FAQ-How Do You Decide Which Book To Write Next?

I consider myself to be a horror author, but depending on which one of my books you read first, you may have me classified as a vampire novelist or zombie novelist. Though I am both of those things, I am a horror writer with a ton of ideas banging around in my head.  It can get very noisy in there.

I am often asked the following:

How do you decide which book to write next?

If I have a contract with a publisher for a book, it's a no-brainer that I'll be writing that book. I'll drop whatever I have in progress to concentrate on the book that is under deadline to make sure I turn it in to my editor in a timely manner.  When the revision letter arrives for that book, I will again drop whatever I'm currently writing and concentrate on the contracted book. This happens with the first pass pages and the copyedits when they arrive, too. That's why sometimes my indie books get delayed.

Okay, but you haven't finished my favorite trilogy/series yet, so write the next one!

At this time I have two trilogies and one ongoing series. All three have their third book in a holding pattern.  AS THE WORLD DIES UNTOLD TALES VOL 3 is partially written and needs some major revision. The last book in the PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES trilogy is banging around in my head ready to be born. THE LAMENT OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE, the third in the Vampire Bride series is unfurling in my mind's eye, but needs a ton of research. Fans of all three book series are sending me messages constantly asking for the next book.

Gawd, I'm so relieved that AS THE WORLD DIES is wrapped up and put to bed, otherwise I'd be crazier than I am.

So with the third book (and final book in two cases) waiting to be written for three of my lines, I have to do some math to figure out which one I will write next.

Because when it comes down to the bottom line, it really is about money.

Though I will write all three books, the top-selling series is the one I need to concentrate on. I'm a full-time writer and I have bills to pay, books to publish, and a life to live.

The reason why it took so long for PRETTY WHEN SHE KILLS to be written is because the first book, PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES, didn't sell for years. It wasn't until late 2011 that the book suddenly found its audience. When the first book was only selling maybe 50 copies a year, it wasn't really worth my time to cut a chunk out of my writing time to write the sequel. When it jumped up significantly and suddenly sold around 400 copies in one month, I realized that it was time to start on PRETTY WHEN SHE KILLS.

So after studying the numbers (sales, units sold, etc), financially it is more lucrative for me to write AS THE WORLD DIES UNTOLD TALES VOLUME 3. So that will be my next book after I finish PRETTY WHEN THEY COLLIDE (the novella in the same universe as PRETTY WHEN SHE DIES).

But that's not the book I want...

I realize that. I do. But in the end I have to consider the business end of my writing.  The next book after ATWD UT Vol 3 will be PRETTY WHEN SHE DESTROYS because of my two vampire series, that is the more popular one right now.  THE LAMENT OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE is a much more intensive book to write because of all the research I have to do. It sits third on my list.

Once all three of these books are out, I will once again look at my sales and determine which direction I should go for my next big project.

But I want you to write the next book in ___________series!

This is where fans have clout and don't realize it. If you love one of my series, spread the word!  I'm not the only one looking at sales figures. Tor looks at sales, too. The best way to keep a writer in the business of writing books is to buy their book, whether it is self-published or traditionally published. I constantly monitor my sales and see which series are doing well.

FAQ-When Will There Be Another Vampire Bride Book?

THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE is my personal favorite of all the books I've written. Conceived in a dream, it would take nearly a decade of writing off and on to finally complete the novel about my favorite heroine, Lady Glynis Wright.

The novel challenged me in so many ways from the extensive research I did on Vlad Tepes, Regency era fashions and traditions, the countries of Romania and Hungary, and the history of the city of Budapest (Buda in the story) to writing the novel in first person.

Perhaps I also love it because it is the first full length novel that I wrote that felt like it was ready for publication. I had learned from all my trunked novels and finally found my footing in my writing.

THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE has slowly built its audience as it continues to garner rave reviews. It has undergone a cover change not once, but twice, and has been optioned for a possible TV show.  The sequel to the first book, THE VENGEANCE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE, has also garnered solid reviews and is about to be released again in paperback with a whole new look to the cover and interior.

 Out of all my book series, this is the dearest.

Therefore, I am thrilled when people ask the following question:

When will there be another vampire bride book?

I had hoped to have the third novel out in late 2012, but my writing schedule didn't allow for the extensive research and time it takes to write this series. Out of all the series I pen this one demands the most writing time.  The time period, the European setting, and the rich history of the area are an important part of the tapestry of the story and require a lot of research.

I am hoping that the third book, THE LAMENT OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE, will be released sometime this year.  I already know the major theme of this novel and how it ends, but not all the story details have fallen into place and probably won't until I'm writing.

Is THE LAMENT OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE the final book?

Yes, and no.

THE LAMENT OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE concludes a three book arc that centers on Glynis breaking free of the power of Vlad Dracula.  The massive power struggle between Vlad and Glynis that is rooted in the blood bond between them will come to a conclusion in the third book in the series.

That being said I do see the Vampire Bride series as ongoing.  The next book may be a standalone in her adventures, or the first half of a two-parter. I'm not sure yet.

So you're going to keep going past the third book?

Yes, I am. But I'm not going to hold myself to a strict schedule on the series. There are at least two other novels (or novellas) set in Glynis's world that I would like to write. One is about the true love of Vlad Dracula, Erzsebet, and her fall from his grace. The other is about Gavril and Ilinca, the vampire siblings.

If you have other questions about the series, you may want to check out my "Ten Things About..." posts about both THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE and THE VENGEANCE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE.  In them I address several issues, such as the fact there is NO LOVE TRIANGLE and that Vlad is not a love interest, but the villain, and why certain things in the story happened.

The New Cover For The Tale of The Vampire Bride

I'm so excited to present the new cover for THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE.  As I related in an earlier post, the original cover has received some pretty harsh criticism.  Though I liked the original cover immensely, when I read comments that stated people were not buying the book because of the cover, I realized it was time for a change.  Thanks to Philip Rogers, I have a beautiful new cover to show you.

And the new back cover.

Gorgeous, huh?

They say you can't judge a book by its cover, yet many people do.  Hopefully, this new cover will encourage people to not pass up the story inside.

The Rough Draft For THE VENGEANCE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE is Complete!!

Forgive any typos in this post, but I've been basically writing for over thirteen hours.  I probably wrote over fifty plus pages just now. I'm physically and mentally exhausted, but emotionally bouncing off the walls with joy.

The completed novel in yWriter

The rough draft of the sequel to THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE stands at thirty-five chapters plus an epilogue just like the original. I really love how this novel brought the story of Glynis full circle.  Seriously, how it ended was perfection.

Of course, I'm not done with the manuscript.  I still need to revise it and tidy it up a bit before sending it off to be edited by a friend who happens to also be an editor for Permuted Press.  She's a huge supporter of my work.  Though she is a zombie fiend, she loved the first book in the VAMPIRE BRIDE SAGA.  It was an enormous compliment when she actually enjoyed a book about vampires.

Anyway, I'm about to drag myself off to bed, but I wanted to quickly update the fans of the first book.  Keep your fingers crossed.  Hopefully you will be reading the sequel in the near future.

Happy Birthday, Sir Christopher Lee!!

Today is the 89th birthday of Sir Christopher Lee. Though a lot of younger people now know him for his role as Saruman in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, I am fond of him for his portrayal of Count Dracula in the old Hammer films.

I will admit that when I was much younger I liked Bela Lugosi's version of Dracula a lot more than Christopher Lee's. I blame this on the fact that the first version of Dracula I ever saw was Christopher Lee in Count Dracula (1970). He so terrified me that I refused for years to watch another film with him as Dracula. It wasn't until my twenties that I came to appreciate Christopher Lee in the iconic role.

Eventually it was Christopher Lee's portrayal that had the biggest influence on my own version of Count Vlad Dracula in THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE. One of the things that irked me about Lee's Dracula when I was younger was that he never kissed the girls. He would always turn their heads and bite them. When I grew older, I came to understand the dangerous sexual power of the vampire. The women desired his love only to be killed.

Christopher Lee's appearance also had a huge impact on my version of Count Dracula. It is uncanny how much he resembles the real Vlad Tepes. It was his appearance as Vlad Tepes in the documentry In Search of Dracula that gave me a clearer vision of what my own Count Dracula would look like.

Christopher Lee has had quite an amazing career. His voice is low, powerful and a little frightening and he has done a lot of voice work over the years . He has appeared in low budget horror films and epic blockbusters. He is famous for his role as Dracula and his interest in the occult has been life long. Though he played a character charged with sexual charisma and the seducer of many young, nubile women, Christopher has been married to his wife since 1961. He was also knighted and is officially Sir Christopher Lee.

I won't lie. Though my heart is broken that I will never meet Bela Lugosi, I hold onto a shred of hope that I may one day manage to make it to a convention where Christopher Lee is attending. Despite the role of Dracula being played by other actors since Lee's reign, he is still the pop culture representation of this epic figure.

Happy Birthday, Christopher Lee!!

Ten Things About The Tale of the Vampire Bride

Recently, my gothic vampire novel, THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE, has been doing quite well in the Kindle format and gaining quite a devoted following. I noticed a lot of people have been coming to this blog to find out about the sequel, THE VENGEANCE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE. Be rest assured that I am working on the sequel and it is coming along quite well. I am currently writing chapter 22 and about 82, 000 words into the novel. I believe I am about 3/4 of the way to the end of the book, so there is a chunk of story left to write.

This post is all about the first book, so if you have yet to read THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE, you may want to stop reading now and come back after you've read the novel. For the rest of the fans, I put together some information about the book I thought you might enjoy.

1. THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE is not a paranormal romance. It was written as a gothic horror piece. That it consistently hovers in the top 100 Kindle books under Romance>Vampires leaves me a bit speechless.

Example of tonight's ranking:#64 in Books > Romance > Vampires

I'm not sure how the book got tagged this way, but I certainly didn't do it. I wouldn't even know how to write a romance novel. I do know that the definition of a romance novel is that the story is primarily centered on the romance between the hero and the heroine and the plot is secondary. Lady Glynis' story is one about independence and the fight to attain freedom. It has elements of romance in it, but it is secondary to her battle against Dracula to be free.

I strongly suspect that the novel's labeling has caused some confusion among readers and for that I am sorry. It makes me feel bad when someone picks up the book expecting a paranormal romance novel and ends up with a gory, bloody, horrific tale of vampires.

One more thing, the title TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE, basically translates into "The story of a woman Dracula makes into a vampire." I have watched a ton of old vampire flicks and I liked how the women that were made into vampires were always called "the Brides of Dracula." It felt rather scandalous that he had so many women at his beck and call. I did not anticpate that this would be mistranslated into the literal idea of a bride (as in a woman getting married). My big oops!

This kind of Bride.

2. The story was conceived out of a very vivid dream I had after reading Bram Stoker's DRACULA. In fact, the first chapter of the novel is my dream in its entirety. I woke up just as the carriage arrived at the castle and Dracula made his appearance. I was so excited and intrigued by the dream, I immediately started writing the story.

3. Originally, the book was written in third person. I had never written in first person before and it was not a comfortable fit. I wrote about three chapters in first person and was so uncomfortable with the intimacy of the voice of the lead character, Glynis, I rewrote it in third person. I wrote nearly the whole book in third person before my vampire muse shut up leaving me high and dry. I had no idea how the book was supposed to end and I was stuck. I put aside the novel for nearly eight years before rewriting it in first person. It was only then that I found out how the story ended.

4. I did not want to write about Dracula and attempted to make Glynis' creator be another vampire. This effort failed miserably. I realized that a lot of the power of the story was because she was the Bride of Dracula and eventually, Countess Dracula. I finally gave in and heavily researched Dracula. I reread Stoker's DRACULA and several books on the real Vlad Tepes. I watched every Dracula movie I could get my hands on and several non-fiction books that discussed the fictional character and his longevity in fiction. Yet, I struggled to find my own version of Dracula. It wasn't until I read the story of Vlad Tepes killing a woman for not mending her husband's shirt that I had my "a-ha!" moment. I finally understood the nature of Glynis' vampire master. He is a man who has very distinct opinions on what is proper and right and if someone violates his stringent rules, he has no issue killing them. Coupled with the elegance of Bela Lugosi's Dracula, the charisma and brutality of Christopher Lee's Dracula, and the classic manipulative personality of a sociopath, I had my Dracula.

5.
The three Brides of Dracula are never named in Stoker's novel. Therefore, I named them, not once, but three times. I kept changing their names until I found ones that "fit." I also adhered to Stoker's description of the three women: one blond, two brunette. I reread the scene with the three women several times, always feeling there was a rich history behind their words. Their taunting, mocking laughter against Vlad became an important part of my story. They sounded like bitter, scorned women. Also, it was clear that the blond Bride was the leader of the three. Therefore, Cneajna became the Hungarian aristocrat while the brunettes were poor country women Vlad had made into vampires.

6. Erzsebt, the fourth Bride of Dracula and the mysterious Countess Dolingen of Gratz, is based on a character in Stoker's short story Dracula's Guest. The short story was the original first chapter of DRACULA, but was left out of the published novel. I was intrigued by the strange woman in the mausoleum and the iron stake driven through the top of it. In my story, the iron stake keeps Erzsebet in eternal punishment for attempting to leave Vlad Dracula. It is obvious that they had a grand love affair that went terribly wrong. Erzsebet becomes a symbol to Lady Glynis of what happens to the women that defy Vlad. I still have big plans for her, though she does die in Stoker's short story.

7. Though some readers have complained about the brutality of the novel, this was done on purpose. I agonized over each scene that showed the horror of Dracula. The brutality of Dracula was an important part of the story and the Brides' reaction to it was as well. In one (very hard to write) scene, Glynis is raped before the sisters. They ignore her and chide her later for not giving in to their "husband." Glynis firmly believes in her right as a human being to choose her own way in life. That she is regarded by Vlad as his property angers her. That her vampire sisters do not share her beliefs wounds her deeply. Another rape scene was about the act being about Vlad's power over her and how her body is regarded as a vessel for his pleasure. Later in the book, where Glynis finally chooses to enjoy her sexuality and makes love to Ignatius, the scene is the complete opposite of the prior rape scene. This was done on purpose. So...though some of the scenes were hard to write, they were all part of the much bigger picture.

8. Though people keep saying the novel is a Victorian story, it actually is not. It takes place in 1819 at the tail end of the Regency era. Jane Austen is Lady Glynis' contemporary. This is a prequel to Stoker's DRACULA and takes place probably around 60 years before Van Helsing kills Dracula (or does he?).

9. There is no love triangle in THE TALE OF THE VAMPIRE BRIDE. Shocking to some readers, yet true. I never had any intention of there being Team Dracula or Team Ignatius. To me, it was plainly obvious that Glynis fell madly in love with Ignatius. It was also clear to me that she is tangled up in the dark power of Dracula and wants to be free of him. Dracula is a cruel, but very clever sociopath and becomes quite adept toward the end of the book at manipulating Glynis. I found it quite frightening how he began to reshape himself into a new persona to trap her strong will in his power. I studied Stockholm Syndrome at length to create the vampire master/fledgling bond and this quote from wikipedia really sums it up nicely.

In psychology, Stockholm syndrome is a term used to describe a paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors. These feelings are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who essentially mistake a lack of abuse from their captors as an act of kindness.

As emails hit my inbox expressing hope that Vlad rises from his grave and recaptures Glynis, I have come to the conclusion that I have inadvertently given us all Stockholm Syndrome! I have to say I underestimated the power of Count Vlad Dracula! But...there is no love triangle.

10. I suspect there are around 4 or 5 novels in the Vampire Bride series. I'm not really sure. I do feel the first two books are really solid in their story and I probably won't be in a rush to jump to the third book. I want to make sure I have a really good story before I plunge onward in the series. I have tentative ideas for each book, but they will need to be fleshed out.

And a freebie...

Glynis' story has been optioned for a possible TV show. The producer and I plan to work on the script and hope to sell it as a limited TV series based on the first two books. I will keep you informed of any progress, but we probably won't be moving forward in the near future.

In closing, I hope to have the second book out before the end of the summer and I do plan to self -publish it at this time. My husband and I have also decided to change the cover of the first book due to the confusion it has caused some readers. We have been told it appears to be a young adult book on multiple occasions. We plan to commission new artwork for the first book and the second book in the near future.

As always, I am always open to the readers thoughts and I would love to hear them. Please feel free to email me or leave a comment.

A Whole Lot of Good Stuff

Most of my good news with all things publishing has landed firmly on Mondays. In fact this has really taken my hatred of Mondays down quite a few notches. At some point I began to look forward to Mondays.

That's just scary!

Anyway, I suppose because of the extended Fourth of July weekend Tuesday had to substitute for Monday. Almost as soon as I sat down at my desk the good news started to pour in.

And it was long awaited good news, which is just delicious.

First off, FINALLY the contract is done. It took a very long time due to Macmillan changing its contract at the beginning of the year. My literary agency's contract manager had to acquaint herself with this new contract and go through it with a fine tooth comb. Then my entertainment lawyer needed to chime in on the contract as well as my literary agent before sending all the requested changes back to the lawyers at Macmillan. Then rinse and repeat as their lawyers responded. Rinse, repeat....you get my point. So after months of back and forth, the contract is ready! By Friday or Saturday I should have it in my little hands ready to sign and fire back off to my agent.

*huge sigh of relief*

I'm not very good at waiting to begin with. My patience meter is on the low end. I'm not sure which was worse: waiting during the submission round to see if the book landed a deal, or waiting for the contract on the done book deal. I actually did quite well waiting for the contract until about two weeks ago. I hate the feeling of being stagnant. If I'm not moving forward, I start to get frustrated. Luckily, I didn't really feel we were at a standstill until that point. I had a day of utter pissiness about the deal, but happily, that is when I heard the news that we were almost done.

Frankly, I am so glad I have a literary agency and entertainment lawyer behind me. There is no way on God's green earth I would have been able to negotiate the contract. It terrifies me to think about writers signing contracts without a solid, knowledgeable team behind them and writers do it all the time.

The next big news to land yesterday was from my new editor at Tor, Melissa Singer. Tor is beginning to go full steam ahead getting ready to promote the hell out of the As The World Dies Trilogy. And, to my utter surprise, I'm going to get a say in the new covers! I'm thrilled to be included in the decision-making process, but honestly, I don't know what to tell them. The covers I wanted are on the self-pubbed versions. I do know for sure I want Katie and Jenni on the cover along with the zombies.

Believe it or not, there is MORE good news.

Tripod Entertainment has now optioned The Tale of the Vampire Bride for a possible TV cable show. I spoke at length with the producer and I'm very excited about some of his ideas about production. I am also very excited about being invited to help write the pilot episode. I am thrilled at the prospect of a TV show based on my favorite novel.

One more little thing, another production company contacted me about one of my short stories and possibly producing it as the second half of a one hour TV film. Nothing is set in stone and it might not work out, but just to be asked was really awesome!

So Tuesday was awesome.

If this keeps up, I may have to shift my hate of Mondays to Thursdays. It is such a tease sitting right before Friday.

Stuffing an Elephant into a Bird Cage or How to Cram an Entire Novel into a Synopsis and Not Go Crazy

A few weeks ago I chatted with my agent on the phone for nearly an hour. It was a good talk. She had attended the big book fairs during the spring and it was good to finally catch up with her. I was thrilled to find out she is currently reading The Tale of the Vampire Bride. We discussed the book and its sequel at length. She feels strongly that this is my next book that we should pitch and I agree. I especially enjoyed it when she laid out what she felt were the strong points of the character, plot and the narrative. It validated what I already felt about this particular book.

"Is there a second book?" she asked.

I told her there was a second and possibly up to three more after that.

Then she said the words I feared, "Send me a synopsis for the second book."

EEK!

"Okay," I said, my mind whirling. "Uh...but I don't know how it ends."

"Write what you know," she answered.

Crap!

Happily, the next day I had a "Matrix" moment and it was as if my entire novel was downloaded into my brain in a second. I suddenly had all of it, beginning to end. But I still had no idea how to shove that entire story into a synopsis.

I put off the synopsis for nearly a week as I cruised the Internet for advice on how to write one. I have failed utterly in writing a synopsis before. I just couldn't imagine successfully writing one this time. In fact, this task seemed more daunting than even writing a book. It felt like I had been asked to stuff an elephant into a small birdcage. How the heck was I going to compress an entire book into ten pages or less?

Finally, I hit on the blog of Karen Harbaugh. Part of the way down the page (as you scroll) is a section called "Karen Harbaugh's Index Card Method of Writing Synopses." Reading over the post, it utterly made sense to me. I broke out my hot pink index cards and a purple sharpie and started scribbling.

After two days of furious typing, I had my synopsis. I didn't even fill the cards out all the way before I knew exactly what I wanted to write. I sent it off to my test readers, tweaked some things per their suggestion (adding time frame, explaining a plot point a bit better) and sent it off my agent.

What did I hear back? She liked it! She thought it had some really great stuff in it. Yay!!

So now I'm working on the next synopsis I owe her. I'm using the exact same method, but also utilizing yWriter as well this time. I'm writing a summary for each chapter in yWriter in the chapter tab. When I'm done, I'll just export the synopsis using these chapter summaries (I love yWriter) and revise from there.

Have I conquered the Synopsis Monster? Not yet, but I have a better handle on what I'm doing now.

Some Quick Thoughts, Updates, and an Exclusive Sneak Peek at The Tale of the Vampire Bride

November has not gone the way I anticipated. I had it all planned out and was ready to dive into writing my new novel. My husband had been informed I would be ignoring him for basically a whole month, I made sure not to make any big plans other than Thanksgiving, and was ready to buckle down in front of my new 27" monitor.

And it all got derailed.

Nothing bad occurred. In fact what is brewing is actually really good. Good for my writing career and good for my readers. I can't speak of it quite yet, but I hope to be able to tell the tale by this weekend. But this new development definitely rearranged my priorities for the month.

Meanwhile, The Tale of the Vampire Bride is on its way to publication. The publisher has mailed me the proof copy and I hope to review it this weekend. I can't wait for it to arrive in the mail and hold it in my hands. This is a very important book to my dark little heart and I can't wait to share it with you. If all goes well, The Library of Horror Press should be releasing it very soon.

Nicole Hadaway was very nice to shine the spotlight on me on her blog's Writer's Wednesday. There is an exclusive sneak peek to The Tale of the Vampire Bride in her article, so if you're curious about the novel, please make sure to check it out.

Check back soon for more interviews that will hopefully give you perspective on your own writing career.

The Cover For The Tale of the Vampire Bride

What do you think?

The Amazingly Beautiful Cover Artwork for The Tale of the Vampire Bride

Detra has done it again.

Absolutely amazing!