I had the pleasure of speaking at a couple World Horror Con panels this weekend, including “Why are So Many Contemporary Vampire Novels Set in the South?” It’s always a pleasure to share the stage with a group of excellent writers, and this one included Naima Haviland, Charlaine Harris (author of the Sookie Stackhouse series), and Dacre Stoker, the great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker himself. Naima has an excellent writeup of the panel here, and it was a pleasure to share ideas with her.
A few of the other areas I enjoyed exploring were:
How conflict has been one of the defining aspects of the South;
How the South’s own failed master-slave history creates a great source for the master-slave theme so common in vampire stories;
How the vampires’ own inability to adapt to modern times corresponds to how parts of the South have failed to adapt; and more.
These panels always inspire great thoughts and conversation, and worth attending whenever you get the chance.