A Vampire a Day: Those Who Hunt the Night by Barbara Hambley

When I moved to the Pacific Northwest last year and was paying my movers $20 a box, I culled my book collection ruthlessly. I have a Kindle and I like the convenience of an eReader but there are some books that I just want in my actual library. Those Who Hunt the Night made the cut, along with its sequel, Traveling with the Dead.  The book was published in 1988 and now appears to be out of print in paperback, although you can find used copies in hardback. The books have been reissued in a digital omnibus collection, which is convenient.
James Asher, the hero of the novels, was once a spy for Queen Victoria. In the first book, he's approached by a Spanish vampire named Don Simon who wants his help finding out who's killing London's vampires. And let's just say, Don Simon does NOT take "no" for an answer.
I am a huge fan of Hambley's "Benjamin January" mysteries (that's how I first came to the writer) and I was delighted by the James Asher books. Hambley is not a spring chicken and last year was tough for her, but she's still writing and I am so glad for that.

A Vampire a Day: Sabella: Or the Blood Stone by Tanith Lee

You don't always remember what your gateway book was to a new author but for me, the Science Fiction Bookclub 1980 double-novella collection SOMETIME AFTER SUNSET (comprising "Companions on the Road" and "Sabella') was my introduction to Tanith Lee.

I had never read anything written in that darkly lushly style before. Tanith Lee used words the painters use oil pigments, just slathering them on, layering them, swirling them around. Her prose was absolutely  gorgeous and I was a fan from that moment on. I've read most of her work and that's saying something because she was wildly prolific.

She wrote several vampire stories, including Dark Dance, which I somehow missed (and which sounds like it has a bit of 50 Shades of Grey in it), and several other books in her Blood Opera series. It's probably heresy to admit it but I never much cared for Anne Rice's vampires. Like everyone else, I devoured Interview with the Vampire but it didn't send me off on an Anne Rice reading binge. (And for me, the absolute best thing about the movie was Kirsten Dunst's performance as the child vampire.)

But Sabella...It was science fiction. It was horror. It was fantasy. It was beautiful. And if I had never read it, I would have missed out on 30-some years of wonderful books.Now if I could just find a copy of BLOOD OF ROSES, which you can get used on Amazon for $151 or new for a few thousand.