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Wednesday, January 2, 2019

"Happy New Years" From Nathan and Company


This is what one of our authors posted on FB and it's a sentiment Otto, Lisa, Marisa, Isabella and the rest of us share. I know things have been a little slow here on the blog, what with our 1st anthology , "The Vampyre Blogs - One Day At A Time" (available now in Kindle and Trade Paperback at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KMN78B2) having just come out and all, but rest assured new tales are on the way. And so are some long overdue volumes of work such as "The Door" which will be the fourth full-length novel in the Para-Earth Series, which me and my friends are a part of. 

Up until now, the authors have kind of taken a Terry Pratchett approach to the series. When Mr. Pratchett created his Discworld Series he had different groups of characters he'd focus on in each book, but all the stories were taking place in the same reality and on the same world. He had his rag-tag bunch of police constables led by the crotchety Commander Sam Vimes in 'The Watch' books, then he had his wizards and their Unseen University in books focusing on them, Death himself had a number of books focused on him and his granddaughter Susan Sto Helit, then there were Granny Weatherwax, Tiffany Aching, and the other witches who had their own area in the series, and so on. However, every so often Mr. Pratchett would mix his cast in some books to help solidify the idea that all of this was taking place in the same world.

Well, Allan and Helen are getting ready to do the same thing with us and the cast of characters from "The Bridge" and "The Ship". This has been an idea that has been long in development for them, especially for Allan who we have come to lovingly refer to as "Mr. Decisive". The reason we do this is because he's been working on "The Door" since 2014. While he had a clear vision for a beginning, most of the middle section, and an ending for the book, he could never quite find the right sequence of events to take place in between which bring them all together in a nice cohesive tale. 

Realizing he was getting nowhere fast, Allan took a break from that book and focused on us with Helen. This led to "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home" along with the creation of this blog and the short-stories contained within. For those who've been following this blog since the beginning, and have read "The Bridge" and "The Ship", you will know that on a few occasions some of the characters from those books have appeared in this blog along with Otto and myself in the past. Those past encounters will be the basis for what is about to come in "The Door", where I will come face-to-face with my old flame Police Sergeant Veronica Ross. This meeting will lead all of us to a haunted house unlike any you've ever seen before, as well as many more adventures to come. There will also be plenty of new short stories here on this blog.

So strap yourselves in and get ready for the long haul, because there's a lot coming your way. 

Until next time, thanks for all your support and please keep reading.  



  


Friday, December 21, 2018

Gifting E-Books

Okay gang, the big day is drawing near and you still want to get a few more gifts but don't know what to buy, or don't want to go out into the stores which have already pulled down half of their displays and are lining up Spring stuff. What to do, what to do... how about giving someone a good book to read on their Kindle? It's fast, easy, and you can have it delivered on Christmas Day and know it will arrive on time...

Didn't know you could do this? Neither did I for the longest time. I only found out a couple of years ago when we released "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home". I found myself rewarding some of our beta-readers with a free copy of the finished product in whatever form they wished (trade paperback, Kindle, PDF).  Most requested a signed trade paperback, but a couple asked for the Kindle version.

                

So I headed over to Amazon, got into my account, and pulled up "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home".  Once there I quickly found the "Give As A Gift" button and clicked it.  From there I was taken to another screen which asked me to sign into my Amazon account, which I did.  From there I was taken to a final screen

                 

This screen asked only for the e-mail address of the recipient I was sending this book to AND what day I wanted it delivered.  It was the option of a delivery date that really caught my eye.  Now some of you might be thinking, "Duh, you never noticed this before?"  And the answer is "Obviously, I didn't.  I rarely gave e-books as gifts to anyone before, even though I'm one of the authors.  Most of my readers buy the books for themselves and hardly anyone in my family owns a Nook or Kindle."  So yes, this was  new to me and very exciting.

So now I have this huge new avenue for holiday shopping before me.  And with Black Friday and Cyber Monday looming on the horizon, I thought it important to share these options with all of you. Some of you may have known about all this, but for those (like me) who didn't you now have more options when it comes to shopping for gifts.  I personally love the idea of having a book to place in someone's 'Cyber Stocking'.

                       

So for anyone who didn't know about this option, now you do.  And the best part is you can do that kind of shopping right now.  The e-book will not arrive before the date you set.

Of course, being an author I'm going to shamelessly promote our books by providing links below so you can visit our author pages on Amazon, where all our books are listed and you can choose whichever one(s) you'd like to gift to the readers in your life.

US KINDLE USERS:


UK KINDLE USERS:
CANADA KINDLE USERS:
Thanks for tuning in and don't be afraid to leave suggestions or ideas about gifting books that I overlooked in this post, in the comments section below.  Until next time, take care and keep writing.

Thursday, December 6, 2018

****"The Vampyre Blogs - One Day AT a Time" has just gotten another 5 Star review****

5.0 out of 5 stars NATHAN IS THE MAN!
December 4, 2018

"OH WHAT CAN I SAY, I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED IT READING IT AGAIN"


Come and see for yourself what everyone is talking about and grab a copy for yourself for just $3.99.  And while you're at it, buy one for someone in your life who enjoys a good paranormal/science fiction anthology.

Amazon US Link:


And for our friends up in Canada and over in the United Kingdom here are some more links:

Amazon UK Link:



Amazon Canada Link:

Monday, December 3, 2018

The First Reviews Are In!

****OUR ANTHOLOGY HAS RECEIVED IT'S FIRST REVIEWS AND THEY ARE 4 AND 5 STARS****

4 STARS - "A great read!"

5 STARS - "A well written story collection revealing Nathan's past. Excellent!"



Come see what other readers are saying and take a 'Sneak Peek" for yourself by clicking the link below, and maybe check out the other books in our Para-Earth Series. 

Amazon US Link:

Amazon UK Link:

Amazon Canada Link:



*NOTE: Signed Trade Paperbacks will be available soon, in plenty of time for Christmas*

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Available NOW on Kindle!


Just $3.99, or FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.


26 Tales of Para-Earth Encounters
Spanning 150 years answering many questions about your favorite vampyre and his friends such as:


- How did a Nathan manage to continue to serve the 
Union Army in the Civil War after becoming a vampyre? 

-How did he and The Professor meet?

-Why did Lisa and Marisa drift apart?

-Has Nathan or his friends ever met any of the 
characters from "The Bridge" or "The Ship"?

-Who else has had a Para-Earth encounter?

Plus much more!


So go ahead grab your copy today!


*And remember the holidays area almost upon us and you can order Kindle books for family and friends, you can even have them delivered on a specific date such as Hanukkah, Christmas, and birthdays. 

Just click below to start your shopping:

https://www.amazon.com/Vampyre-Blogs-Anthology-Para-Earths-Para-Earth-ebook/dp/B07KMN78B2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543590262&sr=8-1&keywords=the+vampyre+blogs

*And remember to check out the other books in our Paranormal/Sci-Fi series which have been compared to the Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, as well the works of Dean Koontz, HP Lovecraft, and other creators of surprise and suspense.

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

A Final Sneak Peek...

Just 3 more days until you can get your own copy of the latest installment of our 
Para-Earth Series... 


The stories contained within these pages will make you laugh, gasp, giggle and possibly shed a tear or two.  But most of all they will leave you anxiously waiting for more stories which we promise are on the way.

Remember you can pre-order your Kindle copy for just $3.99 at the following link:



In the meantime here's one final peek into the first of what we hope will be many paranormal/science fiction anthologies...


"Wolfgang In Sheep's Clothing"

June 2014

By Helen Krummenacker


For someone who travels so much, I always seem to have trouble getting ready for departure. It’s helpful these days, having my granddaughter on hand to look after the farm, my pets, and the complex organizing of my correspondence. She came to Germany to get a medical degree and is happy to stay with me and help out. There is little enough work-- while we do still produce some crops to send to the local markets, apple and walnut trees require little attention most of the year, and there are people we can hire for that. Mostly, she spends several hours in town working on studies and research, and enjoys the property as a chance to get away.
Still, there are always many details for me to take care of. For instance, my pets take extra attention. They are not the kind of thing you can easily take to the vet. No one has seen a living trilobite, except for in my aquarium, and many of the others have no near relatives that have existed on this Earth. Depending on one’s definition of near. Fluffy, for instance, has many birdlike traits. His usual prey is squirrel, but herons and hawks like them, too, and he largely eats nuts, especially acorns, to get his protein. He also keeps snails and caterpillars from messing up the family garden and rats out of the buildings. Birdlike was a good description for him. One difference in events between two parallel Earths could lead to such wonderful paths in evolution.
The indoor animals were all doing well and the controls for their temperature, humidity, and other such comforts were working fine. Fluffy had noticed me packing and was shadowing me now, wanting plenty of attention before I went away. We played a bit of fetch as I worked and he ran in circles around me out to the barn.
“Wolfgang!” I called out. The pygmy woodland camel was not inside, even though it looked to be a wet day. I assumed he’d decided to forage in the orchard, so I went out that way. Ruefully, I discovered a fence post had been knocked over and had on it some of the brown wool Wolfgang grew.
I quickly ordered Fluffy back. I didn’t need him to get out, too, and start harassing the neighbor’s cat. As bright as a peacock, as large as a turkey, and not exactly a bird, he would be difficult to explain to anyone who got a good look at him.
For that matter, Wolfgang was not easy to explain, but might pass for a rare breed. The question was, where would he be? Following his tracks would help, but only in the softest areas. His feet were wide and kept him from sinking easily. While he was naturally a creature of the forest, he had been raised by me from when he was only about two months old, and I did not believe he would wander far on purpose. However, herd animals seek their kind and, failing that, will seek a good facsimile. Fluffy, for instance, usually spent most of his time among the crows, who were happy to hang around the liminal area between forest and farm to keep their distant, brilliant cousin company.
As for Wolfgang, his closest relatives would be camels or llamas, and neither one was likely to be abundant in the area. On the other hand, llamas did sometimes show up for one reason only. They were terrifically fond of sheep, and guarded them against predators better than a dog.
He wouldn’t, would he? Of course he would. One thing you could trust any pet to do, no matter what their species, was to gravitate to exactly the activity that would be sure to cause chaos. At least it was autumn, and no chance of a shearing taking place. With a sigh, I headed out to Snyder’s, the nearest farm with sheep.

Sunday, November 25, 2018

A Sneak Preview and the Countdown Begins...

ONLY 6 MORE DAYS UNTIL...



 - 26 tales that span 150 years


- Stories of love, laughter, tears, wonder, hope, growth and wonder

- Kindle $3.99/Trade Paperback $15.99

- Pre-Orders are available now at:

And now a sneak peek...

"The Snowman"

December 2014 by Helen Krummenacker

     A chilly December evening was made cozy not only by the fireplace, but the scents of vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger from baking in the kitchen. Marissa turned the radio to a station playing all Christmas music. Isabella was excited even beyond the average child at Christmas time, for this was her first Christmas tree, her first time seeing fairy lights, and even the radio was a novelty for her. She would sit on the sofa, stare at the tree and get up again every few minutes to better distribute the ornaments for color balance and even presentation. 

     Marissa and Lisa were helping Nathan with paper chains, a decoration he remembered from his childhood. The girls were using a ladder to reach high, but Nathan took care of sites out of their reach. Otto, having recently surrendered the kitchen to Penny, who was making a couple of her own favorite treats, had started to show Richard how to wire pine and holly into swags to place around. “So ‘Boughs of holly’ are just branches done up to decorate the place?”

     “Yes. Deck and decorate have the same word as a root.”

     “Ain’t that something. I always wondered about that song. Especially the gay apparel.”

     “That meant jolly, bright colored, festive.”

     “And that makes ‘Johnny Comes Marching Home’ a lot better,” Richard laughed. The professor was all right by him. Strange and a little weird how he treated the boss like a kid sometimes, but when he was around, you always felt a little bit smarter.

      Just then, a new tune came on the radio. “Frosty the snowman, was a jolly, happy soul--”

    “Turn that off!” Otto snapped. Isabella looked at him in shock a moment before heading to the radio and pushing the big circle button she’d learned made these new electric things go on or off. “I’m sorry… I just do not like that song,” he explained, suddenly aware that everyone was watching him, puzzled by his uncharacteristic change of mood. “I really do not like it. You would not like it, either, if you knew how dangerous that snowman could have actually become.”

     “Wait, Frosty was real?” Marissa asked skeptically. 

    “There are more things on heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,” quoted Otto, then sighed. “Yes. Frosty was real, and he was the result of my missing an important detail and behaving carelessly.”

     “Story time!” Lisa called out.

     “Oh, yes, we have to hear about this,” Marissa added.

     “Really?” Otto asked, as if surprised by the attention. 

     “Even I haven’t heard this one,” said Nathan, “and it sounds like a doozy.”

    Otto took a seat on the sofa, next to Isabella, and the others gathered around. Richard kept at it with the greenery, but still cocked an ear and moved so he could see Otto’s face and gestures. Taking a deep breath, the professor began to tell the tale in a rich, melodic voice...