figure strongly here. He is also extremely smart with a good intellect and love of the arts. As a matter of fact, he personifies the Renaissance man — with the added attraction of various super-human qualities.’”
—Eva
“I second the Yarbro series! I read HOTEL TRANSYVLVANIA soon after it came out and was swept away by the emotion and doomed romance. Saint-Germain became one of my favorite heroes. Too, Yarbro was one of the first authors I was aware of to jump around in the timeline of the character. She wove in believable history and rich characterization with exciting adventure.
Although it’s certainly not a serious take on Vampires, the irrepressible spirit and humor in MaryJanice Davidson’s Betsy the Vampire Queen series was a breath of fresh air. I found it fun and charming!
When I first met Jean Claude in Laurell K. Hamilton’s series, he was dangerous and edgy and had an intensity that swept me in!
Current vampire series that have been addicting include J.R. Ward, Lara Adrian, Charlaine Harris, Lynn Viehl, Richelle Mead, and I’m enjoying a glimpse of Harry’s brother in Jim Butcher’s series!”
—MTH
“The character ‘Louis’ in the movie Interview with the Vampire, played by Brad Pitt. Louis accepts he’s a vampire but at the same time has a conscious and therefore becomes tired of immortality and the price of it.”
—SA
“I love vampires. It started out with Barnabas (Jonathan Frid) in DARK SHADOWS. It moved on to various books—the vampire in THE VAMPIRE CHRONICLES by Suzy McGee Charnas and the wonderful books of Count St. Germaine in Chelsea Quinn Yarbro’s work (forgive me if I’m misspelling any of the author names or mis-remembering the titles of the books). I also got a thrill out of George R.R. Martin’s vampire work—though it was not in any way romantic. More recently, I’m a big fan of Heather Graham’s work and also of Maggie Shayne’s TWILIGHT series (she had it first!). And I loved the vampire in the recently cancelled MOONLIGHT. He was a good looking man—unfortunately, his “girlfriend” left a lot to be desired (at least in my opinion). To be successful with a vampire novel, the heroine must be as strong as the alpha hero is flawed. There has to be a balance worked out between the characters.”
—Tara
“Angel from Buffy and Angel — especially on his titutal show. Especially the last season when the future of human kind was at stake — he gave up his chance for the return of his human soul and kept going on with the battle.
Betsy, Queen of the Vampires, in the undead series by Mary Janice Davidson — in the first few novels. Because of her refreshing attitude and belief we should all just get along.”
—Malle, digital
“Truvin in Michele Hauf’s HIS FORGOTTEN FOREVER— a former villain-turned-hero (a plot I always find interesting) who finds redemption with an unlikely aid: amnesia!”
—Amy, digital
Shop at: Harlequin.com
Amy’s pretty much got most of them covered!
I also love Jean Claude and Asher from the Anita Blake series. Angel and Spike from Buffy. Eric and Bill from the Sookie Stackhouse series. Selene in Underworld. Henry Fitzgerald from Blood Ties, The Cullens from Twilight, Dante from Adrian Phoenix’s A Rush Of Wings, Vayl from Jennifer Rardin’s Jaz Parks series and Mick St John from Moonlight.
Stephanie Meyer’s Vamps are some I really like.
What a great list of Vamps! :D
Ooh, I love Spike too and any current list should have Stephenie Meyers’ vampires from Twilight included. Also, what about Charlaine Harris’ characters Bill and Eric?
Deidre
I’m a die-hard Eric fan from the Sookie books. I think Harris has done a great job of creating this scary guy with some weakneses.
One I’m going to be watching is Stephan from Patricia Briggs’ Mercy series. I believe he is the focus of her next book and he definitely has some feelings for Mercy.
I preferred Spike a million times over Angel.
Estavan from Sizemore’s Laws of the Blood series.
I always preferred Spike over Angel. Maybe it was the bad boy thing that got me.
I was always a Spike fan too.
Lori
Jennifer Rardin and Michelle Rowen are both participating in 30 Days! So, watch for them.
I love Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series and I like Stefan, but I don’t love him. I think I’d rather he wasn’t paired with Mercy…but maybe that is just me.
Lori
i found the books, when the 3rd one came out, so i was lucky , i ony had to wait on the 4th book to come out, but i LOVE that series ,one of my keepers sets, like kerrlyn sparks series, keepers
those i cn enjoy ove and over
There are so many great vamps. This is a list of some of the best.
The Argeneau Vampires series by Lynsay Sands, The Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole, The Vampire series by Rosemary Laurey, Vampire Huntress series by L. A. Banks are some others that weren’t mentioned above. There are also some vamps in Kim Harrison’s The Hollows series that I like (Ivy and Kisten).
What a great list of vamps!
Good list. I like Spike but it’s Angel for me. I haven’t yet read Yarbro, but trying to collect the early books now as Saint-Germain sounds very intriguing.
i have to agree… Twilight vampires… Angel… oh there are so many!!!
i have yet to read Kim Harrison’s books and the Sookie Stackhouse books as well…
datwater88@hotmail.com
I just have to mention that some other great vampires can be found in books by Karen Chance, MaryJanice Davidson and Jeaniene Frost.
Great list of vampires!
Without a doubt all the other vampires listed above are great but none of them compare to Henry Fitroy from Blood Ties. He brought romance back to TV if only for a short period of time. He was a romantic at heart but still had a bit of bad boy in him. There were so many more stories that could have been told but unfortunately lifetime decided not to continue the series. We do have to thank Tanya Huff for bringing us such a wonderful vampire and Peter Mohan the show runner for molding Henry into a vampire that will stay with us for years to come.
Good list! There are so many vampires!
What a fantastic list. I do love Betsy.
I love the vampire Shane in Jeri Smith-Ready’s Wicked Game. The vampires in her books are stuck in the era in which they were changed. So Shane is stuck in the 90’s grunge era! Very cool take on vamps. I also really liked Dante from Adrian Phoenix’s A Rush of Wings!
I never watched Buffy nor Angel!! I did watch Moonlight and loved it (So wished they bring it back!) I prefer either vampire romance or urban fantasy with vampires. I don’t go for those that are Horror. I love a number of series, others that weren’t mentioned yet: Christine Feehan, Susan Squires, Anya Bast, Kathryn Smith, Colleen Gleason, Keri Arthur, Kerrilyn Sparks, Savannah Russe, Denise Agnew, Kate Hill, Crystal Green and more!
Oh gosh, there’s so many, I’ll never stop!!
And hate to miss any of those Nocturne authors too!
I am so excited that two people brought up the Count Saint Germain. That series was among the earliest vampire series I read (I might have read the Anne Rice books first, I can’t recall), and the Count will always be my favorite vampire!
I like so many of the vampire novels that are out and I love all of them …I must say that Dracula was the first vampire book I ever read and it left me wanting more and more vampire books. In fact that’s why I started writing vampire short stories as a teenager cause I couldn’t find any vampire books to buy so I decided to write my own stories. Dracula has stood the test of time and will always remain a classic of Vampire culture.
Blessed Be,
Leigh Savage