The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women

Featuring the only vampire short story by Anne Rice, the undisputed queen of vampire literature, and an autobiographical introduction by Ingrid Pitt, star of the films The Vampire Lovers and Countess Dracula, this Mammoth collection brings together thirty-four uncanny and erotic tales by women who have redefined the genre of vampire fiction. From classic stories of the undead by writers like Edith Nesbit, Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman, and Mary Elizabeth Braddon to the work of such acclaimed contemporary authors as Poppy Z. Brite, Nancy Kilpatrick, Tanith Lee, Caitlin R. Kiernan, and Pat Cadigan, this terrifying and tantalizing volume turns the conventions of vampire fiction on their head and inside out as it refashions, and revamps, Bram Stoker's urbane Count Dracula in smart, modern, sexy terms. Original and inventive, the tales in this anthology offer a wide and varied range of undead heroines and doomed heroes, from the tormented good to the unspeakably evil. At large among them in the gardens of literature's longest night are Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's Byronic vampire Saint-Germain, Nancy A. Collins's "Vampire King of the Goth Chicks," Tanya Huff's vampiric detective Vicki Nelson, and Freda Warrington's age-old lovers Karl and Charlotte. In all, the quest continues—for blood to drink, for souls to steal, for life among the undead. CONTENTS Introduction: My Life Among The Undead by Ingrid Pitt The Master Of Rampling Gate by Anne Rice Homewrecker by Poppy Z. Brite When Gretchen Was Human by Mary A. Turzillo The Vengeaful Spirit of Lake Nepeakea by Tanya Huff La Diente by Nancy Kilpatrick Miss Massingberd and the Vampire by Tina Rath The Raven Bound by Freda Warrington Vampire King of the Goth Chicks by Nancy A. Collins Just His Type by Storm Constantine Prince Of Flowers by Elizabeth Hand Service Rendered by Louise Cooper Aftermath by Janet Berliner One Among Millions by Yvonne Navarro Luella Miller by Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman Sangre by Lisa Tuttle A Question of Patronage by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro Hisako San by Ingrid Pitt Butternut and Blood by Kathryn Ptacek Sleeping Cities by Wendy Webb The Haunted House by E. Nesbit Turkish Delight by Roberta Lannes Venus Rising on Water by Tanith Lee Year Zero by Gemma Files Good Lady Ducayne by Mary Elizabeth Braddon Lunch At Charon's by Melanie Tem Forever, Amen by Elizabeth Massie Night Laughter by Ellen Kushner Bootleg by Christa Faust Outfangthief by Gala Blau My Brother's Keeper by Pat Cadigan So Runs The World Away by Caitlin R. Kiernan A North Light by Gwyneth Jones Jack by Connie Willis Vampyr by Jane Yolen