Title from My Name Is Dark by Grimes.
I'm probably not going to win NaNoWriMo this year; I only have like 3000 words left to go, but I'm probably not going to hit it because I'm in a bad place psychologically and probably won't write that much before 12, if I write today at all. I slept all day and played a little Kingdom Hearts 3 and that's it. And if that's it, that's fine, at least I was lazing off instead of getting into more trouble. I really don't trust myself to do much else today.
Basically I've been listening to Grimes and enjoying moping around hating myself and life and feeling all defeatist about everything.
Obviously I should have loftier goals, but we all have Those Days TM.
I picked up a copy of Awakener by Alisha Howard on Kindle because it's free on Amazon.ca right now, and I bought all the paperbacks for the My Blood Approves series by Amanda Hocking. I'm finally going to own one of my favorite self-published series in physical copy! It's hard to invest in indie books, and I say this as an indie author, because they're so damn expensive for print-on-demand books, and it sucks, but it is what it is. I'd love to buy the Hollows series too, and in fact, I'm hopping over there to do that now, because I just talked myself into it, it's only two books, and God knows when I'll have the money again. It came up to like 95 bucks for the MBA books, they're like 17 bucks each. Hmmm, maybe I will wait to buy the Hollows. I talked myself into it and then out of it again, lol. Money is scary, especially when you have very little.
I honestly think I'm supposed to help my cousin move in a couple days and watch all my packages come while I'm out and get stolen. I'll have to build a contraption or box or something for the mailmen to put them in that doesn't draw as much attention.
I'm honestly reeling from what a weird November it's been. It's crazy that this month is over because it felt like it went on and on and on forever. I'm kind of in denial that it's winter again, but at least it's mild so far. Thanks for that, global warming. You ruin the things that ruin everything else, but you also kill polar bears, so you can still go fuck yourself.
Yup, I'm gonna go NOT-write and wish aliens would abduct and murder me already. I know at least ONE galactic overlord has to have internet access, I know y'all see this; what's taking so long?
Showing posts with label my blood approves. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my blood approves. Show all posts
Saturday, 30 November 2019
Monday, 25 April 2016
Top Ten Vampire Novels!
In honor of Blood of Midnight being free on Kindle for one last day, I decided to countdown my top ten vampire novels. I have read a lot of vampire novels. What qualifies? Every genre, from urban fantasy to paranormal romance, ya to na to adult. No holds barred.
For me, vampires are a fixture of both horror and sex appeal, and they can make or break a book, depending on how they're depicted. The books aren't organised by literary merit (for example, I believe Carry On is a much better book all around than Shadow Souls, but as far as the depiction of vampires themselves go, Shadow Souls takes the cake.)
10 - City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
City of Ashes isn't technically a vampire novel, but this fantasy novel has a few of my favorite bloodsuckers in it; Simon, Raphael, Lily, Camille - Clare has a some of the best members of the undead masses, here. Plus, that scene where Simon bites Jace is really, really hot. Jimon for the win, bitches!
9 - Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
These books annoy me, I'm not going to lie. They're also addicting. As much as I often want to punch Sookie in the head (mostly in the later books, as opposed to the first few) there's something about these that is just undeniably fun and entrancing. They get more watered down as the series progresses and other entities are introduced, though.
8 - Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
This is easily the best of the Vampire Academy series, at least in my opinion. It's hot, sure, but it's also got a broad scope - Minnesota to Moscow, people - and a deadly romance. Rose really rises to the occasion in this book and the emotional arc + intense final action sequence leave their mark.
7 - Interview With The Vampire
This is self-explanatory. It's set primarily in the south. It's homoerotic. It has Lestat. Lestat is my husband, people. Stay the fuck away from him, we're gonna get married someday.
6 - New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Yup, I'm gonna go there. Why does this make the list, you may ask? Because while the Twilight Saga is hella problematic and cheesy, it has its moments. I like New Moon the most, mostly because Bella is less insufferable in this, and because we get to meet the Volturi. Meyer focuses on romance too much, but when she focuses on horror, her horror tends to work. Also, you know, Emmett is my husband.
5 - I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
This is a treasure. If you haven't read this you're missing out. There is a certain sadness and hopelessness to this novel, but the vampires are very evocative of sheer, unbridled tear. I consider this a must-read.
4 - My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking
My Blood Approves is, essentially, Twilight with normal teenagers. I.E. what if Bella acted like an actual teenager instead of a forty year old woman? Hocking has said she wrote these with the Scream franchise in mind, having a conversation with the vampire romance genre the same way Scream is a conversation with the slasher genre, and it works. It's fun, funny, and kinda adorable.
3 - Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Another book that isn't actually a vampire novel, but is, instead, a fantasy. The love interest is a vampire though. A gay vampire. A gay wizard vampire. Baz is also my husband. I now have a harem of vampire husbands. There is nothing you can do about it.
2 - The Return, Shadow Souls by L.J. Smith
This is just, I don't even know, it's the best. The Dark Dimension was a world that fascinated me, and of course, Smith is like, the vampire queen. The Return Arc took the Vampire Diaries into high fantasy territory, and it worked. For me, at least.
1 - The Last Vampire by Christopher Pike
Like all Pike books, the last vampire isn't for everyone. It's dark, kind of ruthless, and also corny as fuck at times. but it also has competent writing, a fascinating main character, and a very rich mythological tapestry. Also, slight sci-fi and thriller elements.
Honorable Mentions: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, Frostbite,The Vampire Lestat, Black Beast (Shadow Thane), Insatiable.
So that's that, folks. All in all I think we can agree, if not on specific titles, then at least on the fact that we all loves the fanged undead. Also that, more than anything else, I deserve a harm of vampire husbands. If Dracula can have three brides, I can date a bunch of immortal studs, okay? Let me live.
***
If you like what I have to say you can find more from me on Twitter, or buy my books here! I also have a YA parody twitter.
For me, vampires are a fixture of both horror and sex appeal, and they can make or break a book, depending on how they're depicted. The books aren't organised by literary merit (for example, I believe Carry On is a much better book all around than Shadow Souls, but as far as the depiction of vampires themselves go, Shadow Souls takes the cake.)
10 - City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
City of Ashes isn't technically a vampire novel, but this fantasy novel has a few of my favorite bloodsuckers in it; Simon, Raphael, Lily, Camille - Clare has a some of the best members of the undead masses, here. Plus, that scene where Simon bites Jace is really, really hot. Jimon for the win, bitches!
9 - Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
These books annoy me, I'm not going to lie. They're also addicting. As much as I often want to punch Sookie in the head (mostly in the later books, as opposed to the first few) there's something about these that is just undeniably fun and entrancing. They get more watered down as the series progresses and other entities are introduced, though.
8 - Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
This is easily the best of the Vampire Academy series, at least in my opinion. It's hot, sure, but it's also got a broad scope - Minnesota to Moscow, people - and a deadly romance. Rose really rises to the occasion in this book and the emotional arc + intense final action sequence leave their mark.
7 - Interview With The Vampire
This is self-explanatory. It's set primarily in the south. It's homoerotic. It has Lestat. Lestat is my husband, people. Stay the fuck away from him, we're gonna get married someday.
6 - New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Yup, I'm gonna go there. Why does this make the list, you may ask? Because while the Twilight Saga is hella problematic and cheesy, it has its moments. I like New Moon the most, mostly because Bella is less insufferable in this, and because we get to meet the Volturi. Meyer focuses on romance too much, but when she focuses on horror, her horror tends to work. Also, you know, Emmett is my husband.
5 - I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
This is a treasure. If you haven't read this you're missing out. There is a certain sadness and hopelessness to this novel, but the vampires are very evocative of sheer, unbridled tear. I consider this a must-read.
4 - My Blood Approves by Amanda Hocking
My Blood Approves is, essentially, Twilight with normal teenagers. I.E. what if Bella acted like an actual teenager instead of a forty year old woman? Hocking has said she wrote these with the Scream franchise in mind, having a conversation with the vampire romance genre the same way Scream is a conversation with the slasher genre, and it works. It's fun, funny, and kinda adorable.
3 - Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
Another book that isn't actually a vampire novel, but is, instead, a fantasy. The love interest is a vampire though. A gay vampire. A gay wizard vampire. Baz is also my husband. I now have a harem of vampire husbands. There is nothing you can do about it.
2 - The Return, Shadow Souls by L.J. Smith
This is just, I don't even know, it's the best. The Dark Dimension was a world that fascinated me, and of course, Smith is like, the vampire queen. The Return Arc took the Vampire Diaries into high fantasy territory, and it worked. For me, at least.
1 - The Last Vampire by Christopher Pike
Like all Pike books, the last vampire isn't for everyone. It's dark, kind of ruthless, and also corny as fuck at times. but it also has competent writing, a fascinating main character, and a very rich mythological tapestry. Also, slight sci-fi and thriller elements.
Honorable Mentions: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, Frostbite,The Vampire Lestat, Black Beast (Shadow Thane), Insatiable.
So that's that, folks. All in all I think we can agree, if not on specific titles, then at least on the fact that we all loves the fanged undead. Also that, more than anything else, I deserve a harm of vampire husbands. If Dracula can have three brides, I can date a bunch of immortal studs, okay? Let me live.
***
If you like what I have to say you can find more from me on Twitter, or buy my books here! I also have a YA parody twitter.
Sunday, 24 April 2016
Why Fangs Matter
A lot of people like to talk about how annoying it was that Stephanie Meyer made her vampire sparkle, but I never minded that. The affront, to me, was that she took away their fangs. Fangs have to be the most important part of the vampire anatomy, even more so than pallor, ugly capes, bad accents, and red eyes. Fangs are my bread and butter.
In all honesty I just love the aesthetic. Something about a pair of vampire fangs with some blood dripping or biting into a throat, that's picturesque. I think that's why vampires will never go out of style; they manage to be sexy and really, really fucking scary and disgusting, all at once, there aren't many other paranormal creatures who manage to be both alluring and grotesque in the same way.
Werewolves come close, but most of the time its no dice. It takes a special author to really do werewolves right, at least for me.
Vampires are another story. That's not to say that I haven't read my fair share of vampire stories, because I have. I've read and reread them.
Twilight, obviously, was the Big One, back when I was thirteen I had that whole Twilight phase, yes. Dark times.
But also, My Blood Approves, The Vampire Diaries, I Am Legend, to a lesser extent the Mortal Instruments, among countless other traditionally- and self-published books. And there are so many popular vampire series; House of Night and Vampire Academy both blew up in the YA genre, so there's even room for vampire stories that prey on some of the same tropes.
To some extent Blood of Midnight (which is free today and tomorrow!) was an inevitable book for me to write. But I also know its not the last vampire book I'm gonna write.
Every once in awhile, you just need to shove a Dracula insert into a high school romance, you know?
And I think there's still a market for it. Despite how saturated it is, yes. How many people rewatch The Lost Boys once a year? How many people still troll Twilight forums or tune in to watch Vampire Diaries every week? Quite a few.
So that's me: secretly rooting for the vampire genre from my post in the doorway of your bedroom closet or the swath of shadows in the space beneath your desk, every night from twelve to four am. I kid.
Maybe.
***
If you like what I have to say you can find more from me on Twitter, or buy my books here! I also have a YA parody twitter.
In all honesty I just love the aesthetic. Something about a pair of vampire fangs with some blood dripping or biting into a throat, that's picturesque. I think that's why vampires will never go out of style; they manage to be sexy and really, really fucking scary and disgusting, all at once, there aren't many other paranormal creatures who manage to be both alluring and grotesque in the same way.
Werewolves come close, but most of the time its no dice. It takes a special author to really do werewolves right, at least for me.
Vampires are another story. That's not to say that I haven't read my fair share of vampire stories, because I have. I've read and reread them.
Twilight, obviously, was the Big One, back when I was thirteen I had that whole Twilight phase, yes. Dark times.
But also, My Blood Approves, The Vampire Diaries, I Am Legend, to a lesser extent the Mortal Instruments, among countless other traditionally- and self-published books. And there are so many popular vampire series; House of Night and Vampire Academy both blew up in the YA genre, so there's even room for vampire stories that prey on some of the same tropes.
To some extent Blood of Midnight (which is free today and tomorrow!) was an inevitable book for me to write. But I also know its not the last vampire book I'm gonna write.
Every once in awhile, you just need to shove a Dracula insert into a high school romance, you know?
And I think there's still a market for it. Despite how saturated it is, yes. How many people rewatch The Lost Boys once a year? How many people still troll Twilight forums or tune in to watch Vampire Diaries every week? Quite a few.
So that's me: secretly rooting for the vampire genre from my post in the doorway of your bedroom closet or the swath of shadows in the space beneath your desk, every night from twelve to four am. I kid.
Maybe.
***
If you like what I have to say you can find more from me on Twitter, or buy my books here! I also have a YA parody twitter.
Saturday, 10 October 2015
A Darkness So Divine Trilogy Details + Cover Reveal!
So, a few days ago, I posted the covers for the A Darkness So divine trilogy on my Tumblr:
The trilogy is a spin-off of the Lilac Jones Adventures (which are currently free on Wattpad) but where TLJA are lighter young adult stories for younger readers, ADSD borders on new adult, and is much darker. It still has a grim, kind of snarky, sarcastic humour to it, but the characters are older, more mature, and dealing with much darker issues than Lilac did in the prequel.
Book #1, The Diamond Society, sees Lilac moving to the tiny town of Northbank, New Brunswick, with her recently divorced mother, for a fresh start. But Lilac soon realizes that the tiny town is anything but quiet: Northbank is home to a quietly seductive group of paranormals, each harbouring their own secrets and powers. . .
Lilac is quickly caught up in the lives of two local teenagers: Jesse Holmes - the town outcast who may or may not be an incubus; and Hadley Snow - resident popular girl and part-time Valkyrie (who might have murdered her summer fling . . . oops!) As Lilac and the teens go to desperate lengths to uncover the secrets of Northbank and ensure it's future, they're forced to contend with a dark power brimming beneath the surface of their quaint home that, if left undefeated, could destroy all them. . .
Book #2, The Winter War, sees each of the main trio discover more about their inherent powers and histories while their present relationships develop and grow, all while startling revelations change everything, and a desperate war looms in the horizon. . . Book #3 The Chain of Thorns, concludes the trilogy as new enemies converge on the town and the trio must band together to save everyone they love from certain death. . .
In my mind, the series is akin to The Vampire Diaries, The Mortal Instruments, and The Nine Lives of Chloe King. I really love urban fantasies, and for this trilogy I'm drawing inspiration from some of my favourites, like My Blood Approves, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and Dangerous Creatures - essentially, it's my take on one of the teen supernatural dramas I loved as a younger teen (and still occasionally binge-watch!) and putting it in a setting I can relate to.
I grew up in Saint John, which is the largest city in New Brunswick - but I also spent time living in rural areas of Hampton, and now live in a municipality outside the city limits. In Northbank, I wanted to incorporate the feeling of small-town life in New Brunswick, capturing some of the isolation and boredom, while also showing the dynamic relationships between the locals and some of the more lively sides of the community. I've drawn from a lot of real-life experience in outlining the town and the settings the characters interact in, and I'm excited to bring those to life and use my own reality as an inspiration for how they feel on the page.
I also really wanted to capture how interesting and vivid the lives of teenagers going on. How these young people have such dynamic inner-lives, and so much on their plates; and what happens if you throw in a dash of magic and personal tragedy? What happens when they're dealing with grief and growing up and fighting evil? They all fit into certain archetypes: Lilac, the loner; Hadley, the popular girl; Jesse, the rebel. And their relationships with each other and their parents, friends, and love interests shape their story. I also embraced the diversity of Canadians in writing them, and I'm excited to bring more representation into the genre.
All in all, ADSD has been a lot of fun for me, so far, and I'm really excited for it! But I'm done plugging myself, and I should get back to work, so I'll leave you with this new footage from Shadowhunters!
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