Thursday, September 22, 2011

Lesbian Vampire Fiction

Victoria Frances The Kiss Art Print Poster
Vampires are a popular topic for lesbian characters in horror, erotica and supernatural fantasy fiction. In fact, the very first vampire book was not Dracula - it was Carmilla in 1872 by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, about lonely female vampire who becomes obsessed with young women.

Vampire have always been a popular theme for conveying sexual imagery and erotic stories - powerful, vulnerable, dangerous and compelling, they visit in the night and it's so much easier to bite a young women who thinks she's being seduced...
Mixing in lesbianism was actually a fairly logical next step - all vampires prefer young women, everyone knows that (or are indiscriminate. And young women were less likely to missed and easier to prey on).

Anyway, there are now over a dozen paranormal urban fantasy romances, and an equal number of erotic urban fantasy romances and miscellaneous erotic short story anthologies about lesbian vampires - as well as a much smaller number of historical novels, nonfiction, horror and plain old fantasy.

Lesbian Vampire Novels

Gothic Literature

Carmilla
Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu (free! Now in the Public Domain) [Review]
"His small masterpiece, Carmilla, is one of the most seminal vampire stories in the English language"
~ Anne Rice
The first published Vampire story in 1872, this is a fantastic piece of Gothic literature that is a must-read for vampire lovers, fans of historical writing and lesbians alike.
The author is quite obscure, but considered one of the great horror fiction writers of the 19th century by those who know him. While it is overshadowed by Bram Stoker's Dracula, Carmilla strongly influenced the later book and inspired much later vampire fiction.
For the time, Carmilla was relatively erotic and daring, though it would be tame by modern standards - and Carmilla's exclusive interest in young women was positively... outrageous.


Contemporary Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romances
(Many of these books include mixed fantasy race worlds and also appear on the list of lesbian werewolf fiction)
  • All This and Family, Too by Sarah E. Glenn - a funny modern day vampire, the stresses of coping with her vampirism, her dysfunctional family, obsessive vampire hunters... and the girl she rescued and brought home with her.
  • Away From The Dawn by Kate Sweeney -  lonely, ancient Sebastian is desperate to walk in sunlight amongst mortals again, and when she joins forces with Dr. Alex Taylor, she throws vampire society into turmoil. Featuring an erotic past with her vampire lover Leigh, and a budding romance with Alex. 
  • Blood Love by Helen Dunn - a student and teacher at an exclusive girl's school find each other attractive, though forbidden by their relative statuses... and then both fall under the spell of the vampire Countess Benay Basquaist.
  • Crimson Dawn by Ronnie Massey [Review] - Urban fantasy about a not exactly lesbian vampire and a fairy princess who... well, feels more than friendship towards her roommate. Despite being beaten over the head with them being 'meant' for each other, our protagonist spends more time noticing the multitude of Hot Guys for the first part of the book, though this takes a dramatic swing in the other direction later.
  • Darkling by Yasemine Galenorn - the third book in the Sisters of the Moon series about three half-fae sisters, this one focuses on the lesbian vampire. Each book is from the viewpoint of a different sister. In this book, the vampire who killed her is hunting again and they have to track him down.
  • Darkness Embraced: A Rosso Lussuria Vampire Novel by Winter Pennington - the first book in a new vampire series, this one strongly resembles the world of Anne Rice's vampires. Cast aside by her queen and lover of fifty years, Epiphany spends next 150 years staying out of sight of the more powerful vampires, until her ex-lover calls her up to take the dangerous Challenges required to prove herself as an Elder. Cue politics, treason, danger, and an unfinished love affair.
  • Dead Witch Walking, by Kim Harrison- Rachel Morgan is a witch and bounty hunter who clashes with the authorities and ends up on the run, in an uneasy alliance with Ivy, a bisexual vampire who's in love with her. A paranormal mystery full of fantasy creatures, similiar to Laurell K. Hamilton's early Anita Blake novels, only with more plot and less sex. 
    • Notes: The series is very popular, currently has ten books published, with two or three more on the way. Ultimately not a lesbian series, though gay friendly and Ivy is a significant supporting character throughout.
  • Everafter by Neil Stark & Trinity Tam  When Valentine is bitten by a vampire, her and her beloved struggle to cope, stay together, and bring Valentine's attacker to justice in a world of shapeshifters and the paranormal. Panther shapeshifter/Vampire.
  • Forever Mine by K.D. Williamson - a well written, but rushed short story about two angsty vampires who have to decide if they will be enemies or lovers once more. Gore and sex and drama.
  • Kill Me by Alex Owens - a sexy, bisexual vampire origins story, about a woman whose marriage is breaking up, and is seduced and turned by a mysterious vampire. She turns out to have magical abilities that make her a not quite normal vampire, and all kinds of stuff happens.
  • Knight Predator by Jordan Falconer - a conflicted vampire and the teenage girl who loves her. This one has real plot and doesn't take itself as seriously as most vampire romance.
  • The Midnight Hunt (Midnight Hunters Series) by Radclyffe (as L.L. Raand) - Drake the medic saves the life of a girl suffering from werefever, gets bitten and attracts the attention of the local alpha... werewolf forbidden love story, featuring vampires. Rather a lot of focus on bestiality.
    • continued in Blood Hunt which has a much more central vampire romance, and Night Hunt which is mostly weresexy times but still has a lesbian vampire around.
  • Sasha, Queen of Darkness by Maxx -  a sexy and powerful vampire patrols Los Angeles, keeping her domain in order - but not her heart. A thriller romance that is the first of a trilogy.
  • Scarlet Masquerade by Jett Abbott -  AJ Lockwood lives quite comfortably nowadys using the research of her own pharmaceutical company, but has mourned her lost lover for centuries - until she walks into a bar and sees her. Except that the woman she lost was not a vampire, and this woman is. And someone is trying to kill her.
  • So Dead, My Love (originally 'Blood Scent') by Patty G. Henderson -Samantha Barnes is an artist with an obsession that revives the vampire Lara Karnov, setting into motion a prophecy and events full of death and desire.
    • Virago by Karen Marie Christa Minns - two lesbian lovers on a New York college campus are attacked by one of their teachers, who has singled out one of the women for herself.
      • Lambda Literary Award Nominee (Lesbian Debut Fiction, 1990)
      • Lambda Literary Award Nominee (Lesbian SF/Fantasy, 1990)
      • republished as Bloodsong in 1997
    • Witch Wolf by Winter Pennington - already difficult, witch, werewolf and investigator Kassandra Lyall's love and worklife becomes a lot more complicated when a seductive vampire takes a very personal interest in her. An urban fantasy romance mystery that begins a new series.
      • Second book in the series is Raven Mask (in which the vampire Countess is established as Kassandra's lover)
    • 'Expression of Desire' by Dominick Cancilla   - a vampire who loses herself in her paintings finishes of her latest artwork and eyes the model hungrily...


    Historical, Science Fiction and Thriller
    Basically, the various books that don't fit into either 'erotica' or 'paranormal urban fantasy romance'
    • The Embrace by J.D. Gallagher - a girl reads her dying mother's diaries aloud to her, revealing a tangled history of love and betrayal with a mysterious roommate she met in 1971...
    • The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez  - An African-American slave girl from the 1850s becomes a vampire and spends the next 200 years looking for love
    • The Hunger by Whitley Strieber - Featuring the gorgeous and lonely, bisexual vampire Miriam Blaylock, who creates temporary companions out of humans. Sadly they don't last... and now she has her eye on a woman named Sarah. A classic, fascinating, scary and terrifying vampire novel.
      • Made into a famous and contentious film (oh noes, a lesbian sex scene!) 
      •  The Last Vampire was a sequel written many years later, and returns to Miriam Blaylock. However, it isn't nearly as good as the original novel and has many continuity errors. While much of the book focuses on the lesbian relationship between Miriam and Sarah, it is a much less pleasant affair and Miriam ultimately falls in love with a man.
    • Mother Julian and the Gentle Vampire by Jack Pantaleo - a highly unusual, spiritual and funny tale about a lesbian vampire who drinks the blood of a 14th century saint, is converted to Christianity and must give her blood away instead of taking it. Not quite as staid as it sounds, it's mainly set in San Francisco.
    • Shadows After Dark by Ouida Crozier - a slightly dated, but creative and unusual book that's more of a fantasy/science fiction than standard vampire horror. A world of vampires are suffering from AIDS, and Kyril crosses from her own dimension to Earth in a quest to discover the cause. There, she meets Kathryn, and they fall in love.
    • Sunglasses After Dark by Nancy A. Collins - the first book in a darker and more violent vampire series, following Sonja Blue from the asylum into the real world, where shehunts other vampires. Bisexual, has sex with men and women throughout the books.

    • The Vampires of Vigil's Sorrow  by Cassandra Duffy - Vampires haunt the woods around the town of Vigil's End, luring young women away. Starting with a young girl in 1955, it tells the her story when she is rescued, or murdered, depending on your perspective. The story goes all the way back to the origins of the 'monster' behind it all, in 1849. A scary, powerful book from a very good author. 


    Lesbian Vampire Erotica
    Given all the sexual predator and BDSM themes inherent in most vampire stories, and it's no real surprise that lesbian vampires are one of the biggest niches in lesbian erotic fiction. Note: The following stories are generally sexually explicit, for adults, not safe for work, etcetera.


    Novels/ Single stories
    • A Taste for Blood by Diana Lee An eight hundred year old Saxon vampire has grown powerful, but since her first love died, she cares nothing for the women she beds. Until her beloved's descendant arrives in the Victorian era, and she offers Carissa an alternative to marriage. Features rough sex and a lot of story.
    • Bite with Height by Lucy Felthouse a sweet erotic romance between a protective vampire, and the young woman she meets on the streets of Paris
    • The Darker Passions: Carmilla by Amarantha Knight - tentatively based on 'Carmilla', it doesn't bring anything new to the legend for fans. Instead, it's an excuse for a highly erotic retelling of Laura's fall into lesbian sex, BDSM and other erotic encounters. And that it does well.
    • Deadly Beauty (An Erotic Vampire Romance) by M. K. Elliott An exotic dancer is rescued from an alleyway attack by a lesbian vampire... (urban fantasy)
      • One Bite by M. K. Elliott - prequel/alternate viewpoint to Deadly Beauty.  A sexually hungry vampire notices a beautiful stripper... (urban fantasy)
    • Every Dark Desire by Fiona Zedde  Seduced by a vampire, Jamaican Naomi becomes Belle, prey to dark desires, and desperate carnal hungers at the hands of women. A lot of sex, not much plot.
    • Fireflies by Lacey Reah - a nontraditional vampire who feeds during orgasms, the woman she falls in love with, and her attempts to regain her humanity... the nature of the 'vampire' means a lot of (not too graphic) sex scenes, but there is also a solid plot and real personal involvement. It's also pretty short, at only 95 pages.

    • Scarlet Thirst by Crin Claxton - an erotic butch/femme rampage of sex and neck biting through the city underworld.


    Anthologies
    There are numerous anthologies of erotic short stories available - including some very bad ones - so I've picked the best (or at least, least worst) titles out rather than listing every single one. If you're looking for a wide variety of vampirical sex stories, anthologies are a great place to start.

    • Demons of Paradise: Lesbian Paranormal Erotica by Cassandra Duffy (a.k.a. Lizzy Dark) 
      • eight short stories ranging from light romance to dark kinks. Various paranormal monsters, not just vampires. Consistently good storylines.
    • Girls Who Bite: Lesbian Vampire Erotica edited by Delilah Devlin
      • Erotic, action filled romance stories full of unexpected experiences. Unreviewed, but the editor's previous erotic anthologies were highly rated
    • The Last Best Tip (Grift-Girls) by Cassandra Duffy  (a.k.a. Lizzy Dark)  - three erotic and very different short stories about women working with, seduced by, and in a real relationship with, lesbian vampires.
    • Vamps edited by Lorna Hinson
      • An unreviewed collection of fanged femme fatales from Torquere Press

    Nonfiction

    You may also be interested in:

    2 comments:

    1. Oh, wow - what a fantastic list! I've read quite a few (so happy to see Ronnie Massey & Pam Keesey getting some love), and have a few others set up for Halloween reads (Rebekah Weatherspoon, Neil Stark & Trinity Tam, and Delilah Devlin).

      I would definitely add "Fireflies" by Lacey Reah, along with some of Amarantha Knight and Poppy Z. Brite's anthologies (the titles escape me at the moment).

      As for the rest . . . time to expand my shopping list! :)

      ReplyDelete
    2. Thank you - for both the approval and the recommendations *goes off to look them up*

      ReplyDelete