Timmy’s Casket Emporium: For All Your Six Feet Under Needs

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Welcome to . . . Oh, one of your kind.  Sorry, but things always get complicated when vampires come looking.  Humans get the standard things like pillows, colorful decorations, fancy woods, televisions on the inside of the lid, and minibars in the sides.  Those I can do without raising any questions, but vampires require that we go into the basement and you pay extra.  Follow me through this casket, which never sells because nobody liked this band in the first place.  Not that one, but another one that we don’t have the rights to mention here.

First, I’m obligated to tell you that we don’t make crypts and mausoleums.  Nothing more than the caskets and coffins here.  Materials range from various types of wood to stone to glass.  We have more unique types like gold and steel.  We actually try to steer your kind away from wood because of a common tactic with hunters.  They’ll take part of the lid and use it as a stake, which is fairly ingenious.  Hey, you can admire the creative style of your opponent while undoing it.  Cardboard is an option for some reason.  So, you want cardboard with metal inside to give the illusion of a regular box.  That sounds like it could backfire, but I see no reason why we can’t do it.  Just know that we are not responsible for it being mistaken for garbage.

Considering you don’t want this to look like a casket, we’ll skip the outside additions.  Yes, we have decals that you can add to make it more authentic.  Now, are you a vampire that requires dirt inside or can we do a nice lining?  Both is possible.  Give us a sample of what you need and we can have rune-covered containers built into the corners.  You don’t get dirty, but still has the same effect.  Let me get some measurements to know how stuffed the lining can be without making it too cramped.  Since you’re not actually dead, you still toss and turn a bit, so you need wiggle room.  We do have an addition where you can add a scent to the lining by adding perfume infused beads.  Our most popular smells are lavender, new car, summer bog, pizza, and cedar wood chips.  For some reason, vampires don’t like chocolate because it reminds them of what they can’t have.  All you have to do is come back once every three months for a batch of oil to pour into a hidden port.

Now for the fun additions that will make this almost like a home.  After all, vampires don’t fall asleep right away, so it pays to have some entertainment.  As I said, we have televisions for the dead, which have small batteries.  For you, we can add a bigger battery that you can recharge during your travels.  Other options are video game systems, computers . . . Well, I guess the noise would attract people to the box.  That’s why we can put in some soundproofing if you really want this.  Another idea is a variation on the mini-bar, which is a small library.  You can’t fit more than ten books in there, but you can always switch out the ones you’ve already read.  Sure, eBook readers are an option, but the lighting might be bad for your eyes in there.

Those are the main parts and we can go over the nuances later.  Please note that we carry warranties by the decade instead of single years.  Vampires are practically immortal and you guys tend to lose all concept of time as you age.  Any other questions?  No, I’m not Timmy.  My name is Tommy, but there was a typo in the sign and stationary, so I went with it.

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The 2018 Author Interview Series Featuring Nicholas T. Davis

This gallery contains 7 photos.

Don Massenzio It’s time for the next subject for my 2018 author interview series. Author interviews are posted every Friday throughout the year. I am honored to continue this series with author, artist, musician and blogger Nicholas T. Davis Nick … Continue reading

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Titus Winthrop: Leader of the Vengeance Hounds

Vampire Hunter D

Titus Winthrop is Mab’s younger brother who stands at about 7 feet tall and wields twin claymores because he can.  Might seem rather blunt, but that actually works for the character to some extent.  He’s also part of a trio that stems from the Vampire game I played prior to going to college.  These are my high school friends who introduced me to the game and we didn’t take it seriously at all.  Mayhem and acting like monstrous vampires was the point, which is why my vampirized author didn’t really fit.  I’ll get to him later in the post.  Titus is definitely not the guy he was back then though.  In fact, he doesn’t even have the same name.

Way back when, his name was Lurch because he was huge.  He carried big guns and never shied away from a fight.  There was also a session where he freaked out at the sight of fire and went berserk in a CVS.  It still fit the mood of the game because it was all about having fun and being vampires.  Combat was a constant activity and I think Lurch might have been the instigator a lot of the times.  Definitely wasn’t boring when he was around even when he was revived for a summer game where I used Clyde.  Talk about a pair that shouldn’t be in the same zip code much less the same room.  Both of them enjoyed fighting so much that you’d never know what would happen.  This is also where Lurch was introduced to the ‘Merit/Flaw’ system that allowed you to customize characters.  So, he was reborn after a quick explanation of Large Size and Ambidexterity followed by everyone turning pale at him requested two giant swords.  Man, was he a force of destruction after that one.

While I kept his physical stature, I couldn’t keep the rest.  The name had to change and I thought of Titus because it was close to Titan.  He actually had the surname of Winthrop first and then I thought it would be fun to make him Mab’s brother.  He was turned by one of her enemies in the hopes of using him against her, but it backfired and the siblings teamed up.  I’m actually thinking that Titus was the one who joined Mab and Clyde to turn their partnership into the begins of the gang.  This also meant he couldn’t be a battle-crazed monster, so I made him intelligent and insightful.  At the very least, he’s more cool-headed and has no problem voicing his opinion.  That doesn’t say much in some instances because I had to honor the original by giving him a temper.  It’s not as easy to trigger, but it’s there and rather specific.

Oddly enough, Titus brings in a big sense of family to the series.  The rage triggers I gave him revolve entirely around threats to the gang, which he sees as his brothers and sisters.  Mab gets special preference, but he’d rip a person’s head off for making a move on anyone, including Clyde who is more powerful.  In this way, Titus became a protector and leader within the ranks, which helped out a lot in terms of the group dynamic.  While Clyde and Mab are more adept at solo and duo jobs, Titus is the one who works with larger groups and that’s why I designed the Vengeance Hounds.  They’re not thieves, so much as mercenaries and bandits.  Seriously, a giant of a man can’t pickpocket if his hands are too big to get into the pocket.  This also helped the transition for Titus and his companions in the wake of Clyde’s disappearance.  Since they were more warrior than thief, it wasn’t too difficult to become Xavier’s special ops team.  This does pose a problem though since it has led to their ranks being reduced to 3 by the time the series begins.  It’s another factor in Titus’s protective nature and will be a deciding factor in his Dawn Fang powers if he decides to accept the change.

The funny story deals with the one time Titus, when he was Lurch, couldn’t do anything in a fight.  It was hilarious because he missed with every roll and it was against mortals in a bar fight he started.  On the other hand, my artist vampire was destroying everyone as he tried to get out in one piece.  I was putting people through tables and shattering chairs over heads with my piddly strength.  The giant was doing more damage to his pride and ended up having to get dragged out by me.  This led to us being hunted too, which ended with my guy getting his head blown off by an Ithaca Shotgun (I asked the gunman before death) and Titus/Lurch getting away.  Eh, it was the last game we’d get to play before we all went off to college and I still chuckle about it.  How could I not use Titus after such a fun time?

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11 Tips To Using LinkedIn To Promote Your Book

Nicholas C. Rossis's avatarNicholas C. Rossis

This is a guest post by Mollie Porein,  a highly skilled web content writer. She knows what an expository essay is and can help you write this kind of assignment. She is interested in topics about education, writing, blogging, motivation, etc. Connect with her on LinkedIn and follow her on Twitter.

I, for one, have always struggled with using LinkedIn to promote my books. So, I found her post particularly intriguing. If you do try her tips, please let us know how they worked out for you!

Using LinkedIn To Promote Your Book

1. Selling yourself

Using LinkedIn | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's book Image: TipScrew

In this day and age, self-promotion can be a rather daunting prospect. Digital marketing in the modern world calls for a rather personal approach to boost your online presence. One of the best ways to do this is through professional networking websites such as LinkedIn.

This multifaceted business-oriented service operates for professional…

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Legends of Windemere Highlight Post #fantasy #series

All Cover Art by Jason Pedersen

Click Here for the Series Spotlight on N.N. Light’s Site!

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The Curse of Time, on #LisaBurtonRadio

coldhandboyack's avatarEntertaining Stories

Lisa Burton

Welcome everyone. Turn down the lights, find your silver bells, and possibly a crystal that speaks to you. You might want to light a candle or two. This is Lisa Burton Radio, and I’m your host Lisa the robot girl.

My special guest today is living under some unusual circumstances, but we’ll let her tell us about them. “Welcome to the show, Amelina Scott.”

“Hi Lisa. I’m so excited about this, a chance to tell my story to a robot girl, that’s beyond amazing!”

“I already mentioned that your living arrangement is a bit odd. Can you fill our listeners in a bit?”

“Yeah, my dad disappeared on my thirteenth birthday. Sorry, I find this difficult to talk about. It really hurts. I, I cope by writing my feelings down in poetry. I don’t like to talk about it… But for you I will …

“Dad’s vanishing was the weirdest…

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7 Tips for Vampire Survival: Flossing Is a Given

Selene from Underworld

Vampire society sure has a lot of rules and a lot of those tend to revolve around obeying the older ones.  They usually result in destruction if broken too, which doesn’t really help if you’re trying to survive the daily grind.  Knowing which knee to bow on when the royal heir to the throne of some place you’ve never been to won’t protect you from hunters.  By the way, it’s the right in the Northern Hemisphere and the left in the Southern, which is why so many vampires get killed on the equator.  Anyway, lets go over a list of practical rules to keep your head on your shoulders.

  1. For the love of Vlad, don’t perch on rooftops at night.  There’s no reason for this because most of the food is at street level.  Attacking someone on their balcony or in their apartment is possible, but it’s a lot of work.  Not to mention, you kind of stand out among the gargoyles even if you’re all in black.  Best case scenario is that someone mistakes you for one of the many superheroes.  Worst case scenario, you’re running from the cops who think you’re a pervert.
  2. Clean up after yourself.  If you’re a vampire who has to kill when they eat then hide the body.  Try to scatter them around the city or possibly burn them.  If you leave too many around then you’ll out the entire species.  For those that can eat without killing, do something to make the victim not remember what happened.  Barring mental powers, you can pretend to be a mugger and knock them out before biting.  Once they’re aware of fangs in the neck, they’re going to know what’s going on.  Unless you’re a vampire in a world that has no movies, shows, books, games, and underground cultures revolving around your people.
  3. Stop trying to pretend you’re a goth.  That’s not the same as a vampire and you’re making both groups look ridiculous.  Especially since it means you’re a hundred-year-old hanging around high schools and malls.  That’s a level of creepiness that will get you investigated.
  4. If you do find yourself facing a vampire hunter, don’t run slavering at them or make a villainous speech.  Their job is to destroy you and they’ve been training for it.  These people aren’t uncoordinated snack boxes like you find on the street.  They’ve studied your habits and weaknesses, which means you’re the underdog here.  Might be smarter to run and think of a plan.  Run in a pack, track the hunter until you see an opening, leave town, or protect yourself.
  5. You know you’re own weakness, so work to reduce them.  Wear a chainmail vest or a harness that holds metal plates over your heart to avoid staking.  Carry a hooded jacket around to give you some cover from the sun.  Collars with metal studs can make decapitations more difficult.  Claim to be an atheist, so holy symbols and water hold no power over you.  Preparation and caution is key to a long life.
  6. Get yourself tested at least once a month.  You’re eaten from total strangers with no knowledge of their previous experiences.  Last thing you want is to get sick and pass it on to a mortal that you actually like.  Where would you go?  There has to a vampirized doctor out there somewhere.  If not then make one.
  7. Don’t join a cult of vampires who wish to conquer the world.  These groups never succeed and bring nothing, but trouble.  Just give them a wide berth and let them attract all the hunters in the area.  If they’re wiped out then it will give the illusion of all vampires disappearing, so you can remain in relative peace.  If they do pull off the impossible and conquer the world then it doesn’t make a difference to you.  You’re a vampire like they are, so you’ll continue doing what you’re doing.  They aren’t going to suddenly turn on their own . . . Might still want to remember #5.
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Teaser Tuesday: Fearing the Reunion

Cover Art by Alison Hunt

With it being Spring Break and me gearing up for the big release, I’m going with a few simple character introductions.  This week has the leader of the Vengeance Hounds getting his bio, so I figure I’ll put up a teaser with him.  Sort of.  The guy really only fights and shows off his warrior abilities in spoiler heavy scenes.

War of Nytefall: Loyalty
Coming April 7th!

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From Earth to Windemere: The Dawn Fangs’ Travels

.hack//sign Chaos Gate

Long ago, I had multiple worlds instead of just one or two.  Luke Callindor and the champions were in Windemere, the superheroes were in Super Earth, and Clyde had his vampires in another Earth.  It was all compartmentalized in my notebooks and . . . I still kept getting things mixed up.  Much of it revolved around Clyde and the Dawn Fangs too because I kept trying to reinvent vampires for all the different worlds.  Inevitably, they would become a variation on the Dawn Fangs and there would be a Clyde-like figure that led them.  It was an interesting journey, which I really have to share.

Clyde was the second character I had in college, so I started building a series around him like I had done with Luke Callindor.  Since he was in a game that involved the modern world, I put him on Earth.  Problems stirred from the beginning because I became obsessed with finding a way to pit Clyde against Luke.  Took about a year to drop that and focus on crafting a real world for the vampires.  At first, he was the only one immune to sunlight, but that made it hard to interact with his friends.  I ended up making all the vampires immune after that, but they stayed in the shadows.  This made no sense and it got even stranger when I had Clyde be the reincarnation of Dracula.  In my defense, it was 2000 and I was only 20.  The vampire craze hadn’t hit yet, so this wasn’t as overdone as it was today.  Needless to say, this got tossed as well.  I played with Clyde in games a bunch to get a better feel for him, but things felt locked in place.

The last series in Clyde’s personal world ended with him reaching his full power and then vanishing.  Part of this was because I was running a Dungeons & Dragons game that I was going to turn into a series.  In my foolishness, I put Clyde in Windemere and had him there long enough to influence events before I realized my mistake.  I could have shifted him out of the story, but then there would be a gap for a few characters or a cheap doppelganger.  Having his series end with him jumping to Windemere was the logical step, but there was always something off.  His main weapon was still a chainsaw and he had no friends like Mab, Xavier, or Titus.  Clyde being in Windemere at this point was wrong, but I handed realized it.

Then, I came up with my Super Earth world for the superheroes, which ended up having vampires.  At first, they were random enemies that would turn up when I needed fodder,  but I began making them sun resistant to increase their threat.  Then, I had a vampire as one of the heroes and made some changes.  I realized that I was coming very close to the Dawn Fangs (though I didn’t call them that), so I made a decision that they would be involved with the superheroes.  This made such a mess.  The vampires were now villains, which caused their series to make no sense.  Mab and the others being around were pointless because they didn’t fit their own world.  Clyde wasn’t even on Earth any more and the one time he crossed over with superheroes in his series resulted in him being hunted.  This had him acting surprisingly weaker then in the other stories because I couldn’t have him wipe out the cast of the other series.  Needless to say, this forced me to rethink everything.

This brings us to the end of Clyde’s journey ‘home’, which I guess I would call the Great Merging. I transferred all of my ideas to Windemere to create a single tapestry of my ideas and all of them fit.  Well, the alien bounty hunter didn’t and I ended up moving the superheroes back to Earth (might undo that), but this isn’t their story.  As for Clyde, his presence ended up filling in some amazing gaps in Windemere.  The Dawn Fangs got their name and appeared as a more common species within the world.  I’ll admit that I felt a little sad about removing Clyde’s chainsaw, Bob’s car obsession, and Mab’s motorcycle, but they quickly evolved into their current versions.  It felt a lot more natural for them, which is strange since they were always played in Earth-based games.  Maybe it’s because they always had a magical quality, so it wasn’t a difficult transfer to make.  There are still times I question my decision, but they’ve really been locked into place. Too many plot holes in the other series got filled by the presence of the Dawn Fangs and I don’t have to come up with different versions of vampires for all the worlds.

As you can tell, it took a long time for Clyde to find his final home.  The jury is still out on how well he meshes with what’s been established, but I can see that he’s comfortable.  That’s probably the most important part too.

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Publishing Jitters

Boromir

One toe left
To count the times
I’ve been at the edge
Weeks of fretting
Months of toiling
Years of forging
Wearing body to the bone
*
The twentieth click
After hours of needling
Hitting that infamous word
Publish
That I have seen so often
Yet always scared
Of the new unknown

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