Winner of April Fool's ARC Contest is....

Congratulations to Frank B. of Mobile, AL!!

You're the winner of a signed, collectible advance reader copy of BLOOD LAW. I'll send it out tomorrrow morning.

Thanks to all who entered. Be sure to check back after May 1 for a new ARC contest. You won't want to miss it -- it'll be the LAST contest before BLOOD LAW is released June 22!!

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Answers to the April Fool's ARC Contest:

Which of the following vampire "rules" does not appear in the original European legends?

A) Vampires sleep in coffins. (TRUE. It was believed vampires must return to their coffins/crypts for "sleep" or "rest.")

B) Use poppy seeds to distract a vampire since they must count all seeds before continuing their pursuit. (TRUE. Villiagers believed by scattering poppy seeds on the ground before a charging vampire, the vampire must count ever seed before continuing their pursuit.)

C) Vampires feed on blood. (TRUE. Before more advanced understanding of decompostion, when the coffin/crypt of a "resting/sleeping" suspected vampire was opened, the natural processes decomposition would often result in dark fluid -- thought to be blood -- seeping from the suspected vampire's mouth. This led to the belief that the corpse was rising from the grave to feed on blood.)

D) Garlic will ward against vampires. (TRUE. Garlic, with its pungent aroma, was thought to be an effective ward against vampires.........and nosy neighbors.)

E) A wooden stake through the heart will prevent a vampire from rising from the grave. (TRUE. It was thought that by driving a wooden stake through a suspected vampire's heart, it would pin him/her to the ground beneath, and prevent the corpse from rising.)

F) Sunlight will harm/kill a vampire. (FALSE. Vampires were capable of walking about during the daylight, although it was believed their powers were dimished. The proper belief that sunlight can harm or kill a vampire began in 1922 after the F. W. Murnau's film NOSFERATU showed Count Orlok fading away with the rising of the sun. This had no basis in legend or myth but was instead a special effect created for the film and a convenient plot device used to dispatch a cornered Count Orlok.)

G) Crosses are effective protection against vampire attacks. (TRUE. It was believed that crosses, as well as other religious symbols, could protect one from vampire attacks.)