Hallopalooza Day 3: Guest Blogger Melissa Francis Says "Fangs for the Memories"

I was an avid reader as a child. By junior high, I was reading adult books because I hated the condescending tone of most of the YA out there. I just wanted to be entertained. I wanted mystery, I wanted romance, and sometimes I wanted to be a little scared.

A friend of mine turned me on to Stephen King with The Talisman. I was intrigued by the 12-year-old protagonist, the concept of traveling between parallel worlds, and the size of the book. At 748 pages, it would be by far the largest book ever for me at that time.

I devoured that story. In less than 3 days I was begging my mom for more Stephen King. And so my new obsession started.

I read and read and read, never tiring of King’s tales. Carrie, The Stand, The Shining, Cujo, Christine, The Dead Zone…I couldn’t stop.

One day my friend handed me a King book I hadn’t read before: Salem’s Lot. My heart stopped when I read the title.

No, I hadn’t read Salem’s Lot, but, at 10 years old, I had tried to watch the miniseries. And it had scared the bejeezus out of me. Actually, I had to stop watching it after this scene:


But I was up for the challenge. I loved Stephen King books. Sure it would be scary, but so was The Shining, and I had read that one twice. Reading Salem’s Lot would be like eating cake.

I took the book and was immediately pulled into the story. Until the beginning of chapter 12...

"Something had awakened him. He lay still in the ticking dark, looking at the ceiling. A noise. Some noise. But the house was silent. There it was again. Scratching. Mark Petrie turned over in bed and looked through the window and Danny Glick was staring in at him through the glass, his skin grave-pale, his eyes reddish and feral. Some dark substance was smeared about his lips and chin, and when he saw Mark looking at him, he smiled and showed teeth grown hideously long and sharp. 'Let me in,' the voice whispered, and Mark was not sure if the words had crossed dark air or were only in his mind."

Now, the excerpt itself wasn't that scary. What had me freaking out was the scratching on my window.

Scritch, scritch, scritch

I tried to ignore it and read on but there it was again.

Scritch, scritch, scritch

I couldn't make myself get out of bed and look outside. I was sure it was the wind, but the scratching was so patterned, so deliberate there was only one explanation. Danny Glick was after me.

Immediately, I threw the book across the room. And here it is 25 years (give or take a year) later and I still haven't finished Salem's Lot.

The irony of all this? I write YA Vampire fiction. Oh yeah. It's true. I'm a glutton for self-inflicted punishment.

My YA debut BITE ME! will hit the shelves in time for Halloween 2009. I can't promise there won't be a few creepy moments, but I can promise you a snarky teenage vampire heroine who would rather worry about not kissing her ex-boyfriend turned step-brother than where she's gonna get her next dose of hemoglobin.

You can find out more about Melissa Francis and her books online at: http://www.melissafrancis.net

BITE ME! HarperCollins, Fall 2009
LOVE SUCKS! HarperCollins, Spring 2010