TAYLOR, Karen E.

PERSONAL:

Born in Pittsburgh, PA; married; children: two. Education: Grove City College, B.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—CA Agent—c/o Author Mail, Kensington Publishing Corp., 850 3rd Ave., New York, NY 10022. E-mail—ket@karenetaylor.com.

CAREER:

Writer, 1993—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Finalist, Bram Stoker Award, for "Mexican Moon," 2000.

WRITINGS:

"VAMPIRE LEGACY" SERIES

Blood Secrets, Zebra Books/Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 1994.

Bitter Blood, Zebra Books/Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 1994.

Blood Ties Pinnacle Books/Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 1995.

Blood of My Blood, Pinnacle Books/Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 2000.

The Vampire Vivienne, Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 2001.

Resurrection, Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 2002.

Blood Red Dawn, Pinnacle Books/Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 2004.

SHORT FICTION

Fangs and Angel Wings (short story collection), Wildside Press/Betancourt and Company (Holicong, PA), 2003.

Contributor of short stories to anthologies, including 100 Wicked Little Witches, Barnes and Noble Books, 1995, 100 Vicious Little Vampires, Barnes and Noble Books, 1995, No Other Tribute, Masquerade Books, 1995, Love Bites, Masquerade Books, 1996, Seductive Specters, Masquerade Books, 1996, Return of the Dinosaurs, DAW Books, 1997, Horrors!: 365 Scary Stories, Barnes and Noble Books, 1998, Daughters of Dangerous Dames, Twilight Tales, 2000. Brainbox: The Real Horror, Dreams Unlimited, 2000, Brainbox II: Son of Brainbox, Irrational Press, 2001, Women Writing Science Fiction as Men, DAW Books, 2003, Family Plots, Wild Roses Productions, 2004, and Small Bites, Coscom Entertainment, 2004.

WORK IN PROGRESS:

Two horror novels; further novels in the "Vampire Legacy" series.

SIDELIGHTS:

Karen E. Taylor is the author of the "Vampire Legacy" series, a group of books that were originally planned as a trilogy but which by 2005 had grown to seven novels, with another three planned. Barbara J. Ferrenz, writing on the DarkFluidity.com Web site described the interaction of the major characters in that series: "Dierdre and Mitch were regular folk trying to develop a relationship while coping with the complication of vampirism.… Deirdre searches for peace. Mitch wants to protect those he loves. Lily feels angry and abandoned. Max wants power. Victor wants order. And Vivienne? Well, Vivienne wants everything." The stories in the series often pit these good vampires against evil ones; meanwhile, the characters deal with personal issues such as identity, personal responsibility, and resistance to change, just like their non-vampire human counterparts would. And they also enjoy sex.

Taylor told Ferrenz in her interview that she was surprised to have written so many novels. "One novel was all I'd ever planned to write, just to prove to myself that I could do it." Reviewing the second novel in the "Vampire Legacy" series, Bitter Blood, in Science Fiction Chronicle, Don D'Ammassa found the book "fast paced, suspenseful, and with strongly delineated characters."

Taylor, a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award, has also written a short story collection, the 2003 Fangs and Angel Wings. Stephanie Simpson-Woods, reviewing that book in Reviewer's Bookwatch, commented that it "will not only keep you very entertained … but will make your entire body tingle, especially your skin."