Author Archive
Welcome to the December 2023 issue of my newsletter, “News from the Crypt,” and please visit Carter’s Crypt, devoted to my horror, fantasy, and paranormal romance work, especially focusing on vampires and shapeshifting beasties. If you have a particular fondness for vampires, check out the chronology of my series in the link labeled “Vanishing Breed Vampire Universe.”
Also, check out the multi-author Alien Romances Blog
You can subscribe to this monthly newsletter here:
For other web links of possible interest, please scroll to the end.
Happy winter holidays to all!
My Christmas story “A Ghost in the Green Bestiary,” set in an English country manor in the 1890s, will be published as an item in the Wild Rose Press’s “Christmas in the Castle” line (release date not yet determined). Spending the holidays with her aunt and uncle for the first time since her father’s death forces Lucy to face Walter, to whom she was once almost engaged. An excerpt, illustrating an old Yuletide folk custom, appears below. (Robbie is Lucy’s little brother.)
My steamy paranormal romance novella “Wizard’s Trap,” the last of my “orphaned” Ellora’s Cave works, will be re-published by the Wild Rose Press on December 13.
Our December guest is Marla A. White, writer of fiction in several genres, including mystery and fantasy. She has a story, “The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder,” in the Wild Rose Press’s Christmas Cookies series.
*****
Interview with Marla A. White:
What inspired you to begin writing?
Reading. I’ve always loved reading and as the youngest of six, there were plenty of books around. Disappearing into everything from “Black Beauty” to “The Hardy Boys” to “Call of the Wild” inspired me to create worlds of my own to explore.
What genres do you work in?
I’m kind of a weirdo, I play in multiple genres. Mystery is what I’ve written the most and maybe my first love, but I’ve also written a series of books that I would describe as contemporary or grounded fantasy. Magical things happening in the real world. And just recently I started writing a hockey romance with a writing partner, which has been a whole new experience.
Do you outline, “wing it,” or something in between?
My writing style would be somewhere in between. I like to outline at least in broad strokes first so I know where I’m going, but nothing is ever set in stone. I’m a huge fan of NaNoWriMo because it gives me permission to get messy, to write an outline where I give myself options. I write things like, “Maybe they find a body here. Or wait a few scenes, and put more of the B story here.” I feel sorry for my poor Beta readers when I ask them to read that jumble just to make sure the story as a whole works before I write the real first draft!
What have been the major influences on your work (favorite authors or whatever)?
Author influences would include Dick Francis, his mysteries set in the horse world were an obvious influence for “Cause for Elimination,” my mystery set in the eventing world that I was a part of for many years. But Louise Penny’s wonderful Three Pines books influence me to try and be better, to attempt to elevate my writing in the next book. Robert Parker was a huge part of why my dialogue reads the way it does, with a bit more of an edge than a typical cozy mystery would.
The amazing Jim Butcher is fully to blame for my fantasy books. His Dresden books opened the door to Ilona Andrews’ series of books and Seanan McGuire’s October Daye books. I can only come up with half of the crazy monsters and heroes that they do!
But the biggest influences on my work are the things I experience in life that strike me as funny or interesting. “The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder” was inspired both by The Wild Rose Press’s call for submissions of cookie-themed stories and my abysmal failure at baking that childhood favorite. Both events happened simultaneously and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be hilarious if the featured cookie was terrible?”. I knew I wanted to set it in the fictional quirky small town of Pine Cove because I’d just come back from one of my favorite places on Earth, Idyllwild. My “Keeper Chronicles” series is inspired by the fantastic, historic Mission Inn in Riverside. Even small things, like a friend riding in pink suede half-chaps (totally not cool in the very proper horse set), made an appearance in “Cause” because I like little details like that.
What kinds of research do you do for your mysteries?
I dread the day I take my computer in for a tune-up and my guy looks at my Internet history! I love doing deep dives on weapons, poisons, where do you have to stab someone to puncture a lung. You know, the usual! There’s a wonderful website, “How To Kill Your Imaginary Friends” with articles such as, “If you shock a flatline, I swear I will come to your home and beat you with a wet chicken”. One of my characters is Scottish so I have a ton of websites bookmarked to make him sound authentic, including “The Septic’s Companion” for British slang words and insults.
But I also talk to friends who are nurses about medical questions, I asked my nephew who builds boats about how to blow one up. Some day I’d love to be a member of some kind of police reserve unit to get first-hand knowledge, but right now I’m juggling enough just to find time to write!
How does a mystery author achieve the ideal of “playing fair” with the reader while not making the clues too obvious?
That’s why I need to outline ahead of time. I admire the heck out of anyone who can figure out when and how to plant clues on the fly! I try to include at least one red herring to throw the reader off the scent.
But as a reader, I’m there more for the characters than the mystery of it all anyway. Reading the Three Pines books, I almost blow past the clues to find out the latest flaw Louise Penny has given Jean Guy!
I was really pleased when my editor was surprised at the reveal of the killer at the end of “Cause”, so that was nice.
“Starlight” was my first cozy mystery and honestly, even the reviews that said the guessed the killer right away said they still enjoyed the book.
How do the angels and demons in your contemporary fantasy novels resemble and/or differ from the traditional image of those entities?
My slightly goofy, quirky Gabriel is very different from traditional angels. First, he hasn’t got any wings, or a halo. He barely remembers his life before waking up naked in the desert. All he knows is that his Boss kicked him out of Heaven over some sort of disagreement. He’s just a guy with a messy mop of hair, bespoke suits, and a Scottish accent trying to figure out why he’s there. Is it to protect Abby Campbell, his charge when he was an angel, and if so from what?
“The Keeper Chronicles” aren’t religious by any means, but the plots incorporate questions of faith. Abby hasn’t believed in anything since her mother’s stroke, Gabriel questions why he’s been abandoned. Evie, who works for his brother now, becomes angry when Gabriel’s life hangs in the balance and it’s left to her, a demon, to save him because his angelic siblings are too afraid of the repercussions.
And that’s the heart of the books – family. Oh sure, there’s action and romance, but the beating heart is the family you’re born into and the one you choose. That and Gabriel’s search for a good cup of tea.
What is your latest or next-forthcoming book?
I’m in a bit of a holding pattern for “Framed for Murder,” the next in the Pine Cove mystery series. Hopefully June of next year?
I’ve also got the third “Keeper” book in with an editor now and will self-publish it probably early next year.
What are you working on now?
Despite the lack of a release date for “Framed,” I’ve leapt into NaNoWriMo and am sketching out the next in the Pine Cove series.
My writing partner and I have finished the first hockey romance, “Lincoln,” and are in the middle of the rough draft of the next.
And Lucifer keeps demanding that it’s time for his book now, he’s tired of his do-gooder brother getting all the glory.:D
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
One of my biggest challenges, and I don’t think I’m alone here, was finding the time to write. A long time ago I was fortunate enough to meet Janet Evanovich, another favorite author of mine, and when asked about her writing schedule, she said she got up at five in the morning to write. I figured if it was good enough for her, it was good enough for me. I can’t swear to getting up that early every day, but I always make it my first priority before e-mails or anything else.
I mean, not before coffee, that would be insane, but everything else.
What is the URL of your website? What about other internet presence?
Thanks for asking! My website is http://www.MarlaAWhite.com. I’m also on Facebook as MarlaAWhite and Instagram as Marlawriteswords
*****
Some Books I’ve Read Lately:
THE PRIVILEGE OF THE HAPPY ENDING, by Kij Johnson. A story collection by the author of one of my favorite fantasy novels, FOX WOMAN. If, like me, you read the novella “The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe” when first released as a stand-alone book, you might have reservations about the fact that it constitutes almost 100 pages of this 281-page volume. However, the other contents make it well worth buying even if you own “Dream-Quest.” In case you haven’t read that story, it’s inspired by H. P. Lovecraft’s THE DREAM-QUEST OF UNKNOWN KADATH, as the title suggests. Johnson approaches the Dreamlands, though, from a feminine and feminist angle. Vellitt Boe, a professor at a women’s college in Ulthar, the city famed for its cats, has to undertake a quest to the waking realm (ours) in search of a student who has eloped with a dreamer from our world. During her journey to one of the rare interdimensional gates, Vellitt spends time with Lovecraft’s protagonist, Randolph Carter, makes an alliance with ghouls, and fends off attacks from less friendly monsters. Her fish-out-of-water arrival in the waking world makes for delightful reading, and the story ends with an unexpected twist. Among other tales, “Noah’s Raven,” a bird’s-eye perspective on the Flood and its aftermath, portrays the event from a more cynical angle than the Bible does. In “Ratatoskr,” a girl sees the ghosts of squirrels all her life and helps them move on from their abandoned bodies. “Tool-Using Mimics” presents multiple alternative speculations about octopuses who mate with human partners or pose as human. Several of the collection’s shorter pieces aren’t exactly stories, consisting of lists and other clever devices instead of narratives, although in some cases hints of plots or character arcs can be inferred – for example, three “Lorebooks” for apartment dwellers, a bestiary, a stavebook, and an alphabetical dreambook; “Mantis Wives,” exploring various ways intelligent female mantises might kill their mates; crows’ skewed attempts at human-style riddles and jokes. Other than “Dream-Quest,” my favorite stories are “The Ghastly Spectre of Toad Hall” and the title novella. Johnson wrote a sequel to WIND IN THE WILLOWS that added two entertaining female characters to the classic cast, THE RIVER BANK. The Christmas-season ghost story in this collection is an equally fun pastiche, a mixture of suspense and humor, with Toad’s friends determined to rescue him from the doom of his family curse, leading to the revelation of what the ghost (a frustrated poetess) really wants. “The Privilege of the Happy Ending,” set in early medieval Britain, begins with six-year-old Ada forced by her parents’ death to live with a widowed, impoverished aunt and three wicked-stepsister-like cousins. When their village falls to the ravages of all-devouring monsters called wastoures, Ada escapes with Blanche, a talking hen. Their long, wandering quest for a safe refuge leads them to encounters with strange places and people, culminating in the revelation that Blanche possesses more magic than just the ability to speak. The omniscient narrator weaves metafictional commentary throughout the tale, reminding us that stories can branch in myriad different directions. Above all, whether they have happy endings depends on the point where we choose to cut the narrative short. I especially enjoyed Johnson’s wide varieties of prose styles in the highly diverse works, ranging from the dry, cryptic paragraphs of the apartment-dwellers’ lists to the Edwardian dialogue of the River Bank denizens and the lavishly multisensory descriptions of the exotic Dreamlands.
UNDER THE SMOKESTREWN SKY, by A. Deborah Baker. The final volume of Seanan McGuire’s pseudonymously published portal-fantasy tetralogy set in the world of the Up-and-Under. This four-part story seems written for a slightly younger audience than McGuire’s open-ended Wayward Children series. I’ll try to avoid critical spoilers, but of course that’s difficult since UNDER THE SMOKESTREWN SKY is the last book in a connected sequence. Fortunately, in the first chapter the omniscient narrator, whose voice resembles the narrator of the Wayward Children books, summarizes the highlights of the previous three novels. Readers who, like me, tend to forget details during waits for sequels will find this introduction a great help. Throughout the book, the author inserts comments about the nature of stories and their beginnings, middles, and ends. Uptight, anxious boy Avery, preoccupied with order and predictability, and free-spirited, adventurous girl Zib lived in the same neighborhood but had never met before forces beyond their control drew them to a wall between our world and the Up-and-Under. That world, ruled by monarchs of the four classic elements (Air, Water, Earth, Fire), suffers from the disappearance of an elemental queen. In this installment, Avery and Zib continue to travel along the quasi-sentient Improbable Road in the company of a drowned girl, the former Crow Girl, and a new companion, Jack, who also has a bird affinity. Their quest for the Impossible City concludes with desperate ordeals and, at the climax, heartbreaking loss followed by eucatastrophe. Secrets come to light, including the true identity of the missing queen. The characters contemplate the meaning of “impossible” and learn to bend impossibility to their purposes. Unlike Dorothy’s quest for a way home in THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ, the fulfillment of Zib and Avery’s search is shadowed by ambivalence. While they long to return to their proper world, they mourn the prospect of leaving the Up-and-Under forever, not to mention parting from the friends they’ve made. The narrator hints at future adventures, but of course those remain stories for another time. Zib and Avery don’t enjoy the convenience of “Narnia time,” wherein they’d get home a moment after they left. Their parents and the authorities know they’ve been missing for a month, a disappearance the children can never adequately explain. They return to their mundane lives having forged a lasting bond of friendship, Avery learning to take risks and Zib learning a bit of caution as well as respect for the differences between the two of them. Recommended for not only the ingenious plot with unexpected twists at every stage, but also the cast of sympathetic characters both human and not quite human, the enchanting and terrifying fantasy-world setting, and the narrator’s metafictional encouragement, warnings, and analysis. The Up-and-Under tetralogy is likely to thrill most fans of the slightly different approach to portal fantasy in the Wayward Children series.
THE LITERARY UNDOING OF VICTORIA SWANN, by Virginia Pye. A historical novel set in my favorite period, the 1890s. Boston-area author Victoria Swann (not her real last name), like Louisa May Alcott and Jo March at the beginning of their careers, earns decent money and enthusiastic readers with her thrillers, in Victoria’s case hair-raising adventures in exotic locales. Like Alcott and her heroine, Victoria also decides to change her focus to more realistic stories in down-to-earth settings. Her publisher, however, wants her to stick to the reliably successful formula. She recognizes the risk she’s taking, since she’s tied to a ne’er-do-well, weak-willed, alcoholic husband in a union that has become a marriage in name only. Nevertheless, her ambition to create novels about believable female characters suffering under the social ills of her contemporary society is too strong to renounce. Her new editor, Jonathan Cartwright, admires her latest book and heartily supports her endeavor. When the publisher remains adamant, Jonathan strikes out, along with his best friend, to start a fledgling company with Victoria’s book as its inaugural release. As sole support of himself and five sisters, Jonathan is taking a major risk, too. The title accurately focuses on Victoria’s “literary undoing,” as she struggles with the process of reshaping her authorial persona. How can she write the stories she feels called to create while somehow not disappointing avid fans of her romantic adventure tales and the regular advice column published under her pen name? What happens when she decides to divorce her parasitic husband, thus risking scandal if her real-life identity and a certain incident in her background come to light? A strong bond of friendship grows between her and Jonathan. It’s not much of a spoiler, however, to warn readers who expect them to fall in love that a delightful plot twist occurs instead. Satisfying solutions to Victoria’s problems, yet hard-won and believable, wrap up the story. She and Jonathan come across as strong, sympathetic characters. The physical and cultural details of 1890s Boston are vividly portrayed, obviously researched in depth, and a pleasure to read. I particularly enjoyed watching Victoria wrestle with troubles not unfamiliar to authors in the present century, such as publishers who cheat on royalties and readers who endlessly demand more books just like the previous ones, on an exhausting schedule.
For my recommendations of “must read” classic and modern vampire fiction, explore the Realm of the Vampires:
http://www.simegen.com/reviews/vampires/vamprelm.htm
*****
Excerpt from “A Ghost in the Green Bestiary:
About four-thirty, as twilight was falling, Aunt Eunice knocked on Lucy’s door. “The mummers are here. Will you come down to watch? I’m sure Robbie would love to see them.”
Not having spent Christmas here in many years, Lucy was eager to witness that performance herself. After bundling Robbie into his coat, cap, boots, and gloves, she and her mother donned their own wraps and followed her impatient brother downstairs. When they gathered with family and servants at the top of the driveway, the flurries had stopped, covering the earlier snowfall with a fresh, thin layer. Walter, standing beside his parents, smiled at Lucy. Pulling her cape closer, she tried to convince herself that only the brisk breeze sent a shiver rippling through her.
About a dozen local boys and men, some bearing lanterns, clustered in front of the house. They wore oversize coats or heavily padded outfits to disguise their shapes, and homemade masks fashioned with various degrees of skill concealed their faces. Sacks and pillowcases had eyeholes cut in them and grotesque features painted on. One man sported a papier-mâché horsehead, and another shrouded his head in a veil of white lace. A knight in gray trousers and jacket brandished a wooden sword and wore a helmet made of a cardboard box adorned with silver paint. His crudely carved shield bore a red cross. Beside him stood a four-legged, green dragon with two pairs of boots visible beneath its sagging costume.
Robbie shrank against his mother’s side and asked, pointing at the man with the veil, “Is that a ghost?”
“No, dear.” She patted his shoulder.
“And there’s a dragon.”
Lucy whispered, “It’s two men in disguise. Everybody’s pretending. Now, just watch.”
The mummers sang all the verses of “Deck the Halls,” while the dragon cavorted to the tune, its tail dragging on the ground. Next they belted out a couple of rowdy wassail tunes, a clear hint of the festive reward they anticipated.
After the songs, most of the men drew back to clear a circle around the monster and the knight. The warrior, who was probably meant to portray Saint George, pointed his weapon at the dragon and shouted, “Yield, foul fiend!”
With a blood-curdling roar, the dragon raised its claw-tipped forearms and charged. It slashed at the knight while the latter pounded on the monster with the flat of his sword. After several minutes of hearty combat punctuated by bestial snarls and manly vows of dire vengeance, the two foes thrashed on the ground in a climactic exchange of blows. The dragon, groaning in agony, expired in a burst of gore represented by a gush of fake blood from its chest. Saint George rose to his feet with arms raised in triumph. A second later, the dragon leaped up, too, and the pair took a bow to laughter and applause.
Uncle George’s butler and footman brought forth trays of steaming mugs, spiced cider from the aroma, which they passed around to the performers. Slices of brandy-soaked, fruit-studded Christmas cake followed. Some removed the masks to eat and drink, while others simply lifted the bottoms of their cloth face coverings. When the front half of the dragon pulled off its head, Lucy said to Robbie, “See, just men play-acting.”
-end of excerpt-
*****
The long-time distributor of THE VAMPIRE’S CRYPT has closed its website. If you would like to read any issue of this fanzine, which contains fiction, interviews, and a detailed book review column, e-mail me to request the desired issue, and I’ll send you a free PDF of it. My e-mail address is at the end of this newsletter. Find information about the contents of each issue on this page of my website:
A complete list of my available works, arranged roughly by genre, with purchase links (gradually being updated as the Amber Quill and Ellora’s Cave works are being republished):
For anyone who would like to read previous issues of this newsletter, they’re posted on my website here (starting from January 2018):
This is my Facebook author page. Please visit!
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Here’s my page in Barnes and Noble’s Nook store:
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Here’s the list of my Kindle books on Amazon. (The final page, however, includes some Ellora’s Cave anthologies in which I don’t have stories):
Carter Kindle Books
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The Fiction Database displays a comprehensive list of my books (although with a handful of fairy tales by a different Margaret Carter near the end):
My Goodreads page:
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Please “Like” my author Facebook page (cited above) to see reminders when each monthly newsletter is uploaded. I’ve also noticed that I’m more likely to be shown posts from liked or friended sources in my Facebook feed when I’ve “Liked” some of their individual posts, so you might want to do that, too. Thanks!
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Writers Exchange E-Publishing: Writers Exchange
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You can contact me at: MLCVamp@aol.com
“Beast” wishes until next time—
Margaret L. Carter
Silhouetted against the full moon, a bat flapped outside the closed bedroom window. Before Marie’s eyes, it dissolved into mist and oozed through the minute crack between the frame and the sill. Motionless on her bed, through slitted lids she watched the mist coalesce into a dark-haired, slender, young-looking man.
As he loomed over her, she thrust a silver cross on a chain around her neck into his face. He recoiled, hissing.
“How about that, I guessed right—you really are a vampire!” She couldn’t suppress the delight in her voice.
While he stood frozen in shock at her odd reaction, she sprang out of bed, dashed to the window, and hung a rosary from the latch to drape over the lower pane.
Whirling around, he snarled aloud at seeing his escape blocked.
“Don’t try to leave yet.” Marie plumped the pillows to lean against as she sat on the bed. After switching on the nightstand lamp, she donned her wire-rimmed bifocals and picked up a notepad and pen. “I have a ton of questions.”
He bared his teeth. “Foolish woman, why aren’t you afraid? I’m here to drink your blood.”
“Which you’ve already done at least three times.” She rubbed the tiny scabs on her throat. “You must not drain much at once, because I’m still in decent health. Wow, you have fangs just like in the movies.” No cape, though. He wore a black shirt and tight, black jeans. So he didn’t embrace popular culture cliches.
“Movies, bah!”
“Don’t hover like that. This could take a while.” She gestured toward the desk chair, and he grudgingly sat down. “As I said, I want to ask you some questions.”
“Why should I answer them? And how did you realize you were a vampire’s victim in this scientific age?” He spoke with a hint of a Spanish accent.
“I’m an anthropology professor. I teach a class in legends and superstitions, and I plan to include a unit on vampire lore.”
“You would expose me?” he growled.
Marie shook her head. “I’ll attribute anything you say to an anonymous informant.” She poised the pen over the notepad. “It’s the least you can do after stealing my blood.”
“Stealing? I take only what I need.”
“Do you need blood to survive? Would you die without it? And would animal blood work as well as human?”
“Yes, not exactly—fall into a state of suspended animation—and no. Animal blood serves in emergencies, but only as a stopgap.”
“Now, how many ounces do you drink per feeding?”
“How should I know? I don’t measure it.” He glanced at the window.
“You might as well cooperate. The sooner we finish the interview, the sooner I’ll remove the rosary. The door’s protected, too, by the way. Do all holy symbols repel you or only crosses?”
“That depends on the individual vampire’s background and beliefs. I was a Catholic in life.”
She jotted notes as he answered. “Do you sleep by day in a coffin lined with your native soil? And does sunlight kill you?’
He rubbed his forehead as if it pained him. “Please, one question at a time, woman. The sun only weakens us. As for native earth, I’m on it at all times. I’ve dwelt here since Spain ruled this land. And no need to lie in a coffin. That’s movie nonsense.”
“Can you change into other shapes besides bat and mist? How about a wolf? Does garlic affect you? Silver? Can you consume food or liquids other than blood?” She brightened up as a lesser known superstition occurred to her. “Do you have a compulsion to count small objects like grains or pebbles? If so, I could’ve saved myself some trouble and just trapped you by scattering rice on the floor.”
“Enough!” he roared, covering his ears.
“Come on, you owe me. What about your other powers? Do you have the strength of twenty men? If I weren’t wearing this cross, could you control my mind? How did you become a vampire? How does the transformation work? Does it hurt? How can a vampire be destroyed? Not that I would try.”
“No more questions! Let me out of this blasted room, and I swear I’ll never come near you again.”
“You promise?”
“My word of honor as a hidalgo. I’d rather be staked out under the desert sun at high noon than endure another minute of your blathering.”
Marie strode across the room, removed the cross, and opened the window. The vampire leaped into the air, transforming into a bat in the process, and soared into the night.
“Well, that clears up one issue—the pen is mightier than the stake.”
Welcome to the November 2023 issue of my newsletter, “News from the Crypt,” and please visit Carter’s Crypt, devoted to my horror, fantasy, and paranormal romance work, especially focusing on vampires and shapeshifting beasties. If you have a particular fondness for vampires, check out the chronology of my series in the link labeled “Vanishing Breed Vampire Universe.”
Also, check out the multi-author Alien Romances Blog
You can subscribe to this monthly newsletter here:
For other web links of possible interest, please scroll to the end.
Happy American Thanksgiving!
My short story “The Thing in the Driveway” has been accepted for the Necronomi-Rom-Com anthology, whose theme is just what it sounds like—romantic comedy in the Cthulhu Mythos universe. The target publication date is August 2024. There’s an excerpt from the story below. You can read about the project here:
Necro-Rom-ComJust for fun, I wrote a flash fiction piece about cats, available on my website here:
Here’s another one, playing with a familiar SF trope:
In keeping with the Halloween spirit, this month’s interview showcases Jenna Barwin, paranormal romance author of the Hill Vampire series.
*****
Interview with Jenna Barwin:
What inspired you to begin writing?
I’ve been writing on and off for years. Like a lot of authors, I’d get an idea, get started on a novel, but never finish it.
Then I read a book series that ticked me off—the main couple at the start of the series didn’t get a happily ever after—and I decided I wanted to write my own vampire romance series focused on the developing relationship of one couple who ultimately get their happily ever after.
What genres do you work in?
Paranormal Romance. I write the Hill Vampire novels, which blend mystery, wine, and romance into a heady combination. Dark Wine at Midnight is the first book in the series, and I recommend starting there.
Please tell us about your Hill Vampire series and its setting.
The Hill Vampire series features an exclusive gated community of winemaking vampires and their mortal mates. They live on vineyard estates in Sierra Escondida, a fictional town in the foothills of Central California. Because the town was founded by vampires in the late 1800s, they have been able to maintain control over the town council and decide who may live there.
The series begins with Dark Wine at Midnight, in which research scientist Cerissa Patel must find a way to save humanity from a vampire conspiracy without revealing what’s hidden beneath her skin. But her cover story isn’t enough to fool vampire Henry Bautista—he’s dark, dangerous, and will do anything to protect his town, including stopping her.
The series follows the romantic relationship of Cerissa and Henry, who, along with other members of their community, try to stop the vampire dominance movement (VDM), a vampire conspiracy that is trying to kill the leaders of Sierra Escondida and take over. The VDM plans a political coup, and once the path is cleared, will turn mortals into blood slaves.
The series is steamy. The first book starts out as more of a slow burn, but the rest of the series is definitely in the four to five steam kettle range.
In particular, are your vampires closely similar to the traditional undead of popular culture or different in some way?
I followed some of the traditional undead traits but varied them a bit. They drink blood and do not eat food for sustenance. Silver or a stake through the heart will kill them. They can’t go out in daylight. They can mesmerize their victims. Mortals don’t know about them, except for those in a relationship with a vampire.
Now, here’s a slight variation: The fang serum their bite injects compels the mortal to not speak of them when among uninitiated mortals and forms a bond. Thus, vampires can have relationships with mortals without fear of disclosure so long as they renew the bond.
Fang serum also contains an aphrodisiac, which leads to all kinds of fun!
Your heroine is identified as a “Lux.” Please tell us about the nature of these beings in your universe.
SPOILER ALERT! For those who haven’t read the first few books, you may want to skip this part. The Lux arrived on earth nine thousand years ago, and their appearance started the rumors about flying angelic beings. The records dating back to their arrival were damaged, and they aren’t sure what their origins are: ancient alien astronauts or angels who fell from heaven. They are able to shapeshift and appear as human or animal.
I like the ambiguity in their origin story as it allows members of the Lux to have different opinions about their purpose for being here.
Your bio mentions “an eclectic range of careers.” How have any of them influenced or been incorporated into your fiction?
All of them have been incorporated in one form or another. In my early twenties, I performed magic in a circus and traveled across the country living in a motorhome. It was a wonderful experience—I wouldn’t recommend it as a lifetime career—but the experience provided insider information that helped me set Dark Wine at the Circus in a circus secretly owned by a vampire.
It also gave me great experience performing in front of an audience. If you like cosplay, check out my TikTok or Instagram account—I try to post one Gaea Greenleaf video each week. She’s a side character in the Hill Vampire series but plays an important part. She’s also a great gossip.
I worked for many years in a newsroom as a video editor, so I’ve had a firsthand view of what it takes to produce a television news program, which allowed me to realistically write a side character who is a news reporter.
I returned to school to get a law degree, then worked as an assistant city attorney. The town council and town attorney who appear in the stories reflect my legal knowledge and experience in that role.
That said, no character is based on anyone I know. My characters may have careers and are placed in settings I’m familiar with, but they aren’t based on any specific person or situation.
What is your latest book?
Dark Wine at Christmas was published in August. Here’s a short tease:
As Cerissa and her vampire fiancé celebrate their first Christmas together…secrets abound!
The surprise Cerissa prepares for Christmas Eve will be everything Henry wants, but the gift he gives her on Christmas night will turn their household upside down with happy chaos.
And while Henry promises to start working with Cerissa on their wedding plans once the holiday is over, something seems to be holding him back.
When Anne-Louise calls with her own unreasonable demands, his maker may very well rip the holiday happiness right from Henry and Cerissa’s hands.
What are you working on now?
The eleventh book in the Hill Vampire series, Dark Wine at the Altar. It’s the series finale, and like the title hints at, there will be a wedding, if not more than one!
Do you outline, “wing it,” or something in between?
I’m a discovery writer. I’ll envision characters in a plot situation, hear them talk with each other, and then start writing. As I go, I’ll discover new facets of their personalities along with what plot obstacles best challenge them to become the person they were meant to be.
Sometimes I’ll finalize a rough first draft, and then I outline. Depending upon the reason I need to outline, I’ll either use the index cards in Scrivener or the timeline method in Plottr. The index cards work great for me when a plot action issue arises, or when I need to check for continuity, or for pacing. I use the timeline method when I feel the emotional side of the romance isn’t gelling properly. For me, it’s easier to break down the romance beats in Plottr.
When I get really stuck for an idea, I’ll use big sheets of paper and start brainstorming, placing the problem in the center and then writing spontaneous options around the central problem until I hit on one that resonates.
Bottom line: I’m a discovery writer who uses outlining as a diagnostic tool to help me discover what my story is missing.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
- Find your tribe. Visit various writer groups to find one that fits. Whether in-person or online, networking with other writers in your genre will give you a leg up whether it’s with writing or marketing.
- Read a lot of books in the genre you plan to write in. Get to know what readers expect from the genre, particularly the popular tropes and plot twists.
- Take craft classes and read a lot of craft books. Lots of classes and books. Not every technique will fit with how you write—but you will discover techniques that do work for you. But beware of instructors who speak in absolutes. Rarely is a rule unbreakable.
- Read these two books: Wired for Story by Lisa Cron, and GMC: Goal, Motivation, and Conflict by Debra Dixon. Also, Story Genius by Lisa Cron is excellent.
What is the URL of your website? What about other internet presence?
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*****
Some Books I’ve Read Lately:
A STROKE OF THE PEN, by Terry Pratchett. Before his death, Pratchett decreed that his unpublished work be destroyed and no posthumous Discworld fiction be written by anyone else. So this collection doesn’t contain new Terry Pratchett fiction, yet for all practical purposes it does, sort of. Subtitled “The Lost Stories,” the book comprises tales written very early in his career and published under pen names in newspapers. Only a couple of these stories have previously been re-released. All the rest, not identified as Pratchett’s work until collected in this volume, have remained unknown to his readers. The introduction and the afterword, “The Quest for ‘The Quest for the Keys’,” reveal some of the laborious detective work involved in unearthing the rediscovered pieces of fiction. There’s also a foreword by Pratchett’s friend and collaborator Neil Gaiman. No Discworld stories appear herein, although, as Gaiman remarks, the novelette “The Quest for the Keys” has a very proto-Discworld feel, as well as satirizing sword-and-sorcery adventures and D&D roleplaying scenarios. Several pieces involve wacky goings-on in an English village named Blackbury. “The Blackbury Thing,” about an alleged UFO landing, is especially fun. “Dragon Quest,” which has already seen publication in revised form as “Dragons at Crumbling Castle,” will appeal to most fantasy fans. “How It All Began” stars the caveman who invents fire, with some problematic consequences. Among several Christmas stories, my favorites are “A Partridge in a Post Box” (what happens when the suitor in the familiar carol ships his gifts by mail) and “How Scrooge Saw the Spectral Light. ..” My second-favorite story overall, after “The Quest for the Keys,” is “Pilgarlic Towers,” featuring ghosts whose haunted castle faces demolition in the path of a motorway. Some of the very British humor may puzzle the average American reader; I noticed several allusions that were obviously meant to be funny, but I had no clue why. Nevertheless, any hardcore Terry Pratchett fan will enjoy this collection.
STARLING HOUSE, by Alix E. Harrow. A Southern Gothic dark fantasy by the author of THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY, THE ONCE AND FUTURE WITCHES (the only one of these titles I haven’t read), and YA revisionist fairy-tale novels A SPINDLE SPLINTERED and A MIRROR MENDED. Most of STARLING HOUSE is narrated in the first person by Opal, a young woman working a low-wage job and living in a run-down motel with her teenage brother, Jasper, a budding artist and filmmaker. Jasper could have a brilliant future, if only (in Opal’s view) he could get out of their decaying small town and attend the private school for which she’s saving up. Other scenes are told in third person from the viewpoint of Arthur, the reclusive owner of Starling House. The narrative uses present tense, for no apparent reason, although at least the flashbacks are in past tense. Opal impresses me as a rather unlikable character, prickly and foul-mouthed, without the slightest qualms about her habit of petty theft. Yet her intelligence, self-reliance, early loss of her dysfunctional but loving mother, and determination to save her brother (whether he wants her to or not) make her compelling and sympathetic. She has only two sort-of friends, Charlotte, the head librarian at the public library, and Bev, the motel owner, more often grouchy and stingy than affectionate. The setting, a played-out coal-mining town in Kentucky, its prosperous days long past, is dominated by the Gravely family. They hope to revive coal production, if only they can access the mineral rights to the land around Starling House. The mansion’s builder, Eleanor Starling, was a one-book author with an enigmatic past, whose husband, a Gravely, died in mysterious circumstances. Her children’s picture book, UNDERLAND, about a portal to a world much darker than Alice’s wonderland, has creepy illustrations and an ambiguous ending. Did Eleanor base the tale on an actual experience of another realm where she met strange Beasts? (Any Constant Reader of dark fantasy knows the probable answer to this question.) Opal has read her copy of the book innumerable times. For many years, she has dreamed about Starling House, dreams in which she feels at home there. A bold gesture on her part leads Arthur to grudgingly hire her to clean his home, which at this point looks more like the House of Usher than anything fit for habitation. As Opal gradually restores the place to livability, a reluctant rapport grows between her and Arthur. Meanwhile, an agent of the Gravely company pressures her to spy on him for them. If she complies, she’ll be rewarded; if not, the coldly polite woman drops ominous hints of what might happen to Opal and, worse, to Jasper. The Gravelys have money, power, and the aforesaid ruthless agent. Opal has her stubbornness, her devotion to her brother, and her bond with Arthur. By now, she has developed sincere feelings for him. The conflict between her loyalty to him and the welfare of her brother makes the story engaging and suspenseful even before the supernatural element becomes overt. She learns disturbing facts about her own heritage and the dark past of the town, and she hears at least three conflicting stories about Eleanor Starling and the mansion. The final account reveals the truth—maybe. At the climax, Opal and Arthur have to unite to protect themselves and the house, a crisis that culminates in a descent into Underland. Numerous footnotes, often casting doubt on the “facts” stated in the text, probably contributed by Charlotte along with the bibliography, constitute one of my favorite features of this book. The other is the sentient house, cheerful and welcoming when well cared for but dingy and gloomy when neglected, apt to rearrange its rooms depending on its relationship with the occupants or its own inscrutable whims. In the face of seemingly inescapable disaster, Opal, Jasper, and Arthur make it through to a satisfyingly redemptive conclusion that still retains a touch of mystery.
EVE, by Cat Bohannon. Immediately upon starting this massive tome (437 pages of text, not counting notes and bibliography), which surveys the evolutionary history of the human female from the first mammals to Homo sapiens, I felt like a cartoon character on the PBS Kids network who says, “My brain just exploded.” On almost every page, I encountered at least one fact that evokes the same character’s catchphrase, “Well, THAT’S new information.” Moreover, Bohannon’s style is irresistibly lucid, readable, and witty. Each chapter discusses one of many “Eves,” ancestors of our species that exemplify the developments leading to modern woman. After the introduction, the chapters cover the following topics roughly in chronological order of development (aside from the last three, with dates of origin not precisely known): Milk (lactation and breasts), Womb (placental mammals), Perception (the senses), Legs (walking upright), Tools, Brain, Voice (development of language), Menopause, Love (human mating patterns and the social status of women versus men). So many questions arise, with thought-provoking speculation about the answers. Why do human females have breasts, unlike other primates? How did the placenta develop? Is there such a thing as the “female brain”? What are the differences between male and female senses, e.g. hearing the pitch of sounds and seeing colors? Why do women go through menopause? Are human beings “naturally” polygamous, promiscuous, or monogamous? Why do women live longer and, for the most part, healthier than men? Bohannan combines solid facts and scientific hypotheses with occasional personal anecdotes in language both information-dense and engagingly colloquial. Recommended for readers interested in evolution, biology, and/or the mysteries of human development and the differences between the sexes.
THE FRIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, by Jeff Belanger. This author has written numerous books on folklore, legends, and superstition, as well as hosting or participating in a variety of podcasts and TV programs on those topics. This physically beautiful slim volume, printed on sturdy, glossy paper and lavishly illustrated with reproductions (many in color) from paintings, woodcuts, book illustrations, vintage cards, and magazines, even includes an attached red satin ribbon bookmark. Subtitled “Surviving Krampus and Other Yuletide Monsters,” it begins with a background section on pagan winter solstice celebrations, the development of Christmas as we know it, and the life and legends of Saint Nicholas. The large middle section discusses frightful winter “monsters” such as Krampus, Belsnickel, the Yule Cat, the ogress Gryla, Black Peter, and many others. Despite the subtitle, however, some benevolent folkloric characters also appear, such as La Befana, the Tomten (a usually helpful species of house-elves), and of course Santa Claus, whose history is explored at length. Some chapters include anecdotes about the modern-day incarnations of traditional monsters, e.g., the now-popular Krampus. Belanger writes in a breezy but nevertheless fact-dense style that makes THE FRIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS equally appealing as both entertainment and reference work.
For my recommendations of “must read” classic and modern vampire fiction, explore the Realm of the Vampires:
*****
Excerpt from “The Thing on the Driveway”:
Spiders shouldn’t sparkle.
They shouldn’t have a leg span the size of Eve’s palm, either. Or be deep purple, shading to indigo on the abdomen. Most important, they shouldn’t swarm in her garage.
Her black cat, Onyx, dashed back and forth across the concrete floor, pouncing on the spiders. Eve flailed at them with a broom in vain. They vanished and reappeared before the blows could land.
Which is impossible. On the other hand, their materializing out of nowhere was impossible. Yet they’d done that just as she’d started trundling a wheelbarrow out the garage door to collect fallen branches. The debris littered the lawn from the summer afternoon thunderstorm that had swept through an hour earlier.
Granted, Arkham had a reputation for strange phenomena, but she figured most of them for urban legends. And, as far as she knew, the famous Antarctic expedition about a century past hadn’t shipped any sparkly, violet-blue spiders home to the university’s biology department.
She changed tactics, trying to sweep the creatures toward the open door with Onyx in pursuit. He skidded to a halt at the upper edge of the driveway and arched his spine, hissing.
Something wiggled—slithered? oozed?—from the driveway into the garage. It reminded Eve of a huge snake from a rain-forest wildlife documentary. She’d never seen one that looked translucent like an elongated blob of rainbow-hued gelatin, though
.
It gulped down the nearest dozen of the spiders. Most of the others popped out of existence like glittering bubbles.
-end of excerpt-
*****
The long-time distributor of THE VAMPIRE’S CRYPT has closed its website. If you would like to read any issue of this fanzine, which contains fiction, interviews, and a detailed book review column, e-mail me to request the desired issue, and I’ll send you a free PDF of it. My e-mail address is at the end of this newsletter. Find information about the contents of each issue on this page of my website:
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“Beast” wishes until next time—
Margaret L. Carter