Buying an allegedly haunted crystal from eBay proved to be the inspiration for Bellingham author Sarah Hawley’s latest book, “A Werewolf’s Guide to Seducing a Vampire” (out Aug. 13). Late one night, Hawley, who is the creative force behind the fantasy romance trilogy Glimmer Falls, was looking to buy a ghost on eBay.
After finding out that they were expensive, she turned her attention to less popular and pricey apparitions and found a blue crystal that the seller purported was haunted by a vampire succubus who would appear in the buyer’s dreams. Costing just 99 cents, Hawley bought the “bargain basement rock,” which features on her book’s cover. “I laughed so hard, and immediately bought it! I was the only bidder,” she said.
“The vampire succubus was supposed to be a dark entity, haunt my dreams and be very deadly. That didn’t happen, but I knew I wanted to write a book about her.” The purchase went on to inspire the plot of “A Werewolf’s Guide,” where the main protagonist, Ben, comes across an ad for a “possessed” crystal on eBay containing a “Sexy Succubus She-Vampire Talisman” that is “very angry.
" While drunk, he buys the crystal thinking it's a scam but is shocked to find out it does indeed contain a hissing vampire assassin armed with her own knives, leading to his life being turned upside down. Like the previous two books in the trilogy, “A Werewolf’s Guide” is set in a fictional town in Washington called Glimmer Falls, a.