Here’s a pleasant surprise: Just in time for Memorial Day Weekend (in the U.S.) this Friday—the start of summer beach-reading—and the celebration of World Dracula Day on May 26 (the date when Bram Stoker’s seminal novel went on sale in 1897), e-book distributors DriveThru Comics and DriveThru Fiction are currently running a Dracula Sale, during which you can purchase digital books and comics involving the Lord of Vampires at special prices! It runs until May 31—and yes, you’ll need to set up an account (it’s free) to take advantage of this promotion.
So why is it a “pleasant surprise”? Because included among the participating publishers is StarWarp Concepts (which I didn’t know about in advance), and selected for the sale is SWC’s most popular Illustrated Classic:
Before Edward and Bella, before Lestat and Louis, even before Dracula and Mina, there was the tale of Carmilla and Laura.
Living with her widowed father in a dreary old castle in the woods of Styria, Laura has longed to have a friend with whom she can confide; a friend to bring some excitement to her pastoral lifestyle. And then Carmilla enters her life.
Left by her mother in the care of Laura’s father, Carmilla is young, beautiful, playful—everything Laura had hoped to find in a companion. In fact, the lonely girl is so thrilled to have a new friend that she is willing to overlook the dark-haired beauty’s strange actions…which include a disturbing, growing obsession for her lovely hostess.
Carmilla, it seems, desires more than just friendship from Laura….
The blood-drenched temptress of a 19th-century vampiric “romance” by author J. Sheridan Le Fanu (Uncle Silas, In a Glass Darkly), Carmilla is a vampiress who desires not just blood but love from her victims, and when she enters the life of a young woman named Laura, Carmilla decides that her new friend will become her next great love—and won’t take no for an answer.
Carmilla was an influence on Bram Stoker in the creation of the vampire brides in Dracula, and she remains a popular character in fiction to this day. The novella has also influenced generations of writers, and has been adapted for the screen many times, including Hammer’s The Vampire Lovers and director Roger Vadim’s Blood and Roses.
The StarWarp Concepts edition features exclusive illustrations by Eliseu Gouveia (A Princess of Mars, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1, Lorelei: Sects and the City).
Fans of gothic literature have certainly enjoyed it:
“The way Le Fanu blends together desire and predation is spellbinding. A true Gothic story, Carmilla is great fun.”—Gothic Beauty Magazine
“Carmilla is a must-read for any true fan of vampire fiction.”—LoveVampires.com
“Like many vampire romances, Carmilla and Laura’s love is doomed and unhealthy, but glorious.”—io9
“Carmilla is an enthralling wonderland ripe with blood and death. Curl up with this little sleeper if you like your creatures of the night with just a little dash of pixie dust and wolfsbane.”—ClassicHorror.com
Again, the Dracula Sale runs through May 31, so head over to the StarWarp Concepts publisher page at DriveThru Fiction and start shopping!