Kristen Gupton's Blog: Life With My Vampire, page 3
August 2, 2018
This Morning’s Earworms
My brain upon waking this morning: “Today’s music selection I will
constantly playing...
constantly playing...
August 1, 2018
Eddy hanging out and helping me get some stuff written today.
Eddy hanging out and helping me get some stuff written today.
Stupid Things
I didn’t intend for one of the stories I’m writing to go the way it did, but within the...
Stupid Things
I didn't intend for one of the stories I'm writing to go the way it did, but within the first two pages, it had me crying my eyes out. I hadn't premeditated something having come to pass at all, but I wrote a line of dialogue and it happened to come out just so, implying something and...dang. Dangity dang it. I didn't want to put him through that so early, but I guess I have. I hope it doesn't piss people off when that story comes out next year because...dang. I don't mean to break hearts within the first 500 words of something, but I sure as hell broke my own.
July 26, 2018
Work In Progress, Rise of the Raven
A little peek at what I've been working on;
Rise of the Raven
The Tale of Athan Vercilla
I’d never met royalty before, which should come as no surprise given my station in life prior to the unfolding of the war. For all the years I’d spent on the front of it, however, not once had our king made an appearance until that day.
I was gearing up with my men to make our final charge, intent on wiping out the last group of Androni raiders. Thousands of men from both sides had lost their lives in the conflict up to that point. However, in doing so and fighting back, I’d spared other families from suffering what I had during the eradication of my village and family, and for that, I was proud.
I was told by a herald running ahead of the king’s entourage that he was on his way to be a part of what we were setting out to do.
...this, immediately, irritated me, but I held my tongue and decided to withhold judgment until I’d at least met the monarch whose flag I had been fighting under. Certainly, with his entire country sunk into famine, he’d had things to attend to aside from the fight with our eastern neighbors. Perhaps he’d heard of me and found me competent and worth leaving in charge.
I hoped, anyway.
When late morning rolled around and he appeared, my initial irritation was brushed aside in a heartbeat with absolute fury.
The king arrived in our camp, so enormously overweight I was surprised his horse had survived the ride. Worse yet, his three sons, all in a similar state of obesity, were with him. Yet, my entire army was little more than skin and bones. No, he hadn’t avoided the front because he’d been busy. He’d avoided it because he was simply too fat to be of any particular use.
Fat in a time of famine for his entire country, mind you.
I don’t need to share with you exactly how that made me feel.
He required the help of no fewer than six men to get him off of his horse, his sons doing little better.
What he had on me in girth, however, I made up for in height. I towered over him, refusing to kneel as he approached. I should have ended him at that moment and been done with it.
He waddled up to me, his expression confused. He stopped and looked me over silently for several moments. One of his guards waved to me that I should kneel, but I would not.
The king’s gaze inevitably landed on my eyes and he took a single step closer. “They say your name is Athan Debric.”
I gave a single nod, knowing I needed to continue the charade. “It is.”
“Your eyes say otherwise,” he replied, quickly snapping his fingers.
At once, two men produced a chair from the wagon accompanying the king’s entourage. They brought it over to him and he landed in it, obviously exerted from even his brief stint on his feet. Soon, three more were produced for the princes, too.
I waited for them to settle in. “I keep hearing tales about my eyes being of particular interest, but I’m afraid I don’t know what that stems from.”
He slouched down in his chair, leaning to the side as one of his attendants mopped his sweaty brow for him. “I find that hard to believe.”
“I’m the son of a poor farmer,” I said, my hatred for the man before me growing with each beat of my heart. “Whatever legacy these other teal-eyed devils had is apart from me.”
“Witches,” he replied, as another servant appeared to tip a chalice of wine to his lips. He took a sip before dismissing the servants nearby. “Insurrectionists. My father had some trouble with a family known as the Vercillas. One of them was a landowner from this part of the country. He sought to spark a rebellion to overthrow our nation. It was of no great matter. Easily crushed and most of them killed.”
As poor as we’d always been, we did own the farm we’d lived on. I’d always wondered how that could be for a family in poverty. My father had always said it had simply been in the family for generations and passed down to him from his uncle. Further details had been withheld from me, or perhaps my father simply hadn’t known more.
Not that it mattered. I was the only one of my family left. And, other than the first man I’d met in the village I’d arrived in after my own was destroyed ages before, no one knew I was, indeed, a Vercilla.
“Well, as I said, I’m Athan Debric,” I replied, forcing up a smile that made the acid churn in my stomach. The ache of my fangs begging to be allowed to descend burned in my upper jaw, but I had to hold them at bay. Seeing that I was a vampire certainly wouldn’t help matters.
He eyed me again, obviously thinking, but as to what, I didn’t know. “So, how close are we to defeating these Androni invaders?”
We? My friend, I cannot tell you how very, very hard it was for me to keep from simply stepping forward and ripping this fat bastard to shreds. We?
“This raid shall likely end it,” I said, my smile faltering despite my best efforts, but I still kept up a humble tone through some miracle.
“Good. I’m glad that I will crush them quickly,” he said, “and I shall have my victory.”
I couldn’t do it. I tried, I did, but that was a step too far.
“You will crush them?” I asked. “You will have your victory?”
All three of his sons, as well as the servants around us, fell silent immediately. I ignored all of them except the king.
He was dumbstruck. He didn’t know how to respond to that. I may have been the first one to ever respond to him in such a way, judging from the color of purple that immediately rose to his cheeks.
I didn’t back down. “I have been out here for years! I started this all when I was merely sixteen following the slaughter of my entire family and village! Don’t think that you’re going to ride into this now, watch me end this war, and then claim the victory for your own!”
One of the princes managed to extract himself from his seat, and he rose up. It took him no fewer than three attempts to draw his sword from his sheath. “How dare you speak to your king like that! I shall kill you for your insolence!”
I smiled at that and placed my hand against the hilt of the sword at my side. “Try it.”
The prince, likely my own age, had clearly not thought that out very well, and he didn’t make a move toward me.
The king’s guards, however, did make a move, coming to attention and drawing their own weapons with far more grace and skill than the prince.
The king gave a snort and started to laugh. “Athan Debric, you are a funny man! You’ve gotten them all worked up!”
Yes, our king was so out of touch that he thought my display of defiance was nothing more than a joke! It may have really been humorous under any other circumstances...
Rise of the Raven
The Tale of Athan Vercilla
I’d never met royalty before, which should come as no surprise given my station in life prior to the unfolding of the war. For all the years I’d spent on the front of it, however, not once had our king made an appearance until that day.
I was gearing up with my men to make our final charge, intent on wiping out the last group of Androni raiders. Thousands of men from both sides had lost their lives in the conflict up to that point. However, in doing so and fighting back, I’d spared other families from suffering what I had during the eradication of my village and family, and for that, I was proud.
I was told by a herald running ahead of the king’s entourage that he was on his way to be a part of what we were setting out to do.
...this, immediately, irritated me, but I held my tongue and decided to withhold judgment until I’d at least met the monarch whose flag I had been fighting under. Certainly, with his entire country sunk into famine, he’d had things to attend to aside from the fight with our eastern neighbors. Perhaps he’d heard of me and found me competent and worth leaving in charge.
I hoped, anyway.
When late morning rolled around and he appeared, my initial irritation was brushed aside in a heartbeat with absolute fury.
The king arrived in our camp, so enormously overweight I was surprised his horse had survived the ride. Worse yet, his three sons, all in a similar state of obesity, were with him. Yet, my entire army was little more than skin and bones. No, he hadn’t avoided the front because he’d been busy. He’d avoided it because he was simply too fat to be of any particular use.
Fat in a time of famine for his entire country, mind you.
I don’t need to share with you exactly how that made me feel.
He required the help of no fewer than six men to get him off of his horse, his sons doing little better.
What he had on me in girth, however, I made up for in height. I towered over him, refusing to kneel as he approached. I should have ended him at that moment and been done with it.
He waddled up to me, his expression confused. He stopped and looked me over silently for several moments. One of his guards waved to me that I should kneel, but I would not.
The king’s gaze inevitably landed on my eyes and he took a single step closer. “They say your name is Athan Debric.”
I gave a single nod, knowing I needed to continue the charade. “It is.”
“Your eyes say otherwise,” he replied, quickly snapping his fingers.
At once, two men produced a chair from the wagon accompanying the king’s entourage. They brought it over to him and he landed in it, obviously exerted from even his brief stint on his feet. Soon, three more were produced for the princes, too.
I waited for them to settle in. “I keep hearing tales about my eyes being of particular interest, but I’m afraid I don’t know what that stems from.”
He slouched down in his chair, leaning to the side as one of his attendants mopped his sweaty brow for him. “I find that hard to believe.”
“I’m the son of a poor farmer,” I said, my hatred for the man before me growing with each beat of my heart. “Whatever legacy these other teal-eyed devils had is apart from me.”
“Witches,” he replied, as another servant appeared to tip a chalice of wine to his lips. He took a sip before dismissing the servants nearby. “Insurrectionists. My father had some trouble with a family known as the Vercillas. One of them was a landowner from this part of the country. He sought to spark a rebellion to overthrow our nation. It was of no great matter. Easily crushed and most of them killed.”
As poor as we’d always been, we did own the farm we’d lived on. I’d always wondered how that could be for a family in poverty. My father had always said it had simply been in the family for generations and passed down to him from his uncle. Further details had been withheld from me, or perhaps my father simply hadn’t known more.
Not that it mattered. I was the only one of my family left. And, other than the first man I’d met in the village I’d arrived in after my own was destroyed ages before, no one knew I was, indeed, a Vercilla.
“Well, as I said, I’m Athan Debric,” I replied, forcing up a smile that made the acid churn in my stomach. The ache of my fangs begging to be allowed to descend burned in my upper jaw, but I had to hold them at bay. Seeing that I was a vampire certainly wouldn’t help matters.
He eyed me again, obviously thinking, but as to what, I didn’t know. “So, how close are we to defeating these Androni invaders?”
We? My friend, I cannot tell you how very, very hard it was for me to keep from simply stepping forward and ripping this fat bastard to shreds. We?
“This raid shall likely end it,” I said, my smile faltering despite my best efforts, but I still kept up a humble tone through some miracle.
“Good. I’m glad that I will crush them quickly,” he said, “and I shall have my victory.”
I couldn’t do it. I tried, I did, but that was a step too far.
“You will crush them?” I asked. “You will have your victory?”
All three of his sons, as well as the servants around us, fell silent immediately. I ignored all of them except the king.
He was dumbstruck. He didn’t know how to respond to that. I may have been the first one to ever respond to him in such a way, judging from the color of purple that immediately rose to his cheeks.
I didn’t back down. “I have been out here for years! I started this all when I was merely sixteen following the slaughter of my entire family and village! Don’t think that you’re going to ride into this now, watch me end this war, and then claim the victory for your own!”
One of the princes managed to extract himself from his seat, and he rose up. It took him no fewer than three attempts to draw his sword from his sheath. “How dare you speak to your king like that! I shall kill you for your insolence!”
I smiled at that and placed my hand against the hilt of the sword at my side. “Try it.”
The prince, likely my own age, had clearly not thought that out very well, and he didn’t make a move toward me.
The king’s guards, however, did make a move, coming to attention and drawing their own weapons with far more grace and skill than the prince.
The king gave a snort and started to laugh. “Athan Debric, you are a funny man! You’ve gotten them all worked up!”
Yes, our king was so out of touch that he thought my display of defiance was nothing more than a joke! It may have really been humorous under any other circumstances...
June 5, 2018
Just to show I’ve stepped up the covers a little since the “Good...
Just to show I’ve stepped up the covers a little since the “Good Old Days” of being a noob. Had a pro do the first one, though I admit to changing the color scheme and putting a new face on it. The others I did, making them match a little nicer.
I Deleted You, I Killed You Dead
Yet, lo and behold, here my blog is! I straight up deleted this whole thing, at least that was the...
June 3, 2018
I'd Like To Thank The Academy...
No, not really. They didn't help with jack squat.
However, I did cross the finish line with the first draft of Royal Blood Book 6, which is the finale of the series. This first draft is clocking in at over 125,000 words, which will grow during the second draft, then contract again a little during editing.
So, it's gonna be a big one, but there was a lot to tie up and there were a few little things to drop here and there that will come into play in other books and the next series that I'm writing.
...because the next series is going to have some real familiar faces in it.
However, I did cross the finish line with the first draft of Royal Blood Book 6, which is the finale of the series. This first draft is clocking in at over 125,000 words, which will grow during the second draft, then contract again a little during editing.
So, it's gonna be a big one, but there was a lot to tie up and there were a few little things to drop here and there that will come into play in other books and the next series that I'm writing.
...because the next series is going to have some real familiar faces in it.
May 31, 2018
Finish Line Within Sight
Crossed a landmark in the sixth book tonight. It will be the longest one in the series by necessity. There was a lot to wrap up, and some of it has been really, really hard to write. Easy decisions were not to be had while making this one, I'm afraid. I had several points where it honestly took me DAYS to bring myself to write parts of it because yeah...feels.
However, it's almost there. Now, to clean up the aftermath and we're off to editing. Writing this one has been more emotional than the others, though I had a pretty rough time with The King's Knight, too.
Urgh. I've been working on this series for too long. I've already started the next one, however. There are two books in that one with parts already written. Those of you who've liked the Royal Blood Books I hope will go on to read The Afterlands books. There is a slight genre shift, but you may just find a few familiar faces in there...
However, it's almost there. Now, to clean up the aftermath and we're off to editing. Writing this one has been more emotional than the others, though I had a pretty rough time with The King's Knight, too.
Urgh. I've been working on this series for too long. I've already started the next one, however. There are two books in that one with parts already written. Those of you who've liked the Royal Blood Books I hope will go on to read The Afterlands books. There is a slight genre shift, but you may just find a few familiar faces in there...
April 13, 2018
Change Of Perspective
I'm currently writing the following books:
The Raven Warlord-Royal Blood 6
The Slayer-The Afterlands Vol 1
The Remnant-The Afterlands Vol 2
Raven's Rise-The Tale of Athan Vercilla
Exhumed
Four of those are being written in 3rd person, past tense. That present tense thing isn't for me and I don't write in that. However, 1st person is something I've dabbled in before, and I'm going to do my first real book in it.
I knew I wanted to write Athan's story for a long while, but whenever I'd start it, it just never felt right. I started it yet again yesterday, though, and this time, I did so in the first person. As it turns out, he's much easier to write for like that. So, I'm going to run with it, and hope it doesn't turn readers off. However, since it's a stand-alone though set in the Royal Blood world, I think it'll be okay.
Right?
The Raven Warlord-Royal Blood 6
The Slayer-The Afterlands Vol 1
The Remnant-The Afterlands Vol 2
Raven's Rise-The Tale of Athan Vercilla
Exhumed
Four of those are being written in 3rd person, past tense. That present tense thing isn't for me and I don't write in that. However, 1st person is something I've dabbled in before, and I'm going to do my first real book in it.
I knew I wanted to write Athan's story for a long while, but whenever I'd start it, it just never felt right. I started it yet again yesterday, though, and this time, I did so in the first person. As it turns out, he's much easier to write for like that. So, I'm going to run with it, and hope it doesn't turn readers off. However, since it's a stand-alone though set in the Royal Blood world, I think it'll be okay.
Right?
Life With My Vampire
Occasional thoughts...when I have such things.
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