◊◊Chelsea Quinn Yarbro◊◊

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The 25th book (novel #23) in CQY's beloved Count Saint-Germain series— Commedia della Morte—has been released. Of all the women the Count has loved, the most popular is the beautiful, ever-youthful Madelaine...In Commedia della Morte, Saint-Germain learns that Madelaine—now a vampire—has been arrested by France’s Revolutionary Tribunal and is soon to lose her head. Desperate to rescue her, the Count sneaks into France with a troupe of actors led by the glamorous Photine, who soon becomes Saint-Germain’s mistress. Photine’s teenage son, driven by jealousy and revolutionary fervor, betrays the Count. Now Saint-Germain’s life, as well as Madelaine’s, hangs in the balance, in this darkly romantic historical vampire novel.

To celebrate, Tor Books is giving away 25 copies of Commedia della Morte on Goodreads!

MonsterLibrarian has posted reviews of all of the nominees of the HWA Vampire Novel of the Century, including HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA
The Horror Writers Association (HWA) in conjunction with the Bram Stoker Family Estate and the Rosenbach Museum & Library, have announced that Hotel Transylvania by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is one of the nominees for the Bram Stoker Vampire Novel of the Century Award, to be presented at the Bram Stoker Awards Banquet at World Horror Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, on March 31, 2012. The Award will mark the centenary of the death in 1912 of Abraham (Bram) Stoker, the author of Dracula. A jury composed of writers and scholars selected, from a field of more than 35 preliminary nominees, the six vampire novels that they believe have had the greatest impact on the horror genre since publication of Dracula in 1897. Eligible works must have been first published between 1912 and 2011 and published in or translated into English. Other nominees include The Soft Whisper of the Dead by Charles L. Grant (1983), 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King (1975), I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (1954), Anno Dracula by Kim Newman (1992), and Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (1976).Press release via SFScope

Neil Gaiman on St. Germain and CQY: "Before the world fell in love with vampires, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro's St Germain was the wisest, noblest, finest vampire of them all. When all the fashionable vampires have been staked and forgotten, I am certain that St Germain will still be walking through history, thrilling and delighting those of us who love the dark fantastic."--Neil Gaiman

An Embarrassment of Riches (set in Bohemia, 1269-72)--novel #22 in the Saint-Germain Chronicles; book #24 overall--was released March 1. 2011.

Reviews:

Booklist:...This tale is set in the 1600s in Bohemia. The characters are richly described, and the way of life for the nobility and court are brought to life through the narration. Set in a location unfamiliar to most readers, the book's attention to details and development of characters make it a must-read...Even if the reader has not enjoyed any other books in the Count Saint-Germain series, this one stands on its own merits, with very little to indicate that other stories of this character exist. For those who are interested in learning about times and periods outside of the typical English or French courts, this book will be a pleasure to read.
Publishers Weekly: Yarbro's long-running series featuring the millennia-old vampire Saint-Germain continues to mix rich historical detail and erudite eroticism, though the horror element has become nearly invisible. Known now as Rakoczy Ferancsi, Comes of Santu-Germaniu, Saint-Germain has been exiled from his ancient lands and now resides at the court of the melancholy Queen Kunigunde of Bohemia in 13th-century Prague. He is regarded with suspicion by the local church hierarchy and with intense personal interest by three ladies of the court: the scheming Rozsa of Borsod, the passionate teenager Imbolya of Heves...and the determined Iliska of Szousa...Yarbro's compelling prose and meticulously researched setting still combine effectively for a vivid historical tale that will please series fans.

Guest Posts:

Vampire Book Club: The Incredible Durability of Vampires
Saint-Germain and the Lives of Women, a guest post on the Dear Aothor site by CQY.

Tor has contracted Commedia della Morte (set in France & Italy 1792-94). It will be novel #23. (With two short stories collections, that makes it book #25 in the Chronicles as a whole.)

Burning Shadows: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain (Saint-Germain Chronicles #23, novel #21) by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is available. In Burning Shadows, Yarbro looks at the legendary Huns from the perspective of the people who faced the brunt of their attacks. The vampire Saint-Germain seeks sanctuary at an isolated monastery, unwilling to abandon the hundreds of terrified villagers he has led in flight from the Huns. A few Roman soldiers and some village Watchmen are the monastery's defense force--and they are undermined by the religious fervor of some of the monks, who argue that since everyone's fate is in God's hands, it is foolish to defend themselves. In the hothouse atmosphere of the high-walled monastery, Saint-Germain must take special care when slaking his vampire thirst, for discovery of his True Nature will result in his True Death. The novel is set in what is now known as Hungary and Romania during the early years of Hunnic aggression (430s).

BURNING SHADOWS reviews:

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro received the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award during the Horror Writers Association's 2009 Stoker Awards Weekend, June 14, 2009, in Burbank, California.

A Dangerous Climate: A Novel of the Count Saint-Germain, the 20th novel and 22nd book in the St. Germain series, is now out in trade paperback as well as hardcover.

The vampire Count Saint-Germain, disguised as a missing Hungarian nobleman, is on a spy mission in the heart of Russia in the year 1704 as St. Petersburg in being founded. Almost by the power of his will alone, it seems, Peter the Great is wrestling the city that will one day be St. Petersburg out of swampland. Representatives of the heads of all European states are living in tiny, frigid, wooden homes as they jockey for power and influence over the Czar. When a man shows up claiming to be the Count Saint-Germain, the vampire must figure out how to protect his title and wealth without revealing either his true identity or his True Nature.

The Charlie Moon mysteries--Ogilvie, Tallant and Moon, Music When Sweet Voices Die, Poisonous Fruit , and Dead Mice--have been re-published by Ramble House.

The EBOOK EDITION of A MORTAL GLAMOUR by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is now available on Fictionwise. As is ALAS, POOR YORICK.

Borne in Blood (Saint-Germain Chronicles #22 (novel #19) is now available in trade paperback as well as hardcover.

A list of FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (and their answers) has been added to the site.

History News Network, who had asked CQY to write an article on writing CONFRONTATION AT LEPANTO by T.C.F. Hopkins, has posted the essay. ("T.C.F. Hopkins" is CQY's alter-ego.)