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Raven Belasco

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://ravenbelas.co/

Twitter

RavenBelasco

Genre

Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror

Influences

Samuel R. Delany Patrick Califia Robin McKinley ...more

Member Since

April 2020

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/ravenbelasco

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Raven Belasco wanted to be an author since she was a little eight year old bookworm. When she turned seventeen she became chronically ill, and reading and writing “saved” her. After college, she worked as an editor and a myriad of her articles and short stories were published. But she wanted more, and in 2019 her first novel, Blood Ex Libris, was finally published after years of rejection letter after rejection letter.

Belasco’s writing style has been described as both “darkly lyrical” and at the same time “an easy, breezy writing style; a more colloquial and relaxed John Scalzi.” Her influences from a degree in Comparative literature and a lifetime devotion to genre fiction fused this unique style: constructed with the same dedication as l ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

I noticed your Blood and Ancient scrolls books have a lot of history and darker magic in it. Is that because it's a subject you're into? Or did you have to do a lot of research?

Raven Belasco That's a great question, thank you so much for noticing!

Yes, I do massive research for these books. I've had long and detailed discussions with biolog…moreThat's a great question, thank you so much for noticing!

Yes, I do massive research for these books. I've had long and detailed discussions with biologists and forensics scientists working up the hows and whys of my "am'r" (vampires) (every detail you read about has been explained in my head, even if those details never make it into the books). In that case, it's to ensure that I'm always consistent with the am'r, and that their strengths and limitations fit within their universal rules.

I also deep-dive the history of all the historical figures who go in the books. For my longer-live characters, I have time-lines that I work on of all that has kept them busy over the centuries. So if one of the am'r tells you a story about their past, that is on their timeline. Again, that's for consistency as the series continues. I don't want to say in one book that Sandu was Italy in the 1600s, and then in another that he was in Mongolia.

But you totally saw right through me that this is a bunch of subjects I'm super into. I'm a huge geek. I love vampire myth and tradition, and having to think about the science of why someone would (and could) survive and become stronger ingesting only blood is a pleasure for me. And to "have to" research history for my books is really just an excuse to spend hours reading history books. This is me getting to have the most fun I could doing my job! 🤓

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How did you come up with your version of vampires? It's a fairly unique concept, though similar in it's way to other vampire mythology.

Raven Belasco Trae, you're my kinda fan! 😍

You've actually almost answered your own question: the fact is that I went over the vampire myths from around the world, a…moreTrae, you're my kinda fan! 😍

You've actually almost answered your own question: the fact is that I went over the vampire myths from around the world, and I decided what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to discard. The stuff I kept all worked with the "vampire science" that I was working up with a biologist and other experts. What I like about doing it that way is that it becomes a way to differentiate the "real" facts about my "real" vampires, as opposed to what us silly humans have made up in stories.

I felt that I kinda had to do it that way, because I was playing in the sandbox of something everybody knows about. I'm not creating some new kind of aliens or other beings--vampires are one of the supernatural creatures that are the most written about. So I had to find a way to stay within the basic definition of a vampire, and giving something recognizable to readers, while at the same time clearly putting my own stamp on it.

It wasn't easy--but was (and continues to be) fun!(less)

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Raven Belasco’s books

Average rating: 4.11 · 272 ratings · 112 reviews · 10 distinct works • Similar authors

	Blood Ex Libris (Blood & Ancient Scrolls, #1) 3.79 avg rating — 104 ratings — published 2020 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Together We Stand, Vol. 2 by C.A. King (Goodreads Author), M.A. Abraham (Goodreads Author), Rose Bak (Goodreads Author) 4.51 avg rating — 49 ratings — published 2022 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blood Demands: Book II in the Blood & Ancient Scrolls Series 4.59 avg rating — 41 ratings — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Adventures in Bodily Autonomy: Exploring Reproductive Rights in Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Horror by Raven Belasco (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Kathleen Alcalá (Goodreads Author), Elizabeth Bear (Goodreads Author) 3.69 avg rating — 32 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blood Ad Infinitum 4.70 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 2023 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	That Lesbian Vampire Pirate Story: A story in the Blood & Ancient Scrolls Series really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 19 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blood Triad: Stories in the Blood & Ancient Scrolls Series really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Blood Demands (Blood & Ancient Scrolls, #2) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Finding Bela Lugosi: A story in the Blood & Ancient Scrolls Series really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Interview with the Vagabond King: A story from the Blood & Ancient Scrolls Series 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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As I start working on the fourth novel in the Blood & Ancient Scrolls series, one of the things on my mind is 🌶️
You might joke that that is a topic you'd expect to be on my mind all the time...but these thoughts are pretty serious 🤔
Based on the popularity of authors like Laurell K. Hamilton, I thought that vampire story readers expected a certain amount of Read more of this blog post »

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Published on September 29, 2024 18:23 • Tags: poll-readerappreciation-spice

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Series by Raven Belasco

Blood & Ancient Scrolls (6 books)
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Raven Belasco (Goodreads Author)

3.94 avg rating — 131 ratings

Raven is Currently Reading

Raven Belasco is currently reading

How to Be an Antiracist

by Ibram X. Kendi (Goodreads Author)

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May 31, 2020 02:53PM

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Raven’s Recent Updates

Raven Belasco voted for Automatic Noodle as Readers' Favorite Science Fiction in the Final Round of the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards. Cast Your Vote
Nov 25, 2025 10:00AM · like
Raven Belasco and 1 other person liked Teresa (blewballoon)'s review of That Lesbian Vampire Pirate Story: A story in the Blood & Ancient Scrolls Series: "This feels very much like reading a classic short story. The use of archaic language, the quick and jagged pacing, and the concise yet evocative descriptions all give it that feeling. What gives it away as a contemporary book is really just the level" Read more of this review »
Sep 10, 2025 10:38AM · see review
Raven Belasco made a comment on Josie’s review of That Lesbian Vampire Pirate Story: A story in the Blood & Ancient Scrolls Series " The "sudden" romance you bring up is a great point! As I was writing this, it was very clear to me that love and hate are two sides of the same coin, ...more "
Sep 10, 2025 10:38AM · see review
Raven Belasco liked Vflygirl's review of That Lesbian Vampire Pirate Story: A story in the Blood & Ancient Scrolls Series: "The title of the book says it all! It’s a campy, raunchy, rollickin good ol’ time. I love how the author’s use of language is blatant and brash without being overly explicit. The sex still leaves a lot to the reader’s imagination, which in my opinion" Read more of this review »
Sep 10, 2025 10:30AM · see review
Raven Belasco finished reading The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth #1) by N.K. Jemisin (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 21, 2025 08:55AM · 1 like · like
Raven Belasco is now following Michelle Surette's reviews
May 07, 2025 01:27PM · like
Raven Belasco made a comment in the group Goodreads Librarians Group — I have a book with a new title. I need the old title merged with the new one, please! topic " I've had a re-titled a book, and it's now on Amazon: Blood Demands This is the old title, and I need it merged with the new one, so I don't lose reviews ...more "
Oct 05, 2024 02:33PM
Raven Belasco made a comment in the group Goodreads Librarians Group — Help, all my books just got accidentally joined topic " Lesson learned the painful way, Scott! I promise not to make that mistake again! And thank you so very much! 🫶 "
Sep 04, 2024 09:10AM
Raven Belasco joined the group Goodreads Librarians Group
Sep 04, 2024 08:32AM · like