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Friday, November 28, 2014

Novel Update...


Hello everyone, I've given Nathaniel and company a break this week because of the holiday.  They'll be back shortly with more blog entries.  But in the meantime I thought you would all like to know how things are progressing on the actual novel.

I'm sure you'll all be happy to know that I completed the 2nd draft yesterday, which gave me something extra to be thankful for on Thanksgiving.  Writing in the first person has been quite the adventure for me.  Most authors stick inside one character's head and they act as the narrator for the entire story.  But I prefer sharing various character's points of view, so I normally used limited third person, where I give each character a chapter where we see inside only their heads for that chapter. 

Doing blog, journal, and diary entries to tell the story, has allowed me to do something similar with this novel.  However, I've had to create unique 'voices' for each character as well.  I didn't want a blog entry by one of my teenage characters to sound the same as one of my middle-aged male characters.  

I've also had a bit of a challenge dealing with past tense vs. present tense.  After all, if you're writing about something that happened to you in your blog/journal you use past tense.  So I've had a little bit of a challenge making the events sound just as exciting as if I were using the present tense like I have in my other novels.  Plus I'm trying to make sure I 'show' people what happened and not just have the character 'tell' you what happened.  I like to give enough details that my readers can picture the scene and all the action inside their heads like it was a movie.  So I'm going to be paying close attention to what my beta-readers say when they get to look at the book.

Now, that I've completed the 2nd draft, the book is getting looked over and the first edits will be under way.  I won't be doing much new writing for a few weeks because I'm attending university and it's getting towards the end of the semester.  This means the professors are loading us up with last minute assignments, as well as getting us prepped for final exams.

I will be putting out a short story involving Nathaniel and several characters from my previous novels, creating my first cross-over story.  Being a short story it won't take me long to put it together.  It will be a holiday piece which I plan on releasing on Christmas Day.  So stay tuned for more detials on that.

In the meantime, Nathaniel, Lisa, and Marisa, as well as a few others will be posting here again very shortly.  So you won't be without anything new to read here. 

With that said, thanks for all your support and feedback.  I'm glad so many of you are enjoying my vampyre's experiences along with those who are a large part of his extended life.  For those who celebrate Thanksgiving I hope you had a wonderful holiday.  I'm looking forward to this weekend to start decorating as well as study and do homework.

Until next time be happy and healthy.


Friday, November 7, 2014

An Important Announcement About "The Vampyre Blogs" Novel Release Date...





For those of you who don't already know, I started attending the California State University at Monterey Bay in August and the workload had been fairly manageable, until recently. Things are heating up and I have less and less time to work on "The Vampyre Blogs". I had planned on getting the latest draft finished, edited, beta-read, etc. so I could have it out in time for this Christmas. 


Unfortunately, that is not going to happen. I'm afraid I'm one of those authors will not release a book until it's had all those things done to it. Currently, I'm still trying to finish the 2nd draft and I'm still not entirely happy with the piece. Plus I haven't even started on a cover for the book. I do have this, which I made on my computer.




However, I'm not totally sold on this version really. I'd prefer to try and do a soft pastel piece like I did with my other two novels. But instead of doing the entire cover in soft pastel, I'd like to create more of a background and then super-impose the image I have on top of the background. In short, I'd like a nice blend of the two and that's going to take time.


All this is bad enough, but there is also the issue of the holidays getting closer and closer. I'd still need to get the novel to my beta-readers, but they're going to be busy with family stuff like cooking, visiting, and shopping. I don't feel right asking them to take time out of their schedules to read the book and give me their feedback. That wouldn't be right.


So I'm going to continue to finish the 2nd draft and getting it edited and whatnot over the holidays. Then I'll be sending beta-versions out in January and doing another draft after that. I hope to have it all done my March, but I won't be releasing it then. Instead the book will come out in late October to coincide with Halloween. Why wait until then? Because the story begins in early fall and ends just around Halloween, thus making it a a more seasonal novel.


Now for anyone worried they have to wait for more Nathaniel and company until then, never fear because I'm still going to be posting more mini-stories here. Plus, I'm working on a special 'free' short story for this Christmas that will involve Nathaniel and several characters from my other novels in the Para-Earth Series. Anyone who's read "The Bridge" or "The Ship" will be pleased to see some old friends as well as our favorite Civil War vampyre.


I'll be releasing the short story through Smashwords which carries e-book formats for all the new e-readers and laptops people will be getting as gifts. You'll find Mobi (for Kindle), Nook, Apple, Sony, Phones, and even plain good old PDF for those who just have a computer/laptop. And in the spirit of the season, the story will be "FREE". So stay tuned. I'll be announcing more as the day draws near.


Finally, I want to also let you all know that Nathan will not be a one-book wonder. I intend to keep him going for some time. When you've got someone who's over a 150 years old, you got a lot of room for many tales. I'm even considering making an anthology filled with short stories from different eras he's lived though. But that's a little ways down the road. For now, I'll leave you with the following list of novels I'm working on and their intended release dates for the next 2-3 years:

October/December 2015 "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home"


In 1862 Nathaniel Steward was only sixteen years old. He left home to fight in the Union Army, knowing the experience might change him. He had no idea how much it would. Now, 150 years later, he's finally coming back to what he thinks is an empty manor. What he doesn't know is someone has been waiting, and some 'thing' is following him, a being that does no belong in this world.

Coming Mid-2016 "In The Shadow Of The Door - Book 1"

Cassandra's ghostly protector Brandon has always been an enigma to many. Now, we get to hear his story which will lead directly up to the events that took place in my third book, "The Door".

Coming December, 2016, "The Vampyre Blogs - Family Ties"

Nathaniel is back and he's not alone. A mystery involving a member of his family has arisen, but so has an old enemy. New dangers arise that threaten not only those he loves, but his entire hometown. Like any soldier he will fight to protect his place of birth, but it may cost him his very existence.

Coming Mid-2017 - "In The Shadow Of The Door - Book 2"

Brandon's story continues as he and his uncle continue to struggle with the family curse that everyone believed was over. The threat has been thwarted but not ended and time is running out. Soon the door will be reopened and nothing will be able to stop what will come out of it if they don't seal it for good first.

Coming in December 2017, "Harlequin House"

When Alex Hill was only twelve years old he went inside the most haunted place on the planet as part of a team of paranormal investigators from the university his older cousin Rick was attending.

  Within those walls he watched most of the team die one by one, and barely got out with his sanity intact.  He swore nothing would ever make him go back.

Tonight he will enter the place the very place that has haunted his dreams for the last twenty years, to save his father. Will he be as fortunate this time?

OTHER BOOKS IN THE PARA-EARTH SERIES THAT ARE AVAILABLE NOW FOR ALL E-READERS AND IN TRADE PAPERBACK:


THE BRIDGE


Alex Hill buried his psychic talents for eighteen years. But with the scream of tires and twisting metal all this changes. Upon learning his girlfriend Police Sergeant Veronica Ross was nearly run down by two teens he becomes concerned. But when he learns both the driver and passenger had been dead for almost twelve hours when they nearly ran her down, he knows what he must do...

*NOTE: You can sample the book for free at:





THE SHIP





What starts as a simple surfing lesson, turns into a struggle for survival for billionaire heiress Cassandra Elliott and her new love interest the Seneca shamaness Julie Cloudfoot.

Cassandra is knocked off her board by an unseen assailant who leaves a terrifying gash in her wetsuit, along with a small red mark on her leg. Soon terrifying visions of a ghost ship begin haunting the heiress' dreams. She also begins to find herself strangely drawn to the sea whenever a strange fogbank appears in the distance.

Something hiding within the miasma, but what does it want from her, and what connection does the entity have with the legendary "Lost Colony of Roanoke" and the tribe of Tuscarora Indians who Julie is distantly related to...