Nancy A. Collins (born September 10, 1959) is an American horror fiction writer best known for her series of vampire novels featuring her character Sonja Blue. Collins has also written for comic books, including the '' Swamp Thing'' (vol. 2) series, ''Jason vs. Leatherface'', ''Predator: Hell Come A' Walkin and her own one-shot issue ''Dhampire: Stillborn''. Collins was born in

McGehee McGehee is a city in Desha County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 4,219 at the 2010 census. History The history of the city of McGehee and the history of the railroad through McGehee are intricately interwoven. The history of the ...

, Arkansas, United States. She lived in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1980s; after time in New York City and Atlanta, Georgia she moved about the South for several years, living in coastal North Carolina and Virginia, before settling in Macon, Georgia in 2019.

Writing

Collins has written numerous novels since 1989, most of which refer to and directly include races of creatures the author calls Pretenders, monsters from myth and legend passing as human to better hunt their prey. She is best known for Sonja Blue, a young woman with demonic powers who after being taught by an older male mentor, hunts and kills vampires. Her first appearance was in 1989. A. Asbjørn Jøn notes possible intertextual links between the Whistler character in the 1998 movie '' Blade'' and a character named Whistler in the Sonja Blue novel, ''A Dozen Black Roses'' (1996), as they possess "striking similarities in role, dramatic focus, visual appearance, and sharing the name". Margaret L. Carter, in her article on 20th century vampire fiction, listed ''Sunglasses After Dark'' as one of the 13 most influential vampire novels published after 1970, particularly in the way Collins depicted vampires as parasitic beings with no identity of their own who 'borrow' the memories of their hosts.

Bibliography

Chapbooks

* ''The Tortuga Hill Gang's Last Ride: The True Story'' (1991) * ''Cold Turkey'' (1992) * ''Voodoo Chile'' (2002) * ''The Thing From Lover's Lane'' (2003)

Non-fiction

* ''The Big Book of Losers'' (1996) * ''Drawn Swords - "Foreword" (2017) * ''From Bayou To Abyss: Examining John Constantine, Hellblazer'' - "What Do You Do With An Undead Sailor?" (2020) * ''REH Changed My Life'' - "REH: Opener of the Way" (2021)

Comic books

* '' Swamp Thing'' (vol. 2) ( DC/ Vertigo, 1991–1993) * ''

Jason vs. Leatherface Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He was ...

'' ( Topps Comics, 1995) * ''Sunglasses After Dark'' (Verotik Publications, 1995–1997) * ''Machina Jones'' ( Marvel Comics, 1995) * '' Dhampire: Stillborn'' (Vertigo, 1996; DC Comics, 1997) * '' Predator: Hell Come A' Walkin''' (

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

, 1996) * '' Vampirella'' (

Dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern Germa ...

, 2014–2016) * '' Sunglasses After Dark: Full Blooded Edition'' ( IDW, 2015) * '' Army of Darkness: Furious Road'' ( Dynamite Entertainment, 2016) * '' Swamp Thing by Nancy A. Collins Omnibus'' ( DC Comics/

DC Black Label DC, D.C., D/C, Dc, or dc may refer to: Places * Washington, D.C. (District of Columbia), the capital and the federal territory of the United States * Bogotá, Distrito Capital, the capital city of Colombia * Dubai City, as distinct from the ...

, 2020)

Awards

* Bram Stoker Award First Novel winner (1990): ''Sunglasses After Dark'' * Bram Stoker Best Novellette nominee (1997): ''The Thing From Lover's Lane'' * Bram Stoker Best Collection nominee (2003): ''Knuckles and Tales'' * International Horror Guild Best Collection nominee (2003): Knuckles and Tales

Other

She is the founder of the International Horror Guild.

References

External links

*
Collins' "True Blue - The Official Sonja Blue Blog"Myspace Golgotham

Nancy A. Collins on GoodReads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Nancy A. American horror novelists Erotic horror writers American comics writers Female comics writers 20th-century American novelists Writers from Arkansas Novelists from Louisiana Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) 1959 births Living people American erotica writers 21st-century American novelists American women short story writers People from McGehee, Arkansas Women horror writers American women novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers Women erotica writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers Weird fiction writers