V.R. Cumming's Blog, page 3

The Vampire's Favorite Is Available for Pre-order

At long last, The Vampire's Favorite (The Vampyr, Book 2) is up for pre-order at Amazon. As usual, to reward my longtime (and incredibly patient) readers, the pre-order price is $.99. A few days after its release on 1 March 2016, the price will change to the regular retail price of $4.99.

The Vampire's Favorite has been over a year in the making. I started developing Jason's story in about January 2015 when I realized that how he regained the use of his legs would make a great story.

Along the way, I had the opportunity to really dig deeply into Jason's background and discovered quite a few surprises. Some of those surprises may be difficult to read, including the events contained in the prologue.

Explaining further would give the plot away, so I'll just say that if you'd like a taste of the story, the first scene of Chapter One is up on the book's page. Don't forget to pre-order The Vampire's Favorite when you're finished reading it. 

One final thing. Unlike The Vampire's Pet and The New Vampire, The Vampire's Favorite will be released as a complete novel. I was very tempted to release it in parts, but after having made y'all wait nearly a year for its release, I just couldn't make you wait a moment longer than I had to for the whole story.

I'm looking forward to getting this one into readers' hands. I hope y'all enjoy Jason's story as much as I enjoyed working with him.

The Core of the Vampyr Series

While writing The New Vampire and developing The Vampire's Favorite , I had an epiphany: These stories were not solely (and sometimes even mostly) about Gianna and Jason. One of the underlying plots was, and will be, Eric's transformation from a geeky, awkward academic into something else entirely.

What, exactly, I can't say as I haven't written the final installment in the series, The Master Vampire . But I know where he's headed and I know it's going to be a difficult journey for our young threesome.

​While we put the finishing touches on The Vampire's Favorite, Eric's transformation (and, by extension, Gianna's and Jason's) has weighed heavily on my mind. How can I, as the author of his story and the first reader to fall in love with him as a character, stand to drag him through the turmoil and sheer agony he endures over the four book series chronicling his journey? 

The truth is that I hate doing it, but without those experiences, Eric will never fully develop as a character. 

And he is definitely a character who deserves to reach his fullest potential.

I believe I've mentioned this before, but I've already written the first few scenes of the final installment in the Vampyr Series. There are, as yet, no firm plans for a release date. That will come later, after The Vampire's Favorite is published and readers have a chance to absorb the implications of the events that take place within those pages.

Speaking of, I'll have news on the release date for The Vampire's Favorite by next Monday. Yes, it's finally ready for release, or close enough that I can announce a firm release date. My editor is now making his final read-through and absolutely loves it. (And this from a guy who was shocked the first time he read what we laughingly call "goth vampire porn.") Thank you all for your patience over the past few months. I really appreciate your support and continued good will, and hope to reward you with many more reads down the road.

And to that end, I need your help once more. When The Master Vampire is complete, it will be time for me to turn my writer's imagination to new stories. What would you like to read? Do you have a favorite character or couple from the Vampyr Series that, in your opinion, deserve their own story? Or would you rather I create a completely different story world all together?

Now's your chance to tell me. Simply comment on this post or, if you'd rather share your opinion in private, feel free to e-mail me. I always love hearing from readers and am sincerely interested in knowing what you'd enjoy reading.

Until then, peace!

The Giveaway Is Over!

The recent giveaway of a Kindle Fire HD 6, plus signed, print editions of The Vampire's Pet and book charms is now complete. I Love Vampire Novels, the giveaway host, chose the Grand Prize Winner and five secondary prize winners. I've already contacted those winners by e-mail and hope to hear from them soon so I can drop their prize packages in the mail.

Each giveaway entrant will receive the "every winner" prize "We All Fall Down" as promised. Instructions on downloading it will be included in a separate e-mail. These winners will be contacted on a rotating basis in order to not overload my newsletter and e-mail hosts.

Due to the number of entrants, it may take me a while to touch base with everyone. I was completely staggered by the sheer volume! Thank you to everyone who entered. I really appreciate your interest in the Vampyr Series. If you entered the giveaway and have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me. 

Congratulations to all the winners!

New Email Address

I'm in the process of reorganizing my writing business. For example, I've relocated most of my non-book blogging here. I'm also consolidating as much of my author e-mail as possible, since I write under multiple pen names. All email concerning titles published under the V.R. Cumming pen name should now be directed to authorcdwatson (at) gmail (dot) com. If you're an advance reviewer, please make sure that this email address is on your "safe" list. Thanks for your understanding!

Win a Kindle Fire HD 6!

I've paired up with I Love Vampire Novels to do a giveaway. Up for grabs are signed, print copies of The Vampire's Pet , some swag, and a Kindle Fire HD 6. The giveaway ends on 6 January 2016. To enter, go here or click on the picture below. Good luck!

New Covers for The Vampyr Series!

L. J. Anderson of Mayhem Cover Creations is at it again. I recently commissioned her to do covers for the second, third, and fourth books in The Vampyr Series, and these beauties are what she delivered. Aren't they just gorgeous? She wanted to experiment a little, and so ended up reworking The Vampire's Pet , too, but only a little. 

I'll have news about the release of The Vampire's Favorite soon. In the meantime, enjoy the eye candy!

Where's the Rest of the Vampyr Series?

A couple of days ago, I was checking the website and realized I hadn't posted to the blog in three months. Rest assured that I haven't forgotten about y'all and your desire to know what happens next among the Vampyr. Life has simply thrown a couple of curves my way. 

In mid-June, I published my first Science Fiction Romance under my other pen name. It was such a huge success, I had to rearrange my entire schedule to wedge writing an unplanned series into my time. I was at a standstill with Jason's story right then, so I put it on the back burner for a while. More on that in a moment.

A month later, Richard's mother was diagnosed with cancer. For those of you who are new to the blog, Richard is my alpha reader and developmental editor. It's because of him that my stories flow so well, so losing his feedback while he helps his mother has been a huge blow to my writing. Richard and I are long-time friends. He's a part of my family, and so I've been pitching in where and when I can.

I hope to resume writing Jason's story, The Vampire's Favorite , soon. I don't know yet if it will be released as one, full-length novel or a series. I do already have tentative titles for the story's three sections: Long Journey Home; Awakening; and The Winnowing Field. TVF is set in Minnesota and introduces a host of new characters, some of whom I expect to include in The Master Vampire . A lot of Jason's back story is woven into TVF. Some of it is hard to swallow, but I think readers will generally be accepting and enjoy learning some of the whys and whats that are Jason.

As for TMV, I've already written the first couple of scenes. Those went on digital paper prior to the mid-June shift. Here are the opening paragraphs:

Blood has a distinct odor. To humans, the coppery bite stings the nose and often dominoes into a gag reflex, either from fear of spilling too much of life’s precious fluids or from revulsion. To a vampire, the metallic zing triggers far different reactions. A sharp pang of hunger, the elongation of pointed fangs, and if enough is imbibed, an unnatural thirst for more combined with an overwhelming lust for another human’s flesh.

Not today. 

The series finale promises to be a doozy. Unfortunately, it's been pushed much further back than I had anticipated. As soon as I have more news, I promise to post. In the meantime, peace and much happiness to each of you.

25% Off Titles at All Romance eBooks

The Vampire's Pet and The New Vampire will be 25% off on 20 June 2015 only during All Romance eBooks' Hello Summer #AReBlast. To take advantage of these savings, click on the banner below.

How to Get an Advance Reading Copy of The Vampire's Favorite

I'm looking for twenty to one hundred readers who would like to receive a digital Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of The Vampire's Favorite when it's released in the next couple of months. If you're interested, here's what to do:

Review The Vampire's Pet on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and GoodReads (or any of those for which you have an account).E-mail me with a link to the review.Wait for The Vampire's Favorite to be released.
By signing up to receive an ARC, you are agreeing to leave an honest review of The Vampire's Favorite on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and GoodReads (again, at any of those for which you have an account). 

If you've already left a review of The Vampire's Pet bundle/collection (reviews on the individual episodes don't count for this one), e-mail me the information I need to find it, and I'll put you on the list to receive an ARC of The Vampire's Favorite. I have a limited number of digital review copies of The Vampire's Pet, if you haven't yet read it.

Reviews are one of the biggest factors readers consider when purchasing a book from an author they haven't yet read. It's also a huge consideration for online advertisers. Some require over fifty positive reviews before they'll even consider putting a book in front of their readers. That's one reason why indie authors work so hard to build their review teams. 

More specific information on my Advance Review Team is here, but if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me.  

Updates on The Vampire's Favorite and Things Yet to be Written

I keep a weather eye on my writing schedule, tweaking it usually every time I complete each step of the publication process, from developing a story to releasing it to readers. I've had a lot of ideas floating around in my head as I work on the first draft for The Vampire's Favorite . 

Before I get into those ideas, here's a quick update on TVF: The first draft is about halfway completed. When I started looking at my publication schedule for this year, I had hoped to publish it this month. That's obviously not going to happen. There's a slim possibility TVF will be ready in July, but for now, I'm tentatively shooting for an August release. Don't set that in stone! Something could happen between now and then to delay publication, though I'm going to try my hardest to get it out by then. 

Part of the reason TVF has been delayed for so long is because it's simply an emotionally difficult story for me to write. It begins just a few months after the end of The Vampire's Pet . Gianna is in something similar to an induced coma, Jason is essentially paralyzed from the waist down (though not completely), and Eric is still reeling from all the changes that have taken place in his life over such a short period of time. There are a lot of relationship issues Eric and Jason have to sort through, plus Jason has to figure out how to explain Eric to his family. There's a lot more to this story than just relationship issues, though. Jason's past rears its head in some unexpected ways. He and Eric are unwittingly drawn into a conflict between two rival vampires. Oh! There's a vampire hunter on the loose, always an interesting situation when one is a vampire. So, lots going on. Hopefully, y'all will enjoy this installment as much as you have the other two.

Once the first draft for TVF is finished, I'll start working in earnest on The Master Vampire . I hope to release it either late this year or early next year. No spoilers on this one (I'm still developing it), but it should be a doozy.

And after that... I have no idea what I'll work on under this pen name. I've started sending out feelers to readers as to what they'd like to see once The Vampyr Series comes to a close. There are several possibilities, including an historical featuring Elizabet and Marco that would be a sort of prequel to the Vampyr Series. Darien, Nathaniel, and Alice have fascinating back stories and present strong possibilities for additional stories set among the Vampyr. If you have a favorite character you'd like to see get his or her own story, drop me a line. I'm always interested in hearing from readers.

Another possibility is to develop a completely different story world, and here, I had help from a truly unexpected source. My father is a songwriter. He knows I write under a "secret" pen name, though he doesn't know exactly what I write. (He's a pretty smart cookie. He's probably guessed it's not something he'd feel comfortable reading.) 

A couple of weeks ago, he asked me if I'd like to use lines from any of his songs in my books. He mentioned a particular stanza that really resonates with fans of his songs. (And he has a really hardcore group of fans that truly love his work, including me.) Immediately, I homed in on a phrase that would work very well for a new story world and series. I haven't decided anything yet. It could be that I'll stick with the world I've already created and write stories for established characters. Or it could be that I take a right turn into this new world and go from there. 

Then again, I'm just the writer, so please, don't be shy. Let me know if you have a preference. Until then, happy reading!