The A to Z Challenge! K is for Kyle Jordan

K is for Kyle Jordan
Kyle is the protagonist in my novel Multi-Mart.  He's a quiet boy who constantly gets teased at school. He has no friends and is an only child. His parents constantly argue so he hides away from everything in his comics.

 After school he flees from a bully right through an unseen doorway. Here is what he sees (remember, this is a work in progress so this scene might be changed at a later date)...

 

Multi-Mart

Chapter Two: Welcome to Multi-Mart, How may I help you?

 

Kyle screamed and the old lady alien stepped back, startled.  His eyes focused on his surroundings.  He stood in a large foyer.  Metal grating covered the entire floor.  The walls appeared to be thick crystal and the ceiling rested fifteen feet above.  It seemed to be made of crystal as well because it glittered as rainbow colored light reflected off it.

The light came from behind him.  Strange doorways seemed to open and close, each one framed with multiple colors.  If he wasn’t so scared, he’d admire their beauty.

He screamed again when he saw what came through the weird portals.  Something gurgled from a fleshy lump where its head should’ve been.  Eight tentacles pulled the thing through the glowing opening, which closed at once. 

Kyle couldn’t run fast enough.  With that thing behind him he had no choice but to bolt forward.  He passed the old alien lady in the blue vest and into the larger open area.

She sighed and replied in a bored voice, “Whatever.  Welcome to Multi-Mart.”

It was brighter here.  The ceiling and walls ended, revealing a building so big that he couldn’t see the end.  The new ceiling rose at least twenty feet.

At the front of the large warehouse-type building was an impossibly long row of noisy machines.  Each one had another short grey alien, grabbing small items and passing them under a device.  Lines of creatures stood by the machines, some placing other items on small black conveyor belts.

Rows of long shelves covered the entire floor.  Each one loaded with various items of different shapes and sizes.  Kyle quickly ducked between two. 

He bent over and put his hands on his knees.  His shoulder still stung but he was alive.  As he tried to catch his breath he took a second look around.

It all seemed terribly familiar to him.  Lines of beings, each completely different from the others, waiting while grey aliens checked... no scanned each item.  Every E.T. wore the same blue vests and each had a badge with their picture on it.  Most ran the machines, registers?  Others stocked shelves and some wore red on their badges and moved to the other grey aliens anytime a light above one of the strange cash registers would blink.

Like lightning it came to him.  It was Wal-Mart.  Yet so different.  A store for aliens? 

 

 

----

 

I'm not sure what happened to the formatting there but that is the general idea. Kyle winds up in a store that caters not just to aliens, but the entire Multiverse. This means that any universe could conceivably connect to this store. Both Annabelle's and Eli's worlds will appear in the novel, as well as many more. Kyle will have to save the store from a mad dictator. He'll make friends and learn about himself along the way.

More on this with the letter M.

 

 

 

 

 

The A to Z Challenge! J is for Janeen

J is for Janeen.

 

 

Janeen is my long suffering wife. She's my partner, my best friend, my support, my love and my soul. All throughout my struggles as an author she has been there for me. She has cheered me during my greatest triumphs, shared in my joys, helped in my endeavors and lift me up when I was at my lowest.

 

 

How could I possibly share my writer's journey without giving her credit? When the sky is the darkest, she shines her light into my being and shows me the way.

 

 

Thank you my sweetheart. Thank you for the last 21 years. Here's to many more to come.

 

 



The A to Z Challenge! I is for Incredible Artwork

I is for Incredible Artwork.  Yes, I realize I'm stretching things a bit because A should stand for artwork and I could have said I is for Invisible Man but this way I can show off the great art others have done for me.

I love it when people do pieces for me. It tells me that my stories have touched them enough to inspire them.

These two pictures are by Ian Watson. He did them for me on the Tales of the Parodyverse website where I used to post small stories.

These two pictures were done by Adam Diller. Adam is a very talented artist whom I also know from the Parodyverse site.

 

 

Adam also did the cover art for NIGHT CHILDREN: DARK THREATS

 

 

And here are two pictures by a real fan! Elizabeth Hansen did these for me...

 

 

It means a lot to have people actually spend time on artwork of my characters and worlds. I love them all and hope for many more someday.

 

Thanks again guys!

 



The A to Z Challenge! H is for Hawke

Like last week, we get a letter that gives us a bite from the story NIGHT CHILDREN: DARK BIRTH. H is for Hawke.

"Who is Hawke", you may ask? Hawke is the dreaded vampire hunter whom crossed paths with Annabelle and Roland in 1692 and again in 1714. He is one of two men whom successfully gives the vampire Annabelle daymares.

Chapter Nineteen: The Courage of Hawke

She didn’t want to face Hawke.  If she never saw him again, it would be too soon.  Unfortunately, Annabelle knew she wouldn’t be that lucky.

Within the week she was proven correct.  After a successful hunt, she and Roland sat on a log near the outer northern boundary and drank from two dead foxes.  Angry shouts drew their attention towards the barrier.

“After everything we’ve seen, I’m almost afraid to check anymore.”  She stopped at a large clump of bushes near the barrier’s edge and knelt down.

Roland joined her.  “Not me.”  He always worried her when he didn’t say much. 

Her breath caught at the sight of Hawke.  Defiantly standing within a clearing just outside the shimmering barrier he brandished long twin swords.  The weapons were made of thin metal and each had long black handles.  Annabelle saw a picture once when she worked at her father’s book binding business.  She thought they were called katana swords.

Hawke grinned with wicked insanity.

A male vampire stood beside Penelope.  Their backs faced Annabelle and Roland.  Behind Hawke towered a Sasquatch.  Surrounding him on both sides were four more vampire men she’d never seen before. 

Servo stood a ways off by a tree.  His face split into a yellow smile that didn’t reach his frightened eyes.  “We have you cornered, hunter.  The Master will reward us greatly for your death.”

Hawke laughed and Annabelle’s blood curled.  “Talk is cheap, ghoul.”

The four unnamed vampires charged and Hawke sprung to life.  He slashed wide with his swords; one vampire was cleaved in two from the right shoulder to the mid section.  He dissolved to ash before hitting the ground.  The other lost his head.

A third vampire bit Hawke’s arm but the vampire slayer slammed the flat of his sword against his attacker’s face.  He spun around and slashed off the vampire’s arm.  Another one punched Hawke five feet into the Sasquatch’s waiting arms.  Hawke dropped his swords as the towering creature squeezed him.

“Break him!” Servo commanded from the safety of the bushes.

“I will.”  The one who punched Hawke rushed forward. 

Hawke smiled and pulled out a strange silver blade from his long, dirty coat.  It reflected the ivory light of the moon.  Shorter than his twin swords, it had a thick tip that tapered down to its hilt.  A flick of a latch and two smaller blades sprung out from either side.  The weapon resembled a warped cross. 

Shock followed shock.  Hawke spun the weapon backwards and jabbed deeply into the howling Sasquatch, then pulled it from the creature’s gore.  The hulking beast fell back to touch its wound. 

His arms free, Hawke slashed upward, severing the charging vampire’s head at the neck. 

With his other arm free, Hawke whipped out three silver stars and flung them at Servo.  The creep screamed and ducked.

“Enough,” Penelope sneered as glowing sparks shot from her fingers and lit up the clearing.  Hawke dived, leaped and jumped out of the way.  Penelope kept sending blasts of magic at him but he didn’t stop.  He used his weapon to slice another vampire in two.

Hawke sneered. “You’ll all pay for polluting God’s earth.”

“Stop him!  Stop him!” Servo screamed while hoping up and down.

Hawke dodged various blows from the last unnamed vampire.  It was the one who lost an arm, but it didn’t slow him down.  Annabelle could almost swear Hawke was playing with him.  He ducked and cut, but only left minor wounds.  “After I kill the rest I think I’ll let you live, Guardante.”

“Why?”  A trace of hope flashed in Servo’s wild eyes.

“So I can use Hell-Slayer here to carve a message to your dark master.”  The hope melted into fear. 

Annabelle pulled on Roland’s arm, “Come.  Let’s leave before he sees us.”  Roland didn’t budge.  He watched Hawke’s moves with deep curiosity.

“Roland, please!”

“I want to see how he does it.”

“Does what?”

Hawke slashed off the last vampire’s head, rolled on the floor to miss a crippling grab from the Sasquatch.  He picked up one of the swords he’d dropped. 

“If we have to survive Dominic’s attack, I want to learn how.”

She hadn’t thought about it.  Hawke survived years fighting not only hordes of creatures, but Dominic himself.  He still scared her, but she started to notice something admirable about the hunter.  He stared certain death in the face and laughed.

Hawke drove his sword through the Sasquatch’s chest.  The monster gave an anguished howl, and then dropped to the ground, dead.  She felt sorry for the beast. 

She looked up in alarm as magic exploded across Hawke’s back.  His coat on fire, he writhed on the ground while strange red lightning crept over him.

“Witch!”  He threw a silver star her direction.  It came close enough to cut her cheek and break her concentration but the damage was done. 

Hawke rolled on the ground and let out a moan.  He stood up, placed Hell-Slayer in its sheath and picked up his other sword.  A large open hole in the back of his coat revealed deep, red scorch marks.  “I’ll be back.  Sure, I can’t heal like you filth.” For the first time she noticed fresh cuts that bled through his torn clothing.  “But I will return.  I’ll make sure you die like all those witches in Salem.  You’ll see.”

As a human, Hawke could enter the barrier any time he chose.  He wouldn’t be able to see it or even know it existed, but it didn’t matter.  He could return anytime.  The thought chilled her bones.

Annabelle’s heavy heart beats slowed once Hawke disappeared into the woods and Servo left with Penelope, but any of them could return at any time.  They had to take their training more seriously.  The threats were building.

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For more check out Dark Birth at your local online store. Links to Dark Birth on the web can be found on the Store Page on this blog or you could just go here, Dark Birth on Amazon.

The A to Z Challenge! G is for Ghosts

G is for ghosts.  I am not ashamed to say I believe in them. I've seen too many strange things in life not to believe. I've even felt things that I'll not share here, but lets just say I can never deny what I experienced.

Said private experience was enough to inspire me to begin a novel. Long after Myths became a forgotten/ stored away concept and before I discovered Annabelle, something happened in my life that effected me deeply. I began to write a novel I call Spirit Story which would chronicle the fate of two teens. One would experience life as a ghost, ignoring the tunnel, and the other would enter the tunnel and cross over. I even read a lot of books on NDEs (Near Death Experiences).

One day I'll return to Spirit Story. Maybe not for awhile but I do plan to get back to it.

I can tell you of an experience I had about ten years ago.

Our house has two stories. It's now a hundred years old and we even have an old coal chute so it's seen a lot of history. Ten years ago my youngest was very little. We slept in the finished basement to be near him if he needed help at night. He had a hard time falling asleep by himself so one night I laid down with him. His door was open to the hallway. I was drifting off to sleep when a woman in white passed the room to go upstairs.

This upset me a little because I'd just gotten him asleep. I carefully climbed out of his bed and left his room only to stare in shock. My wife was still downstairs, asleep in our bed. I went upstairs but found no one there. I'm not the only one who has seen this mysterious lady. My kids and even my wife have seen her. With some research, my wife discovered the woman was a school teacher who lived in our home decades ago.

That is only one of many experiences. So yes, I believe in ghosts.

Here are some spooky pics...

Interview on Anna's Blog

I was interviewed on Anna del C Dye's blog! Come see!

We spoke about Dark Birth and I answer some great questions.

Thanks for this opportunity Anna!

The A to Z Challenge! F is for Farnalla

F is for Farnalla

Eli the elf comes from a world called Farnalla. See Farnalla is just like Earth, except two things.

1) It's devoid of humans. There are all sorts of wild life, but no humans ever existed on that Earth.

2) Pangaea broke up differently and the continents took different shapes.

Long ago all the mythical creatures such as elves, fairies, dwarfs and even a small colony of humans all crossed from Annabelle's Earth to the world they call Farnalla. Then each species of mythical creatures separated into their own nations.

Some, like the elves, fauns, centaurs and fairies populated the western continent while the dwarfs, ogres, minotaurs, trolls and giants populated the eastern continent. The dragons flew off and took their own world.

Myths takes place centuries after the Great Farnalla Exodus, when a new generation live in a world where magic has given them all the wonders that science has given us.  

I created maps showing the various ages of Farnalla but I've since changed my mind on things. These maps are inaccurate now, but I'll post the current one anyway, show show you a peek behind the scenes.

The A to Z Challenge! E is for Eli the Elf

Vampires are not the only things on my brain. I'm a fan of several things, including fantasy books and movies like Lord of the Rings and Narnia.

Way back in the eighties I had an idea for a band of mythical characters trapped in our world. I played with the idea and mapped our various versions of the story. After I wrote Annabelle's rough draft, I  decided to become an author and share all these ideas. It was only natural that my mythical story would be one of the novels I'd want to write.

Today E is for Eli, the main protagonist of my novel Myths.

Eli is your typical teenage elf. He lives with his mom and younger brother. His dad used to train both his sons at archery. As an elf, Eli has a natural skill with the bow. He has a creative streak and has bought several pre-set scroll spells from a local merchant. He then fixed them onto his arrows to give them an extra kick.

Eli's family was happy until they got word that his father was killed in the war. Since that time he has withdrawn a bit. His mother hasn't helped the situation because she constantly compares him to his father, stating that he should be more like the heroes in their family.

All this has given Eli the desire to leave on a quest with his sorcerer apprentice friend Mark. Said quest will lead Eli not only to the other side of their world, Farnalla, but to another world.  He and his friends discover a mythical place only told about in fairy tales and horror stories. A place where only humans dwell. A place called Earth.

Here are some elf pictures I've gathered from the web...

The A to Z Challenge! D is for Dominic

Of course how can I resist? I must show off my main villain.

D is for Dominic Pratchet. He's the youngest son of the first vampire, Lilith. He's the dreaded monster lord whom all either obey or suffer his eternal wrath.

He's been known by many names over the centuries. His real name is Domi but for a time he took over from a famous figure in history and took the name Dracula. Yes, he's THAT Dracula.

I don't have any artwork of Dominic but I have collected various pieces that to me shows kind of what I imagine the tall dark demon of Annabelle's nightmares.  Here are those pictures:

And don't forget to pop over to Antagonize Me for their interview with Dominic!

The A to Z Challenge! C is for Capture

C is for Capture!
More specifically, a scene from NIGHT CHILDREN: DARK BIRTH where Roland gets captured!


Chapter Twenty-Five: Wild Blood Man

He woke in chains.  If he could see the position of the moon he’d know how long he’d been unconscious, but he sat inside a closed up traveling box.  Although it was completely black inside, his nocturnal eyes had no trouble seeing everything it contained. 

Thick wood paneling stood up on all four sides and the top, blocking out the sunlight.  He would’ve thought he might be inside a small building except he could feel it moving down the road. 

He pulled at the silver chains but they wouldn’t budge.  The metal felt too hot to touch.  Despite his overwhelming exhaustion, Roland forced himself to try to turn into a bat.  If he was small enough to slip out he might be able to fly to safety.  Nothing happened.  He tried to calm his frightened thoughts and focus again, but it still didn’t work.

Wildes Blut-Tier was sprawled against a corner of the room.  His blazing red eyes watched Roland silently. 

Looking away from those eerie eyes, Roland started to take in his surroundings.  There were strange traps hanging all over the walls.  Some looked like bear and rabbit traps, but others appeared more fiendish.  He then noticed the piles of animal fur.  Many of them were from animals like foxes, wolves, and bears.  Other furs seemed to come from animals he’d never seen before. 

A sasquatch skin caught his eye.  He wondered if Fenroth had a hard time killing it. 

Roland noticed something even more peculiar.  What looked like human sized insect limbs swung from the ceiling, swaying back and forth with the movement of the carriage.  Mysteriously large fish scales rested in a corner, glinting with an emerald hue.

Roland spotted the werewolves, Set and Hades, deep asleep in their cages.  For a moment he felt pity on them.  He shuddered at the thought of being trapped as a wolf forever. 

Wildes wasn’t the only one watching him.  A single crow eyed him sadly from its cage by the door.  He thought such a harmless bird didn’t belong in this place of horrors.  An empty bunk covered in fur and surrounded by strange weapons and traps rested in the back of the wagon.  That’s where Fenroth must sleep.

Henry rested against the wall beside him.  Relief briefly washed away fear when Roland saw his friend’s chest move slowly and heard Henry’s heartbeat.

He gently nudged him with his leg and whispered as quietly as possible, “Henry, wake up.”

“Whu...?”

“Don’t scream.  Fenroth will stop the carriage.  Are you all right?”

Henry pulled on his chains but of course they didn’t budge.  Roland had no success so he knew a regular human wouldn’t have any luck.

“Roland, I’m glad you’re here.  Charlie got me while I was sleeping.  He knocked me out with a shovel.  My head still hurts.”  His face white with fear, he kept trying to pull free.

“It’s useless.  How did you wind up here?”

“Charlie must have carried me into the woods, but I woke up and kicked him.  He dropped me, so I started to run but I heard Polly calling for help.  It startled me enough for Charlie to knock me out again.  I woke up here.  Can’t you change into a bat and escape?”

“Nope, but I’ll keep trying.”

He felt the carriage bump and realized it must’ve driven off the main dirt road.  Suddenly it came to a grinding halt.  He heard the sound of people climbing down the side of the wagon and then walking around.  The door opened, and Roland caught a peek outside.  A faint pink glow briefly illuminated the black interior, causing Wildes to squint and whimper.  It was almost dawn. 

An Indian girl entered, followed by Fenroth.  He closed the door and gave Roland a self-satisfied smirk.  “Better get some sleep.  We’ve got a long journey to the Master’s secret lair.” 

“Dominic told his servants we were off limits.  You’d better let us go.” 

Fenroth let out a big, deep laugh.  “The Master warned you to remain behind the barrier.”  He casually walked to his bed.  The girl sat on a small pile of skins.  She appeared roughly sixteen years old. 

Fenroth gave a toothy smile.  “He said if you left, you’d be fair game.”

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For more check out Dark Birth at your local online store. Links to Dark Birth on the web can be found on the Store Page on this blog or you could just go here, Dark Birth on Amazon.

The A to Z Challenge! B is for Bats!

Today on the A to Z Challenge:

B is for Bats. I love them. They flutter and hang upside down and are so cute in their fur!

Of course my affection for bats really started after Annabelle came into my life. Every vampire author has to be Anne Rice. They all have to say that vampires turning into bats is silly. Well I way "Why? Wouldn't there be far more story if you show that ability and the good and bad of it?"

Anyway, here are some bat pictures I collected on the web...

Antagonise Me features Dominic!

The website Antagonise Me is featuring my big bad guy, Dominic Pratchet! Check it out!

A big THANK YOU to Virginia S Grenier for the opportunity to feature Dominic!

The A to Z Challenge! A is for Annabelle!

Welcome to the first day of the A to Z Challenge! I'm excited about this because it's a chance to have a post every day!

I could have picked a theme and for the most part I'll be showing you my worlds and characters, but some times I'll break away from that. I didn't want a theme to hamper my creativity.

Today's letter is A.

Of  course who else could I feature but she who started it all. The vampire child that did what no other character in my head could. She somehow convinced me that I should share her story with not just a small group of friends, but the world, making me take chances I never before took.

As the main character in my Night Children series, Annabelle Foresight has had blog entrees devoted her who she is, her story and life.  But seeing as the A to Z posts really should be special, I want to do something different.

So for this time only, I will share with you art and photos that I have customized. They are not mine and if the owners of the original pieces complain, I will remove them. But for now I want you to have a glimpse into my head, over eight years ago, to the various pictures I customized. I used these to help think of Annabelle and focus on her character.



These are all Kirsten Dunst in the role of Claudia, the vampire child from Interview With a Vampire. That was the movie that inspired me to create Annabelle in the first place.

Hope you like them.

Talk to you tomorrow.

E is NOT for Easter

Happy Easter! I hope everyone had a good one. And for those of you who don't celebrate it, I hope you still had a great day.

My kids are older. My son painfully waited for the teens to wake up. We goofed around until it got late enough to wake up the teens. Then they looked for the eggs and thier baskets. Later on we saw the Host. My sweetheart stayed home cuase she's not feeling well.

I'm post poning Who's Who in the Annabelle Universe and Bite of Story Thursdays for a month becuase of something bigger.

Starting tomorrow this blog will take part in...

Yes, I'll be part of the A to Z April Challenge.
Each day I'll post something that starts with a letter of the alphabit. With Sundays excluded, there will be enough days of the month to include each letter. I'll show pics that inspire me, never before seen pictures as well as story bits for your enjoyment.

Watch this space. It all starts tomorrow.

Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling by Mark Frauenfelder

Mark Frauenfelder over at Boing Boing has a great article about Pixar and their 22 Rules of Storytelling.

Some great concepts are included.

Bite of Story Thursday

Night Children: Dark Birth

Chapter Thirteen : The Shopkeeper

Eliza spoke up in an almost hypnotic tone, “Try to focus.  Look him in the eyes and focus your will.  Push your desires over his.” 

Annabelle did just that.  She took a deep breath and looked deeply into his hate filled eyes.  She repeated, “I would like to buy this doll.  Please.”

The storeowner blinked and nodded his head.  He rang up the doll and told her the price.  Annabelle placed some currency on the counter and then walked towards Eliza with a broad smile on her face. 

Roland stepped forward and pointed behind the man, “Can I have that ball, sir?” 

“What’s going on?  How did that girl get that doll?  Who are you urchins?” 

Roland tried to focus. “The ball, sir.  Give it to me.”  His face scrunched up with concentration.  Annabelle suppressed a giggle, but when the storeowner ignored him and stormed over to yank the doll out of her hands, she blanched.

“Give me that, you stupid urchin!” He raised his arm to hit her but in a blur Roland grabbed his arm.  The storekeeper’s eyes widened with shock.

“Roland, stop!”  Before he could bite down on the man’s arm, Annabelle pushed her brother back.  Roland’s body smashed into a display of dishes.

As he stood up and brushed the broken plates off, Eliza scolded him. “We don’t feed on mortals, remember?” 

“He couldn’t hurt me,” Annabelle chimed in.

“My dishes!  How can you urchins move so--” Eliza silenced the storekeeper with a stern glance. 

The minute Eliza’s eyes locked with Roland’s, his defiance melted to shame.  “I’m sorry.  I thought he was going to hurt her.” 

Annabelle hugged him. “Thank you for caring enough to try and save me.” 

The firmness in Eliza’s voice grabbed their attention. “Roland, next time control your temper and focus.  He cannot harm us.  He has no wooden stake or any other weapon.  To properly mesmerize someone you must push your thoughts over theirs.  Push your will.  Now try it.” 

“Mister Shopkeeper, it’s not nice to bully others.  You should be more polite.” 

The man mumbled the word, “Polite.” 

“Now please go fetch that red ball.  Yes.  Thank you.”  Roland placed the money on the counter and continued with his practice.  “Now forget you ever saw us and... leave.  Yes!  Leave town.” 

“Roland, wait.  You can’t just tell him to--” 

Annabelle’s voice must’ve broken the trance because the shopkeeper’s eyes opened wide with terror.  Eliza spoke up quickly.  “The trance I put him under has completely broken.  He can see us for what we truly--” 

“You’re vampires!” His face white with fear, he shouted, “Vampires are in my shop!  I’m going to die!  Help!” 

 

 

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For more check out Dark Birth at your local online store. Links to Dark Birth on the web can be found on the Store Page on this blog or you could just go here, Dark Birth on Amazon.

And the winner of the 3rd Annual Lucky Leprechaun Giveaway Hop is...

Melinda Dartmann! Congrads Melinda! I'm waiting for a new set of Dark Threats to arrive in the mail. As soon as they get here, I'll ship yours out to you.

Sorry it's taken me awhile to announce the winner. Things have been crazy around here lately.

Watch this spot for future giveaways.

Special Repost: Who's Who in the Annabelle Universe? Dominic Pratchet

DOMINIC PRATCHET

 

 



This is the closest I have to a pic of Dominic
"Vampire: The Masquerade" developer: Nihilistic Software publisher Activision
artist:(if you know the artist, please let me know so I can credit him or her).


Other names:
Domi (original name), Vlad Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, Domhnall (Gaelic), Dominicus (Latin), Dominick (Old English), Dominik (Czech and Polish), Dominique (French), Domonkos (Hungarian)

Name origin:
DOMINIC: "Belongs to the lord." English name derived from Latin Dominicus. This is a name traditionally given to a child born on Sunday. His mother Lilith named him this as an insult.

DOMHNALL "World ruler." Gaelic name composed of the elements dubno "world" and val "rule."


Physical characteristics:
Tall, commanding presence, night-black hair, red eyes, and sharp white fangs, pale and radiant. Usually wears black suits, sometimes with a cape.

Abilities:
Dominic possesses the abilities of all vampires, only perfected with thousands of years of experience. This means he’s faster and stronger than humans, his senses are extremely acute as are his reflexes. He can fly, turn into a bat, wolf, rat and mist at the very least and has complete control of others through mesmerization, perfecting it at a lever beyond any other vampire.


Known History:
The vampire known as Domi seems to be as old as history itself. He has been behind all the terrible events of history and an advisor to various rulers through the ages. Throughout many cultures and eras there has been rumors of a powerful lord of the night who commands dark armies. His grim goal has always been to rule the world, turning a portion the population into food stock for those creatures he has deemed fit to survive. He has had many names, some lost through history.

Much of his personal history is shrouded in mystery. The vampire Annabelle has told me that she knows more and at the proper time she’ll reveal it to me. As the chronicler of her stories I’m extremely intrigued.

I have so many questions; if he’s so old, how come he hasn’t taken over yet? What is this Exodus War he was tied up in? How can he be the famous Romanian ruler Vlad the Impaler if we know Vlad wasn’t as old as Domi is supposed to be? What is his relationship with the Falabranwyn because every time he shows up, they do as well. Why does he have so many wives and who are the Three Queens? Who are the Seven Tyrant Lords? Why did he speak of future events as if he knew them?

I suspect we’ll find out together as Annabelle’s story continues.


Stop Being a Spoiled Brat by Chas Hathaway

Here is a great article on just writing. Just getting off your but and realizing that procrastinating till the "right" moment never works. Just do it.

It's from Chas Hathaway on the Author's Think Tank site. Give it a read.

Bite of Story Thursday

Night Children: Dark Threats

Chapter Four: 1899
How To Catch An Invisible Man

The new-fallen snow glittered under the bright moon like the unseen stars above.  The Foresight Coven House had a large front yard, showcasing the snow’s white beauty 

The white blanket seemed magical.  It almost felt to Annabelle like the snow wasn’t normal.

She ignored the silly thought and relaxed on the porch swing.  A new book rested on her lap while Charlotte snuggled under her arm. 

“Next year I’ll finally turn nine.”  The child vampire said with glee.  “I’ve been eight for a hundred years and I can’t wait to be older.”  She tried to make her voice deeper when she said ‘older’ but failed.  Ann suppressed a smile.

Memories flooded Annabelle’s head.  She remembered the night she woke after living a hundred years as an eleven-year-old.  Her body hurt and she had to relearn some abilities, but it was glorious to finally age.  Sure, others would still treat her as a child, but she was slowly catching up.

As long as Annabelle could remember, people were amazed at how mature she behaved.  Working with her father in his bookbinding business at a young age helped her mature a little faster. 

People assumed she was ignorant, so she simply worked around that obstacle.  Now, after two hundred years of people looking down on her, she couldn’t imagine anything else.  It simply meant more opportunities to prove them wrong.

She watched Charlotte beam with enough excitement to light the world.  This little one will have the same life as Annabelle, resetting expectations with everyone she meets.

Charlotte continued, “Selina said she’ll start letting me help with their pranks but Samuel said I’ll still be too young.”

Her soft voice began to whine, “I don’t want to wait another hundred years Annabelle.  Can’t you tell them I’m old enough?”

“I’m sorry but the last thing I want is another vampire prankster sneaking around.” 

Charlotte’s pale face scrunched up into a frown.  Her cherub cheeks dropped a little, her tiny mouth curled up and her big eyes pooled like a forlorn puppy.  With her blonde hair in ringlets framing her angelic face, Charlotte resembled a sad porcelain doll.  “Aw but I’d be good.  I promise not to nail your coffin shut like they did to Roland.”

Annabelle couldn’t stop a laugh from escaping.  “That was pretty funny.  Listen, I’ll consider it, all right?”

The child’s eyes lit up like the moon.  “Hurray!  I can’t wait to tell the others.”  She flew out of Ann’s arms and five feet into the air.  A light giggle escaped her lips as she sped through the front door, almost clipping Roland’s ear.

“Hey!  Why’s she in such a hurry?”  He crossed to the wooden banister and leaned back against it.

“She wants to start pranking once she Advances.”

He rolled his eyes.  “Oh no.  Not another one.  The twins have been tricking me for two hundred years.  I can’t take another one of them.”

She laughed.  “The big bad vampire pirate is afraid of a couple of children?”

“Evil children.  Last week they filled my cape with molasses.  Molasses, Annabelle!”

 

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