Learning to Self-Promote: A Writer's Journey.

When I went to university some years back to improve my main motivation was to become a better writer. I knew I had good ideas, but wasn’t confident that I had the skills to put them down in the best way. I promptly finished my BA (Hons) in English and Writing for Performance and felt better equipped to tackle the writing world. Unfortunately though, the need to get to work and earn a living reared its ugly head and all of my plans and ambitions were put on hold.

            I went into teaching. I loved it, but always in the back of my mind was this little tingle that it wasn’t really what I wanted, and it had never been the real objective of going back into education in the first place. I rapidly signed up for my MA in Creative Writing on a part-time course. I needed to. Teaching at High School just didn’t give me that stimulation I had when I was writing and at least by doing the course it forced me to write.

            The course was brilliant. I felt like I learnt so much from the analysis of other people’s writing and by learning even more to analyse my own work, therefore making me better at editing myself. One thing it didn’t teach me, though, was how hard it was to actually get anything published and then how difficult it would be to promote it.

            At the end of my course I had an MA but I also had this beautiful novel. It was my pride and joy and I believed it was good because I’d been judged on it in order to pass my qualification. That’s what led to my total impatience – plus I’m never one to wait around anyway.

            So, I self-published.

            It probably wasn’t the best course of action – so I’m constantly told – but actually it worked very well for me and I sold over 350 copies of the book in this format. It even won the Silver Award for Best Horror Novel with ForeWord Magazine in 2007. Following on from that success I was then able to negotiate a deal with The House of Murky Depths and they have so far published three books in the Vampire Gene Series.

            Myspace was my first dabble with social networking, and only this week I deleted the account – despite having over 12,000 views because I just didn’t think it worked for me anymore. Since then Facebook, Goodreads and my blog have become the outlets for all of my social and business networking and recently friends have been sending me something called ‘Linked In’ (not sure what it’s about yet though ...)

            To a lot of people when you’ve written a book they believe the hard part is over. To some extent that’s true, but a writer these days is now obliged to also promote that book. Your responsibility begins in earnest on completion, but really you need to start telling people before you finish. How to do that, of course, is the million dollar question. Promoting is the hard. You have to be confident without appearing arrogant and getting the balance right between promotion and spamming can be difficult. I’m never sure if I do have it quite right, so I always lean towards less is more because I’ve seen so many people go completely over the top with it. However I do have a sort of formula and this is what works for me..

Some Social networking Dos and Don’ts.

What not to do ...

• ·        One of my pet hates is people leaving adverts on my page. I never do that. I think it’s rude and it’s disrespectful. Often I’ve had new people come onto my page and immediately post a link telling me all about their book and how wonderful they are without even saying ‘hello’. That to me is a big, no, no.

• ·        Another faux pas is posting your website on every single comment you leave. Or a full blown advert for your latest book. Okay!!! We get it: you’re a writer too – but don’t do that because it won’t win you any friends or new readers it will just annoy them.

• ·        Don’t harp on all the time about how wonderful you are.

• ·        Don’t stalk other people’s pages and then just talk about yourself all the time on them – engage in conversations, you might just enjoy yourself and make some real friends.

• ·        When sending out events – don’t keep resending the same one. If friends have refused you won’t make them say they are coming by re-inviting, but you might encourage them to delete you for spamming.

• ·        Spam emails/private messages – OMG! (You wouldn’t believe how many of these I get.) Don’t resort to it. It doesn’t work. Event invites are enough, if people don’t respond then leave them alone.

• ·        Never respond to a bad review in public. You only make yourself look an idiot and people think you’re unprofessional. If you don’t like the review – suck it up. The reviewer is entitled to their opinion and you can’t please everyone so just get over yourself.

• ·        Never talk politics or religion – everyone has their own beliefs in this area and it won’t make you friends but is more likely to lose you some.

• ·        Don’t be snide about other people online – even if their status is the most annoying self-obsessed bullshit you’ve ever seen. It doesn’t look good and only makes people think you’re unpleasant and bitchy.

• ·        Never review friend’s books unless you have a lot of positive things to say about them. You should be objective and balanced in your argument but if you didn’t like it – it’s always best to stay quiet about it.

What works for me  ...

There’s no formula for perfect promotion but what I find works for me is just being myself with everyone. What you see is what you get. I also really enjoy interacting with people on Facebook etc ... you could say I’m a little addicted... 

• ·        Mix up status updates with a combination of personal things and work related things even on my official page.

• ·        Be cheerful as much as possible, because let’s face it if you’re constantly feeling sorry for yourself then people will get fed up with it and stop listening. Also, when you do have a rant they are more likely to listen because you don’t do it all the time.

• ·        Respond to comments that your friends leave, even if you put a ‘like’ on it. Be interested in other people and what they are doing – it’s not all about you after all.

• ·        Respond to your friend’s updates and statuses if you expect them to engage in yours. Be supportive of other people and genuinely mean it.

• ·        Reply to private messages – even if they are from some guy in Turkey asking you to marry him. You can still be polite when you tell him to ‘get lost’.

• ·        Definitely advertise your achievements. There’s nothing wrong with telling your friends you’re up for awards or have been invited to attend a convention as a guest. That’s all good and positive after all and it does help to raise your profile with others. It shows that your work is valued.

• ·        If there are awards that need votes – remind people about them but don’t beg them to vote for you, it sounds desperate.

• ·        Pat other people on the back if they win and you don’t – it’s only an award and it’s not the end of the world. Be positive about being shortlisted – because hey – that’s a huge achievement anyway!

• ·        When sending out invitations to events it helps if you write a covering note. Mostly I apologise for sending just in case it is not wanted or they live too far away. It doesn’t hurt to be polite and aware that not everyone is interested.

• ·        Be positive and upbeat. That’s the biggest and most import of my own rules.

Blog like crazy!

There’s also blogging of course. Mine is over 9000 hits now. One thing you should do if you have a blog is keep an eye on your stats. I have a stats counter that analyses the hits. At the click of a button I can see the IP addresses of all people who log on and it shows me where they are from (don’t worry it’s not full names and addresses only areas or countries). It also reveals how they found the site – even showing you the google pathway that led them to the page. This kind of information is useful to help you analyse your tagging process. Tagging is a great resource and helps people find you by accident. It helps if you think ‘out of the box’ when selecting tags for the main page – and always tag the blogs.

            Other results that I look at are ‘returning visitors’. At the end of the day you could be doing something wrong if your website or blog is getting a very low return rate. If you are posting interesting blogs or the type of information that the reader wants to see then there should be good returns results.

            There has to be a balance between attracting new readers and keeping old ones. I’m no expert on this of course, but I try to mix up the information as much as possible. Sometimes I blog on a film I’ve seen. At other times I write about the publishing industry exploring things that I believe might interest aspiring writers. Then, of course, I post all of my news or latest events. It’s important to keep the blog updated whatever you decide to put on it though. Just think about it. How many times have you gone onto your favourite writer’s website and found that it hasn’t changed in six months? Eventually you stop looking for that information, after all what’s the point in returning if there’s nothing new to learn? So it’s a good thing to bear in mind when maintaining your blog or website. I try to put something up every few days these days – and I’ve seen an increase in hits recently so hopefully it’s working. If I'm going to be a way from my computer for more than a few days, I even write some before hand and schedule them to go up while I'm away. It's about being organised as well as consistent.

Conventions

Overall promoting takes up a lot of your time. Once you’ve sorted out your social networking sites and blogs you’ve got to get out there and meet people. That’s where conventions come in. This is where the real time and money goes.

            In order to meet the right publishers and maybe even interest more readers you have to get out there and meet them. There are several Horror and Fantasy conventions that are good for promotion. My favourite used to be FantasyCon, but this isn’t always the best selling event; although I have seen a huge increase in sales there over the last three years which I hope is down to the fact that the word is getting out about my books. If you’re new on the circuit, or self-published, don’t expect to do well here on sales. The event does attract, however, a good selection of publishers and agents.

            There is also EasterCon, which is huge. It has about 12-1300 people attending every year. It is an excellent event to get involved with. EasterCon organisers are very open to new people being panellists. My first EasterCon I was given 6 panels over the course of the weekend. Panels are good things for writers. It’s an opportunity to talk intelligently in front of an audience. A good moderator will know who you are and will introduce you properly explaining what you write or will give you the opportunity to do so yourself. It’s also a very good selling event. I’ve seen the most unlikely books sell at EasterCon and I think that is because there are more fans attending, whereas some of the smaller cons attract mostly writers, publishers and agents, who are less likely to buy your books. Also there is no snobbery at EasterCon. ALL writers can become involved at the mass signing events. So whether you are published by one of the majors or by a small independent press, you’ll be treated the same.

            I’ve recently discovered Asylum – which is a steampunk convention in Lincoln. I was invited as a guest this year only to learn the event attracts over 800 people. The organisation was fabulous and I was treated wonderfully. I’m invited back next year also and I’m hoping to get more involved in the panels. This isn’t necessarily the place you’d go to if you want to meet publishers and agents – but it’s a great selling event and is full of potential readers. It’s also growing in size and had become the second biggest UK convention. It may even take that crown from EasterCon next year. Also, Asylum have invited me to return as a guest again next year, so I'll definitely be attending.

            Smaller more intimate events are NewCon (2 Yearly – but a whole weekend) and AltFiction which is usually only running for a day but apparantly next year it is planned  to run over two days.There are more but I will be honest and say I haven’t attended them.

            Outside of the UK -  I also attend Gallifrey in LA. My partner, David J Howe, and I are invited as guests and guest status makes all of the difference. In the USA we get extremely well treated and sales are incredible. There are also great panel opportunities.

            That’s where the time and money element of promotion comes in. Attending Cons is expensive and while you’re away from home you aren’t writing – but if you’re smart, you will be working. 
              I could say a whole lot more, but I think that's enough for now, except to say - Keep plugging away at the promo ... but remember, not too much ...

Sam Stone 12.10.10

Demon Dance Launches & Signings

Hi Guys,

There's so much happening in the next few weeks that I thought it best to post a list for forthcoming events.

10th-12th September - The Asylum, Lincoln.

The first book launch for Demon Dance, takes place in Lincoln at the steampunk event of the year, The Asylum. 

The launch is on Saturday 11th September at 3.15pm, in The Orangery, Charlotte House, Union Road, Lincoln LN1 3BJ. Tel : 01522 541 000.

ALL WELCOME! Please note you don't have to be part of the convention to attend the launch.

So no excuses! Join me and The House of Murky Depths as we celebrate the coming of age of the third book in my Vampire Gene Series.

Refreshments will be served!

If you are attending the event - then come along on Saturday to 'The Little Theatre' at The Asylum at 2pm to listen to me read an extract from Demon Dance, and take part in a Q & A. Or come and say hello at the Annual Empire Ball on Saturday evening at 7.30pm in The Asylum.

15th September - Waterstones, Bury.

I will be signing copies of my books at Waterstones, 4 Union Arcade, Bury BL9 0QF Tel: 0161 764 2642 from 2pm onwards with Actor Frazer Hines who will also be there signing copies of his autobiography, Hines Sight.

17th - 19th September - FantasyCon, Nottingham. 

FantasyCon this year is particularly special for me, as my second novel Futile Flame is currently shortlisted for the August Derlerth Award for Best Novel in the British Fantasy Society Awards. The winners will be announced on Saturday evening after the banquet.


This all takes place in The Britannia Hotel, 1 St. James Street, Nottingham.
 
The House of Murky Depths will be proud to launch Demon Dance at 6pm in the bar outside the dealer's room. Refreshments will be available for anyone who attends.

Unfortunately this event is only open to attendees of the convention.

9th - 10th October - NewCon 5, Northampton.  

NewCon 5 will take place at The Fishmarket, Northampton, NN1 2HL. I will be attending the event with The House of Murky Depths, taking part in panels and generally hanging around the bar - so come and talk to me if you plan to attend!

Hope to see you all at one of these events.

Sam x

More Excellent Reviews!

It felt like good Karma when ...

After an awful day yesterday, with my MG breaking down again and four hours of waiting to be towed home by the AA, I went out with my partner David for a much needed steak dinner and a bottle (or 2) of wine.  When I arrived home I did my usual email check - and found much to my surprise this wonderful link to a review by Jan Edwards of Killing Kiss.

Killing Kiss Review 
 
It really cheered me up to see a review that showed such good understanding of everything I tried to do in the book when I wrote it in 2006.

Not only that - but I was told the review was going onto amazon also and so I went and had a quick look there to see if it was up yet. And much to my surprise discovered these reviews by Demonica. Demonica had, I discovered, been reluctant to read Killing Kiss as generally she doesn't like vampire novels. Once she had started it, however, she discovered Killing Kiss was different. She also took the trouble to read Futile Flame and she'd LOVED them both.

Writing is a solitary pursuit, often with very little reward, but it makes it all the more worthwhile when your efforts are appreciated.

Futile Flame has been shortlisted for the British Fantasy Society, August Derlerth Award for Best Novel - voting ended on 31st July and I won't know the outcome until September 19th at FantasyCon in Nottingham, but whatever happens I will always remember that those who have read my work so far have often appreciated it. And if I don't win - I'm really routing for Conrad Williams and his fabulous post-apocalyptic novel One.

Thank you for the reviews guys! And thank you for continuing to tune in - I hope Demon Dance thrills and excites you even more!

Also - watch this space for my new anthology - announcements to be made soon!

Love,
Sam x

Vampires AREN'T Dead Yet!

There's been a spate of articles in the press directed at killing off (pun intended) vampires in literature but I'm here to tell you that vampires aren't dead yet.

Vampire literature has been popular since the 19th Century. We have excellent literary writers in our history such as Sheridan Le Fanu, Bram Stoker and Lord Byron (to name but a few) writing stories that featured the undead.

Modern literary and terrifying vampire writers such as Simon Clark, author of Vampyrrhic and Vampyrric Rites have created vampires with a mythology of their own. These are brutal and frightening monsters that show no human emotion or feeling whatsoever. You only have to look at the writing of Tanith Lee in her novels Vivia and Sabella in order to appreciate that there is some very good and very diffrent stuff out there. And let's not forget Chelsea Quinn Yarbro who was there long before Anne Rice.

The mistake people are making right now is assuming that vampires equal teen paranormal romance, which is so far removed from 'literature' that it is a completely different genre.

When I was at university doing my MA in Creative Writing I wrote my first novel, Killing Kiss, as my dissertation. At first the head of faculty wasn't sure whether the book would be acceptible (he hadn't read it but had a prejudice against genre writing). Thanks to my tutor, literary author Janette Jenkins, who fought my corner with me, I was able to put the novel forward, because we were able to prove it was indeed 'literary fiction'.

Unfortunately though the prejudice still rears its ugly head.

In the early days when I first started mixing with other horror and fantasy writers I was repeatedly asked if my book was horror/romance. Even folks in the genre were making that equation 'vampires=romance' in their heads. It gets a little wearing when you're on the third book of a trilogy that takes in horror, fantasy, time travel, science fiction, paganism, vampires, witches and spiritualism, and there are still people making the same assumptions ... and I wonder if they have even read my work!

It is perhaps ignorant and uniformed to make judgements about a writer without first reading their work. A little like reviewing a film you haven't seen, or going off just the trailer to determine what it's all about. And so I repeat again, literary horror/fantasy is nothing like paranormal/romance. They are different genres entirely. Literary fiction is well written, intelligent, often multi-layered, and the prose will be well-formed and deliberate in its purpose, perhaps even poetic, to create specific imagery in the mind of the reader.

From what I have read, paranormal romance tends to be about boy meets girl, they fall in love and the human one usually ends up being a vampire/werewolf or whatever. Basically the plot is the same, while locations, names and characters all change. There is so much out there at the moment that I cannot keep up. And to be honest I don't want to as it doesn't appeal to me. I see other reviewers saying the same thing, that the books are all the same and don't change or add anything to the myths and legends along the way.

I have nothing against paranormal/romance - reading tastes vary, and each to his own anyway - but I don't want my books to be categorised in this genre. Especially when I've spent several years working very hard on developing my own unique writing style, and trying to do something original which appeals to me.

Going back to my original point though, Vampires have been around a long time in fiction. Just because there are some poor examples, and there is a flooding on the market of not very good vampire books, it doesn't mean that all of this fiction is therefore dross. There have been some excellent books written by Christopher Pike, whose Last Vampire Series has been hugely successful, is beautifully written and thoughtfully crafted. We can look at Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake Series (and I know that some of you may criticise a few of the later books as deteriorating into pornography - and I agree, they did) but the first five books make Ms Meyer's plots look like the scribbles of an illiterate 12 year old. There is also Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series. The first book does get off to a shaky start, but then Harris took the characters, created fabulous storylines which are truly multi-layered, and she ran with it. I have to say TrueBlood is one of my favourite TV programmes of the moment. My friend Raven Dane has written a terrific vampire series called Legacy of the Dark Kind, and I can tell you, there's not a sniff of romance in it. And not forgetting of course Stephen King, whose Salem's Lot almost defined the vampire story for anyone who read it in the seventies.

I can't believe that people get taken in by the media hype - the media created Twilight mania in the first place, and blew it out of all proportion with a frenzy of obsession that's driven most teenage girls to distraction as they either love or detest the series. All to sell more books and DVDs (and T-Shirts, magazines and other merchandise ... and I wonder who owns the companies producing all these things ... would they be the same companies which produce the films, and which publish the books ... and which also publish the newspapers and magazines which hype and promote so much). Now the Media, in typical fashion, want to take it back and smash every good vampire book on this trail of destruction. This cycle of 'promote to the skies and then destroy' is a familiar one in UK media. It sometimes seems that we build people up, only to then knock them back down again in as harsh and critical manner as we can.

The media have done the same thing with Global Warming over the years, and Swine Flu, and Mad Cow Disease, and Bird Flu - just think about the panic that's been stirred, only to be followed by articles from the professionals saying it isn't true at all.

Well I'm saying categorically: Vampires are NOT dead. They won't die so far as there are good, strong, talented writers out there to keep the vampires' fangs sharp and their tastes brutal.

And if you, like me, don't care for the sugary romance stories - then fine! DON'T BUY THEM.

But please stop dissing vampires  It isn't their fault. Poor misguided creatures. But we can show the publishing industry and the media how very discerning we are, and support the good writers out there. Because - Let's be honest - we need your support before we all disappear under a deluge of romanticised, sparkly, friendly, vegetarian creatures of the night.

New Ways to Purchase Killing Kiss

I'm please to announce that there are now new ways to purchase Killing Kiss (Book 1 of The Vampire Gene).

If you're a fan of IPhone & IPad like me then click on these links to upload the book now:

The iPhone App is here: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/killing-kiss/id376359959?mt=8

The iPad App is here: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-killing-kiss/id376802292?mt=8

Or if you prefer using Kindle you can purchase the ebook on this link: Killing Kiss Kindle

'Real' Vampires Versus The Neurotic Wimps

A comparison and definition of the genres

I was recently quoted in the Independent with Neil Gaiman and Graham Marks, voicing our opinions on the glut of Paranormal Romance and Teen Vampire stories that are taking the bite, and the fright, out of a genre that I love very much. I'd like to elaborate on the problem as I see it.

There seems to be much confusion between Vampires in Horror/Fantasy novels and those in Paranormal Romance when actually they are completely different genres.

Horror, quite simply, contains content that is frightening and/or horrific. It can contain supernatural elements or it can feature a serial killer. What makes a piece of writing effective as horror is the psychological element. Often it plays on the mind of the reader. A classic example of this is Richard Laymon's novel Endless Night. There is no supernatural element in this story at all; it's about a group of men working together to break into houses to kill people. They do unspeakable, vile and horrific things to their victims. It is an utterly terrifying and realistic story, mostly because it could actually happen!

Fantasy is usually writing that features 'other worlds', or as in the case of Urban Fantasy, the world depicted is recognisable as our own, but there are supernatural beings living in it. Fantasy stories are usually epic. The characters can have a journey or a quest to follow. There may be magicians, warriors, vampires, demons, fairies or angels. To find out more about this I recommend Rhetorics of Fantasy by Farah Mendlesohn. (The book explores in detail the four main categories that fantasy novels fall into: The Portal-Quest, The Immersive, The Intrusion, The Liminal; in a fascinating and informative analysis of the genre.)

Often though, Horror and Fantasy become merged together, which is certainly what I do in my books. For example Futile Flame begins in the guise of a traditional gothic novel but has a deliberate fantasy twist at the end that is the start of the Portal-Quest Fantasy that takes place in Demon Dance.

Paranormal Romance, on the other hand, tends to be foremost a romantic story but which has a paranormal or supernatural element, such as a vampire, werewolf, ghost and so on. Usually the story is one of boy meets girl. One of them is human, the other is a vampire, werewolf or ghost. There will be angst, a little lust (sometimes a lot of lust) and then boy and girl will be united at the end. The formula never really changes beyond that and other than names and places, these stories tend to be very alike and generally unoriginal.

The problem with the genre at the moment is that, with the popularity of the Twilight series, publishers have seen an equation in their minds which reads: Teenage Romance Novel + Supernatural Creatures = Money. The authorial and publishing intent behind all these books is to present a romantic story which, they hope, will capture the romantic notions of teenage girls. The intent is not to scare, or to create unease, or to provoke a horrified reaction ... any and all of which would perhaps be elements that true horror novels would set out to achieve. Speaking for myself, my first novel, Killing Kiss, was written to explore the loneliness of a vampire who has lived for 400 years; illuminating his life through sequences where the reader can experience the events he has lived through, and with that perhaps understand and sympathise with my leading man, even though he is a monster.

Let's Give Vampires Back Their Fangs!

As I said in The Independent piece, vampires shouldn't be vegetarian (which is an oxymoron). They are blood sucking monsters. They may feel a little guilty when they kill, but mostly they don't care. As Graham Marks said, Vampires should be scary and sexy. The thing we've loved about them all these years is the danger they represent as well as the seductive element. There is nothing more terrifying than a strange man entering your bedroom and then biting you on the neck - there's nothing sexier either.

I believe that we shouldn't stop writing Vampire fiction. What should happen is that publishers should be actively looking for good vampire fiction - not the trashy formulaic romance stuff that's basically taken the heart and horror out of our vampires.

For this reason, to show the difference between the wimps and the fanged fiends, here's a sneak preview of Demon Dance. This is something I've never done before prior to publication, but I want to show you how my vampire Lilly gives into her monstrous nature with no regrets. I have slightly tweaked this to ensure that it stands alone here, but I hope you enjoy what you read ... and maybe are slightly chilled too.


DEMON DANCE

Chapter 4
Present – The Trinity Klub

The club is heaving. I push my way through the bodies, brushing against auras. The proximity of so many humans almost makes my stomach retch. I hate crowds. I am by nature a loner these days. And the gyrating sexual energy that flows through the crowd repulses me. The consolation prize is the blood. It floods the air along with the hot scent of perspiration.

I took only a little blood from my last victim and so I’m still hungry. As I look around the club I don’t see anything I fancy eating. Harry has found a pale, slender redhead. She looks like Nicola Roberts from the pop group Girls Aloud, complete with Plaster of Paris make-up. She’s wearing hot pants and a cropped top that barely covers her tiny breasts. I use the blanket of the crowd on the dance floor as an excuse to brush the damp bare flesh on her waist with my hand. I lift my fingers to my lips and taste her sweet perspiration. Colours burst into the air before my vampiric gaze, lines of heritage. The lines stretch up and out and stop several feet above her head. I’ve seen this before. She is a long way from her home and there is no nearby connection to her lineage.

It is good news for Harry because there is no trace of our bloodline in her gene code. I meet Harry’s eyes and nod. He moves in rapidly meeting her eyes. Within minutes he’s pulled the girl close and their hips bump together as they dance. Before long he leads her away from the crowd. Unconcerned I watch them leave, assured she is safe for any kind of fun he wishes to have with her.

Across the room a group of boys part to reveal a gorgeous blond. Even from this distance I can see the green twinkle of his eyes, see the seductive dimples in his cheeks and chin. I turn away rapidly. He reminds me too much of all that I have lost. Everywhere I go in Stockholm there are constant reminders of my one time lover. How can I still hold a torch for him, after all this time?

‘Hey beautiful.’

He’s in his late thirties. Cute. Dark hair and nothing like Gabriele or any other male from my gene pool. But none of that makes a difference; what does is the fact that he has his hand on my waist and he’s stroking me. He’s skilled. His fingers weave hypnotic patterns over my skin. I am frozen to the spot. A bitter chill pierces me.

Strike one; I don’t like to be touched.

‘Want to get some air?’ he asks.

I let him take my hand and lead me outside onto the balcony. It’s a cold night and we are alone except for a tall, stocky, bouncer taking a cigarette break. We look out over the city. Multi-coloured lights litter the streets. I am mesmerised by the beauty of the cold air, of my breath huffing out like steam. It is one of those silly delights that my vampiric sense really enjoys.

‘I’m Stephan,’ he tells me as he places a joint in his mouth and flicks his lighter expertly.

He takes a long pull into his lungs and then offers it to me.

‘I don’t smoke,’ I answer but I don’t bother giving him the lecture that smoking will kill him eventually. He’ll be dead long before then anyway.

‘I watched you inside the club. Your boyfriend went off with a redhead.’

‘He’s not my boyfriend.’

‘Ah. Good. Because I think you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.’

I raise a cynical brow. The fluency of his words tells me how often Stephan has used them. I sniff the air around him as he inhales the weed again. He smells of sex. Cigarettes. Weed. And something else. Cocaine. Then I see the particles of white powder, briefly reflected in the moonlight, around his nostrils. I turn to walk away. He’s too boring to bother with.

‘I want you,’ he says catching hold of my arm.

I glance down at his hand. ‘Let go,’ I say calmly.

‘I always have what I want.’

‘You’re not my type. Sorry.’ He tightens his grip.

Stephan chuckles. It is a dark sound and it implies hidden knowledge. I turn just in time to see the bouncer heading my way.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me …’

The bouncer grabs my arms and they pull me towards another door at the other end of the balcony. I don’t resist, even though I could shake them off easily if I wanted to. But there are too many people around and I’m curious to see how far this will go. I let them pull me into the other room. The glass door is closed behind us and I find myself in a small office which contains a desk and a futon covered in luxurious cushions in various shades of red silk. I look around. Other than the balcony, two doors lead off from the room. One, I suspect leads back into the club; the other is probably a bathroom.

‘Leave us,’ Stephan says and the bouncer departs.

‘Is this how you get all your dates?’ I laugh. ‘You could just try wining and dining a girl; it might well have saved your life.’

He chuckles. ‘Saved my life? Young lady, I don’t think you realise who you are dealing with. I own this club.’

I run my finger along his desk as I recall the rumours I’d heard about the Trinity Klub and the mafia who owned it. Stephan’s name and face float behind my eyes as I recall a scandal in the newspaper recently. The report flashes before my eyes. The curse of a photographic memory.

Young woman throws herself from club owner’s balcony … Investigation inconclusive.

‘Mmmm. Yes. I do. But do you know who you are dealing with?’ I meet his eyes.

He steps back when he sees the venom in my expression. He blinks. Swallows. Then smiles. Never smile at a crocodile … I smile back.

‘Come here,’ he orders.

‘What if I scream?’

‘This room is sound-proofed,’ his smile widens.

‘Your biggest mistake of course was touching me,’ I say stepping towards him. ‘I really don’t like to be touched. Especially when I haven’t given my permission.’

‘You better get used to it bitch. I’m going to touch all I want in the next few hours.’ He reaches for me and I let him grab me; his fingers bite into my arms.
‘You’re going to do everything I ask. Okay?’

I laugh in his face. Then flick my tongue out over his cheek, testing him. His heritage lines stretch out, far away from Stockholm and no hint of my DNA. Very, very safe. It seems Stephan is of Russian decent. He pulls me close. He’s taken my tasting as a sign that I like him after all. Foolish mortal.

My fangs burst free of my gums as I rear and strike in one fluid movement. I bury my teeth in his face and rip back, taking a strip of his cheek with me. There is a sickening tear as his face shreds. Stephan screams. His hand flies to his face and he stares in shock at the blood covering his fingers. As he tries to push the flapping skin back in place. If he survives our encounter his looks will be ruined. But he won’t need to worry about that.

‘What the fuck …?’ He staggers towards his desk, shocked and dazed.

I see the alarm button just in time. I grab him, snatching his hand away from the desk and crush his fingers in mine. I squeeze. Bones cracked in my grasp, his knuckles pop like bubble wrap. He screams again. I sigh. It’s getting boring again.

‘Where you going honey? I thought you wanted to fuck? Oops. My bad. You wanted to rape, didn’t you? Is that how you get it up, Stephan? You have to have the rough and tumble first?’

I throw him back on the futon and reach for the zipper on his trousers.

‘Well let’s see what you have in there then. I’m feeling hungry.’

Stephan screams like a girl. His hands beat at me, but his blows have no more impact than that of an insect. I laugh when he pulls back his uninjured arm, fist clenched. His blow lands on my cheek. The fingers in his hand snap like twigs and his knuckles crumble. Both of his hands are now destroyed and with it the fight goes out of him. I bet this is the first time he has ever been bested by anyone, never mind a female. I slash away his pale cream trousers; his blood has ruined them anyway. Stephan cries and sobs as I expose his stomach.

‘Please … Mercy.’

‘Did you have mercy for that poor little girl you raped and threw from the balcony Stephan?’

I smile, all fangs and Stephan recoils, ‘Wha … t are … you?’

‘I could come out with “I’m your worst nightmare” or some clichéd crap like that. But I reckon that would be lost on an arsehole like you. So I’ll tell you this, that blood-sucking monster you had childhood nightmares about exists. It’s real. I’m the bogeyman. I’m going to eat you, because you’ve been a bad, bad man.’

His cries become incoherent as I get to work on him. I bite, scratch and tear until his guts are smeared all over the futon. The red silk cushions darken and change colour to a deep, black purple. Blood falls onto the cream carpet in an interesting splatter pattern.

‘Your biggest mistake was touching me,’ I say again as I lick at an open wound finally drinking my fill. ‘I really don’t like to be groped. Maybe in death you will learn some manners.’

His eyes bleed tears as his mouth leaks gory saliva. He’s dying; it will be slow and agonising. And as much as I’d like to, I can’t afford the luxury of leaving here unless I finish him. I reach down. Taking his mangled face between my hands I twist his head sharply, snapping his neck. But I’m aware of the valuable lesson he has just learned about life and death. Power is a tenuous possession. You are only strong if there are others weaker than you.

I’m Lilly. I’m Lillith. I’m the oldest woman alive and I’m stronger than anything human or otherwise. I won’t be fucking trifled with.

Blood-soaked, I open the balcony door and walk up to the rail. Gazing out over the bright city I feel a sense of freedom. I leap into the air and soar into the night as Stephan’s blood strengthens my limbs into further invulnerability. No one can touch me; unless I want them to. And I don’t want anyone to.

If you ask me why I kill, my answer is this: Because I can.

DO YOU HAVE ...The Vampire Gene?

Some folks asked me about how to get hold of my books! Here's the information. Order your copies now!

Books 1 and 2, Killing Kiss and Futile Flame, can be purchased from Murky Depths along with pre-orders of Book 3 Demon Dance.

Or Amazon.co.uk at Killing Kiss or Futile Flame

Killing Kiss is also available on Kindle, iPhone, or iPad.

BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY AWARDS SHORLIST ANNOUNCED.

Woke up this morning to find that the Short list for the British Fantasy Society Awards had been posted.

Futile Flame - Book 2 of The Vampire Gene trilogy is a finalist!

A lot has happened in my life over the last few years; at times it has been such an uphill struggle. Many of you already know the story and I won’t bore you with the details today. I have a lot of regrets though, one of which is that my mother never saw my first book in print. She’d have loved that because she saw the many times that 11 year old Samantha sat quietly in a corner scribbling stories and poems on a tatty notepad. She bought me my first typewriter, where I bashed out an attempt to write a 'Tales of the Unexpected' story for a competition (aged 13) and wrote a rather dreadful (8 chapter) 'novel' which was an appalling knock-off Hammer story. Later I wrote my first proper attempt on it, in the space of a month, after many false starts, marriage and motherhood.

With the marvellous invention of the word processor, my terrible typos became much easier to correct. Thank God, Apple or Microsoft for that!

I have much to be grateful for now, especially for my partner David: my best friend and biggest supporter. Every time I get knocked down he picks me up and dusts me off, handing me my laptop as he says, ‘don’t give up. You can do it, Sam’. Futile Flame would never have been written but for his encouragement. I feel so privileged.

And I say today, even though it's like walking through mud in high heels at times, I’m not going to give up, no matter what. Writing is something that I just can’t stop doing.

I'm completely bowled over with the success of Futile Flame as I appreciate it is a very unusual novel with its quirky mix of Vampire horror and fantasy, merged with the time travel element. But then maybe that is why it is appealing so much to you, my readers. :)

I’m feeling very emotional and extremely humble today, so excuse this rather strange blog.

I want to say a huge thank you to BFS members for supporting the novel. I really, never thought I'd make the short list.

If you voted this time, don't forget to vote again on the final round, whoever you voted for, because the BFS needs your support.

Love
Sam x

NOMINATE – FUTILE FLAME

It’s that time of year again folks and the BFSA and BFS are calling for nominations for this year’s awards.

I’d be really happy with a nomination for Futile Flame for Best Novel so if you’ve read the book and are a member of either or both of these societies then please consider nominating me this year. But remember, the more nominations I receive the more chance I have of being short-listed; so don’t leave it to someone else: Vote today!

If you haven’t read the book and are interested or even a little bit curious then members can email me with their details for a preview at sam@sam-stone.com

Please click on the links below for more information or to place your vote.

BSFA: (URGENT – By 16th January 2010)

BFS: (By 14th February 2010)


TELOS PUBLISHING – IT LIVES AGAIN.
Nominate It Lives Again by Axelle Carolyn.

This beautiful full colour hardback book is an analysis of all your favourite modern horror movies: covering the 2000’s. It is extremely well-written and has had nothing but rave reviews.

For further details visit:

Telos


MURKY DEPTHS – BEST SHORT FICTION/ARTWORK.

Fans of this fabulous magazine will already know and understand the completely unique quality of Murky Depths. There is no other magazine in the UK market that so uniquely covers Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy fiction and Artwork work in the form of illustrations and Graphic stories.

So, flick through last year’s editions and pick out your favourite short stories and artwork and nominate it for one or both societies.

For further details contact:

Murky Depths

Signing - Dark Delicacies in LA.

Taking advantage of the fact that I'm in LA for a short time, I'm delighted that those very nice people at the Dark Delicacies store are putting up with me for an afternoon so I can sign copies of Killing Kiss with them.

The signing is at Dark Delicacies on Saturday 14th February, starting at around 3.30pm.

The address is : 4213 W Burbank Blvd, Burbank, CA 91505, USA
Tel: +1 818-556-6660

Anyone who wants a signed copy can reserve one by simply calling the store. Go on ... you know you want to :)

I'll be there signing books and giving away free Demon Lover CD's along with some great authors from Telos Publishing. There's Steven Warren Hill signing copies of Silver Scream Vol 1, a great guide to classic horror films; Arnold T Blumberg is signing copies of his awesome guide to zombie films, Zombiemania; and David J Howe is also there signing copies of his superb book The Target Book, which details the history of all the old Doctor Who novelisations.

All of Telos' books are available from them online as well at www.telos.co.uk, so check them out.

Meantime, I can't wait to leave the snowy UK for a while and bask in the LA sunshine ... having said that, though, I bet it rains!

Book 2 - Futile Flame & Signing Waterstones

An update for those of you who have been asking when Book 2 of The Vampire Gene will be available.

It's finished.

At least in first draft form. Currently I'm editing it through, and this is the hardest and, I find, the most fun time in the process of bringing a book to fruition. Now I get to analyse the effectiveness of the plot structure, plant seeds where necessary to accomodate any new twists and turns, and to correct any silly punctuation and spelling errors I might have made during the process of writing - when sometimes words spill onto the page in such a hurry to capture mood and pace and excitement that the normal rules of typing don't apply and the most important thing is to preserve the essence of the moment.

It's possible that I may even decide I don't like aspects of it after all and scrap several chapters, rewrite or add characters along the way ... hopefully that's not an issue this time though and the book will remain broadly as drafted.

The plot has changed dramatically from the ideas I originally had in mind several months ago, and as any writer knows, sometimes it becomes impossible to stick to a rigorous plan. Sometimes a book wants to be written in a certain way, and who am I to argue?

REMEMBER

I'm at Waterstones, Trafford Centre, Manchester this Sunday from 12 noon.

Killing Kiss will be on sale and I'll be there to sign it for you also.

Hope to see you there!

Being in Birmingham ... And NewCon 4

I have considered the fact that I am becoming a bit of a convention geek - before you say it.

I made a flying visit to the Birmingham International Comic Show on Sunday. I went along for 4 1/2 hours to Birmingham because my publishers Murky Depths were there promoting my book as well as their fantastic quarterly magazine (for more info on that, check out www.murkydepths.com).

The bottom line, and this is a very brief update (sorry I have no pics), is that I again met up with some interesting people. And for that no trip is ever wasted. Top comic writer Tony Lee gave me a fab signed book for my daughter Linzi - owe you one Tony! It's called Midnight Kiss and she's delighted with it I have to say. (Terry Martin said: 'Bet you charmed it out of him.' Hmmm... No idea what he's suggesting at all. I smiled and was very polite though, good manners go a long way.) I bought The Mammoth Book of Best New Manga featuring manga from my Facebook friend Jay Eales, and his partner Selina Dean, who are regulars at conventions. Wandering round I also met Grant Perkins who is a new artist and writer on the scene, with his fiancee Eva.

It was brilliant to see people making the effort and dressing up. I saw many very authentic looking costumes, including Lara Croft, Batman, Superman and a brilliant Joker - dressed in the nurse's uniform from the latest film.

And, yay! We even sold some books - which always helps!

So a worthwhile and fun trip as always.

Looking forward to next weekend ...

NEXT EVENT - NewCon 4 - 11th/12th October.


I'll be there from Friday evening, and will be reading an extract from Killing Kiss on Saturday at 12 noon, with the lovely Storm Constantine and equally delightful Ally Bird (who I met this year at FantasyCon). At 5pm I'll be on a panel with the topic of 'Sex sells' - I'll be kicking this panel off with a reading of two pieces of my erotic poetry. Also on this panel, Ken Macleod, Ally Bird, Roberto Quaglia and Ian Watson.

Sunday lunchtime I'll be reading some of my poetry with the charming Donna Scott, and Cardinal Cox (Poet Laurette 2002) - this will take place from the stage (and I'm hoping to have a surprise male reader join me to read at least one of my poems). Time permitting this will feature a selection of poems from the Demon Lover CD and some of my love poetry.

The House of Murky Depths will be there selling Killing Kiss, along with bargain subscriptions for the Murky Depths quarterly magazine. (Oh, and the latest on MD's continuing success - the magazine is now available in Forbidden Planet and several other stores. Killing Kiss has been accepted by Waterstones and Barnes and Noble in America - where it will not only appear on their website but in selected stores as well. More on this another time ... hopefully including some in store signing dates.) The image here is the cover of the latest edition which I can assure you is well worth a look-see.

The rest of the time at NewCon I hope to be attending some of the fantastic panels they have listed. And - obviously - in the bar as well!

With any luck I'll exchange a few words with the guests of honour which this year include Paul Cornell, Storm Constantine, Iain M Banks and Ken MacLeod. What a fantastic line up!

If you are coming along though, please check the times on your itinery, just in case any last minute changes have been made that I don't know about ...

So catch up with me at NewCon 4 this weekend and please come and say hello! I don't bite - I just look scary.