Cover Art by Alison Hunt
This became a fun book to write. Ravenous was originally just a mid-series adventure that wasn’t going to have a lot of impact. Just a fun tale while Clyde and his forces handle their grief. Not sure why I made it that small, but it was the plan. Then, three things happened. Though, I should explain the plot first. We’ll circle back to the trio by paragraph three.
In Ravenous, reports of vampiric animals attacking during the day has Clyde worried that the existence of the Dawn Fangs is about to be revealed. Xavier is curious about the strange incidents as well, so both sides start to investigate. Agents begin disappearing with some coming back obedient to a new master. The source ends up being an underground criminal empire run by Desirae Duvall, who is a Dawn Fang with a lot of ambition. From the strange creatures to a vampire drug industry, she has been busy in the shadows. Now, Clyde needs to get her in check before the mortals realize the Dawn Fangs exist, which she doesn’t see as a problem.
The biggest change that happened was Desirae Duvall. She was originally a blackmailing prostitute in other versions, but I turned her into a criminal entrepreneur and mad scientist. Her personality was big, proud, and unapologetic, which made her a lot of fun to write. Desirae definitely upped this story to a bigger threat to Clyde’s dream and his people. Not only him, but Xavier’s forces were at risk. I had been wondering for a while if a third entity could show up in this ‘civil war’ and Desirae delivered. Now, you had Xavier wanting vampires to stay in the shadows, Clyde wanting to ease into the light, and Desirae who wants to reveal everything now. Yet, she didn’t have any honor like the others and was working purely off selfish desire.
The other enhancement to this book involved that drug industry I mentioned. Crushed magic gems can make Dawn Fangs feel really good in the same way that cocaine works on humans. Mab ends up becoming addicted because it’s the path she takes to handle her grief over what she lost in Eradication. As I said two weeks ago, I couldn’t take Mab out of the series. I did realize I was treating her with kid gloves while the rest of the Dawn Fangs went through suffering. Even with the great loss, I had Clyde more upset than Mab, which should have been the opposite. So, I decided to show how a grieving person can make bad choices, which they think are good. This resulted in her having to spend the rest of the series getting out of this hole and then trying not to fall back in.
Finally, the third change goes back to Desirae, but more about me seeing how her actions would influence the rest of the series. Until now, there weren’t many tight connections between threats. Either all of the issues were created in the one book or it was ancient history of a character rising up from the shadows. That was going to be how it kept going until Desirae appeared. I saw her as a catalyst for everything that would be happening to Clyde and the Dawn Fangs. Made sense since Xavier was very slow in his machinations and needed a push himself. There are only 3 books left after Ravenous and Desirae’s actions are what trigger it all. This gave me a lot more guidance when I was checking over the final outlines and strengthened the entire series.
Normally, I would talk about what I would change here. I got nothing because this story altered so much of what I was originally planning. So, I don’t want to tinker with a keystone book. Maybe I’d lean heavier into the Mab drug addiction and have characters treat her poorly once the truth came out? That might have been too vindictive and I’d sacrifice the on-going theme that the Dawn Fangs see themselves as a big, supportive family. The whole thing works for what it is and causes enough trouble that Mab doesn’t come out like she was before. Even her powers take a hint, so I guess I actually stretch this storyline out for at least 2 books.
Question time!
- How would you handle grieving?
- What would be the scariest vampiric animal to run into? (Not a mosquito because they already are vampires.)
- When does ambition become a negative trait?
Legends of Windemere 
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Totally agree with #3. Now I’ll have vampire roach nightmares.
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Sorry! 😊😌
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I think grief hits us all in different ways. I would have the character work out his grief by concentrating on the most fun memories.
The worst vampire I could think of would be a vampire rat. EWWWWW
I think ambition is good except when it overpowers empathy for what others are going through and blindly proceeds without respect for who gets hurt.
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Ambition over empathy is a problem I’ve seen many times.
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😊
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Butterflies seem popular when it comes to blood and vampirism. In one manga, an area had butterflies attracted to blood, so they were used to track a wounded enemy.
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I think it’s brilliant to use a third entity to force the other two to step up their goals. Thank God everyone grieves differently. That way we don’t have a strict recipe we have to follow. Some close themselves off, some get drunk (or drugged), some try to jump back into some kind of busy work. Vampiric animal could be a honey badger. Ambition can go over the top and become more selfish than positive. I’m reminded of our current political environment as an example. Characters can neglect their families until it’s too late. They find themselves alone with adult children who barely know them, etc.
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Unfortunately, some people do think there’s a strict method to grieving. Always causes extra stress.
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This always was one of my favorite covers. The spades in the eyes of the skull, the skull in the center of the flower. Very cool.
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I wondered about honey badger vampires after I wrote the post. Definitely terrifying.
I get the dementia thing. Been seeing that a lot the last few years.
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Funny how nobody thinks of bats with this question. I mean, we do have vampire bats already, but not the type in fiction.
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