Denise Verrico's Blog: Immortyl Revolution, page 21
January 21, 2011
David Tocher Tells Us How to Scare Your Reader
Please welcome David Tocher to Immortyl Revolution! As a devotee of the dark, I was happy to invite David here to share his insight in the psychology of horror. Leave a comment for David, and I will draw two names to recieve an Immortyl Revolution fridge magnet.
How To Scare Your Reader
By David Tocher
Understanding The Psychology of Fear
To scare your reader, first you must understand how the mind works. Most people don't enjoy facing what they're afraid of. By that, I don't just mean just rats, spiders, or blood. I mean the real, everyday things we're afraid of – loneliness; being taken advantage of; someone finding out about our guilty past; the addictions we can't control. The list goes on. So, what most of us do with these fears is externalize them. That is, project them onto some object outside of ourselves so we don't have to take responsibility for it.
Do you ever wonder what scared the Nazis so much that they projected that fear onto the Jewish people? Do you ever wonder what scares racists so much that they project that fear onto a black person? Or how about you? What is it that you're really afraid of so much that you project it onto a spider, or a person of a certain social status, or a woman or a man? The truth is, good people and bad people all have fears, and they all deal with them by projecting them onto something outside of themselves.
Now that we've established this, let's look at how we can use this knowledge to write a horror story.
Using Your Plot and Subplot To Exploit The Psychology of Fear
When explaining plot and subplot, I like to use the movie Spiderman as an example. The plot is the main conflict of the story. In this case, the battle between Spiderman and the Green Goblin. But then, you have your subplots in the movie, which are the stories underneath the story. A subplot's purpose is to add dimension to your story, to give your readers a reason to care about your hero and his main conflict. Let's look at the subplots in Spiderman – Peter Parker battles his feelings for Mary Jane, Peter Parker battles with poverty, Peter Parker battles with low self-esteem. All these things make Peter Parker someone we can identify with and root for.
When you write a horror story, you must have your hero battle a horrifying antagonist – it could be anything, like a serial killer, a ghost, a werewolf, a vampire, or a legion of zombies, or whatever you wish. But in your subplot, where you add dimension to your story and give us a reason to identify with your hero, you must give your hero a real, everyday battle that his main villain is a symbol for. That is how you make a connection with your readers' collective consciousness and evoke their universal fears, the same way someone drilling into the earth strikes oil and brings it bubbling up to the surface.
An Example From Horror Fiction
Stephen King's The Shining is a great example of this technique in action. The main plot of the story is Jack Torrence battling the ghosts at the Overlook Hotel, which is isolated in the wintry mountains of Colorado. In the subplot, our hero battles with a troubled past of alcoholism and guilt over hurting his son. He also struggles with a short temper.
The Overlook Hotel's unsavory history and the ghosts that haunt its corridors are metaphors for Torrence's life – how his troubled past haunts his present. There is also a boiler in the Hotel's basement that he has to release pressure from each day. That's a metaphor for his short temper that he's always trying to keep in check.
See now? Stephen King made a connection between a fictional terror and a realistic terror that any of us could go through. The ghosts at the hotel are what our everyday fears were projected onto. That's how he wrote one of the most frightening stories in literary history!
Now, It's Your Turn!
A great tool for developing your plots and subplots is a dream dictionary. This is not a blanket endorsement of psychology – I'm merely saying that authors of dream dictionaries have found common themes in people's nocturnal visions. It's just the way our minds work. You can go anywhere in the world and to any culture and say, "The wolf waits at your door" and they'll get the idea of what you mean – danger is imminent! But if you tell someone that "the gopher sits on your shoe," you'll leave them perplexed for sure. Our minds share universal symbolism.
If I were going to write a story about giant spiders attacking a city, I'd study up on what spiders symbolize when people dream about them. Here's an interesting interpretation of spider dreams from Tony Crisp's Dream Dictionary at Dreamhawk.com:
Any emotion or desire that devours the strength or purpose of your life. The spider is also used as a symbol of sexual orgasm, but only if we are terrified, disgusted or guilty about such feelings. Sometimes symbolises a mother's power, as in the way we are caught in the web of her desires and emotions. Inability to become independent of the mother.
The spider can also depict any emotions you don't want to 'handle', such as those surrounding a spouse leaving; wanting to ensnare, or feeling trapped by someone; the basic survival instincts in us such as a spider might have – can I eat, or will I be eaten in this meeting/relationship? This level of our sensory and feeling perception is important. Like a spider it keeps one of your feet/fingers on the web or influences that connect you with other people and the world. Like the spider, if you are wise, you thereby know something of what is coming your way – do you advance or run?
Here, we have a lot of material for our hero's subplot conflicts:
• Is he struggling with guilt over his sexuality?
• Does he feel trapped (as in a web) in a relationship to a manipulative partner?
• Does he seek liberation from a controlling parent?
These are all real-life struggles that we can each relate to. Now that I've determined what my story's hero will be like as a person, I'll send a monster after him the represents his real life fears.
Conclusion
Writing horror stories can be more than just a superficial carnival scare. It can be a means by which we can explore our natures and ask honest questions about ourselves. This can be said for classic tales like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and even Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde. The monsters in these stories were symbols of the real battles that we face in life.
What do your monsters represent?
-December 13, 2010
About The Author:
David Tocher grew up in British Columbia, Canada. He currently lives in Quebec, where he is at work on a novel. His latest story, Letters from a Dead World, is available in Dreamspell Nightmares, an anthology published by L&L Dreamspell. To order the anthology, visit http://www.lldreamspell.com/DreamspellNightmares.htm.
How To Scare Your Reader
By David Tocher
Understanding The Psychology of Fear
To scare your reader, first you must understand how the mind works. Most people don't enjoy facing what they're afraid of. By that, I don't just mean just rats, spiders, or blood. I mean the real, everyday things we're afraid of – loneliness; being taken advantage of; someone finding out about our guilty past; the addictions we can't control. The list goes on. So, what most of us do with these fears is externalize them. That is, project them onto some object outside of ourselves so we don't have to take responsibility for it.
Do you ever wonder what scared the Nazis so much that they projected that fear onto the Jewish people? Do you ever wonder what scares racists so much that they project that fear onto a black person? Or how about you? What is it that you're really afraid of so much that you project it onto a spider, or a person of a certain social status, or a woman or a man? The truth is, good people and bad people all have fears, and they all deal with them by projecting them onto something outside of themselves.
Now that we've established this, let's look at how we can use this knowledge to write a horror story.
Using Your Plot and Subplot To Exploit The Psychology of Fear
When explaining plot and subplot, I like to use the movie Spiderman as an example. The plot is the main conflict of the story. In this case, the battle between Spiderman and the Green Goblin. But then, you have your subplots in the movie, which are the stories underneath the story. A subplot's purpose is to add dimension to your story, to give your readers a reason to care about your hero and his main conflict. Let's look at the subplots in Spiderman – Peter Parker battles his feelings for Mary Jane, Peter Parker battles with poverty, Peter Parker battles with low self-esteem. All these things make Peter Parker someone we can identify with and root for.
When you write a horror story, you must have your hero battle a horrifying antagonist – it could be anything, like a serial killer, a ghost, a werewolf, a vampire, or a legion of zombies, or whatever you wish. But in your subplot, where you add dimension to your story and give us a reason to identify with your hero, you must give your hero a real, everyday battle that his main villain is a symbol for. That is how you make a connection with your readers' collective consciousness and evoke their universal fears, the same way someone drilling into the earth strikes oil and brings it bubbling up to the surface.
An Example From Horror Fiction
Stephen King's The Shining is a great example of this technique in action. The main plot of the story is Jack Torrence battling the ghosts at the Overlook Hotel, which is isolated in the wintry mountains of Colorado. In the subplot, our hero battles with a troubled past of alcoholism and guilt over hurting his son. He also struggles with a short temper.
The Overlook Hotel's unsavory history and the ghosts that haunt its corridors are metaphors for Torrence's life – how his troubled past haunts his present. There is also a boiler in the Hotel's basement that he has to release pressure from each day. That's a metaphor for his short temper that he's always trying to keep in check.
See now? Stephen King made a connection between a fictional terror and a realistic terror that any of us could go through. The ghosts at the hotel are what our everyday fears were projected onto. That's how he wrote one of the most frightening stories in literary history!
Now, It's Your Turn!
A great tool for developing your plots and subplots is a dream dictionary. This is not a blanket endorsement of psychology – I'm merely saying that authors of dream dictionaries have found common themes in people's nocturnal visions. It's just the way our minds work. You can go anywhere in the world and to any culture and say, "The wolf waits at your door" and they'll get the idea of what you mean – danger is imminent! But if you tell someone that "the gopher sits on your shoe," you'll leave them perplexed for sure. Our minds share universal symbolism.
If I were going to write a story about giant spiders attacking a city, I'd study up on what spiders symbolize when people dream about them. Here's an interesting interpretation of spider dreams from Tony Crisp's Dream Dictionary at Dreamhawk.com:
Any emotion or desire that devours the strength or purpose of your life. The spider is also used as a symbol of sexual orgasm, but only if we are terrified, disgusted or guilty about such feelings. Sometimes symbolises a mother's power, as in the way we are caught in the web of her desires and emotions. Inability to become independent of the mother.
The spider can also depict any emotions you don't want to 'handle', such as those surrounding a spouse leaving; wanting to ensnare, or feeling trapped by someone; the basic survival instincts in us such as a spider might have – can I eat, or will I be eaten in this meeting/relationship? This level of our sensory and feeling perception is important. Like a spider it keeps one of your feet/fingers on the web or influences that connect you with other people and the world. Like the spider, if you are wise, you thereby know something of what is coming your way – do you advance or run?
Here, we have a lot of material for our hero's subplot conflicts:
• Is he struggling with guilt over his sexuality?
• Does he feel trapped (as in a web) in a relationship to a manipulative partner?
• Does he seek liberation from a controlling parent?
These are all real-life struggles that we can each relate to. Now that I've determined what my story's hero will be like as a person, I'll send a monster after him the represents his real life fears.
Conclusion
Writing horror stories can be more than just a superficial carnival scare. It can be a means by which we can explore our natures and ask honest questions about ourselves. This can be said for classic tales like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and even Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde. The monsters in these stories were symbols of the real battles that we face in life.
What do your monsters represent?
-December 13, 2010
About The Author:
David Tocher grew up in British Columbia, Canada. He currently lives in Quebec, where he is at work on a novel. His latest story, Letters from a Dead World, is available in Dreamspell Nightmares, an anthology published by L&L Dreamspell. To order the anthology, visit http://www.lldreamspell.com/DreamspellNightmares.htm.
January 20, 2011
T-shirt Winner!
Congratulations to David Nelson Bradsher who won the Twilight of the Gods T-shirt at Marian Allen's Blog!http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/8aN7oY/www.marianallen.com/2011/01/the-immortyl-denise-verrico/. Tomorrow on this blog, I feature David Tocher, who will talk about writing horror.
January 19, 2011
Winners of Immortyl Kisses!
Congratulations to Pam, who won the interactive CD of Immortyl Kisses and C. J. Ellisson and Julie S. who won the e-copy!
January 18, 2011
Contest to win free e-book ends tonight 11PM EST!
Enter by 11 PM tonight for a chance to win B. K. Walker's book, Immortyl Kisses! Enter!
January 14, 2011
B. K. Walker talks about her new paranormal release, Immortyl Kisses.
Today, I welcome B. K. Walker to Immortyl Revolution.
B. K. is sponsoring a drawing. Two winners will receive Immortyl Kisses and Dares And Dreams on Interactive CD, and 2 Winners will win a copy of the Ebook. That's four chances to win! Just leave a comment for her here. Deadline is 1/18/11 at 11 PM EST. Winners will be drawn at random.
Thank you so much for having me today Denise. I'm so excited to be here and would love to offer 2 of your readers a chance to win Immortyl Kisses on Interactive CD. We're just coming off of a fantastic Facebook Release Party, and I'm still in the partying mood.
What age group is your work geared toward?
B. K.: 16+. It is categorized in the young adult group, but it's clean enough for 16.
Into which genre would you say your work falls and why?
B. K.: Mix together Vampires and Werewolves, add in a few Witches and Warlocks with a pinch of magic, and you got yourself a recipe for Paranormal Fantasy.
Tell us a little about your book.
B. K.: Raine is a somewhat normal teenager, going through a gothic stage but still attends school and hangs out with friends. Her life changes drastically after she meets vampire Tristan at a High School Halloween dance. She is so awe struck by his beauty and can't believe that he's taken an interest in her. As they're leaving the dance, Logan, a werewolf, comes into play and he too becomes smitten with Raine. What both boys don't know at that point is that a Rogue Vampire is hunting Raine to hurt Tristan and the Wolf Pack. He was created by a Warlock that was banned to a remote island and is seeking his revenge. As they continue to keep Raine from the Rogue, it becomes obvious that both boys harvest feelings towards her, thus opening a love triangle. As the story unfolds, so does Raine's destiny. She was born to win the upcoming war of Vampires vs Rogues, and as we watch her transform into the warrior she is, we also learn a lot about all of the characters.
Who is your favorite character in your book and why?
B. K.: Logan. He is witty and usually has a lot of self control. Unable to say how he really feels so he doesn't come between his friend and the girl he loves, but at the same time having this self struggle inside of himself. He's an interesting character and one that turned out different than when I first started writing him.
What other writers would you say have influenced your work and why? What are some of your favorite books in the genre?
B. K.: I love Laurell K. Hamilton. The Anita Blake Series is awesome and my favorite book by her is The Killing Dance. I also like Stephenie Meyer and LJ Smith. My biggest influence though is Nora Roberts. I just love her writing style. LOL. I sort of answered that question backwards.
What is your writing process like? Do you do a lot of background research? Do you plot every detail or do you prefer the characters to move the story in new directions, or a combination of both? Do you belong to a critique group and do you find this helpful?
B. K.: My writing process is erratic. I don't really plot every detail, but I do plot somewhat. I definitely let the characters move me. Especially in this title. It actually started out as a short story, but the characters had other plans lol. Sometimes if I lose direction, I have to use an outline. I just write whats in my head and create a timeline so to speak. Then I know where the story needs to go and the characters can get back on track. This happens when the characters are all talking at once and trying to get their story out at the same time. My brain goes on overload and then the story just won't flow. So the outline helps for that. I do research as the need arises, but a lot of the times I write what I already know. This one though I included a bit of history from the Jin Dynasty, so I had to research there a bit and added my own paranormal twist to it. I don't belong to a critique group, but will send my stories to friends and colleagues for their input.
Do you have any advice for young or beginning writers?
B. K.: Just write. Write for yourself and your characters, not for anyone else. When you write to please what you think readers want, the story just won't flow. If you write for you, it goes that much smoother. Read and read a lot. Once you see how others write, first person or third, you can see how the story should flow and it will give you a way to see it in your head.
Who is your publisher and where are your books available? Are there e-books and hard copies available?
B. K.: I self-publish through Lulu. All my books are available from there and are on Amazon in both Kindle format and paperback. Dares And Dreams was published through Publish America though is still available on Amazon. Of course they can be purchased at any of my websites.
What is your website and/or blog where readers can learn more? Can they friend you on Facebook or other sites?
B. K.: Gosh. Where do I start? Well first my author page is http://authorbkwalker.webs.com/ Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1831525609 Immortyl Kisses site is http://immortylkisses.weebly.com/ and my book review website is http://bkwalkerbooks.weebly.com/ My blog is http://immortylcafe.blogspot.com/ I'm everywhere really. Just google BK Walker and you will find all my sites. Of course anyone can friend me or email me at bkwalkerbooks@comcast.net. I'm always available.
Are there any upcoming signings or appearances you'd like to mention?
B.K.: I don't have anything in the works right now, but maybe sometime in the near future. I tend to work up other people more than myself haha.
B. K Thanks for joining me today and good luck with your new release! Please read on for an excerpt from Immortyl Kisses.
"What was that thing Logan?" Raine asked still crying.
"I'm not sure Raine." Logan was watching the windows and the door, pacing back and forth making sure he couldn't see any danger approaching, his ears attentive to any noise that didn't belong.
The moon was full for Halloween, and this would be one Halloween that Raine may remember for the rest of her life. She sat down in the pew and cried some more. She was confused on what was going on. It all happened so fast. One minute she was standing there with Tristan, having fun trick or treating, the next minute she was in the top of a tree. In the tree top, she got glimpse of what grabbed her.
Pale skin with beady black eyes. Hair extremely short and the strength of The Incredible Hulk. It stared back at her as she took in its features. Once she realized it was watching her she struggled against it. "Let go!"
With one quick swoop, it sank its fangs into her neck. The pain was sharp and she could feel her energy being drained from her body. Then she heard Tristan and called out to him. She knew he would save her.
"Come here Raine. It's going to be okay." Logan pulled Raine into his arms. He smelled her blood and immediately started breathing out of his mouth. He didn't want to eat her, but she smelled so good. "You're bleeding."
She reached to her neck, remembering the creature sucking her blood. She started crying harder. "What happened to me?"
Hugging her tighter, he couldn't help but catch the scent of her. He
moved his head just enough so he could see the blood dripping from the wounds. If he could just have a small taste of her. That is all he wanted. To have a part of her with him always, a memory to savor. Just as he was about to lick her wound, she moved her head up. Instead of meeting her neck, he met her lips full on and she started kissing him. When he tried to pull away, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. All she knew was that she needed to feel him, to taste him. She deepened the kiss, and he finally gave in and kissed her back with more passion he'd allowed himself to feel in years, a guttural growl escaping from his chest. He wanted Raine, and had wanted her since he first laid eyes on her. There was nothing to stop him, and he took her for all it was worth.
B. K. is sponsoring a drawing. Two winners will receive Immortyl Kisses and Dares And Dreams on Interactive CD, and 2 Winners will win a copy of the Ebook. That's four chances to win! Just leave a comment for her here. Deadline is 1/18/11 at 11 PM EST. Winners will be drawn at random.Thank you so much for having me today Denise. I'm so excited to be here and would love to offer 2 of your readers a chance to win Immortyl Kisses on Interactive CD. We're just coming off of a fantastic Facebook Release Party, and I'm still in the partying mood.
What age group is your work geared toward?
B. K.: 16+. It is categorized in the young adult group, but it's clean enough for 16.
Into which genre would you say your work falls and why?
B. K.: Mix together Vampires and Werewolves, add in a few Witches and Warlocks with a pinch of magic, and you got yourself a recipe for Paranormal Fantasy.
Tell us a little about your book.
B. K.: Raine is a somewhat normal teenager, going through a gothic stage but still attends school and hangs out with friends. Her life changes drastically after she meets vampire Tristan at a High School Halloween dance. She is so awe struck by his beauty and can't believe that he's taken an interest in her. As they're leaving the dance, Logan, a werewolf, comes into play and he too becomes smitten with Raine. What both boys don't know at that point is that a Rogue Vampire is hunting Raine to hurt Tristan and the Wolf Pack. He was created by a Warlock that was banned to a remote island and is seeking his revenge. As they continue to keep Raine from the Rogue, it becomes obvious that both boys harvest feelings towards her, thus opening a love triangle. As the story unfolds, so does Raine's destiny. She was born to win the upcoming war of Vampires vs Rogues, and as we watch her transform into the warrior she is, we also learn a lot about all of the characters.
Who is your favorite character in your book and why?
B. K.: Logan. He is witty and usually has a lot of self control. Unable to say how he really feels so he doesn't come between his friend and the girl he loves, but at the same time having this self struggle inside of himself. He's an interesting character and one that turned out different than when I first started writing him.
What other writers would you say have influenced your work and why? What are some of your favorite books in the genre?
B. K.: I love Laurell K. Hamilton. The Anita Blake Series is awesome and my favorite book by her is The Killing Dance. I also like Stephenie Meyer and LJ Smith. My biggest influence though is Nora Roberts. I just love her writing style. LOL. I sort of answered that question backwards.
What is your writing process like? Do you do a lot of background research? Do you plot every detail or do you prefer the characters to move the story in new directions, or a combination of both? Do you belong to a critique group and do you find this helpful?
B. K.: My writing process is erratic. I don't really plot every detail, but I do plot somewhat. I definitely let the characters move me. Especially in this title. It actually started out as a short story, but the characters had other plans lol. Sometimes if I lose direction, I have to use an outline. I just write whats in my head and create a timeline so to speak. Then I know where the story needs to go and the characters can get back on track. This happens when the characters are all talking at once and trying to get their story out at the same time. My brain goes on overload and then the story just won't flow. So the outline helps for that. I do research as the need arises, but a lot of the times I write what I already know. This one though I included a bit of history from the Jin Dynasty, so I had to research there a bit and added my own paranormal twist to it. I don't belong to a critique group, but will send my stories to friends and colleagues for their input.
Do you have any advice for young or beginning writers?
B. K.: Just write. Write for yourself and your characters, not for anyone else. When you write to please what you think readers want, the story just won't flow. If you write for you, it goes that much smoother. Read and read a lot. Once you see how others write, first person or third, you can see how the story should flow and it will give you a way to see it in your head.
Who is your publisher and where are your books available? Are there e-books and hard copies available?
B. K.: I self-publish through Lulu. All my books are available from there and are on Amazon in both Kindle format and paperback. Dares And Dreams was published through Publish America though is still available on Amazon. Of course they can be purchased at any of my websites.
What is your website and/or blog where readers can learn more? Can they friend you on Facebook or other sites?
B. K.: Gosh. Where do I start? Well first my author page is http://authorbkwalker.webs.com/ Facebook http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/profile.php?id=1831525609 Immortyl Kisses site is http://immortylkisses.weebly.com/ and my book review website is http://bkwalkerbooks.weebly.com/ My blog is http://immortylcafe.blogspot.com/ I'm everywhere really. Just google BK Walker and you will find all my sites. Of course anyone can friend me or email me at bkwalkerbooks@comcast.net. I'm always available.
Are there any upcoming signings or appearances you'd like to mention?
B.K.: I don't have anything in the works right now, but maybe sometime in the near future. I tend to work up other people more than myself haha.
B. K Thanks for joining me today and good luck with your new release! Please read on for an excerpt from Immortyl Kisses.
"What was that thing Logan?" Raine asked still crying.
"I'm not sure Raine." Logan was watching the windows and the door, pacing back and forth making sure he couldn't see any danger approaching, his ears attentive to any noise that didn't belong.
The moon was full for Halloween, and this would be one Halloween that Raine may remember for the rest of her life. She sat down in the pew and cried some more. She was confused on what was going on. It all happened so fast. One minute she was standing there with Tristan, having fun trick or treating, the next minute she was in the top of a tree. In the tree top, she got glimpse of what grabbed her.
Pale skin with beady black eyes. Hair extremely short and the strength of The Incredible Hulk. It stared back at her as she took in its features. Once she realized it was watching her she struggled against it. "Let go!"
With one quick swoop, it sank its fangs into her neck. The pain was sharp and she could feel her energy being drained from her body. Then she heard Tristan and called out to him. She knew he would save her.
"Come here Raine. It's going to be okay." Logan pulled Raine into his arms. He smelled her blood and immediately started breathing out of his mouth. He didn't want to eat her, but she smelled so good. "You're bleeding."
She reached to her neck, remembering the creature sucking her blood. She started crying harder. "What happened to me?"
Hugging her tighter, he couldn't help but catch the scent of her. He
moved his head just enough so he could see the blood dripping from the wounds. If he could just have a small taste of her. That is all he wanted. To have a part of her with him always, a memory to savor. Just as he was about to lick her wound, she moved her head up. Instead of meeting her neck, he met her lips full on and she started kissing him. When he tried to pull away, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. All she knew was that she needed to feel him, to taste him. She deepened the kiss, and he finally gave in and kissed her back with more passion he'd allowed himself to feel in years, a guttural growl escaping from his chest. He wanted Raine, and had wanted her since he first laid eyes on her. There was nothing to stop him, and he took her for all it was worth.
January 13, 2011
Contest to win free e-book ends tonight 11PM EST!
Hey Folks, don't forget to stop by and leave a comment for Katie Salidas to enter for a free e-copy of her new release, Hunters and Prey. Enter! Congratulations to Jillian and Joyce Scarborough who won the Immortyl revolution magnets. Tomorrow, B. K. Walker will be my guest.
January 9, 2011
Guest Blogger Katie Salidas, author of Hunters and Prey
I'm pleased to welcome back Katie Salidas. She will be talking about the origins of the vampires in her Immortalis series. Katie will be giving away a free e-book of her new release Hunters and Prey to one lucky winner. To enter, please leave a comment for Katie, telling her about your favorite vampire legend. The winner will be chosen by random drawing. Contest ends on Thursday, January 13th at 11:00 PM EST.
Every vampire story out there has to answer the question. What are the origins of your vampires?
People will want to know where they came from and how they have been able to survive the centuries. Many popular fiction titles have come up with some great "beginnings" for their creation: alien species populating the earth, ancient curses, blood-borne diseases, evolution, etc… There are a ton of great explanations for the fictional existence of vampires. For my series, I wanted to take a look at vampires through history and see where I could find my own unique link.
Some Slavic legends state that simply being buried improperly can cause a human to reanimate as a vampire. Other legends state that one must have committed a heinous crime to become the undead. If you had turned your back on the church as a living person, you were sure to become a bloodthirsty creature after death. Still, there are other legends with weirder causes for vampirism. For example: in some older Chinese traditions, animals jumping over a corpse were the cause of vampirism.
Some popular ideas that have been adapted to fiction, explain that vampires are the cursed children of Cain or Lilith (sometimes both).
Beyond those beliefs lie the ones involving demonic spirits and possessions. If we seek far back into mythology you'll find the Greeks and Romans believed in demonic spirits themselves and in many ways they were the prototype of the common vampire of today.
That hooked me! I love ancient mythology and happened across some very interesting similarities between creatures of the ancient Greek world and the vampires I wanted to create.
The Keres, in fact were dead ringers for what I had in mind. Daughters of the Greek Titan Nyx, goddess of the night, these creatures are described as winged female death spirits with an insatiable lust for human blood. Perfect!
According to my research they were also one of the evils released when Pandora opened the fabled box. While they sound fearsome and probably would be, they weren't exactly evil. They existed in a murky gray area of morality. They were agents of the fates, also known as Death Fates. They did not attack people openly or without reason. However, they were not the bringers of gentle death as was their brother, Thanatos. They hung around battles waiting for someone to fall. That's when they swarmed, finishing the poor dying man off, savoring their blood as they sent his soul to Hades. They essentially sped a person's fate on to its course. If you were going to die, they'd be there to do it and drink your blood at the same time. Sounds a lot like a vampire, doesn't it?
I fell in love, not literally of course, with the creature and knew I just had to base my vampire legend off of them somehow.
In the first book, Immortalis Carpe Noctem, Lysander explains to Alyssa the origin of the vampire species. He tells her that the first "vampire" was created by a mating of one of the Keres with a dying man she encountered on the battlefield. The resulting child was immortal, like its mother, and carried the same insatiable bloodlust, but had the features of its father. Being a hybrid and the only one of its kind, Nyx (essentially Grandma) cursed it to the night so that she could keep watch and protect it.
The use of the legend doesn't stop there however. As the Immortalis series progresses we delve deeper and deeper into the history. In Hunters & Prey, we are reminded of the fact that a human-turn-vampire is not a dead creature, they are "changed" but that change must happen properly. If not done correctly it will create a hideous abomination. In the third book in this series Pandora's Box (Should be in Print Fall 2011), we'll delve even deeper into the legends origins and learn more about the first vampire and what became of it.
Needless to say I really do love my vampires and the legends they spawned from and I hope you will too.
A heartfelt thanks to Katie for sharing her knowlege with us today! Please read on for an excerpt and review of Hunters and Prey and more information on Katie.
Here is an excerpt from Katie's new release, Hunters and Prey.
Hot blood coursed through my veins as I gulped down the gushing fountain of my victim's neck.
He won't be hurting women anymore. I thought to myself as I swallowed each hot mouthful of blood. How quickly the hunter becomes the prey.
Using the power of my mind, I sent him feelings: waves of pain and grief for the murder he had committed. The human mind was easy to control, and I called upon all the skill I possessed to make him suffer.
Murderers and those who dealt in crime and abuse were my prey. It was because of them, those vile individuals, that I was a vampire. Memories of my own near-death experience and echoes of past wounds fueled me.
As a vampire, I had power, the power to stop bad people from doing awful, evil things. Fate has a way of working things out, and it gave my bloodlust a purpose. If I was to be this creature, I would ensure that my feeding stopped the unnecessary deaths of innocents.
I drained him slowly and painfully, savoring the honey-sweet elixir of his blood. Keeping him alert enough to feel every draw against his neck, I gnawed at the wound with my sharp teeth and dug my nails into his flesh. I wanted him to feel everything. I wouldn't let him go unconscious. He needed to know and understand the torment he had inflicted on others. I only wished I had found him, sooner before he ended the life of the poor woman lying at our feet. The fearful look in her dead eyes was a painful reminder of the men who had attacked me.
This man would pay with his dying breath.
My victim moaned pitifully. He beat against my back, struggling to free himself. I tightened my grip, locking his body in my deadly embrace.
He was going nowhere.
The heat from his blood coursed through my veins, strengthening me, warming me, giving me his life-energy. I savored this feeling: the tingling rush, the ecstasy, that filled my being.
Just as the wave of pleasure crested, his heart slowed to an erratic thump, and the gushing fountain became a trickle. I knew he wouldn't last much longer. His blood pressure was dropping.
I lifted my head and gazed into his fear-filled eyes. "It's no fun when you're on the receiving end, is it?" I smiled at him, licking the last few drops of his blood from my fangs.
My head swam with energy—his energy. I felt powerful, strong, and just.
The wretched man was like putty—just a lump of mush—in my hands. Weakly, he exhaled a final dying breath. The light of life in his eyes extinguished. His head lolled and then flopped backward.
I listened carefully. His heart thumped once, twice, and then … nothing.
I bit my tongue and swirled a mix of my saliva and blood across the wound on his neck, ensuring it would close. The evidence of my feeding would be gone by the time anyone found him.
A strange prickling sensation tickled the back of my neck. The hair on my arms stood straight on end. I had come to know this unmistakable feeling quite well since I'd been turned. Another vampire was close.
I dropped my victim unceremoniously on top of the woman he'd just killed and turned around to scan the area. Though the street was dark, my vampire eyes had no problem spotting another pair of pale eyes staring back at me from the shadows.
A footstep broke the silence. Still young, I'd had limited dealings with other vampires. Not all were friendly. I hoped the one watching me would be.
"I know you're out there," I called to the darkness. "Show yourself."
Raspy laughter crawled out of the shadow. "Are you sure you want me to do that, Alyssa?"
In the space of a second, realization hit me. My eyes went wide and my heart slammed into my chest.
Oh shit. Santino!
Another footstep echoed around me as he moved into the light.
A trademark of the vampire kind, his blue-gray eyes seemed to glow as he looked at me. A wild mane of salt-and-pepper hair jutted out in all directions on top of his head. Deep-creased wrinkles and scars covered an aged face that had seen many battles. His lips pulled back into a predatory smile, revealing a perfect set of sharp white fangs.
I was running before I could even comprehend the thought of it. I needed to get away. Fast.
My Review
The second installment of the Immortalis saga picks up after the Peregrinus clan has clashed with enemy vampire Callisto and the corrupt religious sect, the Acta Sanctorum. While hunting, heroine Alyssa encounters enemy Santino, thought to be dead, and becomes haunted by visions of him. Despite her lover/maker Lysander's assurances, she can't shake the feeling that Santino has somehow survived. Her fears are soon realized, and Alyssa finds herself the protector of her mortal friend, Fallon, in a life or death struggle with the evil mastermind behind the Acta Sanctorum, Quentin. Alyssa then discovers that Quentin has been engaged in some not quite so saintly experiments involving vampire blood that has created an army of bloodthirsty zombies. Santino, distressed by his master's unholy army, joins forces with the Peregrinus clan and together they battle Quentin and his ghouls.
The character of Alyssa grows stronger in this installment. I admired her determination to help her friend, even against the wishes of her clan. It was fun to see her stick to her guns and stand up to the formidable presence of Lysander, proving that she's no pushover. Hunters and Prey is a fast-paced, sexy and entertaining read, with generous helpings of action, blood, and romance. Alyssa gets to kick some serious butt, and she and Lysander dial up the sexual heat a few times. As with the first book in the series, I enjoyed the Vegas setting and how the author uses it in her story.
About Katie
Author of the hot new Urban Fantasy series, Immortalis, Katie has always had a desire to entertain. Since, early childhood, she's dreamed up fantastical characters and scribbled them into pages of various journals and notebooks. Taking an interest in vampires at an early age, she devoured every book, featuring those mysterious, blood sucking creatures, in any genre she could find. She claims that, of all the monsters out there, vampires had always been the most interesting.
It was only natural that a love of reading about vampires, and a love of writing, turned into a desire to write her own stories.
A Las Vegas native, having grown up in the famed City of Sin, Katie loves to feature it as a recurring setting for many of her stories.
You can follow Kate at the following links:
Blog http://myimmortalstories.blogspot.com/
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ksalidas?ref=profile
Facebook Author Fansite http://www.facebook.com/pages/Katie-Salidas-Author/214780936916
Myspace http://www.myspace.com/katelv
Every vampire story out there has to answer the question. What are the origins of your vampires?
People will want to know where they came from and how they have been able to survive the centuries. Many popular fiction titles have come up with some great "beginnings" for their creation: alien species populating the earth, ancient curses, blood-borne diseases, evolution, etc… There are a ton of great explanations for the fictional existence of vampires. For my series, I wanted to take a look at vampires through history and see where I could find my own unique link.
Some Slavic legends state that simply being buried improperly can cause a human to reanimate as a vampire. Other legends state that one must have committed a heinous crime to become the undead. If you had turned your back on the church as a living person, you were sure to become a bloodthirsty creature after death. Still, there are other legends with weirder causes for vampirism. For example: in some older Chinese traditions, animals jumping over a corpse were the cause of vampirism.
Some popular ideas that have been adapted to fiction, explain that vampires are the cursed children of Cain or Lilith (sometimes both).
Beyond those beliefs lie the ones involving demonic spirits and possessions. If we seek far back into mythology you'll find the Greeks and Romans believed in demonic spirits themselves and in many ways they were the prototype of the common vampire of today.
That hooked me! I love ancient mythology and happened across some very interesting similarities between creatures of the ancient Greek world and the vampires I wanted to create.
The Keres, in fact were dead ringers for what I had in mind. Daughters of the Greek Titan Nyx, goddess of the night, these creatures are described as winged female death spirits with an insatiable lust for human blood. Perfect!
According to my research they were also one of the evils released when Pandora opened the fabled box. While they sound fearsome and probably would be, they weren't exactly evil. They existed in a murky gray area of morality. They were agents of the fates, also known as Death Fates. They did not attack people openly or without reason. However, they were not the bringers of gentle death as was their brother, Thanatos. They hung around battles waiting for someone to fall. That's when they swarmed, finishing the poor dying man off, savoring their blood as they sent his soul to Hades. They essentially sped a person's fate on to its course. If you were going to die, they'd be there to do it and drink your blood at the same time. Sounds a lot like a vampire, doesn't it?
I fell in love, not literally of course, with the creature and knew I just had to base my vampire legend off of them somehow.
In the first book, Immortalis Carpe Noctem, Lysander explains to Alyssa the origin of the vampire species. He tells her that the first "vampire" was created by a mating of one of the Keres with a dying man she encountered on the battlefield. The resulting child was immortal, like its mother, and carried the same insatiable bloodlust, but had the features of its father. Being a hybrid and the only one of its kind, Nyx (essentially Grandma) cursed it to the night so that she could keep watch and protect it.
The use of the legend doesn't stop there however. As the Immortalis series progresses we delve deeper and deeper into the history. In Hunters & Prey, we are reminded of the fact that a human-turn-vampire is not a dead creature, they are "changed" but that change must happen properly. If not done correctly it will create a hideous abomination. In the third book in this series Pandora's Box (Should be in Print Fall 2011), we'll delve even deeper into the legends origins and learn more about the first vampire and what became of it.
Needless to say I really do love my vampires and the legends they spawned from and I hope you will too.
A heartfelt thanks to Katie for sharing her knowlege with us today! Please read on for an excerpt and review of Hunters and Prey and more information on Katie.
Here is an excerpt from Katie's new release, Hunters and Prey.
Hot blood coursed through my veins as I gulped down the gushing fountain of my victim's neck.
He won't be hurting women anymore. I thought to myself as I swallowed each hot mouthful of blood. How quickly the hunter becomes the prey.
Using the power of my mind, I sent him feelings: waves of pain and grief for the murder he had committed. The human mind was easy to control, and I called upon all the skill I possessed to make him suffer.
Murderers and those who dealt in crime and abuse were my prey. It was because of them, those vile individuals, that I was a vampire. Memories of my own near-death experience and echoes of past wounds fueled me.
As a vampire, I had power, the power to stop bad people from doing awful, evil things. Fate has a way of working things out, and it gave my bloodlust a purpose. If I was to be this creature, I would ensure that my feeding stopped the unnecessary deaths of innocents.
I drained him slowly and painfully, savoring the honey-sweet elixir of his blood. Keeping him alert enough to feel every draw against his neck, I gnawed at the wound with my sharp teeth and dug my nails into his flesh. I wanted him to feel everything. I wouldn't let him go unconscious. He needed to know and understand the torment he had inflicted on others. I only wished I had found him, sooner before he ended the life of the poor woman lying at our feet. The fearful look in her dead eyes was a painful reminder of the men who had attacked me.
This man would pay with his dying breath.
My victim moaned pitifully. He beat against my back, struggling to free himself. I tightened my grip, locking his body in my deadly embrace.
He was going nowhere.
The heat from his blood coursed through my veins, strengthening me, warming me, giving me his life-energy. I savored this feeling: the tingling rush, the ecstasy, that filled my being.
Just as the wave of pleasure crested, his heart slowed to an erratic thump, and the gushing fountain became a trickle. I knew he wouldn't last much longer. His blood pressure was dropping.
I lifted my head and gazed into his fear-filled eyes. "It's no fun when you're on the receiving end, is it?" I smiled at him, licking the last few drops of his blood from my fangs.
My head swam with energy—his energy. I felt powerful, strong, and just.
The wretched man was like putty—just a lump of mush—in my hands. Weakly, he exhaled a final dying breath. The light of life in his eyes extinguished. His head lolled and then flopped backward.
I listened carefully. His heart thumped once, twice, and then … nothing.
I bit my tongue and swirled a mix of my saliva and blood across the wound on his neck, ensuring it would close. The evidence of my feeding would be gone by the time anyone found him.
A strange prickling sensation tickled the back of my neck. The hair on my arms stood straight on end. I had come to know this unmistakable feeling quite well since I'd been turned. Another vampire was close.
I dropped my victim unceremoniously on top of the woman he'd just killed and turned around to scan the area. Though the street was dark, my vampire eyes had no problem spotting another pair of pale eyes staring back at me from the shadows.
A footstep broke the silence. Still young, I'd had limited dealings with other vampires. Not all were friendly. I hoped the one watching me would be.
"I know you're out there," I called to the darkness. "Show yourself."
Raspy laughter crawled out of the shadow. "Are you sure you want me to do that, Alyssa?"
In the space of a second, realization hit me. My eyes went wide and my heart slammed into my chest.
Oh shit. Santino!
Another footstep echoed around me as he moved into the light.
A trademark of the vampire kind, his blue-gray eyes seemed to glow as he looked at me. A wild mane of salt-and-pepper hair jutted out in all directions on top of his head. Deep-creased wrinkles and scars covered an aged face that had seen many battles. His lips pulled back into a predatory smile, revealing a perfect set of sharp white fangs.
I was running before I could even comprehend the thought of it. I needed to get away. Fast.
My Review
The second installment of the Immortalis saga picks up after the Peregrinus clan has clashed with enemy vampire Callisto and the corrupt religious sect, the Acta Sanctorum. While hunting, heroine Alyssa encounters enemy Santino, thought to be dead, and becomes haunted by visions of him. Despite her lover/maker Lysander's assurances, she can't shake the feeling that Santino has somehow survived. Her fears are soon realized, and Alyssa finds herself the protector of her mortal friend, Fallon, in a life or death struggle with the evil mastermind behind the Acta Sanctorum, Quentin. Alyssa then discovers that Quentin has been engaged in some not quite so saintly experiments involving vampire blood that has created an army of bloodthirsty zombies. Santino, distressed by his master's unholy army, joins forces with the Peregrinus clan and together they battle Quentin and his ghouls.
The character of Alyssa grows stronger in this installment. I admired her determination to help her friend, even against the wishes of her clan. It was fun to see her stick to her guns and stand up to the formidable presence of Lysander, proving that she's no pushover. Hunters and Prey is a fast-paced, sexy and entertaining read, with generous helpings of action, blood, and romance. Alyssa gets to kick some serious butt, and she and Lysander dial up the sexual heat a few times. As with the first book in the series, I enjoyed the Vegas setting and how the author uses it in her story.
About Katie
Author of the hot new Urban Fantasy series, Immortalis, Katie has always had a desire to entertain. Since, early childhood, she's dreamed up fantastical characters and scribbled them into pages of various journals and notebooks. Taking an interest in vampires at an early age, she devoured every book, featuring those mysterious, blood sucking creatures, in any genre she could find. She claims that, of all the monsters out there, vampires had always been the most interesting.
It was only natural that a love of reading about vampires, and a love of writing, turned into a desire to write her own stories.
A Las Vegas native, having grown up in the famed City of Sin, Katie loves to feature it as a recurring setting for many of her stories.
You can follow Kate at the following links:
Blog http://myimmortalstories.blogspot.com/
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ksalidas?ref=profile
Facebook Author Fansite http://www.facebook.com/pages/Katie-Salidas-Author/214780936916
Myspace http://www.myspace.com/katelv
January 3, 2011
Publisher Linda Houle talks about "The Naked Truth"
Publishing and the Naked Truth
Linda Houle, Publisher, L&L Dreamspell
Whether you are ready for it or not, the world of publishing is changing. Now. And it's changing fast. Authors, publishers, agents, bookstores, and readers all need to pay attention. The big chain bookstores are struggling to stay in business, and many Indie bookstores have already vanished. Just a few short years ago, many people didn't even know what an "ebook" was. Now ebooks are beginning to outsell print books! There are more and more ebook reading devices to choose from, with prices dropping to an affordable level. Now anyone can carry dozens or even hundreds of books with them, wherever they go. Ebooks typically cost half, or less, compared to the print version of the same title. Print books aren't going away yet, but over the next decade fewer titles will be produced in print. Many titles will be released only as ebooks.
I recently wrote a short handbook, aimed mainly at authors, called "The Naked Truth about Book Publishing." Why the need for another book about publishing? Many new authors need a quick guide to the current publishing options, so they can make the right choice for their manuscript. Should they go the traditional route and try to find an agent to shop their book around? Or how about submitting their work to a small press (L&L Dreamspell is a traditional, small press). Or, should an author self-publish? And, if the author decides to take the "do it yourself" path, should they pay a subsidy press to do the work—editing, typesetting, cover design, setting up distribution, etc.—or should they be their own "contractor" and hire out various parts of the job. Or, if they have the software and skills, should they do everything themselves?
There are benefits and drawbacks with every route to publishing. The current buzz on blogs says self-publishing has completely lost its stigma, so authors should bypass agents and publishers and do it themselves. And this does work well, for some people. In my handbook I give information and links to help self-publishing authors get started. If you've been turned down by agents, and rejected by numerous publishers, then you may have no other choice. Or, maybe you want to do everything yourself right from the start, because you know what's best for your book.
Wait! Before you set up your title at one of the self-service sites (such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, etc.) be sure your manuscript is ready for readers. Remember that self-publishing "stigma" that is supposedly now gone? Why do you think those books got such a bad reputation? Because of poor writing/editing/production quality. If you've been rejected, did you get any feedback from agents/publishers? If you've heard time after time that your novel needs improvement, then before you set it free as an ebook PLEASE get some editing help and make sure you are producing a quality product. Don't ever say "my writing is perfect as-is"—or "those agents/publishers are idiots and don't know what they're missing"—don't say it. That is not professional behavior. And despite vocal opinions of some disgruntled authors, traditional publishers did not go into business to steal authors' profits. I'm not talking about pay-to-publishing companies. Subsidy and Vanity presses are a whole different category. If you plan to use one, please do your homework so you don't get taken for an expensive ride! Traditional publishers, both large, small, and University presses, don't charge authors. They select promising manuscripts, turn them into viable products, then work with the authors so readers can enjoy their books, and everyone can succeed and make money.
A book is a product. And writing is a business. If you want to be successful, no matter how your manuscript makes it into the hands of readers, you need to think like a professional. Act like a professional. And sell a professional product. You can write all you want, as a hobby, but if you want to sell books and make money, there's a lot of hard work and promotion involved.
If you are published via a large New York press, then they'll take care of editing, and produce and sell the best version of your book possible. Small presses do the same, but the royalty advances up front are lower. Either way, authors still need to promote their book. Especially if you are published by a big company. You have a short window of opportunity for your book to succeed in stores or it's gone… Small presses give authors more time to build a fan base, especially if they write sequels. But sales numbers are in the hundreds, rather than the thousands. These smaller companies may produce both paperbacks and ebooks, or just publish ebooks. Books are often sold only on line and never make it into chain bookstores. The money is less than with a large company, but the pressure is less too, and that's often why authors love to work with small publishers. If you self-publish, allow enough time to plan ahead for distribution and promotion, so people can find and buy your book.
It seems that the recent explosion in do-it-yourself ebook publishing is a panacea for authors. In our "instant" society, it's the perfect fast-food style solution to publishing. Many blogs share success stories about authors who've dumped their (evil, greedy) publishers and are now making sales in the hundreds of thousands—and keeping all the profits for themselves. These stories may be true, for authors like J.A. Konrath and Seth Godin. The same success level is not achievable by 99.9% of self-publishing authors. Did the articles forget to mention that part? Authors who are major names, with huge fan bases, WILL succeed. Your neighbor who wrote their memoir (and didn't think it needed any editing or proper formatting) may sell a dozen copies, to their family and friends. Friends who won't tell them the writing is horrible and they never even finished chapter two…because they are friends, and family members. What if that same author also wanted that memoir in print and paid a subsidy company a thousand or more dollars, then bought a pallet full of books, then sold just a dozen copies? For every amazing success story, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of failure stories we never hear…
I think one reason we're seeing such a new ebook distributor open-door policy to self-published authors is MONEY. Even if each author only sells a dozen or two ebooks, multiply the commission by tens of thousands of books, and the big companies are fattening their wallets. So why not let anyone publishing anything? Now that the floodgates are open, let the reader beware. I'm not disrespecting self-publishing! There are many wonderful self-published ebooks. But there are many more awful self-published ebooks. Also, there are some dangerous self-published ebooks—advocating illegal activities.
Even though I co-own a traditional small press, L&L Dreamspell, and I think small presses are a great option for many authors, I still believe everyone needs to choose the correct path to publishing for their own manuscript. Those who want to grab the brass ring and gain fame and fortune should do all they can to find a literary agent who believes in their work, and will sell their book to a large company. Authors who want to be in control of every detail of their book's production need to self-publish. And the middle ground is the myriad of small presses, many publishing in specialized niche markets. It's important to read publishers' websites, to make sure they work with your genre. And follow their guidelines to ensure they will read and consider your work. Anyone sending a query, to agents or publishers, should be professional—it's just like a job interview. Sending an email (and openly cc'ing dozens of agents or publishers at the same time) that brags "Hey, want to read my great stuff?" that's full of typos, with little or no punctuation and capitalization, is just like going to an interview in dirty, smelly clothing. And being demanding in your query "Please send a large advance immediately" will lead to 100% rejection.
Choose your path to publishing wisely—then be professional when promoting your book/ebook. Good luck!
For more information visit: http://www.thenakedtruthaboutbookpublishing.com/ and http://www.lldreamspell.com/
A very big thanks to Linda for her highly informative post! Please leave a comment for Linda. I will draw 3 names at random to win an Immortyl Revolution refrigerator magnet. Drawing ends January 10th at midnight.For more information about the Immortyl Revolution series go to http://www.deniseverricowriter.webs.com/
December 30, 2010
New Character Profiles and Free Read at my site!
Go to my
website
to read new character profiles and some chapters from My Fearful Symmetry. New interviews and drawings coming up in January! I'll be posting the dates soon. Happy New Year!
December 25, 2010
Immortyl Revolution
Author of Cara Mia, Book One of the Immortyl Revolution the first of a new vampire series.
- Denise Verrico's profile
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