Happy Halloween, everyone!
In honor of Black Rose month at The Wild Rose Press, I’ve been invited by Dayana to blog about my favorite night creatures, vampires. I’ve been hooked on vampires since my grade school days when I rushed home to the TV to catch the next episode of the daytime soap, Dark Shadows. Since then I’ve always wanted to write a vampire story and finally did a few years back. A short story for the vampire magazine, Dreams of Decadence. Unfortunately, it was sent back, not because they didn’t like it. They didn’t even read it, because they were overstocked. And no other magazines wanted that type of story. So, I put it in my drawer, figuring I’d do something with it someday.
A few years later, I discovered The Wild Rose Press. They published stand-alone short stories and they had the Black Rose line where it would fit in nicely. I decided to revise and submit and now, Eternity Waits, is a stand-alone Black Rosette. And as you can see, they designed a fantastic cover for it.
Here’s the blurb: Alexandra Ivanov has wandered the night alone for the past three hundred years. The only man she truly loved had been taken from her on a bloody battlefield centuries ago. Now she finds herself drawn to Caleb Weathers, a virile soldier who sets her heart racing.
Caleb, a Confederate soldier stationed in Gettysburg in 1863, is intrigued by the beautiful, exotic woman who calls him by the name Dimitri. When she touches him, she sets his body and soul on fire. But is she the devil in disguise?
I’m now working on a new vampire story that I hope to sell to the Black Rose line called Sweet Redemption. Like Eternity Waits, this one’s also set during the American Civil War. Sweet Redemption is about a Union infantry captain, who at one time was a Catholic priest, but lost his calling. He’s attacked by an ancient vampire and collapses on the back stoop of a Virginia war widow, who takes him in. But the vampire stalks him and threatens her. They must find a way to defeat him as our hero starts to exhibit vampire qualities and fears he’s becoming one. I hope to have this finished and submitted to my editor at TWRP by the end of this month.
In the meantime, just leave a comment on this post and tell me the name of Alexandra’s lost love and I’ll enter you in a drawing to win a $10.00 TWRP gift certificate. And one big hint, it’s not Caleb. The winner will be announced on Halloween.
Susan Macatee
www.susanmacatee.com
Good morning, Susan! Welcome:)
ReplyDeleteWow! I think it's amazing that many of us Parnamormal writers share a common inspiration thread. Dark Shadows, that old sixties soap, was sure popular to us and grabbed our imaginations to hold them captive all these years. Isn't it wonderful how the characters stick with us and we still talk about them today, so many years later?
That is my goal with my writing. I want to create stories that people will remember. Characters they love, adventures that carry the readers away.
Dark Shadows has accomplished that in so many of us. May we share the same notoriety in our endeavors as writers. We can only hope:)
D~
Caleb. Hi, Susan. Great post. What makes you set your vampire stories during the Civil War? And do you write anything else? Contemporaries? Straight historicals? Me, I can't get out of the fantasy rut. LOL. ~Skhye
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dayana! Yes, Dark Shadows sure caught my imagination at a young age. I used to write scripts for it and make my friends act them out. LOL.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for visiting, Skhye! My facination with the American Civil War comes from being a Civil War reenator. I already know so much about the period, so the research is fairly easy. I have a CW time travel, a straight CW historical and a free read set during the Civil War under contract with TWRP in the American Rose line, but I'm also working on an outline for a science fiction romance. Sci-fi is another great love of mine. You can blame that on Star Trek. LOL.
I've never been a big paranormal fan--I had nightmares about Dark Shadows, LOL, so I guess that makes me a wimp. But Susan, I LOVED Eternity Waits. As a Civil War buff, that aspect of it really appealed to me. So I guess even scaredy-cats like me can find enjoy a walk on the dark side now and again.
ReplyDeleteBest of luck with the new story, it sounds great!
Vampires and the Civil War--I would never have put them together, Susan. Very cool, and very original. Can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteeven though im english i love reading and watching movies about the cevil war
ReplyDeletei love history and i once wrote a journal using the log books from the school i went to
seeing the graves of some of the people i read and wrote about bought it to life for me is that how you see the charaters in your mind when writing your books?
Thanks for visiting, Nic, Dee and Angie!
ReplyDeleteAs any of you who've read my writing know, I just love mixing genres. Guess that's why I've had so much rejection in the past. No one knew how to market what I write.
Hello Susan
ReplyDeleteDimitri is the lost love. I read the excerpt of your story and found it quite intriguing.
It sounds like you were ahead of your time with the mixing of genres.
Could you speak a bit more about your vampires and how they entered their paranormal world?
Morning Susan. I actually really like the name Caleb Weathers and think your story ideas are great.
ReplyDeleteWOW I can remember coming home from school and watching Dark Shadows, too. I had forgotten all about that.
Good luck with your writing. You know how much I enjoy your characters and story lines.
Thanks for visiting, Patricia and Paisley!
ReplyDeleteI love the old vampire legends. I read Dracula, of course and I've already mentioned Dark Shadows. I've also read a slew of great vampire romance novels. My vampires are fairly tradtional vampires. They drink blood, sleep in the daytime, although I haven't used coffins in either of my stories. They also have powers, but those vary with each story. Whatever fits. LOL.
Hi Susan, Dimitri is Alexandra's lost love. The story sounds wonderful. I love paranormals, and I love historicals -- the best of both worlds!
ReplyDeleteHelen
Dimitri is the name.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love Dark Shadows--used to run home after high school to watch it faithfully. Barnbas was the one I drooled over.
Susan,
do you considered your story a Gothic paranormal, since it is set in another time? Or a historical paranormal?
While I enjoyed watching and reading vampires (Dark Shadows, Forever Knight and the like) I have not been inspired to write a vampire story myself.
ReplyDeleteCool think about being a Civil War re-enacter.
Thanks for stopping Helen, Pamela and Beth!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what my stories would be categorized under. I guess historical/paranormal would fit the bill.
And Civil War reenacting is a lot of fun. I get to see the dh all spiffed up in his uniform. Can't help but love a man in uniform! LOL.
His name is Dimitri of course. This sounds really interesting, combining vampires and the Civil War.
ReplyDeleteDeidre
Thanks, Deidre!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for stopping by.
Hello and Happy Autumn to all!!! In answer to the question her lost love's name is Dmitri...
ReplyDeleteGood to meet you, Susan,
ReplyDeleteI've always had a fondness of vampires myself, and was weened on Dark Shadows and Barnabas Collins! (~;
Dimitri is her love. Such a love never dies.
Dimitri is Alexandra's lost love. Eternity Waits sounds wonderful, Susan!
ReplyDeleteHey Susan--I do forget the names on Dark Shadows but I sure remember the show--it freaked me out but I still watched it!
ReplyDeleteDimitri is Alexandra's lost love.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds great--I love vampires, but I've never read a vampire story set during the Civil War.
I love SF romance, too, so glad to hear you are working on one of those.
Hello. very interesting book, you put both of my favorites into 1 book. Dimitri is the lost love.
ReplyDeleteHi Susan and Dayana!
ReplyDeleteDimitri is Alexandra's lost love. I love reading about vampires and am looking forward to reading Eternity Waits this weekend!
Susan, I loved Eternity Waits! I can't wait to read this new story. You do have a talent for mixing geres.
ReplyDeleteAs for Dark Shadows, sorry. Too young. But I belived it to be the inspiration for every other vampire show. It's amazing how it's had such a lasting affect.
Thanks so much for stopping by everyone! And if you answered my question, be sure to check back on Halloween, when I'll have Dayana announce the winner of the TWRP gift certificate.
ReplyDeleteDimitri is the answer.
ReplyDeleteI love vampire books of most kinds.
The Civil War era is a little bit of a different twist, but I am sure it will be very good. It sounds very interesting. Good luck.
Great excerpt, Dimitri is the long lost love.
ReplyDeleteOneToughCookieTC@Yahoo.Com
Dimitri is Alexandra's lost love.
ReplyDeleteLoved Dark Shadows!
Dimitri is Alexandra's lost love.
ReplyDeleteLoved Dark Shadows!