Kilpatrick, Nancy

Kilpatrick, Nancy (1946–)

(pop culture)

Nancy Kilpatrick, a horror writer, who also writes under the pseudonym Amarantha Knight, was born in Philadelphia and attended Temple University. In 1985 she moved to Canada and took a position at George Brown College in Toronto. As her writing career took off in the mid-1990s, she has remained in the Canada, and now lives in Montreal.

Kilpatrick began with short stories as many fiction writers do; she was granted the Arthur Ellis Award in 1992 for her story “Mantrap,” and was a finalist for a Bram Stoker Award in 1993. Her short stories have appeared in a number of vampire story anthologies. Her first novel, Near Death, was also a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award, and set the precedent for a list of vampire fiction that would appear over the next few years, including Sex and the Single Vampire and Endorphins. As Amaranth Knight, Kilpatrick has also written a series of adult erotic novels based on classic horror tales under the collective title “The Darker Passions,” the first being The Darker Passions: Dracula, followed by, among others, The Darker Passions: Carmilla.

Her initial novel, Near Death, would generate three sequels which have been republished as the “Power in the Blood” series—Children of the Night (1996), Reborn (1998), and Bloodlover (2000).

Her novelization of the Dracula musical, Dracul appeared in 1998.

As a person who identifies with the goth lifestyle, Kilpatrick put together a questionnaire for her fellow goths that became the basis of a nonfiction book, The Goth Bible (2004). She also teaches several courses in writing on the Internet.

Sources:

Kilpatrick, Nancy. The Darker Passions: Dracula. New York: Masquerade Books, 1993. 309 pp.———. Love Bites. New York: Masquerade Books, 1994. 202 pp.———. Near Death. New York: Pocket Books, 1994. 295 pp.———. Sex and the Single Vampire. Leesburg, VA: TAL, 1994. 49 pp.———. Child of the Night. London: Raven Books, 1996. 314 pp.———(as Amarantha Knight). The Darker Passions: Carmilla. New York: Masquerade Books, 1997. 335 pp.———. Endorphins. Norfolk, VA: Macabre, Inc., 1997. 84 pp.———. Reborn. Nottingham, UK: Pumpkin Books, 1998. 280 pp.———. Bloodlover. Toronto: Baskerville Books, 2000. 273 pp.———. The Vampire Stories of Nancy Kilpatrick. Oakville, ON: Mosaic Press, 2000. 171 pp.———. The Goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined. New York: St. Martin’s Griffin, 2004. 304 pp.