Elizabeth Noble: The Vampire Guard

Let’s welcome Elizabeth Noble to the blog today with the age-old truth ‘Vampires are cool!’ She’s here to talk about The Vampire Guard series and its myth and background.

Thank you, A. L. Lester, for having me in Lester Tower today! (You are most welcome, any time!)

Vampires are cool. And they make awesome spies!

Since vampires live very long lives, that offers many avenues of character exploration. That’s my favorite thing about vampires. The characters have accumulated different skills over the decades and that really broadens what sort of story can be told.

Since, in this world, the vampires heal extremely quickly they’re almost super-hero like. They’re capable of surviving where a human might be killed. Then there’s the fact of their superior hearing, speed and strength.

The Vampire Guard is a spin-off from a paranormal romance/urban fantasy series, The Sleepless City, I wrote with Anne Barwell. As we developed our series we wanted our vampires, and werewolves, to be different.

These vampires don’t hunt humans and all vampires begin life as a human so as a group it’s in their best interest to preserve humans. One purpose of The Vampire Guard is to protect humanity and those who can’t protect themselves. While some of the characters are centuries old, they’ve adapted to changing times, some are proud of that ability! A poor farmer from the 1700s becomes a mercenary, musician then a detective with a degree in law. A boy born to nobility lives a life as a pirate, fur trapper then art thief! Another was a rabbi and Nazi resistance fighter, and yet another a humble seamstress turned international diplomate and spy. The list goes on! The Vampire Guard is multi-cultural and international and each character’s name and attitude matches their culture and time of origin.

Since these are espionage/thriller stories, The Vampire Guard employs high-tech tools during their missions. The characters use a combination of natural vampire (and werewolf) enhancements and technology to stay one step ahead of the bad guys. They don’t rely solely on their speed and acute hearing, however. At their disposal is cutting edge technology such as special holograph equipment allowing them to ‘see’ another vampire on camera. The Vampire Guard motto is Where legend and myth meet science and technology. Each book demonstrates that motto in different and exciting ways.

The Vampire Guard isn’t all vampires. Humans and werewolves have joined their ranks. A requirement for recruitment (you don’t join, you’re invited) is all the vampires are soulbonded. Since they can soulbond with humans and werewolves the skill set of the organization is tripled! This soulbonding makes each pair more than the sum of their parts and gives them powerful advantages as field operatives. It gives them abilities and attributes they might not otherwise have access to, such as empathically sensing their partner, or being impervious to vampire mind-control known as thrall.

In general, The Vampire Guard isn’t a romance, though there are couples, all established. The focus of the series is on a brotherhood of found family, friendships, and how four men come together and mesh as a team despite past histories, personal conflicts, and differing ideologies. Each member has unique skills: hacker, scientist, thief, soldier. They’re a well-oiled, snarky, and sometimes, deadly group of protectors and you’d better hope they never come for you!