Beta Time and a Time Out

Our view for a couple of days.

Greetings, Fire Enthusiasts. It's August, and another hot month for those of us in Central California. Summer is my least favorite season, so I'm simply biding my time until Halloween when it will finally be cool again. On the other hand, I am reminded that we don't have to shovel snow here, so one could see why I don't dread winter.

Well, as promised I have completed enough of my latest book to place it into the hands of a few wonderful beta readers. It's basically in the 94% finished range. I have some minor research opportunities to add some depth here and there, not to mention anything that the betas think I need to do to improve it as a whole. I really don't anticipate having to do too much in terms of plot, character development, etc., but we'll see. Then it will be off to the editor, but I'm not in any hurry. Taking time off allows my mind to wrap itself around the novel in such a way that I come up with little tidbits to add, or to recall plot twists or webs that could have been tied together much better than they were. At the end of this post I'll show you my working synopsis and allow anyone to be a beta reader for that, if they so desire.

A year ago I could not imagine being away from work for very long. I had just transferred to my new location and, as a kind of acting manager, felt responsible for everything that went on. Perhaps it was all of the 12 hour days this year, but I finally pulled myself away. As I pen this post I am completing a one week vacation, and not once did I worry about what was going on in my absence. I did take my company cell phone, but basically only monitored the goings on.

And I thought teenagers slept a lot?!?

This lion was huge when it got up moments later. And the growls they make? Yikes!

We drove from the Fresno area down to beautiful San Diego and stayed there for a couple of days, before driving up to Anaheim for the rest of the trip. Sadly, we did not visit Disneyland this time. We go quite a lot, so it wasn't so bad. *weeps* Originally, the plan was to stay in San Diego. That was until my 16 year old began searching for baseball games in the neighborhood, and found the freeway series would be in full swing with the Dodgers visiting the Angels. In any event, here are some photos of San Diego, our visit to the zoo, the game, and anything else I might decide to throw in.

I just had to see the Flamingos. :)

They had 2 babies. The youngest was 6 feet when it was born!

Beside the USS Midway which is now a museum, there is a park dedicated to that wonderful generation. It's a must see.

Our view of the Dodgers 2-1 win over the Angels. Sadly, I was keeping one eye on the Cubs score until it got out of hand (13-4). *sigh*

Okay, for those of you who have yet to read any of my crossover vampire series, let me set the stage for you. In Dance on Fire, Nathaniel is the "good" vampire. He knows that he is undead flesh, and because of this fact, is keenly aware that he is outside the kingdom of God. He meets someone who doesn't believe that, especially after he saves her and her family from certain death. He and his nemesis cross paths after many decades apart and battle it out in my hometown. In book 2, Dance on Fire: Flash Point, five vampires descend upon our hero and his extended family to exact some twisted revenge upon them all. Now, in book 3 (title to be revealed soon), the world's ultimate villain is back to destroy Nathaniel once and for all. Here's the synopsis. I'd love to hear your thoughts...

The devil is alive and well.

The vampire Nathaniel lives in the mountains of Oregon, seeking God and keeping a watchful eye on his friends and extended family, and keenly aware of this fact, having met Satan once before in the flesh.

Robbie and Rebekah Lopez are special, and have been since that fateful night Nathaniel saved them from another vampire. As teens, they should be concerned with only their studies, interests and friends. However, they know they are marked, and must be ready for any threat. To do so, they keep constant contact with Nathaniel as they watch over their parents, Michael and Barbara; brother Jerod; and Aunt Vanessa and her daughter Grace. They are all that is left.

They have yet to meet the devil, but they soon will.

It is Satan who has orchestrated the destruction and ruin brought upon them from the very beginning. And he’s not done. He has been setting the stage for his ultimate revenge. At long last, the devil will step out of the darkness and the shadows, with an army of vampires and an infernal plot to finish Nathaniel off for good.

And anyone who stands with him. 

If you have yet to pick up my books, I have the links on the side of the blog. The first ebook in my crossover vampire series is only 99 cents. I'd appreciate it very much if you grabbed a copy and gave me a chance. I think you'll be pleased.

I couldn't end on a sweet note, could I? 

In any event, 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.

The Dance on Fire Chronicles

Hello, Fire Enthusiasts. How have you been? Are the holidays treating you well? I hope so. They can be a trying time, can't they? I wish you all the very best: good health, someone to love and to be surrounded by family and good friends.

I just discovered that I had had a few more positive reviews to add to my collection while I wasn't looking. That's always...wonderful. So, while I await the edits on the sequel to my crossover vampire novel, I thought that I would share them with you, along with the synopsis for each book in what we might be calling The Dance on Fire Chronicles. I don't know about that yet; not sure I like it or not. If you've got something better, I would love to hear it. Seriously. Let's make this place as interactive as we can, huh?

"There are some elaborate reviews (on the Smashwords site), so I don't think I need to add my own. Instead, I'll just say that this is my favorite Vamplit Publishing novel. Read it! You will love the characters, especially the vampires, and the storyline is more than enjoyable." Author Wendy Howard.

The following is the synopsis for my debut, "Dance on Fire":

Each May, the Central California town of Kingsburg celebrates its Swedish heritage with the annual Swedish Festival: a weekend event where the town puts on its traditional dress, culminating with a dance around a Maypole on Friday, and a Swedish pancake breakfast and parade on Saturday. The town with a population of over 11,000 residents draws thousands more to the event. This year, two uninvited guests also converged upon the unsuspecting town.

Nathaniel is a vampire. He wandered into town, bothering no one; feeding upon stray cats and other vermin, wanting nothing more than to have a place to rest his head. Vincent is a second vampire, and the one responsible for "making" Nathaniel. He has been searching for his long lost “son” for well over two centuries. Vincent’s goal is to take Nathaniel home or kill him. Nathaniel 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?

Ten days before the start of the Swedish Festival the most tumultuous week in the history of Kingsburg has begun with two vampires leaving death and destruction in their wake. Kingsburg Police Detectives Mark Jackson and Michael Lopez, Barbara and the entire Lopez family find themselves drawn into something that threatens to destroy them all or leave them scarred forever.

In a marriage of the classic horror story and the Christian themes of good conquering evil and redemption, "Dance on Fire" is the account of characters being drawn into the fire and the supernatural forces around them watching as they burn.

"I didn't like this novel at first because it started out like a choppy crime novel - you know where you get a piece of the story for each character and it goes back and forth with short paragraphs. Eventually the writing became elegant, especially when the flashbacks and vampire details were included. I enjoyed that quite a bit. I thought it was a strange combination though. It took a while to get into it, but I did end up liking it in the end." Julie from Goodreads.

Now, you might wonder why I posted Julie's review. It's because I liked it. She didn't jump up and down, shouting from rooftops that she had just read the most brilliant book ever; however, she didn't hate it, either. I choose to latch on to the parts where she wrote that the writing was "elegant" and the fact that she "liked it". She gave the story a chance, which is all that one can ask. The fact that she liked it when it was over is a win in my book. I hope many more will give it a chance as well.

The following is from the forthcoming sequel, tentatively titled, "Dance on Fire: Flash Point":

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 she must hide from daylight in order to prevent.Tiffany's reemergence is treated like Manna from God. However, her story is only half true. Tiffany is a vampire and no longer the daughter that the Rosen's missed so much. She sleeps during the day and hunts for human blood during the night, and she has come back not to be reunited with her parents. She has come back to enact a twisted revenge upon the town of Kingsburg and 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?
    
It will all begin with a "Flash point".


Vamplit Publishing is hoping to bring this second chapter of my story to you in early 2012. When it does, you will be the first... Okay, I'll be the first, but then you guys. *grins*

We'll talk soon.