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!

July Updates

This week has gone by slowly. I've slowed down time, actually. I'm not sure how I've done this, but it might have something to do with my not having to go into work, and I get a lot done in one day. I'm certainly not sitting and relaxing much.

Hope everyone had a good July 4th celebration, or whatever you do. We stay home. We don't like crowds, and it's very quiet here, and we grilled a couple of steaks. Been a while since we've done that with the cost of such things, but once in a while we treat ourselves. Besides, my husband's birthday is on Monday. He's told me he's turning 50 (again). I said if he was turning fifty again, then I should too.

I do feel MUCH better this summer than I did last. I was struggling with my weight, up until I began the Atkins diet. I've now lost 17 pounds! And I'm within 11 pounds of my goal weight (125). I have so much energy it's alarming. In fact, yesterday I worked on digging up a flower bed, moving large rocks and flagstone around--I began this around 7-ish in the morning, took a 45 minute break for lunch, and was back at it for another two hours. I built my little waterfall with the large flagstone, but that was as far as I got in getting this area ready. I later will put down brick for a walk way. I've wanted to do this for a long, long time. There used to be old railroad ties in the area where I've worked, and we pulled these rotting ties out, back in the spring. Now, this is my project, and I'm doing this by myself. The only thing my husband did was haul away the dirt in the mini cart hooked to the large mower he uses out at the park. Later that night I still had energy to cut up a chicken and fry it for Dennis' birthday meal (he doesn't know if he's going to take the 7th off or not--gets behind in the mowing out there in the park).

My raspberries have come on strong. One day this week I sprayed myself down with repellent, and went out and picked what might have been two quarts. Yum!

I've watched all the Harry Potter movies first to last. Now, I really need to work on my book. My beta reader, Jennifer Weydert now has a different job, and it's at the university. She's been able to find a little time to work on my 5th book. Hopefully, she'll continue to be able to find the time. But she claims that she loves this series, and can't really put it down.

As for the fourth book, Vampire Caprice, is now on Smashwords, if anyone is interested. Since my publisher quit the business, I've gone Indie, and I'm sorry, but I simply don't have the money to put out a soft-bound book for this. If I could, believe me, I'd do a hell of a lot better job than was done with that third one. I was actually happy that he quit, since he didn't give my third book his complete attention. My suspicion was that he was too busy publishing and promoting his own book. So, this was why he was so quick to allow me to use the book covers for all three books--he felt guilty.

Anyway, I'm working on the 8th book, working on the plot. I know when not to write much down into the main document, because I don't have a good grasp of the plot. I've had a few revelations, however--and have the plot twist--but I need the meat of it, and what sort of clues to drop and how. This is going to be a sort of Western, but it will still have fantasy elements. Maybe it's a little bit of Harry Potter, too, since I use a train ride in this from one place to another in Drakulya's realm. Oh, and she is back on Black Veil to help find Princess Aljhambra, who has been abducted by one of Drakulya's off-spring, Hawk--who HATES vampires. She's told they've threatened to kill her if Drakulya doesn't comply with their wishes. Which is to stop invading a neighboring country and taking humans. But Joha, Drakula's son, claims he is not doing this!

So, at the end of my first week off, I've got a pretty good start of getting things that need doing done. The outdoor work will get done, but I need a day off in between. I'll be posting once in a while in here, and when I can, checking out what everyone else is doing out there. In the meantime, I hope you're all fine and don't mind me while I'm in my writing cave.

WHERE'S THE BEEF? ( I'm Ranting Again)

There's a few people out there who are slightly fed-up, or have fallen out of "love" with blogging. Or, some of us just don't have time. You're into writing your book, not writing--or trying to come up with something to blog about. Case in point here's  Norma Beishir's blog , and she has a few suggested posts on the subject. I happen to agree with her. Blogging is becoming a time eating monster.

I've had the feeling I'm working my fingers to the bone for a while, for no reason but to ramble. I reach very few of you (there are a couple who respond here and come over to visit on facebook too), who are actually "followers", and some who are "fans" of my books. The rest of them, I have no idea why they come to my blog. Some are "anonymous" making comments hoping that their blog will be visited too (usually these blogs are ads).

Once upon a time,when I had a publisher (for a very short two and 1/2 years), I was supposed to post something on his blog every week--which I got him down to once a month (I simply didn't have the time for that blog and mine, and other things!). He said that quite a number of people stopped by his blog (it was in the five-figures), and I did get hits on my various posts. But this didn't translate to many actual SALES. That frustrated me. The same holds true here at this blog. I've had days where I've reached over 100 people. Sometimes it's in the hundreds. Are they even looking at my books over on the sideboard? No. No hits there, and no sales. So, what gives? Why am/are we doing this?

The question remains: WHERE'S THE READERS??? Well, they sure as hell aren't here in Blogsphere.

Sort of like the "Where's the beef" commercials. Let's face it, readers don't come to our blogs. Back around 2005/06, you may have read in Writer's Digest - and publishers believed this too - they suggested that blogging was the way to reach readers.

WRONG!
I believe that it was about the end of last year-maybe earlier--when we writers began to question this. Really question it.

Of course other writers come to our blogs. We go to theirs. That's about it. I'm not saying I don't appreciate the support, and especially those of you who have bought my books, left comments, allowed me to come and be on your blogs, and made revues on Amazon or Goodreads, whatever. I do. But the long and short of it is it's not where the money will come from in the long run to keep me doing what I'm doing and having to pay for the Internet, or any other expenses. It's actually a drain on our monthly income. I'm questioning if it's worth keeping it. Yeah. I am. My husband still supports me, and tells me it's totally up to me. We'll see when winter is upon us again, with the electric company upping their service 35%, starting this month.

Just a few weeks ago I was having trouble with connecting. I was told that my modem might be bad. I thought I was going to have to actually call the phone company and my Internet providers and tell them I wanted to cancel the service. Eventually I figured out the problem and fixed it (the stupid guy who I had to talk to for an hour trying resolve this told me this, but didn't make any suggestions except that I may have to buy a new modem). Thankfully, I didn't. I figured out what I needed to do and got it fixed all by myself--and somehow that worked.

But, I don't know how much longer I'm going to pay for this Internet and not get something in return. Until I can get a laptop computer (and find a way to reduce my monthly payments), I've gotta use this dial up (I won't go into a long explanation here why, but it's virtually impossible for me to get wireless for this desktop computer.)

I still have a lot of stories inside me. That's not the problem. Or, maybe it is, as far as trying to keep up with blogging. I find myself asking myself,  "Is it all worth it?" This past winter I re-found my interest in crocheting, and thoughts of doing crafts again--that's where I made money on a monthly bases, usually, when I was in a booth/store. It's all changed of course, since the '90's. Everything has changed! And I'm not sure I can keep up with the technology any more.

Back to blogging. I'm not keen on the idea of doing blog hops, you're not really gaining anything by doing them. Really. Unless all you want is a lot of followers who stop by and leave comments on your blog, which means you have to go and do the same with them. Great, if that's the case, and you've got a lot of free time on your hands that's fine. I don't. I don't know about you, maybe it's because you've got fast Internet, but I don't. I just don't have time to sit and wait for one blog to come up--might take ten minutes for it to come in fully and then to make a comment. I follow a few of you on a regular basis, and if I've time, I leave a comment, but I do read them via my email.

As you all know (who follow my blog), I've been trying to get a third read-through on this next book, Vampire Caprice done, so that I can publish it. I've just finished with that and sent it to my formatter. It's a long, freaking book--it's over 130,000 words! I don't think any publisher would want a book this long. But eff it. It's my book, and I'm going to do it. I've got the next one (#5) in the series waiting for me to work on that one, and the 8th one is trying to come to the forefront, and I've still to finish Dampire Legacy. Plus I've got a new work in the back of my head, making my notes for it!!! It's like I'm giving birth to a litter here! Possibly, if I ever get to retire (at this rate it might be at age 89!!!), I'll have time to work on all my little projects--if I live that long.

Okay, that's it for my rant. If you haven't changed the dial, you're free to do so. Have a good rest of your Sunday!

Contest for Giveaway!

Ah, here we are on the other side of the "long weekend". I hope all of you had a nice Memorial Day weekend. Mine was busy, but we won't go into that.

Today I'm going to give those of you out there who have followed the Sabrina Strong series an opportunity to win a PDF version of the fourth book. But you'll have to go to the facebook site Fans of Sabrina Strong Series in order to begin answering the questions I will be posting. You'll have to check it periodically, too. And I'll give you a heads up here at my main blog. See, I don't believe in doing those pesky things where you have to visit a whole bunch of places and "like" this or that. You only have to go to one site, and be attentive for the next few weeks, and answer the question. That's all!

I have one question up right now there, so you'll want to go there. Ah, this one's more a matter of GUESSING the correct answer, as there's no way you would know it since the question has to do with the fourth book, which isn't available yet. However, my next questions will have to do with the past books, in the next two weeks. At the end, I'll tally up whoever has the most correct answers, and will contact the winner.

Oh, and if you are not a member at this site, just make a request and I'll add you in.

Today I've got a short tidbit from Vampire Caprice. After you're done here, head on over to the facebook site, and hope to see you all there!

Fourth book in Sabrina Strong series

I couldn't take my eyes off of Niki and the other female vampire that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her. Feeling threatened, I picked up a rock and threw it. She ducked and it only grazed her shoulder. She looked down at where it had soiled her shirt, brushed at it, and then aimed a heated glare at me. “That was another favorite shirt you've ruined, bitch!” she growled.

“I was aiming for your face, actually,” I said, and only then realized I needed to take my damned glove off to control her, I pulled on the fingers of my right glove. I didn't get it off before I heard something shriek. I looked up in time to see Niki's fangs flash. Talon-like fingernails darted for me a millisecond later. However old this vampire bitch was I wasn't sure, but I did know that new-born vampires couldn't shift into any other creature. Hair grew on her face, her ears became more like a fox. She was shifting right in front of me. Oh shit!

The Making of a Villain

from Art of Fantasy site

When choosing the villain for Caprice, I had some excellent ideas come to me. Firstly, the invention of an Undead--whoa, not so fast, my dears. Vampires in my books are not true "undeads". My vampires have a very slow heartbeat. A true Undead is someone who has died and found a way to return in the flesh and has to "feed" a bit differently. 

Meet Priscus, aka "The Albino", aka "The Undead". In the book I explain a little more, and we do learn that the "undead" do not have to be like this multiple-thousand year-old "undead" who hunts the sibyl (aka Sabrina Strong), in order to feed on her soul. They can feed in other ways... and I'll leave that to you to discover when the book comes out.

The next step was to decide how he looked, and the above picture sort of popped for me, only Priscus has very long white hair in this, and pink eyes (thus the pink eyes on the cover). 

In the first mention of him in the book, Tremayne is approached by Priscus who hopes to feed on the soul of the lady which Tremayne is drinking blood from. I had to make this guy compelling and unusual.

Then I saw this photo and decided this would be exactly how Tremayne sees the Albino--in this position in a truck stop, and can't figure out who/what he is at first.

Of course, Bjorn Tremayne will always be the one constant character in this series where he's in the gray area of good/bad guy, which he is in this book.

Now, then, I am sharing another part of the book where you will see Priscus in action... sort of.

 Priscus aka The Albino aka the Undead

The white tail doe browsed in the long grasses along the Interstate. Head up, her ears perked attentively to some sound, or an awareness—aside from the constant sounds of traffic nearby. Being a creature of the earth, she sensed something was there. That alone spooked her.

Priscus slowed to human speed when he discovered the doe, and then slowed down to a stop, not ten feet from her. Since he had no scent he wanted her to see him, and she did. This had the anticipated and desired results. Her fear of the unknown had a particular pheromone that he could feed upon, but it wasn't nearly enough to satiate him.

Predictably the doe, upon seeing, him turned and bolted. Leaping gracefully, she sailed over the fence bordering the Interstate. Bounding along the ditch, her white tail like a great white flag in her wake. Priscus watched, and then followed her at his usual pace—too fast to be seen.

Traffic on I-80 moved along at a constant clip. Of course, Priscus was able to move at the speed of light. How terribly slow humans are! Hovering over the road, he paused to watch. Cones of light from the vehicles moved along the dark pavement constantly. The doe now traveled at less than half the speed of traffic. Fear bounded her directly into the pathway of two cars. When she made a huge leap and dodged the first car, which braked, another one zipped around her. Horns blared.

Delighted, Priscus chuckled and clapped his hands at the doe's agility, and sheer luck. He had set the stage—something he did when bored—and like always, it worked with the fantastic results of a fireworks display.

The doe had gained the relative safe-haven of the grassy meridian between the two strips of interstate, headlights spearing down either side of her. She continued along the strip of grass until she darted yet again into the dangerous east-bound traffic. Horns blared again. Would she be as lucky as she had been on the other side? Priscus patiently awaited the outcome, laughing at how the drivers veered wildly. One car drove off the pavement, into the meridian, and managed to swerve back onto the road, skillfully avoiding the deer.

Dismissing the car, Priscus' eyes surveyed the deer's progress. The distinctive sound of a semi's air horn blasted above the interstate noise. The sudden loud engine breaking alerted Priscus that an accident was imminent. The sound of the doe being hit was subtle; it was a thud of soft flesh, bone and sinew colliding against the metal brush pusher of the semi. He heard it as easily as though he were in a silent room, when the proverbial pin dropped. The impact shattered the deer's flank, snapping it's neck, killing it instantly. Were he desperate to feed on the innocent soul, he would have done so at this point. But why nibble on such inferior fare, when the main course was coming at last?

All this was fine, but it was the next series of events that Priscus was anticipating with relish.

Vasyl- from Vampire Caprice & Explanation of how I went about writing this book

Hello, my pretties. How are you all this fine day? We had snow yesterday. Yes, we did. Big huge flakes fell for about 3 or so hours. That was interesting, and depressing at the same time.

Oh, well. On to business.

Today I thought I would bring you a section of the book dealing with Vasyl, Sabrina's protector/husband/vampire. But before I get into this, I thought I would explain how I decided how I would write all these other character's POV in Vampire Caprice. I realized while writing it that if I didn't go mind-dipping into each of my main characters, this book would be extremely short... and basically boring. Well, except for all the sex scenes--tee-hee.

But seriously, if I stayed in Sabrina's 1st person voice the whole while, readers would not get the broad spectrum of the whole story--which wound up being each of these character's story. I had to figure out how I was going to do their voices. No. Not in first person, otherwise people would wonder who's head I was in. I wanted something different and, possibly experimental, but I've seen other writers write like this too. I went with 3rd person on each character, and dipped into their pasts (see below).

In this scene Vasyl discovers that Sabrina has been taken away by Tremayne, who has been able to keep him busy elsewhere while setting Sabrina up. So, I bring you a portion of that scene today. I hope you enjoy it! I'll try and get another one up soon from another character, and keep on bringing them up to and after I've gotten the book out. I am still working on a third read-through of the book, and hope to have this thing ready to go to Amazon in another week or so. It's a very long book, and I want to make sure it's solid before it goes to be published.

Also, from time to time I'll have individual snippets from the book at facebook group "Fans of Sabrina Strong Series, if you want to join me there and join the group, you only need to ask.

Vasyl

Sabrina's house came into view and he slowed, made a circle around the house about fifty feet above. Nothing seemed out of place, except, for Sabrina's missing presence—and her Jeep. Certainly she couldn't be staying over-night at her brother's house.

His indecision kept him hovering. The eastern horizon glowed orange-red and hastened his descent to the house and finally landed on the roof. He had no choice but to enter the domain and stay there for the duration of the day. He knew where the extra key was hidden, and entered. Inside he found the abode silent. The lack of a human heartbeat confirmed it: Sabrina was gone.

But the scent of Sabrina and two others still lingered. Sacrebleu! I should have known! One was a vampire, this he knew by the scent. His whole being sank in spirit, and dread filled him. This very scent had been on Sabrina from time to time. Bjorn Tremayne. The master who had hired her for his own dealings, and had nearly got Sabrina killed on a number of occasions. Vasyl had never met Tremayne, but he knew that scent anywhere. Tremayne had never been to her house, until now.

The other visitor was more difficult to determine. But he was neither vampire nor demon. He, she, or it didn't smell like a vampire or demon, or human for that matter. Perhaps he was something other, but he was not simply human.

Another more troubling scent was that of Ba'al demon. It was as strong. Possibly one, or all of them, had dealt with a Ba'al at some point during the night. Was the demon the danger? Surely, when it came to Tremayne, Sabrina never seemed overly frightened of the master, although she should be.

Vasyl prowled through the house, his dread and anger building. He stopped at the threshold of Sabrina's bedroom where the sliding oak door stood open. The bed still made. But scattered upon it were articles of clothing. Some were still folded, and others in a hap-hazard disarray upon the bed, as though gone through. Drawers were left slightly open.

Curious, he opened her closet. A number of hangers were bare.

It wasn't difficult to put together the scenario. “So, she left with Tremayne! The swine!”

Clenching his fist, Vasyl turned away. He could curse the magnate up and down until he was blue, but that would do him no good. He now understood what had happened. Tremayne had taken Sabrina while Vasyl had been detained by his minions all night. Vasyl believed it wasn't so much against her will since she had packed a bag. But Tremayne must have used extremely devious and persuasive measures. Who knew how bent he could get if he wanted something badly enough? He knew the master vampire had tried to woo Sabrina on a number of occasions. She had confided in him once about those times she had spent with him.

Vasyl wasn't sure what Tremayne's plans were with Sabrina, the sibyl, but he didn't like the idea she was with him. She was vulnerable to him, since he'd had her blood. The blood bond was strong, but it was only vampire-to-human. Vasyl's blood bond with her was stronger, since he had shared his blood with her twice, now. He was certain she had never drank any of Tremayne's blood.

Could he have tricked her into doing so? No. She was not a stupid woman.

He reached out again to find her. Sabrina's spirit was too weak to locate. She must have been miles and miles away. Too far away for him to get to her in a night's trip. And certainly not now with the sun rising.

Vasyl swore under his breath, ran fingers through his long hair, and strode into the kitchen. He stopped. The sun's rays were gleaming through the gaps of the kitchen curtains, glancing in off the table, and a few appliances.

To keep himself safe from harmful rays, he stayed tight to the wall, and angled to the refrigerator. Opening it, he looked for the one thing he knew would be inside. One black bottle of Organic Red. Vasyl did not always have need of bottled blood, but Sabrina always made sure she had some on hand, just in case, which was wise of her, but unnecessary. He had long ago made adjustments in feeding from animals, instead of humans, in order to look for the sibyl and not desire her blood. He'd had it, purposely, only once. Once was enough. The nectar of it was incredibly sweet, and it had given him a slight high, like a glass of very good wine for a human. A lesser vampire, should he drink even a small amount, would find it difficult to stop drinking the richness of her ichor-like blood. To spill her blood would be sacrilege to him.

Vasyl paused to consider why Tremayne would have taken her. He was a master who had lost his crown—so he was told. Tremayne was now considered a rogue. What would a rogue want with the sibyl?

Better yet, what would Tremayne want with Sabrina?

It didn't take him more than a few seconds to come up with the reason. He wanted to mate with her. His mating would fulfill the age-old prophecy.

“Two masters who are polar opposites in appearance, and beliefs, will seek the sibyl. She who holds the ring, and who has Knowledge. Two powers shall struggle to take over the new continent. The last sibyl holds the key. The descendant of the Watchers hold the seed, in the abduction there shall be salvation. Redemption shall overrule revenge. And a new race shall be born.”

“Sacrebleu!” In other words Tremayne knew of this prophecy too. Who would not look at these lines of the prophecy and not presume the two who were opposites were he and Tremayne? If he was successful, Tremayne might be reinstated as a master by the Powers That Be.

Vasyl let go a frustrated roar that filled the house. He picked up a lamp and threw it. It crashed on the floor. Tremayne was despicable!

He looked at the lamp he'd destroyed. He would buy her a new one. “Damn him to hell and back!”

Fourth book will be out soon!

Bill Gannon - Known Nephilim, Chasing Sabrina across the Midwest!

Hello, my pretties. I do hope all the mothers out there had a great Mother's Day.

As promised I've got another titillating piece from the up-coming Vampire Caprice.

I wanted to share a few pictures with you of the area that this book takes place. I had to snag a few from the Pikes Peak area to give you an idea of what it looks like, if you missed any of the other posts I did, here is a link to the last one "The Vampire Lair", and from this one you can hop over to the first one.

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs

Rockie Mountains, Colorado

Today I'm giving you a little of Bill Gannon's POV from the book. He's on the road, following Sabrina via GPS, he has sneakily put a tracker in her purse in order to follow her. He's quite desperate, you see, it's his life-long goal to seek the sibyl. Only she's not cooperating at all.
Well, here is the sneak peek into Bill's inner turmoil...

Bill

from Vampire Caprice

Bill awoke with a start. Sitting up in bed, he gulped in air. He ran his long fingers through strands of wavy brown hair that had fallen over his eyes. The sheets were soaked, and his shirt was off. When had I undressed?

More disturbing, his wings were unsheathed. An escape reflex. It had happened often when he was a child, after a nightmare. But never as an adult. Why now?

Shaking himself from the dream, and an inexplicable fear, it took a moment for Bill to recognize the motel room, and a few more seconds to remember exactly where he was. The lights from outside slanted in like a beam, where the curtains didn't quite meet in the center, and along the edges.

It took a full minute to remember what state he was in—Nebraska. Meanwhile, the dream still lingered with intensity, making it feel too real.

Yes, of course. The dream. It had come unbidden again.

“Celeste,” he murmured, still running his fingers through his damp hair, like it would help clear his mind of the dream that wanted to re-run again and again through his mind.

Why am I dreaming of her? Of that night...

He knew why, if he were honest with himself.

He shook his head wanting to rid himself of that particular memory. He felt like a dog with a flea in a spot he could not scratch.

Something softly touched him on the arm. He jumped, and glanced to his right. It was a secondary feather from his right wing.

He swore under his breath. Then chuckled lightly. Get hold of yourself, Bill. Reaching back, his fingers gently stroked his primary and secondary feathers. He found them slick with perspiration. He would have to let them dry before re-sheathing them. There might be a few that needed tending to as well. He may have bent them during a fitful sleep.

He scrubbed his face with his hands, feeling the stubble of his beard, and let out a frustrated hiss. Throwing off the sheets, he reached over and turned on the lamp near his bed. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he sought his slippers. They weren't there, of course. He hadn't opened his suitcase.

Dismissing the need for slippers, he padded his way into the bathroom. He had the distinct feeling someone was watching him, as soon as his bare feet hit the cold tile floor. His skin crawled with a sense of some unseen entity was there with him—something supernatural, something powerful. He flipped on the light switch and looked into the mirror, not at himself, but around the edges of the mirror. He flipped the light off . Then back on. Hadn't there been the slightest shadow of something there in the mirror? There were beings that could not be seen in this world, but hovered just beyond a thin membrane that could sometimes be breached. A mirror was their favorite conductive route into this world. They could harness it's two-way powers, if they were of a mind.

He switched the light off, exited the room, and shut the door. Hairs on his arms stood on end. He would not be able to retract his wings the way he was feeling right now.

He hoped the unseen being would move on.

Is it looking for her? This one question left his nerves on edge.

Fourth book in Sabrina Strong series
May 2014

The Vampire Lair

Hello, my pretties. Yesterday, if you recall, I put up a post explaining where the majority of my fourth book takes place--in Colorado Springs, and surrounding area. If you missed it, check it out here. I've put up some pics to help you with visuals.

I'm going to be posting some excerpts from Vampire Caprice this week and next, up to and beyond when I get this thing published. I'll have something from Vasyl, something from Rick, and something from Bill and something from my evil-doers.

So, without further eloquence... the scene:

The Lair

When we finished eating, Chris asked if I still wanted to go with him down to the Springs tomorrow.

“I'd like to, but I'll have to see if it's alright with my boss.” I stood with my plate, and stepped out to help him clear the dishes.

“What's alright?” The voice came from the other end of the kitchen, behind me. A spot that I hadn't even considered. I looked toward the steps I'd taken upstairs earlier. The large frame that belonged to Tremayne stood next to that gliding stairway, in the portion that went down. To me it looked like a dark hole. Obviously he had come up from the “lair”. I thought this odd since when last I saw him he was reading in the front room.

“Uh, that I take the day off tomorrow and do what I want?” I said with a hopeful edge to my voice.

“Oh,” he said. “We'll talk about it. Come downstairs when you're finished. Have a night cap with me.” He turned, and I watched his golden head disappear down into the “lair”. A nightcap? With a vampire? With Tremayne. I didn't like the sound of it and a chill ran all the way up my spine.

“I gather that's the vampire lair?” I said, feeling a little more than petrified about going down there. Especially with Tremayne.

“It's nice. Really,” Celia said. “There's a wet bar down there, couches, a fireplace.”

“Vampires,” I added drolly.

“Technically only one vampire right now,” Rick said. Oh, that's helpful.

I slid my eyes to him and pressed my lips, giving him a WTF look. Tremayne was certainly one vampire that I wasn't all that sure I wanted to be alone with again, after that near miss the other night.

With dinner finished, I helped Chris load up the dishwasher, and tried to dawdle as much as I could, putting it off with Mr. Tremayne.

Rick was playing Wii with Celia in the living room while I made small talk with Chris. Five minutes later Rick came in to get a beer. “Haven't you gone downstairs yet?” he said in an exhaustive voice, like I was being a naughty child.

“No,” I said. “I'll be alone with him.”

“Oh, pl-EEZ!” he said. “You guys were pretty comfortable the other night.”

I caught Chris looking at me from across the room. I could think of nothing to say in my own defense. It was obvious to Chris that I was probably Tremayne's squeeze on occasion, and not just his employee.

I was between the proverbial rock and hard place. I couldn't stand the guilty feelings, and the looks I was getting from Chris, and Rick was not helping matters.

“C'mon, Brie,” Rick said. “He just wants to have a drink with you and talk.”

Maybe it was the inflection in his voice, implying that I was being silly, and Tremayne had no ulterior motives in mind, but I caved. The voice inside my head said, You're gonna kick yourself... later.

Without a word, I stepped over to the entrance of the lower section of the house. There were lights on down there, they just weren't very bright. Holding on to the railing, I descended into the dank vampire lair. I had to block images from events bombarding me. It was like walking through a cloud of images each one clawing for supremacy. I had to pause to stabilize my chi and keep from having a massive synaptic over-load. A lot of human-vampire orgies had taken place down here. What was one more? Shut up!

Soft music drifted up to me. It sounded like sexy jazz. Crap. A few steps down, I found myself at the bottom and now faced a French door with a sheer curtain over it. As though on automatic pilot—or under a vampire thrall—I grasped the brass door latch, opened it, and stepped through, quietly closing it behind me.

“Hell-o?” I sang.

“In here,” Tremayne called from somewhere deeper. I smelled exotic incense, or maybe candles burning. Okay, sexy music and candles. This wasn't good.

The Vampire Lair, Colorado

In Vampire Caprice,  Sabrina has really got herself in a bind with Tremayne. She has gone with him all the way to Colorado in his car, trying to out-wit demons who have been hunting her. Problem is, she doesn't realize this whole thing is being set up by Tremayne in order to take advantage of the situation.

Colorado

The views are grand from the mountain get-away, and it's easy to understand how one might get overwhelmed by it all.

The cabin belongs to a vampire named Lonny Pennyweather, and he is in charge of a handful of vampires who also live there, along with a few humans, and one werewolf named Chris. I've collected some pictures of a house that was for sale in that area. I don't quite like the interior, but I used some ideas from it.

Here is a view of the "floating" stairway--going up.

The following picture could very well be Sabrina's room.

from White Pines Cabins, Oregon, IL

And this next one would be the "deck" where they (humans) eat.

Anyway, I chose Colorado Springs for a reason. I've been there on a few occasions, and have been to a number of places, including Garden of the Gods, and Cave of the Wind, both places where Sabrina will be going. I've researched and worked in as many places as I could, including Manitou Springs, another spot where Sabrina goes to, and Pike's Peak--actually Vasyl winds up on top of Pike's Peak while trying to locate Sabrina.

Manitou Springs

Tomorrow I'll have a scene from Vampire Capric--The Vampire Lair.
Until then, take care.

Vampire Master, Bjorn Tremayne... what the heck is he up to now?

Fourth novel in the Sabrina Strong series
due out in May 2014

Hello, all my lovelies. Well, you know I'm about to release the next book in the Sabrina Strong series--

About dang time...

--and I was thinking I need to give you all a preview, let you get to know the characters, or re-acquaint you with some of them. Because of the way I've written this book, you will get to see inside my main characters, Vasyl, Bill, Tremayne, and Rick, the leprechaun, plus a few more as well.

Today let us take a look at Bjorn Tremayne. You know, he's become a rogue? And his scrambling to keep whatever wealth he has left from being frozen by the new master of the realm. Well, let us just have a peek, shall we? Bjorn has just come back from his night of feeding. He's managed to talk/scare Sabrina into coming with him, in order to stay ahead of demons who are after her (she has a bounty on her head).

“So, you didn't answer me. How did your night go? Or do I want to know?” Rick said from his spot on the couch, feet on the coffee table. He turned down the volume of the television with the remote.

Bjorn shot a frown at the leprechaun's feet, then softened. This wasn't his place... Why should I give a fuck if Rick is comfortable?

“It was nearly a bust,” he said on a heavy sigh, running thick fingers through his hair. He paused near the kitchenette. Frustration from the need to feed and have sex with the woman he'd captured—but couldn't because all hell had let loose—had him wanting to rage on someone, and the only available person was the leprechaun. Could life suck more right now?

Brown eyes stared up at him. Leprechauns and vampires did not mix well. His decision to bring Rick along at all was because he was the only magical creature he could cajole and bribe to do what he needed. So far, things were going fine. He reminded himself it would take time.

Rick flicked off the TV. “Really? Why? What happened?”

Bjorn stared a few more seconds at him. Making up his mind to tell him, he walked over and settled into an arm chair. Leaning forward, fingers laced between his knees he said, “You ever hear of someone named Priscus?”

“No. What is that? A man or a woman?” Rick asked, frowning.

“A man. Or he looks to be a man, but what he is exactly, I don't know.”

“Wow. No kidding? But no, never heard of any one by that name.”

“How about an albino?”

“An albino?” Rick drew his feet off the coffee table and sat up with a concerned look on his face. His feet couldn't quite reach the floor and hung about four inches above the green carpet.

“Does that ring any bells?”

“What was he? Another vampire?”

“No. Not precisely. Not like me, anyway. He wanted to know if I was going to drain the woman I'd captured.”

“Why? Did he want to share?”

“No. Not in the way a vampire shares a meal. He said he was going to feed on her life force—I took it to mean her soul. He wanted to know if I was going to drain her so that he could feed on her soul.”

“Holy crap!”

Bjorn rubbed the back of his neck, long blond hair falling down into his face until he tossed it back. “And then, when someone came along, he vanished.” He shook his head. “I've never met up with anything like him before. He moved faster than a vampire. Even I couldn't see when he moved from one position to the next. So, most of the time, he held very still, as though he wanted me to be able to see and speak to him.”

“Wow.”

“You've never heard of such a thing?”

“No, but I can make some calls in the morning,” Rick said.

Bjorn nodded. “I'll take watch. You go and get some sleep. In the morning, you take Sabrina over to that restaurant and get some breakfast. I'll leave some cash for you for meals and buy something at the gift shop, if you want.”

“Alright.” Rick slowly slid off the couch. “You have some destination in mind? I mean we aren't just wandering nomads, are we?”

“I'm working on that,” Bjorn said. “I'll let you know. For now, just get some sleep. You're on duty all day tomorrow.”

“Right. Good night,” Rick said as he slipped off the couch. He made his way across the room.

“'Night.”

Now, you see he has a problem, and he doesn't know if it's a large one, or something that he'll be able to handle. But these little problems are mounting. He needs to check in with his right-hand man Nicolas to find out what that witch, Ilona, has been up to while visiting.

Bjorn sat back in the chair, wondering where Nicolas was at the moment. In his own suite, he supposed, in his robe and either drinking Real Red, or had one of his paramours handy.

“Five of her very elite arrived today.”

“Five? All vampires?”

“Yes.”

“Do we know them?”

“One of them is J.C. Durmont. The others are lesser in rank, but notoriously deadly.”

Bjorn's lips curled. JC Durmont was a heavy in his brother's select sentinel. A 215 year old vampire who was—had been—his brother's right hand man. He stood six-seven, looked like an ogre, and was built like an oak door—he was the same thickness from his huge feet to his huge head. One thick brow caterpillared across a heavy brow. What he lacked in intelligence he more than made up in brutish strength. Automatically, the memory of the one time he'd challenged JC to a sparring match to see what he was made of came to the forefront. The bastard had nearly killed him—he was enormously strong and had Tremayne pinned with his razor-like teeth embedded into his chest (for some reason the idiot like to bite the chest—which was the only thing that had saved Tremayne—his teeth would have sawed his head off if he'd bitten him in the neck), and Erik, who controlled JC, held off telling the ogre to stop, just to prolong his embarrassment, and teach him a “lesson” in who had the stronger sentinels. Tremayne had to cry uncle before Erik would call his dog off.

JC was Ilona's lap dog now. How the hell had this happened?

“This is not good news,” Bjorn said out loud.

“She is calling you an outlaw,” Nicolas added. “She's making it a public statement to the Powers that Be.”

“Well, fuck.” Tremayne shifted in his chair. To be labeled an outlaw meant that she had the right to legally—within vampire law—freeze his assets (those in the United States). He would have to act and fast.

“What is it you wish to do, Sire?”

Tremayne closed his eyes and breathed out, counting to ten. It helped to hold back the scream of rage he wanted to make. He didn't want to wake or alarm his companions. “You remain stationed as you are. I'm going ahead with plan A.” As he had been doing, and so far everything was going smoothly.

“Is she with you?”

“Yes. Of course.” Tremayne's brow flicked slightly at the way Nicolas had avoided using her name. So, Nicolas no longer brooded over the sibyl. Sabrina was now a “she” to him. Had he written her off that easily? I wonder. For Nicolas to become worked up about any female—human or vampire—was unusual. But then she was the sibyl. Nicolas had desired Sabrina to be his, before they knew what she was. Tremayne wanted Sabrina, and denied Nicolas to make any move on her. Once Tremayne learned she was the sibyl—well, only a master could rightfully claim her. The fact that Vasyl had swooped in before Tremayne was a big annoyance. So, he'd concocted a plan. So far the plan had worked. Getting Vasyl away from the house, using a distraction, had been his idea from the beginning. No need to involve anyone, except his minions who did his bidding.

“How did you get her away from him?” Nicolas asked, pulling Tremayne out of his thoughts.

“Sent in my sentinels.”

“All of them?”

“Of course. Vasyl is as strong as I.” He knew that a few of his minions had given their lives for him, which is part of a sentinel's job. It was enough of a distraction to hold Vasyl at bay, while Tremayne took Sabrina away. Three had perished—he'd gotten a text earlier about it—that left him with ten in his sentential. They had done their job.

~*~

A yawn escaped Bjorn, and he closed his cell phone. The drive had been tedious, and now these last minute details to take care of, trying to avoid being left penniless when Ilona worked toward a take-over because he was deemed a “rogue”, had drained him the rest of the way. A nap was long overdue.

Long steps took him into the hall. He paused, looking down the hall where his two humans bunked. Correction, one leprechaun, and one V.I.P. Was she was asleep? He closed his eyes, reached out and was able to ascertain she was into REM. Good. I came too close. Too damned close. He had to stay away from her—not touch her like that again. At least not yet. He had to keep telling himself her blood was off-limits, as much as he longed for it.

How he would do that, while sitting right next to her, as he drove eight-hundred miles, and not want her so badly he could go mad, was beyond him.

Well, you see what I mean? He's getting in a little deeper as he goes along. Sabrina's blood is something he can't keep his mind off of--well, that and having sex with her, something he has been wanting to address for a long, long while, and he thinks he's got a perfect plan. Do you wonder if he can have his way with her, and not kill her, this time? Not only that, he will have to out-wit the Mystic Ring, which can thwart most vampire thralls. Hmmmm....

Vampire Caprice will be out this month--we are crossing our fingers!