Emerging author, Raven Starr has been writing since she was 15 years old. In 2007, some of her poems are featured in When Times Moves On (Anchor Books), a new poetry anthology. She is also publishing her first novella, The Vampire's Embrace (TreePress.net) and a short e-book, Fantasy (Red Rose Publishing).

The modern culture is abundant with stories about vampires. Film producers make many movies about vampire hunters every year, lots of books about vampirism and vampires appear regularly. Feeding on blood has become one of the top issues discussed at a variety of forums, especially of Gothic teenagers. What is the official medicinal opinion about vampires today?

We kiss. Juices mingling, his skin hot against mine. I kiss his cheek, then down to a warm neck. Lips brush velvet skin, tongue tracing a moist line along the pulsing heaven of an artery buried beneath. A hoarse whisper escapes his throat, begging for more. Does he know what he asks? I think not, but who would want to disappoint such a needy, yearning being?....not I...

I pull back, drowning in the heady scent of lust and lifeforce. The draw is too strong though, I cannot fight it, do not want to if truth be told.

The mind lets go of fear
by telling us to scream
whether out of panic, danger
or to awake from a dream
If the body does not allow
if the scream is kept inside
if its silent, in your head
it then becomes, the worst kind
You see, no one can hear it
or come to your aid
Which is what screams are for
why they escape.
But left pent up
it sounds louder in your head
then a meltdown begins
and fills you with dread.
So silently you scream,
for anyone, or release
Before the blackness sets in

The literary genre known as horror has gone through some changes as of late and, for those among you who cling to the old traditions, these changes do not bode well. However, before going into that topic, it is best to first offer a brief explanation of what the horror genre is about.