Guest Post and Giveaway: Kathryn Leigh Scott, author of Dark Passages

I'm so excited to welcome Kathryn Leigh Scott to Book Den today! Be sure to check out the awesome giveaway where one lucky reader will have a chance to win a copy of Dark Passages!

Dark Passages is my debut novel, my first fiction. I’ve written many nonfiction books, including several about Dark Shadows, the 60s-era soap in which I played Josette DuPres, the doomed fiancé of vampire Barnabas Collins. In fact, I recently filmed a cameo in the new Warner Bros. production of Dark Shadows starring Johnny Depp, directed by Tim Burton.

I also wrote The Bunny Years about the 25-year history of Playboy Clubs, the rights to which have been acquired by Imagine Television for potential use in upcoming episodes of the new NBC drama, “The Playboy Club.”

So it wasn’t too much of a surprise when my agent asked me if Dark Passages wasn’t, in fact, memoir. “No!” I said. “It’s complete fiction.” Not a single thing that happens to Meg Harrison happened to me in my own life, but I did write about a period of time and a world I know well.

True, I was raised on a farm, went to New York with dreams of becoming an actress, worked as a Playboy Bunny to support myself until I got my "big break," which was a role on Dark Shadows. But all of that is background and setting -- and I did want to capture that intense period of great change and discovery that I experienced when I left my home town in Minnesota and went to the big city. The story is really about Meg Harrison’s very secret life as a vampire living among mortals.

The early 1960s was not only a time of great change for me but also for our country, which is why I chose to bookend my story with two significant events: the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962 and the assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963, just a year and a month later. That time frame also marked my first year in New York.

I’m steeped in Dark Shadows and vampire lore, but I still had to do considerable research when I decided to incorporate paranormal elements into my story. I took my cue from Jonathan Frid, who created the iconic character of Barnabas Collins. He made the vampire his own, and I knew I would be creating my own vampire world with Meg Harrison. I enjoyed the process of writing Dark Passages so much that I am now well into work on the sequel.

Kathryn Leigh Scott can also be found at www.kathrynleighscott.com.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Dark Passages, be sure to fill out this form!  (This contest is limited to US only.)  I will leave this contest open until Saturday, September 17.  The winner will be contacted on Sunday, September 18 to provide a US mailing address.

Update: This contest is now closed. Congratulations K. E. Bergdoll!