Laurell K. Hamilton

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Laurell Kaye Hamilton
Laurell Kaye Hamilton 20100328 Salon du livre de Paris 1.jpg
BornLaurell Kaye Klein
(1963-02-19) February 19, 1963 (age 60)
Heber Springs, Arkansas, U.S.
OccupationWriter, Novelist
Alma mater Indiana Wesleyan University
Period1993–present
Genre Fantasy, Erotica, Romance, Horror, Science fiction
Notable works Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter
Merry Gentry series
SpouseGary Hamilton
Jonathon Green
Children1
Website
Official website OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Laurell Kaye Hamilton (born February 19, 1963) is an American fantasy and romance writer. [1] She is best known as the author of two series of stories.

Contents

Her New York Times-bestselling Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series centers on Anita Blake, a professional zombie raiser, vampire executioner and supernatural consultant for the police, which includes novels, short story collections, and comic books. Six million copies of Anita Blake novels are in print. [2] Her Merry Gentry series centers on Meredith Gentry, Princess of the Unseelie court of Faerie, a private detective facing repeated assassination attempts. Both of these fantasy series follow their protagonists as they gain in power and deal with the dangers of worlds in which creatures of legend live.

Several media outlets, including USA Today , Entertainment Weekly , and Time have identified her works as significant contributions to the development of the urban-fantasy genre.

Personal life

Laurell Kaye Hamilton was born Laurell Kaye Klein in Heber Springs, Arkansas but grew up in Sims, Indiana with her grandmother Laura Gentry. [3] Her education includes degrees in English and biology from Marion College (now called Indiana Wesleyan University), a private Evangelical Christian liberal arts college in Marion, Indiana that is affiliated with the Wesleyan Church denomination. She met Gary Hamilton, whom she married, there. They have one daughter together, Trinity. [4]

Hamilton is involved with a number of animal charities, particularly supporting dog rescue efforts and wolf preservation. [5]

Hamilton currently lives in St. Louis County, Missouri, [6] with her daughter Trinity, and husband Jonathon Green whom she married in 2001. [7]

Works

Laurell K. Hamilton is the author of two major book series, spin-off comic books, various anthologies, and other stand-alone titles:

Reception

Entertainment Weekly and USA Today have identified Hamilton as having a significant impact on urban fantasy. [9] [10] In 2008, Time declared that the popularity of the genre "owes everything to Laurell K. Hamilton". [11] Authors Courtney Allison Moulton and Kelly Gay have noted Hamilton as an inspiration. [12] [13]

Anita Blake

Reader reaction to the series's shift in tone from crime noir thriller to focus more predominantly on the sexual themes in the series has been mixed, starting with Narcissus in Chains when the main character of Anita Blake becomes infected with the ardeur. The ardeur is a supernatural power inadvertently given to Anita by her vampire Master Jean-Claude that gives her massive amounts of power but also demands that she have sexual intercourse with several different people through the course of a day, sometimes in large groups. Reception to these dynamics and to the usage of sexual abuse in later books has been mixed, [3] with some reviewers commenting that the character of Anita spent too much time "obsessing about whether or not she’s a slut" while others remarked that the erotic themes enhanced the series. [14] In response to these comments, Hamilton issued a blog entitled "Dear Negative Reader" where she addressed a growing number of readers on the Internet that were expressing disappointment in the series's changes. [3] [15] In the blog Hamilton told the readers that "life is too short to read books you don’t like" and that if they found that the current subject matter pushed "you past that comfortable envelope of the mundane" then "stop reading" and speculated that some of the readers were either "closet readers" or comment based on others' opinions. [3] [15] The blog entry was negatively received by some readers. [3]

Critical reviewers have also commented on the amount of sex in later books, as in a 2006 review in The Boston Globe of Micah . The review was largely negative, stating "we were not impressed. Hamilton no doubt appeals to romance and erotica lovers, but it does not take long for the clichés and the constant droning about sex to become tiresome." [16] Other reviewers for The Kansas City Star and Publishers Weekly also commented on the rise in sexual themes in the series. [17] The reviewer for the Kansas City Star stated that "After 13 erotically charged books, boredom has reared its ugly head for the 14th novel in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, as eroticism becomes mere description..." and Publishers Weekly commented that Blood Noir had a "growing air of ennui, which longtime readers can't help sharing as sex increasingly takes the place of plot and character development". [18]

In contrast, a Denver Post review of Danse Macabre took a more positive view of the eroticism in Hamilton's work. Although it noted that "[t]hose looking for mystery and mayhem on this Anita adventure are out of luck" it also stated that "the main attraction of the Anita Blake novels in the past five years has been their erotic novelty", and "[f]ew, if any, mainstream novels delve so deeply into pure, unadulterated erotica". [19]

Bibliography

Critical studies, reviews and biography

Related Research Articles

Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter is a series of urban fantasy novels, short stories, and comic books by Laurell K. Hamilton. The books have sold more than six million copies; many have made The New York Times Best Seller list.

Anita Blake is the title and viewpoint character of the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton. The series takes place in a parallel world in which supernatural characters like vampires and werewolves exist alongside regular humans, with Blake's jobs including the re-animation of the dead as well as the hunting and executing of supernatural creatures that have broken the law. Hamilton stated that she created the character after perceiving a gender inequality in detective fiction, with female characters rarely getting the same treatment as male heroes of the genre.

Urban fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy, placing supernatural elements in an approximation of a contemporary urban setting. The combination provides the writer with quixotic plot-drivers, unusual character traits, and a platform for classic fantasy tropes, without demanding the creation of an entirely-imagined world.

<i>Guilty Pleasures</i> (novel) 1993 novel by Laurell K. Hamilton

Guilty Pleasures is a 1993 horror and mystery novel by American writer Laurell K. Hamilton. It is the first book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. Guilty Pleasures introduces the character of Anita Blake, a vampire hunter and necromancer, who works in an alternate universe where magic, vampires, werewolves and other supernatural elements exist. The novel blends elements of supernatural and hardboiled detective fiction.

<i>Blue Moon</i> (Hamilton novel)

Blue Moon is the eighth in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.

<i>Narcissus in Chains</i> 2001 novel by Laurell K. Hamilton

Narcissus in Chains is the tenth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.

<i>Cerulean Sins</i>

Cerulean Sins is a horror/mystery/erotica novel by American writer Laurell K. Hamilton, the eleventh book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter.

<i>Incubus Dreams</i> 2004 novel by Laurell K. Hamilton

Incubus Dreams is a horror/mystery/erotica novel by American writer Laurell K. Hamilton, the twelfth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series.

<i>Danse Macabre</i> (novel)

Danse Macabre is a horror/mystery/erotica novel by American writer Laurell K. Hamilton, the fourteenth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series.

Richard Alaric Zeeman is a fictional character in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.

Jean-Claude is a fictional character in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of novels by Laurell K. Hamilton. Within the novels, Jean-Claude's role is as one of the primary love interests of the series heroine, Anita Blake.

This is an alphabetical listing of members of the Vampire Council and their followers in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of novels.

Asher is a fictional character in Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of novels. Asher is a Master Vampire, and the lover of Jean-Claude and Anita Blake.

<i>The Harlequin</i> (novel)

The Harlequin is the fifteenth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by Laurell K. Hamilton; it was released June 5, 2007.

<i>Skin Trade</i> (novel) 2009 novel by Laurell K. Hamilton

Skin Trade is the seventeenth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by Laurell K. Hamilton.

<i>Flirt</i> (novel) 2010 erotic thriller by Laurell K. Hamilton

Flirt is a 2010 New York Times bestselling erotic thriller by novelist Laurell K. Hamilton. The novella was published on February 2, 2010, by Berkley Hardcover and is the eighteenth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. The afterword of Flirt contains several pages of discussion about Hamilton's inspiration for the novella as well as a comic by Jennie Breeden.

<i>Bullet</i> (novel) 2010 novel by Laurell K. Hamilton

Bullet is the nineteenth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series of horror/mystery/erotica novels by Laurell K. Hamilton. It debuted at #2 on The New York Times Best Seller List for Hardcover Fiction.

<i>Kiss the Dead</i>

Kiss the Dead is a 2012 erotic thriller by American writer Laurell K. Hamilton. The book was published on June 5, 2012 by Berkley Hardcover and is the twenty first book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series.

<i>Affliction</i> (novel)

Affliction is a 2013 urban fantasy novel by American writer Laurell K. Hamilton, the 22nd book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. The novel follows Anita Blake and her various lovers as she travels to Colorado and works to uncover a series of murders and infections involving flesh-eating zombies.

The Merry Gentry series is a series of urban fantasy novels by New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton. The series is narrated in first person format through the eyes of the series' title character Meredith "Merry" Gentry, a faerie princess turned private investigator in a world where faeries exist and are known to the general public. The first book in the series, A Kiss of Shadows, was released by Del Rey on October 3, 2000. There are nine books in the series.

References

  1. McCune, Alisa. "A Conversation With Laurell K. Hamilton". SF Site . Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Works by Laurell K Hamilton". Archived from the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Benefiel, Candace (2006). Reading Laurell K. Hamilton. Libraries Unlimited. p. 110. ISBN   978-0-313-37835-5.
  4. "Locus Online: Laurell K. Hamilton interview (excerpts)". Locus . September 2000.
  5. "Laurell K. Hamilton Interview, Horror Author". Flames Rising. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Laurell K. Hamilton". Archived from the original on February 24, 2009.
  7. "Laurell K. Hamilton (1963–) - Encyclopedia of Arkansas" . Retrieved 2016-09-21.
  8. "KISS THE DEAD". RT Book Reviews. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  9. Garcia, Catherine (June 1, 2010). "Q&A: Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter author Laurell K. Hamilton". ew.com. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  10. Memmott, Carol (June 28, 2006). "Vampire stories are in this writer's blood". USA Today . Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  11. Cruz, Gilbert (October 30, 2008). "Q&A:Vampire Novelist Laurell K. Hamilton". Time. Archived from the original on November 3, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
  12. M, Sara (December 9, 2009). "Author Interview and Giveaway: Kelly Gay". urbanfantasyreader.blogspot.com. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
  13. "Interview with Courtney Allison Moulton, Debut Author of Angelfire". mundiemoms.blogspot.com. February 12, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  14. Amazeen, Sandy. "Book Review: Danse Macabre by Laurell K. Hamilton". Monsters and Critics. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  15. 1 2 "Dear Negative Reader". Laurell K Hamilton. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  16. O'Gorman, Rochelle (2006-03-26). "Beware the Ringing Cell". The Boston Globe . p. C7. ISSN   0743-1791.
  17. Folsom, Robert (2006-07-17). "'Danse Macabre' by Laurell K. Hamilton; 'The Lies of Locke Lamora' by Scott Lynch". The Kansas City Star .
  18. "Publishers Weekly Fiction Reviews: Week of 2008-04-21" 2008 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. Accessed August 26, 2008
  19. Shindler, Dorman T (2006-08-20). "7th Anita Blake novel builds on erotic aura". The Denver Post . p. F13. ISSN   1930-2193.
  20. Hamilton, Laurell K. (October 8, 2013). "A present from me to you, because our government is behaving badly". laurellkhamilton.org. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
  21. Correia, Larry; Ezell, Kacey, eds. (2019). "Sweet Seduction". Noir Fatale. Riverdale, NY: Baen Books. pp. 127–153. ISBN   978-1-4814-8397-1. OCLC   1056742830.

Sources

Literature
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