The Legend of the Shape-Shifting Blood Drinkers: A Vampire author conversation with Sasha Graham & Lisa J. Yarde hosted by Susan Wands
- Sasha Graham
- 1d
- 3 min read
Immortals. Undead. Nightwalkers. Bloodthirsty. Vampires.
Recorded on March 12th, 2026
Two multi-talented authors, Lisa J. Yarde and Sasha Graham, reveal their latest creations based on the legends of Vlad III Dracula. Author Lisa presents the latest in her book series, The Order of the Dragon, based on the real Dracula’s family, and Sasha will present her latest tarot deck, The Vampire’s Tale Tarot.
Telepathy, inhuman strength, otherworldly beauty, foreknowledge and a plague immunity, will are discussed as Lisa and Sasha share their creative journey. Lisa brings her knowledge of the history of Romanian strigoi, the shape-shifting blood drinker, in her The Order of the Dragon Series, and Sasha illuminates the process of choosing the vampiric images used in The Vampire’s Tale Tarot, illustrated by Abigail Larson. Host Susan Wands has written three books in her Arcana Oracle Series, based on the tarot creator Pamela Colman Smith, which involves her relationship with the creator of the novel Dracula, Bram Stoker.
Panelists:
Lisa J. Yarde:
Lisa J. Yarde is the author of a six-part series set in Moorish Spain: Sultana, Sultana’s Legacy, Sultana: Two Sisters, Sultana: The Bride Price, Sultana: The Pomegranate Tree, and Sultana: The White Mountains, where rivalries and ambitions threaten the fragile bonds between members of the last Muslim dynasty to rule in Europe. The first title in the series is available in multiple languages. She has also written The Order of the Dragon - Book One, and The Order of the Dragon - Book Two, novels in a series of stories about the family of the real Dracula.
Born in Barbados, Lisa lived abroad for 33 years until a recent, permanent return to her island home. For more than a decade, she has been affiliated with the Historical Novel Society, presented at its 2015 Denver conference, and served as the co-chair of the Historical Novel Society - New York City Chapter (2015-2017), social media manager (2017-2022), and program chair (2023-2025). An avid techie, she has presented to varied audiences on the topics of historical fiction, self-publishing, and website and social media management. She has moderated and contributed to Unusual Historicals, Great Historicals, and History & Women, and previously reviewed historical fiction for the History & Women blog, Washington Independent Review of Books, and through NetGalley.
Sasha Graham:
Sasha Graham is a world-renowned tarot expert, bestselling author, award winning tarot deck creator, actor and educator who teaches and lectures around the globe. Her work has been translated into more than 13 languages and she is the author of 12 books including Tarot Diva, 365 Tarot Spreads, 365 Tarot Spells, Llewellyn’s Complete Book of the Rider Waite Smith Tarot, The Magic of Tarot and the forthcoming Artist's Guide to Tarot (2025). She served as editor and writer of Lo Scarabeo’s Tarot Fundamentals, Tarot Experience, and Tarot Compendium, Dark Side of Tarot & Tarot Original 1909 series. Graham is a contributing author of Llewellyn’s Magical Almanac, 2020, 2022, 2024, Witches’ Datebook 2022, 2024 and Llewellyn’s Witches’ Calendar, 2021, 2023. Her tarot decks include Tarot of Haunted House, Dark Wood Tarot, Tarot of the Witch's Garden and the forthcoming Gothic Glamour Oracle (2026) and Vampire Tarot (2026). Graham is an indie horror actress and host/creator of a monthly, live, crowd-sourced creepy story share and podcast called Sasha Graham's Ghost Stories by the Fire.
Sasha’s evolving story - you might call it a fairy tale - just goes to show what happens when you persevere, follow your instincts, and believe in magic.
Susan Wands:
Susan Wands' first book in her Arcana Oracle Series, Magician and Fool, won the 2024 American Legacy Book Award in Visionary Fiction, the 2023 International Book Award in Visionary Fiction, and the 2023 IPPY Awards Gold Medal in Visionary/New Age Fiction. High Priestess and Empress, the second book in the series, won the Gold Medal for Epic/High Fantasy, the 2024 CIBA OZMA Book Award in Fantasy, and the 2024 Best Book Award in New Age Fiction.
A writer, tarot reader, Susan is a co-chair with the NYC Chapter of the Historical Novel Society, helping to produce monthly online book launches and author panels. In London, she has lectured at Watkins Books for their Recorded Authors series, at Atlantis Bookshop and Watkins Books in London, the Occulture Berlin Festival, and in NYC for the Yeats Society. Ms. Wands’ writings have appeared in Art in Fiction, Kindred Spirits magazine, and The Irving Society journal, FIRST KNIGHT. Podcasts include: ‘Morbid Anatomy’, ‘Biddy Tarot’, ‘Imaginary Worlds’, and “Catching Up With” on The Hermit’s Cave YouTube channel and "Dirty Sexy History" with Jessica Cale.
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