Bloodsucking Fiends

Jody never asked to become a vampire. But when she wakes up under an alley Dumpster with a badly burned arm, an aching neck, superhuman strength, and a distinctly Nosferatuan thirst, she realizes the decision has been made for her.

Making the transition from the nine-to-five grind to an eternity of nocturnal prowlings is going to take some doing, however, and thats where C. Thomas Flood fits in. A would-be Kerouac from Incontinence, Indiana, Tommy (to his friends) is biding his time night-clerking and frozen-turkey bowling in a San Francisco Safeway. But all that changes when a beautiful undead redhead walks through the door … and proceeds to rock Tommys life — and afterlife — in ways he never imagined possible.

Reading Guide for Bloodsucking Fiends

Introduction

But all that changes when a beautiful, undead redhead walks through the door … and proceeds to rock Tommys life — and afterlife — in ways he never imagined possible.

Topics for Discussion

Jody is totally unprepared for being a vampire. How do you think you would react to waking up one day having been changed into a vampire? Would you try to live a normal life? Once you adjusted to being a vampire, do you think youd want to change back into a human being if the opportunity was offered?
Jody has obviously had a tough time with the men in her life; do you think this affects how she reacts to becoming a vampire? Was the way Jody thought about herself shaped by how men reacted to her? How did you feel when Jody started to come into her own as a vampire and enjoy her powers?
The Emperor seems genuinely concerned about the well-being of the residents of his city, despite the dire circumstances in which he lives. What does this say about mental illness? Do you think the Emperor went crazy from being homeless, or is he homeless because he is crazy? Is it possible that being crazy isnt always such a bad thing?
Toward the end of the book, it looks as if Jody may run off with the old vampire. Did you think that was a possibility? If she did it for the right reason (i.e., to save Tommy), how do you think that would have worked out?
At the end of the book, it seems that Jody has decided to turn Tommy into a vampire. Where does their life go from there? Will they stay together? Will they stay in San Francisco? If not, how do you handle travel as a vampire, short of owning a multi-million dollar yacht? Where would you send them?

Author's Notes from Bloodsucking Fiends

It all started one day when a friend was helping me move. Like many writers, not much furniture, but tons of books. Anyway, my friend had just finished carrying the fourth box marked “vampire books,” and he said, “You know, you ought to write a vampire book. Youve already done the research for it.”

How true. Turns out Id written and performed a story on radio a few years earlier about a guy whos dating a girl and when he finds out that shes a vampire, rather than stake her, he puts her in a freezer chest until he can figure out what to do. So I started from there, writing about a fairly normal guy who falls in love with a vampire. Then I started thinking about the vampire herself.

I wondered, much as Im sure you have: How come vampires always seem to look well-groomed, but none of them ever seems to bathe or do laundry? How is it that they seem to come out of the grave knowing exactly what to do? What if a vampire had all the same insecurities in death that shed had in life, but she hadnt gotten the instruction book for the care and feeding of a vampire? And why all the brunette vampires? Why not a redhead?

I thought it was high time someone addressed those burning questions. So I wrote this book. It turned out to be the most fun Ive ever had writing a book. I hope you have as much fun on the reading end of things.

Sincerely,
Christopher Moore