Why a Book Review May be deleted from Amazon

Well, the weather is trying to get warmer, but we keep going backward, here.
I'm working on different things at once. That's how I am. I'm supposed to be writing a story for a sesquicentennial book about my home town. I really need to do this this weekend. I don't know where my pictures are of the old uptown, but they're probably in a closet.

But for today, I give you Shelly Arkon's explanation on what may have happened to her excellent review on Amazon for my book Ascension [Vampire Ascending]. She goes into detail on Amazon's reasons for rubbing out your review, so you might want to pay particular attention to it. She has given permission for me to share this here with you. So, go ahead and take a look, if you have not already.

Thanks for dropping in!

Ascension Giveaway!

Today, and rest of the month, I'm having a giveaway contest of one autographed paperback copy of "Ascension"...

details below:

Ascension

After the death of her father, Sabrina Strong is hired to solve the murder of Letitia, Bjorn Tremayne's life-time mate. She is quickly immersed in romantic trysts and danger. Megalomaniac vampires are planning to take over and rule the the North American Vampire Association for their own greedy desires. 

Sabrina is not thrilled about the aspect of working for vampires in Chicago, but she needs the money, and wants to find the gorgeous and mysterious vampire who has been turning up in her dreams. Is he the one who bit her when she was ten - marked her for his own - and turned her mother so long ago? 

A unique and mesmerizing mystery blending intricately detailed fantasy and romance, twists and turns of mystery in a contemporary setting, and new insights on a vampire's life including love, passion, heartache, hope, devastation, lust and longing. 

“A truly extraordinary vampire tale . . . something to sink your teeth into . . .” ~Reader Views

New cover/title formerly "Vampire Ascending"
first book in the Sabrina Strong series.

REVIEW:

Because Amazon, for whatever ridiculous reason, has taken away at least FOUR 5-star and 4-star reviews of this book... Here is a link from my very good friend Shelly Arkon's post with her review--exactly the way it appeared on Amazon: Two Fur-Peeps and A Writer.

DETAILS ON GIVEAWAY:

Autographed copy of Ascension (to US addresses only), will be given to winner of this contest.

This is what you must do to be entered:

SHARE THIS LINK on Twitter, or facebook, or your own blog, and send me the link(s) to my email - loreleibell4(at)gmail (dot)com

The more times you share, the more times your name will go into the hat to be chosen!

Remember even if you have a copy, this would make a great gift for someone... just saying.

This contest will go on throughout the rest of this month (March 2015) 

I will announce winner on April 1

GOOD LUCK!

In The Beginning... Or maybe Somewhere In Between... The Vampire Ascended

He moved closer in a liquid way that seemed to defy gravity, and the use of his feet. I think he merely floated over to me. I felt the power from his eyes—a sort of hypnotic bondage. A weakness, or a deep lassitude overwhelmed me, and I sagged. As though anticipating this, he caught me by the arms, his minion caught me from behind, and they held me upright between them.

“One important thing, Ms. Strong. Did the wolf bite you?”

Hello, my pretties. I've just received the edits of my first book to review and okay. I'm sure they're fine, but I will read through this. It's been a while since I've read it. I've shared a portion of it above, where I was on an early page in first chapter.

My publisher, Miika, has suggested title changes to my books. This first one, Vampire Ascending will be renamed :

Book I - Ascension 

The rest of the series will go like this:

Book II - Trill

Book III - Nocturne

Book IV - Caprice

I thought this was a good move/idea, and agreed with this change. A number of authors (with traditional publishers) seem to have gone this route. I'm reading one now that uses this theme on the title, and I do like the idea, as I think it will blend in with other books in the fantasy genre that are out there.

Today's post is short, as I'm busy with reading this edit of the first book. I might not read it word for word, but I'm enjoying reading the first chapter. If there are any more changes, I'll let you know, and also will post with a longer portion of this first chapter, when I have time.

Have a nice Sunday!

Another 5-STAR Review of Vampire's Trill

The second book in the Sabrina Strong series has receved a very nice 5-star review from Lena Winfrey Sender. You can go and read that here.

And if you want to read the ebooks Vampire Ascending, being the first ebook in series it's regular price is only $1.99, and you can buy that here.

Vampire's Trill is second in series, and Lena's review is as if she knows the whole series objective, or the story inside and out, I must say. You can purchase the second ebook here for $2.99.

Now, just in case people are without an e-reader, I will be making all four books available at Smashwords soon, where you can get yourself a pdf version, or have another e-reading device.

Sorry this is so short, just have too much outdoor work to get caught up on, but I"ll let everyone know when the Smashword versions will be up and available. Until then, enjoy the nice fall weather (hopefully).

Fire-side Chat with Sabrina

Hi, there. Sabrina Strong, here. Well, we have not chatted in a while, so I thought I'd get you all warmed up for the next book. 
While my life never seems to stop, Lorelei Bell, author of the                                                     

is working on number 8! But I'm here to get you excited about the next book in the series, Vampire Crescendo.
        I'm really excited, because it looks as though the next book, Vampire Crescendo, should be ready and out by December!

At the moment, I'm chilling with my honey. Nope. I'm not telling you who that is. That is on the horizon, and I hope you continue to read the series, because a lot of things happen in the up-coming 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th books. Yes, Lorelei has been extremely busy, trying to keep up with me, hasn't she?

In this next book, Vampire Crescendo I am dealing with the vampires who have chosen to side with Ilona and Nicolas. And although Nicolas is still under Tremayne's fealty, he awaits his death--yes, I said death. Remember he was poisoned by the Dagger of Delphi while we were locked in a vampire menage a trois? (And if you have not read Vampire Caprice, what in the world is holding you back??? It's on Amazon and Smashwords!) Holy cow, a lot happened in that book! Me being hounded/hunted by demons (and one very nasty Undead), has Tremayne coming back into my life to yank me across three or four states. Meanwhile, Bill Gannon, and Vasyl both try and find me and persuade me to be theirs (well, I am married to Vasyl). When they all get in the same room, it gets interesting. Believe me!

Meanwhile, Tremayne uses Rick to help him have his way with me. Although Rick really had no clue that's what he was up to. But I did get to see the Rocky Mountains, kill a demon and piss off a few vampires in a vampire lair known as Pennyweather's Nest up in the mountains above Colorado Springs. Oh, and I'm trying to find a man with a spiderweb tattoo, who I think has something to do with a little girl, and there I am in a cave with the men in my life trying to find the little girl before she gets hurt by the man. I can't tell you what happens, as that would really be a spoiler. But you can read it. Just follow the links!

The next book, Vampire Crescendo, I'm back home, and you wouldn't know that Christmas is around the bend, because I'm busy pissing off my local vampires. Namely Lief, Nicolas, Ilona, and a few new Weres. But first, I'm asked (more like pushed into) to go and help Tremayne, who is dying of silver poisoning. I go to an unknown place by plane, meet a new vampire by the name of Stefan Capella, and in the deal I get myself a Martial Arts expert, one Ty Cho, whose hands and feet are deadly, but you wouldn't know it to look at him.

My life is a circus, in other words. If you have not started reading this series, you'll want to start with the first book, of course. Vampire Ascending is back to its normal price of $1.99. This is where my adventures with the vampires (and a few assorted werewolves), begins.

Lorelei has had the summer off, but now is back to work. Oh, and she's begun a brand new blog called Baby Boomer At Large. Hope you'll stop by and check it out. She felt that placing her own personal life up on this blog was counter productive, and will now keep it for only the books, and moi, to stop by and give you heads up on things going on.

Okay, I think it's time to refill my coffee cup and cuddle up again with--oops! Almost said his name! Shoot! That's all for now. Bye!

No Surrender

I'm baaaack!

We went on a short trip out to New Mexico, having wanted to go back there one day. My husband and I hadn't taken a trip where we'd gotten out of Illinois in a while--especially out west, so we debated on the fact we couldn't really afford it. But then again, you need to get away from everything for several days. We decided to go, screw it.

We stayed in Taos again. Same place called Witten Inn. Cheaper than the others, I'm sure. And we took a walk up town to the Plaza where we had nice memories of having a delightful lunch, back in 2010.

We ordered beer, and then a beef taco sort of thing. There's a saying "you can't go back". What that means is you might go back, but you can't repeat those same experiences. We know this, but it was hopeful we'd at least get a good meal in this one place, since it was pretty good the last time.

Not so much. the meat was dried out, and in chunks. It basically ruined our experience there and we won't go back.

Us on balcony having lunch in Taos 2010 

We didn't let it detur our enjoyment of the late afternoon. We went to different shops in the Plaza

shops in plaza, Taos, NM

It wasn't as busy this day as it was the first time we'd been here. But plenty to see, and if you have money, a lot to buy. Saw one woman carrying around a large Indian drum, and her husband, in a motorized chair, buzzing along side her. I thought that maybe those things could use a little carrying cart when shopping.

Anyway, the walk back to the motel did my knees in. But the traffic was worse than we remembered. I don't know what it is, but everywhere we went (except for the back roads down through Nebraska into Kansas) were busy.

The next day we wanted to take a drive. I wish I could download the pictures from our phone to let you see, but I can't. Anyway, the best place to have lunch turned out to be a place in Red Rock, which is a skiing community. Lots of hotel choices here, and plenty of shops and lots of parking. They had little cars that weren't much bigger than go-carts, to rent if you had $30 burning a hole in your pocket and drive for a half an hour.

After lunch, we went on our way--the big loop that took us past "Ghost Ranch". Now, if you've never heard of Georgia O'Keef, you might want to check her out. She pretty much put New Mexico on the map. I think it's one reason why artists flock here. That, and the views are fabulous! I got this pic from Wikipedia...

As you can see, an artist would love to paint in such a place. We didn't go into the ranch, but stopped at a road side area to take it all in. Next time, we hope to have much more time to explore more of New Mexico. It's dry, and in the north, because of the altitude, it doesn't get quite as hot as the southern part of the state.

We hated to leave, but our last stay was in Las Vegas (no, not that Las Vegas), New Mexico. It became a town way before the more famous one in Nevada did. We tried two motels, when we arrived on the outskirts of town. The first one they seemed to be too busy to even say they'd be with us in a minute. My husband has no patients, but maybe that was good in this instance. We left and tried the next one. There was a guy pressure washing the drive up area. When we walked in, someone was painting, and the woman who was checking in someone held a paint brush in one had.

At this point, Dennis had looked across the road and saw an Motel 8, saw the flowers and thought "that looks like a happy place". So, we drove over there. At once we were greeted with smiling faces. While we checked in we were told there not only was a breakfast, but also there would be a hot soup and salad tonight. Yes. Free. And the guy who was just coming off his shift offered to help us carry up our ice chest. Wow! The soup was very good. The breakfast--we had poached eggs!--and we made friends with a middle-aged couple who were going south to visit a daughter. We visited at length with them. They'd been all over like we had. I got to drop the fact that I was a writer. I managed to give them one of my cards, and the woman said her daughter liked anything with vampires. Go figure.

While traveling, you never know where you'll be able to find a good place to eat. (We don't like McDonald's--you will have to shoot me if I eat there again, because we did have to eat there one night, and chose something we thought wouldn't kill us--chicken (?really?) McNuggets and fries. OMYGOD! My gut hurt for hours that night! Never ever will I eat or drink anything from that place again!) So, when we got to North Platte Nebraska, we had a hankering for chicken. I kept saying "No, I want to go to Whiskey Creek. Dennis tried to get to the Kentucky Fried Chicken place, down town, but there was construction. Somehow I think it was meant to be. We like Whiskey Creek where they put the meat over open pit fires. We settled on a small lunch chicken grilled salad. I say small... I really couldn't eat it all. There was a "large" dinner one. I'd hate to see how big that was.

We got under way again. Oh, I forgot to mention we had to drive through "The Springs" (Colorado Springs area). My husband did so, white knuckled, but did a superb job. I don't recommend driving on I 24 through the springs, unless you have nerves of steel. I had to close my eyes a few times and I was a passenger! We were also driving ahead of a boiling black cloud that was surely going to get us. We made it out of the Springs intact. Some how. That black cloud trying to gain on us. We took a road--I don't remember which one--east, and by this time it was going on one o'clock. We needed lunch. Dennis remembered that somewhere along this back road was a place where we'd stopped back years ago. I didn't remember it. But we found a Walmart. Lo and Behold! A Subway! We got the usual flat bread meal, ate and by the time we got out, it had begun to rain. We got into the truck and drove east again, and then the rain came down. Big huge drops. We worried that it might hail, but it didn't, luckily enough.

The way home was less than exciting. It always is. We hate driving home. Wish we could just twitch our noses and just be home. The other bad point about driving any more, is the gas pumps. No. The price of gas was much better the further we got away from Chicago and ILLinois. It's the "pay at the pump" thing. If you've never done this, it works like this. Either you pay with a credit card at the pump, or you have to go in and magically guess how much gas you need. Right. Like a person know exactly how many gallons you need. Once Dennis tried to pay at the pump with the card, but it didn't work. So, he had to go in. After getting gas--when the frigging thing finally works--you go back in, and get your card, or if you didn't quite get the amount you guess, you have to get reimbursed. It's such a haste. By Iowa, Dennis had road rage which I'd never seen in him before. I really thought I'd have to abandon ship.

But we made it. This week and next are my last weeks off. And this week is nearly gone. I've been busy all summer working on gardening projects, my writing, and, in the afternoon, I crocheted. I've finished two afghans, and have another one going, and a few others I'm experimenting with. I'd like to make a fall one, now.

This month is my birthday (27th), and it's the big six-OH! I've been doing pretty good on my Atkins diet. I only gained back one pound on the trip because I had a salad whenever I could, and breakfast is a no-brainer if you you can get eggs, and meat.

As a sort of celebration, my first two ebooks are $0.99 for the whole month. I've noticed that I'd made a couple of sales this week since coming back, and I wondered if my giving out my card to a few people didn't contribute. I gave a card to the waitress at Whiskey Creek, and she said she was a fan of vampires too. So, you never know. It's a good thing to have a business card to give to people, or post somewhere.

So, Vampire Ascending and Vampire's Trill are BOTH on sale now through the 31st. So, if you've wanted to check out these ebooks, now is the time!

VAMPIRE ASCENDING Not a cookie-cutter paranormal romance

You've seen them, lining bookshelves in the fantasy/horror section of your local bookstore, or on Amazon. Paranormal Romances all have the same look to the cover (half-naked man and woman--hint, one is usually a vampire--going at one another). Who is surprised at the end? No one.

Vampire Ascending is not another cookie-cutter  paranormal romance. 
It is darker and more realistic than Twilight, and I've heard people say they were very happy about that--needing to stay away from the sparkly vampires, don't you know?




Many who have read this one, have gone on to read the second book, Vampire's Trill, 

and then on to read Vampire Nocturne.

These Urban Fantasy books all have a blend of mystery, romance, horror, action and adventure. Sabrina doesn't fall for just one man, but many, and has many suitors. She does her best not to be bitten by a vampire. But there's no guarantee in this, since she works for a powerful master, seven foot tall Bjorn Tremayne.

Vampire Nocturne is my only Steampunk, which follows touch clairvoyant, Sabrina Strong into another world where she has to find her cousin before Drakulya does.

Great eBooks for those who want a vampire read with bite!

Sweet dreams....

TRICK or... TREAT?

Hello, my pretties. Oh, I see you are all dressed in your Halloween costumes! How wonderful! Well, this calls for a treat, I believe. Just let me look for my plastic pumpkin for some treats... oh, yes. Here it is right next to my coffin. *grinning as wide as in the picture of pumpkin above*

Now, if you were paying attention to my blog this past week you'll remember I said I would be reducing the price of some of my books. Well, I lied. I reduced them all!

But, before we get to this I want to do a few announcements. As of today, only a few of you have made comment on the blog "In Search of Dracula" in which you are eligible to win any one of my eBooks for free. I've so far got four names to draw from. Poor turn out, my dears. I would love to have a few more of you stop by and join in the discussion. In order to get on the list of possible winners you must leave a comment on the blog. It's a very simple contest. Nothing else is required for you to do. You don't have to come and "Like" me on facebook, or jump through hoops.

Halloween is only a few days away! I will be picking a winner from my plastic pumpkin (which is an antique because I've had it since childhood), and will be announcing the winner on November 1st. So, if you haven't done so, and would like to get a free bee (your choice of the following titles), go on and leave a comment at the post mentioned above. (just click on the title "Searching for Dracula")

But there's more...

FOR ONE WEEK THE FOLLOWING BOOKS' PRICES HAVE BEEN KNOCKED DOWN TO .99!!! 
That's right! From October 27th Until November 3rd, the prices have been reduced and you never know when I'll get the itch to do so again!
Vampire Ascending
Vampire's Trill
Vampire Nocturne
Spell of the Black Unicorn



You've only got 5 more days to join in on the giveaway contest, so if there is a title you have not gotten yet, and want to get it for free, go and make a comment at the blog above. Or, in case you are not the winner and sure did want one of these books you've got until November 3rd to grab it while it's .99!

(Prices in other countries may take longer to go into affect, so if it hasn't been reduced, wait an extra 12 hours for Amazon to make the change.)

There you have it, my pretties. Happy Halloween to you all!
Oh! almost forgot... here's my costume...

New Indie on the Block--Me!

Vampire Ascending

I never would have figured that placing my books on Amazon would actually begin netting me sales after becoming Indie, but it has. I saw sales that first week I had both Vampire Ascending and Vampire's Trill up as eBooks, at the end of August, and I thought “Okay, no big deal. My rank will drop into the basement like always, and that'll be it.

But that didn't happen. I didn't have a sale every day, but it was steady. Sometimes two in one day. Sometimes more. I found myself checking my author ranks everyday, and then more than once a day because at some point during the day one or the other sold. I remembered looking at my author rank wondering why it was up. “Did I sell something?” Duhhhhh. Yeah, I did. I kept thinking, “Okay, it'll drop. It has to.” It would for a day, and then go right back up. My ranks have gone up (depending on which one you want to count) for Fantasy, it was right up there today around #1,846. My author rank this morning was at #51,391. I don't recall it being this high for this long EVER!

So, when I began keeping track of the sales each day, I was counting down to when I'd reach $100. on Amazon. I did that today and beyond. In 25 days the total was at $100. Now both books are different prices. Vampire Ascending is at $1.99, and Vampire's Trill is at $3.99, so my cut will be different with these.

And I'm working to get the third book, Vampire Nocturne ready to up-load soon, so... yeah, I've got another book I'll be adding onto my possible ranks and what I make in another month.

Am I excited? Yes. Even though this isn't the first time I've done Indie (Spell of the Black Unicorn was my first Indie and I enjoyed everything that went with it), this is the first time I've done strictly eBooks, and they're selling.

It sort of makes a bad day at my day job easier to take. When I can say to myself “I'm not a bus driver, I'm an AUTHOR!” that sort of puts things into perspective.Vampire's Trill

Do You Read a Series?

Do you enjoy reading a series? I do. I prefer it to a stand-alone novel. It's what I write, and so that's what I enjoy reading. I want to get to know the main character/protagonist during the course of time. I enjoy the secondary characters, especially if they're quirky, or odd, or sexy. I hope that she/he doesn't become boring. I hate boring. I need him/her to find him/herself in some sticky fixes, and manages to get themselves out—maybe broken, hurt, in a hospital, narrowly escaping death.

I believe it was the Harry Potter series that got me hooked. Well, who can blame me? I remember reading the first one—you know, curious as to what everyone saw in this author's work. I had to see. I got done with that first one and had to get the second, the third and... well, I was hooked. I waited and waited for the next ones to come out—mind you, I bought the hard covers the day they released them (yes, I went to Wal Mart, and grabbed one of hundreds off the palate!)

I went on to read authors like Janet Evanovich, Charlaine Harris, and Kim Harrison—all of them have a series with the same main character, and the supporting cast, and whatever the author can come up with to keep you hooked and reading, waiting for the next one.

But, why do we get hooked on a series? I asked myself that and want to answer it in my own way. I think when you get into a series you've come to like the main character/protag. You know their personality, have some idea of what she's like, her views and temperament, and either you like those things in these MC's or at least you accept these things. She's become a sort of comfort to you, like a friend. You need her to tell you what's going on in her world—meanwhile escaping your own. That's how it works. Sometimes it's the place that is interesting, too. Well, no one will be able to hold a candle to Hogwarts Castle, but there are a few places I enjoy reading about.

Yeah, I think this is what it is. Like an old friend, you need to sit down and have a chat—well, she does all the talking, really. And you get to know all her quirky friends, some you like some you think are nuts, and others, well...

I've lately been reading Sue Grafton's Alphabet Mysteries. I bought several of her titles from a vendor at a local event (resale), and wanted to see if I really liked her writing, and the character. Well, I do. Now I find I've got to follow this author, and since there's a whole alphabet out there, I might be able to gobble these down quickly. Thing is, I've just about read through the G and so now need the next one, but I'm missing D. Damn!

When I created my series (I've got two, but as of now only one series has more than one title out there), I knew I needed a heroine who would resonate with the audience I was aiming for. She had to have some tough moments which had already happened to her, and many more to come. There is always at least one main mystery to solve, and one lesser one to resolve too, and a few other things... like men and romance. I'm always adding a new character. Sometimes they start out as being outrageous, and Sabrina isn't sure about them. But eventually they sort of wear on her. And really, the become her very best, most devoted friends, willing to back her up, do whatever they can to help her out.

Since I write fantasy, no reason I have to stay on the planet Earth. I've taken Sabrina to Dark World—where demons and vampires live, and lord over—and to another called Black Veil, where vampires rule (so really, do we want to go to other planets? Humm?)

Back to why I love the series. I remember closing a Harry Potter book at the end of the story and wishing it hadn't ended. I needed to see what happened after that. I wanted to be there with Harry, and his friends—such a wonderful world Rowling had created and it all seemed so real! I wanted to simply crawl inside the book, and somehow be there with them. That's what a series (or any well-written books) should have you feeling—somewhat. You've suspended your belief systems, have shared the joys, terrors, heartaches and triumphs of the main character and his/her friends. When this happens, then there's no question, you've made a fan for life.

So, do you enjoy a series? I'd love to hear about it.

Meanwhile, here's a couple links to my series. (Hah! You knew I would somehow use this to suck you into an ad for my own books, didn't you? You're so clever!)

Vampire Ascending

Vampire's Trill

Happy Birthday to Me Post

And Another birthday rolls around. Funny how it seems I'd just had one last year this time. I've never “dreaded” any certain birthday. 40 didn't bother me at all. Even 50 was sort of fun, as I had quite a bash for it—my husband had set up some secret things that surprised me. I'm thinking I should do something for my 60^th. I should call it my Jubilee Birthday. Have a parade and a party and... eh... I'd crash before 9:00pm.

But this one is not my 60^th, so I've got another year to plan that one.

Since I no longer have a publisher, I've had to get these books ready and put them out there as an Indie author. Which is okay. I'm in very good company.

So, I've got the first two books of the Sabrina Strong series up and available at Amazon. Vampire Ascending and Vampire's Trill. I'm taking a little break in action. I've been at this editing for weeks and I just need a break! But at some point in September, Vampire Nocturne (my steam punk) will be available for Kindle.

Vampire Ascending

I've reduced the price of Vampire Ascending to $1.99 (it had been $2.99 with my publisher). I think that's a fair price for a first book in a series, for anyone who is still interested in getting it. I've had many wonderful reviews for that book.

So, I'm going to go to lunch with my husband today. It would be nice if I came back home and found I sold a few—thanks!

What Makes A Heroine?

Well, last week I wanted to find out what makes a hunk for you ladies. I was surprised what the answer was and still, it was a great way to find out what women find attractive in a man. If it means he does the laundry or dishes, while looking good doing it, why not?

But today I'm going to answer my own question: What Makes a Heroine?

No one likes a dim-witted woman. I don't like seeing a woman walk out alone at night, unless, of course they're Buffy Summers, of course, and I know she can whip anybody's ass.

Buffy fighting Angel in season 2

When I created my Sabrina Strong, I needed her to have some realistic issues--like money issues--so that it made perfectly good sense that when offered to work for vampires, she couldn't turn it down. I mean, her biggest problem is keeping or even gaining employment. It would you too, if you were a touch clairvoyant and anything you touched, or came in contact would put you into a coma for a week.

While I enjoy other books in my genre, Sookie Stackhouse comes to mind. She has virtually the same problem as she is a telapath, and every man she might try to date she can hear their very thoughts. Sort of kills the moment when you know exactly what a guy is thinking about you.

I like Buffy because she did have a couple of falts, like falling in love with a vampire. Well, who wouldn't fall for Angel? And then she had to kill him because he became evil. That was a thrilling show, let me tell you. The build up of how they fell in love, had a few fights along the way, she had to fight and kill him. I got all tied up in the overwhelming grief over the fact she had to kill her boyfriend. And, of course, save the world, at the same time. That Josh Whedon, gotta love how he can blend humor with  horror, and know exactly how to hit the emotional bar juuuust right.

Sookie Stackhouse Books:

With Charlaine Harris's character, Sookie, we find a young woman who never has gone on a date, let alone had sex, and is introduced to both through Bill, the vampire. Their on/off relationship is steamy, wild, and at times she's fed up with it because she just winds up in the hospital, or gets beat up, or is staked. I think her first novels, Sookie is black and blue and bleeding all over the place. Sookie eventually goes from Bill to Eric, and then she's in and out of relationships with a werewolf, a tiger-were, and then back to Eric. NOTE: I have not read the last book, so do NOT tell me what happens, please!

Sabrina Strong Series:

My heroine of this series had to be strong willed enough to resist the vampires the best she could. In the first book Vampire Ascending, she certainly meets up with some handsome vampire dudes (Vasyl, Tremayne and Nicolas), and one shapeshifter dude (Dante Badheart). Who wins her heart in the end? Well, she falls for Dante. Resisting and later on rejecting Nicolas for the things he has done, or was part of abducting her best friend, Jeanie, who almost dies, and she asks the vampires to save Jeanie by turning her.

Sabrina is hired to find out who has killed Tremayne's life-time mate, in the first book. In the second book, she's involved in learning more about Vasyl, who has been seeking her--the sybil--for centuries. He saves her from a car wreck, takes a bullet out of her and proceeds to tell her all about why he has been waiting for her. And, because Dante has distance himself from her (because Tremayne has forbidden him from being intimate with her any more), she naturally becomes infatuated with Vasyl.

Her mission in this second book, Vampire's Trill, is to rescue Tremayne from imprisonment, and get him to his trial on Dark World. Easy? Not really. While there she makes a few enemies. Well, she sort of kills a designer pet and cuts the tails off a demon (he grows them back, but he's pissed). But they all return to Earth okay. But she is later abducted and tortured because Jeanie's mother wants to know where her daughter is. Jeanie's brother just wants to cut her up. Sabrina winds up in the hospital at the end of this book, and the two Mrs. Woodbine and son, Mark, are put in jail.

Meanwhile, Sabrina's guy troubles have mounted. New guy across the road, Bill, Gannon, wants to date her. Vasyl proposes, and Dante has died.

The third book, Vampire Nocturne, continues with Sabrina becoming Vasyl's bride, and then because she is still mourning her loss over Dante (who she still loved), he gives her time to grieve. But she learns that her cousin, Lindee, has disappeared, and when she goes to investigate, Sabrina winds up on a totally different world where vampires rule, in fact, Drakuyla (Vlad Teppes), is king and a number of other men want to become her lover, or taste her blood. I enjoyed witing this one where I place Sabrina into a world stuck in the Victorian age.

In each book I've manage to put Sabrina up against some nasty vampires who want to do her in, or taste her blood. I've always wanted to put the real Dracula into a story and Vampire Nocturne has him in there as the unlikely hero in the end, and my little surprise ending cures readers curiosity as to what is going on with Dante and that stone he gave her.

More adventures for my heroine is in store, so either check out those you've missed, or stay tuned for updates on the next book in the Sabrina Strong Series.

Curently, Lorelei is working on
fourth book in the series.

The Use of Highfalutin Words

"The ring's powers may have been compromised when Naamah accosted her." (from WIP)
~*~
I get the complaint from my husband that I use big words he just doesn't know the meaning of, and he'll skip over them. I just thought it was him. But I came across something in one of my reviews on my first Sabrina Strong series book Vampire Ascending, that I over-used the thesaurus, and they complained about authors who do this where they have to stop and look up words (I did get a 4-star review from her, despite her other complaints about it). Maybe I'm trying too hard to impress? I don't know.

If I'm doing dialogue I want my characters to sound natural. Some characters (vampires), are from another time all together. Like Nicolas, who is from the 16th century and from time to time uses out-dated words.

Truly, I had no idea that my vocabulary was such that others placed me in a category with authors I've grown to enjoy. You see, I've had the same complaint about certain authors myself. I remember reading Anne Rice's "Interview with the Vampire", and I would high-light some of those highfaluin words, and used them myself. I don't think learning new words should be viewed as such a bad thing. I understand someone not wanting to stop reading to look up a word. But you know, you might want to know that word just in case someone else uses it in another book, you think?

The following is an excerpt from chapter four of Vampire Ascending.  I hope you don't need a dictionary to help you along, but if you do, complain directly to me through the usual means (in comments,my gmail or facebook). (You may find a little of the influence from Anne Rice from this and other sections of my book. One other reviewer stated my writing "...delves into the gritty, violent, dark and sexual world of Anne Rice's vampires..." ~ Tony Martin, Northern Star 2011--I was so thrilled by his review!).

Before I could say something inarticulate, the waitress was back to take our order, and to give me one of her best acid looks, as though she hated my guts. I really didn't know why. Did she think I was his date?

Dismissing this little distraction, I went with the lobster, ordered the salad with French dressing, and rice, not potatoes. The waitress made a wine suggestion. Something from Napa Valley, and something I couldn't pronounce—even after she'd said it. Because she was being so snotty, I went with the opposite. I chose a slightly sweet champagne, (it had said “slightly sweet” on the wine menu). I'd learned from Jeanie, when you're with someone who tells you the sky's the limit, you go for the most expensive food and drink, and eat like you'll never eat again. I waited to see what Nicolas would order—or rather how.

The waitress turned to Nicolas. “And you, Nicolas?”

“I'll have the Real Red,” he said smoothly, as though he were ordering the best wine in the house.

I watched the waitress's expression. Smiling tightly, red lips curved up at the ends, she said, “Of course, whatever you wish, Nicolas.” She paused. Nicolas looked up at her.

“What is it?”

She cast me a strangely nervous look, and then flicked her gaze back on him. “Later tonight? You're place?”

“Eh . . .” Nicolas cut his eyes to me. “Not tonight. I'm . . . working.”

In a huff, she snapped up my menu and darted away. So quickly, in fact, I think she merely vanished.

“Is she your girlfriend, or something?”

“No.” He said forcefully.

“Really? I mean she really looked angry at you, and jealous of me.”

Nicolas' eyes had a strange cast to them. His gaze broke away from me for a second looking past me, then it slid back onto my face.

“Other than my needs, she holds no interest for me.” His fingers drummed absently on the table.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry,” I said, fingering the cutlery, and pulling it out of the napkin ring.

“She is a human donor. On occasion,” he added, looking distractedly at his cell phone readout.

“Yours, though?” I don't know why I cared.

“Eh . . . yes. One of my regular donors.” He breathed wearily. “She, like all of them, becomes slightly jealous of one another, or any other human who happens to be within my reach. It's so ridiculous, these human emotions.”

“But I'm not a donor. Right?” I paused just long enough to straighten the flat wear on my black linen napkin. “I don't want to donate my blood to you, or any of the others.”

“Never fear, Sabrina. You are a super-sensitive. You are not on the same level as a donor, or any of the other humans who work for us. You are more special.”

“Special. Because I'm a super-sensitive?”

“That, yes. But also because, you are my ward.”

“Ward?” I repeated. “What does that mean?”

“You are my responsibility while you are here, in Tremayne Towers. Plus, you live under my jurisdiction,” he explained patiently. “I oversee a one hundred mile radius. You are inside that area. Therefore you are my ward.” He paused. “It is difficult for you to understand as you do not know our world, our codes, and laws—yet. You do not know our ways. Because of that I must advise you in everything you do while you are with me, or among others like myself. You must do as I say, or—”

“Or?” I became wary now. I wasn't especially crazy about what he'd just told me, as if I now belonged to him, or something so eighteenth-century. My great-great grandmother had been an indentured servant. That's about what this felt like. I worked for them, therefore they owned me.

“You are my responsibility, Sabrina. Whenever you are at Tremayne Towers, or on an assignment, you will have to remember our rules do apply to you as well, and your being here requires the utmost caution. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes. Crystal.” I was so not liking this situation. “Am I in danger, I mean, if I wander off without you? Not that I would, but just in case there's a fire or something, I have to be prepared.”

“There are certain things that will help keep you from becoming an unwilling victim.”

“Okay,” I said hesitantly, leaning forward to listen on his every word.

“Never walk in front of a vampire.”

“Why?” I had walked in front of him when we came inside this restaurant tonight.

“The vampire will automatically become the pursuer. The fact that you walk in front of us can trigger the hunger centers. You must think of yourself as prey, and we the carnivore, if that helps.”

My skin suddenly crawled. I had figured there would be some perils in working for vampires. But this was very scary.

“So, what you're saying is the vampire behind me will want my blood?”

“That, yes, or—” he paused, eyes slipping shut briefly, then he blinked those obsidian pools open. His voice going lower in a seductive whisper, he said, “Our sexual cravings are equal. In fact they are dual needs for us. Any vampire who believes you may welcome his advances will pursue you. We are ruled by powerful primeval forces that cannot be ignored, or denied. Once we are locked into this roll of pursuer, we cannot easily be stopped.”

“You mean that I could be raped, or my blood taken against my will?”

“Believe me, Sabrina,” he purred low, his voice intoxicating, “it would take so little effort to make you think you wished to be bitten. Once bitten, your pleasure centers couldn't refuse more. Our pheromones are designed to set your human desires on fire and, and depending upon the vampire, on how well he can control it, he can make you become fatigued, listless, so that he can advance on you at his leisure. Or for some vampires, simply with a look can make you feel as though he had just made love to you without ever having touched you at all.”

I had lost the grip on my serrated knife and it clunked to the table making the exclamation point of my evening. I stared at him. His explanation gripped me like a cold hand around the neck.

“Another thing you must remember—and this is very important—do not look directly into our eyes. Eye contact makes you very vulnerable. It also is an invitation by you to be enthralled.”

Realizing I was staring right into his eyes, I dropped my gaze. This wasn't going to be easy. “Okay. No eye contact and I'll follow you from now on.” I flicked my eyes up. I realized his gaze had a rapacity of its own.

“You will be introduced to the others, in good time. My—eh—scent will be on you, and the others will know you are my human.”

“Hang on,” I said. “What makes you think I'll even take this job? Just my walking into this building sounds dangerous.”

“It pays fifty thousand a year. Plus bonuses. Much like the one I've just given you?” he reminded.

I nearly choked. “That's an offer I can hardly refuse,” I muttered. I spied the bonus check still on the table. I stuffed it into my purse.

“Exactly.” He smiled.

The waitress slithered back, ladened down with our food—well, mine, anyway. She delicately placed Nicolas' goblet down on a round, lacy paper doily. The goblet was dark glass—better not to see what was in it. “Your Real Red, Nicholas,” she said sweetly, almost as if she'd opened her own vein to fill it. She came around to me and served up my salad and lobster and all the trimmings, along with the champagne, and left us alone. It was a good thing I wasn't in charge of tipping her.

Starved, I began eating, while Nicolas sampled his drink, and set it down, his hand draped over the rim while it resided on the table. This would take a little getting used to, knowing I was having dinner with a vampire. Out of all my daydreams about someday meeting a vampire, I had never once envisioned this. ~© 2010 Lorelei Bell

He was so close....

"...I knew all it would take was his bite and I would be sailing on a forbidden ecstasy I could never reach with a human man. I wanted it. It was so close, and yet so elusive. It was like trying to touch a butterfly's wing, only to disintegrate before I could snatch it."

Vampire Ascending is dark and sexy with a touch of humor. I love how Lorelei has made the heroine a strong lead character. Sabrina Strong is a touch clairvoyant, meaning that when she touches an object or a person she can see into the past and future. It is because of this gift that she is hired by a master vampire to find out who killed his mate. Sabrina must also find out who took her best friend. With the help of the very sexy Dante ( a shape changer) she must set aside her fears to solve the mystery of the vampire killer and save her best friends life. ~portion of review by Vivienne Moss

My savior was a blood-drinking vampire, and that's what he'd probably been busy with when I'd called. I stifled my desire to bring this to his attention. Usually blood on the collar of a man might mean that he'd cut himself shaving. A vampire, on the other hand, blood on the collar would carry a whole different meaning all together.

“I'm sorry to be such a pest,” I apologized, sliding my chilled feet beneath the covers and pulled my knees up to my chest, hugging them to myself.

“You are not a pest,” he said around a small chuckle. He settled on the edge of the bed beside me. Grasping the covers, he pulled them up to my neck. I realized I was shivering as I gazed at him, letting out little nervous gasps. The erotic overtones of having him in my room were not lost on me. I wondered what might happen, since I had invited him in—and he wasn't leaving.

“You are cold,” he said, his face partially in shadow, the other half glowing in the light slanting in through my window. His pale skin was stark against his neatly-cut black hair, eyes, and brows.

I reached to turn on the light. He stopped me with his voice. “No. Leave it off . . . for now.”

I retracted my hand and settled it on top of the covers as I stared up at him.

“You are a temptation to me, Sabrina.” His voice was low, vibrating in my ears in a way that perhaps a cello might. Calm, sedate, and yet with the promise of something wonderfully exciting, and something wicked hidden beneath the beauty of this other worldly creature here in my room. I could hardly believe it was happening. But it was.

His chilly fingers feathered over my brow, moving strands of my hair away from my cheeks. Those same fingers slid down my cheek to the side of my neck, and paused at the pulse there at the jugular. My eyes slipped shut. Was he using his vampire charms on me to seduce me?

He released a breath.

Opening my eyes, I found he studied me in the dark, his hands slipping across the edge of my nightgown at the ties of the neck. I felt him loosen it, and spread the material open, availing my neck and the upper portion of my chest to him. My breath caught in me.

“Are you going to kiss me?”

“Yes.” He leaned in. “Do not move,” he whispered. His breath slipped over my skin as his head dipped down and I somehow not only held still but held my breath.

The face hovered over me . . . long, wavy black hair cascading down . . . I saw his face, stark against the black of his hair as he bit me on the arm . . . I thought he was the most elegant-looking man I had ever seen. Vampire Ascending © 2010 Lorelei Bell