Friday, December 09, 2011

Met another fan!

I found out today that one of the copies at the Purple Cow bookstore sold yesterday. You can imagine how excited I got.

Well that excitement went into overdrive when I was at Wal-Mart. A boy came up to me, admitted he was the one who bought it, and told me he loved it!

I love meeting fans! THAT is what it's all about. Writing stories that entertain. Sharing characters who inspire and help others.

I LOVE THIS!

Thursday, December 08, 2011

Bite of Story Thursday

Night Children: Dark Threats
Chapter Two:


A twig snapped ahead in the darkened wood. Annabelle and Roland stopped in their tracks and stiffened. Two heartbeats pounded nearby and Annabelle silently chastised herself for not listening closer to the surrounding woods.


“Smell that?” she whispered to her brother.

“Yeah,” Roland agreed. “The breeze was blowing the other way before, hiding their scent. It’s them.”

Two familiar women hid just ahead. Menace oozed off of them.

“Who?” Tom peered into the dark wood fearfully.

“The witches, Tom,” Ann explained. “I need you two to run as fast as you can.”

“That’s not going to work,” Penelope said. Sixteen years old and completely devoted to evil, the younger of the two witches stepped onto the path with the much older Gertrude beside her. “Time to die.”

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

I GOT PAID!

Monday I had a surprise in the mail. My first royalty check from Amazon.com! I couldn't believe it. It was for the ebook sales for August, September and October.

I made more money in October than the other two months, probably due to the Blog Hop and speaking engagements. I need to schedule more of those, along with some book signings.

Anyway, this is exciting!

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Who's Who in the Annabelle Universe? Thomas Dunston

THOMAS DUNSTON


No picture at this time. Hopefully that will change someday.

Other names: Silly Boy


Name Origin:

English form of Greek Thōmas, meaning "twin."

Physical characteristics:

Curly blond hair. Red eyes. Small white fangs.

Age Chart:

He was turned at age 11. Every hundred years he ages one year. He actually experiences his years longer than normal humans. Vampire children remain that age emotionally and mentally, perhaps for self preservation so they do not go insane living as an adult trapped in a child body.

How he handles immortality remains to be seen.

Advancement Chart:

b. June 6th 1681 d. 1692

born a vampire 1692-

Age 11= 1692-1792

Age 12 = 1792-1892

Age 13 = 1892-1992

Age 14 = 1992-Present Day

No other ages available at the moment.

Personality:

Tom is fun loving. He likes to joke around and always tries to bring some humor to a otherwise stressful situation. When things are really tough, he'll be serious as well. He's fiercely loyal to Annabelle and Roland.

Abilities:

He has the standard vampire abilities. This means he’s faster and stronger than humans, his senses are extremely acute as are his reflexes. He can fly and turn into a bat. He can control humans through mesmerization and communicate with lesser beasts.

In later years he has shown the ability to transform into any kind of animal but how he learned this has yet to be told. Most vampires that have mastered transformation abilities can only become nocturnal creatures like bats and wolves. Thomas mastered the ability to transform into any animal. While in these forms he is still subject to all vampire weaknesses such as wooden stakes and sunlight.

Known History:

Thomas grew up in Jorgantown, Massachusetts along with his older brother Henry and his kid sister Polly. He loved adventure and often pretended to be a pirate or explorer. He decided to apprentice at the general store because he enjoys being around people. Tom likes to make others laugh and always finds humor in any situation.

In 1692 Annabelle and Roland Foresight arrived in Jorgantown from London. Tom became a close friend and was deeply hurt when he thought they’d been killed by wolves.

When he found out they were actually vampires he became very excited. Maybe due to his crush on Annabelle, but Thomas desperately wanted to become a vampire just like her. She swore to never turn him but thanks to unforeseen circumstances, she had to change him in order to save his life.

Thomas has been a faithful companion to Annabelle throughout the centuries. There have been troubles and challengers over the last three-hundred years. He has mastered some unique talents and tried to bring a smile to his friends during their darkest times.

As of this writing, his future is still a mystery.

Monday, December 05, 2011

synchronicity

Do you ever have one of those random moments of synchronicity where something happens that strangely links to a past event of your life? I did recently.

Last month my wife and I attended the annual Tooele Writer's Holiday Dinner.

Keep in mind, I've been with this local collection of talented authors since the first meeting at the local library. I showed up for that meeting because I wanted to meet local authors. After all those years of feeling like I was alone, it was nice to find others crazy like myself.

So I'm following the directions to the dinner when I stumble upon a shock. The author who is hosting the party just happens to live at Jeff Russon's house.

Who's Jeff Russon you may ask? Jeff was a 6th grade teacher for West Elementary ( a local elementary school).

After finishing my rough draft of what is now Dark Birth, I called the school librarian (an old family friend) and asked her if she knew any 6th grade teachers who would read it and give me advice. Jeff's name came up.

So with a belly full of nerves, I jumped into the deep in for the first time with this author job and called Jeff. He was thrilled to hear from me and we set up a meeting. It was in his kitchen I discussed my novel with the first stranger (not a friend, co-worker or family member). He read it, loved it but found oh so many things that needed improvement.

I eventually spoke to two of his classes. Jeff's an old friend now. He moved to Washington (the state) some time ago.

So imagine my surprise when I re-entered his house and even stepped into the same kitchen that started so much for me so long ago. I walked in there a self-published author, amidst other authors, for the purpose of a writer's dinner.

And the strangest thing of all? Dark Threats was on her shelf. In the same house where I swallowed my fear and took a chance at having someone look at Annabelle's story, her first published story sat on the shelf years later.

So weird. Cool. Awesome as all heck. But weird.