The Reformed Vampire Support Group

Modern-day vampires negotiate their existence in suburbia, trying to lead normal lives and stay clean with the help of their support group…

Catherine Jinks has made a name for herself as a "great debunker", and in this clever and ironic new book she's at it again- this time with her sights on vampires. Now these aren't your impossibly handsome, sparkle-in-the-sun, set-girls-hearts-on-fire breed of vampires, but slightly more pedestrian breed… the kind that have "hands like chicken feet, all scaly and dry" and skin "the colour of maggots". The kind that need a support group just to relieve the boredom of their lives, which otherwise feels "like being stuck indoors with the flu, watching daytime television forever and ever."

Fifteen-year-old Nina has been a vampire since 1973 and boy, is she over it. It has really cramped her style and social life- and it's boring! But as sickly and tedious as Nina's life has become, it takes a turn for the worse when a member of her support group is killed by an unknown vampire slayer. She and her fellow vampires are forced to hunt down the killer- leaving the safety of their homes behind they soon find themselves caught up in a dangerous quest full of guns, thugs and victimized werewolves. What follows is a hilarious and wildly original adventure in which Jinks' sickly, pallid creatures discover there might be more to being born a vampire after all…

From Catherine Jinks:
In a review I was once described as 'a great debunker', and this is yet another debunking exercise; essentially, I'm trying to disempower vampires. It's never a good idea to believe that anyone else on earth is imbued with an almost god-like strength and beauty, whether you're talking about a movie star, a visionary, or a fictional paranormal create. I think it's important to keep reminding ourself that everybody's just a vulnerable human being, and that media portrayals aren't necessarily based on the unvarnished truth.

I also derived endless amusement from the idea of vampires in group therapy. And in an era when we try to acknowledge the difficulties faced by so many disadvantaged people, I didn't see why vampires should be missing out.

Catherine Jinks was born in Brisbane in 1963 and grew up in Sydney and Papua New Guinea. She became a writer because she loved reading, and also loves history, films, TV and gossip. She has a BA (hons) in medieval history and is married with one daughter.
Catherine writes whenever she gets a moment and could write fro eight hours straight if she had the chance. She lives in the Blue Mountains in NSW and gets her ideas from everywhere, partially good science fiction films. The author of many award-winning popular books for children and authors, her most recent books include: Evil Genius, Genius Squad and Pagan's Daughter.

The Reformed Vampire Support Group
Allen and Unwin
Author: Catherine Jinks
ISBN: 9781741756722
Price: $22.99

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