The Vampires Have Got To Go

Please note: If you have landed here from a bookmark and thought you were headed somewhere else,  your post isn't gone forever its just been moved... click here: Vampires Don't Cry to get to the proper blog;)

Its not that we don't love the Vampires, but frankly it has become very confusing around here!  Ten years ago when I started to write the first book in the Jamie Leith Chronicles, it seemed to become my life's ambition to get it completed. It was the only ship on the horizon as it were. 

Then I discovered the amazing world of self publishing, and saw the chance to introduce readers to all of the other genres I have floating around in my head.  I began to collect all the other writings I have stored up and suddenly I have collections!

• Caledonii; The Roman invasion of Scotland, in fact and fiction.
• My "How To" books; how to write a zombie novel, a vampire novel, publish on Kindle, etc
• My recipe books like Soup Yourself Thinner.
• And most recently, my collaboration with April L. Miller first in the Reset Sci-Fi series, and then in the Vampire High School series.

Suddenly this wee blog that I started to chart the progress of my Jamie novels became crowded with all manner of strange characters as I shared my excitement at each new release...it became VERY confusing!  I have decided to claim it back!  The Jamie Leith Chronicles are still alive and well, I am more than halfway through book two and planning extends all the way to a book four (we have to get Jamie to Darien, Georgia so he can help the Scots invent the modern world;). I need to keep room here for all the updates to come.  SO- I have sorted out the beasties from the history and thrown in an all purpose author blog for good measure~

We've decided to call our "vampire realm" Vampires Don't Cry and have settled all our collaborative vampire works, updates, news and quirkery at the Vampires Don't Cry Blog and hope that you 'Vampire Fans' will follow us there as well.  Vampires Don't Cry will itself be a series- a continuation where Vampire High School leaves off- which we'll hopefully reveal in 2014.

There is also a new Ian Hall Author Blog where I wax lyrical about Scotland, writing, Zombies, Sci-Fi and everything else that doesn't fit one of the other two categories, I hope you will stop in there as well. 

And finally, stay tuned here for more of Jamie's adventures...he's a live one that lad, last I checked in on him he was back in Scotland getting to know a lost king...

Americans and the Family Castle in Scotland

Fast (Fause) Castle, Berwickshire, Scotland

I’m Scottish, and I’ve lived in the USA for twelve years. I know my place of birth (Edinburgh) and that of many of my past generations (Ayrshire). It was important to me to know my roots and Americans like to know their origins too. In fact most Americans Ive met are quite keen to know and share their heritage. That’s why when they hear my accent they introduce themselves with the full handshake; “Hi, Troy Haffenberger III, third generation Dutch/Swedish/Irish, from Leningrad!” although there’s not a trace of anything but cold midtown Kansas City in their own mid-western brogue.

As I’ve spoken to thousands of Americans, I'v found that one subject rises to the surface more than most- the Family Castle. I’ve run into it a hundred times. “Oh, we visited Scat-land, and been to Edin-borg, and we visited the Family Castle”, as if you’d just turn up at the front door and demand a cup of coffee and a bed for the week. I mean, come on, not everybody lived in a castle. Well, maybe all Americans did. I digress.

Fast Castle. The drawbridge area is still identifiable, and part of the north wall.

Even after discovering this amusing American quirk, I still considered myself fairly content with my status as a castle-less European. Until last week, when I got a taste of my own medicine. I was browsing Wikipedia, looking at pictures of castles, when I came across Fast Castle, (Fause castle) just north of Coldingham, near the Scottish/English border.

Owners: The Hall family.

Crap. My pet peeve had actually raced behind me and kicked my own butt; I’d actually found my own Family Castle. Now, okay, there’s just a couple of walls left now, but I’ve been to others and never felt the connection that I do to these two bare walls and a piece of rock pointing out into the North Sea. But stories point to the owners dark, nefarious deeds; back in the 1500’s leaving the light on, and encouraging ships to their doom on the rocky shores below, where the wrecking crews patiently gathered. Great information for a historical writer.

One day, I'll go back to those lonely Berwickshire cliffs, and like every true American; visit the family castle.
Beware, you have been warned; this castle will be in one of my books… one day. Watch out for it.

Ian Hall
http://www.ianhallauthor.blogspot.com/

Accuracy: Getting the Facts Right

 

Yes, for once there's no pic of old, dead people..... just me, with one of my young fans (Shayne) at a great book signing. You see, when I read a book, or watch a movie ('film', sorry folks back home) I'm constantly drawn out of the plot by bad continuity, bad acting, stupid plot-lines, or by the bane of my existence... inaccurate history. It wastes the film/movie for me.

Yes, I'm a writer.
Yes, I write historical fiction.
But I'm also a fan of FACTS.

In any of my books, from the 600 page Opportunites: Jamie Leith in Darien in the picture above to our Vampire High School series, accurate facts are researched for almost every paragraph. In my latest book,  A Connecticut Vampire in King Arthur's Court , I bring the two together- vampires and history.

But just because I'm writing in a genre that a lot of people dismiss as 'mush', doesn't mean that the story isn't good, or that the history is not researched. On the contrary, I think I over-research it. Apart from the vampire... every main or sub-character in the book is real; researched, and actually existed. Every town is real. Every historical fact, every action, every house, palace is real. The timeline of my plot is historically accurate to the day, even the hour. I maybe write for an hour, and 'research' for another.

Wikipedia is fantastic, but I've also got an extensive library at home, with many books on the period. When it comes down to it, I want you to be so immersed in my books that you never want them to end. That makes it all worthwhile.

Okay, my rant is over, I'm going back to Christmas Day, 1501.
Have a great day.

For more information on my writing process as well as other rants, please visit my main blog:
Ian Hall Author Blog

If you would like to hear more about the Vampires:

Vampire Don't Cry Blog

Queen Isabella: Columbus Backer and Mother of Catherine of Aragon

Taken from a larger painting, this is Queen Isabella of Spain, quite a woman by all accounts.
She backed the voyage of Christopher Columbus.
She forced the Muslims and Jews either out of Spain, or to convert to Christianity (the invading Muslims gave the Spanish a similar choice, centuries before, but their alternative wasn't exile, it was death.)
And she gave birth to Catherine of Aragon, the wife of both Prince Arthur, and his brother, King Henry the Eighth.
I've been doing a fair amount of research for my new novel "A Connecticut Vampire in King Arthur's Court", and I can only marvel at the lives these powerful people led.
And let's face it, compared to many portraits of the day, Queen Isabella is portrayed as a good looking woman.

Her daughter, Catherine, above, takes that beauty and drapes it in mourner's black for the untimely death of Prince Arthur, Prince of Wales.
In my book, I find Prince Arthur a sickly fifteen year old, but with a name meant to unite England again, and a marriage to the top Princess in Spain, this union was meant to cement relationships, not hinder them.
By the time Prince Henry was fifteen, he lusted after his old sister-in-law so badly, he had to marry her.
Despite King Henry's many affairs, Catherine was pregnant six times, but only once did the child pass the six-day mark; the Princess Mary, who ruled England after Henry's death; the original Bloody Mary.
Research unearths many nuggets, and good books are made of them.
Come see me at; http://www.ianhallauthor.com/

FREE Vampire story on Amazon Kindle

"Behind the Masque" FREE download, Valentine's Day 14th Feb.
YES! The legend of Cinderella is re-worked in a new vampire story, then shamelessly given away for free to coincide with a commercially based excuse to sell greetings cards, chocolate, and furry teddybears holding red hearts.
(Wow, Ian, why don't you get off the fence and tell it as it really is?)
You'd think we'd thrown away our literary pride, burned our university robes, and sold our souls to the very devils we write about... but you'd be wrong.
You see, giving away our Cinderella-esque vampire story for free on Valentines weekend (14th, 15th, 16th Feb) is actually a fiendish plot to introduce a new strain of flu vaccine to an unwary public, far too interested in Beyonce's newest boyfriend to notice or care.
(Whispers from off-stage... "Ian you can't introduce flu vaccine with this FREE vampire story giveaway.")
("Why not?" I ask. "After all, we're hoping to give away thousands of FREE giveaways and get the flu vaccine to millions of countries!")
(Whisper from off-stage... "Because it's an electronic download, Kindle, eBook, you freaking lunatic/idiot/magalomaniac!!")
(I straighten my tie, do the flexy/clicky thing with my fingers, clear my throat, and continue...)
But we have a fiendish plan. Not quite as fiendish and cunning as Baldrick's plans, but we have tried to work 'turnips' into the blog more than once.
"What?" I ask you. "I've only mentioned 'turnips' ONCE so far? Curses!"
But back to the FREE vampire story giveaway.
We've added the first FOUR chapters of our Vampire High School series to the FREE vampire givaway.
"What value!" You chortle. "These guys are amazing!" You enthuse...
(You are the nicest audience!)
So, to conclude... this weekend... 14th, 15th, 16th Feb 2013, there's a FREE vampire Cinderella redux Kindle giveaway. With four FREE chapters from our Vampire High School series.
Available here;
http://www.amazon.com/Behind-The-Masque-ebook/dp/B00AIQENGI/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1360686503&sr=8-4&keywords=behind+masque
You'd be crazy to miss it.

Modern Zombies Only Please, Pre-1929 Need Not Apply.

Having done a fair amount of research for our book "The Zombie Bible", I'm quite amazed that popular culture has fed us with so much dis-information regarding the ominous and shuffling "Living Dead".
So to clarify, here's the history;
"Zombie" is a modern adaption of a Haitian word (Zonbi or Nzumbe). Time magazine claims the original official use of the 'modern' word to be in William Seabrooke's 1929 novel, The Magic Island.
When Victor Halperin directed The White Zombie, in 1932, the name was permanently etched into modern Hollywood history. The film starred Bela Lugosi, of course.
So, the Victorian grave above, so often labeled with a 'Zombie' tag, is far removed from any such possible references to the modern view.
As a preventative against vampires, maybe.
As a precaution against corpse re-animation, Mary Shelley-esque, quite possible.
But as a definitive defense against 'Zombies', sorry, the facts don't pan out.
In actual fact, the headstone in the picture seems to be quite ornate, so the addition of a cage to prevent thievery is far more plausible.
Anyway...
For a modern take on Surviving the Zombie Holocaust as a Zombie, take a look at "The Zombie Bible". Only 99c on eBooks, and available on paperback on Amazon Stores.

Modern Vampire Warning in Serbia

A Blood-lusting Vampire is on the loose in Serbia.

Yeah, when local papers carry stories about vampires, they’re laughed at, or at least given a polite condescending smile. But when a story makes it all the way to the AP (Associated Press) and is on the USAToday website, you’ve got to give it a closer look.

In Zarozje, western Serbia, the town council has given out an official vampire warning.

The story of Sava Savanovic is a Serbian legend, a fairy tale, like Robin Hood or King Arthur. But the Serbs take Sava very seriously indeed, indeed claiming that the man was the very first vampire.

Centuries ago, Sara lived in a mill, and drank the blood of those who came to mill their corn.

The mill was bought by an enterprising man who showed tourists round the ruins in daylight. No one dared stay there at night. The mill owner never maintained the property, fearing that any alteration would curse him forever.

People in the region have indeed died in strange circumstances, but none have claimed to have seen the vampire at work.

When the mill fell so far into disrepair it fell down, the warning was raised.

Sava Savanovic was on the loose, driven from his home, in search of new digs.

Full story here;

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/12/01/vampire-serbia/1739615/