Maybe I should try rereading one or two, and see if they've held up over the years

I got rid of my copies, but that was because I lost my taste for the vile humans and the nasty things they did.

In trying to be fair, much as it pains me, I wonder if Laurell wasn't referring to the vampire romance subgenre-- which, even there, she DID NOT PIONEER IT, but still, I wonder if that's what she was referring to.

Oh yeah, I mean, clearly she can't mean she INVENTED VAMPIRES or something. But maybe she popularized vampire romance.

I know this is because I'm following this conversation while writing Ari Gold, but suddenly I picture LKH telling Meyer about all the supernatural ass she passes up every day. Weird, I know, but it amuses me.ETA: Not as much as it would if I could picture her trailing some long-haired werewolf dude all "Baby, please, You know my ardeur is all for you...Baby? We'll go for a ride in the Mercedes...you love that, right? You can hang your head outside and everything."

Yeah is is not just Meyer or Hamilton being kooky, ignorant and showing an oversized ego here. Rice is being pretty kooky when she claims to have pioneered the "beautiful seductive" vampire thing. In addition to Jilli's 19th century cites, what about Barnabas Collins. I seem to remember him being seductive long before Rice wrote Interview over a long drunken weekend. And I seem to remember a book called "Dark Angel" or something as a kid that was all about the sexy teenager saving the beautiful vampire and his tortured guilt-ridden soul. Genuinely evil vampire, killed many innocents, but redeemable. Hell the theme was already widespread enough for Polanski to make fun of in "The Dance of the Vampires" back in 1967. (Also called "The Fearless Vampire Killers" in the U.S.)

Yeah, Hammer Horror vampires were definitely sexualized.

However, Rice could say she popularized it. Hamilton can't say anything but that she cheapened the genre.

The whole point of Lugosi's breakthrough performance as Dracula was that it was sexualized. That's where it changes from the previous Nosferatu presentation.

However, Rice could say she popularized it.

Sure, we still have a lot freedom of speech in this country. But I don't think she can say it truthfully. Did more people read the book or watch the movie "Interview with the Vampire" than watched The Adams family? I wonder how Rice's popularity compares to Dark Shadows at its peak. I wonder how the total viewership (including Video rentals) for old Hammer films compared to that for Rice's (including rentals of course.) Heck, while Vampirilla probably never quite reached Lestat levels of popularity, I wonder how close she came.

I wonder how Rice's popularity compares to Dark Shadows at its peak.

Rice is much more popular. A much bigger phenomenon.

And The Adams Family?

John and Abigail weren't vampires, to my knowledge.

Oh, shit, someone's going to write that book now.