Escape from the religious war leads Nicole and her family to the most unlikely rescuer, a vampire. Nicole discovers love and a new life, but finds herself inexplicably drawn in to a private war between her protector and an extremist faction of vampires.

The deeper she gets involved in the vampire world the higher the price she will have to pay to obtain her desires.

Rejoin “Vampires Revealed” narrator Bektamun, in Paris 1572, at the height of the religous war between Catholics and Hugeunots, the day of the St Bartholomew’s Massacre. Discover the story behind her rescue of the Gervais family. How Nicole became her Avetser and was made vampire. Desires Revealed will also introduce you to Oskar, leader of the Eleiveb.

Previous books in the series: Vampires Revealed

A New Breed of Heroine

By Rebeka Harrington

Amid the vast selection of vampire fiction now available, there are very few (if any) female vampires as lead characters. This didn’t occur to me when I created Bektamun. In fact it was only brought to my attention after the release of my first book by a reviewer.

Bektamun is 3000 years old, she is a vampire; more significantly, she is female. When I first created her, I had no idea what a can of worms I was opening. Nor did I realise what great potential she had. She was my alter-ego, an amplified and exaggerated version of me who just happened to be a vampire.

Writing a female lead presents a writer with unique challenges, especially if that lead likes be in the thick of the action. Even more challenging is writing a believable character when taking the historical role of women into account. What on Earth was I thinking? Truth be told, I wasn’t thinking; I was too busy writing. Oops!

In my first book (Vampires Revealed) Bektamun had a fairly easy time, all she needed to do was relate her knowledge in a not-too-boring way for readers. She narrated some snippets from her own very long history, gave us a glimpse of what it was like living through the ages as a woman. During the process of writing, Bektamun quickly threw off the shackles of being my alter-ego and became an individual. While many similarities remain, she is very much her own person. She is strong, intelligent and takes crap from no-one. She faces and overcomes, not only the challenges of being a vampire hiding from humans, but the expectations placed on women historically.

Then came the next challenge, writing the next book; an intimate look at a period in Bektamun’s life. Sounded easy enough, certainly it was the logical next step after Vampires Revealed. Uhm wait a minute, it was to be set in the 16th century. Women didn’t have control over their own destiny in those days. Dammit, to add insult to injury I realised I’d inadvertently made her a lesbian. Maybe creating Bektamun wasn’t such a great idea after all.

Using a female lead was not something I consciously thought about, but now I am starting to realise the opportunities this presents. Despite the many hurdles I’ve saddled myself with. Bektamun is able to highlight the progress we have made relating to equality between the sexes, also how much further we have to go. All while defying society’s expectations, kicking butt and being tender-hearted from time to time. She also likes to
rub our nose in how narrow-minded humanity can be in its thinking.

A part of my vampire mythology is the way vampires perceive humans, besides being a source of food. My vampires, Bektamun especially, interact and judge humans based on their character, attitude and behaviour. Man or woman, old or young, black or white, rich or poor; simply doesn’t enter the equation. This way of thinking gave me the means to extricate myself from the lesbian dilemma and put forward a different way of thinking for humanity to consider.

When you strip away all the labels we humans like to use, then we achieve true equality. No more discrimination or intolerance on the basis of gender, color or creed; individuals judged and esteemed purely for their character and actions. Take away discrimination and intolerance and the root of so many wars is removed. The snowball effect is unbelievable if you stop and think about it.

Ultimately my job as a writer is to entertain. No one wants to receive a lecture on social morals under the guise of fiction. However, Bektamun is unique; she pulls no punches and calls it like she sees it. I may not have given much thought when first creating her, but if she can make people stop and think, even for a moment, then I have played my part in creating the world I wished I lived in.

About the Author

Raised in country Victoria, Rebeka started her writing career working for the local newspaper as a teenager. While she decided not to pursue this as a career, she has always enjoyed writing and being creative.

With so many varied interests and eccletic taste in most things, Rebeka enjoys incorporating all of them in her writing. She particularly enjoys writing about vampires.

Rebeka seeks to define and explain vampires in a way not done before. This was achieved with her debut title “Vampires Revealed”. Following titles revolve around exploring the world and characters created in her first release.

Currently Rebeka lives in Melbourne with her “demented” but lovable cat, dividing her time between writing and managing a small boutique entertainment agency.

Her latest book, Desires Revealed, is available for purchase at:
Smashwords / Amazon

Catch up with her characters
www.vampiresrevealed.com

Follow her blog
www.rebekaharrington.com