Tag Archive: “The Vampyre Blogs – Private Edition”


New Thoughts and Insights About Collaborating…

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November 18, 2017

Yesterday I had an epiphany about my writing and the entire Para-Earth Series… it’s been a collaboration all along.  From “The Bridge” to “The Ship” to “The Vampyre Blogs -Coming Home”, the entire journey has been one gigantic collaboration with my wife/best friend Helen.  And I am planning on putting her name on the first two books.

Why didn’t I do this sooner?  And how did I not realize it was a collaboration all along?  Because I thought a collaboration strictly meant two people were doing the actual writing, but that’s not the only way a collaboration works.  Ideas, suggestions, helping shape characters, plot, settings, events… all of that goes into a collaboration as well.

So even though I did all the writing in “The Bridge” and “The Ship”, Helen gave me so much guidance like helping shape the characters personalities, questioning their actions, being my sounding-board for ideas I had but didn’t know where to go with them until she suggested details or options I never considered which suddenly put the story back on track again… you name it.  To me, she has been just as much a part of those books as I’ve been.

Now, some of you might be wondering how did this realization come to me?  Well, it had been bouncing around in my mind for some weeks now but yesterday is when it finally clicked into place for me.  As many of you should know by now, Helen just recently got offered a job at Santa Cruz County.  Well, yesterday was her Orientation Day and she officially starts work on Monday as an Accounting Technician (I’m so proud).

Well, when my day ended we were driving home and I started sharing with her that I was working on a new short story for our other blog “The Vampyre Blogs – Private Edition” (where we post brand new short stories involving characters from our book “The Vampyre Blogs – Coming Home” Link: https://thevampyreblogs.blogspot.com/   *NOTE: Characters from “The Bridge” and “The Ship” have also appeared there and will be showing up again soon so keep an on that site).   Some time ago I had decided that Lisa (one of the main characters) was a gifted psychic.

*Note: Lisa is often mistaken for a Goth, but she merely loves old clothing styles and vibrant colors.  She’s actually into clothing design and cool make-up, including special effects*

Mind you she is not nearly as strong as Alex, Cassandra, or the Baby from “The Bridge” and “The Ship”.  Lisa’s talents show up in the form of glimpses into the near future in dreams, as well as being sensitive to strong emotions both past and present, but she’s only starting to realize it.

Anyway,  I was working on a short story with her that takes place between the end of “The Vampyre Blogs – Coming Home” and its sequel “The Vampyre Blogs – Family Ties” which is currently  being written along with several other projects.

*SPOILERS FOR THE SHORT STORY AHEAD: Lisa’s been having dreams where she senses the danger from the first book is not completely over and that more darkness lies ahead for not only her and those she loves, but the entire town where she and Nathan live.  But that was as far as I had gotten when Helen suddenly sprang to life and suggested a scene in the waking world that indicates there is indeed a threat.  A certain modern-day life form, that is similar to the Para-Earth life-form that makes our character Nathan a vampyre, are fleeing the area.  Upon seeing this, Lisa realizes there is something coming prompting her to see if Nathan has returned or not.  This will tie into the opening scene of the 2nd novel in the Vampyre Blogs section of the Para-Earth Series.

END OF SPOILERS:

As soon as Helen made this suggestion the rest of the story came to me in a wave.  I could clearly see the path forward and immediately asked her to help give more life to the characters of Lisa and her best friend Marisa who also will appear in the story.  She naturally agreed, having taken a crack at writing both girls recently for a story in our upcoming anthology “The Vampyre Blogs – One Day At A Time” coming in January 2018.

Now, this has been just one of many examples of how a collaboration can work when it comes to writing.  I have many more to share, including one with my other Collaborator Rich Caminit which I will share in my next post.  Plus others that I will continue to share down the road.  For now, I’m going to leave you all for now, before this entry turns into the length of a novella.  But please give thoughts to other forms of collaboration you may have encountered and please share them with all of us in the comment section below.  As I’ve already said, collaborations take many forms and the roles each collaborator takes is not simply one but many, and this is why I feel collaborations are something that should sometimes be embraced whole-heartedly.

And on a final note, don’t be afraid to share the credit for a project.  As Samuel Goldwyn the great movie producer once said…

When someone does something good, applaud! You will make two people happy.

Until next time, take care and keep writing my friends.

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THE PARA-EARTH SERIES… WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD? – Part II

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July 15, 2017

         Hello everyone… when last I left you, I had promised to discuss some of the writing projects currently under way in the Para-Earth Series, and that is exactly what I intend to cover in this entry.

          Currently there not one, not two but over seven books under construction so to speak.

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          Each is at a different stage of development as far as length, but all are still only 1st drafts.  So there’s still a lot more to do on them, but progress is being made.

I’ll start with the book that will be released this coming November/December.  This one focuses mainly on my vampyre Nathan and his friends.  Before I released the first full-length novel starring Nathan last year, he and his friends had been the focus of a blog I started back in 2014 appropriately called “The Vampyre Blogs – Private Edition” (You can click this link to see the latest story: http://thevampyreblogs.blogspot.com/).

The purpose of the blog was to introduce readers to Nathan and company in a series of blog, e-diary, and e-journal entries and raise interest for the novel.  After three years there are now over 50 different stories of varying lengths that have appeared on the blog.  However, this also means that there are a lot of pages for a newcomer to try and scroll through to find the earliest tales or even the beginning of the more lengthy tales which can stretch from one to six separate entries.

          This has been a common lament that has reached our ears.  So just in time for the holidays, Helen and I have been gathering some of the earlier entries and are putting them into the first of what we hope will be a number of anthologies.  Mind you, this anthology will NOT just contain old stories.  Brand new tales are being added that have never appeared on the blog before, giving the readers something more to enjoy besides the convenience of accessing the earliest tales.  Some will be written solely by me or Helen, while others will be a joint venture, so you’ll be getting a taste of both our combined and individual styles.  Furthermore, as in the novel, the entries will be written from the points of views of various characters who appeared in “The Vampyre Blogs – Coming Home”

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Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MDO8SLO/ref=series_rw_dp_sw 

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-vampyre-blogs-allan-krummenacker/1124855249?ean=2940153799605)

And as I mentioned earlier, we are planning more anthologies involving other never-before-seen tales of Para-Earth encounters starring characters from “The Bridge” and “The Ship” as well as brand new characters who may become part of our growing cast.  The first of that anthology will hopefully be coming in 2018, we’ll keep you posted on that front.

In the meantime, what other projects do we have that are currently in the works?

Well, the long awaited sequel to “The Bridge” and “The Ship”, currently titled “The Door”…

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 …stars Alex Hill, Veronica Ross, Cassandra Elliott and Julianna Cloudfoot is currently weighing in at 60,000 words.  This one has been a long project for me because I’ve been expanding the cast and finding the weight cumbersome at times.  As in previous novels, I’ve tried to keep a mystery going, while also playing fair and giving hints to the audience as to what’s really going on.  Furthermore, this book will address certain unanswered questions from the first two books about the mysterious white-haired man who has plans for Cassandra.  As well as provide more insight into Rachel’s baby.  It will also open the eyes of certain characters into past experiences they’ve had and even begin the first major crossover between this part of the series and the Vampyre Blogs characters.

I’m hoping to have the first draft completed and the second under way by the end of this year.  From there my goal is to release it mid or late 2018.  I will make sure the release date will not interfere or overlap with the Para-Earth anthology mentioned earlier.  I like to give each installment its moment in the spotlight, as well as release books more frequently than I have in the past.

Of course, working with two other authors is also allowing the series to build up a reserve of books to make future releases more regular and frequent (a goal I’ve been hoping to see come true for a long time).

The next novel(s) to be released after that will hopefully be “The Pass” and “The Vampyre Blogs – Family Ties”.  Both books are currently under way, with “The Pass” being the more advanced of the two.

As I mentioned in the previous entry, “The Pass” takes place during the Civil War.  Espionage, intrigue, paranormal, and Para-Earth all come together in this epic tale that draws upon actual historical events to make the tale even more exciting.  My partner Rich has been dutifully scouring history books and maps to make sure timelines, maps, modes of travel and how long the journey from the east coast to the west (before the Trans-Continental railroad was available) are completely accurate.

While most of the characters are original, certain historical figures will be appearing in the book as well as a ‘cameo’ by our favorite vampyre (whose origins are also directly connected with the Civil War).

But wait there are still more projects in the works, which I will cover in my next entry.   Until then, take care and keep writing my friends.

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**** “The Vampyre Blogs – Private Edition” Just Passed the 10,000 View Mark ****

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December 5, 2016

For those of you who didn’t know, I run another blog called “The Vampyre Blogs – Private Edition” which just passed the 10,000 view mark! 

Here’s the link for anyone who’d like to check it out:  http://thevampyreblogs.blogspot.com/

I started this blog with the sole purpose of introducing the idea of a science-fiction vampyre who was truly similiar to the traditional vampires of lore. Nathan tries to avoid sunlight (although he can step out on cloudy and rainy days, and can actually walk in the light but only if he’s loaded up on blood in advance since sunlight can dry him out to the point of becoming dust). He sleeps in the ground (because certain nutrients his body needs can only be absorbed from there). And he can shape-shift becoming a horde of rats, bats, dogs, mist, grow wings… but is restricted to how big he can do these things. He cannot make more than what there is of his physical being (law of mass). And of course, he is extremely long-lived.

The blog has been chronicling short stories about his long life and some of the people he has met over the last 150 years such as Mae West

the Marx Brothers,


 

Silent film stars like Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and Buster Keaton

Ballroom dancer turned heart-throb Rudolph Valentino

And many others he worked with in Vaudeville before they became movie stars, along with others whose lives he’s touched such as victims of the Nazi Holocaust and simple everyday people. There are also entries from the supporting cast who allow you to see Nathan through their eyes. Their stories show many sides to him and why he has come to be a guardian angel who has watched over not only them but in some cases their parents, grandparents.

To date there are over 41 short and somewhat longer stories on the blog, with many more to come. I plan on bundling some of the stories next Christmas as an anthology, since there are so many entries on the blog for people to wade through these days.




In the meantime, please share the blog link with everyone you know and then help them to check out Nathan’s first full-length novel story “The Vampyre Blogs – Coming Home” where he comes back to his hometown Pointer, West Virginia. He has come back many times but this time its to stay to save the manor he called home from the wrecking ball, as well as the 1000 acres of pristine land which would fall prey to ruthless lumber companies and coal mining corporations.

Its a lonely homecoming, as far as he knows, but someone has been waiting for him to come back. Someone who saw him leave to fight in the Civil War back in 1862 and a year later died in his arms shortly after his transformation which occurred in a Para-Earth where he encountered two strange lifeforms. One which kept him alive, while the other wanted him destroyed… and still does. In fact, the latter has found its way into this reality and is now closing in on Pointer to finish him off once and for all for he’s the only force that can keep it from absorbing all the dead in this world, even if it has to make more people dead to complete the job.

You can find the novel both in e-book and trade paperback form at Amazon, Barnes and Noble:

Amazon:

Barnes and Noble:

For Apple and Kobo readers use Smashwords:

Thanks again and stay tuned for more short stories to be posted soon, including some new holiday tales involving Nathan and his extended family. Until then, keep reading and writing my friends.

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Update On My Business Cards…

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May 3, 2015

I’m sure most of you will remember that I got some business cards for “The Vampyre Blogs” which I will be releasing in December of this year.  I know a lot of people wished me luck and were curious to find out whether or not I’ve seen any difference in the traffic to the ongoing blog that goes by the same name.

So today I’m taking the opportunity to tell you what’s happened in the two weeks since the cards arrived.  As you can guess, I began handing out cards up at the university the very next day.  I left some lying around in the coffee shop area, as well as in the lounge where students hang out to be found by anyone who happened to sit down in either of those areas.  I also handed cards out personally in my classes saying, “Here’s some free reading you can enjoy during the summer break, especially if you like vampires…”

Very few people declined, while others asked for extra cards.  They became even more excited when I explained that what they would find at the blog site were basically short stories by the characters who would appear in the novel itself.  You should’ve seen the smiles on their faces widen when I assured them that the book was going to be a brand new story in and of itself and not a compilation of  the short stories they’d be finding on the site.  One person smiled and shook her head saying, “Too bad you went with vampires and not zombies…”  At that point I smiled back and told her, “Well, actually there will be a type of zombie involved that the vampyre  will be battling…”  and that was as far as I got because she was already trying to bring up the blog site.

As for actual views on the site, in the two weeks since I first started handing out the cards I have seen an increase in the traffic already.  Normally the site averaged around 200-225 views  per month.  April ended with 340+ views and this month is coming along nicely as well.  There would be days in which no one would visit the site, but now I’m seeing double-digits on practically a daily basis.  Whether or not this will  continue, I cannot say.  But I’ll keep posting new material and updating you all again in the near future.

I’ve also created a FB page for “The Vampyre Blogs – Private Edition” site which has already broken the 100 mark for likes and followers.  I’ve been posting the links to the earliest entries on the blog since there are over 40 short stories to be found there.  I’m also giving everyone some insight into what thoughts were in my head when I made each post.  This is something I do not do on the blog site itself, since I try to let my ‘Characters’ do all the posting there so they can share their thoughts and experiences.

If you’re on FB and would like to check it out here’s the FB page link:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Vampyre-Blogs/830164763743113

My next step will be to start mailing out small stacks of the cards to friends who offered to hand them out to family, friends, and  coworkers.  I’ll be making a list of all the people who offer to hand them out for me, so when the book comes out I can give them a signed paperback copy as a way of saying “Thanks for all your support and help.”  If anyone here would like to volunteer to distribute my cards, please let me know, I’ll be happy to add you to the list and get a stack out to you.

Remember, getting the word out about your books is sometimes way harder than actually writing the story.  So make sure you start letting people know about your book, a few months before it actually comes out.  But make sure it’s a book that you’ve actually got done, and not one your thinking about writing one day.  People hear that kind of thing all the time and think, “Yeah, right.  You’re going to write a book, I’ll believe it when I see it.”  Let them know it’s done and is just going through some final editing.  Maybe even show them some cover art so they can see you ARE serious.  Which reminds me, I need to get my art easel set up.  I’ve got the first drafts done, but no cover yet.

So until next time, take care and keep writing everyone.

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The Cards Have Arrived…

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April 19, 2015

Last week I talked about getting business cards to help market my other blog site “The Vampyre Blogs – Private Edition”.  Yesterday, the cards arrived and here is what they look like…

Front

(click on card to get a better look)

The front view contains information about me, the blog site and where to find it, along with my e-mail and a little note at the bottom letting people know the site is a precursor to the book which will be coming out in December of this year.

Back

(click on card to get a better look)

The back view talks about the novel itself.  The title of the book and it’s release date is clear and visible in the center, with a quote from Nathaniel above it.  Underneath the title, is another note that explains that “The Vampyre Blogs” is part of my Para-Earth series and that other books are available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online outlets.

“So what happens next?”, I hear you ask.  This is where the fun begins.  I will be distributing these cards to everyone I know in my college classes.  University and college campuses have a lot of vampire fans, so it’s the obvious first line of attack.  I will give them not just one card, but several so they can share the info with family and friends who also like vampires.

But I’m not stopping there.  I’ll be leaving small stacks in places where students hang out, like at the coffee shops and library.  I’ll also be keeping a bunch on me whenever I go out and give some to co-workers (current and former) as well as anyone who shows interest in our conversations about vampires.

I’m also asking friends on Facebook if any of them would like to have some of these cards to spread around to their friends and coworkers.  I’ll be mailing them the cards and putting their names on a list of people who will get a free paperback copy of the book when it comes out in December.  If anyone reading this blog is interested in taking advantage of that offer, please let me know in comments below or e-mail me.

I want “The Vampyre Blogs – Coming Home” to flourish and become a highly anticipated release.  So any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Remember, the site itself contains short stories done in blog entry form, by various characters who appear in the novel.  However, NONE of those entries will appear in the book.  I’m not just going to re-package the blog site.  Instead, you’ll be getting a brand new novel-length adventure.  The stories on the blog site is simply is ‘bonus’ material for all my visitors.  A little taste of what’s to come.

I can’t stress enough the importance of getting the word out about any novel/short story is for every author.  It doesn’t matter if your an unknown or Stephen King.  If people don’t know about your work, you’ll be lucky to sell just one copy.  I have no idea how well this line of attack will work, but I’m going to give it one hell of a shot.

Until next time… take care and keep writing.

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