And finally, in Glamour’s holiday issue, we have a Dahlia Christmas story: “A Very Vampire Christmas.” Dahlia actually embraces the spirit of the season in her own way, and she gets to kill some elves in the process.

Another Dahlia story is scheduled for release in Down These Strange Streets, publishing in October 2011.

Sean and Layla

Sean, an Irish vampire with freckles, and Layla, a modern young woman who has a serious problem with a stalker, meet in the novella “Dancers in the Dark,” which first appeared in Night’s Edge. The beautiful Layla, who’s trying to remain anonymous in the Northern city of Rhodes, has fled from the South to hide from her stalker, a rich man who attacked and mutilated her after getting her pregnant. Layla is running out of money, so she auditions for a job with Blue Moon, a company that keeps a stable of dancers who appear at parties and gala events. The teams are usually composed of one vampire and one human, and the human gets bitten at the end of the dance. Layla comes to know and sympathize with the other members of the dance troupe, and they in turn respect her talent and help her when her stalker catches up with her. Sean falls in love with her in his quiet way. In the end, he has to bring Layla over when she suffers terrible blood loss during an attack by her stalker.

Sookie meets Sean and Layla in Rhodes at the vampire summit in All Together Dead.

The Britlingens

Sookie meets the Britlingens in All Together Dead, too. Batanya and Clovache are hired to protect the King of Kentucky at the summit in Rhodes, and against all odds, they succeed in their mission. They’re incredibly tough bodyguards from another dimension. Clovache and Batanya were raised and trained by the Britlingen Collective, whose motto is “What is the law? The client’s word.” We learn more about the two women in “The Britlingens Go to Hell,” in Must Love Hellhounds. Burdened with a dubious client (a thief) and an impossible task (to retrieve a ball from Hell), the two saddle up and head into trouble. Along the way, they encounter Amelia Earhart, Narcissus, assorted strange beings, and the Lord of Hell himself. They also discover that their client is one of the few surviving members of a race with an unusual physical attribute.

Vampires, Two-Natured, and Fairies, Oh My!Sookie Discusses the Creatures She’s Met

Vampires, Two-Natured, and Fairies, Oh My!
Sookie Discusses the Creatures She’s Met

BY CHARLAINE HARRIS

The last couple of years have been one big learning curve. I got nothing against change. Considering I wasn’t a happy camper before I met my first vampire, I have to say that change is a good thing. Some days I just feel like I have learned as much new stuff about the world as I can handle. However, so far I’m coping.