Author Archive
Welcome to the May 2021 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.” For my recommendations of “must read” classic and modern vampire fiction, explore the Realm of the Vampires:
Realm of the Vampires
Also, check out the multi-author Alien Romances Blog
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!
Facebook
Here’s my page in Barnes and Noble’s Nook store:
Barnes and Noble
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
Here’s a shortcut URL to my author page on Amazon:
Amazon
My Goodreads page:
Goodreads
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!
The Wild Rose Press has accepted my light paranormal romance novella KAPPA COMPANION, a loose sequel to YOKAI MAGIC and KITSUNE ENCHANTMENT. Objects mysteriously moving in the house, a turtle creature trespassing in the yard—Heidi’s and her son’s new home would be perfect if not for the supernatural denizens left behind by former tenants. There’s an excerpt below. (Adam is the seven-year-old son of Heidi, the widowed heroine.)
This month’s interview features multi-genre romance writer Emma Kaye, another of my fellow Wild Rose Press authors who had a story with me in the SWEET SCOOPS ice cream theme anthology, which is here:
*****
Interview with Emma Kaye:
Hello everyone. Thanks so much for inviting me for this interview, Margaret!
What inspired you to begin writing?
I began writing when my kids were little. I needed something to occupy my mind other than diapers and cartoons. I would read when I could and was always searching for time travel romances. I had a story in my head and couldn’t find it on the shelves. One day my husband and I were talking, and I mentioned the crazy idea of writing the story myself. To my surprise, he said it was a great idea. Not long after that conversation he gave me a beautiful leather journal to write my first draft. I haven’t stopped since.
What genres do you work in?
Time travel, Regency, small town magic, and fantasy – all romance.
Do you outline, “wing it,” or something in between?
Something in between, and each book is different. The shorter the story, the more I outline. If I’m writing a full-length novel, I usually have a vague idea of the major events and the ending, but I don’t outline scene by scene as I do for a novella or short story.
What have been the major influences on your writing (favorite authors, life experiences, or whatever)?
I love being swept away by my reading and hope to do the same for others when I write. Some of my favorite authors are Frank Herbert (Dune is one of my earliest favorites that sparked my love of reading), Mercedes Lackey, Victoria Alexander, Kristen Painter, Diana Gabaldon, JK Rowling, Georgette Heyer… I could go on forever, I think. There are so many great writers out there. My dream is to make someone else’s favorite list someday.
What kinds of research do you do for your historical and time-travel romances?
It depends on what I need for the story. I look up the information I need – books, websites, classes. If I’m not sure of a bit of history as I’m writing, I’ll make a comment in my draft and look it up later. Sometimes, I’ll be doing some general research before I start to write and come across something that changes the direction of what I originally planned. That can be fun (and frustrating!)
For years, I was a member of The Beau Monde group at RWA just to soak up all the knowledge on the email loop. (The Beau Monde focuses on all things Regency.) I learned the answers to questions I’d never even thought to ask. They’re a great bunch, very knowledgeable. They offer online classes all the time and I try to take the ones that might be useful whenever I can.
I love the bargain section at B&N. I’ve picked up tons of books just on the idea that maybe someday… I have books on weapons, fashion, major battles, etc. I never know what might spark the idea for the next book.
Please tell us about the background and development of the Havenport series.
The Havenport series began as an anthology written with my critique partners—Ruth A. Casie, Lita Harris, and Nicole S. Patrick. We introduced Havenport in our fifth Timeless series book, Timeless Moments. I don’t think we realized how much we would enjoy our little town, but we certainly did. And we didn’t want to leave! So, we changed Timeless Moments to Christmas in Havenport and it became number one in a new series. All of our stories in each anthology were connected in some way, whether we all attended the big Fourth of July parade in Welcome to Havenport or took shelter from the winter snowstorm in Snowbound in Havenport. Our stories were interwoven. We had to spend a lot of time brainstorming and going over each other’s stories to make it work, but that was what we all loved most about our little town.
We all write in different genres though, so eventually we decided it would be better to release our books separately. Since all my characters belonged to the local coven, I named my series the Witches of Havenport. Ruth writes Havenport Romance (romantic suspense), Lita writes Women of Havenport (women’s fiction), and Nicole writes Heroes of Havenport (military heroes.)
What is your latest or next-forthcoming book?
The last story I published was Waffle Cone Magic, my contribution to the Sweet Scoops anthology. That was such a fun story to write, and I was thrilled to be included in the anthology with Margaret, Marilyn, Fran, and Jael. I enjoy writing for The Wild Rose Press’s submission calls—Waffle Cone Magic is my third. I also have stories in the Lobster Cove and Candy Hearts series. It’s a fun challenge to pick up someone else’s writing prompt and come up with something that fits the call but also stays true to what I love to write.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on a short Regency Christmas story called A Letter for Miss Brixton. It’s about two people who corresponded for years, fell in love, but never met. Until now. It will release in October/November this year in an anthology with several other Regency authors. This will be my third year participating in this anthology.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Everyone’s writing journey is different and you don’t know what’s going on in someone else’s life, so don’t judge yourself based on how you view someone else’s career.
What is the URL of your website? What about other internet presence?
Emma Kaye Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
*****
Some Books I’ve Read Lately:
MEXICAN GOTHIC, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. This horror novel hits all the classic notes for a Gothic story. It takes place in an old mansion haunted by dark family secrets and features a young woman in mysterious danger, possibly from her own husband. The protagonist, Noemi, the daughter of an upper-class family in Mexico City in the 1950s, leads a life of socializing, shopping, and partying while trying to settle on a college major. She has only one serious long-term interest, playing the piano. When her father receives an alarming letter from her recently married cousin, Catalina, he sends Noemi to investigate. Catalina married into an English family who have lived in their home, High Place, for several generations, since becoming wealthy from a now-defunct silver mine. In her letter, she claims her husband, Virgil, may be trying to poison her, the house is “sick with rot,” and she hears voices in the walls. Noemi’s father thinks Catalina may need psychiatric treatment and directs Noemi to find out what’s going on, especially since Virgil’s communication on the subject has been reserved and uncooperative. Noemi reluctantly undertakes the trip to the remote village adjacent to Virgil’s isolated house. There she meets his cousin Francis, the only member of the household who seems to welcome her. The needs of Virgil’s father, an infirm old man who spends most of his time in his room, place restrictions on the household such as silence during meals, because sounds carry through the building and disturb him. Francis’s mother autocratically announces the other rules of the house to Noemi, going so far as to severely limit Noemi’s contact with Catalina. Catalina is supposedly recovering from tuberculosis, but would that condition cause her apparently deranged fears? Virgil’s father is obsessed with eugenics, with “superior” and “inferior” races. The mansion is opulent yet poorly maintained, infested with mold and fungus, reminiscent of the House of Usher. The isolation, with Noemi’s access to transportation into town restricted, exacerbates the atmosphere of creeping dread. Are supernatural phenomena happening, or is the structure contaminated by some kind of toxin that causes surreal nightmares and Catalina’s alleged voices? Can Noemi trust anyone, even Francis? The story builds slowly, like a traditional Gothic romance, but the truth about the house and the family’s sinister history provides a satisfying payoff. Without spoilers, I can reveal that the danger looming over Noemi and her cousin is not imaginary, and the source of the threat isn’t quite like any other horror premise I’ve read before. In a unique way, house and family mutually feed off each other, again analogous to Poe’s Usher clan.
LOST IN THE NEVER WOODS, by Aiden Thomas. This YA novel is a sequel to PETER PAN set in the present day. It clearly takes place in a slightly different universe, one in which James Barrie’s play and stories about Peter Pan don’t exist, for the backstory of this novel retells the original classic in a small town in modern Oregon. Thomas’s Wendy Darling has gone through experiences similar to those of Barrie’s heroine. After hearing tales about Peter Pan from their mother, Wendy and her two brothers, John and Michael, disappeared from their home years earlier. Five years ago, Wendy returned alone. Unlike Barrie’s Wendy, she has no memory of spending time in Neverland with mermaids and pirates. Nor does she remember what happened to her brothers. Now children have begun vanishing, and the police probe to find out whether Wendy has recalled anything about her ordeal. Her only trace of memory expresses itself in compulsive drawing. Often without realizing she’s doing it, she sketches pictures of Peter Pan and scribbles images of an ominous-looking tree. When Peter himself shows up, Wendy has to accept that something paranormal happened to her when she went missing. As in Barrie’s play, Peter is looking for his lost shadow, but this loss has much more sinister implications than in the original classic. The shadow has a mind of its own, being a malevolent entity responsible for the disappearance of the child victims. Meanwhile, Peter starts to grow, maturing over a few days from a preadolescent boy into a teenager apparently Wendy’s age or older. In the process, he becomes weaker and begins to lose his magic. Together, he and Wendy search for the tree that may hold the answer to the current kidnappings as well as the fate of John and Michael. The quest reveals a darker aspect of Neverland that Peter has been hiding from Wendy. In the midst of the fairy-tale crisis, Wendy faces the realistic problems of dealing with the police, explaining Peter to her parents and friends, and suffering the consequences of sneaking into the forbidden woods. The climactic horrifying revelations when Peter and Wendy find the tree and confront the shadow lead to an appropriately bittersweet conclusion. While the traumatic experiences change her, Peter, regaining his magic, reverts to his true nature as the boy who never grows up. Even so, he’s far more humanly sympathetic than Barrie’s amoral hero incapable of deep attachments or long-term memory. My one significant complaint about the novel is that the connection between the woods adjacent to Wendy’s home town and Neverland remains vague. The forest has a solid, mundane reality; people can freely walk in and out of it. Peter takes lost children, as he once took Wendy, to an enchanted tropical island of pirates, native tribes, and mermaids. Exactly how they got from the Oregon woods to that other-dimensional realm, however, isn’t specified.
THE BLUE GIRL, by Charles de Lint. I’d previously overlooked this YA novel from 2004. While I’ve liked everything I’ve read by this distinguished author, I haven’t read anywhere near all of his work. The characters in his fiction often inhabit a space where urban fantasy and fairy tales overlap. THE BLUE GIRL, like many of de Lint’s stories, takes place in his invented Canadian city of Newford, where Imogene, her brother, Jared, and their single mother have recently moved. Chapters are narrated in the first person by Imogene; her new best friend, Maxine; and Adrian, a boy who hangs around Imogene at their high school. Present-day scenes are labeled “Now” and written in the present tense. Past events, marked “Then,” are in past tense, so, with the name of the narrator in the heading of each chapter, the reader has no trouble keeping track of person and time. We soon learn Adrian is a ghost, who died by jumping off the school roof a few years earlier. He’s interested in Imogene partly because of the way she stands up to bullies, a byproduct of her association with a rough crowd at her previous school, and he’s grateful that she’s willing to meet and talk with him. In life, he was a stereotypical nerd with no friends, until he got acquainted with the school’s resident fairies. Not sparkly, gauze-winged pixies, but tricksters who look like grotesque little men, for whom “hob” or “brownie” is a more suitable name. Even for people they befriend, they’re not completely safe to associate with. Adrian has also become aware of beings he calls “angels,” who try to persuade ghosts to move on to whatever lies beyond this world. In addition, he has to beware of dark entities that devour the souls of ghosts and people with the power to see into the spirit realm. At first Imogene doubts Adrian’s claims about fairies, because the only supernatural creatures she can see are Adrian himself and her half-forgotten childhood “imaginary” friend, Pelly. When she comes to terms with the reality of the other entities, she has to acknowledge the threat from the soul-eaters, too. Supported by advice from a folklore expert Maxine contacts on the internet, she, Imogene, Jared, and Adrian, along with Pelly and the ambiguous fairies, face the soul-eaters in deadly combat. In the process, Imogene matures and her relationship with her brother changes, while both she and Maxine forge deeper understandings with their respective mothers. By the end, Adrian has to confront the decision he has evaded since his death, whether to leave behind his mostly safe but limited in-between state for an unknown higher plane. The characters are three-dimensional and sympathetic, and the story is all one would expect from a Charles de Lint fantasy.
THE WRITING LIFE, by Jeff Strand. Strand, best known for his humorous horror novels, served as MC at several award banquets presented by EPIC (a now-defunct organization for e-book authors and publishers), an unforgettable experience for those who witnessed his hilarious routines. THE WRITING LIFE is not a writing craft manual. It doesn’t focus on information about the publishing industry and marketing advice for authors, although readers may pick up tips on those topics along the way. It’s not a memoir, although it comprises mainly anecdotes from Strand’s firsthand experiences. His introduction cautions the reader not to expect any of those things, although he does have a chapter on the “creative process.” The first chapter’s title announces the overarching theme of the book, “My Journey Through the Changing World of Publishing.” At the beginning of his career, e-books were new, regarded with suspicion and often disdain, a format resorted to if an author couldn’t get her or his work published as a “real book,” to be abandoned as soon as feasible. Self-publishing was for losers, and self-published works received no respect. Strand built his writing resume through “baby steps” rather than breakout bestsellers, in the process publishing in just about every available format and marketing model. Topics include rejection, negative feedback, critique groups, agents, imposter syndrome, networking, collaboration, day jobs, “Squandered Opportunities,” “Near-Misses,” “A Trio of Early Disasters,” and many others. In his characteristic style, Strand makes humorous reading of even the most painful episodes. While warning the aspiring author against making similar mistakes, he also reassures us that a diligent writer can navigate those rocky roads and still achieve success (however one personally defines success). The book’s subtitle, “Recollections, Reflections, and a Lot of Cursing,” forewarned me of what to expect, so when the numerous words that used to be labeled “unprintable” popped up, I gritted my teeth and mentally bleeped over them. One example of Strand’s irresistible humor, on the very first page, as he responds to the assertion that writing is the hardest job in the world: “This is, of course, total b—s–. There’s plenty of stuff that’s harder than writing. . . . I very much doubt that somebody working retail, in the thick of the psychotic Black Friday crowds, is thinking, ‘Well, at least I’m not writing a novel!’” If that style appeals to you, and you have any aspirations to a writing career, don’t miss this book.
*****
Excerpt from KAPPA COMPANION:
Heidi opened the door, and they stepped inside with Adam in the lead. She stopped short in the foyer and gaped at the living room couch. The throw pillows she’d left in a neat row that morning lay on the floor and the coffee table. “What in the world?”
Shannon looked around at the otherwise tidy space. “I gather it’s not usually like this.”
“Ha, ha.” Heidi strode into the center of the room and picked up one of the cushions. “I wonder if Ebony knocked them off somehow. She’s never done that before, though.” The sleek, all-black cat was nowhere in sight.
Joining her to help straighten up the couch, Shannon said, “Would a cat even be strong enough? Maybe it was an earthquake.”
Heidi answered the joking remark half seriously. “Earthquakes happen in this area, but less than once in a blue moon. Besides, we would’ve felt it at school. Also, things would be knocked off shelves, too.”
“Speaking of shelves, the cat or a quake couldn’t do that, could they?” Shannon pointed to the bookcase beside the television cabinet.
A cushion lay on top of the bookcase, where Heidi herself could barely reach while standing on the floor. Her stomach knotted as she retrieved the misplaced object. What kind of craziness is going on here? Only one halfway plausible notion occurred to her. “For weeks I’ve been running around like a decapitated chicken between getting ready for the fall term and unpacking. Maybe I did it without thinking.”
“Unless you’ve got a poltergeist.” Shannon punctuated the suggestion with a laugh.
Adam spoke up. “I bet Zashi did it.”
“Who’s Zashi?” Heidi asked as she stepped over to the far wall to turn on the central air conditioning.
“She’s my new friend who plays with me in the yard.”
Recalling “Window” and “Tomorrow,” Heidi asked, “Are you sure that’s her name?” Not that offhand she could come up with a real name “Zashi” resembled.
“I think so.”
“Well, there’s no way she could have gotten into the house while we were gone. Is she a friend from school?”
“No, she hangs around here. She can be anywhere. She’s magic. May I take my dinosaurs outside to show her?”
“I guess so.” As soon as he headed for the stairs, an alarming idea struck her. “Oh, no, what if somebody did get into the house?” Her heartbeat surged into overdrive. Followed by Shannon, she checked the living room windows, then hurried along the hall with a detour into the dining room. Ending up in the kitchen, they found no broken or open windows on the way. Both outside doors in the kitchen were locked and deadbolted. Nothing aside from the couch cushions looked disturbed. Heidi leaned on the kitchen counter to catch her breath.
“There you are,” Shannon said. “Cat, poltergeist, or Zashi, whoever she is. Maybe she’s an imaginary friend like the turtle boy. If he is imaginary.”
-end of excerpt-
*****
My Publishers:
Writers Exchange E-Publishing: Writers Exchange
Harlequin: Harlequin
Whiskey Creek: Whiskey Creek
Wild Rose Press: Wild Rose Press
You can contact me at: MLCVamp@aol.com
“Beast” wishes until next time—
Margaret L. Carter
Welcome to the April 2021 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.” For my recommendations of “must read” classic and modern vampire fiction, explore the Realm of the Vampires:
Realm of the Vampires
Also, check out the multi-author Alien Romances Blog
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!
Facebook
Here’s my page in Barnes and Noble’s Nook store:
Barnes and Noble
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
Here’s a shortcut URL to my author page on Amazon:
Amazon
My Goodreads page:
Goodreads
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!
My Christmas light paranormal romance novelette, “Chocolate Chip Charm,” will be included in the Wild Rose Press’s holiday cookie themed line this coming winter. No release date or other details yet. There’s an excerpt below. In going through a box of cookbooks from her grandmother, Stacy comes upon a notebook of magic spells. While preparing to bake cookies for a choir potluck, she worries about her two friends who’ve just broken off their relationship (one of them being her old high-school sweetheart).
Also, I’m delighted to report that the Wild Rose Press has accepted my light paranormal romance novella KAPPA COMPANION, which follows YOKAI MAGIC and KITSUNE ENCHANTMENT. Each can be read on its own, however.
This month I’m interviewing romance author Fran McNabb, who has a story with me in the Wild Rose Press anthology SWEET SCOOPS, available here:
*****
Interview with Fran McNabb:
Thank you, Margaret, for including me in your newsletter.
l. What inspired you to begin writing?
That’s easy. I taught high school English and journalism. My life revolved around writing so it was only natural to begin delving into my own fiction. I read romance novels during my summer break. I loved them and never thought about writing anything else.
2. What genres do you work in?
I usually write contemporary, clean romance, but I do have three historical romances. My last book was an inspirational historical, THE WAY HOME.
3. Do you outline, “wing it,” or something in between?
Definitely in between. I use a plotting grid, but I never do a detailed outline. I have to start writing to get to know my characters, then I plan the rest of the novel.
4. What have been the major influences on your writing (favorite authors, life experiences, or whatever)?
Even though Leon Uris doesn’t write romance, I credit him for the creation of my heroes. I fell in love with EXODUS (read it twice) and Ari, the hero. When I’ve taught workshops about creating character, I always mentioned Ari. I think a little bit of him is in all my heroes.
Living on the Gulf Coast surrounded by water, islands, and sand has also influenced my writing. Many of my stories take place on the coastline, including “Smoothing a Rocky Road,” my short story in the SWEET SCOOPS, One Scoop or Two Anthology. (Margaret Carter also has a story in it: “Spooky Tutti Frutti.”)
5. How have your travels and your work in teaching and journalism affected your writing?
As stated in #1, teaching English and journalism gave me a great background that led to my own writing. I spent my days surrounded by the great literary authors as well as by objective news stories. I loved seeing how authors and journalists took ideas and developed them. The flowery writing of some of the classic authors to the straightforward news stories gave me different worlds that help me today with my own stories.
6. You often write about military heroes. Do you have any personal connection with the armed forces? What attracts you about this kind of character?
When I met my husband, he was in the Air Force, leaving the United States for a three-year tour in Germany. He returned nine months later to marry me and to take me to Europe. It was a great way to start a marriage. I guess that gave us a good foundation because last summer we celebrated fifty years together. Those years taught me about military life. We only stayed in the service for four years, but I admire the men and women who make a career of the military, a life that requires sacrifice for both the servicemen and their families.
7. What is your latest or next-forthcoming book?
THE WAY HOME, an inspirational historical romance set in 1849 in Independence, Missouri, is my latest book published by Winged Press in February of this year. Even though I have thirteen clean romances, this book was my first inspirational. It was a natural progression to try my hand in this genre and I really liked it.
8. What are you working on now?
At the moment I’m taking a break from writing. I call it “letting ideas percolate.” I introduced a character in THE WAY HOME, and I’d like to write my next book about him. I have a few ideas but I’m not sure where his story will lead.
9. What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
My advice to aspiring writers would be to not rush the process. Writing takes time, both to learn the craft as well as to figure out the world of publishing. Take writing classes. Attend workshops. Read and read some more. We never are too old to learn something that will help us master the art of being an author.
10. What is the URL of your website? What about other internet presence?
FB pages:
*****
Some Books I’ve Read Lately:
HEARTS STRANGE AND DREADFUL, by Tim McGregor. This historical vampire novel that never mentions the word “vampire” takes inspiration from the New England “vampire” cases of the late nineteenth century, although McGregor sets his story much earlier. The teenage narrator, Hester Stokely, lives in a Rhode Island village in 1821 with her aunt and uncle and their children. Because of burn scars from the fire that killed her parents, she considers herself ugly, a belief reinforced by taunting from some of the other youths in town. Her secret crush on an older boy therefore seems hopeless. She makes herself useful to her family not only by doing ordinary household chores but by her skills with herbs and healing techniques. Although her aunt and uncle treat her kindly, she never feels quite equal to her cousins in their parents’ affection. A mysterious fugitive takes refuge in their barn, raving about the complete destruction of a nearby town. After he flees into the forest, a party of men travels to his alleged home to check on the tale. They discover the place burned to ruins and bodies dug up from the graveyard. Moreover, a strange woman who claims to be the widow of the dead man’s brother arrives, seeking vengeance on her brother-in-law for, she asserts, murdering her husband. The lavish reward she offers for the man’s capture sets the town in an uproar. Around the same time, people start to die of consumption, including members of Hester’s family. With panic and superstition running rampant, the town’s leaders eventually resort to exhuming those who die of the epidemic and burning their hearts. Until well into the story, we can’t be sure whether the undead are really preying on their surviving relatives and neighbors or the calamity arises from a mere combination of natural illness and hysterical fears. One cousin’s dream of an “angel” with red eyes provides a clue easily recognized by the reader, though not by the narrator. Hester is a sympathetic character, and the novel has an absorbing, well-paced plot that leads in directions not readily predictable. I love the fresh approach to vampirism, drawing upon actual beliefs and practices of the era instead of falling back on literary and cinematic tropes invented many years later. The author has obviously done plenty of research into the time and place of the setting. However, Hester’s references to the detested “Puritans” of Massachusetts are anachronistic by a century or so. Another incongruous note is a character’s mishearing Hester’s name as “Heather” (not used as a given name until the late 1800s and not popular until much later still). On the level of detail, numerous small errors jerked me out of the story, such as typos resulting in the wrong homonyms (e.g., “marshal” for “martial” at least twice) as well as several blatant malapropisms such as “detract” for “distract.” I’m not sure how to interpret the book’s conclusion. If it’s intended as a happy ending, it falls flat, in my opinion. Or is it supposed to convey the somber message that Hester should settle for the best she can get and be content with it?
LATER, by Stephen King. Like THE COLORADO KID and JOYLAND, this horror novel was published in the Hard Case Crime line from Titan Books. As with those earlier works, though, don’t be misled by the racy,1950s-style hardboiled mystery cover, which gives no indication of the book’s genre and tone, although LATER does include a crooked cop and a drug-dealing crime lord. The narrator reveals the significance of the title in his introductory note. He’s a young man in his early twenties reflecting on events that happened from his childhood to mid-teens. Over and over, he remarks that he fully understood what he’d experienced not at the time but only “later.” Thus King simultaneously provides a boy’s perspective and that of the adult he has become. The story involves one of King’s perennial tropes, a child with a psychic power. Jamie Conklin, whose single mother is a literary agent, sees dead people—as he mentions, not quite like the boy in the movie, but close. His mother thinks he simply has a vivid imagination until he sees the recently deceased wife of a college professor who lives in their apartment building and tells the man something he (Jamie) could have learned only from the dead woman. The dead follow these rules: (1) They look exactly as they did at the moment of death. (2) They have to answer questions truthfully and can’t refuse to answer. (3) They gradually withdraw from the world of the living and disappear within a few days, usually lingering no more than a week at most. Upon the death of the famous client on whom his mother’s struggling agency depends, through Jamie’s gift she gets the plot of the unwritten final book in the author’s bestselling series. The resulting novel, written by her but passed off as a manuscript she discovered and edited, restores Jamie and his mother to financial prosperity. Meanwhile, she develops a relationship with Liz, the corrupt police officer mentioned above, but breaks off the romance when she learns about Liz’s involvement with illegal drugs. Aware of Jamie’s ability, Liz later uses it to find out where a serial bomber calling himself Thumper planted his final bomb. “Thumper,” however, is different from all the other dead people. He doesn’t fade away but continues to haunt Jamie. Moreover, it becomes clear that the apparition isn’t truly the serial killer at all, but some malevolent entity possessing his residual shell. With advice from the old professor, Jamie employs the Ritual of Chud (in an echo of IT) against “Thumper.” But that isn’t the end of the story, as now ex-cop Liz later returns to force Jamie to use his power for her once more. This quick read, a short book by King’s standards, held me riveted, mainly through the protagonist’s narrative voice. Although LATER probably won’t become one of my top favorites in the author’s oeuvre, I’ll definitely reread it more than once. The horror of the never truly defined intruder from beyond impresses me as vintage King, and he handles the coming-of-age theme with his usual skill.
THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS, by John Connolly. A portal fantasy about a world shaped by fairy tales. Although the protagonist, David, is a preteen, the book’s language and dark tone read more like a YA than a middle-grade novel. David loves fairy tales, but he’s unprepared for the stories he discovers when he crosses into that other world. His mother dies after a long illness, despite David’s obsessive-compulsive rituals attempting to stave off that fate. His father remarries, after which the family moves into a house that has belonged to the new wife’s family for generations. David resents his stepmother, an attitude worsened by the birth of a new baby. In the bedroom given to him, David finds a book that belonged to Jonathan, a relative of hers who mysteriously vanished many years earlier. One feature of the estate is a ruined sunken garden. When David thinks he hears his mother’s voice calling him from there, he sneaks out to follow the voice and enters a forest infested by wolf packs under the leadership of bipedal, half-human lupine creatures. Guided and protected first by a Woodsman and then by a soldier (knight?) named Roland with his faithful horse, Scylla, David sets out to find the castle of the king, although rumor hints that the king hasn’t ruled effectively in a long time. However, he’s said to possess a volume called THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS, which may help David reunite with his mother. On the way, he encounters twisted incarnations of familiar fairy tales, including an obese, narcissistic Snow White who treats the dwarfs almost like slaves, a gender-flipped “Beauty and the Beast,” and a vampiric Sleeping Beauty. The Snow White episode, by the way, feels like comic relief, a slightly jarring note amid the otherwise seriously dark events. Meanwhile, a sinister figure called the Crooked Man repeatedly pops up, insisting he has David’s best interests in mind and can restore his mother to life. In fact, the Crooked Man promises to fulfill all of David’s most cherished dreams in return for only one small favor—for David to speak his baby brother’s name. The reader, of course, knows this would be a very bad idea, but the Crooked Man’s underlying motive will probably come as a horrific surprise. When David finally reaches the castle, naturally neither the king nor the magical book turns out to be what he expects. A disturbing but ultimately satisfying story for fans of portal fantasies and re-imagined fairy tales.
DAGGERS IN DARKNESS, by S. M. Stirling. The fourth installment in the Black Chamber series, set in an alternate America where Theodore Roosevelt reclaimed the presidency in the election of 1912. In a time skip from the previous volume, it’s now 1922, with Teddy apparently set as President for life or until he decides to retire. The Great War ended with Germany ruling Europe and the world dominated by a cold war among the three great power blocs—the German hegemony, the Empire of Japan, and the Oceanian Alliance (the U.S. and its allies). London and parts of Europe have been devastated by the lethal V-gas, leaving some cities as unlivable as if flattened by nuclear bombardment. Canada has joined the U.S., and Mexico is an American protectorate. Black Chamber operative Luz O’Malley and her lover, Ciara, now live together in Luz’s luxurious family home in Santa Barbara with their two sets of four-year-old female twins, passed off to people outside their inner circle as “orphans” they’ve adopted. In reality, of course, they deliberately chose the girls’ father according to the Progressive Republican Party’s advanced eugenic principles. Luz is ready to return to active field work, and tech-wizard Ciara has no intention of being left out of any missions Luz undertakes. Tasked to investigate the smuggling of priceless Chinese artifacts, Luz assumes the persona of a rich Mexican-American widow dealing in antiquities. Supported by Ciara, their Chinese-American nanny/bodyguard, and two young Japanese-American sisters with equally versatile talents, Luz negotiates with dubious characters in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The investigation reveals not only antique smuggling but trafficking in kidnapped girls and leads to the revelation that either a rogue state or a criminal cartel plans to buy up a stockpile of V-gas. Luz, Ciara, and party travel to Shanghai for tense confrontations and a climactic battle. Aside from one street fight in San Francisco and the raid on the villains in Shanghai, there’s almost no “action” in the sense of physical combat, which suits me fine. I enjoy these books for the worldbuilding, dialogue, and character relationships, with the spy-thriller plot a necessary scaffolding on which to hang those elements. I always have trouble following fight scenes, although Stirling’s read clearer than most to me, but even so I never wish for more of them. I’ve mostly gotten over my disappointment that this series includes no fantasy elements, since the alternate history is fascinating to read about. Teddy Roosevelt’s “Progressive” America is neither a utopia nor a dystopia, just different from ours, better in many respects but problematic in some others. At a few points I wondered whether the editor had fallen asleep, notably “alumnus” instead of “alumna” for a female college graduate, but there weren’t many of those. Needless to say, new readers should start the series with the first volume, not begin with this novel, but established fans of the “Chamberverse” should be delighted by DAGGERS IN DARKNESS. (Despite the cover, one of the ugliest of any I’ve seen in a long time.)
*****
Excerpt from “Chocolate Chip Charm”:
Inside, Stacy piled most of the loose books back into the carton, hauled it into the office, and carried the holiday cookbook into the kitchen. As an afterthought, she turned around to retrieve the spell notebook, too. After setting it on the end of the counter for later perusal, she flipped to the chocolate chip cookie page. She’d already bought chocolate bits, the red and green candies, and peppermint extract, knowing she’d need those if she found the recipe. She ought to have the rest of the necessary items on hand. Checking the list, she confirmed that assumption.
As she got out ingredients, bowls, utensils, and cookie cutters, her unruly brain wandered to Rob again. If he and Doreen can make each other happy, that’s what I want. If only I could fix this for them, she mused while sifting flour and sugar into a mixing bowl. That’s what a true friend would do, right?
Her gaze shifted from the recipe page to the notebook at the end of the short counter in her cramped kitchen. A love potion could fix it, if that really worked.
Laughing at herself, she opened the loose-leaf pages to the love spell anyway. Come to think of it, hadn’t Grammie dropped hints now and then that some of her old friends’ magic seemed to produce real-world effects? Speaking of rational, this is not definitely not it. On the other hand, I can treat it like a science experiment. What can it hurt to try, as long as the concoction doesn’t include anything poisonous?
The page was labeled, “To Awaken Love.” She scanned the list of ingredients. Nothing harmful or likely to ruin the taste of the cookies, just ordinary kitchen supplies such as cinnamon for heat, ginger for spiciness and protection, honey for sweetness, and cardamom to allegedly make the user irresistible. Sounds like flavoring for a mince pie. In fact, it sounded too simple to be magic, if there was such a thing. Reading on, she found a note at the bottom stating that passionate intention and a firm will were the most important components. The instructions finished with a charm to recite while mixing the potion. For best results, she should brew it in spring water. Okay, she had a plastic jug of that on hand.
The directions admonished the spellcaster to work with pure motives, seeking the best for the other person, not applying coercion. That’s exactly what I’m doing. I’m not trying to force them into anything. I only want what’s best for them.
With that mindset, trying a magic spell couldn’t be evil, could it? Besides, her grandmother wasn’t the type to dabble in anything morally dubious.
Stacy reread the whole thing once more, searching for any hidden trap of the kind that always seemed to lurk in fairy-tale enchantments. From all she’d read or heard, magic, like gaming, law, and computer programming, followed rules. This example of it looked safe enough, guaranteeing that the one who consumed the potion would fall in love with the next suitable person he or she saw. Suitable. Good, she’d run no risk of Rob’s developing a mad crush on the church office’s resident cat, like Titania and donkey-headed Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream. On the farfetched assumption that this enchantment worked, it couldn’t do any harm. Furthermore, the spell manual claimed the charm would wear off after seven days. In that time, the magical kick-start, if any, should revitalize Rob and Doreen’s mutual affection.
-end of excerpt-
*****
My Publishers:
Writers Exchange E-Publishing: Writers Exchange
Harlequin: Harlequin
Whiskey Creek: Whiskey Creek
Wild Rose Press: Wild Rose Press
You can contact me at: MLCVamp@aol.com
“Beast” wishes until next time—
Margaret L. Carter
Welcome to the March 2021 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.” For my recommendations of “must read” classic and modern vampire fiction, explore the Realm of the Vampires:
Realm of the Vampires
Also, check out the multi-author Alien Romances Blog
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My humorous vampire story “Support Group” appears in NIGHT TO DAWN 39, which you can find here:
Several vampires, some of whom you may recognize, gather for group therapy under the guidance of Dr. Roger Darvell (protagonist of my DARK CHANGELING and CHILD OF TWILIGHT). A teaser, comprising the first few paragraphs, appears below.
This month, I have the privilege of interviewing fantasy author Stephanie Burgis.
*****
Interview with Stephanie Burgis:
What inspired you to begin writing?
I fell in love with reading at a ridiculously early age, but somehow it didn’t click with me that the books I read were written by real people until I was 7. At that point, I announced to my mom: “I’ve found something even more fun than reading. Writing!” And it really was my passion and my life goal from then onwards.
What genres do you work in?
MG fantasy and adult romantic (and usually historical) fantasy.
Do you outline, “wing it,” or something in between?
I wing it completely! 🙂 My main strategy as I write any first draft is to think: “What would be most interesting or most awkward for my main character?” And then I do that.
What have been the major influences on your writing (favorite authors, life experiences, or whatever)?
I grew up imprinting hard on not only Tolkien but Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, too, along with Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman, Robin McKinley, and Terri Windling. I still remember how my breath was taken away by Nalo Hopkinson’s first novel (and I’ve had similar reactions to every new novel she’s written since then)! And I was lucky enough to study with six amazing writers and editors at the Clarion West workshop in 2001: Octavia Butler, Bradley Denton, Connie Willis, Nalo Hopkinson, Ellen Datlow, and Jack Womack. All of them (and my classmates) had a huge influence on me!
What do you consider the main differences between writing adult fiction and writing middle grade or YA?
It’s really just a matter of perspective. If you dive deep into your character’s mindset, their voice will come out very differently depending on their age, their setting, and their experiences of the world. Obviously, there are some topics (romance, sex, etc.) that are appropriate for adult books but not MG, but again, those spiral from particular characters and their situations, so I really don’t have to struggle to leave them out of fiction for younger readers!
Apart from that, a lot of it really does just come down to wordcount. There’s a lot of pressure nowadays for MG novels to top out at about half the length of a standard adult fantasy novel, so stories have to be written tightly and efficiently. It’s a really fun challenge – and likewise, it’s a fun challenge to let myself spread out a bit in adult fantasy and really bring out a different kind of fun in those novels or novellas.
How do the alternate-history worlds of the Harwood series and the Shadow novels differ, respectively, from the real-world histories of Britain and Europe?
The Harwood Spellbook series is set in a world very different from our own, in which Boudicca successfully kicked out the Romans with the help of her (fictitious) second husband, a magic worker, and from then onwards, the governance of “Angland” was left to the “naturally hard-headed” women (in the form of a ruling Boudiccate) while “irrational, emotional” magic was left to the gentlemen. Also, there are trolls, elves, and more hanging about regularly!
I took a very different tack in Masks and Shadows and Congress of Secrets, both of which I set in our real world – but with secret alchemy going on behind the scenes. Those books really came from my PhD research into opera and politics in late 18th-century Vienna and Eszterháza, and it was a lot of fun to take real-world events and characters and invent secret magical explanations for a lot of the things that they did.
How do the magic systems of the Harwood world and the Kat series differ from each other?
The Harwood Spellbook is set in a very different version of 19th-century England (or, in its case, Angland) where magic is real and inescapable in day-to-day life and has made huge changes to all of Angland’s history. The Kat, Incorrigible series is also set in the same time period, but in a much less altered version of our world. In Kat’s (far more recognizable) early 19th-century England, magic is seen as scandalous and inappropriate – really, in very poor taste – which means it’s very rarely witnessed.
Can you give us any hints about the forthcoming Raven Crown series?
This one is just a little darker than my earlier MG novels, although it’s still focused on a loving family group and has a lot of humor in it. The fantasy setting is very much based on the British Wars of the Roses, because when I was reading history books about them for fun (because I am a big geek, and also because I live in a part of Wales where many of those battles took place), I was struck by how often the rival heirs in these bloody wars were just kids – who were, of course, used as pawns by their powerful families. Some of their real adventures were absolutely wild as they had to wear disguises and flee across the kingdom at night on horseback, etc…so I started imagining a fantasy version of that kind of situation. It’s Shakespeare-inflected and full of magic, and right now it’s projected to be a duology: The Raven Heir and The Raven Throne.
What is your latest or next-forthcoming book?
Right now, I have a fluffy Regency rom-com with pet dragons (Scales and Sensibility) being published as a serial on my Patreon ( patreon.com/stephanieburgis ), and my next MG fantasy novel, The Raven Heir, will come out in America in September 2021 (and in the UK in August 2021).
What are you working on now?
I’m pretty much always working on two projects at once (one for adults and one for kids). At the moment, I’m finishing up the first draft of The Raven Throne (coming out from Bloomsbury Children’s Books in 2022) and also editing Scales and Sensibility as I publish it to my patrons on Patreon, one chapter a week.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Read as much as you possibly can in as many genres as you can! Be stubbornly persistent. Find people willing to read your work and give you honest feedback (but make sure they’re giving positive as well as negative notes, to keep it useful and not just crushing). Work to revise your own work again and again and keep growing as a writer. I can’t wait to read what you write!
What is the URL of your website? What about other internet presence? My website is:
Stephanie Burgis
I’m also on Twitter as @Stephanie Burgis, on Instagram as @stephanieburgisinwales, and my Patreon page is:
Stephanie Burgis Patreon
*****
Some Books I’ve Read Lately:
THE FISHERMAN, by John Langan. I recently learned of this 2016 horror novel in a review essay, and I found it enthralling. It effectively comprises two separate stories, one nested inside the other. The frame narrator, Abe, whose wife has died of cancer, discovers fishing as a pathway out of his depression, self-neglect, and alcohol abuse. When a co-worker, Dan, loses his wife and children in a horrific accident, the two men eventually become friends as they begin fishing together. Readers would immediately recognize the book as a horror story even without the cover blurb, because Abe openly foreshadows the horror content by warning us about the awfulness of the tale he’s preparing to tell. Without the supernatural plot elements, the account of the friendship between Abe and Dan would still be engrossing. It’s a pleasure to read an author with such a command of description and characterization, not to mention grammar and sentence structure (and minimal typos – I winced only a few times in the 263 pages of text). The main body of the novel, “Der Fischer: A Tale of Terror,” however, consists of a narrative that could make a book on its own, a historical horror story taking place mostly in the early twentieth century. Ten years in the past (relative to the time when Abe writes down the events) Dan tells Abe about Dutchman’s Creek, an obscure fishing spot in upstate New York, and is evasive when Abe asks how he learned of it. They hear the long cautionary tale about the place from Howard, a chef in a roadside diner. Howard got the story from a Lutheran minister, who heard it from Lottie, a dying old woman born in Germany in the late nineteenth century. Such nested narratives are a common trope in classic Gothic fiction. One Amazon review complains about the impossibility of Howard’s telling the entire story in the hour the conversation is supposed to have taken, but Abe admits at the start that he couldn’t have learned everything from Howard at the time. He must have picked up much of the information on his own in some other way. (Besides, this literary convention carries suspension of disbelief much further in older works such as FRANKENSTEIN, whose main body consists of Victor Frankenstein’s unfolding his entire life story to the Arctic explorer who rescues him from the ice, with a long monologue by the creature embedded in that.) The past narrative, in a third-person omniscient voice, begins with the history of a rich, unpleasant man, Cornelius Dort, who invites a strange guest into his mansion in the small upstate New York town of Hurley Station. The guest, later known as Der Fischer—the Fisherman—who stays on until Dort’s death and inherits the house, turns out to be a necromancer. As in Stephen King’s PET SEMATARY (to which one Amazon review compares this book), the dead he raises come back “wrong.” Moreover, that kind of sorcery proves subordinate to his main goal, capturing an otherworldly monster, the Leviathan. When Lottie’s father, who had lost his position as a university professor in Germany for delving into the occult, leads a small expedition to the mansion to get rid of the Fisherman, they break into an alternate dimension. Back in the frame story, Abe soon realizes Dan wants to find Dutchman’s Creek because of a fixation on the possibility of the dead returning to life. The search, of course, goes terribly wrong, and Abe must leave the eldritch borderland without Dan. The denouement, years later, finally brings Abe a sort of resolution if not exactly peace. This novel does a superb job with one of my favorite themes, the horrific past casting its shadow on the present. I also like the way the terrible truth about the Fisherman is uncovered in small increments, building suspense with the promise of an ultimate shattering revelation. The book has an epigraph from MOBY-DICK and includes subtle allusions to that classic.
THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS OF JANUARY, by Alix E. Harrow. Another portal fantasy, this one about a book as a metaphorical portal and words as keys to literal gates into alternate worlds. In the early twentieth century, the January of the title, a mixed-race girl, lives in the New England home of a wealthy man as his ward while her father travels the globe to collect artifacts and curiosities for their patron’s exotic collection. She loves her father but resents his being gone so often she rarely sees him. She thinks of his employer, Mr. Locke, as a foster father. While she knows the other members of the society of rich collectors he belongs to think of her as, at most, a clever pet, she tries to believe Mr. Locke is genuinely fond of her. Occasionally odd little gifts turn up in a chest in her room, which she assumes come from him. But then a strange book appears, THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS, the kind of thing Mr. Locke wouldn’t approve of. She “dives into” the book, supposedly written by a man from a different world. It begins with the story of Ade (short for Adelaide), a nineteenth-century Midwestern girl whose life changes when she meets a boy who has come through a door that shouldn’t exist. The tale narrates her quest for him through a series of portals and dimensions, while he in turn devotes his life to seeking her. For a long stretch of the novel, chapters of THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS alternate with January’s story, as she discovers doors between dimensions really exist, and Locke and his colleagues are determined to close all they can find. Meanwhile, her friendship with the son of the local Italian grocer deepens, and her father sends a peculiar African woman, Jane, to watch over her, with whom January forms a firm alliance against Locke and his cohorts. The boy and Jane eventually rescue January from an insane asylum and join her on an odyssey across the multiverse. About halfway through the novel, we find out the connection between THE TEN THOUSAND DOORS and January’s own life. As she masters her gift for writing changes into the very fabric of reality, she also learns the truth of her origin and how her father became enslaved to Locke’s schemes. A breathtaking adventure of interdimensional journeys and self-discovery of mythic scope, with engaging characters one can’t help rooting for.
ROOT MAGIC, by Eden Royce. This YA novel set in 1963 takes place in a rural Black community on one of the Sea Islands off South Carolina and focuses on the Gullah people, who preserve their African-influenced creole language and many elements of their unique culture. In the opening scene, Jezebel and her twin brother, Jay, just short of their eleventh birthday, attend the traditional Gullah funeral of their grandmother, a venerated expert in rootwork. The root magic of the title encompasses far more than medicines derived from plants; it includes real spells and the lore of the spirit realm. The father of Jez and Jay mysteriously disappeared years earlier. They live with their mother and her brother, their Uncle Doc, also a root worker. He offers to teach the children his knowledge and skills. Although their mother takes a dim view of root magic, she allows Doc to train the twins. Intense, studious Jez writes down his teachings in a notebook and diligently practices the tasks she’s set, while Jay, although also a quick learner, takes a more outwardly casual approach. Meanwhile, Jez endures typical pre-adolescent problems at school, mainly harassment from the mean girls who taunt her as a “witch” because of her family’s involvement in the folk magic they scorn. Also, Jay begins growing away from her as he begins to spend more time with other boys in masculine pursuits such as sports. On the positive side, school also provides a sympathetic teacher who introduces Jez to Black authors. Her first solo attempt at a spell consists of a wish for a friend. The wish seems to come true when she meets a new girl, Susie, who’s happy to hang out with her. Susie displays a certain reticence, though, that hints she isn’t what she seems. Jez learns protection spells, among other magic, and needs them when the marshland where she and Jay have played all their lives proves to harbor dangerous creatures of the spirit world. Mundane hazards appear in the form of one of the book’s only two white characters, the viciously racist Deputy Collins, who harasses the family out of an irrational loathing of “witch doctors” in addition to what looks like sheer meanness. The other white man in the story, the sheriff, treats Jez’s family with courtesy and dignity, but as far as getting rid of Collins is concerned, local politics limit the sheriff’s ability to act. Collins ultimately meets a well-deserved fate, in which the enigmatic Susie plays a vital role. The landscape and culture of the setting are vividly rendered. Allusions to the civil rights movement, the optimism sparked by Kennedy’s presidency, and the mourning for his death offer glimpses of the wider world outside Jez’s community. If Jez were real, she would be only about four years younger than I, but I was a white, suburban, middle-class teenager in the 1960s. I found Royce’s portrayal of a society in the same period but so different from my own fascinating. One small point, by the way: It seems strange that a church-going woman would name her daughter after one of the most notorious villains in the Bible.
* * * *
Excerpt from “Support Group”:
“I believe all but one of our scheduled participants are present.” Dr. Roger Darvell, the psychiatrist conducting the group therapy session, checked his watch and continued, “Please, if you will, each of you begin by telling us why you’re here.” He nodded to the young-looking man in jeans and black leather jacket on his right.
“The same reason as most of you, I suppose.” The speaker ran a hair through his curly hair, chestnut with golden highlights. “To find a cure for this diabolical—compulsion.”
A fair-skinned lady with luxuriant ebony hair, the only woman present, said with a brittle laugh, “Sir Nicholas, you talk like a priest! Nature knows nothing of good or evil. I’m here because my lovers cannot seem to understand this truth.” Her haunting, dark eyes brimmed with tears, as she went on in her faintly Germanic accent, “Always they reject me when they discover my—condition. Love is so painful—my self-esteem suffers so dreadfully—”
The man on her right, equally pale and dark-haired, dressed like a seventeenth-century cavalier, said only, “Attempted suicide. Jumped into a volcano.”
The others winced.
“I, also, by walking into sunlight,” said the somber black man next to him, tall and imposing in his flowing, black cloak. “And why they will never let us rest, those monsters of greed in your golden western land—” He glared around the circle.
A man in an Inverness caped coat, leaning on a wolf’s-head cane, raised his deep-set, shadowed eyes to survey his fellow patients. “I, too, seek a cure. I’ve almost had it several times, but it always proved to be an illusion.”
“Fools!” burst out a tall, old man with a flowing mustache and a strongly aquiline profile. “You, trying to throw away your gift of immortality. And you, begging to be ‘cured’ of your powers. I am elder and greater than most of you, so perhaps your folly shouldn’t surprise me. But you, Sir Nicholas—not only scorning your gifts, but prostituting them to enforce the petty laws of these ephemeral creatures. Why haven’t you learned better in your eight centuries?”
“Just Nick,” said the young-looking man. “Maybe I’ve learned more than you have.”
“If you feel that way, Count,” Dr. Darvell asked, “why are you here?”
The elder’s lip curled in a disdainful snarl. “Your modern medical charlatans would call it an identity crisis or perhaps multiple personality disorder. Those mountebanks beyond the sunset trouble my peace, also. They have made me a warlord, a bloodthirsty beast, a defender of the faith, a cruel tyrant, a melancholy aristocrat, a romantic lover, or sometimes the butt of their crude jests on boxes of breakfast food for children. Some even take me for a sentimental idiot like you, Black Prince. But whatever I am, I chose my fate and embrace it without regret.”
The black man rose from his chair, fists clenched and fangs bared. “That gives you no right to force your condition on others, as you did to me.”
-end of excerpt-
*****
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“Beast” wishes until next time—
Margaret L. Carter