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Oct122010
All Hallows Eve – Guest Author: In Defence of Vampires by Matt Haig, author of "The Radleys" (+ Giveaway!)
by Carolyn • Posted in Uncategorized
I am very pleased to welcome Matt Haig to Book Chick City today to help celebrate my All Hallows Eve event. Matt is the author of “The Radleys“, a funny but dark young adult crossover about a family of vampires.
I read and reviewed “The Radleys” a few months ago for my 10 Fun Days of YA Fiction and thoroughly enjoyed it. Luckily, you have the chance to win a copy of this fab book at the end of Matt’s post, so make sure you enter!
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In Defence of Vampires
by
Matt Haig
I have been very kindly asked by Carolyn to write a piece for her rather brilliant blog Book Chick City to mark the occasion of Halloween and so I thought I’d do something on the subject of vampires.
Now, I have written about a family of bloodsuckers in my novel The Radleys, and I have to say that it’s a very weird time to have a book about vampires coming out. As the great author Keith Gray put it in his review of The Radleys in the Guardian, ‘Matt Haig must be getting pretty weary of the eye-rolling and knowing winks he receives whenever he mentions that his latest novel deals with vampires. He probably has to wear a T-shirt bearing the slogan “No, I haven’t jumped on the bandwagon!”‘
And the first thing to say is that it’s true I didn’t jump on the bandwagon, because in 2007, when I started The Radleys, there wasn’t much of a bandwagon to jump onto. I hadn’t heard of Stephanie Meyer and True Blood was a long way off. But I haven’t gone to the lengths of having a T-shirt designed in my defence. And the second thing to say is, really, vampires become popular at certain times for certain reasons, and I don’t think it has to do with trends. It goes deeper than that.
Okay, here’s the spooky Halloweeny bit.
Jungian psychologists have looked into vampire stories through history and they worked out that around a thousand years ago different cultures around the world all started coming up with vampire stories. Yeah, I know the word vampire didn’t come about until the 1800s but these stories were all about bloodsuckers who had recognisable vampire traits such as being scared of sunlight. And the weird thing is these cultures in differing, isolated parts of Europe and Asia, had no knowledge or contact with each other.
So vampires lurk deep in our dreams and collective unconscious, waiting for the right moment to bite.
And of course, now they are biting left, right and centre. In fact, I would like to say here and now that I don’t think vampires are a ‘trend’ any more. I think they’ve gone beyond that. They’re a genre all to themselves. Like romcoms or westerns.
And even though personally I don’t like a lot of fang-lit (the Mills and Boon for goths stuff), I love vampires. Seriously, can vampires or zombies even compare. Vampires are so attractive because they are our secret selves – they are who we want to be. Sexy, irresistible, amoral, immortal. Like Lord Byron, one of the vampires in The Radleys, they are ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’. In the fantasy genre, I don’t think anything has ever come close to the perfection of a vampire. They represent and tap into so many things – forbidden desires, fears of mortality, and that battle of selfish instinct versus duty we all feel.When I was younger I wanted to be David (the Kiefer Sutherland character) in The Lost Boys. I love those eighties vampire films. Near Dark is another classic.
With this story the thing that got me started was a single idea – what would it be like to grow up as a normal human being and be then told you are actually a vampire. Plus, I loved the idea of these parents who were trying to do best for their kids by raising them normally, but actually by depriving them of blood they are making things worse. I thought it would be fun to have these vampires who didn’t want to be vampires, and who tried very hard to live a normal human lifestyle, doing middle class things like going to the theatre and attending book groups, and what the consequences would be. It’s always what makes a character interesting, that tug-of-war between selfish instinct and the desire to do the right thing.
And vampires – however overused they may be – remain the absolutely perfect metaphor for this internal struggle within all of us. Between good and bad, fun and boredom, and the desire to live life fully versus the need to be sensible.
This is why vampires, no matter how many crucifixes or hawthorn stakes you throw at them, will never die.
Thanks Matt!
You can find out more about Matt and his books here:
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Now onto the fab GIVEAWAY!
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I have TWO copies of “The Radleys” up for grabs – ONE copy to a UK winner and ONE copy to an INTERNATIONAL winner.
All you have to do to enter is the following:
1. Read BCC’s Giveaway Policy
2. Fill out this form
3. Leave a comment for the author
4. One entry per person please
This giveaway ends 31st Oct!
GOOD LUCK!
58 Comments
Great post. I agree, Vampires have a life of their own now.
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Your story sounds like arefreshing new take on the whole vampire scenario and I would like to read it but I must admit the "bandwageon" has left me avoiding most new vampire tales.
I am just yearning back to the good old days of the Hammer Films Dracula series of movies !
Thanks for the giveaway.
Carol T
buddytho {at} gmail DOT com
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Great Post. I admit to having Vampire burnout, except for books that have a unique spin on the genre, The Radleys looks like a great read!
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Never have vampire burnout !!! Love the stories and this one is differnt which keeps me more intrigued !!! They do have there own life !! which I think is a good thing ,, Vampires will never grow old the concept,irrisitable, intriguing, sexy and of course immortal.:) love the sounds of it Matt.. a story with bite ! always sucks me in ..
Katrina
kittee_cat@bigpnd.com
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Brilliant!
Met Matt at a festival couple of weeks ago, loved the idea of The Radleys but never bought a copy. I regretted it though, so thanks for the chance
Matt is a brilliant writer, it's fabulous that you got him on the blog!
Zoë x
(I am a follower, however I am on my iPod away from home and have misplaced my password, Sorry)
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Actually I always wanted someone could tell me that actually I'm a vamp//someone with is magical rather than being a mere human. LOL.
Great post!
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I really enjoyed yoyr post. I can't imagine how life would be for a vampire…when he tried to act like a "normal" person. It must be rough, but interesting!
mom1248(at)att(dot)net
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Great post. Love the take on vampires in this story.
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Great post! Thanks you! This seems like a different kind of vampire book
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I agree, Vampires are eternal!
Good vs Evil is the basis of most stories and vampires are the perfect example of that strugle. Thanks for the post Matt.
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Great interview. I still love vampires
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Ok I love Vampires no matter how you look at them!! This sounds like a great read!!
congrats to Matt Haig on his book!
Great Giveaway!!
kristen_babygurl@hotmail.com
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I love that bit about "biting left, right and centre".
It's so true that they are very popular now but this actually makes me more choosy about which books I pick up.
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Loved to read this post, especially because I didn't know about "The Radleys", but now I really want to read it. Sounds like such a fun story and the premisse is amusing.
I find it fascinating how even in ancient egypt, rome and greece (not to mention others)they had myths and legends about vampire-like-creatures. It just shows that it's not a recent phenomenon.
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Great post I am quite new to the Vampire genre and love differing opinions.
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Great post I am quite new to the Vampire genre and love differing opinions.
not sure why it came up ananymous before
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I'm glad to see a post about this book! I've had it on my wishlist for a couple of weeks now.
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Fabulous guest post. I'm adding "The Radleys" to my tbr list now!
xx,
E.J.
From the Shadows
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Great Guest Post! I'd love to read your book. A new take on very popular topic: vampires, is hard to find!
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I always loved vampires too…just for those reasons you stated. And while you wanted to be Kiefer, I wanted to date him.
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I love this author and this post…you can pre order this from Amazon and not get it until Dec.28th…I have to win this…I have wanted it for forever…
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I agree with you, Matt. I have long considered vampires as a genre, not a trend…ever since becoming a loyal fan of Anne Rice years ago!
Thanks for the great guest, Carolyn!
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I'm a writer and recently released a HF about Elizabeth Bathory. A reviewer told people to 'beware' because there wasn't actually vampires in the story. I wonder how a person can be a fan of vampire books but not have a clue about the rich mythology, folklore or historical origins. I'd love to read and review this book!
Charlie
bitsyblingbooks@gmail.com
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Interesting take and always good to have a different twist on the normal vamp stories
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I have always found it amazing when completely different cultures have virtually the same myths. I have also found they come out alot during bad times. I think your book like a unique twist on the vampire story. I would love to read it.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com
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Killer post. I love vamps. Always have, always will. I so want to read The Radleys. It will going on my TBR list. Thanks, Matt
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Whilst it can feel like many of the newer vampire based books are just band-wagon hopping, it's worth noting and remembering that there's a hell of a lot of good writing focusing on vampires out there – it's just (unfortunately) mixed in with the glittery Pattinson types. Whilst it can make it harder to find the good ones, at least fans of the genre have plenty to choose from!
Loved the guest post – I'd not heard of the book before but I'm off to add it to my 'wanted' list!
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Matt – The book sounds great! I'm a bit of a Lost Boys fan myself (having met half the cast!), it's the film that got me into vampires!
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Great post! Definitely a book to add to my to-be-read pile!
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Hi Matt,
I enjoyed your post and I'll be looking for your book, The Radleys. I always love humor in a book, even the darkest story can stand to lighten up a bit with some humor, so I'm looking forward to checking out your work. And I'm not tired of vampires, I love them.
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The Radleys sound really unique, a very different concept to the usual vamp stories.
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This interview gave me a great idea for a lesson plan on internal/ external struggle & conflict. Thanks!!
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Another new to me author! Love finding them! The book sounds wonderful..
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Love the genesis of your story!
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I love Vampires… they never grow old!!! (lol, couldn't resist)
-Brandy
brandyzbooks@yahoo.com
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Sounds good. Is there any special reason they are called The Radleys?
eva.s.black[@]gmail[.]com
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Totally agree with your sentiments about the internal struggle we people have [and hence maybe the popularity of vampires!!]
Thanks for your post!
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I've always been a vampire junky. Well, since about the age of 10, which feels like eons ago. LOL I've seen vampires come and go from television and books, and I've seen them go from scary to sexy and back again. I love them all honestly.
Your book sounds like a riot! I think both my daughter and I would enjoy reading it and I'll be keeping my fingers crossed.
makepeace.arts[at]gmail[dot]com
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Everytime I see an author publishing a vampire book that has no relation to As-The-Vampire-Sparkles, I want to give them a cookie.
Hopefully this one will continue the eradication of sparkling vampires from the public consciousness.
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I love Chinese "vampires", they hop around and act more like zombies, but they do suck blood (I think) lol
I'd really love to get to read this book!
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Great post! The Radleys sound like my kind of book! I'm sooo looking forward to reading it! It sounds awesome and different! Thanks for the giveaway!
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wonderful points Matt! and I completely agree that vampires go much deeper than trends now; they represent so much of how we see ourselves (as a society) and more. thanks for the interesting Jungian tidbits! definitely worth pondering.
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hahhahahahaha,
your last sentence is actually very nice,
the 'no-matter' sentence
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this looks much interesting than I expected.
no offense meant! [I come in peace}
=P
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great post!!!can't wait to read it….oh god my TBR pile grows fast:(
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I really want to read this one. (I'm an international entrant btw: U.S.) I still love vampire books. I think you just have to find the ones that fit you you and don't read all vampire books if you don't want too…pick and choose, and it's harder to get burnt out like some people have been saying.
-Lauren
lauren51990 AT aol DOT com
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Great post. I'd like to read this
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LOL at the last sentence!! Fantastic post!
Also, thanks for the great giveaway
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Great post! And thanks for the giveaway.
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Love the post. I just can't get enough vampires. I love the idea of middle class vampires.
lizzi0915 at aol dot com
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Wow, great post! I especially loved this sentence: "Vampires lurk deep in our dreams and collective unconscious, waiting for the right moment to bite."
Thanks for the giveaway!
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be honest, never heard this book and author. hope it was a great story! vampires! great!
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Great post. I love reading about vampires and I'm always looking for different types.
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sounds like a wonderful book – can't wait to read it!
k_sunshine1977 at yahoo dot com
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Imagine being raised as a human but being a vamp! What a trip.
dorcontest at gmail dot com
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I love reading the explainations people offer for our fascination with vampires. Thanks
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Vampires would make a great Senior theasus.
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I love this concept. Can't wait to read this one.
Lizzi0915 at aol dot com
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