The International Vampire Film & Arts Festival

Yep, I'm doing it! Heading off to #Transylvania for a five day vampire bonanza! Writing, filming and acting classes and workshops, a talk by Dacre #Stoker (great-grand nephew of Bram Stoker), #vampire disco, vampire ball, #TheatreDesVampyres, film screenings, and the chance to meet a few vampires! All this in the birthplace of #VladDracul !!! Can't wait! 

More info @www.ivfaf.com 

Sighisoara, Transylvania, Romania, birth town of Vlad Dracul

Vampire Cheesecake Bites

By tablespoon.com

Ingredients

1 

cup biscuit or sweet cracker crumbs

3/4 

cup sugar

1/3 

cup butter, melted

2 

packs cream cheese

2 

teaspoons vanilla

1 

teaspoon grated lemon peel

3 

eggs

1/4 

cup raspberry jam

Recipe

1) Heat the oven to 350

°F. Put cake cases in a muffin tray. In a bowl mix cracker crumbs, 1/4 of the cup of sugar and the melted butter. Press 1 tablespoon of the mixture hard into the bottom of each muffin case to make the 'crusts'.

2) Mix the cream cheese and remaining sugar and add the vanilla, eggs and lemon peel. Mix until smooth, then put it evenly into the cake cases to cover the crusts.

3) Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Remove and cool on cooling racks for 30 minutes.

4) With a straw poke two holes in the top of the cheesecakes to make the vampire bite holes.

5) With a syringe, squirt a little jam into the holes to make the blood.

6) Cover and put them in the fridge until the party starts!

Getting an Honest Review

Reviews are one of the best ways to get people to buy your Self-Published books. 

Though I've had a lot of people download my books from Amazon, these people have been incredibly lazy to post reviews- which makes promoting it as a book worth reading (which it is!) very hard! 

One way around this issue is to 'cold-call' book bloggers. There are a lot of avid readers out there who have set up blogs on which they post reviews of the books they've read. Some will, if you send them your book, write reviews which they then post on their blog and on other important sites like Goodreads and Amazon. It's a slow start but it's a guaranteed way to bump up the review numbers and get honest unbiased feedback on your work. 

Be ready to hear some negatives, but don't let it get you down- everyone has their own taste; their own idea of how a character or story should go. If there are more positives than negatives, feel good. If the negatives outweigh the positives, then you might have to re-think your work. 

You can read the latest review of Blood Omen 1: The Vampire Wars from college graduate Sabrina, here:

http://omgbooksandmorebooks.blogspot.com

And remember- the next time you read a book, head over to Goodreads and Amazon to review it. It takes just a few minutes of your time but can mean the world to the author!

The Blood Omen Logo

The book cover of the Georgian version of Blood Omen 1

Why did you choose a bat and snake to represent your vampire saga?

I was sitting on our rooftop terrace in a seaside town near Barcelona (sigh!), scrap of paper and pencil in hand. Stuart was already written in to the story, as was his symbolic back tattoo. He got it done as a symbol of his belief in the combined power of the vampires and the ancient Egyptian god Apophis. As part of the cult, 'Apophi,' he expected to harness the power of the God of Darkness and Chaos to enable the vampires to walk in daylight, so giving them the one gift needed to help them succeed in subduing human resistance.

...for the first time I saw the huge black, white, grey and red tattoo that covered most of his back.

It was a horrific image; a sharply drawn beast of a bat, wings outspread to cover the vampire's shoulder blades. It had vicious sharp fangs and talons like a bird of prey; talons that were sunken into the fleshy body of the serpent it carried- easily recognisable as the Apophi snake. In turn, the snake's venomous fangs were biting into the belly of the bat and blood dripped from its greedy jaws.

The snake's tail slid part-way down Stuart's spine.

A tattered ribbon wound under the bat and on it I saw the writings of the vampire script.

"What does the tattoo mean?" I asked him, shivering inwardly at how realistic and bloody the tattoo was.

He didn't move and for a moment I thought he hadn't heard me. But as I was about to speak again he abruptly stood up and turned to face me; his movements as smooth and as lithe as a cat's, making me flinch unintentionally.

"Bat and Snake united. Vampire and Apophis," he told me. And then he continued, speaking in Strix: "Tik Lucifuge dil musteighrit aljunut d'aldam. É dil feeza tik masas addima!" His voice was low. I could see by his expression that he expected me to be unable to understand. He was wrong.

"The Lucifuge…will...wake up...the army...of...blood." I began to translate, frowning in concentration. Stuart looked at me, eyes wide in shock. "And the blood drinkers will win..."

The book cover of the Georgian version of Blood Omen  2, showing Stuart and his tattoo

The vampire bat is a universally recognized symbol for vampires, so that was an easy step one. Having chosen Apophis (Apep) to be my top bad guy, the snake (his symbol) was a logical next step. How to combine them? Blood. The bat is clawing at the snake, having already bitten him, and the snake is biting into the bat's belly: a circle of blood-taking. 
The pencil ran across the paper and fifteen minutes later, I was done! My final image wasn't as sharp and 'horrifying' as I wanted, but I didn't want to put teens off reading my books, so left it as it was- 'medium' scary! :)
When my book was printed in Georgia, the in-house artist at the publishers improved the design with my guidance- sharpening the edges and darkening the aura of the bat-snake. For aesthetic reasons, they chose to break the circle of blood-drinking in the new design, leaving the snake captured and hanging in mid-air. But by then I'd written the ending of my last book and so knew it was also an appropriate image, if not exactly the same as Stuart's tattoo...

Prior to the Georgian release, I made sure my logo was seen around Tbilisi city!

My original book cover for Blood Omen 1 (Amazon version) and the original sketch

Author Confession: dealing with #Rejection

At a visit to a school to present my books recently, a seventh-grader asked me how I deal with criticism. I have tried and failed a number of times to get UK and US agents interested in representing my book and every 'no, thanks' is a sharp pain that for a time makes me feel angry, depressed, and a failure. But it doesn't last. And I keep trying. 

How to handle criticism and rejection

I've learned to deal with it because I had to. The year I finished Books 1 & 2, I initially applied to 15 agents. One of them took my manuscript and spent a month reviewing it only to say 'no, thanks' after my hopes were built up. I didn't even ask her 'why?' I was so shocked, I just thanked her for her time and that was that. I've regretted not fighting ever since. Finding someone who believes in your work and in you is like finding a needle in a haystack, unless you get extremely lucky on the first try like Stephenie Meyer did. :)

Think about it. You have a book which you poured your heart and soul into. You love your characters, you receive positive reviews, you KNOW you have something special that people will love as much as you do. You've edited, polished, done your research and prepared what you think is a great promotion letter. But the day you send it to an agent (these days by email), you put it almost completely in the hands of fate. Fate that the email is seen quickly. Fate that the agent is looking for just your kind of book (you have to do some research first to be sure they are actually looking for new authors and to know which genre they're interested in). Fate that the agent is feeling positive and didn't spill coffee on his/her shirt or get stuck in a traffic jam that morning. Fate that your introduction letter is enough to get them to read the first chapter or synopsis.

If everything goes the right way, the agent will ask to see more. Nine times out of ten this doesn't happen. You get rejected or (worse!) you hear nothing at all.

After that rejection from the agent I mentioned above, I stopped writing Book 3 and concentrated on other areas of my life. So I didn't handle the rejection of my "life's work" well- I gave up, turned away. The break was good but the vampires wouldn't let me rest for long- the inspiration kept knocking on my door and so at last I started writing again. I wrote for myself, as I had the first two books- with (almost) no thought of marketing or selling or making something of it beyond the confines of my computer.

Self-publishing on Amazon was the freedom I needed to be able to get my books out into the world without needing the approval and praise of an agent first. Of course, sales thereafter have depended completely on my own efforts to advertise, organize reviews and offer promotions. It takes work and time (and sometimes money) and I am only now pushing myself harder to make it happen.

Rejection hurts. It has made me cry and feel weak, tired and sad. But I have kept getting up, kept remembering the good things I have and the love I have from and for my family. And I remember how much I love my vampires- the characters that started in my head and heart and then spilled out onto the page. Characters other people have come to love, too. 

Even if I never become a best-selling author, I at least know I've told the story- Dea's story- that Fate was demanding I tell. 
And I remember that some people have been so touched and pulled into the depths of my story that they tell me: "Your books changed my life!" 
That little gem I keep close to my heart. 

Did you know..? 10 Blood Omen Facts

1) Katie started writing the book after having a dream. She dreamed a vampire was sitting in the window of her childhood bedroom. The next morning she wrote the scene down, then added a conversation and imagined what had happened before and what happened next. That scene became Chapter 8 of Blood Omen 1: The Vampire Wars.

2) Katie recently changed the English version of her book so that first chapter she ever wrote now IS Chapter 1 (she moved the first three chapters back). Why? Because she decided she no longer wanted her book to start with Dea's dream but to jump straight into the action as Dea is escaping for her life with the vampires.

3) The original name of the first book was The Vampire Wars: Born to Be Bitten.

4) Book 1 and 2 were one book. But it was too big to send to agents and publishers so Katie divided it into two.

5) That vampire Katie saw in the window was originally called Eric. But when she saw that other writers had used that name for their vampires, she changed it to Elias.

6) Before she changed the name to Elias, there was a dialogue in the car:
"My name's Eric."
"Eric? Popular vampire name, that!" I pointed out with a small smile.
He glanced at me non-plussed, then turned his attention back to the road.

7) Dea's original name was Clea. This is a bad word in Georgian! 

8) People in the UK pronounce Dea as 'Deeea' but Katie uses the Georgian pronunciation 'Dey-ya'

9) Dea comes from Medea, the Queen/Witch in the Jason and the Golden Fleece myth.

10) Mica's original name was Misha. But when Katie moved to Georgia and met President Misha Saakashvili (it is a man's name in Georgia), she changed it to Mica.

Meet the woman who translated #BloodOmen into #ვამპირული ომები (Vampire Wars)

Ana Chichinadze is a former TV, radio and press journalist who has now turned her hand to translating some of the most popular fiction from English into Georgian. 

Ana Chichinadze translated the Blood Omen Saga into Georgian

How did you end up a #translator?

Ana: I studied communications management in the Netherlands, at the Dutch campus of the American Webster University and returned to Georgia to work on a major movie project (George Ovashvili’s Corn Island) as a production coordinator and communications manager. After two years of unimaginably hard work and the successful premier of the film, I decided to move towards doing what I longed for - translating fiction.

So you always knew you wanted to be a fiction translator…

Ana: Since I started reading (at the age of 7) I mostly enjoyed foreign literature, fiction in particular, and I’ve always thought that translators were the coolest people in the world (Ok. One of the coolest). Even though I chose to study journalism, I’ve always kept thinking about translating. A couple of years ago, I decided to seriously give it a try. I sent a couple of pages of my translation of Daphne du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’ to Sulakauri Publishing House. Luckily, they approved it and I was given my first ever novel. It was K.R. Davies’ Blood Omen (‘Vampire Wars’ in #Georgian).

Which have been your favorite books to translate and why?

Ana: Blood Omen! Because it was my first ever translation and it was my first ever #vampire book and because it’s just cool. It's like a #thriller, with a lot of action and, when translating it, I felt like I was really part of the story, right in the middle of the plot. Strange, isn’t it?

You’re gaining a reputation as ‘The Vampire Translator of Georgia’. How do you feel about that?

Ana: It’s a lot of fun. The emotions, comments, excitement and longing coming from the teenagers and young adults who are expecting or have already read my translations are so fulfilling. It makes me immensely happy to see that "kids" enjoyed each book and are waiting for more. First of all this means that they'll keep on reading other books and genres and that they're already hooked on reading and learning through books. It also shows me that they found the translated text smooth, easy to understand and relevant to their language – so my mission is accomplished.

That said, I do hear the occasional “when are you going to get serious?” with people expecting me to translate #Milton or something, something heavier and more classical. But it's not fair at all, because I don’t think it’s right to label books as serious or less serious. If a person enjoys a text, it means it gives him/her something, at the very least good vibes, thoughts about love, friendship and relationships, or a sense of the values of life. What else do you need a young adult to think about?

At times I feel like I’m a bridge to what young people, the #newgeneration, wants to read now. I get to experience what #teenagers all around the world get excited about and it feels very fresh and cool and very up to the date.

What is the most challenging thing about translating?

Ana: Finding the right tone to the story, sensing the writer's attitude and translating it into another language accurately. It’s also a challenge to keep the characters sounding exactly the same in a totally different type of language. And it's important to keep balance and stay neutral and think about what the author wants to say, not what you think would look best in a certain chapter or scene. 

How do you see the #bookmarket in Georgia for teen (vampire) fiction?

Ana: I think vampire fiction owns a relatively small segment in the local market as yet, because it's still new, but growing. As for general teen fiction, I remember crazily long queues at the #Biblus bookshops when 'Geek Girl' was first #published and it wasn't the only such case. Modern Georgian teenagers are just awesome.

You obviously have a creative voice. Have you ever tried writing anything of your own?

Ana: Well, I have tried. But I don’t really have time for it at the moment. I have two major stories developing and I add a few chapters to both of them occasionally. My dilemma is that I write both in English and Georgian with some chapters in English and some in Georgian. A big mess, as you can imagine. And no, it’s not vampire fiction!

:)

Bat Juice Mocktail

So easy, it's scary!

By Coryanne Ettiene

When making this drink, be careful not to over-fill your lemonade bottle so that there is no room for air. If you do, when you open it again, the mix will bubble over and cause a bit of a mess.

Ingredients

1. 1 litre bottle of clear lemonade
2. 10 black liquorice sticks, plus 2 for each glass to use as straws
3. Ice

Recipe

• A few hours before the party starts, add 10 black liquorice sticks to a litre bottle of clear lemonade (leave some air space on top)
• Close it tight and put it in the fridge for a few hours

 The lemonade will turn black!

Serve

Fill a glass with ice, pour in your black lemonade and garnish with 2 black liquorice sticks and a bat!

*If making a cocktail you can add a splash of vodka to your glass before pouring in the black lemonade. 

FAQs

Interviewer: After reading the book, I get the impression YOU are the main character, Dea. Are you?

Katie Ruth Davies, #author: It’s a ‘me’ in another universe- but who doesn’t want to be the star in an adventure movie that’s totally different from your current reality?! But, like any first person character in a book, she could be you, too.

Do you have your own #vampire crush (apart from Dea’s Santi)?

Katie: Umm…#Lestat played by Stuart Townsend (Queen of the Damned). And sometimes #Damon (played by Ian #Somerhalder)…like Ana in my book, I tend to go for the bad guy!

What kind of environment and what kind of people inspire you to write?

Katie: I wrote my first two books while I was living in Spain, helped by long train journeys along the coast into Barcelona every day- beautiful and inspiring. A nice long train journey always works - but not silence. Silence gets me thinking about myself and family issues or worries…but also having the kids playing around makes it difficult to think. So a train journey with the right music or the right amount of background noise. People in the street #inspire me, life inspires me. I could never go to one of those isolated writer retreats - it would be counterproductive for me. I need to be IN life to write about my characters and scenes.

Really?! Dea's Vampire FAQs

(some of the information Dea and Ana found in their search for the truth- but we know the Blood Omen vampires are real, right?!) ;)

A real vampire? Countess Elizabeth Báthory lived in the Kingdom of Hungary (modern day Slovakia) in the late 14th century. It is said that she is killed over 600 people

1. Do vampires really exist?
Vampires like the ones you see in the fantasy movies- #Dracula, Interview with the Vampire, #Twilight, The #Originals etc don't exist as far as we know. But... there are people (humans) who have real problems like hypersensitivity to light, strong psychic abilities, and the real need to consume blood. And there are some humans who pretend to be #vampires for fun or for religious reasons. I have met some such 'real' vampires. More about them below...

2) Do vampires really drink blood?

Some real vampires do drink #blood. But usually no more than a shot glass full. They don't drain the people they drink from. And the need to consume blood is more a ritual thing and something they could actually live without.

3) Do vampires really hunt people?
There are some real vampires (and people, too!) who hunt people. In most cases the vampires who hunt are #psychic (energy) vampires whose attacks leave the "victim" feeling tired and nothing else. Blood drinking vampires usually use donors in their own circles (or blood from butcher's shops or blood banks) and in any case drink such a small amount each time that there are rarely negative effects. 

4) Do vampires really die if they are exposed to sunlight?
No. Some real vampires do have a severe sensitivity to sunlight (#porphyria) which can result in sunburn, sunstroke, swelling and other skin problems or even an inability to see in daylight. 

5) Are vampires really scared of #garlic?
No. There are always people who either hate it or are allergic to it (as with most foods!) but I've never heard of a real vampire who reacted to it the way some fantasy vampires do.  

6) Do religious objects like #crucifixes and #holy water really hurt vampires?
No. The real vampires I know of come from many different religions-  there are Christians and Muslims, atheists (non-believers) and agnostics ('believe-it-when-I-see-it-ers'!). None of them have any problems with religious items.

7) Do vampires really sleep in coffins?
The real vampires I know sleep in normal beds. I did know one woman who ordered her own #coffin, but she used it as a table (a 'coffin/coffee table'!) in her living-room.

8) Can vampires really change into animals?
Not that I know of. Actually, #shapeshifting appears in a lot of shamanic religions (like the Native Americans or some African tribes), not just in vampire legends. 

9) Can you see vampires reflected in #mirrors?
Yes. And they can be photographed, too. 

10) Do vampires really live forever?
Not that I know of. Some real vampires have been studied and appear to have aged slower than normal people and have a stronger immune system than normal people. But there are 'non-vampires' who can also claim this (See: World's Oldest People). Everyone dies eventually.

11) Can you kill a vampire by driving a #stake through it's heart?
A real vampire is a biological living being. Bang a sharp piece of wood into any living being's heart and it will die. So, yes. And just as effective at killing vampires is anything else that could kill your average human- bullets, burning and cutting off their heads! Don't try this at home, kids!  

FAQs

Katie Ruth Davies, aged 15

Interviewer: What’s your experience of the #vampire culture? When and how did you first discover it?

Katie Ruth Davies, #author: My first real love of the vampire culture was L.J. Smith’s #VampireDiaries (which has much simpler characters and storylines than the TV series). I loved the good vs bad vampire idea and enjoyed Elena’s attraction to both, though I felt the darker side was too little explored- sometimes good can get boring! I was never a #Goth - never wore a lot of black, never wanted to join the London Vampire Society (though I knew people who were members). I just watched and imagined from afar. I had dreams, wrote them down, made scenes from them, added bits. I started to write with just one main character from around aged 15 but I never got together enough continuous material to make a book…until I started #BloodOmen in 2005 and finished two books in six months!

Vampire Movies

Which are your top #vampire #movies?

The IMDb Top 20

The Blood Omen Vampires: Aluka

There are approximately two billion #vampires in the #BloodOmen world. These are made up of two species- the Llamia (see post 15/02/16) and the Aluka. None of them sparkle in sunlight.

2) Aluka- a vampire that used to be human, Turned by a full #blood exchange with a Llamia

How to Make an Aluka

Only a #Llamia can make an  Aluka-  Aluka cannot make other Aluka as the vampire gene is not strong enough within their bodies, nor is their healing power strong enough to withstand the draining necessary to Turn a human into a vampire.

First, the Llamia drinks the blood of the human until the human is semi-conscious and weak. Then the human must drink from the Llamia. 

For the next few days (or weeks, if the human was ill or near death at the time of the exchange), the new Aluka will experience some or all of the following symptoms:

Symptoms of a new-Turned Aluka (and causes):

• Headaches (adjusting of right temporal lobe to awaken telepathic abilities)
• Stomach cramps (lining of digestive system for the prevention of too much iron intake into bloodstream- like #vampirebats!)
• Itching nose (awakening of 'dormant odour receptors').
• Tingling skin (Increasing photosensitivity and growth of new iron-transporting capillaries)
• Trembling and aching muscles (immune system fighting the vampire DNA)

Feeding

The vampire virus in the Aluka makes their bodies oxygen-deficient and so they crave blood as the Llamia do and die without it. 

They still need to support the body systems they were born with and so they must also eat food as they did when they were human.

Powers

Aluka are #telepathic like Llamia but can rarely Command, which is why Aluka either hunt humans aggressively (if they live alone or in packs) or with the support of a Llamia (when living in #covens) who will make the human forget they were bitten. In most cases, Aluka not living in a Coven feed more from animals than humans or have willing Abdun (donors).

Aluka heal fast and can #heal small wounds of humans.

They can see better in the #dark than humans.

Aluka are stronger than humans but do not look more muscular.

Aging

Aluka become anti-senescent (they stop aging) at the point they are Turned into vampires. Their hair and nails still grow and their bodies still work as before, but the vampire virus causes the genes of aging to ‘freeze.’ The length of time an Aluka remains in this state is not determined. It is usually over 150 years, after which they begin to age again, as Llamia do.

Death

Aluka have the same weaknesses as Llamia but live longer in #anti-senescence.

Biology

They appear pale and without imperfections on the skin. Their fingernails and toenails are pale blue, like the Llamia. Their eyes remain the colour they always were.

Aluka do not have #fangs (while Llamia grow theirs from infanthood). Modern Aluka get prosthetic fangs made in order to appear like Llamia.

Fake fangs

The Blood Omen Vampires
Llamia

There are approximately two billion #vampires in the #BloodOmen world, made up of the #Llamia and the Aluka (see post 16/02/16). None of them sparkle in sunlight.

1) The Llamia-  a species which evolved separately from humans

Eating Habits

They eat no food and exist on a diet of #blood to supplement their oxygen-deficient organisms. They can generally survive on a little blood every day but at least once a month need to take a large quantity from one or more victims (human and/or animal). Taking all they need from one can result in a kill. They can drink everything a human can- and they can get drunk on alcohol or from drinking blood containing high levels of alcohol.

Powers

Due to the necessity to be adept hunters of their main prey, humans, the vampire brain is capable of communicating #telepathically (and switching that ability on and off) and of Commanding others to do what they want. Humans are the easiest to Command. Other vampires may resist but within the Coven or Council hierarchy, those Commanded are required to submit.

Llamia move fast. Not invisibly fast, but faster than the average human (think well-trained Olympic sprinter!). This helps them hunt animals.

Llamia #heal from most injuries almost instantly, though this drains their energy and makes them crave blood. They cannot heal from serious brain or heart injuries. If you sever an arm or leg of a Llamia, it won't grow back- the wound will heal quickly but Llamia limbs cannot regrow.

Llamia cannot fly or change their form. 

Biology

Llamia reach puberty a few years later than the typical human. When they do, their bodies enter a period of anti-senescence- they stop aging. This lasts approximately 150 years (hence the #immortality legend) after which their cells begin to age at a normal rate until they die of old age as humans do. They are not susceptible to disease (see Death). 

Llamia hair and nails grow at approximately the same rate as a human's.

They do not have red eyes and their eyes do not change colour.

Llamia grow #fangs when they are babies.

They have pale skin and their fingernails and toenails are a light blue shade due to their inherent oxygen deficiency (like human nails in very cold weather). For the same reason their skin is usually cool (except just after a feed)- their blood is kept more for fueling the internal organs and sub-dermal system as a priority survival tool.

Llamia are beautiful and unblemshed- the better to attract their main #prey- humans.

The Vampire Virus

Llamia blood can heal humans but if a human consumes large quantities of Llamia blood, the vampire virus begins to bond to the human DNA. If no draining has taken place, the human body fights the vampire virus as it would the flu virus. But if the human has been drained beforehand, her/his defence system will be too weak to fight and s/he will Turn into an Aluka.

Death

Llamia are not affected by #garlic, wood, silver or religious symbols but sunlight can burn them to death. The blood of the two Undrinkables is poison to them.

A vampire hunter's kit