Thank you Linda and Lisa at L&L Dreamspell for making me realize my personal dream of being a published author.

Hi all,

If you don’t know by now, my first novel, “Vampires at the Opera” went on sale on Monday. If you are over 18 and would like to purchase it, it is available at the Dreamspell website. For someone who is a first time author, words cannot describe the wonderful and very emotional feeling of seeing one’s book listed on the various book selling websites.

Today, I received my author copies in the mail and loads of goodies from Dreamspell.
I loved the shirt and the tote bag but it felt incredible to finally physically hold the actual novel in my hands. I am extremely pleased with the overall look of the book as well as what is between the pages. Thanks Linda for doing a wonderful cover (I loved it from the first time that I saw it!). I want to thank Lisa who did a great job editing my manuscript for publication. It reads so smooth and sharp! Thanks also to Linda and Lisa for the beautifully framed memento commemorating the publication of my novel. It was a very touching gift and I have it in my office now, next to my computer.

I also want to say a special "thank you" to my fans who have followed me and my universe. I hope you will support my novel and stay around to see what happens next in my Dracula Phantom of the Opera series.

Which brings me to sharing with you all my next goal. As excited as I am to now have my novel set free for all to read, I have to confess, publishing it has made me eager to achieve my new ambition. The writing of my second novel in my Dracula-Phantom of the Opera series.

Take care all,
Chris

You have a deadline for next week and you’re stressed, worried and out of ideas. What should you do?

Take a vacation.

Hi all,

When I was younger, I worked at a very demanding job. One in which I used to work Saturdays and sometimes, Sundays. My co-workers around me also did the same thing. And after several seven day weeks, we were all pretty burnt. And then, much to my boss’ dismay, I started working six day weeks and taking Sundays off. And I realized something important. When I came back on Monday, I felt much more rested (even just a 24 hour rest can do wonders for us) and the work I produced had much more thought, insight and creativity than when I worked seven day weeks.

Well, I am out of that job (actually, my writing work takes up most of my spare time now) but I still remember what I learned back then and apply it to my present situation. Sometimes we all push ourselves so hard that we forget that creativity needs time to grow. Now, one could argue that you could do other things and think about your stories. Which is what I mostly do. Well, actually, much of my plotting is done while driving. I dunno, it helps to have something to do when driving:)

But I’ve found that taking some time off and going back to stories/plots etc. has helped me see things in a new way. So yeah, I do think taking a ‘vacation’ from your work does enrich it when you come back to your writing.

Now, I’ve put the word vacation in quotes because I’m really not talking about booking a cruise to the Bahamas when your rough draft for your book is due next week. Nope, not that. Rather, I’m talking about giving yourself permission to take a couple of hours, a day, two days tops to unwind and not to purposefully think about writing. Though when I’m not actively planning stuff, I can still ‘hear’ my characters talking to me. Can’t shut them out totally. LOL. Yeah, I guess that was TMI but I think you can understand what I’m trying to say here.

So, to sum up, if you’re a writer and you’re having a little difficulty (maybe even staring at that blank white page for awhile), the best thing that I could offer as advice for you is to get up out of your chair and do something else. Anything else. Read. Take a walk. Go to the beach for a day with your kids. When you come back at night (or even, the next one), you’ll be much more refreshed and be able to tackle your story with a new, original perspective. Or at least, you’ll be able to sit at your desk and wear your blank t-shirt and maybe eat some of the wonderful snacks you brought home. Because life is meant for writing. But on some sunny days, life is meant for the beach:)

Take care all,
Chris

Is you or is you ain‘t a Hero………..

Hi all,

So, there’s been a lot of discussion among various authors whose blogs I read about what constitutes a hero. Or for those of us, like me, who write unconventionally, an anti-hero.

And really, after some thought I came up with two things that sort of draw the line between hero and not. First, I think that the hero/anti-hero should never rape his lover. Well, unless, he’s not in his ‘right’ mind. And then, yeah, that’s an entirely different set of circumstances. But I do believe ‘no rape of loved ones’.

The second ‘rule’ that I tend to follow when writing my heroes/anti-heroes is also not to have them be physically abusive (not talking S/M, B/D stuff here) to their lover. Maybe it’s me but when a hero strikes the person that he/she loves, I personally feel that they have crossed some ‘magical’ line and cannot be considered heroes anymore.

So, I guess these are the two simple guidelines that I go by write heroes. Reading fiction, if the hero violates the two above ‘rules’, yeah, I usually am turned off by the book and don’t purchase the next in the series.

Now, as I’ve said, anti-heroes have much more leeway when it comes to rape/abuse, etc. But while they may rape, pillage and burn houses to the ground, label me a softie but I still want the characters to go home at night and kiss their wives/kids. And go “Hey, honey, what a really bad day I’ve had.” Well, not quite, but I think you get the picture.

I’ve read many a piece where the main character has violated one or both of the above rules. And well, while the character may be well-written, unfortunately, I can’t see them as a hero. Good character, check. Strong character, check. But hero? Um nope. Don’t believe that.

I hope then my short entry here will have you consider just what you think a hero is when you go off and write your next piece. Or you can just go listen to the Bonnie Tyler song. Awesome song. And true. Very true.

Take care all,
Chris

A Pleasant Surprise ………….

Hi all,

Before I write more in my blog, let me preface all this by saying I love my fans and enjoy interacting with all of you. It has been fun talking with others who like my universe and find it as fun to immerse themselves in reading it as I have been doing writing the stuff. It’s been great and I hope to hear more from all of you:)

Now, though, I’d like to mention one segment of my fans whom I thought I wouldn’t get many of. The guys. Because you see, I’m a romance writer. With more than a smattering of erotica thrown in there for good measure. Though my characters are vampires, my universe, while having horror elements is mainly romance. And mostly, starting out, I thought that the great majority, if not all, of my fans (if I ever even had any, that is) would be women. Because most women tend to read romantic/erotic fiction, including romantic horror fiction. But then, I started getting emails/comments on my blog from my male fans. And the guys’ notes were very similar to my female fans’ comments. Much like the women who liked my work, the men also found something relatable in the characters that I was writing about. And all in all, they enjoyed reading about my characters, including the more romantic aspects of them. Because I do write about male characters being husbands, fathers, friends. And these are experiences that both male and females can relate to. So, I suppose that’s what attracts men to reading my work.

In any case, it is an unexpected pleasure to have male fans. And I just wanted to take some time to give a shout out to all the guys who read my work and are reading this blog tonight. Thanks so much! I’m glad you enjoy my work. I hope, as I continue to write, you will all continue to find my characters/plots enjoyable and fun for you. I appreciate you reading me and I do thank you for your support!

Would my male fans want to see more violence, an emphasis on the horror aspect rather than the romance side? Some have expressed a desire for me to write more of that though most are happy with reading what I am writing now. Will I put more emphasis on that area rather than on the romance side of things? Probably not since I enjoy both writing and reading romantic/erotic literature. So yeah, I’m probably not one to write in the pure horror genre. I’ll leave that to great writers like Stephen King. But, there are times when I’m thinking about an idea and I’m ‘sitting on the fence’ as it were as to whether to include more of the gorier aspects of vampirism. And now, knowing more of the demographics of my fans, I might be swayed to write more of this. Because now I realize that romance fans are not just women. They’re men too. And everyone likes a good romantic story every now and then. With some sexy stuff on the side:)

Take care all,
Chris

Hell hath no fury like a reader scorned….

Or sorely disappointed.

Hi all,

Another writer buddy of mine was having a discussion on her blog about the ‘gun on the wall’ idea and that, if you show something early on in a story, you’d better eventually wind up using it. I always like to make my character take the gun out of the desk drawer before they use it but I digress…..

Mostly though, I do agree with her in that if you have a set-up for a story, you should carry it out. Like the majority of writers, I have been on both ‘sides’ of the counter so to speak, being both a reader and a writer. Nothing and I mean, nothing is more frustrating to a reader, well at least to me, if a writer has a great set up (background) and doesn’t move the plot forward in the manner that the reader thinks it will go. Yeah, I’m one of those people who have thrown books across the room. And why? Because I became so frustrated with the story, I felt cheated in a way. Almost like having the proverbial rug pulled out from under one. And that doesn’t feel good at all.

Now, I know sometimes one does have to include a ‘surprise’ ending or put in things to make the reader jump (akin to walking through a haunted house and jumping back when the ghoulies run out shrieking at you). Yeah, that is ‘fair’ and is part of the writing craft. No, I’m not speaking of those writing tricks. I’m talking about the reader feeling ‘cheated’, that is, the story not going in the direction that they’ve expected it to. And for some stories, the setup to carry out the plot is great, Many times I’ve gotten half way through a book and thought, “Gee, the writer had a great beginning. I wonder why X didn’t happen.” Depending on how emotionally invested I am in the story, my language may be harsher than just using the words “Gee” but I think you get the idea.

In any case, when you as a writer, deviate from a plot line as you’re writing, you should think about why you’re going off on the tangent and how far ‘off’ you are moving from that original setup. Because while a few readers may applaud your idea to move off in a fresh, new direction, it has been my experience, both as a writer and as a reader, that the average reader will not take so kindly to this too far into the tale. Particularly, if you, the writer has just set up a great path for the plot to follow. Because the reader will wonder (and often, not too forgivingly) why you wrote path Y when they thought the character was going down path X. And depending on their mood that night while reading your book, it just might be thrown against the wall. Or on the floor. And if you want to build a readership with writing a series, um, yeah, this isn’t the best way to do it.

So, I guess my advice for today’s post is to be a good salesman. Your ‘product’ is your book and therefore, you should deliver what you promise. In other words, don’t cheat the customer. Much like in any other transactions that occur in life, it’s bad for business.

Take care all,
Chris

Writing Hardware............

Hi all,

First, let me start out by asking you all an important question. Where do you do the dirty deed? No, not that one, LOL. Of course, I’m talking about writing. Where then, do you write? Or actually, what do you write on?

I think it was Stephen King (want to step back and highly rec his book “On Writing”, best book about writing mechanics I’ve ever read), who said that he not only has kept a special desk to write on but it’s also where he writes that’s important. Again, if I can recall his musings on this, King said that he writes near a window, under an overhang (eave).

I’m sort of like King in a way since everything I’ve written has been accomplished in either one of two places. At my kitchen table. Or at my desk in my bedroom. Both pieces of furniture have been with me a long, long time. The kitchen set was bought when I was about 7 and about 20% of the time, I write on that with my laptop. Yeah, laptops are great. If you’re a writer and do not yet have one, I do very much rec them. Why? Well, because it’s nice not to have that ‘tied down’ feeling that one can have at their PC. Sometimes when I have writer’s block, a change of surroundings can often work for me. This is usually accomplished by me writing at my kitchen table with my laptop. And carrying my writing ‘junk’ around with me (yes, I still have a paper dictionary and a thesaurus). The change of scenery usually helps stimulate my creativity and allows me to be able to better focus and write.

So where do I do about 80% of my writing? Well, that occurs in my bedroom, on my PC. Some people like to live in large rooms and get claustrophobia in small ones. I’m sort of the opposite. I enjoy tiny spaces. Feels comfortable and cozy to write in. For many, many years, I had the smallest room in my house, writing under two medium-sized windows that looked out onto my (and the neighbor’s) backyard. It was a quiet neighborhood so there were few distractions (except in the summer with the neighbor’s kids and pool) and the surrounding trees provided a nice writing environment.

Last year, my father passed away and I had to sell my home. I now reside in a small condo. When I was buying the condo, I remember walking into each of the two bedrooms and thinking, which one would be good for writing. The first one of the two, the smaller one, reminded me of the bedroom that I had left. It had large windows, looking out onto trees (screening the parking lot beyond) and ‘felt’ sort of like my old room. Now, I didn’t buy the condo because I liked the ‘feel’ of the room but the fact that my new writing room looks and ‘feels’ like my old one has helped me with the transition. Immediately, after setting up my desk and my very numerous bookshelves, I sat down to write and went “Yeah, this feels nice.” I’ve been writing there (here) now for a year and the fact that it still reminds me of my other room helps my creativity to flow.

What do write on? Well, I write on the same desk that I’ve had since I was about 12 or so. When I was going to school back then called ‘junior high school’, I told my mother I needed something to fit my word processor, not computer (remember those?LOL) on. We went out to Sears (where we used to buy all our stuff in the old days) and she bought me a small, white desk. It’s the same desk I’m writing this on now. Yeah, lots of years and writing contained on (in) it. But you know, though I can afford to go out and ‘update’ my desk, I’m keeping it for sentimental reasons. I really enjoy the fact that I can remember writing all my college papers on there as well as my novel/short stories. So, in my life, the computers have changed but my white desk has remained a constant. Lately, it’s getting a little less sturdy but I’m keeping it til the very end. I hope it lasts for a good while longer:)

Take care all,
Chris

Two quick thoughts.........

Hi all,

Just wanted to mention two things that I was thinking about:

1. Anyone who's ever been in a job interview can tell you that there's one question that is almost invariably asked: So where do you see yourself in 5/10 years? And, as a writer just starting out I also thought about this question in relation to what I see myself writing about 5/10 years later. As you all probably know from reading my blog, my main love is reading and writing in the vampire fiction genre. There are two ways to think about this then, I could either write a series inside one universe or I could write a series of say a series of vampire romance books all within different universes. Right now at least, I have to say, the more I write my Dracula-Phantom cross universe, the more I’m enjoying my characters. I really love to write about the four ‘main’ characters (Erik, Christine, Dracula and Mina) but I’ve also created an entire group of original characters as well (Lucy, Dracula’s adopted daughter in my present day universe, you‘ll all ‘meet‘ her later in my series) and do enjoy exploring them more in detail with each new story that I write.

Therefore, I guess I just wanted to say that I think I’d love to continue to write in my one universe, extending it up and through the present day (covers almost 100 years). I’m also a huge romance fan and do enjoy reading in this genre. However, right now, I don’t see myself as writing novels/stories of different couples in different ‘universes’. I have so much I’d love to explore in my Dracula-Phantom cross universe, that I do think I can be writing about this for some time to come. So yeah, just thought you’d like to know which direction I’m headed in. Hope you all come along for the ride:)

2. In addition to being a huge Dracula/vampires fan, I’ve also been a Springsteen fan for over 20 years. So, one day, I sat down and thought. Are my passions related in any way, if at all? After some thinking, I decided that I like Springsteen (and his music, think he’s a genius when it comes to lyric writing) because he often writes songs from a male POV about what it’s like to look at a beautiful woman and want to be her lover but not, for some reason, be able to speak with her, become her lover. And that’s interesting because it sort of ties into my interest in the Phantom (Erik) character. Because listening to several of Springsteen songs, I thought, yeah, the narrator of the song could be him (the Phantom). And I guess that’s how my music and writing interests are connected:)

Take care all,
Chris