Vlad

[Crimson Dragon]

Glad I could help.

[theladyofshalott]

The correct spelling is Vlad Tepes. "Tepesh" is used just to give people who don't speak romanian, a clue on how to pronounce it, although the correct one would be "Tzepesh".

Dragon you are going to be a really handy person!! I've always wondered just exactly how it was pronounced but couldn't find a definite answer.

If we're going for really, really, correct spelling, then I think it should be some kind of crooky thingy at the bottom of the "T" (like in façade or the French word garçon (those are done with firefox's spell check...)). How you're doing it manually on a keyboard, though, is above me.

[Crimson Dragon]

Yeah, that's right, it has to be spelled like this: Vlad Ţepeş. I don't use those letters when i write in romanian so i didn't think of writing the name like that. And those letters can be used just by changing the language settings of the keyboard, or at least that's what i think it takes.

[wildchild1954]

Yeah, that's right, it has to be spelled like this: Vlad Ţepeş. I don't use those letters when i write in romanian so i didn't think of writing the name like that. And those letters can be used just by changing the language settings of the keyboard, or at least that's what i think it takes.

Actually you find all those funny little things like Ţ or ý in your Operating Systems character map. You can change the font around until you find one with the marks you need and then you're off and running.

[theladyofshalott]

Yeah, that's right, it has to be spelled like this: Vlad Ţepeş. I don't use those letters when i write in romanian so i didn't think of writing the name like that. And those letters can be used just by changing the language settings of the keyboard, or at least that's what i think it takes.

Actually you find all those funny little things like Ţ or ý in your Operating Systems character map. You can change the font around until you find one with the marks you need and then you're off and running.

cool...

[gottaluvit]

Vlad was delightful. I would love to see more of him, most especially if he demonstrated some romantic...ahem...interest in Cat. It would do Bones good to have him seriously worried about someone he can't just 'remove' to get him out of the way. I think it's also good for Cat that she is making some friends in the vampire world who aren't dependent on or connected to Bones as most of the others are--badies aside.

The interaction between Bones and Vlad was awesome, and I love the humorous element he adds to the storyline. I have absolutely no problem with seeing a character of legend given a new take in books. There will always be purists who expect everything to stay the same as common 'lore' would have it, but IMO they are missing out on some fresh approaches and some delightful twists as a result.

I adore humour in books. The humorous dialogue between the characters is one way of doing it, as is the situational type, but to introduce a character of mythical proportions and give it a new twist is another kind of humour, and one I greatly enjoy. A definite thumbs up from me.

[Interpreter]

I liked how you took the legend and made him a man. The images Dracula conjures was meant to incite terror in the hearts of young children, but I love the contrast of this deeply feeling man inside the vampire. His sense of humor and his ability to poke fun at himself as well as Bones and Cat make him transform from the Legend into an interesting character that becomes an integral part of the storyline.

I hope to see more of this character in future books. Thanks for taking the brave step.

[Charis Elpis]

I loved that Jeaniene included Vlad in her series. I enjoyed the somewhat friendly rivalry between Vlad and Bones. It was nice to see this character in an honorable light. Loved him even more when he saves Cat from herself.
Now I also have a question for Jeaniene and my fellow Frost fans: We have met Spade and Ian. Will we get to meet Timothy? I feel like we will hear from him and that when we do, he might not be as friendly as Spade and Ian. I don't know, it's just something about the fact that he chose to turn while Bones and Spade were turned against their will. Let me know what you think.

I'm starting a thread on Vlad myself, since I'm very curious to hear what all of you thought of him. Truthfully, when I started out writing a vampire series, I never intended to mess with the Dracula legend. Right up until I was halfway through writing At Grave's End, I STILL never intended to mess with it. But there I was, typing that scene where Bones says, "Mencheres is here...he's not alone" and - boom! - Vlad popped up in my head fully formed as a character. That only happens once in a blue moon for me (Tate was another one of those). Normally I have to coax side characters from my head and pry their personalities out of them, but Vlad practically shoved himself onto the page and dared me to delete him, lol.

Then once I knew he was there to stay in the story, I did a lot of research on the historical figure of Vlad Tepesh (or Tepes, both spellings appeared in research). I found the records to be very interesting; depending on who gave the accounting back in the fourteen or fifteen hundreds (Germany or Russia) - Vlad was either a raving homicidal dictator or a harsh but protective prince who was renowned for his honesty. The variance between the two descriptions made Vlad a more interesting character to me, and the "harsh but protective prince" personality is the one that best suited the person who'd popped into Cat's living room . I really wanted to show Vlad as more than the monster so famously described in Bram Stoker's novel and/or in movie retellings, but of course, it's hard to separate Vlad Tepesh from the Dracula shadow.

So, with that way-too-long backstory, what'd everyone think of him?

[LovinDaBones]

[quote="Jeaniene_Frost"]I'm starting a thread on Vlad myself, since I'm very curious to hear what all of you thought of him.


I thought adding Vlad was pure genius! I loved Cat's reaction to him being Dracula and then being able to read her mind. That cracked me up. And we he talked to her while on the ledge.....very moving! I hope he gets a book one day!

[trader]

I love the Vlad character, especially his relationship with Cat, although I don't buy it for a minute that his feelings for her aren't romantic.