Spotlight and giveaway time! First, I am going to make sure you have an idea of what book you will soon be entering a giveaway for, then introduce you to the author, and, finally, give you the details of the giveaway itself.
This time around the giveaway is for a novel I reviewed last week and immensely enjoyed: Blade and Bone. Take a look at the review if you don’t mind spoilers for this third installment of the series.
With every society, you have different factions and levels that come into play when changes occur. One of the most common groups in vampire stories is the noble class, which stems from how the vampires were originally immortal princes, kings, and other nobles. This has carried over to other time periods where they come up as businessmen, crime bosses, and whatever groups fit at the top of the undead heap. So, I definitely had to consider if this was something that would come about in Windemere and how Clyde would fit within it.
Both of those issues had simple answers. Clyde has always been a borderline anarchist and outsider, so he wouldn’t fit in it at all. It isn’t that he would openly rail against the system, but he couldn’t possibly fit in that kind of world. This was especially true when I enhanced his thief side, which opened the idea that he would work with the nobles if his goals matched with their own. This tempered him a bit since it meant he could work with others to some extent. Yet, I made sure that he would have some friction when them because the vampiric high society had to maintain an air of superiority. Work with a ‘lesser being’ and be friendly, but still consider yourself better type of thing. Of course, Clyde would take opportunities to poke at them when he could.
The other question was if this would come about in the first place. Considering this is a fantasy world where kings and queens truly exist then it would make sense for vampires to mimic that for their own world. After all, they started as mortals, so this is what they are used to. The changes would be created around the idea that their rulers can’t die of old age and heirs were created instead of born. For some systems, this ended up being houses or clans with an inner hierarchy. I didn’t go that route, but made them families divided by global territories. Some of them had ancient capitals for all vampire-kind while others controlled roaming military forces or supplied food to others. You get a sense of this since it starts falling apart after the Great Cataclysm.
The central governing body of all vampire society is the Council, which has a seat for every family. It grows and shrinks a bit, but the numbers tends to be stable. It really depends on if Duragians, hunters, or adventurers take on an entire family and succeed. This is why the Council is designed to connect the global society of vampires and survive upheavals that are short of acts of gods. The downside of this is that there is always infighting, bickering, and power moves. After all, this is a political group as well as a social one, both of which have reputations for being messy. Thankfully, this side of the system pretty much wrote itself since I was focusing more on a few members. Some nobles are good and some are bad with their goals going across the spectrum.
Vampire nobility always feels like a necessity, especially in a world where humans have their own nobility. This is what takes the species and raises them above the other types of undead. Ghosts, zombies, liches, and the other rotting rabble tend to lurk in the shadows as hordes or solitaries. Vampires are the ones that try to be more human in their society and blend into the cities to some extent. It’s almost like they’re trying to retain some of their old lives or rise above them by creating a nobility class. It is fun to see how they function in a story where they aren’t the focal point too. Clyde might play nice and lend a hand, but this is his series and he’s not in that circle.
What do you think about vampire societies and their gravitation towards ‘nobility’ classes?
Harmony is a good friend of mine, and one of the other authors at Story Empire. She is like me, in that neither of us can firmly stick to one genre. I think it makes us versatile. She’s here to tell us about her newest book, Backstage. Please make her feel welcome.
Hello, everyone. Harmony here. First up, huge thanks to Craig for hosting me today! He’s letting me visit today so that I can tell you about my latest book, Backstage. It is an erotic romance novel and deals with some of the sexual coercion scandals that have hit the acting industry in the last year.
Here’s a bit about the book for you:
SHE’S A HOPEFUL ACTRESS
Just when Emma thinks she’s found love. Just when her big chance comes. Just as she finds a little confidence at long last. Right then, it all goes horribly wrong.
In early April, I’m aiming to release War of Nytefall: Loyalty. This is my newest series that focuses on the vampires of Windemere. It’s strange starting from scratch again and I have no idea if established readers will follow me here. All I can do is promote and hope for the best.
Of course, I need to set up a blog tour of some sort. So, I’m going to see if anyone wants to lend a hand. There are going to be two categories for this:
I can send an HTML copy of the ‘Book is Live’ post that I’ll put on here. This is simple, but I’ll admit that it doesn’t really garner a lot of comments and traffic outside of my own blog. Still, if you want to help and can’t think of anything for #2 then this is the way to go.
A personalized post for your blog on a topic that we can discuss below. These might take a few extra days to write and get out, but they can create a lot of comments and traffic. A lot of this depends on how my son’s Spring Break goes, but I might have more me time than I realized during that period.
Hopefully, this new series starts off with a big bang and can reach the same levels as Legends of Windemere. It’s going to be a tough trick since it’s much more competitive on the Amazon lists and books just don’t sell like they used to. Here’s hoping a strong blog tour will pave the way.
First, the above video is of a song the turned up on Pandora at an odd time. My friend and I were talking about English versions of anime themes being mediocre or lackluster. This is really good and I was impressed to see other themes including one of Cruel Angel Thesis. Makes me wonder how these work and others don’t, but I felt like sharing.
I’m going to admit that I’m writing this under a panic attack, so it might be brief. I was waiting for it to pass, but that doesn’t look like it’s happening. Thankfully, most of the week was okay with only a few mild attacks. I was able to write through those at a slow pace, but enough to put me in a good spot. On the plus side, I’ve been able to identify the catalysts for each attack and most of them have been happening at night too. Once I do enough deep breathing, I pass right out. Not sure if it’s because I relax or I’m knocking myself out by accident, but sleep is sleep these days.
In the realm of writing, I’m about a week away from finishing War of Nytefall: Lost and then I’ll have just enough time to do a final edit on War of Nytefall: Loyalty before my son hits Spring Break. I might go a little over, but Passover is at the beginning of the break. That means we’ll be hanging around the house for a few days, so I can finish up before that weekend. I like the idea of writing the second book before I’ve published the first because I can tighten the continuity up. For example, one character revealed his origin, but part of me thinks I did it earlier and I can do a check on the last editing run. I like this newer version better too. The new characters are coming together nicely as well, but one of them has really branched into something else. I had to change his powers up yesterday because of something he did in the last section I wrote. Totally spontaneous, but it added a really diabolical side to him. I was sad to see two of the old powers go away, but they weren’t going to make any sense. Cover art is coming along nicely too and I’m really excited to see it and share soon.
As you can tell from the tags, I had to take care of taxes this week. My wife did most of the legwork because she has more stuff to fill out and things go smoother when she’s in charge of it. Roles reversed, she forgets things and I try to get things moving quickly. Only a few things were forgotten this time, which I was able to get to the accountant the next day. I have no idea what’s going to happen after this because taxes, stocks, and the like make my head spin. Never had a mind for math, which drives some people nuts. It isn’t like I haven’t tried. I simply don’t have the brain wiring for numbers.
The rest of the week was a little messy with another Nor’Easter. That’s number 3 in 2 weeks and we might get a 4th by mid-week. School wasn’t canceled, so I had to drive through it, which was mildly harrowing. The storm was over by the afternoon too, so going after lunch was fine. That helped me grab the copies of Dragonball Z waiting for me at the library. I’m amazed at how quickly I can read this books and the speed that the stories go at. The anime takes multiple episodes for a single move, but Vegeta is already defeated and back in space by the end of Volume 4. I’m still enjoying the story and it’s interesting to see how it went before the anime. Might do Yu Yu Hakusho next or finally finish Bleach.
Since I’m sharing everything, Friday was a little rough. My son had a field trip and abruptly got scared that he would throw up on the bus. I wasn’t there when the freaking out started, but it was frustrating because we’d talked about it many times. He said it was different for field trips and now it looked like it wasn’t. It took about 10 minutes of letting him cry before he had a little food and then was happy to be off to school. Nothing happened and he had fun, so I guess this was a victory. The next big test is a birthday party in a few weeks to see if he’ll be okay eating or at least sitting in the group instead of having a tantrum. We might have to pull something out of our stored rewards to entice him into doing it. Babies R Us is going out of business, so I picked up a bunch of things cheap. He got a soft Pokeball pillow for going on the bus and he’s been clinging to it like a newborn monkey on a soft towel. I might save the big thing I got for that birthday party event.
This week I’m aiming to dive into the writing and get it done. I’m at the more action-packed leg of the adventure, so my confidence should be rising. The rest has been a lot of ‘chaos’ and talking while the origin of a new character is revealed. So, what are the goals?
Finish first draft of War of Nytefall: Lost
Gather volunteers for War of Nytefall: Loyalty debut. (Post tomorrow to explain.)
Rest when I can
Biking
Get back int Sword Art Online
Collect pictures for the June blog posts
Request the rest of the DBZ books because these are quick reads.
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 poet and essayist K.D. Rose. You can catch up … Continue reading →
I’ve talked about how difficult it is to have a monstrous hero without going too far to one side. With any luck, I’ve struck the right balance in War of Nytefall, but only time will tell there. So, what are some things to consider?
Never be afraid to have your monster act like a monster to some extent. I don’t mean go on a rampage, but have moments of being cruel or scaring people. Remember the nature of the beast that you’re working with. This is a crucial part of their powers and personality even if they’re fighting against it. It can also keep the reader wondering if the hero will go back to his or her darker origins.
Whether you use it or not, world-building of the monster’s history and social standing can help establish the protagonist’s limits in terms of heroism. It also helps the author get an idea of how people will react to the hero. This is easier if the monster is rare or considered a legend like ‘Hellboy’. If they’re a more numerous and organized group like vampires then you should consider a little flushing out.
Many monsters have weaknesses like silver, sunlight, stakes, etc. Fit these into the story, but don’t overdo their use. There should be a sense of danger for the hero, but this can be pushed to a point where they’re practically neutered. For example, imagine if every criminal had Kryptonite in Metropolis. Superman wouldn’t have as big an impact and the sense of him being an underdog would come off as force.
If your monstrous hero has a violent streak and tends to leave bodies behind then you need to establish a reason for that not getting them in trouble. Is there an associated team that hides the evidence? Is it a world where such things aren’t that unusual like in fantasy or post-apocalyptic settings? Readers might question how a supposed hero gets away with horrible acts without any repercussions. These are the types that are expected to suffer consequences unlike the villains.
Social awkwardness of some kind is both common and expected. With the hero coming from a non-human group, they began life with a different mindset towards those they are protecting. It could be prey, inferiors, or hunters, but they might still have some problems mingling with human culture. This can be played for comedy and drama, depending on the mood and tone. You can also work with a variety of issues here like shyness, anxiety, bad manners, no verbal filter, and whatever else we would normally look at oddly if a human did it.
No eating the other good guys. Simple rule, but you’d be surprised how often people think a monstrous antihero can still eat the good guys.
Make the reason for the monster being a hero very clear. This can come into conflict with #1, but you need to explain why they refuse to act like the rest of their species. It doesn’t even have to be a secret. Many times, an antihero like this will openly discuss the topic. Humans will be afraid of them and question their true intentions, so they need to be willing to defend themselves.
Hello to all the Archer’s Aim readers. Thanks for joining me today. I have a big announcement, one that I’ve been hinting at for some time.
The Bow of Hart Saga has been completed and out for a while. During recent months I have entertained options for audio publication. I’ve recently been offered an audio contract and I’m thrilled to announce I’ve signed with Podium Publishing this week.
The audio version will appear on Audible and will have Whispersync enabled on Amazon. This is very important to me as I know a lot of readers will have access to listen whenever they choose with this new edition of the series. This is the next level for The Bow of Hart Saga which began with a lowly release of The Bow of Destiny back in 2015. By the end of 2016, that first book had gained a growing following, was ranked…
Kai Stavros was my second Live-Action Vampire character who made it one game session before I tossed him. There was drama involved, which I won’t go into. Some days, I’m not even sure why I put in the series, but that’s because I don’t know him very well. He never had time to evolve and this version is different. While I do consider him a main character, he’s really supporting cast. I do have some interesting plans for him, but I will admit that he didn’t get a lot of shine time in the first book. Oddly similar to the school characters inLegends of Windemere: Beginning of a Hero. He’s there and helps move the plot along, but he has yet to fully emerge. Still, he does deserve a look even this early on in the series.
The original Kai was made after a character who I didn’t transfer to the books was killed in the game. I wanted to stay away from the political drama and combat that was all over the place. So, I made Kai an archaeologist that had come to Upstate New York in order to check out some ruins. At least that was the plan, but I believe I added something where he was gathering information for a foreign adversary. This was partly because people were telling me I would get dragged into the drama anyway, so I might as well get my foot in the door. Kai made friends with a few characters and went into business with someone by the time the first session ended. Things went downhill so badly between sessions that I found it impossible to rationalize Kai staying in the area. In his mind, he was being sent on a suicide mission and there was no reason to go along. So, he left and supposedly got eaten by a vampirized kraken because I got in trouble for not trying to play along. Kai went back into my folder (which I still can’t find) and that was it for him.
When I was filling out the supporting cast, I remembered Kai and he went through a few incarnations. I had him as a human hunter that wanted to kill the vampires, which didn’t last. Then, I made him a rival of Xavier, but he didn’t work right. Eventually, I tried him out as Xavier’s spymaster and trusted adviser, who also supplied Clyde’s gang with heist information. This had me going in the right direction, which is still going because I have trouble getting a strong bead on Kai. He’s shown signs of being a peacemaker while having no problem using those he has no respect for as pawns. Unlike the other characters, he openly dislikes Clyde and the feeling is mutual. This was by accident, but it made sense that there would be somebody who wasn’t afraid of the monster and treated him like an annoyance. Yet, they were still able to work together.
Unlike the other characters, Kai got a major physical alteration. He stayed human, but I had this idea of a spymaster that didn’t have ‘the look’. No lean and shadowy figure that reeks of tensile strength and shadowy death. He’s rather portly, not that attractive, and isn’t that great a fighter beyond using his longbow. This means he depends a lot on invisibility and transformation spells to do his job as well as a cunning mind. He is very cautious, which comes across whenever he gives suggestions. Kai is loyal and obedient to his masters, but he occasionally stands up to them for their own sake. Whether they listen or not, he’s content to simply be heard. This mentality is going to be tested a lot over the course of the series, so I’m listing him as a late bloomer.
Sadly, I don’t have any funny game stories for Kai. His limited time was met with a lot of frustration. All I really remember is that one of the more powerful characters kept files on all of the others. Each one had a nickname that wasn’t always flattering. Kai was listed as ‘Lara Croft’. Apparently, he was considered too feminine to rate an Indiana Jones. At least that’s what I assume since I’d left the game by the time I heard of this.
BOOK SPOTLIGHT
SHE’S A HOPEFUL ACTRESS
