Patricia Nead Elrod (b. 1954)Entry for P. N. Elrod in the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
/ref> is an American novelist specializing in urban fantasy. She has written in the mystery, romance, paranormal, and historical genres with at least one foray into comedic fantasy. Elrod is also an editor, having worked on several collections for Ace Science Fiction, DAW, Benbella Books, and St. Martin's Griffin. She self-published a signed, limited edition novel under her own imprint, Vampwriter Books. In 2010, she was nominated for the ''RT Book Reviews'' Career Achievement Award in Urban Fantasy. In 2011, she was presented with the ''RT Book Reviews'' Pioneer Achievement Award in Vampire Fiction. Her suspense short story, ''Beach Girl,'' won the 2011 ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' Readers Choice Award.

Overview

P. N. Elrod's start in professional publishing began at TSR writing gaming modules. She has published more than twenty-five novels, beginning in 1990 with her ''Vampire Files'' urban fantasy series, featuring hard-boiled

private investigator A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

Jack Fleming and his partner, Charles Escott, girlfriend, Bobbi Smythe, and other recurring characters. The 12 books and counting are set in 1930s

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Jack's first case was solving his own murder. Next came the ''Jonathan Barrett, Gentleman Vampire'' series, set during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. The twist on these historicals is that Barrett and his family are on the side of the British throughout the revolution, offering a unique point of view of the times. Another series co-authored with actor

Nigel Bennett Nigel Bennett (born 19 November 1949) is a British-Canadian actor, director, and writer who has been based in Canada since 1986. He is best known for playing the vampire patriarch Lucien LaCroix in the TV series ''Forever Knight'', for which h ...

, who played the evil yet seductive LaCroix on the television show '' Forever Knight'', is of a very different character, but still features a good guy vampire. The three book ''Lord Richard, Vampire'' series from Baen Books are set in a different universe than the ''Files'' & ''Barrett'' books, but this "

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

with fangs" maintains Elrod's premise that there are different breeds of vampires co-existing out there. Using this premise, she has linked her universe to that of

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

with her sequel to

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

, ''Quincey Morris, Vampire''. Quincey was killed at the end of ''Dracula'', but is resurrected as a vampire himself, albeit a different breed than the infamous count. Lord Richard makes a brief cameo appearance in the story, and Morris' vampiric state is attributed to a previous blood-sharing with Nora Jones from Elrod's ''Jonathan Barrett'' series. Also quite different, and qualifying as horror, are the '' Dungeons & Dragons''-related books in the Ravenloft world featuring the dark and sinister vampire Count Strahd von Zarovich. These books, '' I, Strahd: Memoirs of a Vampire'', and its sequel, ''I, Strahd: The War With Azalin'', have garnered her critical acclaim from mainstream reviewers. With ''The Adventures of Myhr'' she broke into the humorous fantasy genre. Myhr is half-man, half-cat and all adventure, magically jumping from world to world spreading the good news about pizza and Beatles karaoke. His partner is a cranky wizard fond of techno raves and obscene T-shirt art. Elrod has authored around two dozen short stories in the fantasy, romance, science fiction, mystery, and horror genres, and edited several collections including ''Time of the Vampires'', ''Dracula in London'', and with Roxanne Conrad (aka

Rachel Caine Rachel Caine was the pen name of Roxanne Longstreet Conrad (April 27, 1962 – November 1, 2020) who was an American writer of science fiction, fantasy, mystery, suspense, and horror novels. Personal life Conrad grew up in West Texas and gradu ...

) '' Stepping Through the Stargate: The Science, Archaeology, and Military of Stargate SG-1'' The latter is non-fiction and has contributions from world-famous scientists, doctors, the USAF military, FX wizards, and actors from the TV series. In 2006, she edited an anthology of supernatural romance stories, ''My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding'', which made the ''USA Today'' Bestseller list, and won the 2006 P.E.A.R.L. Awards for best anthology. She followed it with '' My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon'', released in January 2008 from St. Martin's Griffin. It made the ''New York Times'' Bestseller extended list and won an honorable mention in the 2007 Pearl Awards for best anthology. The anthology, ''Strange Brew'', from St. Martin's, also reached the ''New York Times'' extended bestseller list in July 2009. Her collection ''Dark and Stormy Knights'', also with St. Martin's Griffin, was released in July 2010. Also sold, a new steampunk series, ''On Her Majesty's Psychic Service'', to Tor Books in 2010. In April 2011, Elrod was presented with the RT Book Review's ''Pioneers of Genre Fiction Award'' for "Forging the Way in Vampire Fiction Since 1990." Her short story, "Beach Girl", published in the November 2011 edition of '' Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'', was presented with first place for their annual Readers' Choice Award. Her collection, ''Hex Symbols'', was released by St. Martin's in June 2012.

Bibliography

Jonathan Barrett, Gentleman Vampire

#''Red Death'' (1993, 2004 re-release) #''Death and the Maiden'' (1994, 2004 re-release) #''Death Masque'' (1995, 2004 re-release) #''Dance of Death'' (1996, 2004 re-release)

Ravenloft

*''I, Strahd: The Memoirs of a Vampire'' (1993, ) Abridged, three-hour audiobook from Random House, performed by

Roddy McDowell Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

*''I, Strahd: The War Against Azalin'' (1998, ) Both available as audiobooks, unabridged.

Vampire Files

Her Majesty's Psychic Service series

# The Hanged Man

Other novels

* ''Quincey Morris, Vampire'' (Baen Books 2001, ); an expansion of the short story "The Wind Breathes Cold" *''The Adventures of Myhr'' (Baen Books 2003, ) *''On Her Majesty's Psychic Service: The Hanged Man'' (Tor Books May, 2015 ) *''On Her Majesty's Psychic Service: The Chariot'' (Tor Books TBD) *''On Her Majesty's Psychic Service: The Empress'' (Tor Books TBD)

Co-writing with Nigel Bennett

*''Keeper of the King'' (with

) (Baen Books 1997, ) *''His Father's Son'' (with

) (Baen Books 2001, ) *''Siege Perilous'' (with

) (Baen Books 2004, )

Anthologies and collections

References

External links

Official Website
* *
RT Book Reviews Pioneers of the Genre Awards
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elrod, P. N. 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American fantasy writers American horror novelists American mystery novelists American romantic fiction novelists American women novelists Living people Novelists from Texas Place of birth missing (living people) Women horror writers Women mystery writers Women romantic fiction writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers 1954 births