The undead helped bring Colleen Gleason’s writing career to life.

The Brighton Township woman had been penning novels for years, but her first taste of commercial success didn’t come until 2005, when the New American Library publishing house, a division of Penguin, purchased her book “The Rest Falls Away,” a tale of vampire hunting in 19th century London.

Now, Gleason is gearing up for a number of area book signings and events following the novel’s planned released today. She said 100,000 copies of the 360-page paperback will be available in bookstores nationwide, and a -second novel in the same series, called “Rises the Night,” will be released in June, with more books planned.

“It’s been a dream come true,” Gleason said. “The publisher is behind the series.” Gleason is celebrating with a Jan. 23 release party at Stout Irish Pub in downtown Brighton. The open-house event, which runs from 5:30-8 p.m., will include a cash bar, hors d’oeuvres, period music, and a “vampire,” Gleason said.

The author also plans book signings in the county at Barnes & Noble in Green Oak Township at 7 p.m. Thursday, and another at 7 p.m. Jan. 11 at Borders Books and Music in Brighton.

Writing has been a dream of Gleason’s for years. When her book was purchased in 2005, she said she had already completed nine other novels. She attributed her success with “The Rest Falls Away” to finding the right publisher at the right time, and writing on a popular topic.

“The Rest Falls Away” is the story of a 19-year-old heroine who discovers that she has been chosen to continue her family’s legacy of vampire hunting - an opportunity she welcomes, Gleason said. She described the book as “ ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ meets ‘Pride and Prejudice,’ ” and said the heroine cements her place within the family legacy by staking her first vampire at her debut ball.

“Vampires have always been very popular,” Gleason said. “I think a lot of it has to do with ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer.’ ”

Writing a novel featuring vampires definitely had a lot to do with the TV series for Gleason - she said her inspiration came after she got “addicted” to the show and started wondering what it would be like to set a Buffy-type character in 19th century London.

“I just ran with it from there,” she said. “It’s definitely an adult book. If it were a movie, it would be rated ‘R.’ ”

Gleason has taken advantage of the latest technology to promote her book - she’s started a Web site - www.colleengleason.com - and a Web log and has posted a podcast of herself reading the first chapter of her book aloud on the iTunes Web site. She also hired a company to create a movie-style trailer for the novel using text, images and sound, which she posted on her Web site.

She’s also gotten attention from more traditional media forms. Gleason said she was featured as an “up-and-coming” romance novelist on the Nov. 20 cover of Publisher’s Weekly.

Gleason said she first “got serious” about her writing after college, but didn’t really pick it up seriously again until four years ago, after she had gotten married and started raising a family. She worked in the health-care industry before starting an insurance company that she ran from home. Nowadays, her focus is on writing full-time.

Previously, Gleason said she wrote at night and it would take her six to nine months to finish a book. Now, she’s writing books during the afternoons and finishing up in four or five months.

“I have basically quit the day job,” Gleason said. “It still is difficult (writing a book, but) it seems creativity breeds creativity.”

Gleason’s success has also been exciting for her family. She joked that her husband, Steve Schulte, who is the music director St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church in Brighton, has been acting like her PR agent. She said her three children, ages 5, 8 and 10, are “ecstatic.”