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Sunday, May 22, 2016

Big News Update...

The 2nd draft of "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home" is now completed.


That's right folks, the 2nd draft is now officially done and I couldn't be happier.  I know this book has been a long time in the making, but Helen and I have wanted to get the story just right.  We take a lot of pride in delivering a quality book to our readers.  Of course, the book is not quite done yet.  

Starting this week, we'll begin the loud readings with our editor to make sure the grammar and punctuation is right.  But possibly even more important, we'll be making sure the story sounds right.  if the words used are not flowing the right way.  We've both read books where 'odd' wording can disrupt our enjoyment of a story, sometimes at a crucial point and ruin the enjoyment of the piece.  So we'll be spending the next couple of weeks getting things just right.

Then comes the 2nd to last stage of the work... beta-reading.  We'll be looking for beta-readers to check out the nearly finished product and give us feedback so we can make whatever final changes are needed.  Those beta-readers will also receive a free copy of the final version in either paperback or e-book form (their choice), as well as a mention in the Acknowledgements page of the book.

So unless there's a major disruption at some point, our plans to release the book this October is looking great.  

Stay tuned for more updates as well as new stories from Nathan and company.  With university over for this semester, we hope to be adding new tales of adventure very soon.

Thanks again for all your patience and support.

Sincerely,  

Allan and Helen Krummenacker


Friday, April 29, 2016

Lisa's Private Thoughts - March 24, 2013 "In Search Of... Part II"


I couldn't make out the man's face, or his upper torso, because he was literally buried under a huge pile of crumpled papers.  I didn't know whether to laugh or scream.  It looked so comical, but there was also the very real possibility that this man was injured or worse.

But then I heard the faint sound of snoring, coming from deep inside the mountain of paper, and breathed a faint sigh of relief. 

Yet in spite of my attempt to be quiet, the unseen figure heard me because the legs flinched and the pile moved slightly, but not enough to uncover the man himself.  

Not that it mattered because he spoke at that moment saying, "Writer at work... no disturbing the creative process..." 

"Yeah right," I shot back with a huge grin, "You're getting high off the ink fumes again, Uncle Nathan."

An arm shot out of the pile, pointing an accusing finger at me.  "Hey, I thought we agreed you were going to drop the 'uncle' part."

That made me wince as I nodded, "Yes, we did.  Sorry, I forgot."

"Well don't let it happen again," the finger shook at me.  "Now be a dear and help me out from under all this."

Taking the extended hand I pulled Nathan out from the pile and then proceeded to help brush him off.  "What were you doing under all that garbage?" I asked.

"Trying to overcome a serious case of the dreaded 'Writer's Block'," he replied with a yawn.  "I've been trying to get past it for a week now.  I thought burying myself under all my failed attempts might allow me to sort through them mentally, so I could find a way forward finally."

"And instead you wound up falling asleep," I pointed out.

Drawing himself up to his full 5' 7", which is only an inch taller than me, he said in a dignified voice, "For your information I was meditating."

"Really?" I replied looking absolutely fascinated, "I always thought people who were meditating chanted 'Om'.  I never heard of anyone using snoring instead.  Must be a New Age thing."

Nathan made a face at me and then surveyed the clutter around us and shook his head.  "Unfortunately, whatever I was doing didn't help.  I'm still stuck."

"Maybe you should get white board and try jotting down some steps," I suggested.

"I don't do white boards," he shook his head, "The pen fumes give me a headache.  Although I do have a blackboard in another room, but that hasn't been helping much either."

"Let me take a look, maybe I can come up with a suggestion," I offered.

"Trust me you don't want to go inside that room," Nathan told me.  "I went a little overboard in there."

I rolled my eyes at him.  "You haven't seen some of my friends' bedrooms.  Trust me I can handle any mess you've got."

"Okay," he said with a shrug. "Just remember, I did warn you."

With that he led me out of the room with the papers and we headed down the hallway to a closed door.  "You're sure you want to go in there?"

"Yes," I sighed in exasperation, "I'm a big girl, now open it."

Nodding, he pushed the door open and I walked inside.

For a moment I thought I'd stepped into the opening of one of my father's favorite shows...


The entire room, save the floor, had been covered in blackboard paint, turning all the walls and even the ceiling into gigantic, fully usable, blackboards.  And every one of them was covered in writing.  I kept expecting Bart Simpson to step out of the corner at any second.  The only thing that saved me from that idea was the fact that none of the sentences or drawings were being repeated.  In fact, the room was starting to remind me of my physics teacher's classroom.  There were always notes, calculations, and other scribbles all over every blackboard in the place.

But now my eyes were really taking in the actual words and I could see Nathan was indeed dealing with a very involved scene.  "How many characters are in this thing?" I asked finally. 

"Too many," he sighed, "I'd brought one character from another part of my series into this one because the plot wasn't going anywhere at first.  But one I brought him in, the ideas came pouring out of me.  Things were going great, but then I started noticing the word count and realized, the book was going to be much longer than I'd originally pictured."

"How much longer?" I asked staring up at the notes he'd left on the ceiling.

"I was already 70,000 words into the story, and I still hadn't reached the halfway point," he answered looking around dismally.  "I've spent so much time getting everyone acquainted, and then exploring how complicated their relations might be, that things kind of stalled in the main story line itself."

I nodded and studied the walls some more and could see just how complicated things were.  "Had you thought about breaking it up into two books?"

"Yeah, but that would screw up the actual plot and I don't think my readers would appreciate it," Nathan replied.  "And quite frankly, I wouldn't be happy about doing that either.  It would ruin the flow of the story."

"I can understand that," I told him, "How important is the character you brought in to the story.  Is he vital?  Or was he just a plot device to help things along?"

"Plot device," he answered,  "Why?  Do you think I should remove him entirely?  He did help inspire a lot of new scenes that got the story going again."

"Yeah, but you still wound up hitting a wall and a huge word count," I pointed out.  "Can any of the previously existing characters still serve the same function to keep those ideas in place?"

Nathan's brow furrowed as he thought about it.  "Actually, they could.  And a huge part of the word count comes from the character I introduced interacting with the others."

"And if you took him back out entirely, would that help the word count?"

"Let's find out," Nathan replied and led me back to the room where I'd found him.

Opening up his laptop, he pulled up two chairs so we could sit side by side.  Then his fingers began flying over the keyboard in a blur.


Now, I consider myself a fast typist, but believe me when I say, I'm like a tortoise in slow motion, compared to Nathan.  I'm almost surprised the computer itself can keep up with him.  

Within half an hour, we've removed all references to the character he'd added and reallocated the plot devices he'd helped inspire, to some of the supporting cast who already existed in the story.  And sure enough, we'd lopped off over 30,000 words from the story, making it sleeker and faster paced.  

By the time we were done, Nathan was looking much happier when we stepped away from the computer and headed downstairs.  "That was a huge help, Lisa.  Thank you so much."

I waved my hand and said, "It wasn't that big a deal."

"I beg to differ," he insisted, "Look, even after publishing a dozen books, I'm still learning about writing.  There's no one straightforward path that anyone can take.  It's a learning process that never ends.  A writer is always discovering something new they'd never thought about before.  The same thing holds true for artists who sculpt or paint.  In spite of all the techniques you know, you always find some new trick or effect you've never tried before that gives your piece a whole new look."

That made me think, about my own artwork and special effects make-up I'd been working with, and I realized he was right.  Creativity is a never ending learning process.  You always want to try not to simply copy what you've done before, but create something new and original that makes people smile and stare in wonder at your work.

-Fin-

****A quick note from the author: The basis for this entry came from a recent experience of my own.  As many of you know, I had planned to bring Nathan into the novel "The Door" which stars several of my other main characters.  I'd been having trouble moving the plot along and had decided to bring him in to help open up new avenues and it worked.  However, the length of the book was becoming too unwieldy and I was finding myself being sidetracked by too many new ideas.  So I sat back and re-examined the story and found that much of what Nathan was doing in the story, could be done by existing supporting cast members, so I decided to remove him entirely from the piece.  

Now, many of you may find this disappointing because you were eager to see him in a full-length novel before this year was out. 

Well then you'll be pleased to hear that this will still happen.  "The Door" is still not finished, but "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home" is nearing the end of it's 2nd revision (which is why I haven't been posting here more frequently, it's been a very time consuming process).  Next month I'll be sending it out to beta-readers, and based on the feedback we get, I will do a 3rd/final revision and release the book in October.  So we're just 5 months away from Nathan's debut novel.  As for "The Door", if it's ready in time, I'll release it in December or early next year.

So keep visiting, more short stories are coming soon.  In fact, you'll soon be reading entries by my wife, Helen, who is co-authoring the "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home" with me.  I think you'll like what she has in store for you all.  

Thanks again for all your patience and support.

Sincerely,

Allan Krummenacker

****









  

Thursday, April 7, 2016

Help Choose The Cover...

I interrupt this story line with a request for help from you the readers.  

The second draft of "The Vampyre Blogs - Coming Home" is over halfway done.  I'll be sending it to my proofreader/editor for a good vetting by the end of the month (provided all goes well).  

In the meantime, I'm facing a dilemma regarding the book's cover.  I've completed the artwork seen here:


As you can tell I did not incorporate the title into the image this time, because I just couldn't make it work with the scene I'd pictured.  I had tried spelling it out in the tree branches but it looked more confusing and hard to read.  So I experimented with a letter-box version seen here:



From there I tried black lettering over the image, which I think is a bit hard to read...


Finally I went with white lettering over the image...


For myself, I've preferred the red letter-box version since the red helps bring out the colors of the artwork itself.  

But I want to hear from you before I make a final decision.  Please leave your responses in the comment section below and I will announce the results during the finale of the current short story.

Thanks for all your patience and support.  The novel WILL be out this October just in time for you to add it to your spooky Halloween reads.  



Thursday, March 24, 2016

Lisa's Private Thoughts - In Search Of... March 24, 2013

It's been a while since I last wrote anything here, but that was mostly because I haven't seen Nathan since just after New Year's Day.  Dad told me Nathan had gone off to Europe for a couple of months and that he'd be back around June.  But the fact that none of us had gotten a phone call or e-mail, made me start to worry.  I began to think that telling Nathan I was in love with him during my Sweet Sixteen party had scared him off or something.

The thought got so strong that I barely ate any dinner and headed off for a walk as soon as the sun went down.  Of course I headed downtown and eventually found myself staring up at the building that housed "The Crypt".  Being a Sunday night, the club was closed, yet I spotted lights on in a couple of the third floor windows.  


I knew Nathan rented out some of the rooms up there as studios to local artists, musicians, and dancers.  But last I heard, none of the rooms were currently being used.  Curious, I decided to head inside and check things out.  

Pulling out the set of keys that Nathan had given me as part of my birthday gift last December, I unlocked the main doors and let myself in.  Like most older buildings around here there was a short flight of steps that led to a lobby that felt right out of a 1940's Noir film.


Naturally the area was empty, but it was also very silent.  After standing and listening near the main stairs that led to the upper floors, I decided that whoever was up there was not a musician or dancer.  It could have been one of the artists, or... it was Nathan himself.  

That last thought got my feet moving.  

Taking the steps two-at-time, reached the second floor within seconds.  Pausing at the landing I didn't see any signs of life anywhere.  There were no lights coming from underneath any of the doors in that hallway, nor was there any sounds of music or movement.

But that made sense.  After all I saw the lights on the third floor.  So I started on the next flight of steps then stopped about halfway up.  If whoever was up there wasn't Nathan or any of his 'renters' I could be busting in on someone who didn't belong here, like a prowler or some gang-bangers.

Carefully I pulled out my cellphone and made sure it was in Silent Mode.  Then I put it in my hand with a finger over the 9 key, in case there was trouble.  Bracing myself, I continued up the rest of the steps as quietly as possible.  When I reached the landing I carefully peaked around the corner.



It was empty and I noted that several doors were open, including one or two which had lights on in them.  

I waited but didn't hear any sound, nor did I spot any shadows moving in the lit rooms.  Feeling a little more confident I headed down the hallway.  I was wearing sneakers instead of my usual Goth-style boots, which muffled my footsteps.  

Soon I reached the first open door and peaked inside.  At first it didn't seem like anything was out of place nor was there anyone in sight.  But then I noticed a man's shoes and ankles speaking out from behind the desk.  It appeared that whoever they belonged to was stretched out on the floor.  

"Hello?" I called gently but received no answer.  

Drawing a little closer I could see more of the man's lower legs.  He was definitely laid out on the floor and not moving. 

I began to shake a little at that point.  Whoever it was could be asleep, but on the floor?  That didn't seem right at all.  Bracing myself I moved closer until I was able to just peer over the desk to see the rest of the figure.  

Yet in spite of all my precautions, I couldn't help but gasp at what I saw.

TO BE CONTINUED...










Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Questions, questions, and more questions...

Greetings dear readers.  I know its already 2/3rs of the way through January and there's been no new posts here, which of course has prompted a number of questions such as "Are we getting any new stories?", "Tell us you your still writing about these characters...", "The book is still coming later this year, right?"and even "Are you planning on keeping this blog going?"

So many questions, but luckily I have a simple answer for all of them:


The blog is continuing and new stories are coming.  The book is still on schedule to be released around Sept/Oct of this year.  

The reason why I haven't been posting anything new lately has been because of a little thing called


I had really hoped that during the winter break from university I'd have a chance to catch up on my writing and get a bunch of stories lined up.  As it turns out, life had other plans for me.  Between the holidays and having family visiting, December and early January were quite busy.  

Then as things started to quiet down I got a job offer, which I have accepted, with the County of Monterey.  This will be a full-time job which means I can only take 6 units of school at a time.  However, in order to keep my current housing situation here at campus I need to be full-time.  I still have a lease here that lasts until the end of May, so my wife and I have sent an appeal to allow us to stay until then while we arrange for new housing elsewhere.  If that is accepted, we'll be okay.  Otherwise, we'll have to scramble and find a new place much sooner.

I should have answer by this weekend or early next week. If our appeal is refused... things could get complicated for a while.  So please bear with me and I'll fill you all in as soon as I have an answer and know what the next few months have in store for us. 

Also, if you don't mind, keep your fingers crossed for us as well...


We need all the luck we can get right now.

In the meantime, know that Nathan has been kept busy elsewhere.  I have been working on "The Door" which comes out before "The Vampyre Blogs-Coming Home", and will guest star Nathan along with the characters from my first two books "The Bridge" and "The Ship".  

"The Door" will wrap up those storylines, as well as reveal more of Nathan's past experiences that have been hinted at in several entries here and will be well-worth checking out.  

So stay tuned and thank you for your continued patience.  I'm eager to get back to more stories involving Nathan, Marisa, Lisa and everyone else.  And believe me all of them have been clamouring inside my head with story ideas they want to see written next as well.  

I might have to have them draw straws to see who gets their story told first.

That's all I have for now.  Until next time my friends...






Monday, December 28, 2015

Changes Are Coming In 2016...

Once more, with the permission of Nathan and the rest of the cast here at the Vampyre Blogs, the author has a few words about what you can expect to see here in the coming year:


As the New Year draws closer, I have been thinking a great deal about my writing and in particular about "The Vampyre Blogs - I: Coming Home".   As you can see just from the title I've begun making changes.  I wanted to make it clear to anyone not already familiar with this blog, that this first book is the beginning of a series that will continue for some time to come.  Or at least, that is my hope.  Nathan and company have already assured me that they have many stories they want share both on the blog and in book form, so I feel safe to say that this series will continue to grow.

Currently, I've finally begun work on the cover of the book.  I know a number of you are already familiar with this image that I made using Adobe Photoshop:


While interesting, it also shows that I did not have a completely clear idea of where the story was going to go when I began writing about Nathan and his friends.  But since I've had the chance to tell so many short stories here on the blog, as well as finish a first draft of the novel, I have a much clearer vision of the kind of image I wanted for the book.  Plus, a number of readers who are already familiar with my other two novels "The Bridge" and "The Ship" expressed a desire for me to continue rendering the covers myself as I have for those novels.  I always work in soft pastels, but had a difficult time coming to grips with what the image should look likefor this book.  I wanted it to come from the story itself, a scene that takes place which not only catches the eye but captures the imagination.  Here is a sneak peak of the cover as I continue to work on it:


Rest assured there will be quite a bit more tweaking to the piece and reworking the foreground colors.  But I am very pleased with how I captured the fall leaves on the ground and the family plot located in the back of Nathan's family manor.  As for the doll... well that would be telling at this point, but rest assured its presence is a foreshadowing of things to come in the story.  However, I will share with you that the manor is not quite as empty as Nathan has believed for the last 150 years...

Anyway, the next thing I wanted to share with you all is the fact that my name will not be the only one appearing on the book cover.  For some time my wife Helen has been my biggest supporter and helper in more ways than one.  Not only have I used her for a sounding board, but she has also played a critical role in the scientific aspects of the Para-Earth Series (which this book and blog are part of).  It has been through her vast knowledge of science and fiction that I've been able create Nathan's condition, as well as coming up with visions of what some of the other Para-Earths are like: the kind of life forms that evolved for instance and why it happened.  

But most important of all, she created a character who you've met on this blog before.  Professor Otto Hofstadter,was a character she literally dreamed up one night, long before I settled on the idea of doing a vampyre piece.  In the dream, one of the main characters from "The Bridge", Police Sergeant Veronica Ross, encountered him at a crime scene crouching over a dead body.   Of course in the dream Veronica had no idea that this strange little man who appeared to be in his 50's had nothing to do with the victim's death.  So it was only natural that she drew her weapon and told Otto to freeze and put his hands in the air.  She was totally unprepared for Otto to put a finger to the side of his nose and do a back-flip out of the window behind him and nail the landing two stories below.  Furthermore, she certainly wasn't expecting this strange older man to race across the lawn, jumping over objects and the fence like an Olympic athlete and disappear into the night.  


As for Helen, she only had one name for the fellow when she woke up "The Professor".  Since then she's fleshed Otto's history and personality out quite a bit, and he plays a pivotal role in the upcoming novel itself.  So it is only right, in my opinion, that her name will appear alongside mine on the cover of the book and all those that follow in "The Vampyre Blogs" saga of my Para-Earth Series.  

We have plans for Otto in stories of his own as well and will be partnering him with two of the supporting characters from my second novel "The Ship".   I'm hoping to have Otto share a couple of his own stories here on the blog as well, so keep an eye out for them because he has a number of good stories (and sometimes, embarrassing ones) about Nathan.  I hope you'll find him as fascinating and amusing as I have.

So now you know what to expect in the coming year and those that will follow.  As I've said before, Nathan and company, have many adventures to share with us all and I for one am looking forward to them. 

I do not know if I'll have time to post another entry here before New Year's Eve, but in case I don't I wish to leave you all with this image...





Thursday, December 24, 2015

Lisa's Private Thoughts, December 19th, 2012 - Christmas Tree Time

Tonight we got our Christmas tree.  Some of you may may think we'd left it a bit late, but since I'm a December baby, my parents got into the habit of waiting until after my birthday to put up any Christmas decorations.  One of my mother's sisters was also a December baby who often complain about how her birthday got overshadowed by Christmas, so my parents go out of their way to make sure that did not happen with me.  Especially not this year when I turned sixteen.  

But that had been over a week ago and I was more than ready for Christmas now.  In fact, I'm thinking of telling my parents next year that we should get our tree the day after Thanksgiving.  We could just decorate it for my birthday and then redo it again for Christmas.  

You see I love the smell of pine trees and forests.  Especially in wintertime and at night.  Which is why going out to get our tree was so much fun this time.  As soon as dinner was over, Dad told us to get our coats and pile into the Suburban.  "It's tree time!" he smiled.

"More like about time," Mom muttered under her breath, while getting her coat on in record time.


Soon we were driving down a snowy lane with snow covered trees on either side of us.  There was no one else on the road, so it felt kind of spooky in some ways.  I swear, there's nothing like being surrounded by huge trees at night to make you feel really small.  Yet it was beautiful at the same time.

After a while Mom said, "Where are going?  There aren't any tree lots out this way."

"We're getting our tree the old fashion way, straight out of the best supplier known to man.  The forest itself," Dad smiled.

"We're going to chop one down?" I cried in dismay.  

"No, Sweetie, we're going to dig one up," Dad corrected me.  "Remember, cut trees don't last very long around Uncle Nate."

Immediately, my mood skyrocketed even higher.  "He's coming this year?"

"Dear, you weren't supposed to say anything," Mom scolded.  

"She was going to find out anyway," he told her,  "See, that's him up ahead waiting for us."

I practically climbed into the front seat with them to get a better look.  Sure enough, in a clearing up ahead stood Nathan wearing a an old fashion burgundy frock coat, with a black cape over it.  While on top of his blonde hear, he had a black beaver hat angled every so slightly to give him a dashing look.

By now my little brother Geoffrey, who had been sleeping the whole time woke up and started yelling, "Unca Nate... Unca Nate..." at the top of his little lungs.  If you haven't guessed, he adores our godfather.

Luckily we were able to park quickly and got him out of the car.  Since I was right next to him, I 'fun' of getting him out of his car-seat.  Let me tell you, trying to deal with an overexcited two-year old who won't stop squirming is an experience I won't soon forget.  Nor will my stomach where he kept kicking me without realizing it, because he wanted to get to Nathan so badly.

Thank goodness Nathan saw my plight and took Geoffrey from me.  Immediately, my baby brother calmed down and started babbling at him in a mix of words and childish gibberish.  Mom and Dad looked on with amusement while Nathan hung on my brother's every 'word' until he was finished.

"Well you certainly have had an interesting day," Nathan told him, "I look forward to having more of these talks with you over the coming days.  But for now, we need to find a good tree and we have lots to choose from."

Looking around I saw he was right.  We did have a lot of choices, but there was one slight problem.  "Kind of big aren't they?" my Mom remarked, taking Geoffrey from him.

Nathan turned to my dad the two began muttering to one another.  I managed to catch a few snippets like: "I thought you said she'd be okay with punching a holes into the ceiling and possibly the roof..."  and  "....we'd have had to cut through some of the crossbeams and..."  

I noticed Mom rolling her eyes several times before they finally finished.  

Clapping his gloved hands Dad said, "Nathan says there's some really nice trees over on the north slope just a few hundred yards from here. I just need to get the sled and pot out from the back of the car."

"Did you remember the shovels?" Mom asked, and he froze.

Immediately my father froze and winced.  "Oops."

"Dad!" I cried but Nathan intervened saying, "Don't worry, I've got it covered.  Just follow me."  and with that he started heading off towards the north slope.  

Naturally I raced to join him.  Soon the whole family was following close behind as we slowly made our way through the snowy woods.  


At one point we spotted some deer nearby, who did not seem to mind our presence at all.  They stared at us for a while, until they were sure we didn't have anything to offer them and then moved on.  Soon we emerged from the forest and into what was undoubtedly the north slope.  


All around us stood pines ranging from four feet to heaven knows, all covered in snow.  It was a beautiful sight.  I almost felt guilty for our intruding on such a festive scene.  But, we were here on a mission and I knew weren't going to leave until we located and secured our quarry.  

After a few minutes, of knocking snow off a few of the six foot trees, my parents found one they liked.  I had to agree, that their choice was a good one.  It had a lovely shape and would fit nicely in the living room.  But first we had to get it out of the ground.  

Turning to Nathan I said, "So how do you plan to get this puppy out of the ground without shovels?"

Smiling he said, "Funny you should mention the word 'puppy'."  With that he took a few steps away from me and knelt down in the snow, covering himself entirely with the black cloak.  For several seconds nothing happened.  Then there was movement under the ebony cloth and soon two large black dogs emerged from underneath the cape which fell to the ground and became flat.  


"PUPPIES!" my little brother cried excitedly.  He loves dogs, but can't play with them because he's very allergic to their fur.  A part of me quickly surmised that this would not be a problem with these two beasts.  As if to prove my point, they went over to where my mother was holding Geoffrey, and allowed him to pet them.  

Then the pair trotted over to where the tree we'd chosen stood and began digging in a circle.  Snow went flying in all directions, making the rest of us take a few steps back to keep out of range.  But soon, the dark soil began to replace the white stuff letting us know the real work had begun.  Out of curiosity I bent down and picked up a piece of the thrown soil and found it was still quite solid and frozen.  

I shook my head in wonder and marveled at the power of my godfather once more.  I've long known of his shape-shifting talents, but sometimes forget just how much strength he is capable of demonstrating.  
  


Within minutes the tree wobbles and tilts to one side, as the two dogs emerge from behind it and slip back under the black coat from which they'd emerged.  As my father brings the sled with the big pot on it near the tree, I watch the shapes moving beneath the cape and breathe a sigh of relief when I see hands appear and Nathan stands up.  As he readjusted his hat, I could see that there's not a speck of anywhere on his hands or face.  He truly is a wonder to behold sometimes.

Anyway, he and Dad managed to lift the tree with its large ball of dirt and roots, into the big pot... or rather tub on the sleigh and quickly made sure it was a good fit.  Then we headed back to the cars and stood it upright in the back of the pickup, Nathan had brought.  In a few weeks, we'll bring it back and replant it, just as Nathan has shown us so it can continue its life among its siblings.


Two hours later, we had the tree back at home and fully decorated.  Dad has just lit the log in the fireplace, while Nathan is resting on the sofa with a blanket over his legs.  Or rather where his legs would be.  On the floor nearby, Geoffrey is playing with a couple of smaller versions of the black dogs who dug our Christmas tree out of the ground.  

Poor Nathan, he's going to be legless for a good hour or more, meaning he'll be stuck on the sofa.  I'm going to join him after I finish this post.  He's going to be staying with us all throughout the holidays this year.  Normally he heads to Connecticut to visit another part of his 'extended' family to spend Christmas Eve, but they are celebrating elsewhere this year which means he's all mine... or rather ours this time.  

Glancing over at the archway that leads to the kitchen I can see my mom and dad enjoying a good long kiss under the mistletoe.   I love seeing them like that.  It really makes the season all the more right to me.  

Love, family and friends, those are the greatest gifts to have at this time of year.  And I'm going to go get a little of the first, right now.  I've got a little bit of mistletoe of my own in my pocket and there's a very inviting spot right next to Nathan on the sofa.


This is going to be very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year indeed....

****So ends this year's holiday installment of The Vampyre Blogs - Private Edition.  I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.  May all your hopes and wishes come true during this festive season.  And may each and everyone one of you enjoy some of the magic of this season.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE