Vampires For Valentines!

We have a vampire for you. Check out these two new novels!

The Cabin
Young healthy men and women are dying mysteriously after being found non-responsive at different places around town. No matter what the ER team tries to save them, they fail. The only clues left on the bodies are minor scratches and small puncture wounds. Detective Mason knows that he is on the trail of a careful yet bizarre serial killer. He has followed the deaths and clues from city to city. Now, with the help of a nurse, he may finally be closing in on the killer if he can control his own dark secret before more bodies come in drained of blood.

Chalice Moon
A seemingly random attack exposes Kimie and her best friend to a part of the world the girls never knew existed. A world where vampires and shape shifters not only exist, but are people they know. However, when another attack nearly kills Kimie, her friends must find out why some of the magical beings are after her.

Could this simple human girl be the legendary Chalice mentioned in that old tale they found? The story said the Chalice is bound to the delicate balance between the forces of good and evil. While the part of taking from evil and giving to good didn't sound too bad to Kimie, it never said so many people would want to see her dead.

http://www.darkoakpress.com/

Airship 27 Gets Vampy with The Shadow of Her Smile

Airship 27 Productions presents a vampire thriller by new pulp writer Jack Beddows.

“The Shadow of Her Smile is an old fashion erotic thriller,” declared Airship 27 Production’s Manager Ron Fortier.  “It has all the moody atmosphere of those old classic horror novels long since forgotten.  While reading it for the first time, I kept envisioning the black and white Universal classic, Dracula’s Daughter.  The female vampire Beddows has envisioned here is a deadly beauty no reader will soon forget.”

It is 1914, on the eve of the Great War, young 19 yr old Abraham Helmsworth, the only son of a royal British family, is about to embark on what he believes to be a noble adventure.  He has enlisted in the army as a commissioned officer and is soon to sail for France with his troops.  He has also become engaged to the lovely Agatha Fenton, his childhood sweetheart who has promised to wait for his return to marry.

Then, a few days before shipping out, Abraham attends a musical show and meets Lucilla Deauville, a stunning beauty who instantly mesmerizes him.  He has never been so attracted to a woman in such a visceral way.  Weeks later, he encounters her again but this time on a bloody battlefield.  With this encounter he learns the dark secret she hides in the shadow of her smile.  It is a secret that will lead him through the gates of a living hell from which there is no escape.

All art of The Shadow of Her Smile is provided by Adam Shaw from his stunning cover to the nine creepy black and white interiors with book design by Airship 27 Art Director Rob Davis.

Available now at Amazon in both hard copy & Kindle.

[Link] On Writing Vampires

by Selah Janel

So my friend and co-conspirator in crime Susan Roddey had a blog post the other day about the popularity of anti-heroes and showcasing “bad” characters in fiction. This got me thinking. This also makes sense because we both have stories in the upcoming anthology The Big Bad, and that’s pretty much the theme.  I have to admit, I had a blast writing the story that’s in that anthology for a variety of reasons. One, it gave me a chance to let the snarky, cursey, gore-happy bad girl side out (For those who know me, no, that is not my usual personality and yes, it does get much worse). Two, I got to write a vampire story…and those who know me know how much I stinkin’ love vampire fiction.

However, because of the theme of the anthology and apparently I go about things in an unconventional way, this got me thinking. What makes a good vampire story? Now I’m not necessarily talking about vampire romance or vampires that just show up as one of a myriad of creatures in urban fantasy. What makes  a good modern vampire story? (Not that I’m assuming mine is brilliant, though John Hartness seems to like it alright, so there!)

For me, you have to know right away what your character’s strengths and weaknesses are. This will set the stage for the whole story. Are you following conventional folklore? If so, how does that affect life in the modern world? If not, can you make the changes make sense or at least feel like they make sense?  In my case, I tend to strike a middle road, and since an anthology submission doesn’t give a lot of room for explanations, I’ve learned to do more showing than telling.

What’s the hierarchy and political structure of vampires in your world, and does it matter? In my story, it very much matters. The two vampire characters are on the run from someone who can very much affect their future in many, many ways – none of them pretty. Where they end up may seem boring for urban fantasy/horror, but it’s a safe place for them to hide. 

How was your vampire turned? This will affect the character’s personalities. For instance, my characters love being vampires, but they have no love of how they were turned. They took a potentially crappy situation and made it suit them. They have no regrets, but they’re still being haunted by something (or someone) that was pressing them into being turned.

Continue reading: http://selahjanel.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/on-writing-vampires/

The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now (#265) -- Vampire Fiction

What are your thoughts about vampire fiction? Is it played out, or still viable?

Not this.

Repeat after me: Anything is viable with the right story.

Do I have that story for vampires? Not on your life. It's not a genre I really "feel" -- at least with the contemporary way of doing it. But I'm not a gothic writer either, so I would really be able to take it back to its Stoker roots.

 Or this.

But it's still obviously very popular. It seems most of urban fantasy is still crawling with the fanged undead, each book trying to outdo the last in an attempt to be the new post-Twilight vamp sensation.

Personally, I'd love to take a stab at something, but I'd  need to find something that cast the whole genre in a new direction, neither the "30 Days of Night" camp nor the "Twilight/Interview with a Vampire" camp. What that would be I have no idea.