Wishing you all a happy Solstice, no matter where you might be!
(Vampires and other sun-sensitive creatures– don’t forget your sunscreen and parasols… 🧛)
Cheers,
Aspasía S. Bissas
(PS: Reading is always a celebration! Download my books and get celebrating…)
Close on the heels of World Goth Day comes World Dracula Day. It might be sunny springtime where you live, but this is the week to ignore the singing birds and blooming flowers, and channel your dark side (for those of you who don’t already do that year round anyway). What better way to immerse yourself in all things Dracula than by visiting the places associated with the Count?
(Note: I won’t be including any sites that focus exclusively on Vlad Dracul/Vlad the Impaler. While he has his own blood-soaked history, his connection to Stoker’s Dracula, in my opinion at least, doesn’t go much further than the name.)
The only castle in Transylvania that fits Stoker’s description, Bran Castle is widely considered to be “Dracula’s castle.” If the beautiful building and rich history aren’t enough for you, the castle regularly offers special exhibitions. If the onsite restaurant is open when you go, you can try the “Count’s Dessert” (chocolate cake with raspberry sauce, fresh fruit, and rose petal powder).
After Stoker published Dracula, tourists started showing up in Transylvania. From the start they were looking to stay in the same hotel that Jonathan Harker spent a night in (The Golden Crown). The hotel didn’t exist, but some enterprising soul realized it would be a great idea to build it. The Coroana de Aur (“Golden Crown” in Romanian) hotel in Bistrita doesn’t have much in common with the inn Harker stayed at, but there is a Jonathan Harker Salon at the restaurant. You can also order authentic Mămăligă (polenta) like Harker ate. No word on whether they also offer stuffed aubergines.
Live actors and special effects tell the story of Dracula and how the town of Whitby relates to it. The “Experience” has been described as a story set in a haunted house, which is appropriate since the building it’s in is apparently centuries old and haunted. To explore the building’s ghost sightings and other paranormal activity, a Paranormal Night takes place the first Saturday of every month (no special effects here).
The graveyard at St. Mary’s Church is the setting and inspiration for a number of scenes in Dracula. Try to see how many of the character’s names you can find on the gravestones (Stoker borrowed a few of them). On the way to the church, you can climb the 199 steps that a black dog (Dracula in another form) was seen running up in the book.
And while you’re there make sure to make the 100 metre (340 feet) trek from St. Mary’s to Whitby Abbey, another source of Stoker’s inspiration. Explore the ruins before checking out the on-site museum and shop. The Abbey hosts all kinds of Dracula-themed events, so check the schedule before you go.
If you’re in London, you can go pay your respects at the final resting place of the man who brought the world Dracula. You do need to book ahead because the building is kept locked. If you can’t make it there in person, you can leave a virtual flower in his honour.
These are just a few of the Dracula-related places to visit, and I expect more will open as tourism eventually returns to normal. Do you have a favourite Dracula-themed place or event? Share in the comments…
Don’t forget to give other vampires some love too– download my books today!
Love Lies Bleeding: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books
FREE Blood Magic: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books
FREE Tooth & Claw: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books
If you prefer paperback, use this link to order Love Lies Bleeding from Bookshop – a portion of each sale goes directly to independent bookstores, as well as to myself. Thank you for supporting indie! ♥
Cheers,
Aspasía S. Bissas
[This was originally posted on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com]
A while back I read an article about the connection between literature and perfume, which also included suggestions for ideal perfumes for book lovers. As someone who has a slight perfume obsession (reigning favourite: Vanilla Extreme by Comptoir Sud Pacifique), I was intrigued. I especially liked the idea behind the Imaginary Authors perfume company, whose scents are based on the fictional exploits of made-up authors. But if perfume can be designed for fictional authors, why not design a few for Love Lies Bleeding’s characters?
Since main character Mara works with herbs and plants, she’s essentially steeped in their scents without needing to wear perfume. But if I were to create a perfume for her, it would have strong notes of sweet woodruff (which smells like vanilla and hay), clover, and lavender flowers, with hints of smoky peat and black tea.
For human Lee, I envision something fresh and “green.” His scent would be based on cedar, with some kind of complementary citrus (yuzu, or maybe tangerine), and the subtlest undertones of honey and lavender leaves.
Lastly, I think a scent heavy on whisky and tobacco notes, with something spicy like ginger or cloves, would suit vampire nemesis Dominic. It would be the kind of scent that’s overwhelming in the wrong hands, but Dominic probably wouldn’t wear it anyway, as it’s one of those luxuries he doesn’t think vampires should indulge in.
What do you think– would you wear any of these scents? What perfume would you design for your favourite character or author? Share in the comments…
Want to find out more about Mara, Lee, and Dominic? Get my books!
Cheers,
Aspasía S. Bissas
[This was originally posted on my official site AspasiaSBissas.com. Follow me there...]
Love Lies Bleeding‘s readers know that main character Mara is both a vampire and a botanist. Trained when she was still human, she continues to study plants and have a garden. This post is tenth in a series exploring Mara’s plants. Are you interested in botany, gardening, or plant lore? So are some vampires…
Please note: Medicinal uses are given for informational purposes only. Always consult a medical professional before diagnosing or treating yourself or anyone else.
Botanical Name: Hydnellum peckii
Common Names: strawberries and cream, bleeding Hydnellum, bleeding fungus, red-juice tooth, devil’s tooth, Peck’s hydnum, bile tooth
History: Found mainly in North America and Europe, bleeding tooth fungus forms mutually beneficial relationships with mature coniferous trees. Its spores are “on the surface of vertical spines or tooth-like projections that hang from the undersurface of the fruit bodies” (1). As the fungus ages, it dries out, losing its bloody appearance and becoming a nondescript shade of brown or black. Bleeding tooth fungus bioaccumulates the heavy metal caesium. Although documented by humans for only about a hundred years, bleeding tooth fungus’s roots (no pun intended) go back hundreds of millions of years.
Language of Flowers Meaning: None
Cultivation: It prefers to grow in mature forested alpine and sub-alpine regions, so cultivating it isn’t really an option.
Uses:
Medicinal: Although scientists aren’t sure what the red substance that oozes out of bleeding tooth fungus is exactly, they have found that it contains a pigment with anticoagulant and antibacterial properties. It also contains another substance that may be beneficial in treating Alzheimer’s disease. It is currently undergoing trials to determine its potential medical uses.
Culinary: It’s technically edible (in that it isn’t poisonous), with a peppery and strongly bitter taste that doesn’t go away even when dried. While it can be eaten, whether anyone actually wants to eat it is another matter.
Dye: The dried fungus produces a beige or tan dye. It can also be combined with iron or alum for shades of blue and green.
Mara’s Uses: Mara mentions it in Love Lies Bleeding as a potentially useful plant she needs to learn more about.
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydnellum_peckii
Further Reading
Love Lies Bleeding: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books
FREE Blood Magic: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books
FREE Tooth & Claw: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books
If you prefer a good paperback to an ebook, use this link to order Love Lies Bleeding from Bookshop – a portion of each sale goes directly to independent bookstores, as well as to myself. Thank you for supporting indie! ♥
This bizarre B.C. mushroom looks like a tooth oozing thick red blood
What is bleeding tooth fungus?
The Bleeding Tooth Fungus (Hydnellum peckii)
Hydnellum peckii: The Ultimate Mushroom Guide
Cheers,
Aspasía S. Bissas
[Originally posted on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com]
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Cheers,
Aspasía S. Bissas
Whenever a show has a devoted fandom there’s always going to be something that, right or wrong, the fans aren’t happy about. The big controversies on Buffy and Angel were the late additions of two new characters, namely Dawn and Connor. Now that I’m re-watching both shows, I’m looking at both characters with fresh eyes, wondering whether they deserved the hate.
Dawn was introduced at the end of the first episode of Season 5. “Buffy vs. Dracula” (a great episode, by the way). Her introduction was really well done, first with hints and foreshadowing going back as far as Season 3, then with her unexpected appearance in the episode. After years of being an only child, Buffy suddenly has a sister, and everyone acts as though she’s always been there.
After some perfunctory hinting that Dawn is this season’s Big Bad, it comes out that she’s actually a mystical, dimension-unlocking Key, put into human form by some monks with too much time on their hands, and given to the Slayer as a sister for protection from the Hell God (Glorificus/Glory), who needs the Key to get back to her hell dimension before her window of opportunity closes. Got all that?
Yeah, it’s a lot.
I really believe all the planning around Dawn went into the character’s concept, and very little into the execution. Dawn is supposed to be fourteen when she shows up, but she’s written like she’s eight. It’s both painful and annoying to watch this teenager smiling with her mouth plastered in ice cream. Or interrupting Buffy’s training sessions because she’s “bored.” Or threatening to tell their mom that Buffy slayed in front of her. At fifteen, Buffy, Willow, and Xander were fighting monsters, trading quips, and hanging out at the Bronze. Their characters were funny and interesting. But somehow at fourteen Dawn is too young to be left alone without a babysitter.
And yet by season six Dawn manages to get worse, alternating between whining that no one spends time with her, and screeching for everyone to get out of her room. Maybe this is a realistic portrayal of teenagers (I have my doubts), but nobody watches TV for realism. If we’re supposed to sympathize with Dawn, the writers made it really difficult, especially when she shows no empathy for what anyone else is going through.
(I want to add that none of this is the fault of Michelle Trachtenberg, the actress who played Dawn. She did a decent job, but just didn’t have much to work with.)
By the seventh and final season, Dawn’s over her annoying phase, and even proves herself useful and capable– but she also fades into the background. Season five was supposed to be the show’s last season, but since it ended up extended for another two years, I don’t think they really knew what to do with her once she was no longer The Key. Overall, I think the Dawn character had a lot of room for improvement, and the writers/producers repeatedly dropped the ball. The show could have been just as good, or better, without Dawn.
Also, she killed Miss Kitty Fantastico.
Connor’s origin story begins in season 3, and is almost as convoluted as Dawn’s. When two vampires hate each other very much (after spending centuries together as a couple), and unknown forces conspire to get them back together for a night, sometimes the mommy vampire finds herself nine months later going into labour in a back alley, where she finally just stakes herself to get the whole thing over with.
Connor is the human-ish son of Angel and Darla, both vampires, one with a soul. His existence is cause for much excitement, mostly by nefarious cabals who generally want to kill the kid. Despite Angel and co.’s best efforts to protect baby Connor, he ends up in the hands of Angel’s longtime enemy, a vampire hunter named Holtz. Stuck between letting Holtz take the baby or watching Connor fall into the hands of those who will definitely kill him, Angel chooses the lesser of two evils. Holtz escapes with the baby by jumping through a portal to the darkest hell dimension: Quor’toth. The portal is then sealed behind them with no way to open it.
Angel tries to get Connor back, but realizes it’s impossible. Once Angel accepts that he’ll never see his son again (it takes only a few days, apparently), another portal opens and out comes an armed teenager wearing a skin suit and trophies made of body parts. I’m not gonna lie– it’s pretty epic.
We soon find out that not only did Connor survive Quor’toth, but he can kick some serious ass. Besides impressive fighting skills, he has super speed and strength. He can easily jump on a moving bus and he’s got a vampire’s sensitive hearing (but none of the drawbacks, like a need to consume blood or intolerance to sunlight).
I thought he was an excellent addition to the show, but a lot of people disagreed. Connor was so hated by some fans that when rumours started about bringing Spike to Angel, people started urging (there may have been a petition– I can’t remember) the producers to kill off Connor and bring on Spike. Note: none of the characters actually had to die to add Spike to the cast. It should also be noted that the dislike of Connor spilled over into people specifically targetting Vincent Kartheiser, who played Connor. The actor did an awesome job and deserved none of what was directed at him. This is why fandoms have a bad reputation.
I never understood why people found Connor annoying. Yes, the character did a lot of questionable– and some downright wrong– things (same as pretty much all the other characters, I might add). What haters didn’t seem to get (or care about) is that Connor is a deeply traumatized kid. He was raised in a hell dimension, by a man who (rightfully) hated his father and manipulated him into wanting to kill Angel. And that’s only the start of what Connor went through. He’s a tragic character who manages to never be boring. He also undergoes a fair bit of character development, and a redemption that continues in the comic books (meanwhile Dawn in the comic books goes back to being annoying, but with added recklessness). Watching these episodes again, I’m finding I like and sympathize with Connor even more now. It’s too bad he was hated– he could have pulled off his own show.
In the end, my opinion on these characters hasn’t really changed. Dawn didn’t improve Buffy, even though her initial season included one of the best villains ever. Meanwhile, Connor, despite having one of the cringiest storylines (him + Cordy = ew), was a great character and a solid addition to Angel. But what did you think of Dawn and Connor? Share in the comments…
Can’t get enough vampires? Download my books now:
Love Lies Bleeding: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Amazon
FREE Blood Magic: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books
FREE Tooth & Claw: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books
If you prefer paperback, use this link to order Love Lies Bleeding from Bookshop – a portion of each sale goes directly to independent bookstores, as well as to myself. Thank you for supporting indie! ♥
Cheers,
Aspasía S. Bissas
[Originally posted on my official site: AspasiaSBissas.com]
True love is a forever thing– especially for vampires. Or it can be, anyway. These TV couples’ stories left us wondering, but I’d like to believe they got their happily ever after. Here are three vampires who were (probably) lucky in love…
Mick (vampire) and Beth (human) have a complicated relationship. Beth has a boyfriend and Mick saved Beth’s life as a child and has been keeping tabs on her ever since. It’s a tale as old as time. But as the show goes on, their feelings for each other grow and turn into something else (and just as complicated). There’s a lot of back and forth about whether a vampire-human relationship could even work, and when the series was cancelled it ended ambiguously on a kiss between Mick and Beth. These two have a real connection, even if their fears cloud their feelings at times, so I think they have a solid chance to make it work. The show hinted at the potential for a vampire cure, so Mick could eventually become human. He could also turn Beth. Love finds (fangs?) a way.
Is this love?: 8/10
Although it might not seem like it, Jessica (vampire) and Hoyt (human) have a lot in common. Both had traumatic childhoods with domineering, manipulative parents. Both have quieter, somewhat innocent/naive personalities with rebellious sides. Both also have to cope with situations they have no control over, and neither really knows where they fit into the world. When they meet each other, it’s love at first sight. They did try to make it work for a while, but there were too many things working against them, including Hoyt’s mother and Jessica’s vampire nature. Their breakup was both inevitable and necessary, giving them a chance to figure out who they were. They eventually reunite, and even though we don’t get to see how their life together plays out, chances are they make it work (at least, they’d better make it work after all the screen time the producers devoted to their wedding in the series finale).
Is this love?: 9/10
Okay, this one might be cheating since both characters are human by the end of the series, but sparks started flying while Hal was a vampire, so I’m counting it. Although both are attracted to each other, their budding relationship is cut short when another vampire takes it upon himself to kill Alex (and then gives her blood to an unsuspecting Hal to drink). Hal is horrified at what’s happened, and when he finds out Alex is still around in ghost form, he promises to get revenge for her murder. With nowhere else to go and few people to talk to (thanks to being invisible to humans) Alex ends up moving in with Hal. Their opposing personalities make them something of an odd couple: Hal is precise, compulsive, and terrified of losing control; while Alex is carefree, no-nonsense, and takes things as they come. But the real hindrance to a relationship is that one of them is incorporeal (and it doesn’t help that the other one is constantly fighting his blood lust). The series (officially) concludes with an interesting twist that has all supernatural beings become human again, finally giving Hal and Alex a real chance at a life together.
Is this love?: 8/10
What other vampires have a shot at love? Share your thoughts in the comments…
Want more vampires in love (and otherwise)? Get my books!
Love Lies Bleeding: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books
FREE Blood Magic: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books
FREE Tooth & Claw: Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books
If you prefer paperback, use this link to order Love Lies Bleeding from Bookshop – a portion of each sale goes directly to independent bookstores, as well as to myself. Thank you for supporting indie! ♥
Cheers,
Aspasía S. Bissas
