Fantasy
Top 5 ‘Must Haves’ in a Dystopian Novel V: Hero is a Victim of the System

This post is part 5 in the series The 5 ‘ Must Haves’ in a Dystopian Novel. If you haven’t read the other 4, they can be found HERE (Part 1), HERE (Part 2), HERE (Part 3), and HERE (Part 4). Since we are talking about fiction, no story is a story without a hero. And since a dystopian society is inherently … Continue reading Top 5 ‘Must Haves’ in a Dystopian Novel V: Hero is a Victim of the System
Book Trailer: The Egyptian Elixir

For lovers of clean historical vampire fiction! Reviewers say: "The writing is excellent, and I'm looking forward to reading more about Grissom." "The Egyptian Elixir is a rollicking good time, filled with snappy dialog, bone-crunching action, and a swift moving plot." " I was unable to put it down." Find it on Amazon.com.
Book Tour Day 1
The Egyptian Elixir is featured over on Killarney Traynor's blog,Wanderings , where she gives a glowing review! Have you seen the youtube trailer for it yet? It's pretty epic. 🙂 And Bk 1 in The Unofficial Chronicles, a full length novel titled Order of the Blood, is FREE right now, so now is the time … Continue reading Book Tour Day 1
FREE Paranormal Book for Beta Readers – only 2 left!
So here's an indie author's life: I planned on releasing The Egyptian Elixir (that would be book 2 in The Unofficial Chronicles series, for the uninitiated) at the end of January, but after reading the fantastic recommendations of Mark Coker of Smashwords fame, I've decided to release it in March <groan> I know, I know. … Continue reading FREE Paranormal Book for Beta Readers – only 2 left!
Dear —, It’s me, a vampire.
Dear unknown reader, On occasion, Ms. Zaplendam will allow me to use her equipment to address all of you. With such a vast forum before, I can barely contain my machiavellian glee at the prospect of all these pliant minds available for my cunning manipulations. (Hear my maniacal laugh?) I jest, of course. If … Continue reading Dear —, It’s me, a vampire.
New Review Policies on Amazon
When you're a debut indie author like myself, you celebrate the little, mini victories, like getting that 9th review on Amazon (See down yonder at the bottom of this post), but recently there has been a lot bruhaha in the indie world revolving around Amazon's.new hard line policies with regard to reviews provided in exchange … Continue reading New Review Policies on Amazon
How To: Create a Free Book Trailer
Once upon a time, a twitter user (twitterer? twit? tweeter? Obviously I am not twitter conversant) lamented about not having the means to be able to create a book trailer. Here's my response: as long as you have access to a movie making program (like Windows movie maker which came standard with my Windows 8.1 … Continue reading How To: Create a Free Book Trailer
Goodreads for the win!
I had the pleasure of receiving a glowing review from a winner of the Goodreads giveaway I did not so long ago. Thank you, Goodreads. Once again, you've proven yourself an underutilized and underappreciated tool for authors. I stand corrected. It's doesn't get any better for an author than to know that some person, entirely unknown … Continue reading Goodreads for the win!
Van Helsing reimagined
I was trying to think how to describe my Van Helsing Sr. character (the grandfather of the original Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's Dracula). He's a Prussian ex-patriate who has left the fatherland due to Napoleon taking over Europe. He was originally employed by the Prussian government to hunt vampires and investigate paranormal activity, but … Continue reading Van Helsing reimagined