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I have always carried a passion for all things horror
and suspense. As a child I was usually
the one holding the flashlight, starting a spooky story at sleepovers. I loved all the old horror flicks, watching
them through my fingers, most of the time.
This passion followed me through my life. As a teenager, I began reading Stephen King,
and I was hooked. I started writing my
own simple stories, filling notebook after notebook. (computers weren’t a big thing back
then) When I became an adult, the passion
stayed with me, and the stories got better.
But, like so many others, life would get in the way, and the stories
were abandoned. Until one day, when an
idea struck me, and I couldn’t shake it.
That was back in 2009. I’ve been
writing ever since. It took a lot of
hard work, finding time on lunch breaks at work, quiet time at home, and still
trying to take care of a husband and a baby (at the time). But I was determined, and the words flowed so
freely. In 2011, I was laid off from my
job of 11 years. After going through a
roller coaster of emotions about it, the old adage kept coming back to me: When one door closes, another one opens. I took it as a big shiny, neon sign pointing
at my writing, saying “Git-r-done!” So I
did. I finished my first novel in 2012,
and finally gathered up the courage to get it published in 2013. Since then, I’ve been picking up momentum,
and the ideas come faster than my fingers can keep up with. It was a rough and treacherous road getting
published, that got even bumpier before it smoothed out. But I have met some wonderful people along
the way, and continue to learn and grow each day. I have a few stories brewing, but my main
focus now is the second book in the trilogy of Crimson Cloak. I am married to a wonderful man, who gave me
the opportunity to follow my dream of becoming an author. We have two wonderful children who keep me
very, very busy. Making time to write
isn’t as easy as it used to be, but I make sure I write something every
day. I love helping other new authors,
whenever I can, in the hopes that they don’t make the same mistakes, and also
to show them, they aren’t alone in their confidence crashes, and their
struggles. Being an independent author
is a lot of hard work, but it’s all worth it when your readers fall in love
with your characters, your story, the story that YOU wrote. It’s a great feeling.
Crimson
Cloak: Born of Blood
When the beautiful, young Izzy Sabel stops by her
parents' for a quiet family dinner, there are some uninvited guests that turn
her world upside down, unlocking something that's been hiding inside her,
something Izzy herself struggles to understand as she's forced to leave her old
life behind and enter into a world of new realities she never thought existed.
Vampires are something you find in movies, and books. They aren't real....or
are they? Izzy finds herself asking these same questions, as she tries to come
to terms with her thirst. Still questioning her own sanity, she begins to learn
about who she truly is, and who she is meant to be. Izzy's head spins with
truths she never would have believed before she was beaten and left for dead.
But instead of death, it was a new hell that welcomed her, embraced her, no
matter how hard she fought against it. The deeper she goes, the more she finds,
and the more she's unsure of who she can trust. Despite her own self-loathing,
she finds a new light that may bring her the peace she needs, a way to make
things right, but at what costs? Determined to get the answers she's looking
for, she hones her new skills, but she's not prepared for what she finds, or
the greatness that's ahead of her.
Excerpt
“Mom!” I screamed, and instinctively lunged toward
her. The shortest of the four stepped in
front of me, and with both hands, shoved me back. Dad and Eli both tried to yell something, and
help me, but were stopped. I stumbled a
few steps, and, again managed to stay on my feet. He may have been shorter than the others, but
he was strong. Stubborn as I was, I
started to take another step toward Mom when one of the taller men stepped in
and slapped me hard across my face. The
pain brought stars to my eyes, and all I could see for a brief moment were
flashes of white. My cheek stung, and my
jaw was throbbing, but thankfully, he hadn’t drawn blood. I blinked a few times, to regain my vision,
and the room came back into focus. I could hear Mom gasp, and try to scream,
but it was muffled by the huge hand covering her mouth.
“Knock that shit off,” the man who had just hit me said
through his clenched teeth, close enough I could smell his rancid breath. I turned my head away from him, and looked at
Mom again. Her eyes looked so scared and
sad. The blood was trickling down her
neck, creating a bright red spot on her shirt.
My stomach started to churn, and my breath started coming is short gasps
as the smell of blood wafted into my nose.
Look away, look away, I told
myself. Now was not the time to go all
fainty. I forced myself to look away
from Mom, and her bleeding neck. I
turned to focus on Dad and Eli. Two men
were standing near them, watching them closely.
I could tell Dad and Eli both wanted to fight, but they feared what
would happen to Mom if they did. The
madman holding her already demonstrated he’d have no problem slitting her
throat, though the cut he did make was a small one, it was still a cut. I thought about fighting again, then
stopped. Maybe they’ll just take what
they want, and go away. But something
told me that was just wishful thinking.
“Now the happy family is all together. Ain’t it fuckin sweet” the guy holding Mom
said as he shoved her across the kitchen towards the rest of us. She lost her balance and fell at our feet
instead. The others chuckled.
“Please” Mom pleaded, “Please, just tell us what you
want….You can take whatever you want.
Just leave us alone!” Her voice cracked as she tried to control her
panic. It was no use, she started to
sob. Seeing Mom this way, my own eyes
began filling with tears. The reality of
what was happening was slowly sinking in, as the shock of surprise wore off.
“Hey DC, look at that, we can have whatever we want”
the one that grabbed me said, and they all laughed again. I took note of the name, and tried to help
Mom up. But between having my hands
bound, and the smell and look of blood being so close, I couldn’t. My stomach lurched and I leaned back, trying
to breathe through my mouth to avoid the smell. This only seemed to make it
worse, as now, I could almost taste it.
My mouth started to water, and my stomach churned again. I thought for sure I was going to puke. I swallowed hard against it. I needed my strength now.
“Levi, get that clumsy bitch up” DC barked. The short one walked over, and pulled Mom to
her feet. So far, I had three of the
four names. For as much as this DC
person liked to talk, I figured I’d get the fourth. I just wasn’t sure I’d be around to actually
tell someone.
“So we can have whatever we want, eh?” DC asked, slowly
pacing back and forth. “Hmmm, well,
really, we don’t want anything. I mean,
since we’re here, and you got a lot of shit, then yeah, we might as well take a
few things. But see, we’re really here
for these three young soldiers” he said, motioning to the three other men
standing towards the back of the kitchen.
“This is all about them. See, if
they can get through this, then they can be part of our team, our army. I guess you could say this is their
initiation!” He threw his head back and
laughed. The others chuckled with
him. His head snapped forward, and his
laughter stopped abruptly. The others
followed suit. I wondered how high or
crazy or both this guy was. Neither of
which made it good for us. You can’t
reason with a crazy person. DC eyed
every member of my family, cautiously, stopping to stare into my eyes.
"You aren't going to cause any more trouble, are
you missy?" he asked me.
"Not
that I mind a whole lot. All these boys
need is the slightest excuse to rip you to shreds. So, it's really your choice." He leaned in closer with each word until our
faces were close enough to kiss. I
cringed against his rotten breath. I
could feel the warmth of it swirl around me every time he spoke, and the smell
was horrid. Drug addicts, maybe, I
thought. I had met a few meth heads back
in college, at a party one of my friends had.
I’d never forget their rancid breath.
They always wanted to be so close when they spoke to me, and it made me
stick to my stomach when they did. This
smell was the same. I swallowed back the
urge to vomit again, and shook my head no.
He stepped away from me and walked back to where my brother and father
stood.
Then it began.
It all happened so fast, I could barely comprehend it. Eli lunged for DC, his teeth bared, looking
like an elk going into battle.
Blog
Post
I have always had an affinity towards vampires. Watching Bela Lugosi as a kid, I was
fascinated every time he would take his victims. When I started writing Crimson Cloak, I’d be
lying if I said I wasn’t influenced by the many vampire movies and books I’d
read/seen throughout my life. But I was
determined to come up with something new, something different. Let’s face it, there are a LOT of vampire
books out there, and I had a few people ask me if I really wanted to go that
route when there are already so many on the market. I thought about this long and hard, because
they were right! Was I really up to the
task of creating something new from such an old foe? You bet I was. Of course, that’s not to say I didn’t have a
few faux pas along the way. When I first
started writing Crimson Cloak, I was still working. The main topic of many break time
conversations was ideas and directions I wanted to take with the story. One thing I remember the most, a friend of
mine was in my office, chatting about the book.
She gave me a funny look when I mentioned one of the character’s names. “That’s from Twilight” she told me. “Really?”
I’d asked her. It was a total ‘damn’
moment, because I really thought I had a unique character name. Then
she told me which one it was, and I smacked myself in the forehead.
Needless to say, I had to change some names
around. I was determined to make sure
Crimson Cloak wasn’t like Twilight, or any other vampire novel out on the
market. Mainly, because I wasn’t
interested in copying someone else’s story.
People had already read Twilight.
I wasn’t trying to be the next Stephanie Meyers, or anyone else. I’m me, and that’s who I want people to know.
Behind
the Scenes
Thinking
back on your first book, is there anything you would have done differently?
Crimson Cloak is my first book, and there are a ton of
things I would have done differently.
This has been an incredible journey, and an overwhelming learning
experience. My first mistake was falling
for the ruse of a company willing to take my money and publish my book, with
several promises of bells and whistles that never actually came my way. I’ve since cancelled with them, and have
published through Create Space. I also
would have done more research about beta readers, ARC reviews, and the
like. I was inexperienced, and very,
very excited to get published, and let my better judgment get away from me. I
have learned from my mistakes, so when it’s time to publish book two, it will
be a lot smoother process.
Are
you a Swooper (write first, edit later,) a Basher (edit each sentence as you
go,) or both?
I have to admit, I’m a little of both. Whenever I sit down to write, I go back, and
read the last few paragraphs, which almost always prompts a mini editing
session. But when the words are flowing,
I put editing on the back burner. It
works great for me, because whenever I edit as I go, I will inevitably find a
better way to phrase something, describe something, etc. In the back of my mind, I remember that I’ll
still have to go back and re-edit the whole story when it’s done, but I keep
telling myself that it won’t be as much work.
(HA!)
What
is the one thing you must have to be able to write?
I like to have it quiet when I write. I know there are some people that listen to
music, but even music distracts me. I
like the quiet, because I can hear the story better in my head. And with two very active kids, quiet is hard
to come by in my house. So I cherish
every bit I can get.
What
types of scenes are your favorite to write?
I love writing action scenes. It presents a challenge to keep finding new,
and interesting ways to describe a fight, an attack, etc. Generally, I can see the scene playing out in
my head, and if I can put to words, how awesome I envision it, then I know I’m
doing a good job. If not, then we
scratch the scene, and start over again.
Are
you always in the driver’s seat? Or do your characters drag you along for the
ride?
There are plenty of occasions where I let the
characters lead the way. I have run into
that fork in the road where I think we should go left, but the characters want
to go right. I’ve learned to not fight
them, and let them lead the way. It
makes for a much better story.
Contest: Enter to win an ecopy of Crimson Cloak: Born
of Blood (epub, mobi, or PDF). Leave a comment with a valid email address.
Contest ends March 15th at Midnight.
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