Yanked open the mailbox today and found a contributor's copy for Vampires in Love, edited by Rosiland and Martin H. Greenberg. One look at the cover and I wasn't sure that I was secure enough in my masculinity to be included in this book, as I don't think I've ever had a tale wrapped up in anything resembling a bouquet before -- even a bloodstained one. (And just so you know: I'd insert a little yellow balloon-headed winky right Seriously, my contribution to the anthology, "Do Not Hasten to Bid Me Adieu," is a personal favorite that's still close to my (admittedly dark) heart. A riff off Stoker's Dracula, it imagines what might have happened had vampire-hunter Quincey P. Morris returned to his native Texas along with his dead lover, Lucy Westenra. I originally sold this one to Poppy Z. Brite for her ground-breaking anthology, Love in Vein. Accepting it, Poppy wrote: "...the story contains some of your best writing I’ve seen yet — the third paragraph on page 2, with the description of the West Texas night sky, choked me up with the sheer beauty of the prose in a way that only Lucius Shepard can usually do. Goddammit, Norman, you just write so goddamn pretty."
Of course, I couldn't ask for a better editorial response than that. I'm glad to see "Do Not Hasten..." appearing again, especially alongside the work of some really fine writers: Charles de Lint, Charles L. Grant, Nancy Holder, and my good buddy Ed Gorman. You can grab a copy at Barnes & Noble, or order it online. Enjoy!
