Vamping Up: Christians Bite into Vampire Market
By Marcia Z. Nelson -- Publishers Weekly, 11/16/2009 1:40:00 PM
The cinematic rising on November 20 of New Moon, the film of book two of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight saga, spotlights an engorging market for all things vampire. While the evangelical Christian market has seen a few vampire-themed books (Field of Blood; Shade), four new ones tap the popular vein.
Thirsty by Tracey Bateman (WaterBrook, Oct.) is the novel in the group. Bateman, who has written in a few genres for the Christian market, including chick lit, suspense, and romance, found a compelling real-life parallel for vampire blood lust. Main character Nina Parker is an alcoholic; after her addiction destroys her marriage and she returns to her home town to struggle with recovery, her next-door neighbor turns out to be a tall and handsome man with a centuries-long past who struggles with his desire for her. “The parallel for me here is addiction,” said Bateman, who said she had experienced alcoholism in her family. “I dig deep into what I knew and what I’d experienced.”
Not everybody’s biting on the idea that vampires are good subjects in this market. Bateman’s heard from those who want to cast demons out of her computer, but also from general market readers who assume she’s cashing in on reader lust for vamp lit. But she’s a longtime Anne Rice fan who started working on her vampire book before she had heard of Meyer’s work.
“It’s not like I said, ‘Hmm... vampire books are selling,’ ” she told RBL from her Missouri home. She brought her faith to a subject that has exerted centuries of fascination. “I wrote it from the perspective of ‘Jesus never fails.’ I think there’s a place for Amish books, but I like a little edge to my reading.”
Three new nonfiction books from evangelical Christian houses offer exegesis and caution on the Twilight phenomenon. The release of Bateman’s novel was paralleled by Touched by a Vampire: Discovering the Hidden Messages in the Twilight Saga by Beth Felker Jones, a Wheaton College theology professor, from WaterBrook’s sister imprint Multnomah. Escaping the Vampire: Desperate for My Immortal Hero by youth minister Kimberly Powers (David C. Cook, Nov.) looks at girls’ longing for the love of a hero. The Twilight Gospel: The Spiritual Roots of the Stephenie Meyer Vampire Saga by minister and editor Dave Roberts (Monarch [Kregel, dist.], Dec.) critically addresses themes in Meyer’s books. All have stark covers that echo the come-hither look of the Twilight books.
