They aren’t cutesy, huggy, cuddly. They have fangs and drink blood for pity’s sake. They aren’t at all what you’d normally consider romantic.

Ah, but that’s the key. Normal.

Vampire’s aren’t normal. They’re paranormal, outside the bounds of normality. And this is the key to their appeal.

As a society we’ve embraced vampires because they represent at some level the very imodiment of immortality, the gift of endless love, a power beyond our own. Now before you go and poo-poo the whole idea, consider that entire religions have been built on this concept.

Vampires touch our dreams of living beyond our years, of finding love that conquers even death. They are visceral creatures, not etheral.

What about the blood, you may ask.

How often and in how many myths and doctrine has a payment of blood been required by one party to protect or bring into the afterlife another party? Hundreds, probably thousands. It’s a unverisal theme. So vampires play right into our cultural consciousness.

We love them because they are strong and powerful. We love them because they have accomplished what we aspire to (namely a way to live beyond our mortal lifespan, a chance at immortality). Unlike angels or demons or other supernatural characters, we love them because they retain some part of their humanity. They are flawed, just like us, needy just like us. They have emotion and pain, love and loyalty and a powerful drive, more than most to escape death. How else could they have chosen what they did?

When I created the vampire world in my Sons of Midnight mini-series for Harleqin Nocturne, I tried to take all this into account. I tried to make my vampires subject to the same biolgical laws as we humans and yet allowed them to be the paranormal creatures that enthrall us.  If you get a moment, check out The Truth About Vampires and tell me what you think.

But I’ve found that dwelling on the negative doesn’t help your career. Far more positive and powerful is a thankful heart.

It comes from the idea of what you focus on is what you draw to you.

So I’m thankful for my contracts with Harlequin, that my writing is going to be in books in the hands of readers in 2011 (I know it seems like a long time but in the publishing world it’s not.)

I’m thankful for both my writing and non-writing friends who keep me sane in different ways – the writers because they understand how crazy a business publishing really is, and the non-writers because they don’t care about the business at all.

I’m thankful for the chance to be able to write the stories out of my head – because really, my therapy bills would be astronomical if I had to pay to talk them all out.

I’m thankful that there are readers out there who love romance. Thank you for reading what we write!

I’m thankful that my computer has kept up this far with me and continues to chug along.
I’m thankful for my husband and my kids who encourage me and make me want to be a better writer.

I’m thankful for RWA and the published members who’ve offered support and education over the years that helped me get to where I am.

And of course I’m thankful for you. Because I may not know exactly who you are at this moment, but you are still reading this. And that makes me smile.

May your holidays be full of love, light, and joy.

Cheers,
Theresa

You know I was just beginning to think that Spring was really here. Near my house there is a wetland area and every year I wait to hear the chorus of tree frogs start up. That’s a sure sign Spring is just around the corner. Well the frogs have been singing. Loudly.

Then I saw the crocus coming up and even had a few early daffodils bloom. That’s a irrefutable sign Spring is here.

And we even had the Spring Equinox so it isn’t getting dark before 5 p.m. anymore.

But then it happened. Today, April 1, April Fool’s Day. Apparently Mother Nature is in on gags today too, because it’s snowing! I can’t even begin to tell you how wrong that is. We live in an area that gets decorative snow maybe once a year. You know the kind that falls, is there for a day to make snowmen, then melts away?

Sigh. Just when I thought it was Spring…

I guess it’s Mother Nature’s way of saying Spring Break is for writing, go back to your keyboard!

How can you not love a holiday that is about love, celebrated by eating chocolate?

But I hate what commercialism has done to it. My kids, in grade school mind you, feel pressured to BUY things for friends, their teachers, even their parents! WTH?

Valentine’s Day is not about how much you can fork out at the cash register. It’s about an expression of our love for one another.

Ever read a romance where it was all about his quest to buy her the perfect ring or flowers and once he gave them to her he walked off, done with his “love” story?

Hell no!

Love is about expressing feelings, talking, sharing and letting the other person know how much you truly care about his or her place in your life.

So go find a way to connect with someone who’s made a difference in your life. Some one that you love. Leave a note on a windsheild. Slip a note under their office door. Write in lipstick on the bathroom mirror! Give them a homemade coupon for something you do well (cooking dinner, backrubs, freshly made margarita, whatever.)

But don’t be paralized because of your pocketbook! Go do something about it and show people you care!

(Then you have permission to go storm the stores tomorrow and get all your chocolate for the next six months half price!)