Celine & Jesse - Together Again

The Greeting: Hello, Everyone. Thanks for dropping by. As customary, I hope you and yours are well.

The Update: I continue to take time away from the hustle and bustle that is the indie life. My new book Seeing Ghosts continues to pick up good reviews which makes me very pleased. It isn’t selling like bottled water on hundred degree days, but it’s doing alright. Thank you for that. I can’t take too much time away as I must begin planning for the big July book tour that I’m doing. If you don’t see me around for much of the summer, that’s why.

The Relaxation: In the meantime I have been reading a lot. I have read three books in the past weeks with my limited time. All have been really good. I was planning on telling you about them, but I haven’t had the time to give them proper justice. Rest assured that I will. Instead, my wife and I just got back from the theater where we took a stroll with two of our favorite characters in modern film, Celine and Jesse.

The Movie: Before Midnight is the third chapter in the series that first began nearly twenty years ago with Before Sunrise. Nine years ago it was followed by Before Sunset. All three films are the work of stars Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy and Director Richard Linklater. The series has become so special and such a labor of love that the two stars once again joined in the creation of the screenplay as they did with Sunset.

The Disclaimer: If you haven’t seen the films before, you’re really going to want to catch up. If you don’t, the film will just come across as unsettling. It has its tough and sad moments. However, if you are invested in these characters and their lives – which we’ve literally followed nearly every step of the way – I think you’ll really appreciate the ride.

The Catch Up: In the first film, Celine and Jesse meet on a train in Europe. Sensing a connection the strangers get off the train and explore Vienna for about a day. At the end of their adventure, they are no longer two strangers, but a couple. Unfortunately, they cannot be together forever and must part at the end with hopes of meeting once again in the not so distant future. The second film carries the tag line: “Is there someone who lingers in your memory – someone who makes you wonder what might have been?” This time around, they meet in Paris. Jesse has written a book detailing a character’s love and loss, mirroring his own loss at never having reuniting with the woman who stole his heart in Vienna - Until he turns and sees her. Rather than an entire day, this time they only have an afternoon to decide if “lightning strikes twice”, and whether or not it can be bottled. (Now go see those films. I’ll wait…)

The Next Chapter: Jesse drops off his son from his first marriage at the airport after their vacation together in Greece. We follow him out to the car to find Celine waiting there, along with their twin daughters. Life has been good to them, mostly, but issues linger. It is killing Jesse that he only spends days a year with his son, but there isn’t anything to be done about it. Celine is feeling pressured to give up her dreams, believes that Jesse blames her for his regrets and the choices he’s made, and worried that the relationship is coming to an end. At a dinner scene they and their friends take a great deal of time, asking the question whether love is real or just a fairy tale.

The High Points: We’ve seen so much of Europe in this series and Midnight doesn’t disappoint. We are surrounded by beauty, geography and history. Yet, it is really the dialogue that is the heart of these films. We literally follow them around for tens of minutes without edit and it is the selling point. In film we are accustomed to following the characters around as they wake up, prepare for their day, fill their day, fight, make love and fall asleep. However, never do we get the entire unedited picture. This series acts as if it were a documentary of two real people; people we’ve fallen in love with. They are oftentimes graphic with their humor, subject matter and language, but they are real. After all of these years they still love each other. It’s just a different kind of love. One that is real and all too familiar to each of us who have been in a committed relationship that has spanned decades.

The Final Note: If you haven’t seen the films, send the kids away, find a place on the love seat and catch up. Then get to the theater and see the latest installment. Will it be the last film? Who knows? I’d kind of like to see how Celine and Jesse are doing as seniors. But not yet. We’ve all got a lot of living to do before then.

We’ll talk soon. 

One Week Later

Greetings and salutations, Fire Enthusiasts. How in the world are you? I’m okay and I hope you are, too. You and yours, that is. We never want to forget the “yours” part of that equation. Each of us have loved ones that are standing by us, and/or waiting for us to turn off the laptop and rejoin them on the couch or patio. I certainly do. More on that later…

Well, the latest e-book is out there, as you probably already know. I certainly have spent much time, discussing, promoting and teasing about it, ad nauseum. Right? Don’t answer that! *laughs* At least it feels that way to me. Suffice it to say that I have sold a few copies, and the reviews it has so far have been nothing but positive. I don’t have to tell you that I am ecstatic about this. Is it perfect? No. Is it going to get some negative reviews? Yes. You can’t please them all, right? However, at the end of the day, I am very happy with the way the story ended up. It hits all the targets that I was aiming for.

So, what now? Well, I will continue to promote it. In July the book and I will be doing our first big blog tour. I am very excited about it, and look forward to meeting new people and taking what I do out on the road, as it were.

However…

I have really stretched myself this year as I produced the book and prepared for its promotion. At the same time, I transferred positions at the day job where I am essentially now an acting manager for one of my company’s auxiliary facilities. It’s a solid 11-12 hour day (and some Saturdays) where I am both manager and front-line supervisor. It hasn’t been easy.

So…with all of this in mind, I am going to re-evaluate how I spend my time. I’m not leaving, but you probably will hear from me a lot less – at least until July. You see, for about five years now I have been making my day job and my writing career the top priorities in my life. Only a complete idiot would do that. *raises hand* My wife and teenaged sons (18 and 15) have been low priorities for far too long, and I am now rearranging their place in that order. I have an anniversary coming up this month (23 and 25 years altogether) and I am setting things right today before I don’t see another one.

In the meantime, I have actually been watching television again. Have you seen some of these great new shows: Castle and The Big Bang Theory? *laughs* I’m kidding, of course. There is some truth to that joke, however. I maybe watched one movie a week. Beyond that, with what little time I had, I was seated at the dining room table with my fingers all over my mistress the laptop.

I’m reading a bit more and wondering when I’m climbing back on my treadmill. *stares at bulging waste line and sighs* I’m listening to two new albums that came out last month. How many Jamie Cullum and Thirty Seconds to Mars fans do we have out there? They both have great new albums out. Perhaps I’ll come back next week and tell you about them. We’ll see.

I will be back here next Monday with another post. I don’t plan on missing those.

Everything’s all right. Send me a line if you’re worried.

Thanks again for everyone’s help with the promotion of Seeing Ghosts. I adore you all for it. *hugs and high-fives*

We’ll talk soon.    

Seeing Ghosts Release Day

Hello, Paranormal Enthusiasts. Yes, I said it again. I just can’t help myself now.

Today is the day.

I won’t take up any more of your time with teasers or anything else regarding my new e-book. I’m not going to explain how the book came about, how the book took its shape or how the wonderful and multi talented author Maria Zannini crafted the fabulous traffic-stopping cover. The time for all of that is over. Perhaps I’ll revisit some of these things in the future. Just know that Seeing Ghosts is very special to me. It is scary, but not pure horror; romantic, but not gushing or erotic. I call it a paranormal romance because it is firmly defined by all things paranormal – with a healthy dose of romance. I hope you’ll like it as much as I do.

My thanks to all who take a chance on it, and to all who’ve encouraged and cheered me on as we’ve come to this exciting and nerve-wracking moment in time.

You can find the e-book here on Amazon.com or you can find it here on Goodreads in order to put it on your shelf for another time. If you like it, I hope you’ll tell the world. *high fives and hugs*

Paul Herrera finds himself bequeathed a mysterious old house near the California central coast by a deceased aunt he never knew. The woman who shows it to him is the spitting image of his wife, taken from him three years before in a senseless car accident which also took his unborn son. While he deals with the ghosts of a past he cannot let go, there are new ghosts Paul must deal with - alone for the week in the expansive two-story house that he will soon discover holds many secrets. Eventually, he will see that he is surrounded by ghosts as he struggles to hold onto the only thing that he has left in this world - his sanity.

We’ll talk soon.

   

One More Week...

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. Thanks for dropping by. Life continues to be crazy here. How about you? You know, we writers ought to be hospitalized for juggling as much as we do. Do you agree? We’re all doing the same things. We sleep little and spent time with our loved ones very infrequently. Instead, we’re married to our word processors or paper and pens, putting our stories down and editing them until they are just right.

I took that new position at work, and although I no longer have to get up at 3 am, I’m still working 11-12 hours, with some occasional Saturdays in there just to make it worse. Then I’ve got this new book coming out in a week, hoping that I’m doing enough to get it noticed in a giant sea of books that are equally as good if not better. It’s tough, isn’t it? Then of course I have to take the virtual broom and swat the part of my brain that doubts I’m any good at this, or that I am very good, but no one is going to notice. Do you spend any time doing that? Fighting off the demons in your head that try and get you to quit? I do. I know I’m doing it, too. Perhaps it’s our way of preparing ourselves for the negative possibilities. Either way, it isn’t useful.

So here I sit, spending an hour before work and maybe another hour afterwards, trying to get the word out, network or just visit my buddies out there in the world who are doing much the same things and in need of encouragement. I haven’t been on my treadmill in weeks, I’m barely getting any reading in and I’ve barely touched the house.

Yeah, we’re all crazy…but dedicated as hell! J I hope everyone out there is doing well. I thank you for stopping by, as always. I adore you for that. I’ve been visiting your places as I can. I mostly follow by e-mail however, so if you’re not using that feature, leave me a comment somewhere and I’ll come by for a visit.

Before I go, I’m going to leave you with another excerpt. I know many don’t like to read them. It’s only about 400+ words, and it’s a bit of high drama. I apologize for the language…

  

“Wake up!” a voice suddenly commanded. The owner of the voice must have kicked the bench, too, because I felt myself leap into the air. It was Patricia, leaning over me, wearing one of her patented scowls.

“What do you want?” I shouted at her, sitting up. God knew how little I had slept this time.

“It’s nothing to do with what I want! It’s what your aunt wants!”

“My aunt died, Patricia! I don’t give a shit what Casper the not-so-friendly ghost wants.” Even I was shocked at how convincing I sounded, but I figured it was best not to think about it. These few moments this week working off of pure adrenaline had been like good liquor buzzes. Indeed, they worked for me in many ways.

I stood. She took one step back, but that was all. “Just state your business.… In fact, I don’t even care why you’re here. Get the fuck off of my property before I have the police drag your ass off!”

“Nice try!” she shouted back. “I’ve every right to be here as you do.”

She was right. There wasn’t anything I could do about her being there.

Patricia straightened up as I stood before her, poised. She squinted at me while she measured my resolve. Finally, a weak smile appeared over her face.

“What?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Flora wants you to prepare yourself. It’s time.” She turned on her boot heels and walked off the porch. “It’s good you’ve sent the others away.”

“Time for what, Patricia? Oh, and the others will be back. They’re with Thomas. No one is going anywhere.”

Patricia spun back to me. “Thomas? My, you are a trusting fool, aren’t you? Mister big shot. You don’t have the first fucking clue!”

“Go to Hell!”

“Yeah, maybe,” she said, nodding. “But I won’t be the only one! Your pastor will be there, too. Why don’t you tell him I said that and see whether he disagrees? Go ahead. I fucking dare you!”

Struck dumb, I simply watched her resume her march back to the guesthouse. Words floated inside my head, but I couldn’t make sense of them. A voice seemed to be asking me why I’d really felt it so important that Jason accompany his mother. I had no clue.

“Be ready!” Patricia yelled back before taking the last few steps and disappearing inside her house.

The longer I sat there the more I seemed to know something. Or suspect it. I glanced left and looked through the trees toward The Queen of Heaven Cemetery, as if being called by it.

“What is it?” I asked no one as I continued to stare at the cemetery. Eventually, I gave up on finding the answer and headed back inside.

The book is available now, if I have piqued your interest. If you want to wait until next Monday and help me make the biggest splash possible, that would be very lovely of you. On the other hand, if someone wants to buy my book, who am I to advise them when to do it? J Cheers, you guys! And hang in there.

We’ll talk soon.

A Disclaimer: Romance?

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. Today I would like to talk a bit about romance, or perhaps a lack thereof. You see I have been using the word with regard to my forthcoming novel, and am unsure whether or not I actually should. I suppose we could talk about ad campaigning, and there’s certainly some truth in that. However, on the other hand I run the risk of ticking some readers off if they think there’s some bed-hopping or hot and steamy action going on. Let me set the record straight right now. There isn’t.

On the other hand, the condition of the heart is at the very forefront of the story. Two main characters have had their hearts broken by the separation of death. One took the wrong road in reclaiming what was taken away from them; another simply did nothing but attempt to allow the wound to scab over enough to face tomorrow. The plot of the novel takes us on a journey to see whether love might have its day...

“A dollar and a half for your thoughts,” Anne asked, catching me in mid-thought. She held her glass of wine in her right hand and lightly swirled the remaining contents.

“What?” I asked, glancing over at her smiling face.

“A penny for your thoughts sounded a tad cheap, so I thought I would up it for inflation and cost of living.” She sat back. “You were grinning just now. What were you thinking about? Something good?”

“I don’t know,” I lied, and then spooned the last of my dessert into my mouth. I fought the urge to lick the bowl. It was that good.

“Yes, you do!” Anne said. “You’re a terrible liar.” She set her glass down and folded her arms across her chest. “Give it up, mister!”

I glanced at Jason, who was watching the exchange with a curious look on his face, then back at Anne and shook my head.

“Must have been something good,” Anne said, refusing to let it go.

“Do you two need me to leave the room or something?” Jason asked.

“No!” I said, perhaps a little too loudly. A twinkle sparkled in Anne’s eye, so I kept my eyes off her. I suppose that made me even more suspicious-looking.

From my peripheral vision, I saw her stand and grab the plates to take to the kitchen. Leaning to my ear, she whispered, “Hmm?” and I knew I hadn’t heard the end of it.

“You know she’s never going to let that go, right?” Jason offered in a whisper when she left the room.

“I was afraid of that,” I mouthed to him.

“Good luck,” he mouthed back.

He got up from the table just as his mother came back to retrieve the fudge, strawberry and caramel toppings to put away. Fearing being alone with her, I quickly jumped from the table and followed Jason. For the next few minutes I was his shadow, and when he made a move to leave, I grabbed for his shirt, keeping him beside me. As if sensing this, Anne sent her son upstairs to get showered. I turned to him, feigning panic. He just grinned and waved melodramatically at me. When I turned back around, Anne was waiting for me with a devilish grin.

“Hi,” I said sheepishly.

“Hi there,” she replied. “How’s it going?”

“Fine.” We said nothing for a few moments. I snaked past her and began setting up to wash the dishes.

“That’s all you’ve got?” she asked. “After I went and made all of this food.”

“I told you it was fantastic!” I said without facing her. “Are you kidding me? I haven’t eaten this great in years!”

“Thank you, but that isn’t what I wanted to hear.” I could hear her move to the counter by the refrigerator and pour herself another glass of wine. “I want to know what you’re hiding.”

I filled one side of the sink with soap and hot water and bided my time while I attempted to think of a possible response. I filled the sink with dishes. “Why don’t you go sit down and relax?” I offered. “I’ll clean the kitchen.” I was stalling and we both knew it. I still couldn’t look at her.

“No, thanks. I’m fine right here.”

I felt myself growing embarrassed now as I anticipated her reaction. Perspiration formed on my forehead and it had nothing at all to do with the hot water I stood over.

“My, you are turning a bright shade of red,” she said before sipping from her wine.

“Please, Anne,” I pleaded, still not looking at her. “You don’t want to hear this.”

“Apparently I do.” I didn’t have to turn her direction to see her grin. Her voice said it all.

I sighed, utterly defeated.

“Come on,” she goaded me.

“I was wondering what it might be like to be Jason’s step-dad,” I said at last.

“That’s it? You don’t want to be with me. You only want to hang out with my kid?” Slowly I looked her way. She was grinning just like I suspected and kept her eyes on me over the top of her wineglass.

“Don’t be silly,” I said and looked for something to throw at her. A dish towel came in handy. I quickly grabbed it and tossed it her direction. She moved out of the way, but it would have missed her to her left anyway.

“I thought you were good at baseball. Jason said you were.”

“My throws are not usually that poor - only when I’m terribly distracted.” I sighed again, leaning against the sink and shaking my head at this incredible turn of events.

“What?” Anne asked. She lowered her glass and put on a more serious look, although still quite pleased with herself.

“Are you sure? I mean, are you really sure that you want to…”

“Oh, I’ve agreed to nothing,” she interrupted. She bent over and retrieved the rag from the floor, then approached me. I clammed up when she got close, but didn’t move an inch.

“Relax,” she said. “I just wanted to make sure you were interested. Now I know.” She laid the towel upon my head. “Now, hurry up and finish the dishes.”

“Yes, dear,” I said from inside the dish towel.

“Practicing already?” she asked as she stepped out of the room. “I like it.”

Is it romantic? I believe it is. Should it be considered a romance, albeit one of the paranormal kind? We’re two weeks away from discovering what the readers think. So far, the returns have come in favorably, as the following review demonstrates:

“This is an amazing book. I found it hard to put it down. Throughout the book I felt tearful, happy, terrified and surprised by a few twists. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves a good ghost and/or romance story...” My thanks to “Angelbear” for the review. I appreciate it more than you can know.


Seeing Ghosts is set to release on Monday, June 3rd. If you can't wait, the book is already available. *evil grins* I quietly posted it on Amazon a week ago so I could proof it. I guess I'm terribly sneaky that way. ;)


We'll talk soon.

This Post is About You, My Friends

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. How are you? Well, I hope. You ladies and gentlemen have been awesome of late, and I really want to offer you a shout-out. In fact, I hope to demonstrate that commitment by not talking about myself this week.

Really? You ask. It’s true. I mean it when I say that I don’t like it always being about me. I know that you stop by to check in, as you are able. I’m very grateful for that, and adore your visits. However, this time it’s going to be about you. There will be plenty of time in the next month to update you on my latest book, or to offer new excerpts – and I will. Just not today.

Instead, I want to thank all of the writers and bloggers out there who shared their sites with me, whether it was revealing my cover; sharing my synopsis; promoting my sites; promoting my Facebook event page – or a combination of those things. You guys rock. I hope I managed to visit those posts and thank you and your readers there. Please tell me if I failed to do so, and I will launch right over. Unless I saw the tweet or Facebook status, I may not have known when it went live. 

Seriously, thank you.

Beyond that, I have been so busy with finishing this new novel, as well as working so hard at the day job as I transition to the new position, that I haven't had the time to visit your sites. Hopefully you have seen me drop by recently as I play catch up. If not, say hello and I'll head right over.

Lastly, I want to offer my pal and author Stant Litore a shout out. I haven’t had the time to do much reading of late, but during this hectic time I did manage to read his fabulous novel, Strangers in the Land. You may recall me saying in the past that I don’t care for zombie novels, but with Litore that’s okay - that isn’t what he writes. Oh, there are most certainly zombies in his stories (in fact, there are literally hundreds of them, if not more), but I defy you to call him a zombie writer. He is anything but that. As he told me recently, "it's always about the living more than it is about the dead."

There are so many good books out there that we cannot possibly read them all. Sometimes I like an author’s work, but too many other books keep me from going back to take another bite, as it were. When the writer is brilliant or doing work that shakes the foundations of what has come before, I find myself running back to them. This is the case with Litore. I loved Death Has Come Up Into Our Windows and continued to be impressed with What Our Eyes Have Witnessed.

However, just when one might have thought that the bar had been raised too high already, I read Strangers in the Land. My friends, this one is epic!

The Synopsis: Four must stand against the dead. The aging prophetess Devora. Hurriya, the slave girl. Zadok, a legend among warriors. And the widower Barak, who has sworn to defend his homeland from a migration of walking corpses greater than has ever been seen.

Devora is all too familiar with the unclean dead. She was there when her mother was pulled screaming from her tent by zombies. And when her mother rose, famished for flesh, it was Devora's hand that ended her hunger. Now Devora has struck an uneasy alliance with those she fears most among the living. Yet the strangers in the land must stand together if they are to rid the land of its curse.

Litore really outdid himself with this newest chapter in his Zombie Bible series. I’m not sure I have the words to express how utterly impressed I am with it. It is easily his best work, and as I said before – the bar had been raised pretty damn high. It is truly remarkable. The story is sweeping, gut-wrenching and heart-breaking. Anyone who absently calls it a "zombie" story deserves a slap to the head. That is only a small part of what this book truly entails. The prose is perfect, very often reading like poetry and I wouldn't have changed one word. I told Litore that I wished I had written down some of his sentences to show you, but I was too busy in the adventure that is Strangers. The work is on the long side, but you won’t notice.

Whether you enjoy zombie or not, if you like intelligent stories that are dark in nature, you absolutely must do yourself a favor and get into this series. This one reads as if it were one of the unearthed Dead Sea Scrolls or some lost tome to be discovered long hidden in the depths of the Vatican Library.

Convinced yet? Well, how about this: the author tells me that What Our Eyes Have Witnessed can be yours free if you sign up for Amazon’s Daily Kindle Deals e-mail. Follow this link and begin the adventure. I keep coming back. I think you will, too.

Once again, I thank all of you for your support and encouragement.

We’ll talk soon.

Seeing Ghosts

I suppose you can say this whole thing began and ended with ghosts. Not all my life, of course, but only all that ever really mattered. Everything before meeting Angie happened simply to get me prepared for our life together. No real living had occurred until that moment. After Angie died, I was left only with ghosts. Now tonight I lie beside another woman who is not my wife, and who I have yet to touch. I marvel at her even, peaceful breathing as I stare at the awful ghost that sits calmly, but menacingly, near the foot of the bed.

Aunt Flora is dead and has been for several months. There’s really no reason on God’s green earth why she should be here, in my home, a place she’d never visited in life, but here she sits just the same, and I’m sure I know why. Perhaps it has everything to do with her not having a home of her own any longer, or because she’s lost her husband once again. She seems to grin at me as if she can read my thoughts.

Now she nods dramatically to say that she can, indeed.

“What do you want, Flora?” I finally ask, whispering. I try to be as quiet as possible. It seems like a useless proposition. Peace is an illusion to me at this point; like something so far out of my grasp as to be laughable.

“You know what I want, Paul.” Her voice is low and calm, but seems to reverberate against the walls. “You know very well what I want,” she says as the all-too-familiar lightning flashes outside probe into the bedroom and illuminate her. A gust of wind rattles the window briefly. It must’ve been the reason I awoke in the first place. I’m pretty sure it was just wind, but who could know at this point? In any event, there’d be no more sleeping.

And so begins my third novel. It is entitled Seeing Ghosts. Last week I finally revealed the beautiful cover that Author and Cover Diva Maria Zannini crafted out of thin air. In fact, I’m pretty sure the same muse that gave me the novel also paired the cover with Maria.

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. I hope this isn’t the first time you’ve seen this cover. I did my best to blanket the social networks last week, including sending out invites to the June release event. If you have just returned from a glorious week-long vacation…or perhaps I just did a terrible job and did not reach you, I hope you will use this link and sign up.

I am in the very last stages of the novel’s post-production. I am doing the last read through – and by that I mean I’m reading it aloud. I hate this part. It takes so long. *sigh* On the other hand I have used this time to add some final flourishes and have found some last minute corrections. Hopefully very soon I can begin to send out review copies.

I promise not to inundate you with excerpts in the few weeks we have remaining before the release, or thereafter. I will keep that to a minimum. I’m actually not one of those who likes talking about themselves all the time. Believe me.

In the meantime, I’ve got to get back to that post-production I was telling you about. Have a great week, and my thanks to all of you who have taken the time to share my cover or to invite your friends to my event. As always I really appreciate you all.

We’ll talk soon.

Seeing Ghosts Cover Reveal

Seeing Ghosts Blurb

Paul Herrera finds himself bequeathed a mysterious old house near the California central coast by a deceased aunt he never knew. The woman who shows it to him is the spitting image of his wife, taken from him three years before in a senseless car accident which also took his unborn son. While he deals with the ghosts of a past he cannot let go, there are new ghosts Paul must deal with - alone for the week in the expansive two-story house that he will soon discover holds many secrets. Eventually, he will see that he is surrounded by ghosts as he struggles to hold onto the only thing that he has left in this world - his sanity.

Well, Fire Enthusiasts, what do you think? After many years of reading and writing predominately horror fiction, I have taken the plunge and entered the paranormal romance waters. You may be surprised to learn that I’m more comfortable in this genre. I look forward to unleashing this new book upon you and seeing what you think.

I started writing the first draft of what would become Seeing Ghosts early last year. I finally felt ready to write a haunted house story after delaying the prospect for a long time. I really did not want to chart old and tired waters, but wanted to do something that I felt was fresh and exciting. I hope you’ll find that it is.

Although the story is mine, I owe a great debt to the wonderful and talented Maria Zannini for really bringing the book to life. I’m one of those who judge the book by the cover, so every hand, virtual or otherwise, that reaches for this book will be doing so because of Maria’s fantastic talents.

Seeing Ghosts is scheduled for release on June 5^th. I will begin sending out invites to the Facebook Event Page, but please feel free to invite yourselves now and share this with your like-minded friends. I’d be honored if you would.

My thanks to all who have supported and encouraged me along the journey to this point; thanks for taking this ride with me.

We’ll talk soon.

Another Week, Another Cover Reveal

Greetings, Fire Enthusiasts. I hope you're well. As the title indicates, this is week two of a three week stretch where I'll be revealing covers. If you missed last week, I revealed the new cover that we have put on my debut novel, Dance on Fire. That's my crossover vampire series where I explore whether a vampire can actually be used for good or not. This week I'm revealing the cover that we've just put on book two in that series. So with no further delay:

So, what do you think? A bit more professional looking? That, of course, means no disrespect to the good folks who worked very hard on the original covers. I just felt that I should really put in the effort and the finances necessary to convey a more professional look for my work. Each of my first two novels have received good reviews. They just haven't had the largest reach as of yet, and I hope these covers help them achieve that.

Next week, at long last, we will finally be revealing the cover for my newest book, Seeing Ghosts. I use the word "we" because many of my wonderful friends have kindly volunteered to become involved in this reveal. With any luck, the cover will be blanketed all over the Internet in the days and weeks ahead as we move toward the June release date. For those of you out there who don't mind a bit of horror, but much prefer a paranormal slant, you're in luck because that's just what I'm bringing you this summer. What's that? You like a bit of romance, too? Well then, such the better. Seeing Ghosts should be paranormal at its best - and include just enough romance to please everyone.

The synopsis: Five years after the death of their only child Tiffany, Steve and Angie Rosen receive an unexpected guest to their Morro Bay, California home: their daughter. She comes with a tale of having suffered a terrible head wound in the fire that took their Kingsburg home, causing her loss of memory and migraine headaches that force her to hide from daylight in order to prevent. Tiffany's reemergence is treated like Manna from Heaven; however, her story is only half true. Tiffany is a vampire and their daughter in name only. She sleeps during the day and hunts for human blood during the night, and has come back to enact a twisted revenge upon those who ruined the plans of her master, the notorious vampire, Vincent. And she is not alone.

Five years after the terrible events that reshaped the Swedish Village, Kingsburg lies unsuspecting as five vampires descend upon her with a great evil in their black hearts.
Five years after old wounds have finally healed and the old fires were thought extinguished, Police Chief Michael Lopez and Officer Mark Jackson and their families find themselves surrounded when fires blaze anew. The good vampire, Nathaniel, has pledged his service to these people, but he is no longer among them. He lives high in the Oregon Mountains near the California border, seeking whether God might have a place in His kingdom yet for him.

When Nathaniel discovers that Tiffany has returned, will he be too late to stop her? And will his desire to protect his friends destroy what God has begun in him?

When Nathaniel discovers that Tiffany has returned, will he be too late to stop her? And will his desire to protect his friends destroy what God has begun in him?

It will all begin with a Flash Point

I'm not going to take much more of your time here. I'm in the home stretch: Cover is done, Facebook event Page is ready to go and the edits are nearly complete. This week will see me move into the last read-through stage and then formatting for Kindle. You see, well in advance of the release date I will have the book up and ready to be sent out into the world for reviews. Speaking of that, if any of you do that sort of thing and have an opening, please let me know. I would love to send you a copy when its ready.

Alright, my friends. Have a great week. I'll get back to blog visits as soon as I finish all this work.

We'll talk soon.

A Brand New Cover for Dance on Fire

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. I come to you this week with what will be the first of three cover reveals in a row, all created by author and cover artist extraordinaire Maria Zannini. This week, I present to you a new cover for an old favorite. Dance on Fire has a new cover that I think better exemplifies the story within. It is horror, but at it's heart is so much more. It's getting good reviews, and I hope this new vision of the book will help catch the attention of a much wider audience. With no further delay, here's the cover:

Speaking of reviews, I just received this one a few days ago from author Tracy Krauss: "This is definitely NOT your typical vampire tale. ...The book is written from an omniscient point of view, so we often see inside the heads of more than one person at a time. It doesn't distract, though, like head hopping might normally do. For some reason it seems to work and I think helps us have more sympathy for the victims. If you enjoy paranormal tales, you will like this book."


Another glimpse into the fire:

Perhaps the tiny girl could sense the terrible evil which stood over her crib, perhaps not. However, as Vincent leaned closer to get a better look, she began to wail and wriggle much stronger than before. Unfortunately for the little girl, Mommy wasn't listening, nor could she do the littlest thing about it.

The vampire reached into the crib and retrieved the frightened young infant. Had she been a fish, he would have lost her as the baby tried to get away from the form that she somehow knew was most definitely not family, and certainly not Mommy. He held the child high above his head. Behind his purple lips, gleaming fangs hungrily protruded from the corner of his mouth. Slowly, confidently, they pierced the air between them on their way toward the baby's warm, vibrating little throat.

The vampire has heightened senses: taste, smell, touch, sight and hearing. All five are far more highly tuned to his world around him than that of his victims. He has better vision than that of a hungry eagle in search of a morsel from high above the forest. He can smell the presence of human beings faster than the deer can smell a mediocre hunter. Not only can the vampire hear a pin drop, but he can recognize the disturbance in the molecules as the pin slices its way through the air toward the ground. In fact, just one of these senses makes it impossible for the vampire to be taken by surprise.

Except by another vampire.

Therefore, when Nathaniel suddenly came out of nowhere and swept the baby from his hands, knocking him into the far wall in the same motion; he actually let out a cry of surprise.

Nathaniel replaced the baby in her crib and with but a touch quickly pushed the piece of furniture safely behind him.

“Nicely done, Nathaniel. I wondered when you might show yourself,” he added quietly, stepping away from the wall and running both of his hands through his long hair in order to get it out of his face. “Cliché, I know, but I taught you very well, indeed.”

“You taught me only to hate. And I hate you very much.”

Vincent sighed, and then took a threatening step forward.

“Remain where you are, Vincent!” Nathaniel commanded. “These are under my charge.”

“Oh, but Nathaniel, surely you don't think me gluttonous. I will gladly share them with you.”

Nathaniel made no effort to respond.

“Ah, but that is right,” he quickly interjected. “You don't feed on human blood, do you, Nathaniel? Such a pity. Cats and vermin!” he said with a dramatic shudder. “It makes you considerably weaker than I, you realize. In that instance, I guess I will have both!”

“No!” Nathaniel stood his ground.

“I will not be ordered around, Nathaniel,” Vincent said firmly, taking another step forward.

Nathaniel said nothing and made no effort to withdraw.

Two telephones began to ring in other rooms. No one acknowledged the ringing.

Vincent stopped. “Ah, you mean to challenge me. I adore challenges. It has been a challenge, my finding you. It has been a challenge following a cold trail across the globe.” Vincent stepped closer. “And now that I have you…” He stared his adversary down, menacingly. A moment later he reached out delicately with his left hand and lovingly moved a stray hair out of Nathaniel’s face. He whispered: “And I do have you, Nathaniel.” He lowered his hand back to his side and changed his expression again, this time to a look of intimidation. Then, he shook it off again.

“Just go, Vincent,” Nathaniel said, placing his hands on the back of the little baby's crib. In the background, the phones continued to ring. “It is still early. I trust you have more than enough time to acquire for yourself another meal.”

Vincent sighed again and smiled, turning his attention back to the nearest baby. They were each still screaming their lungs out, red-faced panic on their tiny faces. Something in that scene coerced a giggle out of him.

“So lovely!”

He reached down into the nearest crib and gently and tenderly caressed the skin of the baby boy's throat with his ugly discolored fingernail. The infant recoiled at the touch and did his best to move away.

“So warm!”

Vincent pulled the hand away from the baby and then, glancing dramatically into Nathaniel's eyes, stuck the caressing finger into his mouth and licked the scent from it. Down the hall in the kitchen, Barbara’s voice could be heard as the answering machine engaged.

“No more games, Vincent.”

Vincent turned his gaze back upon Nathaniel, his face devoid of expression. He appeared neither pleased nor angered. “It is so good to hear you speak my name again after all of these years.”

“It has been much longer than years.” There was a pregnant pause where Vincent’s name should have followed, but Nathaniel refused to satisfy the monster any further. “And not at all long enough.”

Next week, I'll showcase the new Flash Point cover in like fashion. The week after that will finally see the revealing of my new novel's fabulous cover. As you read this I am taking a break from the social networks and going over the edits for my paranormal romance, Seeing Ghosts. I can't wait to reveal that to you as well. It should be very soon. Dance on Fire can be found on Amazon where the e-book is only 99 cents.

We'll talk soon.