The Devil Returns with an Infernal Plot

Greetings, Fire Enthusiasts. It has taken longer than I thought, but the next chapter in my crossover vampire series is nearly ready. As of this writing, I have completed the edits that my wonderful editor had for me. All that is left is for me to do is to venture back into Writer's Cave and work through the painstakingly slow process of reading the book aloud - to make sure that every paragraph, every sentence and every word is just right. Today I have a teaser for you, hopefully to whet your appetite or capture your curiosity...

Nathaniel felt sudden remorse. “I apologize,” he said, but didn’t elaborate exactly what he might be sorry for.

“I don’t believe you,” she said quietly. “You don’t want me here. I am not welcome.” She leapt to her feet. “I don’t know why I bother.”

With that, she marched off into the woods and was gone. Nathaniel felt torn, but merely sat on the chair and waited for his clashing thoughts to clear, curious to see which side of the argument would emerge victorious. He didn’t know why she bothered, either, but tried not to worry about it. At least, that was what he told himself. After all, he had much larger concerns. Whether he would see Marie ever again wasn’t one of them.

What he could not afford to do was have her presence distract him from his mission, which was to seek God’s face and protect those under his charge. He had allowed himself to be unfocused too many times before when it had had mattered most.

Unfortunately, she had proved to be a distraction after all. The smell of sulfur hit him when it was far too late to do anything about it.

The chair beside him was no longer empty.

Satan sat there, in far finer clothing than even Marie had adorned herself with. He stared back at the vampire with the vilest grin Nathaniel thought he had ever seen.

“Greetings,” he said as he fingered the fedora in his lap. “You really have a way with the ladies, don’t you?”

Nathaniel bristled, but wasn’t afraid. It was far too late for that anyway. Satan had caught him unawares. And with an army of vampires well on their way, he never once considered the Devil doing anything but taunting him with that fact.

“Apparently so.”

“She is a fine woman, you know?” Satan chided. “There’s an opportunity there. Her perverted brother keeps her chained up inside that estate of theirs, while he does what he pleases like Caligula. Not really in chains, of course, but she may as well be. She just sits in that garden of hers.”

“So, she wasn’t lying about that?” Nathaniel asked.

“No.”

“And of course I can trust you to tell me the truth.”

Satan shrugged. “Believe what you want.”

“Why did you bring her here?” Nathaniel asked.

“Who says I did that?” Satan laughed before he could get the words out. “I’m sorry. It’s too much of a lie even for one as accomplished in the skill as me. She’s a gift.”

Nathaniel shook his head. “The level of your contempt knows no limits, does it? She is a person and not a thing to be given or thrown out with the trash.”

“She’s a vampire, but I won’t split hairs with you,” Satan countered. “So you do like her then. Good.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Yes, you did. Of course you did. She is my gift to you. Take her and do as you please.”

“Forget it.”

“And why not?” Satan asked. “You’re both alone. Why not be companions? Besides, I brought her here, but your God routinely turns things around for good, does he not? Romans eight; twenty-eight, I believe. Why don’t you ask God about it?” He leaned close. “Still not talking to you?” When Nathaniel didn’t take the bait, he sat back. “I see,” he said.

Eventually, Satan slid down in his chair in his expensive Italian suit and kicked one leg over the other. The moonlight leapt onto his polished leather shoes and held them far stronger than it had with Marie’s blouse. Nathaniel wasn’t surprised at the unearthly glow.

“Great shoes, huh?” Satan remarked, following his gaze. “It’s amazing how quickly they wear out. They last days at best.”

“It must be all the ground you have to cover,” Nathaniel said.

Satan nodded. “You would be correct.”

“Couldn’t you retire and see the world?”

“Ha!” Satan laughed loudly and some birds flew off the trees, making a loud ruckus. “Oh, I couldn’t do that. I have only my work. Seeing the world is not all it’s cracked up to be anyway. In any event, seeing it is a part of the job description.”

“Are there not wars being waged that you need to attend to? Famines? Mankind being woefully unprepared for the next hurricane, earthquake, drought, tsunami?”

“Yes,” he replied. “And infinitely more. However, I have everything covered, thank you so much. I have more than enough time for all of that, to handle what goes on here as well as what transpires in the central valley of the State to our south.”

Nathaniel blinked, but said nothing. He crossed his arms and did his best to fight the urge to take his sword off of his lap and run the Devil through with it. If only it were that easy.

“What’s the matter?” Satan asked. “Don’t you worry about Barbara and her children? Especially with Michael being here with you?”

He said nothing.

“No, of course you worry.” Satan nodded. He took his hat and set it back on his head. “You shouldn’t bother. Soon there’ll be nothing to worry about.”

Nathaniel began to pray in his mind, but showed no outward appearance of it.

“Stop that!” Satan ordered as he climbed to his feet. He threw an arm out as if tossing something away. “I was afraid you were going to start praying!” He spun around and faced him.

If Satan became riled and decided to kill him, there was really very little he could do about it, he knew.

“Look around,” he spat. “What has God done for you? I mean, really? What has he gained you?”

Nathaniel stared up at the Devil. This was perhaps his defining moment and he knew it. His chance to stand in the face of the greatest threat to God and man, and declare his allegiance. Satan leveled his cold, dark eyes at him, as if he fully anticipated what was coming.

“I am nothing without the Lord.”

Satan sighed and merely smiled. “Soon, you will be only nothing.”

If this is the first you have ever heard of my series, I hope you'll take a look at the first book, Dance on Fire. The e-book can be had for 99 cents at any of the major e-book stores. Here's the Amazon link. The series is definitely crossover or edgy, if you will. I don't label it Christian, though the themes are obviously present. You're going to find some language and a whole lot of blood being shed. Sometimes you will find your nose in the stuff. On the other hand the horror isn't so gratuitous that it turns all except the die-hards away.

Anyway, I hope you'll like it.

We'll talk soon. 

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.

             

What kind of monster are you?

Greetings, Fire Enthusiasts. Considering it's October and we're building up to some very cool events for Halloween, I thought I would post a bit more frequently than I typically do.

The following is a slice of my first novel, Dance on Fire. It's the story of a vampire who unwittingly becomes a part of a family, after saving a mother and her twin toddlers from the notorious vampire who turned him centuries before. The woman is a Christian who comes to believe that there is good in the vampire, and that God can still use him. He disagrees, convinced that undead flesh has no place in God's kingdom, no matter what he does. Barbara is convinced, however, and her persistence begins to seed doubt in Nathaniel's mind.

It is the book that kicks off a crossover series. I promise not to hit you over the head with the Bible, but I do use it to flavor my story. This isn't your mother's Christian fiction as you will see, so I'm careful not to label it that way. It is horror, and if you like dark fiction, I hope you'll give it a look. I have edited it down here for the sake of time...  

4:20 a.m.

Lainie Bishop had had an extremely rough week. It had begun with two police officers, that she had known well, dying horrible deaths during her shift. She remembered speaking to them, and a short while later, they were gone. It had taken her a couple of days to get her legs back beneath her. She missed work and didn’t speak to anyone, not even Jeremy. She had only been seeing him for a few weeks, and although she could definitely feel the love beginning to swell between them, she needed some time to heal from the pain of losing those officers that she had been responsible for. Both he and her dad phoned her several times a day during the entire time that she had been off. It bugged her, but she could never be mad at either one of them so she endured it. Her dad phoned a couple of times last evening as well, so she finally drove over and had dinner with him before she went off to work.

It was not something that she had spent any real time deliberating about, just a back of her mind kind of hope that she could simply get re-acclimated with one quiet and by-the-numbers kind of night. She knew that the city was being supported by members of other police departments, and that was going to be more work for her, having all of these patrol cars crawling all over town. Still she hoped for the best.

Unfortunately, on her first real night back behind the desk, she was hit not only with chaos, but well more than that. Now, she found herself being sent home.

She pulled her 2000 Volkswagen Beetle slowly out of the parking lot and her eyes followed the front entrance of the police department as she slowly crawled forward toward the street. Just then, she noticed a tall shape on the sidewalk. Anywhere else she may have ignored him and continued on her way; however, although she was being ordered off the premises by Detective Lopez, that did not make her any less an officer of this city, and she would continue to do her part. No matter what.

“May I help you?” she asked, opening the driver side window.

“I sincerely hope so, my dear,” the odd-looking man said. “I am looking for four adults, one child and two babies.”

4:45 a.m.

Michael Lopez surveyed the blinking lights and listened along for radio traffic. There wasn’t much. He had lowered the volume so that it would not distract them from any local noises. He was surprised that not one of the multiple patrol units or even members of the fire crew had attempted to make any form of contact with the dispatcher. Since the current dispatcher was no doubt making plans to curl up in bed for the approaching day, and the fact that he was too exhausted to fill in for her, he was glad that no one seemed interested in following them.

“Michael,” Nathaniel spoke up. There was a directness to the tone.

“Yes.”

“It is time.”

Michael spun. The vampire had found them. He was staring at them through the thick glass at the front entrance, his nose pressed firmly against the glass. He stood there like some statue that high school kids had removed from a rival’s park and placed there to scare the graveyard dispatcher.

“Shit!” Michael whispered.

“My sentiments exactly.”

4:48 a.m.

Vincent continued to stand unmoving against the glass front door, staring at the occupants of the room like that statue. Nathaniel studied him. The sunrise was about an hour away, but he did not seem to be concerned about the time. Perhaps he simply knew that he had more than enough time to accomplish whatever it was that he intended, which was no doubt as black as his shriveled heart.

“Go back with the others!” Nathaniel ordered.

“No!” Michael replied. “I’m not going anywhere!”

“Not you.”

Nathaniel didn't turn around, but could see as Michael did so to catch his partner who was now standing against the door frame at the mouth of the hall for support. It was Mark that Nathaniel had been addressing. He had sensed him join them.

“You are not yet ready,” Nathaniel said.

“Would you like me to come back tomorrow when I am, or the next day?” Mark replied.

Nathaniel heard him take a few more steps into the room, no doubt to get a better look at Vincent. He did not answer his sarcasm. It was true that it might take every one of them to subdue Vincent in order to destroy him once and for all.

As if on cue, Nathaniel saw Vincent begin to move. He was retrieving something from his right pants pocket. It took him no time to remove the set of objects and to begin to try each one until he had found the magic one which would do the trick.

Nathaniel saw Michael creep closer to the large front window which separated the Dispatching Center from the Lobby and strain his eyes to see what Vincent might be doing. The glass was five feet high from counter to ceiling and twelve feet across from north wall to the pedestrian door on the south. Michael stopped when he reached the counter. “What’s he doing?” he asked.

“He has keys,” the other two in the room answered in unison.

4:58 a.m.

At long last, Vincent had located the correct key, turned it in the lock and gained access. Before entering fully; however, he leaned toward the ground with his left hand and retrieved something. Michael could not make out just what it was. While Nathaniel held his ground beside him, Michael glanced nervously from door to door, deliberating and calculating in his head whether or not he believed that the last door between them and the vampire might hold. It seemed too much to hope for.

When Michael tore his mind away from the what if’s and what might happen, Vincent had reached the other side of the large lobby window.

“What’d he just drag in here?” Michael whispered the question. He waited for the reply, but none came. “Nathaniel?”

“You may wish to turn away.”

With still surprising little effort, Vincent reached up and slammed an object against the glass. Michael cursed in horror as the lifeless body of Lainie Bishop struck the glass with her back and head. The blow did nothing to the thick bulletproof glass, but it collapsed several of the plates that had once made up her beautiful skull. There was a sickening squashing sound as some of the contents inside were loosed. Yet, there was very little blood.

For good measure, Vincent pulled her down and slammed her three more times in some sick, twisted rhythm as if she were simply the door knocker of an even larger castle.

“She did not seem pleased that she was being sent away,” Vincent broke the silence between them. “So I decided to invite her back inside.”

“My God!” Barbara cried as she entered the room just in time to witness the carnage. “What kind of monster are you?” she screamed, unable to hold back her outrage at the sight of the dead woman’s hanging limbs. Whatever blood she had remaining stained the glass in dark splattered rivulets.

All three in the room turned to look at her as she did so. Michael wondered just the same thing. Though he and Mark had already seen and tasted some of what the vampire had been capable of, only Nathaniel really knew what the monster was like.

Michael swallowed hard.

For it was all there—the proof of the monster Nathaniel considered Vincent to be—written so clearly in the stark horror on Nathaniel’s face.

This scene takes place at the end of the novel. In Dance on Fire: Flash Point (book 2), the vampire Tiffany returns five years later to enact revenge upon Nathaniel and his extended family. I am currently in an editing stage on book 3 in the series, and hope to have it published early in 2015. All my books can be found on Amazon.

The e-book for Dance on Fire is only 99 cents at Amazon.

We'll talk soon...

The Devil is Alive and Well

“What is that?” Luis asked, trying to compose himself while his body seemed bent on bringing up the remaining undigested contents of his stomach.

“One of our brothers,” Nathaniel stood and said.

“What?” Luis managed to ask. “But how? Who?”

“I am uncertain.”

Nathaniel was out of sorts. He was as confused as he had ever been in his life, going back all the way to his home in Cimpulung, Romania. The object at his feet was clearly a burned human form, and one of the monks of the monastery. How he had been dispatched was unclear. There was no wind about them, though the monastery was high in the mountains. It was as if everything was dead - human, animal, plant, atmosphere – everything.

“What’s that other terrible odor?” Luis asked.

“Sulfur,” Nathaniel answered. And then he began to wonder.

“Sulfur?”

“Yes. It used to be called brimstone.”

Greetings, Fire Enthusiasts. *glances around, sighs* Still summer, huh?

This is the traditional end of summer weekend, and how I wish it were Halloween already. At least then the heat would be long gone. If you enjoy summer then I hope the season finds you enjoying all that is left. Me? Not so much. That's central California for ya'. *grins*

I led off with a snippet of book 2 in my Dance on Fire crossover vampire series. The series that begs the question whether a vampire can be used by God. It's not a Christian novel, necessarily, but it does ask those questions and plays along those lines. The reviews have been good for Dance on Fire and Dance on Fire: Flash Point. I'm sitting on book 3 at the moment, patiently awaiting word from my betas as to how I'm doing so far. I've actually heard from one of them already, and she couldn't be happier. She says it's my best so far. That's always great to hear. It does have a title that I am not yet ready to reveal. The amazing Maria Zannini is also whipping up her cover magic at the moment. I'm still taking my time and hoping for an early 2015 release. We'll see... 

Cautiously, they walked inside the monastery. The sound of the door opening and closing behind them was loud. The monastery, which had always been a place of quiet reflection, now reminded Nathaniel of a crypt.

He would soon hate himself for having thought so.

When they turned a corner they stumbled upon two more smoldering heaps of human remains. In the candlelight they could make out more of the details, but it did nothing but succeed in making them further sickened in both stomach and heart—and for good reason. Not only did Nathaniel fully expect to see more of these, but now he was certain that Luis might be the last of his brothers left alive.

At the end of the corridor, there was another.

They walked through a doorway and were met by yet another. Luis covered his nose with both hands. They began to walk faster now. Their footfalls echoed harshly against the stone and wood building.

Outside the sanctuary, they found another. They had to slide it out of their way in order to open the door. When they did, they found precisely what they expected to find. The place was filled with rolled up charred remains. In the light of the sanctuary, the smoke and heat could be seen wafting off.

“My God!” Luis whispered.

“No, it isn’t.”

At the front of the sanctuary was a figure. At first glance, he appeared to be a tall man with a medium build, although he stood with his back to them, his hands clasped behind him. “I know you’re not referring to me,” he laughed. “But I appreciate the sentiment.”

The man wore slacks and a dress jacket. His dark hair was slicked back. The candlelight reflected off gold jewelry on several of his fingers as well as his left wrist.

“You know,” he continued, but still didn’t turn around to face them. “There’s something about this architecture that I’ve always liked. I don’t know what it is. I guess it’s familiar.”

“Whatever happens,” Nathaniel instructed. “Do not speak.”

Luis turned as if to ask why, but Nathaniel gave him a sharp look. He turned back just as the figure before them turned. He was still holding his hands behind his back.

“That’s right, dear Luis. Don’t speak. Truth be told, none of your brothers said anything either and it didn’t save them. Who’s to say what may happen?”

The reason I'm offering up what happens at the end of book 2 is because it is a fantastic tease as to what will be the entirety of book 3. Satan is not pleased that there is a vampire seeking God and thwarting his plans at seemingly every turn. It gets under his skin, as it were. And he will not put up with that...

“What do you want?” Nathaniel asked.

“What do I want,” the figure mimicked. “Hmm? I wonder. No, wait. I know. I want you to stay out of my affairs!” With those words, he swatted a smoldering ball of remains that was on the pew beside him. It rolled along the pew and collided with another, causing both to fall onto the wood floor. “I want you to quit killing my creations! How’s that? Is that clear enough for you to understand?”

“I have only become involved when it had to do with my friends.”

“Not true,” he said, and his voice was suddenly lacking the vile anger of just a few moments before. “When you leaped through that nursery window and interfered with my son, they were not yet your friends.”

Nathaniel saw Luis out of the corner of his eye. The man looked awestruck, but he couldn’t worry about that now. It was obvious, however, that Luis knew who this was.

The devil walked up the center aisle and stood before them in all of his twenty-first century splendor. He was impeccably dressed in a double-breasted grey suit, grey slacks and black Italian dress shoes. He removed his hands from behind his back and clasped them before him.

“So,” he said. “You boys have done well: four vampires dead. And let’s not forget about Angie.”

Nathaniel said nothing.

The devil looked away as if remembering something. “Make that five vampires. I forgot about Mark.”

The devil tried to tempt Nathaniel into reacting negatively. He wasn’t taking the bait.

“I mean, those were your bite marks on his neck, right?” he sarcastically asked.

“Yes,” Nathaniel answered through clenched teeth.

“I’m sorry,” the devil asked. “What was that?”

“Just what is it that you want, Devil?” Nathaniel asked, trying to get the conversation away from that nerve that the devil had begun to scratch.

The devil straightened up his posture. “I really don’t like that name,” he said. “I prefer Satan. You may call me that.”

Nathaniel said nothing. He knew enough about the devil from what he had read in the Bible to know that he needed to speak as little as possible. Anything more and he risked getting drawn into something that this evil force might be able to use against him, or risk becoming angered such that all of his control might be lost. As it was, things were tenuous at best.

And Satan knew that.

“What may I call you, is the question.” The Devil walked up to Nathaniel and didn’t stop until he had come before him, nearly touching his nose with his own. “I created vampires. You are a vampire. I imagine that you won’t quibble with this. That must make you my son. What do you say?”

So there you have it. I took a break from the series and these characters I have known so long when I wrote Seeing Ghosts. I was pretty burned out. It was such a wonderful break that I came back to my series, renewed. I wrote 143k words in four months. Soon I will take another pass at it before sending it off to my fantastic editor, Natalie G. Owens. If you have yet to sink your teeth into the books, I hope you'll take a look at them and give them a chance. Perhaps you'll like them enough to get caught up before Satan steps out of the shadows and attacks the vampire Nathaniel and his extended family with all that he has up his diabolical sleeve. Get the e-book that starts it off for only 99 cents.

Have a great September.

We'll talk soon.

Dance on Fire...3?

Happy mid-September, Fire Enthusiasts. It's very cool to see you here. You should know by now how much I appreciate you dropping by. There are millions of other sites you could be visiting. It humbles me that you chose this one, whether you leave a comment or not.


I'm pleased that fall is fast approaching and summer is losing its dominance as the season of the power. Of course you know I'm not concerned over winter's arrival since Central California winters are mild. Thick fog is the only worry here. If I had to shovel snow every morning I might be mourning summer a whole lot more than I am.


Thank you to all who visited last week. If you missed it, I'm all about the music, so I celebrated classic albums that just had to be played from beginning to end without skipping a song or two. Lots of people agreed with me, but many shared albums that they would have listed. I love that! I'm still trolling iTunes, hunting for many of those to add to the 7000+ songs on my iPod. See, I told you I was all about the music! It's not too late to join the discussion. You'll find the post just below this one.


As for the day job, I'm still working way too many hours. There's a possibility that they may be shortened a bit, but if it does happen it won't be for a couple months. *crosses fingers*


I have been faithful to my trusty treadmill. In the summer I found myself at 187 pounds. *laughs* "Found," he says. Okay, what happened was I spent every free moment during the spring and summer with book promotion and wasn't paying much attention to the garbage going in the tank, or the amount of hours I was spending sitting on my [CENSORED]. It took about a month to reverse that situation. I have been consistently below 180 now. Sunday I hit my low of 177 pounds. I eat and drink what I want, but know that I have to work it off. It's all about portion control and watching/reducing the amount of garbage that goes in. I was power-walking/running 3-7 miles as often as I could, much of that time in the late afternoon after work when it was 100+ degrees. The treadmill sits in the garage, so it wasn't fun. That's another reason why I can't wait for cooler temps.


I'm working on the outline for my next WIP. It's still early. So much of that is me doing nothing but spending my days allowing the ideas to percolate. This will be book 3 in my Dance on Fire, crossover vampire series. I know where the characters are, how many years later it will be, and some of what is begging to tale place. I just need the plot to clear in my mind and for that said-plot to excite me. When it excites me, that's when I will begin. It's getting there. If you are unfamiliar with this series allow me to explain...

Nathaniel is a vampire, wanting nothing more than to have a place to rest his head. He has often wished for death, wondering why God ever allowed this punishment: to walk the earth undead and unable to be redeemed. Does God remember the little boy from Romania who watched his parents die, was raised by the murdering vampire, only to become one himself? What does God think of Nathaniel and could there yet be redemption for one outside of heaven?

As you can see, my series is a crossover, marrying the best features of classic horror with the Christian themes of good conquering evil and redemption. I try not to hit my readers over the head with the church stuff. I just figured that if I was going to be adding to the vampire mythos, I needed something a little off the beaten path. It's getting good reviews. If curiosity gets the better of you, the e-book can be had on Amazon for 99 cents.

We'll talk soon.

The Reviews Are In

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. It's practically mid-November as I pen this post. Are we ready for the holidays? Are you a fan? I am. Definitely. You most likely will not find me on-line much the day after Thanksgiving because I will be decorating. Yeah, some horror writer, huh? You would have thought that Halloween was more my time of the year, but it isn't. No. I am all about Christmas music; decorative lights, both inside and out; drinking my coffee out of Christmas mugs; etc. Last year, my regular followers may recall how I was sick for two weeks. Hopefully this year will be different and I will be able to enjoy the time. I hope you will, too.

I’ve been doing a lot of promotion of late, since I have the second book in my Dance on Fire series just out and have been posting several teasers. I will be doing more of this as I attempt to convince thriller, suspense, paranormal and horror fans to come along for this ride. This week, I thought I would let some of my reviews do the talking…
 

“This truly was a spectacular read… The first thing that struck me about this book was the author’s prose. It’s beautiful, almost poetic, but not overly done. It has a wonderful flow and rich descriptions that will draw the reader in, immersing them in mood and setting. You won’t find one-dimensional characters here. Not only did I enjoy reading about each one, but I cared what happened to them. Dance on Fire is a mysterious page-turner that moves along at a fast pace. This story is a well-balanced blend of horror and suspense, and though it’s referred to as a Christian crossover, the religious undertones were subtle enough that they won’t encroach or offend those with…different views.” – Adriana Noir, Author of Requiem: Book of the Fallen.

“I cannot wait for the next book from James Garcia Jr. This book may have taken him 20 years to write, but it was well worth the time he put into it. I cannot recommend this book enough. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would.” – Author Lisa McCourt Hollar.

“What Author James Garcia has done is he’s taken two genres: horror and crime and blended them magnificently. It reads like a cop thriller yet has the special excitement that one can only find in a horror novel. Fans of both genres will be glued! I don’t want to give too much of the story away but I liked that the two vampires had a relationship as well as a past history which makes their depiction all the more interesting. I guess what I liked best of all was the theme of good and evil, and the inclusion of God in this well-written story. Too many times I feel this vital ingredient of good vs. evil is left out of many vampire novels. This is fast paced and tense. I liked the time element that the author uses because it tightens the pace even more. Lastly let me commend author James Garcia, because in his adept hands he has made this thoroughly engrossing novel an exceptional read.” – Carole Gill, Author of The House on Blackstone Moor.

“I loved how the author has you immediately pulled into the story. Though a good sized book…there is a wonderful pace to it which keeps you reading, drawing you into the story with every word. You’ll find yourself quickly immersed in the story…The plot is superbly written. I loved how it also took the form of a mystery while you follow the detectives trying to solve the bizarre murders. You won’t be disappointed in the growing tension which builds up to a dramatic climax. Don’t let the genre titles of horror or Christian put you off, if you love vampire stories, you’ll enjoy this book!” Jen Wylie, Author of Sweet Light.

“From the very outset I enjoyed this book. I liked everything that I read. As a writer myself, I would not have changed anything. I particularly loved the start. You do not need to be told that this guy is bad news. From there on it never lets up, and keeps you wanting to read right up the ending. Well thought out and well crafted. I look forward to more.” – Mathew Bridle, Author of Emun of Mor. 

“I thoroughly enjoyed Dance on Fire and found it totally absorbing, a terrific distraction from my ordinary life. The plot was skillfully developed and strung together with such grace, I wasn't really sure what was going to happen in the end until the conclusion. Garcia teases the reader in a variety of directions, and, like any good mystery, although you search for clues, nothing is revealed until the end. I liked the treatment of the vampire as both light and dark, and this book dealt with both sides believably.”  - Angela Love

“I originally was drawn to this book simply based on its setting. What I found, however, was that this author brings such a depth to his characters and a unique perspective to the storyline, it makes it difficult to find a stopping point! I loved the way he weaves vastly different genres together so harmoniously that, rather than being ridiculous, leaves you thinking outside the box. I can't WAIT for the sequel! – Trish Barbarick

“Mr. Garcia has taken the oft over-drafted "Vampire" story to a new level. I was enthralled with the storyline and characters. Being somewhat familiar with Kingsburg, I found myself drawn even deeper into the action as I could picture myself at the exact locations. The bridge between vampirism and Christianity was an intriguing twist in the book and I thoroughly enjoyed each and every page. I certainly look forward to the sequel and future works by James.” – Glenn Murphy

“I love what James Garcia, Jr. has done with Dance on Fire. The characters are drawn with depth and substance. Garcia has a gift for dialogue that “shows” more than “tells” the reader about the characters. I was also struck by the imaginative storyline which builds tension to the dramatic, bittersweet climax. Garcia mixes a horror thriller with deep suggestions about the nature of grace and providence and leaves you thinking about these concepts long after the book is finished.” – Pastor Ed Esaki, Kingsburg, Ca.

“Characters with substance that get inside your head and don't let go. A literary ride that was exciting and enjoyable. A must for lovers of the Vampire genre, anyone who has ever spent a day or more in Kingsburg, California, and those who just love a good book.” – Micheal Graham

“The book was captivating. I was drawn into the characters. Even within their mundane lives that were soon to be turned upside down, they had depth to them that really pulled you into their world. The scenes were very detailed as well: some of which you wish there would be more left to the imagination. But it wouldn't be a horror story if it didn't have the gory details. Great read! Looking forward to the sequel.” Cassia Pabis

“This book (is)…very different, very detailed and leaves nothing on the table, and Vampire enthusiasts will not be disappointed. The book brings Christianity and Vampires on a collision course and I loved it. The one trait I look for in a character or characters is determination. And Nathaniel and Vincent fill the pages with this purpose and the author does it brilliantly and not many can web together multiply themes and emotions. Garcia did it beautifully.” – Vince Considine, Author of the forthcoming horror thriller, Unable.

“I really got into this book because of the characters, they were well developed and believable. The action is intense and relentless. An epic tale of good vs. evil. I don't want to put any spoilers out there, but a "couple" of the characters had me baffled and I am hoping to read the sequel very soon to see what happens. Well done! I can't wait for book 2!” – Erik Gustafson, Author of Fall Leaves and the Black Dragon.

“What a pleasant, pleasant surprise. I truly enjoyed this book. James gave vampires an entirely different view to me. I immediately fell in love with Nathaniel; captured as a child, imprisoned and then turned against his will. His life changes the day he saves Barbara & her babies’ lives. This story not only showed how evil & despicable a vampire could be, but how wonderful, God worthy people they also are. You have drama, mystery, horror…just intense suspense, plus spirituality - nothing over the top - but just enough to make the story work really, really well. Highly recommended - will be thoroughly enjoyed.” – Liz Cabrejos

"Many thanks to all who have posted reviews. Everything helps. For those who are reading my work and will be posting reviews in the not-too-distant future, allow me to thank you in advance.

We'll talk soon.