Collins, Nancy A.

Collins, Nancy A. (1959–)

(pop culture)

Nancy Collins, an Arkansas native and the creator of vampire character Sonia Blue, was born on September 10, 1959 and raised in Arkansas. She has traced her interest in horror to her grandfather’s inviting her to join him at the local theater to watch the latest horror movies. He was a devout fan of Boris Karloff. After practicing her writing skills with short stories, Collins suddenly became a hot item in the literary world after her first novel, Sunglasses After Dark (1989), received the Bram Stoker Award. The novel introduced heiress Denise Thorne who was raped and vampirized while in London and emerged out of the experience as the vampire Sonia Blue. Since adapting to her new existence, she had been searching for the man who attacked her. Blue’s adventures would continue in three sequels: In the Blood, Paint It Black and A Dozen Black Roses. The first three of the Sonia Blue novels were collected in the single volume Midnight Blue: The Sonia Blue Collection from White Wolf. Sunglasses After Dark was also adapted as a comic book by Verotik.

While best known for her vampire character, Collins has written widely in the horror field. Her short stories have appeared in various anthologies (The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, Best New Horror, The Definitive Best of the Horror Show, Splatterpunks, and The Best of Pulphouse), and she is the co-editor of the erotic horror anthologies Forbidden Acts and Dark Love. Additional novels include Walking Wolf, Wild Blood, and Tempter, and for two years (1991–93), she scripted DC Comics’ Swamp Thing comic book series.

While authoring several vampire short stories, Collins returned to the vampire genre in a big way in 2008 with the first volume of a new vampire series directed at teenagers: VAMPS, about life at Bathory Academy, a private school for training the daughters of the finest vampire families. By the end of 2009, three volumes had appeared.

Collins has received the British Fantasy Society’s Icarus Award, and is also the founder of the International Horror Critics Guild.

Sources:

Collins, Nancy. After Dark. Vamps 3. New York: Harper Teen, 2009. 192 pp.———. Cold Turkey. Holyoke, MA: Crossroads Press, 1992.———. A Dozen Black Roses. Clarkston, GA: White Wolf Game Studio, 1997. 237 pp.———. In the Blood. New York: ROC, 1992. 302 pp.———. Midnight Blue: The Sonia Blue Collection. Stone Mountain, GA: White Wolf Game Studio, 1995. 559 pp. Includes Sunglasses after Dark, In the Blood, and Paint It Black.———. Night Life. Vamps 2. New York: Harperteen, 2009. 256 pp.———. Paint It Black. London: New English Library, 1995. 253 pp.———. Sunglasses After Dark. New York: Penguin Books, 1989. Rept. New York: New American Library, 1989. 253 pp.———. Tempter. New York: New American Library, 1990. 299 pp. Rept. London: Futura, 1990. 299 pp.———. Vamps. New York: Harperteen, 2008. 256 pp.