Book Two is Finished... again!

Last Friday I finished the principle edits on Night Children: Dark Changes! All those nasty edits brought on by strong advice I did not want to hear but needed to listen to, and those edits made a great deal of difference.

See, I held onto some early story concepts that I stuck with ever since the original first draft. Way back in 2005 when I was writing what would become the first half of book one and most of book two (then one single over large story). After Book One became it's own thing, several thinks remained for the sequel. I really resisted changing some of those things, even though my beta readers proclaimed them "too dark".

Well I needed a long break. A break spent last year focusing on other stories. Once I reached my personal deadline, I returned to Book Two and saw for myself the beta readers where correct. At first I was lost as to what to do but my long-suffering wife pointed out a simple solution. Why didn't I see that in the first place?

I set forth to make the necessary changes and now it's "finished" and sent off to several beta readers. Does this mean it's truly done and I can format it for ebook publication? NO! I don't trust it. It needs these reviews and it might have to go through even more edits.

But at least I've reached a tiny milestone.

Now back to writing the rough draft for Myths...

Happy New Year, Readers Young and Old... a message from Rick Riordan

Here is a link to a wonderful message from my current favorite author, Rick Riordan. He's the author of the Percy Jackson books. Whenever I read one of his books not only am I sucked in and can't get enough, but I feel an overwhelming desire to write. He inspires me.

Now I've struggled with a few writers about who my readership is. I feel the closest to a Middle Grade audience. That's 9-12 but honestly it could go a little higher. Maybe it's because I'm still a kid at heart but I can relate with their fears and I hope my books reach out to them on some level.

Rick Riordan puts it best in his article... http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/2013/01/new-years-thoughts-redux.html.

My favorite part is this statement...
"Just because children are the protagonists does not make it a children’s book." I wish people who say all books with kid protagonists HAVE to be Middle Grade would listen to him.

Anyway, I wanted to share this with my followers.

Happy New Year!

Well 2012 is over and with it so many major events both personal and global. We've seen senseless tragedy and incredible opportunity. I don't want to go into it all but I will say that personally I'm ready for 2013. Sure, I don't want more of the bad but life is always a mix.

We can't avoid the further march of time but we can try to spend it treating each other better and trying with all our ability to lift each other up and travel hand in hand through this year's events. Perhaps we'll be responsible for some amazing stuff?

Have a great 2013 everyone!

Who's Who in the Annabelle Universe? Kimon

KIMON

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

Name Origin:
(Κίμων): Greek name, possibly meaning "sleepy."

Physical characteristics:
Every time Annabelle has seen Kimon it's been in her dreams. He appears as an old vampire with long white hair and a beard of scruffy whiskers. Every time she's seen him he's worn different clothing. He is blind.

Personality:
Kimon is friendly and wise. He has a since of humor and always has a smile.

Known History:
The mysterious older vampire known as Kimon appeared to Annabelle in a dream the night her body transformed into a vampire.  He appeared again in another dream the day before she set out to rescue her brother Roland and their friend Henry. His mate is named Ethelda.

He can dream walk, appearing in others' dreams and controlling his appearance and even shape the dream according to his wishes. Sometimes the dreams show evens or objects from the future. For instance, when he appeared to Annabelle in the early 1700's, his dream was of a Hawaiian Luau and he dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts, centuries before the look came into fashion.

As of this writing his identity and history is unknown. Annabelle learns more about him each time he appears in her dreams.  Every bit of advice has come in handy. Annabelle has begun to look forward to their chats.

Bringing in the New Year with a Books Giveaway!

Check out No Thoughts 2 Small for their "Bringing in the New Year Giveaway" featuring Dark Threats!

That's right! I'm a featured author on the site and we're giving away another copy of Dark Threats!

Come on over!

Bite of Story Thursday

Night Children: Dark Threats

Chapter Six: 1941

Annabelle could see from above that Grace had problems of her own. 

The werewolf called Robert growled at her.  “You waste your time, Princess.”  He kept his eyes on her as they circled each other.  Each one ready to attack the other, they simply glared.  Their hackles raised and a low rumble built up from their diaphragms.  “Join us.  Accept the full power of what you are.”

Grace Faolchú tightened her eyes.  “And disgrace my people?  The Clan Faolchú has stood in Dracula’s way for centuries.  I’m ashamed that any wolf would serve your dark master.  Dracula and Hitler are both foul tyrants whom will be destroyed.  You can bet on it.”

In her werewolf form, Grace appeared thin but healthy.  The attacking werewolves all dwarfed her due to her smaller size.  She was roughly the same height as Roland and possessed his defiant temper.  Despite being two different creatures of the night, Roland and Grace seemed perfect for each other.

Her opponent smiled a toothy grin.  “You would do well to join up.  We’ll find your precious clan.  And when we do, I’ll take your head to your brother Coinín as a trophy.  He’s the king of your tribe now, correct?”

She grinned as well.  It took a lot more than false bravado from one of Dominic’s trained mutts to get under her fur.  “You’re welcome to try.”

The werewolf lunged.  Grace dropped to the ground and darted between his legs.  She flipped, grabbed the extra fur on his back, pulled herself up and slashed at his eyes and throat.  He let out a dreadful gasp as she bounded off his shoulders and somersaulted in the air.  Grace outstretched her feet, landing on a table.  She picked up a silver knife with a napkin and crouched, ready for his attack.

Already healing, the monster charged.  He swung his massive arms upward and brought them down onto the wooden table.  She sprung up and back.  Grace landed, behind the shattered table, crouched low on the ground.  She winced at the heat coming through the napkin.  One slip and the silver could permanently burn her.

Robert threw aside the broken table and snapped at her with his massive jaws.  She darted to the right, clawing his side, and then jammed her knife through his chest.  He fell to his knees, now human with an expression of shock plastered across his face. 

Grace’s chest caved inward with her ragged breathing.  She smiled just before another werewolf smacked her into a wall.  She dropped to the ground, unconscious. 


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

Merry Christmas!

Sorry it's late but I wanted to wish my followers a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.  I realise I haven't posted much lately. Things have been hectic. I'm planning on fixing that real soon.

For now though, have a great holiday!

Demand a Plan

Book Review: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

As always, Rick Riordan entertains us with exactly what we want in a Percy Jackson book, strong characters in lots of edge of your seat action. It’s great to see Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Frank, Hazel and Leo back. This is the first time all seven leads share in an adventure and I find the blending of characters and personalities to be perfect.

Most get their own chance to narrate but the one I was interested in was Annabeth. This is her book and we’ve never before had a chance to get in her head. Now we do and I find it to be just as good a place to be as Percy or any of the others. I feel for her troubles and cheer for her victories.

Of course there is a surprise cliffhanger. It serves its purpose because now I’m desperate for the next installment!  All in all I give this book a 10.

Update!

Hey gentle readers!

My sweetheart had a hysterectomy late Thursday. She's home and recovering. The kids and I have been helping her a great deal. In a couple weeks she should be feeling much better.

As for my writing, I'm a couple chapters away from finishing my edits on the Roland chapters of Dark Changes (Book Two). Then I'm going to write a prologue and edits a couple things in the Annabelle chapters. After that I'll be all finished and ready to ship it to my beta readers.

I should write some pre-posts for this blog. I'm due to do Who's Whos and Bite of Stories for the next few weeks but between helping my sweetie, editing and working, my time is pretty strapped.

I promise not to keep you without new posts for very long.

Bite of Story Thursday

Here's another peek at my current work in progress, NIGHT CHILDREN: DARK CHANGES.

Remember, this is from the rough draft so it does not reflect the final product. Anyway, sit back and enjoy...

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Night Children: Dark Changes
Chapter Sixteen: Slaves

As soon as the slave ship was close enough the vampires leaped aboard.  Roland wished he could shut his ears as his fellow crew members laughed wickedly.  Roland visibly flinched at the mortals’ screams.

Captain Worthing, Ruthless Rach, Blood-Eyed  Bill and Abigail Black were already on the other ship, killing randomly. Roland remained at the railing.  He couldn’t bring himself to join in on the slaughter.

“What’s the matter?  Afraid to leap over?”

It was Paul, the older, fatter pirate that couldn’t keep up with the others.  He stood next to Roland and watched the slaughter with a gleam in his eyes.  Roland watched him for a moment.

Paul continued, “I can’t make the jump.  I’ve never been a good vampire.  Bill would’ve killed me decades ago but the Captain lets me stay on.  He’s a great man.”

Roland nodded.  He didn’t see the sense in challenging the Captain’s authority.  Instead he remained silent as he turned back to the slaughter.  The Captain of the slave ship was fighting off two vampire pirates.  Abigail watched from the side, a smirk on her face.

“I’ve seen you move,” Paul continued.  “Why don’t you just fly over there and finish the mortals off?”

“I... can’t.  Those are people over there.  They’re screaming.  We shouldn’t be doing this.”

Paul placed a hand on Roland’s shoulder.  “Hey, it’s all right.  This is what we do.  The mortals do it too.  I’ve seen a lot of mortal pirates out on the open sea.  Most are just as vicious.”

“But it’s not right.”

“You do realize what that ship is for, right?”

“It’s a slave ship.”

“Can you smell the fear deep inside?  There are probably four hundred slaves below deck.  Those men our crew are slaughtering intend to sell those slaves.  If you think about it, we’re doing those poor mortals below deck a favor and freeing them from a life of shackles and whips.  We’re the heroes here, kid.”

Roland thought about it.  Paul had a point.  At least vampires only killed to eat.  Mortals captured and killed for much nastier purposes.

“You’re right.  Thanks.”  Roland exchanged smiles with the elderly vampire and flew to the other ship.

“Give ‘em Hell, kid.”

Who's Who in the Annabelle Universe? Sasquatch

SASQUATCH

Picture by The Mountain

Physical characteristics:

These creatures are taller than eight feet, covered in matted black fur and have elongated hands and feet. Their faces are a cross between an ape and a human. They have a musky odor that triggers most creatures' gag reflexes.

What they are:

Sasquatches live in packs or tribes across North America. They prefer to remain hidden, live off the land and are quite peaceful. There are always exceptions, but most shun violence.

There are several which have been trapped and captured by the vampire Fenroth. Those have been permanently mesmerized and brought into the service of Dominic. He has his own army of sasquatches.

These creatures are commonly known as Bigfoot. They are related to the yeti of the Himalayas and northern Russia. There are rumors of a particular sasquatch that has worked with other creatures and two human kids but those rumors are so far unfounded.

 

Bite of Story Thursday

Night Children: Dark Birth

Chapter Fifteen: How to Kill the Undead

The ground beneath them shook and a large creature broke out of the forest and ran straight for them.

Taller than eight feet, covered in matted black fur and impossibly more foul than Servo, the creature struck the barrier with incredible force.  He howled as the impact burnt his hide.

Once again, Annabelle felt the impulse to turn tail and run.  The creature seemed beyond comprehension.  It had elongated hands and feet, an ape-like face, and a dazed but malicious look in its black eyes.  She forced back her lunch of raccoon blood.

“What is that?”

“It’s a sasquatch.  That’s what the Indians call it, anyway.  The Master keeps a few in his employ for the heavy work.  It’ll smash you up really good.”  The men laughed. 

“We need to leave, Roland.”

“I want a closer look.”

“You’ll do no such thing,” a familiar, comforting voice demanded.

“Eliza!” Relief washed through Annabelle as their surrogate mother touched down behind them.  “The sasquatch are just one of many unknown species humans know nothing about.”

The creature smashed at the invisible barrier, setting off green sparks in every direction.  Servo and Beufus laughed as the creature moaned in pain.  Each time his fist connected with the energy field, Annabelle flinched.

Eliza remained calm, probably trusting the barrier to hold up. “Stronger than full size werewolves, they usually live in the north-west in peaceful tribes.  This one seems to be permanently mesmerized.”

Annabelle couldn’t help it.  With all her power, she couldn’t stop feeling like a frightened child.  She moved behind Eliza.  Even her brother, for all his curiosity, moved closer to them.

“Come.  They can’t enter.  Let’s return home.  I need to teach you more quickly than I have been.”

As she escorted the children away, the men called out terrible things.  Eliza gave no notice, but Annabelle saw tightness around her eyes.  Trouble was coming, she was sure of that.

 

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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.

Who's Who in the Annabelle Universe? Paul

PAUL

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

Physical characteristics:
Paul looks to be in his sixties and out of shape. He's over weight, short and stocky. He was turned into a vampire in this physical condition so he'll remain that way as long as his immortal life continues.

Personality:
Paul is friendly and eager to help others. Sometimes to eager. He's always ready with advice to cheer a friend up.

Known History:
Reginald Worthing turned Paul on a lark. He found Paul drunk, passed out in a alley. He wanted to see what a waste of a man would become with the vampire curse. Paul gained the typical vampire abilities but remained out of shape. Reginald allowed Paul to become a Bloody-Buccaneer, the deadliest pirates on the open sea.

Paul made a unsuccessful vampire pirate. He couldn't jump from ship to ship and attack with the other pirates. He couldn't really catch any fleeing mortals. He'd occasionally accompany the crew but became more of a mascot. After vampire child Roland Foresight joined the crew, Paul instantly took a liking to the boy. Along with Ruthless Rach, Roland was one of the only crew members who treated him fairly.

After time passed Paul became very close to Roland, offering him advice and eventually joining in Roland's rebellion. Paul's favorite haunt is the only pub on Isla De Los Vampiros, Feeding Time.

And the winner of the 3rd Annual Gratitude Giveaways Hop is...

A'lina!

Thanks to everyone who responded and began following! Sorry there couldn't be more than one winner. I wish I could give you all free copies. But don't fret, there will be more hops in the future!

My Thanks - 2012

Thanksgiving? Again? Ah well, can't stop time from marching so all we can do is march with it.

This year I am thankful for Starry Night Books. I'm grateful they chose to carry my book and I'm thankful there is a place locally where people can buy it and enjoy it. I'm thankful that the book is available for people both locally and online. No, this is not a plug. As a writer I have worked for years to get it out to people and now I can.

Going to speaking engagements is always one of the best parts of being a writer. I've met so many people and seen their eager faces. Every time I'm asked where can I get these books and now I have an answer. That's something I'll always be grateful for.

Speaking for those public appearances, I'm grateful for those, too. I love to meet kids and share with them my excitement for writing and reading. I love seeing that excitement in them, too. I can't wait to do more!

I'm thankful for my family. They lift me up whenever I'm down and truly support me. We're going through some interesting and much needed important events and I'm thankful we're all together and closer for it.

I'm thankful for the web and my ability to speak to so many. I'm thankful to all those who helped my writing, including my critique group. I may not always sound like it, but your mark ups have helped immensely. I'm thankful for you guys, my silent watchers, who follow and read this blog. ;)

I'm thankful for quite a lot more. I won't go into religious things here but just know there are a great many things that only those close to me know.

And I'm thankful for turkey!

Not sure who did the pics. As always, let me know if you know.

Air New Zealand Hobbit Safety Video

Met another fan!

Saturday night on my way out of Wal-Mart two girls were watching me. As I passed them one said she read my books and thought they were great. She was really excited to meet me and it thrilled me! I thanked her and told her I'm working on the second one.

I'm so glad that Annabelle's story is touching others. I want so bad to get the story out there into the world. I want her to inspire others. It means everything to me that there are people out there reading these books and loving them. I could tell by her expression that she really liked Annabelle and Roland's adventures.

That's what it's all about.

Thank you, who ever you are!

Breaking Dawn Part 2 Review with spoliers way at the bottom

Non-spoiler thoughts:

Saw the last Twilight. OK, I'll admit it. That was a good one. Not surprised, seeing as that was my favorite half of the book and favorite whole part of the series. Great way to go out! And Nessie is nothing like Annabelle. Guess I was being silly, getting worried and all.

I own the books. I own the movies. I'm not a Twihard but I do have my favorite characters. I feel this movie did a wonderful job of portraying everything in the last book. This was the one I was looking forward to.

Years ago, back when I was fixing my first manuscript (what is now Dark Birth) and meeting other authors, I met Aprilynne Pike. She's the author of Wings. While helping guide me to prepare a better book, she mentioned her friend Stephenie Meyers and her Twilight books. I think the first two Twilight books were published and the third one was coming out. Aprilynne suggested I read them.

Now I'll be the first to admit different stroke for different folks. I'm not a "romance guy". I want more action and thrills. I could not identify with Bella or Edward either. I did however enjoy the Cullens, thew wolf pack and the Volturi. I read all four books but really didn't get super excited until Bella became a vampire. From that point on I enjoyed everything.

After four movies we're finally to the part of the series that I like. And after seeing it I feel they've treated it perfectly.



Bigger Spoilerific thoughts:



so beware

Serious. Want to be spoiled? Read on.


Bella's senses becoming heightened? Perfect! We zoom into sights, sounds and smells and can experience everything she can. In the book this gave me new insight on what Annabelle and Roland would feel. We see this on the big screen with great effect.

Bella getting mad at Jacob? Bella's arm wrestling with Emmett? Jacob's joke about the Romanian vampires? All of it and the other funny parts from the book were all delivered expertly.

We get to see Jacob showing Charlie what he is. We get to see the Cullen's recruiting the others. It's wonderful to see these scenes that we couldn't see in the book.

Ever since I read the book I was completely engrossed in the new vampires. My favs? Garret the Revolutionary vampire. He's wonderful in the film complete with his fledgling relationship with Kate is cute. Benjamin from the Egypt coven. The actor from Night at the Museum did a great job of capturing Benjamin's wide eyed curiosity. The Romanian vampires. Let's face facts. They're both Dracula and this is clear here. The actors play them perfectly and they even get some fun with the new fledgling werewolves. We got the Amazonian ones, the Irish ones and so on. All the new vampires and the various relationships were dead on.

When I met Renesmee in the book I was instantly conflicted. I love her character and she became my favorite but she scared me. I was still working on Annabelle's first book. My own vampire child was hunting deer in the woods and acting older than her physical appearance, behaving like any innocent yet immortal night child. I was worried after she got on the big screen, people would read my Ann and think "Oh, this is just Nessie." I shouldn't have worried.

Nessie starts out as computer animated because no baby could pull it off. We see her grow and fly to catch a snow flake but no speed or hunting or anything like that. Nothing remotely like Annabelle.

The more important thing, however, is that Mackenzie Foy plays her tenderly.

At the end of the film we see all the actors/characters from the entire series and many wonderful tributes to the fact that this came from a book series. Kinda wish the Potter films did that.


Now for the real spoiler. One more thing that will really spoil the film.  I read this spoiler so I was prepared. I waited for the change from the book to happen and then watched the scene and my freaked out daughters (who have read all the books) at the same time so I'm going to have to re watch this scene again. This is different than the book so if you want to feel the shock and awe, don't read below this next pic...

Alice realises she cant convince Aro. She's about to be killed. Carlisle tries to rescue her. He's beheaded. The heroes attack, everyone gets all funky with full on battle. Jane kills Jasper. Edward (I think) kills Alec. Jane kills Seth. Alice drags Jane to Sam who kills her. And so on and so on.  Beloved characters die left and right and the theatre was freaking out! My daughters were rocking back and forth mumbling about how wrong it all was.

And then we discover it was Alice's vision and when Aro bites it by the tag team effort of Bella and Edward, well let's just say he's OK not to press matters. So no one died after all! The audience cheers and laughed and the movie finished accurately complete with a vision showing grown up Nessie with Jacob and Bella and Edward. Happy ending.

So this was a great way to end it! Worth every penny.

The 3rd Annual Gratitude Giveaways Hop!

And the winner is A'lina!  Thanks to everyone for commenting and following! More hops to follow!


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Hello gentle beings and welcome to my part of I Am A Reader Not A Writer's 3rd Annual Gratitude Giveaways Hop!

As you can see by her nice pic, it runs from November 15th to the 25th. It's a way to meet and greet other blogs and say "Happy Thanksgiving".

And what better way to celebrate Thanksgiving besides the wonderful smell of turkey, the sounds of the Macy's Parade and the image of Uncle Ralph stuffing his face with yams? Why vampire children!

OK, OK, I know. Vampires don't go with this holiday. But let's face it, I have a fun book to giveaway and while it may be my only giveaway book, it's still full of enough entertaining story that you'll wind up as full as a child of the night after a successful raccoon hunt (that's about 5 or 6 of the little critters. Raccoons, not vampire children).

Anyway, I digress. Here is your prize...

I can only give one copy away. I only ship to the US and Canada. Sorry!
Please follow this blog your favorite way, be that twitter, facebook, GFC, linky tools or email. Drop me a comment so I can keep track and on the 25th I'll announce the winner!

And don't forget to check my Breaking Dawn Part 2 Review