An Army of Vampires

Season's Greetings, Fire Enthusiasts. I hope the season finds you well, and well taken care of. I'm doing fine. I'm still working crazy hours for the most part, although not nearly as bad as in times past. As I pen this post, I am enjoying the last of my Thanksgiving break: four days away from the day job. I'm already looking forward to taking two weeks off at Christmas... 

In between everything, I have been hard at work on my latest work in progress. I'm working toward finishing draft three of Dance on Fire 3. You may have already seen the title as well as the cover. I'm not actively promoting it yet, but haven't exactly been secretive about it, either.

I'm aiming for a very early 2015 release, and then hope to spend the year promoting it as well as all of my novels. I don't have any plans to start writing the next thing, but we'll see. I say that because 2014 has been my best year so far. I'm still working on making a dent into the on-line markets, but in the mean time have been doing really well at home. I live in a small town and have had many opportunities for events. Considering I have set my novels either here in town or in the general area, I feel I have a built-in demographic that I need to continue to focus on. That's what I have been doing and it seems to be paying off so far.

So, while I'm hard at work on the new book, I've got a very short excerpt for you.

Where are we?

In Dance on Fire, we met the vampire Nathaniel. He saved a family from the notorious vampire Vincent, but somehow that family may have saved him. Believing himself to be forever excluded by the kingdom of God, the Christian wife and mother he meets is not convinced. The result is the vampire begins an incredible journey of self-discovery as he seeks whether God may have a use for him.

In Dance on Fire: Flash Point, we find Nathaniel living among monks in the mountains of Oregon. God has not spoken to him, but Nathaniel continues to seek his face in the hopes that he will. When five vampires descend upon his extended family, seeking a terrible revenge, Nathaniel races to save them before it's too late. In the novel, we find that the devil himself is alive and well, and none too pleased that one of his creations is seeking God.

In the next chapter, we find Satan has been plotting to end Nathaniel once and for all. He has set the trap and planned his scheme perfectly. He need only to flip the switch. And flip it he does.

In the following excerpt, a new vampire visits Nathaniel. Is she friend or foe? We must wait and see. She shows up at the monastery with advanced warning... 

Nathaniel stared at Marie, but said nothing.

Marie, for her part stared back, and seemed to wait for him. “What are you thinking, Nathaniel?” she finally asked. She didn’t approach.

“I am wondering what your presence here means,” he said. “As honored as I am to meet you in person, I worry you have not come alone.”

Marie breathed deeply. “You’re right to worry. I have only come with attendants, but vampires are indeed on their way here.”

“How many?” Nathaniel asked.

“All.”

“All?” he repeated.

“All of them,” she said. “They’re all coming.”

Nathaniel sighed and looked off into the distance. He saw the same view he’d seen for a decade, but it no longer appeared to be anything else but a shade. A shade that once pulled would reveal an army sent to utterly destroy everything that he considered good.

“Why have they come to destroy me?” he asked, approaching. “What have I done?”

“I don’t know,” she said.

“That is no answer, Marie. Forgive me, but I think you do know. You are under no obligation to tell me, but I pray you will. What have I done? What have these men behind me done? We have been here many years and have been nothing but honorable to anyone we meet. For the most part we simply are, worshipping God in our way, searching for His guidance and glory. What have we done to offend you?”

“It isn’t me you have offended,” Marie found herself saying. “It is Satan who comes against you.”

Nathaniel sighed. “I should have guessed. Why will he not just leave me alone?”

“You have met him then?” she asked.

“Yes. He came here once and killed everyone. I am haunted by the smell of the dead. Not a day goes by that I do not recall burying my brothers.”

Marie seemed to hold her tongue.

“Yet he comes with an army of vampires?” Nathaniel asked, contemplating what was being foretold to him. “Why do my kind rise up against me, my Queen? And why have you come to warn me?”

“That is a good question, and one I am uncertain of,” she answered.

Nathaniel waited, but although he thought he had a great many questions to ask of her, none seemed to come save one.

“How much time do we have?”

"Perhaps a day," Marie said simply.

So there you have it. I'm going to get back to work, so I can get this thing released. If you have yet to read book one, please follow this link and pick up a copy. The e-book is available at amazon for 99 cents, and is getting good reviews. I hope you'll give it a chance. It's a crossover, so you'll get a good mix of horror as well as Biblical themes. I promise not to hit you over the head with any one of those.

I want to wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a fabulous New Year.

We'll talk soon.