Marianne here,

I was having a bad morning, lost my expensive new distance glasses and had a few other negative family things happen (which I won’t bore you with!). Then in the flip of a wrist, the blink of an eye, things got better.

It began with this amazing review of Burn Bright by Dr Karen Brooks:

” This is such a fast-paced, tight narrative with absolutely splendid and evocative writing. de Pierres knows how to hook the reader – her metaphors are sharp and powerful – you breathe the air of Ixion, you feel the effects of the tablets the young initiates swallow and you experience the pulsating terror that the night creatures evoke … I was reminded of other fabulous narratives such as Logan’s Run or the Hunger Games. I want to resist comparisons – but, while drawing on some similar themes, I feel Burn Bright is better than either of these. It is so original and intoxicating…” Read the entire review here.

That got me off my seat doing Belinda’s Happy Dag Dance. I have enormous respect for Karen Brooks. She’s a brilliant writer and critic and social commentator. If you don’t know what I’m referring to then read her bio. She is also a delighful, charming individual and a strong, intelligent woman. Needless to say, I’m thrilled!

This was followed by news that my pal Alison Goodman of Eon/Eona fame will be joining me for a kaffee klatsch in Melbourne soon (email Braiden if you’d like to attend: basciak (at) gmail (dot) com Places strictly limited.)

Then, a photo popped up on FB of me with my twin sister, Isobelle Carmody (it’s a psychic connection!) which made me grin no end.

These lovely moments were heightened by Janette Dalgliesh, just this morning, joining the Tara Sharp team; this rather cool blog post about loving speculative fiction from Holly Harper at Readings Books, entitled The Myth of Fanatsy; and finally, The Spotlight Reports feature on Yunyu and I, today.

Whew! Pinching myself for all the goodness. Now sending it your way as well.

MDP xx

*Melbourne Readers All*, I’ll be in town in the first week of May on Book Tour and have some time to spare on the Tuesday that week if you’d like me to visit your school or bookshop. You can contact me about this through here or via the contact forms on my other websites. First in best dressed! Would love to come and meet you!

Meanwhile in other news, Burn Bright continues to get most gratifying reviews, which I am accumulating over here. I’ve also just done an interview with YA Concoction, and She Who is Know as Jess, and Eleusinian Mysteries are doing Burn Bright giveaways of their own volition. Many thanks guys! And Missie at The Unread Reader has included Burn Bright in her YA Aussie Book Tour.

Over the last few years we’ve seen a huge rise in the popularity of vampires. But mostly, they’re a different ‘breed’ to the vamps seen around the traps until a few years ago. Suddenly, the undead aren’t so dead, they mope and moan and wish they were human, complaining about the loss of their souls and the agony of living for eternity.

Physically, they’re hotter than hot; far better looking than their human counterparts, which is not a bad deal when you consider what a 200 year old walking corpse should actually look like.  They have a tendency to be filthy rich – as you should be when you’ve got forever to learn which banks give the best returns and let’s face it; their grocery bill is always at a minimum. The modern vampire is also often a ‘day-walker’, that is, sunlight might make him a little uncomfortable, but it doesn’t turn them to a dusty void of nothingness.

Yes, it seems the true vamp is disappearing fast with our modern twist on mythology. Gone are the days of vampires being horrendously ugly monsters, like Nosferatu or The Master from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. These were creatures to be feared, to be repulsed by, the ones who used mind-warping powers to trick you into the opening the window at night and letting them in to suck your life force. Sure, there’s still a few of the old monstrous breed around. They’re not completely extinct. Just check out Marlow and his band of shark-mouthed nasties from 30 Days of Night, or, again from Buffy, the uber-vamps from series 7 – seriously unsexy. Eli from Let the Right One In has to be one of the creepiest vampires in modern tales, not to mention Salem’s Lot’s Kurt Barlow or Viktor from the Underworld trilogy.

But it’s not all black and white, sexy or unsexy, good or evil. No, bloodsuckers these days can have the best of both worlds; there’s a lot of grey in between. No longer is the vampire just a monster with an unquenchable thirst for blood, but he can have feelings too. Think Damon from The Vampire Diaries or even Lestat de Lioncourt from Anne Rice’s deliciously indulgent Vampire Chronicles. These two never pretend to be anything but primal pulse-seeking bloodsuckers – but that doesn’t make them incapable of love. Then of course, there’s the Vamp of the Moment – Eric Northman of Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries (also the TV series True Blood, in case you’ve been hiding in a coffin somewhere…) Eric is about as bad-arse as a vampire can get. He makes no secret of the fact he’s a superior being, a killer with no regard for human pettiness. But oh… Eric *sigh*. With abs like that – well, he can get away with anything.

Then, there’s another breed of the modern vampire all together. The just-left-of-human one. Yes, I’m talking about those that sparkle. They might drink blood, but do they even qualify as vampires? And what about tales such as Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy, set in a world where the (mostly) good guys – the Moroi – might be vampires, but they’re far from dead? In Claudia Gray’s Evernight series, it’s not always the vamps who are the evil doers, but the misunderstanding humans – The Black Cross; a misinformed sub-culture of slayers.

What about the bloodsuckers who don’t know which side of the fence they hang, those who are confused or bewitched, or just trying too damn hard to be good without the inevitable slip-up? Stefan from The Vampire Diaries comes to mind, as does the whole Vampire with a Soul issue that spun around Buffy and Angel for so long. I don’t know about you, but I have a soft spot for the sarcasm and evil-knows-no-bounds of Angelus versus the sweet, but sometimes predictable Angel. And while we’re in Sunnydale, what about Spike? Was he more fun as the bloodthirsty consort of Drusilla, or once he was implanted with the brain chip, effectively neutering him? And then he went and got himself a soul at the end of series 6, changing a whole lot of things.

Personally, I like a mixture of the old and new vampire stories. I’m a sucker for the evil-doer, but also a huge fan of many of today’s new-style vamps. So what about you? How do you take your bloodsucker? With a spoonful of sugar and a little on the sweet side, or straight up, bitter and twisted?

MUSIC: Marilyn Manson – If I Was Your Vampire

I am still receiving many emails from people asking about how they can buy Burn Bright. At the moment, you can only buy it in Australia and New Zealand. However, we hope to sell it in the USA other places in the world over the coming months. If you would like to be able to buy the books wherever you are, then may I suggest you blog about that desire, and mention it on all your social networks. That will help a great deal! And please consider liking the Burn Bright Facebook page.

I can tell you though, that it will be published in Turkey in early 2012! Woohoo for our first international translation!

The other good news is that Yunyu’s song, Angel Arias is now available all around the world.

10 Tips for dating an Evil Genius

Who doesn’t love the idea of total power? The thrill of world domination has a great attraction.

But maybe you just aren’t cut out to rule the planet; there’s nothing wrong with that. Not everyone has the ambition required to get together the wealth and personnel to seize all.

This is where dating has its advantages.

There are plenty of people out there with aspirations for planetary conquest; some of them looking for that special someone to rule by their side.

Here are some points that are useful to know if you intend for this kind of special partnership to bloom.

10. Location, Location, Location

You won’t usually find evil geniuses hanging out in coffee shops looking for a date while sipping a latte.

Finding your one true love can be a difficult journey; you can either take a holiday to secluded, volcanic islands in the hope that you will meet someone walking along the beach, or get creative and put out a personal ad that will catch the eye of a powerful tyrant.

9. Henchmen

Once you have made contact with your ambitious love interest, the first thing you will notice is that there will be many people in his/her life.

Don’t be worried: these people are just henchmen. Henchmen are underlings in an Evil Genius’s lifestyle; they carry out menial tasks and keep things running smoothly so that you and your new love can get on with more important things like dating and destroying Paris.

8. Pets

An Evil Genius loves their pets, be it their aquarium full of laser sharks or pack of carefully trained tigers.

These animals fulfil necessary roles but need love just as much as any house pet.

A fondness for animals is a great thing to share with your intended.

7. Jealousy

Occasionally people will come into the life of your Evil Genius in an attempt to bring their “ambitions” to an end. It may seem that your love is spending an awful lot of time and effort on these individuals. Jealousy is a natural reaction.

Fear not- any Genius worth your time will have ways to rid these people from your lives and so your worries will be short lived.

6. Budget

It can be hard to budget when your partner is an Evil Genius. They aren’t being cheap, just careful with their hard earned “loot”. After all, they have a business to run and until their bold venture pays off, you may need to tighten your purse strings.

Making your money stretch can be as easy as going out for picnics along the rim of the volcano or taking long walks together around the lair.

5. Travel

Once your and your Evil Genius have settled in to a romantic life together travel will become frequent and exotic. Sure, a lot of the places you go to will be on business trips, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourselves.

Remember to take lots of photos for your album; the place you go to may not be there once your Evil Genius’s plan gets in motion.

4. Reputation

Reputation is a very important thing to an Evil Genius. He/she is judged by what they do and whether they succeed or fail.

You can help by working with them to improve their image. Stand by their side at parties, learn to network with their colleagues and competition, and, if possible, help to remove obstacles from their career.

3. Privacy

The lair of an Evil Genius is a place of privacy as well as business.

Many of the things that your partner gets up to will be questionable, and the governments of the world won’t stop until they learn everything.

Give your partner as much space as they need to work, and be sure to make sure that all the lair’s security up to scratch. No one likes it when the surprise is ruined.

2. Doomsday Weaponry

The end goal for any Evil Genius is their Doomsday Weapon. This is the pride and joy of your partner and will take up all of their attention until it is ready to use.

It may be a death-ray, silo full of nuclear missiles or just a plague designed to wipe out all life. No matter the tool, your wonderfully ambitious partner will want to bring it to bear as soon as possible.

Once the world learns of what your partner has to offer they will give anything to keep him/her happy.

1. Break-up

Maybe your partner’s ambitions are too much. Maybe you just can’t stand the constant flow of secret agents trying to seduce the Genius you thought you could trust. Or maybe you just don’t want to live in a space station any more.

Whatever the reason it may be time for you to cut your losses and get out of the relationship.

Evil geniuses can be a moody bunch and may not appreciate you wanting to go. So my advice to you is to wait until everyone is occupied and slip out quietly.

It may seem like a cowardly thing to do but it’s better than ending up as dinner for a pack of hungry tigers.