Blood Sisters: Vampire Stories By Women

Paula Guran · Charlaine Harris · Kelley Armstrong · Elizabeth Bear · Holly Black · Laurell K. Hamilton · Nancy Holder · Tanya Huff · Catherynne M. Valente · Carrie Vaughn

May 2015 · Start Publishing LLC

About this ebook

A tantalizing selection of stories from some of the best female authors who’ve helped define the modern vampire.

Bram Stoker was hardly the first author—male or female—to fictionalize the folkloric vampire, but he defined the modern iconic vampire when Dracula appeared in 1897. Since then, many have reinterpreted the ever-versatile vampire over and over again—and female writers have played vital roles in proving that the vampire, as well as our perpetual fascination with it, is truly immortal. These authors have devised some of the most fascinating, popular, and entertaining of our many vampiric variations: suavely sensual . . . fascinating but fatal . . . sexy and smart . . . undead but prone to detection . . . tormented or terrifying . . . amusing or amoral . . . doomed or deadly . . . badass and beautiful . . . cutting-edge or classic . . .

Blood Sisters collects a wide range of fantastical stories from New York Times bestsellers Holly Black, Nancy Holder, Catherynne M. Valente, and Carrie Vaughn, and critically acclaimed writers Chelsea Quinn Yarbro and Tanith Lee, all of whom have left their indelible and unique stamps on the vampire genre. Whether they are undeniably heroes and heroines or bloodthirsty monsters (or something in between), the undead are a lively lot. This anthology offers some of the best short fiction ever written by the “blood sisters” who know them best: stories you can really sink your teeth into.

About the author

Freelance editor, anthologist, and reviewer Paula Guran was senior editor for Prime Books for seven years. Previously, she edited the Juno fantasy imprint from its small press inception through its incarnation as an imprint of Pocket Books. In addition to the annual Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror series, she’s edited many other anthologies. In an earlier life she produced weekly email newsletter DarkEcho (winning two Stokers, an IHG award, and a World Fantasy Award nomination), edited Horror Garage (earning another IHG and a second World Fantasy nomination), and has contributed reviews, interviews, and articles to numerous professional publications. Charlaine Harris was born in Tunica, Mississippi on November 25, 1951. She attended Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. She wrote poetry and plays before beginning to publish mysteries set in the American South. She is the author of the Aurora Teagarden Mystery series, the Lily Bard Mystery series, the Harper Connelly series, and the Sookie Stackhouse series. In 2001, the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series, Dead until Dark, won an Anthony Award for Best Paperback Mystery. The series was adapted as a TV show on HBO called True Blood. Kelley Armstrong is a Canadian author, primarily of fantasy works. She has published twelve fantasy novels to date, most set in the world of Women of the Otherworld series, one crime fiction novel, and the Darkest Powers Trilogy. The latest novel in the Women of the Otherworld series is called Waking the Witch. Her title Thirteen made The New York Times Best Seller List for 2012. The first book in The Age of Legends Trilogy, Sea of Shadows, made the New York Times bestseller list in April 2014. Holly Black was born in West Long Branch, New Jersey on November 10, 1971. She graduated with a B.A. in English from The College of New Jersey in 1994. Her first book, Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale was published in 2002 and was included in the American Library Association's Best Books for Young Adults. Her other works include The Spiderwick Chronicles written with Tony DiTerlizzi, Ironside, Poison Eaters and Other Stories, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, The Iron Trial (Magisteruim Book 1) and The Copper Gauntlet (Magisteruim Book 2) written with Cassandra Clare, and The Darkest Part of the Forest. Valiant won the Andre Norton Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. She also won the Young-Adult Prize in the Indies Choice Book Awards 2015 for The Darkest Part of the Forest. Black and Clare's Magisterium Series has received both critical and popular acclaim appearing on numerous bestseller lists including The New York Times bestseller list in the Young Adult category. Nancy Holder is the coauthor with Chistopher Golden of the original Watcher's Guide and several Buffy the Vampire Slayer novels, as well as numerous Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and Salem's Tails books. Tanya Huff was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. After graduating high school, she served in the Canadian Naval Reserve as a cook from 1975 to 1979. She received a B.A.A. in radio and television arts from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute. After graduating college, she worked at Bakka, Canada's oldest SF and fantasy book store, from 1985 to 1992. She is the author of more than 20 books including Blood Price, Blood Trail, Blood Lines, Blood Pact, and Blood Debt.