E.C. Hibbs' Top 10 Favorite Vampires + Tragic Silence Book Giveaway

Please welcome today's paranormal guest author E.C. Hibbs!  E.C. is the author of TRAGIC SILENCE.

Since Tragic Silence is a fresh take on vampires, I asked author E.C. Hibbs to share her Top 10 Favorite Vampires.  Read on to discover her answers and to win a Tragic Silence ebook!

E.C. Hibbs' Top 10 Favorite Vampires

Count Dracula – Dracula by Bram Stoker

How could I not include this guy? Dracula is one of my favourite classic novels, and even though I love seeing all the different takes on him in movies and spin-offs, it’s the original incarnation of him which I think the most of. The one who wasn’t in love with Mina Harker. But, saying that, my favourite film version of him is the Francis Ford Coppola one with Gary Oldman. That did add the love story, but I didn’t mind because of the way he was played. Another reason I really like Dracula is because even though a lot of vampire tropes originate from him, there are some things in the book which are often overlooked in modern vampires. He never turns into a bat; he instead crawls down walls like a lizard. He can go out in the sunlight. And he does age, but not in the way you might expect.

Eli – Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

This is probably my favourite modern vampire story. The book is amazing and the film adaptation is just beautifully put together. And Eli’s character is the centrepiece of everything for me. Eli is a twelve year-old child who was turned into a vampire by a nobleman centuries before she meets Oskar. The two strike up a friendship which appears to evolve into innocent love. I really like this take on vampires because it shows a friendship between the creature and a human, rather than romance or antagonism. But another reason why I love it is because you’re never quite sure of Eli’s motives. Is she an innocent child trapped in immortality seeking a companion, or is she manipulating Oskar into becoming a caretaker to carry out her vampiric wishes? Eli is ambiguous in more ways than one, and that’s what draws me to her so much.

Carmilla/Countess Mircalla Karnstein – Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

Carmilla is a vampire novella that came out 25 years before Dracula, and it’s clear that Bram Stoker took inspiration from it. The main character is one of the first female vampires in popular literature, and she has all the cunning and charm of most Victorian vampires. But she also sleepwalks and suffers from very sudden mood swings. I love her backstory and the connection she has with Laura, especially the way they meet and become friends after a carriage accident outside Laura’s house. Carmilla is one of my favourite classic vampires, and writing this has made me really want to read it again!

Selene – Underworld

This was actually a tough one to call between Selene and Viktor, but I decided to go with Selene because of how determined she is as a warrior. I really enjoyed the fact that she wasn’t interested in the finer aristocratic pleasures of being a vampire, and was instead obsessed with avenging the memory of her human family from centuries ago. To this end, she has become vicious and cold, and it’s only through her relationship with Michael that she is able to rediscover the ability to love. She’s very strong and her character arc is great, especially when she has to decide where her loyalties lie.

Sinclair Copley – Blood and Ice by Robert Masello

Sinclair is a vampire who I think slips under the radar for a lot of people. His character is very interesting to watch throughout the story, because of how much he changes. He begins the novel as a typical middle class Victorian gentleman, patriotic and wealthy, but his experiences of battle and vampirism cause him to become bitter and hard. He loses faith in humanity, and so begins to lose his own, with only the sure knowledge that his beloved Eleanor must always be with him. There’s something about him which I really don’t like, but yet I feel sorry for him at the same time.

Marlow – 30 Days of Night

I’m basing this mainly on the film rather than the comics, because I never finished reading the series. But Marlow is one of those vampires who really creeps me out. He’s the leader of the troupe which comes to Barrow, Alaska during the polar night, with the intention of feasting on the trapped residents. I really liked how these vampires are very naturalistic and almost animal-like in their behaviour and actions. There’s no doubt that they are undead, but they don’t have any kind of grace which you might see in other kinds of vampire. But despite clearly being driven by the simple want of blood, they are still cunning enough to plan the entire attack, manipulate living people, and cover their tracks, and that’s all seen most clearly in Marlow. Creepy!

David – The Lost Boys

This is my favourite movie that has teenage vampires as the main characters. David is the leader of the ‘lost boys’: a group of biking kids who constantly hang around the Santa Carla Boardwalk and generally cause trouble. It’s never made clear exactly how old he is, but he has an arrogance about him, which I think is partially from being a ‘bad boy’, and also because a lot of vampires have that trait. The thing which I really like about David is how much he enjoys himself. He never shows any remorse for the things he does, and it’s almost as though he sees killing and danger as a game. In that respect, he behaves a bit like a child, just wanting to have fun forever, and I can see the original links to Peter Pan in him. Plus, when he’s in full-out vampire mode, he looks brilliant. Those eyes have been stuck in my head for years!

My Swordhand is Singing by Marcus Sedgwick

It’s been a while since I read this book, but it had a definite impact on me. It’s set in 17th century Transylvania, long before the vampire became a cloaked, fanged, well-spoken villain. And the vampires in this story have nothing in common with the usual image we give them. These creatures are inspired by the original folklore of Eastern Europe, when they were seen as more like zombies with a bloodlust. There’s nothing suave or cunning about them, but like zombies, they just appear to be an unstoppable force. In that respect, they’re similar to the vampires from 30 Days of Night. But here, they are still bound by the traditional methods of repelling, like not being able to cross running water. It was very refreshing to see!

Lestat de Lioncourt – The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice

How can anyone not love the Brat Prince? He’s got to be one of the most charismatic, vain, enthusiastic vampires out there. And all the levels to his character are brilliant. I love how he often contemplates some pretty big philosophical questions in regards to what he has become, which I think are more poignant because it was never his choice to be a vampire. He can be quite brutal, but also selfless, and tragic in how lonesome he tends to be. And he becomes a rock star in the 1980s. That’s just awesome.

Count Franz Szekelys – Blood Sinister by Celia Rees

I tend to think of this book as Dracula for younger readers, because there are a lot of similarities to the Bram Stoker novel. But Blood Sinister is still a good story on its own, and one of its strongest points is the two main characters’ interactions with the vampire. The story jumps between Ellen Laidlaw, a young lady in Victorian London; and her distant descendant, Ellen Forrest, who is seriously ill with a mysterious illness of the blood. Both of them come into contact with Franz Szekelys, who begins as a character very like Dracula, but then is able to integrate himself into modern society. He’s a classic vampire, but creepy in his own right, and it’s nice to see his behaviour change between the two different time periods.

Tragic Silence by E.C. Hibbs

When tragedy strikes Bianka Farkas one night in her native Hungary, she loses more than a friend and her mobility. Some things are harder to understand. Waking up in a hospital, Bee struggles to remember exactly what happened the night she was attacked and witnessed a brutal murder. Memories of a mysterious figure plague her as well as bizarre and terrifying changes in her over the next few years. Facing this new horrifying reality with a surprising ally, Bee finally has the chance to take her revenge but at what cost?

Release Date: November 19, 2013
Genre: New Adult, Paranormal, Suspense
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Thank you E.C. for joining us here today at From the Shadows!

To learn more about E.C. Hibbs and her writing, please visit her website.

***Tragic Silence Ebook Giveaway***

The author is giving away an ebook copy of Tragic Silence by E.C. Hibbs to one lucky winner!

To enter, please leave a comment on this post and include your email address so that we may contact you if you win.  This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL.   Giveaway ends May 21, 2014 midnight EST.

Who are your favorite vampires?