Come on, you know you want to try it. Insert your own guess in the comments.
I’m going with fallen pirate apocalyptic ninja angels as the new vampire.
Nathan Bransford | Writing, Book Editing, Publishing
Helping authors achieve their dreams
Nathan Bransford
Helping authors achieve their dreams
As an Amazon and Bookshop Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Amazon and Bookshop links are usually affiliate links.
I'll see your fallen pirate apocalyptic ninja angels and raise you a fallen FAERIE pirate apocalyptic ninja zombie-fighting psychic angel!
Ooh, yeah, she raised you a zombie for the win! I'd read that just to say I did! ~_^
No, no, no . . . its got to be a moody, saddened immortal cyclops with the ability give the appearance of two eyes and who has a propensity to fly with magical wings.
Gargoyles.
Actually, I've seen demons and fallen angels in a lot of books lately. Tempting an angel to sin seems to be a common romance plot.
But, for preference, I'll see Kiersten's FAERIE pirate apocalyptic ninja zombie-fighting psychic angel and raise you a ZOMBIE half-demon pirate fairy post-apocalyptic ninja drag queen!
Angels. I've read on several agents Web sites that they are over loaded with query letters about angels.
It's definitely going to be half-elven, half-dragon post-apocalyptic magic-tattoo-wearing black-winged steampunk space-pirate ninjas from a hell dimension.
Easy peasy: Vampire apocalyptic monkeys of Mayan descent which haunt our homes while we sleep and capture it all on video.
I think I would back up the idea shown on Penny Arcade and say that Mummies will be the new vampires
It's Faeries… wait. I missed it. Okay, it's zombies… dang. Um… werewolves! Too late. Angels?? Sigh.
Okay, how about a book about girls who track down cheating boyfriends? Phew. I caught that train. 🙂
And while we're on the subject, what ever happened to Fairies? Fairy fairies. Why is everything all of sudden Faeries? Of the Fae.
I'll go with aliens from some distant galaxy.
According to Maggie Stiefvater, KRACKEN are the new vampire.
(and if you haven't watched her hilarious you tube video on the subject, you need to go find it right now).
I think it's Zombies. They seem to be everywhere these days, and, personally, I just don't see the appeal. To each his own.
Old vampires are SO the new vampires.
LOL
Emo-goth bipedal kittens that ride magic winged donkeys.
hybrids. Werepires (Werewolf vampire crossovers), zompires and vambies (two different things, but both cross-pollinations of zombies and vampires), succubies (succubus fairies or zombies… or anything ending in ies).
Love.
Love is the new vampire.
Can't we all just get along?
On that note, ANOTHER Nathan post! I am in heaven. Happy, happy, happy.
Old Vampires are the New Vampires, because honestly, the New Vampires have lost their bite (they traded it for sparkles).
Agents are the new vampires.
Deep down you just know it. 🙂
Oh, seriously, in terms of YA topic trends, I think books that mimic the internet – twitter, facebook, blogs – might have a shot. Hard to predict.
Also, whatever Meyers new series is.
In many ways, it's not the topic, it's the author. Lots of folks wrote about vampires before Meyers. She writes page-turners.
So, any author that writes a YA page-turner right now would have quite a good shot at it.
You wanna know what's going to be the new vampire?
An emo girl falls in love with a zombie who really wants to eat her BBBRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIINNNNNNNSSSSSSS, but can't, because there's something… different about her. Something… delicious, probably her BRRAAAAIIIIIIIINNNNNNNSSSSSSS, but the zombie is a vegetarian zombie who only eats cabbage and broccoli, because they look like BBBRRRRRAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIINNNNNNNSSSSSSS, and won't touch the girl, for fear of rotting all over her and then trying to eat her BBBRRRRAAAAAAAIIIIIIIINNNNNSSSSSSS.
Thanks, Nathan, I think I have the idea for a new MS! I'll be querying you with it in… a month!
Now I read the prior comments and see that Audrianna already used Old Vampires. Damn clever of her. Option number 2:
WORD VERIFICATION: saskine. The New Vampires.
In all seriousness, I think the fantasy ensemble is the next vampire. (The Mortal Instruments anyone? That series, along with Percy Jackson is about to explode)
Enslaved circus zombies who love the Mega .gov Sheep Clones who want to kill them.
My guess: humans with paranormal abilities.
That was sarcasm, by the way. Just want to make that clear.
Ok. I'm not going to say it again. If you don't know what I mean by that, oh well. Instead I'm going to go with kids/teens being the new vampires.
Ninjas have been the new vampires for YEARS. What? You didn't know that? Eh, no one really knows that. They're still trying to figure out how they can come out with their immense popularity while still being un-find-able.
On a serious note: How about healthy relationships being the new vampires?
Sarah Palin and the Radio City Music Hall Rocketts
Rick – Great minds think alike, right?
I thought we were still on vampires…
I'd like to see the Anti-Vampires as the New Vampires. Perhaps they can clear off all the rest of the bloody vampires.
Not my type of reading or writing material, but we all have different tastes. I think the implication of danger, but danger that is sexy, is what appeals to the predominantly female readers, when it comes to vampires.
I prefer aliens and UFOs myself.
Amish hooker swat teams are the new vampires. It's SO obvious.
______ is the new vampires.
That's right, a creeping nothingness threatening to destroy the world. Or at least a small town with star crossed lovers in it.
Or maybe it's aliens with Edwardian values.
One of those.
How about leprachauns that grow into giants? They'd be able to get over a rainbow with ease.
Writers. Sexy writers of literary fiction.
Wallabies.
I mean, come on, just say it. Wallaby. I know you enjoyed it. And they're cute. Totally all the rage.
Come on, now, I dare you not to say it. Wallaby. You know you can't resist, you have to say it… Wallaby. You know you want to. Give in to the dark side of the Force…
Wallaby…
Okay, sparkly wallabies if you must.
Shirtless, Time Traveling, Fraud Perpetrating, Investment Bankers…
I hope Neanderthals are the new vampires because that's what my novel is about! They were 100% human–no paranormal stuff, and yet, who knows what they were really like? They had much BIGGER brains than us…
shirtless investment bankers, sexy literary fiction writers.
I think you just named this preppy girl's price.
We're going to return to the Roswell High series-era and go with sexy aliens. Who can conveniently bring about the apocalypse.
And since angels are already passe, we're heading down into the deep, hot south for some demon lovin' (Rachelle Mead's doing this already with her awesome Succubus Blues series). Make it a steampunk-y demon for the win.
Plus other paranormal-y things, like banshees (Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers series, for example). And Jennifer's elves suggestion is totally happening, a la Orlando Bloom in LOTR.
PS – Fleur, I second Amish hooker SWAT teams.
Personally, I'm waiting for the Vampire Lestat to come out of retirement and kick the crap out of Edward Cullen for laughs.
I would nominate Jon and Kate Gosselin as the New Vampires.
Angels and Demons are the new vampire. Not to be confused with the Dan Brown novel. Vampires may appear as demons. See "TV – Charmed" and copy basic plot. 😉
"Beginning in March 2010, American Vampire, a comic from Vertigo (DC Comics), will be released each month, including two stories: one by short story writer Scott Snyder and the other by Stephen King." – Publishing Trends, November 2009
Oh, well, perhaps humans with paranormal abilities will be able to defeat the vampires – one day?
Whatever they are, could they just not sparkle, please.
I'm going with Wereturtles. They'd put those teenage mutants to shame!
Sharks with head mounted lasers are the new vampires.
I'm going with emotionally wounded weretigers with hearts of gold and a secret yearning to DANCE LIKE THE STARS.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: Lovecraft-style monster gods.
Considering that the Vampire fad seems to be the thing of young fiction I am going to guess that it will be eating disorders. Bulimia is the new vampires. But, tagging onto what people have said before, maybe it will be zombie bulimics. They eat tons and tons of brains and then throw them up so that they don't look fat, then someone finally explains to them that as members of the undead, they can't technically gain weight.
But they have to be Amish fallen pirate apocalyptic ninja angels…
Ink– figures you would come up with my one weakness. Sparkly wallabies… fine. I'll just submit to my doom, now, thanks.
Were-unicorns shifters They're a slam-dunk in the erotic romance end of the paranormal spectrum.
Though I'd say gargoyles are a close second. Made of stone, you know.
And let's not forget the bunny-shifters. Cute, fluffy, and they do it like, well, bunnies 🙂
Swamp creatures. Teenage swamp creatures in love. No question.
Balinares @8:55 said it! Agents! Right Nathan?
Want proof? Check out the header on Janet Reid's blog.
Vampires are always going to be "IT". I'm just ready for some I can, I hate to say it, sink my teeth into…non-sparkling, jagged teeth, carnivores.
Has anyone said space monkeys? If not, I'm going with that.
I'm going to have to agree with Whitney.
But I would like to see the fallen pirate ninjas 🙂
Jen
Audrianna- It seems they do. So do modest mids 😉
WORD VERIFICATION: archler. The New Old Vampire.
Balinares said…
"Agents are the new vampires."
I declare Balinares to be the winner of this thread!
Because if Kristie is right about the space monkeys we are gonna be so screwed in 2012…
LOL. I predict a surge in YA fantasy warfare series. It's the post-ghoul-apocalyptic steampunk fae-vamps fighting the dreaded pre-troll-invasion cyperpunk Gorgon-witches. Throw in coffee grounds, a couple spinning hat gadgets, and a crying 12 year old and we're set.
MY BOOK is the new vampires! Somebody get over here and represent me!!!!
(Cough.)
Okay, fine, I'm going with:
Steampunk children's books
Zombie chick lit
Mom-lit crime novels
Emo cozy mysteries
Amish vampire romances
and, vampires who roam the country saving humans from zombies in order to protect the last of their dwindling food supplies. (Yes, this is an existing comic book.)
I don't think zombies have much potential for character development or plot.
Corrupt, powerful people are the old vampires.
But these new ones have some nasty-sharp fangs.
I say aliens. Far Far Away star-crossed lovers or maybe warring worlds. Look at new films Avatar, Distric 9 or TV's new shows V, and Stargate Series.
They're everywhere.
Ooh. Drag queens. Yes. With, um, fairy godfathers who chain smoke medical marijuana. And elves who don't know they're elves – they think they're fallen angels. All set in a steam punk chocolate factory.
Angel assassins, definitely.
My serious, official guesses:
Hot ghosts
Time traveling hot guys
Hot warlocks
As long as they are seriously good-looking and brooding and mysterious and somewhat dangerous or out of reach.
This question has already been answered with some authority: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/10/12/
Tortured, anthropomorphic, outwardly gruff but hiding-a-heart-of-gold wolf/buffalo/bear/lion-like creatures. I could see the Beauty and the Beast theme taking over after all the vampire/human love stories.
I hear all sorts of things. One minute I hear werewolves are going to be the next big thing then turn around and hear it's going to be mermaids. So hey, could be anything. What about cenaturs falling in love with humans? Every other creature does it, they did it in Greek Mythology, why not in more modern fiction?
Zombie unicorns!
emo mummy love triangles.
Hey! How did you know that was my current WIP?
OLD vampires.
Coffin-bound, garlic-fearing, stake-cursed, Lugosi-esque, vulnerable yet loveable, OLD vampires.
Or budgerigars. Any genre, as long as they sing nice.
This has been about the best laugh I have had in a long long time!
I'm going to say Time-traveling shape-shifting humanoid aliens.
Hoarding. Or at least I hope so.
Buxom blond vampires.
I've heard agents saying they are inundated with buxom blondes lately.
Fanfic writers, who fight ALL of the above in their spare time.
I guess whoever got bitten by the old Vampire….
Librarians, of course.
Zombies are the next Saturday morning cartoon and breakfast cereal, so they can't be the true NEXT thing.
I would go with Energy workers. Kids who are passing through puberty to discover that they can draw power from the void. An evolution in this organic matter we inhabit, bringing us closer to spirit.
You know… sexually aware indigo children.
Well, based on the latest election results, I'm saying that republicans are the new vampires.
….it came from outerspace!
After recently reviewing some video game magazines, I'm going to have to go with Post-Apocalyptic-First-Person-Shooter as the new vampire. But that's just me.
Great blog, sir. So glad I chanced upon it.
-Joshua
2012
Amish writing going mainstream
and something COMPLETELY different from all of the above, rooted in history and the heartland of America. Think Laura Ingalls Wilder, perhaps.
Baba Yaga is the new vampires.
Look into your heart, you know it to be true.
The new vampire is: The Homicidal Golfer..
http://www.InsidetheHedges.com
Not just a new vampire, a lovable empathetic revenant character who's wronged by the system. The symbolism and tropes and motifs must be fresh and original and timely relevant in order to be new. Life's blood sucking parasites, a tick like, a mosquito, a gadfly, none of which are empathetic, per se.
Hmm, how about an undead woman with an overwhelming biological imperative who can't regenerate perpetually without occasionally sucking the emotional center out of a corrupt man, his id, his joie de vivre. Of course, his joyful essences are the vices of greed and moral corruption. Say, he revels in writing sub prime home mortages that are predetermined to default, kind of a vampire in his own right. They're made for each other, but she's a black widow/praying mantis mater [sic].
Or a vampire evicted from his home grave soil due to a corrupt foreclosure seeks new digs and discovers a global conspiracy purposed to retask residential real estate for biofuel production, effectively reducing and displacing an underdog populace so that they migrate to crowded offshore floating high rise tenements.
The Mismatist
Social media experts are the new vampires. 😛 Seriously… everyone is apparently an expert!
"Politicians" are the new vampires.
Avatar
Shapeshifters. Just wait.
Fallen economists wielding Biblical powers
Definitely replicated steampowered rabid armadillo clones – blue ones. Definitely.
Smurfs are the new vampires.
It has to be HOT, how are they going to make zombies hot?
Just not possible. I think the Werewolf trend is going to get bigger especially with New Moon about to come out at theaters.
i know the answer, cos it's starring in my new supernatural wip for young teens. But if i told you, i'd have to shoot you.
🙂
I'm so weary of vampires (disgustingly sexpotty or weepingly abstinent), zombies (fast or slow), zombie-vampires, vampire-zombies, angels, demons, demon-angels, vampire aliens, aliens in general that I actually spent the last week reading a book on geopolitics by Richard Nixon. Yes, THAT Richard Nixon. I'm gonna vote for a reincarnation of Scooby Doo-like villains. Professor Hyde-White, anyone?
That thing out of the LIttle Mermaid that steals a voice. Let's have an underwater theme.
Ostriches.
Memoirs by pets, especially those owned by vampires or zombies.
werewolves
[I'm going to try not to look at the other responses before posting mine].
Zombie fairy ninja ballerina pirates. They are of course tragically angsty and beautiful.
Steampunk cephalopod assassins are the new vampires.
The hotness of zombies hasn't been the zombies themselves; it's been the vicarious Big Game Hunter slaugtering all the emotionally indifferent undead creatures of the veldt mob craving fleeting attention and approval and acclaim in place of enduring, meaningful relationships.
Zombies will remain hot until population numbers decline or a new paradigm redefines zombies' symbolic role in the collective subconsciousness.
Same with bug-eyed monster aliens.
Zenophobists unite! Destroy all intrusive othernesses.
Zenophobists as the New Vampires.
Fallen Angels.
Mermaids.
Steampunk.
Undead.
Although shouts out to sparkly wallabies & Smurfs!
Ballooning accidents
Gay, Amish Vampires, in novels written by straight women, who can shape shift, live in daylight, and make farmer cheese and quilts that have magical time-travel powers.
Kick-ass women protags who don't need men to save them are the new vampire.
– sorry, I had issues with Bella.
{literary agents} are the new vampires.
Gnomes.
Everyone thinks it werewolves, angels or fairies, but they're wrong. Gnomes are super hot (and tall), they've just been misrepresented for the last 100 years or so. You'll see.
4th century English kings.
With laser swords.
Fairies. Zombies. Aliens that disguise themselves as humans–or aliens that disguise themselves as fairies or zombies. 😛
How about variety being the new vampires?
Call me a rebel, but wouldn't publishers sell more books if they offered a variety of stories instead of the same thing with different covers?
Can we have fallen pirate apocalyptic ninja angels and zombies and faeries and moody, saddened immortal cyclops and demons and fallen angels and … well, you get the point.
I read a lot. I love books. But, there is nothing more frustrating to me than to go into a bookstore and not be able to find anything that I want to read. I'm not that picky when it comes to genre. I read thrillers, romance, fantasy, science fiction, military fiction, historical fiction, etc.
Sigh. Whatever the new trend is, I hope it is something that I want to read.
Fae are the New Vampires-Melissa Marr's novels Wicked Lovely and all have caught on…many readers and writers alike seem drawn to the world of fae and their frivolous Summer, cool Winter, and lustful Dark Courts.
Hookers
Unicorns are the new vampires. Think on it: Vampires are one big sexual innuendo. With Unicorns you not only get the sexual innuendo (they like to lay their horned heads in the laps of virgins) but also sparkles and hooves.
Olympian gods and human heroes – in time for 2012.
Tinea Corporis… is the new Vampire!
Haste yee back 😉
Shape shifting-psychic-witches-that belong to a secret society with their symbolisms built into American culture.
I'm going for were-carebears. I see Sucks-blood-a-lot bear as a transitional figure, cuddly and blood thristy.
Please let it be humans.
Televangelists are the new vampires and should be subsequently staked through the heart.
I've heard from numerous publishing people that gods of all sorts and space aliens are quite probably one of the next hot "vampire" subjects … and my latest novel, GODS IN THE MACHINE, revolves around both. I've received some great feedback and interest, and am crossing my fingers for the future of this book. 🙂 I have some news regarding GODS IN THE MACHINE, but won't be ready to announce it for at least the next few months.
Flying monkeys.
Pickle-headed monkeys!
Monsters are the new Vampires.
Anything we can't have. If you look at the best sellers since the beginning of time they almost never really happen. I mean whether it's impossibly idealistic romance novels, tales about immortality, super skills, or impossible situations. We want what we can't get, so we do the next best thing and read about it.
Leprechauns.
Oh, that's easy. Psychic zombie faerie wizard monk bards who sparkle in sunlight and bring about the apocolypse in 2012 are the new vampires!
(…do I get a cookie if I'm right?)
Having mentioned space aliens, I forgot to post a link to a movie about space aliens that's coming out this weekend and has a very intriguing trailer: THE FOURTH KIND. I'm definitely planning to see it!
Marilyn – that's wonderful to hear. Looking forward to finding out what the good news is. 🙂
What about wizards being the new vampires? Specifically child wizards fighting against the forces of evil with their pots?
Nah. Never happen.
p.s. Ha ha, I made a pun. I'm always so proud of myself when I make a pun. This was a good one. Please don't hate me because I'm punny.
Ha ha ha.
hmmm, what do you suppose I will say?
this thread was hilarious, and i'm proud to say that my vampyres don't sparkle, invite teenage love or do that emo pout thing. they do, however, kill with speed and precision, exact revenge, participate in deviant sexual behaviors, and ruthlessly murder.
i think my next book with be about Liana's "ZOMBIE half-demon pirate fairy post-apocalyptic ninja drag queen" though.
Come on guys, let's try for originality! Let's do tough love motorcycle riding nuns! (If that's not good enough, let's do ninja motorcycle riding nuns! Woot!) 😛
Mammalian personifications of the war on global-warming – for adults, not children (hmm…"war on" – where did I get that phrase, hmm…too much politics…must stop following…)
All I have to say is, you people are SO FUNNY! Thanks for so many laughs in one short lunch hour.
I can't even think what may be the next vampire. I am too busy laughing.
I'm pretty sure I said space pirates are the new vampires on a previous post, but it deserves repeating… 😛
I kinda like Ink's idea. Wallaby. Yeah, it rolls off the tongue. So how about a ninja wallaby, because it would probably be really good at kicks, high jumps and related sort of matrix-like moves. But not zombie wallabies, because that's just mean to do that to something so cute.
OR – vampires that actually ummm…drink human blood?? Straight from the source.
Vampires are the new vampires. Because, you see, we will never go away.
Well I know I'm probably the only one, but I'd like to see more Victorian/Edwardian influences in books, with gentleman and ladies.
Dopplegangers from space. It's be a hit in YA and romance.
I think Krod Mandoon was on to something when they introduced the swinging bi cyclops character(O Biclops, Where Art Thou).
We need more of those in all types of writing…non fiction referential pieces too!
Okay, I'm going in an entirely different direction here. Insider traders are the new vampires. (Okay, maybe this isn't fiction.)
I personally think it will be abandoned broomsticks, with or without an accompanying winged cat who's name will inevitably end with
-lem or some phonetically similar substitute.
@Gloria Oliver
As a lapsed Catholic, former seminarian, motorcycle ridin', martial arts lovin' idiot, I should have thought of Motocycle ridin' Ninja Nuns.
Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa.
Metrosexual pig men. Once you get past the snout and tail, they're suave, urbane, and a little dangerous with those pointy hooves. And they NEVER sparkle.
Bankers and Borgias, Nathan.
When people finally realise steampunk's run out of steam, there are two topics that'll be hot on the mainstream and indie presses.
In the former camp it will be, alas, the turn of the banker – heaven help us it will be the banker who finds his soul after losing his job,and we'll have to sit through another year of middle-class hippy conscience-cleansing nonsense.
Fortunately the indies will have a much more fruitful and interesting look past post-recession to post-eco; we will see the emergence of the generation that takes on the issue of climate change and says hang on, when does the austerity end? Where's the logic to acting for the future's sake? where are we in this? So I predict a rise in books on hedonism and lviing in the moment – hell, if there isn't yet another glossy reprint of Epicurus (have publishers FORGOTTEN how huge he was during the ozone layer scare? Of course they have) I'll eat my beard. And that means one thing – books about hedonistic, individual times and ideals. it means LaVeyan stanism will snag some interest as a backdrop of choice, as will that old chestnut the last days of Rome, but trendwise I see the ardour for all things historical morph steampunk into Renaissance-lit – and to give the individualism and hedonism of the time a little uptodating, almost certainly there will be a techno edge – expect Borgiabot and references to Galileo & Copernicus to cock a snoop at their scientifc legacy as well as historical context.
Deadbeat children
Victorian cyborgs are the new vampires. Surely.
Gay teen zombie dragons
Winter Roses – socially relevant and spiritually radical – is the new (aged) vampire. *whistles*
Plus what Mira said – 8.53am.
Or maybe 'Pyroya' is the new vampire. (word verification) Post on Nathan's blog and get inspiration.
I'd have to go with undercover ballerina detectives.
🙂
I've seen a lot of angel books out there, as well as zombies… so what about angel zombies.
Either Nephilim or Zombies
Gotta say that I have a real weakness for any Vampire story. The new movies and books just show that each new generation loves 'em and wants more.
Now there's a new twist, the Psychic Vampire, less bloody and more complex. A good example of this is Annie's Gift. This is the type of monster new vampire readers are drawn to. Scary? Yes, but not the type of vampire that sleeps in a coffin, More psychological
Centaurs.
Cheese.
Pirates.
Ooohh a star-crossed romance between a telepathic pirate and a member of the ancient family of mountain-dwelling centaurs famed for their artisanl cheeses whom she robs!
C'mon it screams film potential! I see it now—Benicio del Toro as a brooding centaur cheesemaker and feisty but angelic Emmy Rossum as the swashbuckling telepath. 😛
Hello? Has NO ONE thought to mention Doctors…? Or, uh….Time Lords? =]
Oh! How about ferrets! Or, angels- that don't sparkle!
🙂
I vote for escapees from computer games to be the next Vampires.
witches!
Pole-dancing werepeacocks with a limp and repeated fungal infections, that sing show tunes, replay scenes from Flashdance and find love against all odds……..
The new vampire is a double-barreled-shotgun-wielding beet farmer who produces very thirsty babies and demands you replace his gramama's best crown.
Or I may have just finished watching The Wire on DVD, miss Omar, and can't wait for The Office tonight.
*I* am the new vampire! (…said the memoirist, who then slunk off in a huff when no one agreed with her.)
I'm going to go with post apocalyptic zombie vegetarian shapeshifters with high IQ's and a sense of right and wrong.
They won't eat meat, but they will clean out your vegetable garden.
IRS agents
Glen Beck with Frickin Laser Beams Attached His Head are the New Vampires.
Westerns. Well, "neo"- westerns. I think that's a word. Ish.
I feel a revival coming on.
Bowlers.
Especially African-American bowlers.
Fallen angels are the new vampires. I've read three books in the last week about fallen angels. A great YA one was HUSH, HUSH by Becca Fitzpatrick. 🙂
Deep fried baby hand.
first choice: hermaphrodites (big potential for angst there!)
second choice: surgeons
third choice: crane operators
The next big thing: fuzzy, wuzzy murderous psycho clowns.
Ass-kicking angels
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this week's Transylvanian Tag Team Wrestling. Aaaand, in the red corner are the New Vampires…
Dryads (tree monsters) are the new vampire.
After some thought, I'd like to change my answer to hermaphroditic werewizards. Duh.
werewolves and/or angels
Bruce Campbell
Jack in the Box
Winnie the Pooh
The Michelan Tire Baby
To the fellow who suggested Swamp Monsters, please read Jim Shepard's amazing short story "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" from his Love & Hydrogen collection.
I agree with everyone who said: fairies, angels, pirates, unicorns, neanderthals, gargoyles, mummies, old vampires, cyborgs, witches, demons, gnomes, trolls, were-teens of any variety, and the reincarnated — provided that none of the above actually gets to have sex between the pages.
The sexually frustrated are the new vampires!
My favorite suggestion so far: that time-traveling hot Amish quilter.
This has got to be one of Nathan's silliest threads. I love it. Maybe Silly is the new Vampire?
Cereal skillets.
Monkeys
What will be the new vampire?
Blonde zombies with an insatiable lust for brrraaaaaands. The devil may wear Prada but the zombie apocalypse will cut you if you are not fierce on the runway, bitch.
*ahem*
Or maybe sea turtles.
The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man…
Uh, travel writers?
Yep, that's it. Travel writers are the new vampires… which would be a good thing for me. *wink*
I'm with Dawn, though. Monkeys could in fact be the new vampires. And what about vampire monkeys? I'd be first in line for that book.
AM is right; it's humans with paranormal abilities like telepathy. I'm at a writer's conference now, and they're here.
demonic kittens are the new vampires. Cute and deadly? Nothing can defeat demonic kittens.
I feel like werewolves always get a bump-up with vampires, and zombies have been in for a while, too.
I'm rooting for the wallabys, but I'm going with gods, Greek or otherwise.
Ooh! Good vampire-related word ver: dedboxi
Disgruntled kids who wear lots of black clothes that they bought at the Mall with their parents credit cards and are really board
Young males wallowing in ennui but wearing strands of garlic and wielding wooden stakes…
I think alcoholic newfie zombies from Mars are the new vampires. At least here in Canada…
There's Zombie material out there right now and it seems to be gaining a following.
The Headless
AndreaCremer–
I'm betting your NIGHTSHADE werewolves would snap those demonic kittens in half like a Milkbone. 😉
I am the new vampire.
Go angels go! Fallen angels who keep talking cats and solve mysteries. Yeah… a sort of angels policing demons detective department. Only it'll be a cozy mystery with some old lady as the murderer. Cuz yanno we all want her to be the murderer.
Fame-seeking parents. Either that or health care reformers of all ilks.
I still say vampires are the new vampires for at least a little while longer . . . they're not really dying down at all. But if I had to pick something else it would be zombies
Though I have to give a shout-out to my ninja angel pirate faeries, I would have to say the new vampire is (drumroll, please) the Skunk Ape (aka BigFoot). I learned that name for the Yeti last night in writer's worshop and about fell out of my chair laughing.
SKUNK APE!!! How hilarious!
Nathan, please expect my query for 'The Skunk Ape Who Loved Me' (a YA Urban Fantasy) in approximately 4 weeks. LOL!
eunuch-lepers. whoops, sorry, that's the un-PC version.
hybrid unicorn-leprechauns is what i meant. uni-lepers. or maybe it's leprecorns. yeah, that's it!
leprecorns are the new vamps!
We'll have a rebound – after all the deadly serious depressing teenage angst of the past few seasons, the new bestsellers will have a touch, or maybe even a dollop, of FUN. Humor, remember?
Bald cats.
Easy. Sparkling, shimmering, glittering vampires ARE the NEW vampires. Hell, they are THE vampires.
No more skulking about at night, no more turning to ash at the touch of sunlight. They don't even need special rings or sunblocks to go out during the day. Just lots of clouds, as to avoid direct contact with sunlight.
Some could read the future, some could read minds, some could influence the mood of surrounding people, some can erect a physical or mental barrier against other vamps. Kapow!
Damn. To be able to create something so totally out of the stereotypical perception, and have the whole world talking about it, that's like being in Writer's Heaven.
@LisaDez
Ah yes. Yes, they would.
Nuns. Hot costumes and most oft overlooked.
Ghouls gone wild!
Humans (I hope).
Unicorns, of course. They're the coolest.
I really liked the repentant demons in Jessa Slade's debut novel Seduced by Shadows – it's a series too!
I'm saying one of the following:
Werewolves are the new vampires!
or
Angels are the new vampires!
or
Ghosts are the new vampires!
Jockeys. Probably not unrelated to leprechauns.
I don't care what the New Vampires are, as long as they rely on socially accepted norms for whatever they are. I don't want to have to plod through an extra two hundred pages explaining how THESE zombies/pirates/faeries/Amish operate in a completely different reality from the zombies/pirates/faeries/Amish I already know and understand.
It's probably angels even though I am hoping for psychic aliens.
There is no new vampire, it's just a myth. (wink, wink) But keep it out of the sun just in case.
Anything mentioning the word steampunk. Steampunk zombies, steampunk pirates, steampunk vampires, steampunk Rainbow Bright. Ok, the last one won't work.
Evil fighting ladybugs! I know it has to be..let it be ladybugs *fingers crossed, eyes closed*
Futbol (soccer for some) playersare the new vampires.
What a coincidence! That's exactly what my next book is about. 😛
I bet the tenth person to have guessed that.
Anyway, I say we're going *space* pirates. Think a mix of Firefly and Pirates of the Caribbean. Yep, definitely space pirates. Or monkeys. Or space monkeys.
🙂
..I say, "Spirit Animal"!
I hear Krakens are the new vampire. But in all seriousness, the new "vampires" seem to be zombies, and fallen angels. And I have no ability to top Kiersten's great list. Very cool!
We live in a wired world, so I say Blog-Trolls are the new vampire.
Underneath that caustic misanthropic exterior beats a passionate heart of romance… er… maybe I hyperbolize?
I also agree with Tricia: Bruce Campbell is the new vampire.
Non-fiction hand books! Definitely.
I know that Dan Browns name should be in the blank space however, I am going out on a limb, take a stand and say, Science Fiction/Fantasy with an adult YA twist like Mysterious Gift.
demonic mermaid ninjas?
Victorian cyborg vampires have been mentioned, but let's get hard SF on this and imagine Asimov writing I, ROBOT VAMPIRE.
Substitute teachers.
I believe people will want to turn away from our fantasy-laden world and find solace in the unnerving and unsteady lives of regular Joes just trying to earn a living.
soldiers
Angels, definitely
Republicans. They want to suck the blood out of all serious attempts at legislation.
Dogs.
Greek Mythology needs a come-back.
WIZARDS.
….
OH WAIT.
Definitely ostriches.
I'm going with magic-people, whether they're witches or not. I don't think that rage has quit died out yet.
I would say that demon slayers are the new vampires. Every other fantasy book seems to feature them.
Overworked, underpaid, middle aged female teachers in the middle of a budget crisis who lose it with freshman boys who purposely forget to bring Romeo and Juliet to class so they don't have to do anything and then said teacher morphs into Lady Macbeth and starts spouting the "Unsex me here" speech in front of the entire class. I kind of regret it except they did all bring their books the next day.
First, I must correct an earlier post. Professor Hyde White wasn’t a villain. I have a five-year old 🙂
Now, my response to the question at hand: I’ve seen some correlation between adult romantic lit and ya/teen lit, so I’m guessing angels/fallen angels/demons will be the next paranormal creature to take the spotlight. I hypothesize ya lit will also become more sensual, addressing issues of bi-sexuality, sexual exploration and experimentation, etc.
On a less serious note, I’m going with Amish time-traveling demon-hunting were-chickens that quilt and plow fields by day and peck demons to death by night.
I'm hoping it is depression era psychotic snake oil salesmen who decide to play God with lonely farm women, but I am doubtful.
My real guess? As the population grows and people become unhappy with the restrictions of society, cowboys will increase in popularity, though they may be quite diffeerent than the ones we have known (space, apocolayptic, supernatural), and as consumerism continues to suck away our spirituality, characters such as Native Americans will be more popular (but not the streotypical ones). I'm not sure any of this will mean a rise in the Western, at all. I just see these classic characters reinvented and genre hopping.
Blue pickup trucks.
Zombie Whisperers.
You heard it here first.
Navajo skinwalkers. The REAL shape shifters.
Mast molderers.
Sexy Serial-killer Cougars are the New Vampires.
Incubi and Succubi are just different words for blood-suckers. Let's bring them out of the closets and from under our beds.
And possibly a new spin on gods.
James Patterson and his ghost writers…
Oh oh oh, I got it! Clones. Clones that turn immortal or undead or something. Booyah.
Just remember:
Cardio and the Double Tap!
Oh wait, that's zombies. Nevermind.
Unicorns? I say. . .
Trolls are the new vampires.
I see a return to old-school –
Human anguished teenagers dealing with everyday life.
Werewolves.
Wolverines that search out a meal by clawing & climbing from house to house, finding and devouring the poor souls that can’t pay the hefty town dues. Everyone fears the new moon. (Next MS?)
Not my usually light-hearted lovesick side, thanks for bringing this out Nathan. Now I can’t stop thinking about vampires, zombies, and scary evil kittens.
Malicious Malelovent Manatees. Or maybe Kelpies (Irish water spirits). Hey, I got dibs on that one…
Anorectic zombie sluts who can kill with their minds…but not with their hearts.
Mosquito Vampires
I see there have been a few votes for bankers, that's great. They are, after all, vampire squid. Vampire squid probably aren't the new vampires, but bankers are.
Someone could actually take most of the mythical creatures mentioned in this blog and create a rambling absurd screenplay/novel/epic poem. Has anyone tried? Can we make it a contest?
There are so many other things that could be vampires, though:
– rock stars! look no further than Glen Danzig
– zombie rock stars! look no further than Kurt Cobain (or an undead Glen Danzig; see Misfits song "Braineaters")
– if nobody cares about rock stars, how about New York taxi drivers? they're coming to your town next
– GIs (or ex-GIs)
– the cartoon characters of our youth (Batmite, anyone?)
– authors who write about sparkly vampires?
We can have hours of fun with this one…
I may be a little late on this, but I just wanted to jump in and give my opinion. The new vampires are seemingly normal teenagers who have supernatural powers and are part of a subspecies of humans that safeguard our overall safety and peace. The of course are also friends with vampires and shape-shifters as well since they are all part of the supernatural underground life.
Of course, I say this all because my well-liked self-published YA book is about this, although the vampires and shape-shifters aren't introduced until book two of the proposed series. Book two is my current WIP. You can find out all about it at http://www.melissapetreshock.com
I also want to add that vampires have been popular for so long although Twilight brought them really front and center that I don't think vampires are going to be unpopular with the YA crowd anytime soon.
Amish witches who work at Wal-Mart on the weekends.
Ninja Jedi Pirates are the new vampire
One-legged peaceful Muslim extremists
Peanut vendors.
Seriously. With all the nut allergy kids now in their teens?
Plus the opportunity for double entendre?
Lookout, Skippy. There's one behind you.
A real boy meets a real girl and, uh, they talk.
It's not mothers with corny aliases who lose sleep writing blogs about raising children, being unemployed and taking odd jobs? Dang. Some day . . .
Pit Bulls Are the New Vampires.
Both have received bad reputations from hysterical people!
Your average, every day eighth grade girls + piles of voice + a level of self-centeredness that makes the sun feel mild to moderately insignificant are definitely the new vampires.
Fo sho.
I'm just sayin… magic and angels, and demons,and faeries and now even zombies are being beaten to death, or, you know, whatever you are if you're being beaten when already dead.
Oh, and the Navajo Skin Walkers comment is totally gonna give me bad dreams AND freak me out the next time I'm driving at night.
Dang you, Jacqui!!
I forgot all about those.
Those are the scariest hands down.
Homeless peoples, who are actually vampire/pirate/zombies.
I'm going with gnomes.
– They like to travel
– They already have movie experience (think Amelie)
– They have corporate sponsorship (think Travelosity)
– Their good at pranks
– They fit into the overhead bin as a carry on
It'll be the centuries old battle between the evil were-ladybirds, and the kindly talking moths.
Forest rangers are the new vampires. There are going to be LOTS of novels about forest rangers coming out in the next five years. Just wait and see!
I will second the Penny Arcade comment, with a link to the comic:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/10/12/
Steampunk all the way–maybe with fallen angels thrown into the mix. And witty teen criminal masterminds!
Apparently, we were all wrong. Poor,illiterate and scratching out an existence in the ghetto is the new Vampire. Could this mean readers will prefer depressing reality to depressing fantasy?
Has anyone seen this: Cowboy Viking Ninja?