#Writing Your Own Book? Take Our Advice...

It's never easy writing a story. The #words may sound great in your head but seem dry when written on the page. So how do you write? Read on...

Sketch by Liza Okropiridze

I try to write the way my characters would speak. I write with contractions ("I'd like" instead of "I would like"- though it took a bad #review for me to realise I'd started writing my books using long form which made the voices sound stiff and formal).

I'm an English teacher so grammar is important, as is vocabulary. Getting it right makes the reading experience easier and more comfortable. I'm also a proof-reader / copy-editor, so I spot mistakes really easily- which makes reading any self-published book less fun because they usually have some mistakes which annoy me. My books weren't perfect- it took 4-5 tries to get Book 1 exactly right. The Amazon team is patient when it comes to uploading new versions, thank god! I took more time and care with my next books before uploading them.

So how do you write? I write from random inspiration. I write what my characters tell me to write, because my story already exists and I'm just telling it the way it should be told...I believe in my characters and I believe in my story. Everyone has their own way and you should practise until you find yours.

#AnneRice says: “There are no rules in this profession. Do what is good for you. Read books and watch films that stimulate your writing. In your writing, go where the pain is; go where the pleasure is; go where the excitement is. Believe in your own original approach, voice, characters, story. Ignore critics. Have nerve. Be stubborn.”

#JohnSteinbeck said about writing: “If there is magic in story writing, and I am convinced there is, no-one has ever been able to reduce it to a recipe that can be passed from one person to another. The formula seems to lie solely in the aching urge of the writer to convey something he feels important to the reader. If the writer has that urge, he may sometimes, but no means always, find the way to do it. You must perceive the excellence that makes a good story good or the errors that makes a bad story. For a bad story is only an ineffective story.”

Another writer says this: "Editing is the process that hits this nail hard. Read your work like a reader will. Does it impact you as you the writer intended? Never be ambiguous in your intent. If you lose them along the way, you have failed.

It may be a chapter, it may be a paragraph. It could be a sentence. It could be a word. It very will could be word order or sentence order. When you clarify in the editing of your work, in the eighth and tenth reading of your work, you reach a point of your true intent for what you have written. That's the hard work that makes the #magic connect for the reader.

The rules are there to help. The idea of breaking them is minor. Learn to use them and you have a tool. Master your tools and you have trade craft.

When writers or artists in any genre or medium are about rule breaking, they usually have no substance. The great rule breakers have great things to say.
The others produce noise."

Get writing, get playing. Enjoy your creations and do everything you can to make them a success with readers. With any luck you'll find readers as wonderful as the ones reading the #BloodOmen Saga right now- readers who believe in your story as much as you do! 

Good luck!

The Blood Omen Vampires: Abdun

Ok, so Abdun are not actually #vampires... yet. They are humans who hang around in vampire clubs. Sometimes they are #Goths or #Emos, sometimes just regular-looking people. They all want more. They want to stay young, to be stronger and better than normal humans. Some want to be #blood drinkers, some just want to feel /  be special. Some want to be darker, dangerous, feared, loved. Some want power. Some just want to be companions for the Llamia- to help them to exist.

In the Blood Omen Saga we meet all kinds of Abdun (male) and Abdun'i (female), but we don't really find out about their world until Book 4. 

how the deal works

When a #Llamia agrees to take on an Abdun'i (usually one at a time) and his Coven-leader agrees with his choice, a contract is signed and a ceremony performed. The Abdun'i promises to be loyal to her Llamia Master (Mestre) and his Coven, to keep his secrets, to continue working her day job or studying- continue living as normal and not making other humans suspicious. She cannot have boyfriends or have an extensive social life outside the vampire world.

Her Mestre will financially help to support her and will protect her. In exchange she must give him blood whenever he asks. He won't usually drink enough blood to hurt her. 

The tradition is to leave the Abdun'i marked (not heal the bite marks). This is for their own protection- a sign to other vampires that she is 'owned' and protected and so untouchable. By tradition a Llamia has the right to kill another vampire who drinks from his Abdun. In the modern world, however, many Llamia do not leave their Abdun'i marked- it is left to the personal choice of each Llamia-Abdun'i couple.

The Llamia-Abdun relationship is not always sexual. Sometimes the Abdun will be the same gender as the Llamia but they will be friends, not lovers (as in the case of Charlotte and her Abdun'i Emma).

At any point a Llamia or Abdun'i can end a contract, but the Abdun'i will have her memory wiped.

At any point the Llamia and Abdun'i, by both agreeing, can decide to end the contract by the Llamia Turning her into his Aluka, if his Coven and Coven-leader also agree. There is a welcoming ceremony and the Abdun'i is Turned by her Mestre. The Aluka would then usually live as part of her Mestre's Coven, although it is also now common for Aluka to live in other Covens or with groups of other Aluka. 

As Aluka do not have the powers of Llamia (see here), it is safer for them to keep close contact with their Llamia Mestre if they do not live with him. The bond between a Mestre and Aluka is strong. She is no longer his slave but she must respect and obey him. If she does not, by tradition he can break the bond, refuse her his protection or (in extreme cases) kill her.

Would YOU be an Abdun?

#Fangs

True Blooders and #VampireDiaries have pop (or click!) out fangs, other #vampires have their fangs permanently in place. Some fangs are the fifth teeth, some the second. Some are like knives, others like animal teeth.

For my #BloodOmen vampires I chose to have the fangs permanently in place, but put them the same place as human 'fangs' (incisors) are for a more realistic feel because, as you know, MY vampires could exist! No magic 'now-you-see-it, now-you-don't' disappearing fangs for my Llamia (born vampires)! 

And NO, my Aluka (human-turned vampire) do NOT suddenly grow fangs once they've been Turned. It's one thing to have your internal body functions change and adapt to the vampire virus, and another to grow new pointy teeth! I try to keep some biology in the realms of true possibility!

We know that Charlotte is an Aluka and so doesn't have fangs. In Blood Omen 4: Beyond #Death we learn that to find and recruit a new Abdun (blood slave), you have to pretend to be a #Llamia. Aluka want to be turned into vampires which only Llamia can do (more on Abdun in the next post), so Charlotte has these cool fake fangs which she puts in and takes out when they go clubbing.

I went on to Google to find a real person or company that could make fangs like Charlotte uses (I haven't ordered any myself yet- I'm happy with the fangs I have!) and I found this site:

http://www.fangsfx.com/

And one of my characters (no spoilers!) will use these people to make some new fangs for herself so she can find an Abdun to feed her... download Book 4 to find out who!

Extract from Blood Omen 4: Beyond Death

“How did you grow those?” 

She smiled and Lucas laughed.

“Prosthetics.”

Charlotte slid them off her real teeth and held them up.

“It's a bit early for Halloween costumes, isn't it?”

She rolled her eyes. “There's this brilliant guy we found online- a special effects make-up artist, worked on films. You take an impression of your teeth and he'll make you a set of fangs the exact colour and fit you want.”

“He's the top Aluka fang-maker in the country,” Mica added.

“If you want to find a donor, you need to look the part. You need to look like a vampire,” Lucas said.

“But I am a vampire.”

He shook his head. “Nai. You're an Aluka. Donors become Abdun only cos they want what we got.”

“Long life? Never-ending hunger?”

“Amongst other things,” Mica said with a smile.

“And Aluka are basically just carriers of the virus,” Charlotte put in quietly. “We can't transfer it.”

“Yup,” Lucas agreed. “The buck stops with you.”

“And that's no good for wannabe Abdun.”

“So we lie to them?” 

“Exactly,” Lucas affirmed. “At least until you know them well enough to introduce them to us- the ones who will really Turn them... if we like your choice.”

Strix Dictionary 1

In the #bloodomen saga the #vampires have their own language. It's called #Strix. I don't remember exactly how I chose that name for the language, but I just googled it and found it's a mythological blood-drinking bird...hmm...anyway. Have a look at a few of the words below which can be found in the first two books of Blood Omen. If you know any #Spanish, #Italian, #Catalan or #Arabic, you might recognize a few.

I love this sketch on an old book page. I'm inspired to give it a try... :)
Gothic angel skeleton angel wing art vintage by MadameMemento

And before we start, NO- Strix does not exist. I've had fans who got really disappointed when they heard that because having a secret (vampire!) language between friends is just cool! (And so much more sophisticated than Pig Latin!) But I never wrote more than a few scattered lines here and there in the books. Skilled at picking up languages, Dea learns it quite fast (she heard it a lot when she was a baby, although of course she doesn't remember that) which makes it easier for me to keep writing in English but to give the reader the idea that the conversation is actually happening in Strix.

Those fans who wished it was a real language? I told them to go and make their own dictionary, and let me know how it turns out! :)

Here's a little something to get you started:

1) sai - yes

2) nai - no

3) gratsei - thank you

4) tenim - we have (la tenim = we have her)

5) va - go

6) autoestrata - highway

7) e - it/he/she is

8) mai - more ("Tenim ke ear pol autoestrata. E mai iute," Elias said. = We have to go on the highway. It's faster)

9) Insan - human

10) póssamo - we can/could

11) matar - kill

12) fachile - easy

13) nadya - nothing / no-one

14) por - for/to

15) nostras - we/us

16) tu - you / your

17) eki - here

18) pertentzei - belong ("Póssamo matartze asi de fachile.Tu nai ets nadya por nostras. Tu 

eki nai pertentzei," Lucas spat. = We could kill you this easily. You are nothing to us. You 

don't belong here)

19) klar - of course / clear

20) Bo'alleil - Goodnight

21) be - good

22) de'hn - don't

23) komprent - understand

24) llover - rain

25) Aluka - human Turned into a vampire

26) Abdun - blood slave to a vampire (male/plural), (Abdun'i = female)

27) Llamia - born vampire

28) tik - the

29) musteighrit - wake up / awaken

30) aljunut - army 

31) feeza - win

32) masas - drinker

33) addima - blood (tik masas addima= the blood-drinkers)

Can you add more? Comment below...

My #Inspiration

The first 'The #VampireDiaries' books I owned (Bantam covers, 1993)

I've said before that I read the #AnneRice vampire series and The Vampire Diaries (1993!!!) when I was a teen. I also watched Interview with the Vampire (1994!!!)- so it was when I was 12-13 I got really interested in the vampire genre. I had a friend at school. She was a super geek, very clever, but she was big into vampires and we would sit and talk about the Vampire Diaries (she was #Damon, I was #Stefan, though I changed later- drawn to darkness!). We'd also write short stories. But she was more into her studies than me (I WAS a good student, and got good grades, but I liked to work quickly, get it done, and then enjoy time with friends or a good book!). So I ended up writing more than she did. I would have dreams about vampires (with some very unlikely classmates, usually the geeky ones, in my dream becoming vampires and revealing their darker sides!) and I would adapt the dreams into short scenes, writing the ideas down on lined paper. The only story I extended beyond a dream scene (before Blood Omen) was about a girl called Kelsey. I don't remember much about the story now except that the final scene involved escaping from a castle which was on fire... the papers are stored somewhere in my mum's attic in England...

When I went to college (aged 16-18), I chose English Language/Literature, Art, Photography...and I needed one other subject. Someone suggested Media Studies to me. I'm so glad I went for it. Journalism, radio, TV, film... one of the projects our teacher asked us to do that first term was to get together a crew of 4 people and make a short five-minute movie. I grabbed my best friend Pam, a classmate and her sister and sat myself in the imagined Director's chair! This movie was going to be about VAMPIRES!!! We were supposed to write the script, draw up a storyboard and get the filming and editing done (on big old- well, new at the time!- computers) within two weeks. But when I get my fangs into a project, I want perfection. So me and my crew could be found running around the college at night- me in one of my mum's nightdresses!!!- screaming about vampires for about a week.
The vampire was played by my highschool sweetheart Chris. I was the mother, Pam the naughty kid. We used red juice (Ribena) for drinking blood and lipstick to write the blood message on the wall. The editing took weeks and I never did get the perfection I wanted but we won top marks and had a lot of fun making it!

#AuthorTips - Giving a #BookPresentation

I just read a brilliant blog post I want to share by an American author who had what started out as a 'bad' book signing- boring, no interest from the public- and turned into something special and fulfilling, all because of one woman.

...then a rush at the end as the young readers scrabble for autographs and Selfies with the Author. It's Georgia (Republic of), not Hollywood. But for those brilliant few minutes I get a taste of fame!

It's happened to me, too- the big build up, the countdown, the posters up and the banners in place, people ('fans') online telling you they'll definitely come, can't wait to meet you...then BAM! Five people turn up and one of those is your so-called marketing manager. Thankfully, that kind of thing has only happened to me once so far. But it is true that just the enthusiasm of one fan can turn your day around- that fan who has read your books, loves your style, knows your characters (yes, the ones that came from your own heart and mind!) inside-out... and when there are a group of them all together...

My best book presentations- most of which happen in schools with teens 13-16- involve a long and detailed Q&A session bursting with curiosity and enthusiasm and a rush at the end as the young readers scrabble for autographs and Selfies with the Author. It's Georgia (Republic of), not Hollywood. But for those brilliant few minutes I get a taste of fame! :) Well, to be honest, it's not the fame that tugs my heart strings and motivates me to keep writing- its those fans who have connected so well with my characters that they disappear for entire days into the fictional world I created...

Here are some quotes to that blog post and a link below for the full delight:

"At my first two signings I had someone to talk to; here I'm falling asleep in my chair with an hour to go..."

"I made my initial contact with the people at the store and go back outside to wait the clock out for the right time. In the beginning you get your hopes up, when I saw the parking lot was full I thought, "this could be good." But when I went inside everyone was going about their business, ignoring me. Reality sets in quickly and keeps you in check, nails your feet to the ground."

"All it takes is one person to turn your whole day around, someone who has a genuine interest in you and your work. I know she'll read it and probably enjoy it because I gave her a little insight into how I wrote it and what it was about. That's why the Internet can't even hold a candle to real life. As authors we try to put our energy into words so people can experience it over and over. A post or a message no matter how much energy the sender has will always fall short of what you get from the human face."

For the full blog by Christopher Sharp, go here.

One of my many 'best' presentations. Some of these teens even knew Strix (the Blood Omen vampire language!)!!!

#Vampire #Quotes

No-one can resist the vampires... :)

Tom Hardy as Heathcliff in the 2009 TV adaptation of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights

"[The vampire is] today’s Heathcliff." Deborah Wilson Overstreet  

"To live as a powerful human in the civilized world but without fear of death or damnation: who would not choose to join the vampires?"  Martin Wood 

The 'TYPICAL #HEATHCLIFF': He is better known as a romantic hero, due to his love for a girl, than for his years of vengeance, in which he was a bitter, haunted man, and for a number of incidents in his early life that suggest that he was an upset and sometimes malicious individual from the beginning. His complicated, mesmerizing, consumable and altogether bizarre nature makes him a rare character, with components of both the hero and villain. (wikipedia)

Sound familiar? Here are some of our beloved #vampire Heathcliffs. Who would you add? I would put Blood Omen's Stuart, for one (but that's because I know how the story ends!) :)

Stefan Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries

Edward Cullen from the Twilight saga

#BloodOmen #Characters

Dea
Age 17 - 18
Nationality British

Interests Art, reading, learning languages, dancing

Favourite School Subject Art, Literature
Personality Determined, sensitive, romantic, easily influenced, loyal
Quote she might like Life becomes inspiring, not in spite of the problems and the hard hits, but because of them. (Joni Eareckson Tada)

Ana
Age 18
Nationality British
Interests Art, movies, vampires, goth culture
Favourite School Subject Art, Literature
Personality Ambitious, determined, sociable, easily influenced
Quote she might like I can control my destiny, but not my fate. Destiny means there are opportunities to turn right or left, but fate is a one-way street. I believe we all have the choice as to whether we fulfil our destiny, but our fate is sealed. (Paulo Coelho)
Something said "If I was a vampire I'd be way more powerful than humans... As easy as a cat killing a mouse"

Santi
Age Over 100 (appears 21)
Nationality Spanish
Interests Motorbikes, martial arts, movies, dancing, horse riding
Favourite School Subject (Home-schooled) Chemistry, Human Studies
Personality Loyal, sensitive, fun-loving, strong, sociable
Quote he might like It's not the years in your life that counts, it's the life in your years. (Abraham Lincoln)
Something said "I could have lost you today. And if I had, I would've lost part of me. I would've died"

Lucas
Age Over 100 (appears 21)
Nationality American (US)
Interests Motorbikes, martial arts, reading, computer games 
Favourite School Subject (Home-schooled) Physics
Personality Serious, loyal, proud
Quote he might like You are either alive and proud or you are dead, and when you are dead, you can't care anyway. (Steven Biko)
Something said "You are pathetic. No different from the other weak mortals we suck dry every night. You don't belong here with us, Dea. And you never will"

Charlotte
Age 39 (appears 19)
Nationality British
Interests Reading, teaching, cooking
Favourite School Subject Biology, Home Economics
Personality Loyal, sensitive, proud
Quote she might like Unless you and your mate are united in purpose, dedication, and loyalty, you will not succeed to the extent you otherwise could. (Ezra Taft Benson)
Something said “We’ve always been your family, Dea,” Charlotte said with a smile as she passed me the crisps. “Even if it hasn’t always felt like it.” 

Mica
Age Over 50 (appears 20)
Nationality Russian
Interests Reading, teaching, martial arts, fashion
Favourite School Subject (Home-schooled) Literature, Home Economics
Personality Bubbly, gentle, friendly, smart
Quote she might like A beautiful person is someone who stays true to themselves and their spirit; someone who is self-confident and can make you smile. (Helena Christensen)
Something said "If you're going to live with our kind, you have to accept the way of things." / "Just because we're a suped-up version of humans doesn't give us an automatic right to take over from them..."

Takeshi
Age Over 100 (appears 19)
Nationality Japanese
Interests Martial arts, meditation, dream-walking, computer games
Favourite School Subject Combat, Religion, Human Studies
Personality Balanced, smart, introvert, shy, strong
Quote he might like Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony. (Thomas Merton)
Something said "...remember that it is your mind he is in. It is your world; your domain. His powers, however impressive in the outside world, are still, in your head, only as strong as you allow them to be"

Elias
Age Over 150 (appears 26)
Nationality British
Interests Reading, Prophecy research, diplomacy, necromancy
Favourite School Subject History, Biology, Human Studies
Personality Smart, introvert, spiritual, diplomatic, determined
Quote he might like Be extremely subtle, even to the point of formlessness. Be extremely mysterious, even to the point of soundlessness. Thereby you can be the director of the opponent's fate. (Sun Tzu)
Something said "I am a strong necromancer myself, Dea. I can prevent him from achieving the Eye: the ability to see us through the eidolon. And I'm older than him. We have a history, Stuart and I. That's why he prefers to try and convert you through dream-contact rather than have to deal with me"

David
Age Over 100 (appears 21)
Nationality British
Interests Reading, Prophecy research, necromancy
Favourite School Subject Apophi Rituals and Beliefs, Human Studies, Art
Personality Caring, determined, smart, spiritual
Quote he might like Love cannot save you from your own fate. (Jim Morrison)
Something said "I am no longer of the Apophi, nor they of me. My body and my mind are my own. Apophis holds no power over me." 

Stuart
Age Over 100 (appears 21)
Nationality British
Interests Reading, dream-walking, Prophecy research, necromancy
Favourite School Subject Apophi Rituals and Beliefs, Art
Personality Determined, spiritual, strong
Quote he might like If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles. (Sun Tzu) or What separates the winners from the losers is how a person reacts to each new twist of fate. (Donald #Trump) 
Something said "It's time the humans were brought down from the pedestal of self-appreciation they have placed themselves on. They won't stop until they have destroyed themselves and the entire world around them. Including us."

"And raising the Egyptian God of Chaos will save humans from damnation?" I asked cynically. He cut a quick glance at me and I saw cruel amusement curling his lips.

"Apophis won't save the humans, Dea. He'll provide us with the strength to destroy them."

BLOOD OMEN: Dea’s Mum

Today is #Mother’s Day in #Georgia so I thought I’d talk a little about Dea’s mum.

Mother and Daughter Walking On A Moonlit Night by abstract.desktopnexus

Dea’s mum, Lydia, was young when she had Dea (birth name Annabel). Dea’s father was killed when Dea was too small to remember, leaving Lydia to bring Dea up. But she was not alone in this task. She knew about the #vampires. She knew the Apophi were looking for Dea so she accepted the help of Elias’ #Coven to protect them. The Coven used their ability of mind control to smooth over any problems with school and council authorities and also paid for regular identity changes for mother and daughter. For her part, Lydia kept moving from town-to-village-to town, around the country, always changing her and Dea’s appearances.

Mother and daughter were very close. Lydia made the changes fun for Dea, explaining it as a gypsy lifestyle. Dea never knew of her own connection to the vampire world, though she knew vampires existed. Lydia never mentioned vampires and made a point of making Dea’s life as ‘normal’ as possible, helping her daughter to study well and enjoy life.

Lydia worked as an artist. She sold her works and illustrated children’s books and magazine articles. She had a great sense of humour.

When Dea was around 14, Lydia started getting pain in her back and hips. She also needed more rest during the day, sleeping for long hours while Dea was at school. As she worked from home, she took painkillers and kept painting and drawing. She told no-one of her growing pain.

When Dea was 16, Dea persuaded Lydia to see a doctor. She was diagnosed as having #myeloma and put on steroids prior to chemotherapy treatment.

She had one positive cycle around the time Dea turned 17. They’d just moved to a new town and Lydia took Dea and her new college friend, Ana, up to London for the day. They toured the #LondonDungeons and #LondonTombs and then went out for pizza. It was a perfect afternoon.

The next day Lydia relapsed.

She was taken to hospital with an infection.

She was put on more medication and given another course of chemotherapy. She lost her hair and strength.

Elias and David visited her in hospital every week. She knew they were keeping Dea safe from the Apophi.

She died at the age of 35 in hospital.

The night she died, Dea had a dream that she saw her mum killed by a vampire. It is true that vampires, particularly Ko-eks, visit hospitals and drink from those soon to die but it is unlikely that Dea’s dream vampire was the one to kill her. Her cause of death was officially connected to myeloma.