Join The Vampire Family!

No, not That way!

Join The Vampire Family-with an Author Event!

Yes it sounds crazy, but allow me a few moments to tell you about The Vampire Family. Not your garden variety horror novel, instead of glorifying the darkness and spooky imagery, The Vampire Family warns of the consequences, issues, division, and conflict that will arise when flawed people come under evil’s power.

In this message I hope to peak your interests towards the sharing of The Vampire Family with public speaking engagements, group discussions, and good old fashioned debate.

The Vampire Family and the Mature Youth

The Vampire Family is not for everyone, naturally. I began the initial ‘vampfam’ short story in high school many years ago, and the feel of angst and youth remain in the novel today. Scholastic has done several studies on the decline of youth readership. Teens are often distracted with games and television, but frankly, there isn’t quality reading material for the 15 to 22 demographic. Like most genre fiction, The Vampire Family provides serious allegory to inspire the young mind.

The Vampire Family’s story begins in the British Isles during the 12^th Century and travels their turbulent times through to today. We live in a society that glorifies greed and power and turns its nose up at traditional family values. Children of abuse, divorce, displacement, and loss will relate to the tortured family patriarch Antonio, his crestfallen son James, and his willful daughter Samantha-who wants nothing to do with the family business.

The Church and The Vampire Family

You can take The Vampire Family merely at its face value-enjoyable enough to horror fans, sure. It’s not overtly mentioned in the novel, but The Vampire Family has an underlining Christian theme noticeable to the religious eye. Before their descent into vampirism, during, and after, The Vampire Family has struggled-no the Welshire’s relationships have been down right turbulent-stemming mainly from one thing: They don’t all agree on being vampires. Antonio’s daughter Victoria lives up the vampire lifestyle, but youngest child Samantha seeks an escape from the family’s decadent lifestyle. This darkness versus light theme runs throughout the novel. Unlike other popular horror, The Vampire Family reiterates one thing: darkness is wrong. In fact, its purpose may be to bring one to the light.

The division among the Welshires may oversimplify, in fact. Duality and internal conflict is constant for people of all times, places, and creeds. Perhaps however, this difficulty is found most in today’s Christian, with one foot in the service of the Lord and the other step caught in today’s secular and dissident world.

What The Vampire Family is Really About

I’m not one for special effects or fancy imagery. The Vampire Family is about people with problems. They need not be European vampires from the Middle Ages. It’s Dallas, The Sopranos. Pick any time, any place, and you will find people struggling against their situation and the human condition. Look in your local newspaper and read about the murders, abuse, and crime with which we mar our lives. Reading is not a thing of the past. The power of the written word is perhaps the one human invention that cannot be rivaled. Books have the power to change our lives. I am not the same person I was when I wrote The Vampire Family, and I wish to share this food for thought with you.

Get Involved with The Vampire Family

Maybe you like a philosophical discussion, or perhaps you’re a youth leader who needs a new approach for an ornery group of teens. You may even be an individual searching for something more. If you’re an open minded church, business, or organization, perhaps an event with The Vampire Family is for you.

Samples of speeches or essays are available by emailing kbattestella@msn.com, and the first three chapters of The Vampire Family are available at http://jsnouff.com/kristin. A biography, photos, slideshows, other short stories, and non fiction are also available at the website. Please email me about the availability of advanced reader copies of The Vampire Family.

Alternatively, feel free to join the Kristin Battestella Yahoo Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kristinbattestella for additional news and discussions. If your group would like to host a chat, presentation, discussion, or workshop on The Vampire Family, please feel free to contact me.

About The Vampire Family Author

Kristin Battestella writes for her hometown newspaper in New Jersey and has been writing science fiction, fantasy, non fiction, and horror for fifteen years. She enjoys being at home with her family, collecting records, and creating web pages in her spare time. Along with various sports articles, online reviews, and fiction work, Kristin's first e-book The Adventures of Pave was published in 2005. Recently, Kristin’s novella Blood Type: V completed its serial run at Gothic Revue.com, and her first full length work The Vampire Family is being re-released with Eternal Press in 2008.

Important Vampfam Links

Kbattestella@msn.com

http://jsnouff.com/kristin

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kristinbattestella

kristin724.livejournal.com

vampfam.blogspot.com