Weekly Recap (And Details On Two Giveaways!)

I won't lie– I totally got caught up in the whirlwind that is releasing a new book last week. I can't help it! I got excited! At least I did get some other projects done, though:

• More edits for Midnight Sky

• Format Storm Born and Damnation's Door

• Promote Crimson Sky

• Write my entry for the Mocha Memoirs Steampunk Horror anthology

• Complete and edit the final Blood Moon story (I'm a week behind! Eek!)

That being said, I have a lot of editing work to do over the next month. Because of it all, I don't think I'll be able to get many of my daily word counts in. Oh, I'm not going to stop writing (that would actually be the craziest thing I've ever heard), but I'll be focusing more on two new and different series' (details below). Most of my time will be to finally finish the following:

• Complete Beta edits for Midnight Sky

• Format Storm Born and Damnation's Door

• Continue to promote Crimson Sky

• Edit and post the final Blood Moon story 

In the week that it's been out Crimson Sky has been doing fantastic. It's gotten tons of five star reviews (including one today!), lots of general interest, and currently has two giveaways going on! One of them is on One Book Two, and the other just started on Goodreads today! 

All these beauties will be given away with some bonus swag! 

While promoting Crimson Sky is my top priority right now, I'm going to be sorting out my days so I have time to finish the editing and formatting I'm falling behind on. I'm hoping to have all of it– the formatting for Damnation's Door, the Beta edits for Midnight Sky, and the editing/formatting for Storm Born done by the end of the month. A lofty goal, but I hate feeling like I'm behind on something (even though I might not be). I've learned how quickly deadlines can roll around and pile up, and I don't want them looming over my head when I could be moving on to new/other projects. 

Speaking of new projects, I think I'm steadily figuring out the new issues with my Areios Brothers series. I've given a few characters new purposes, shifted things around, and now I just need to do a little re-plotting and re-writing. The characters and general story will be the same, but my issue was having characters who didn't seem to have a purpose, or introducing things that didn't matter in the long run. This new direction should be a lot sharper and crisper, and I think only the first book will have to change the most. I'll need to tweak the second and third, but once I have a clearer direction for Derek and Liam's adventures, I'll be able to move onto the fourth book and hopefully start releasing the first book in spring next year.

That being said, since I need to write new words or at least prepare to write something in case another project falls apart (I'm looking at you, Derek and Liam, you are so lucky I adore you both), I want a backup plan. For anyone who's been following the blog for a long, long time, you might remember me once mentioning a littler series called Agents of Limbo, a series I adore and have left alone for too long. I'm happy to announce that I've decided to pick it up again, or at least start planning it to go into its new direction. Rather than having my protagonists– Leon and Jace– be half-human, half-vampire, I'm going to put them in a new world where they're half-angels surrounded by half-demons. This might sound like a mishmash of Supernatural and my own Cursed series, and it's true that I did draw inspiration from both, as well as Rob Thurman's Cal Leandros series, it's not going to be the same. I'm a firm believer that authors should draw inspiration from what they love and what they know, so while readers will find similarities, I intend to make the series as different as I can. Sure, Leon has a bad attitude and a fast muscle car, but I can pretty much guarantee that few urban fantasy characters can do what he can do, and fewer still can do what Jace can do. I'm absolutely thrilled at the chance to get back to a series I adored, and am excited to start planning it in a new world. 

So, yes, once again I'm probably taking on way more than I can handle (I can see my best friend shaking her head right now), and probably won't get to all of if by the end of the month, but as long as I get most of it done, I'll be happy. So now, it's time to get back to work! Hope everyone enjoys their Monday! Cheers!

Amy

Monthly Goals: June

Summer's officially here! Well, I say it is, because there isn't snow on the ground. I don't care what other Canadians say– we only have two seasons up here: summer and winter. At least the good one has arrived. For me that means that I'll have more of a chance to write outside. It's one of my favorite things to do, and I find I can get a lot done when I'm relaxing outdoors. June is a pretty easy month for me, so below is the list of things I'm going to try and accomplish in the next month.

Hollow Hill is being sent out to a fellow author from a community I'm in. She's going to give it a review and play the role of a story editor. Once I make any changes she might find necessary, I'll be sending it out to a fantastic copy editor I've found. I basically just submitted some questions to him, and was very pleased when he got back to me efficiently, gave me honest, professional advice and was still willing to help. I really look forward to working with him in the future and think it will help my work a lot. I won't lie– I have a minor fear of editors. Everyone sees their story through their eyes. I'm proud of my work on Hollow Hill and want to release it so badly, but I also understand that I want to release the best product I can. It's not going to please everyone, but I'm going to do what I can to make someone accept/buy it.

Which leads me to Needfire. You've all seen the cover (and if you haven't, it's right here), and hopefully I'll be getting the remainder of the editor's review in the first few weeks of June. Once that's done, I'll send it into this new copy editor I've found. Yes, I know it's just a stand alone short story, but it's also my first taste of the self-publishing world. I want to know what I'm in for if I decide to go this route for future work and as I just said, I want to make a good first impression. After all, they're the most important. There will be ups and downs, but that's what defines a learning curve, right?

The plot line for Eternity Blood is also finished and so far I'm pleased with it. The story might dance around a little once I get writing. I haven't decided if I'll work on it for this years NaNo, since I won't lie– my plan was to get back into Agents of Limbo. I really miss Leon and Jace's adventures, and the series is my baby. I love it to pieces, and am aching to write it again. However, I haven't forgotten about my other projects...

Once I'm done my current project, the third story for the Blood Moon series, I'll be getting back into the Cursed series. I hit a little writing block but it's not too tall. Once I receive the final feedback from my editors, I'll see what I can do with the Cursed trilogy. I've been toying with the idea that it will be a self-published trilogy while the Areios Brothers will be sent to professional agencies. You might have noticed that I go back and forth a lot, so anything could change between this post and then.

And last but not least, Derek and Liam. The moment Cursed: Damnation's Door is finished, I'm getting back to them. I've done a little bit of the opening and some scenes for the third novel, Faithless Hunt, but I don't want to make any major progress if I'm advised to do major changes to the series. It wouldn't be the first time I was suggested to make major plans for a series based on colleague and professional advice, and I have a knack for integrating my own ideas into those offered to me. One thing I'm learning quickly about this career is that you can't always put out the first draft. Editing is crucial, though it doesn't have to be loved. I've been lucky so far to adore and have pride in everything I've written so far. So if I can make it better, then I will.

I get the feeling that June will be a huge month for realizations, learning, and grumbling, but it's part of the process. The copy editor I'm interested in hiring gave me an excellent piece of advice:

"It's not an easy path, but the people who've taken it and survived all those pitfalls would do it again, every time."

Anyone who thinks writing a novel is easy has clearly never done it before. So far I've been lucky, unlucky, unsurprised, and ready for the hammers to drop. But I'm still writing and learning and listening. I know I'll make mistakes and bad decisions and be paranoid at every other turn and still wind up with something unexpected happening, and I anticipate nothing less. This is still a roller coaster ride for me, and it's one I never want to get off of.

Amy

Youngbloods

I'm hoping to finish editing Shallow Water today (got 8.5hrs in yesterday before my brain shut off), and seems like forever since I've done up a playlist, so this is today's quick post. Here's what I've been listening to lately:

1. Forever In Your Hands - All That Remains
2. Cut Me Up Jenny - Taking Back Sunday
3. Ich Tu Dir Weh - Rammstein
4. Love Song - KoRn
5. Put Your Death Mask On - Wednesday 13
6. The Damned - Chevelle
7. Question! - System Of A Down
8. The Northern - Alexisonfire
9. Self Deception - Lacuna Coil
10. Ready To Fall - Rise Against
11. Magnolia Blvd. - Butcher Babies
12. Violence Fetish - Disturbed
13. Youngbloods - Blessthefall
14. Waiting Around - Idle Sons
15. Suck It Up - Bloodsimple
16. Zombie Fistfight - Combichrist
17. Wishmaster - Nightwish
18. 93 Million Miles - 30 Seconds To Mars

Youngbloods by Blessthefall is one of my favorite songs by them. It's a fast, wicked track and while I have no problem writing to it, sometimes I feel like I can't catch up! Despite how aggressive it sounds, I find it an uplifting song about soldering through tough times, and never giving up no matter who's standing in your way. I most associate this song with Leon from my Agents of Limbo series, which I'm hopefully going to start again in November for NaNo. I have one or two other stories I want to get done first, but there's seven months until then. Who knows what will happen!

Amy

Dark Wings and Black Hearts

Unpredictability is something I love and hate. I love that it keeps me going with a book, but I hate it because it usually means if one of my favorite characters is dead, they aren't coming back. Sigh... But the death of one of my favorite characters has never stopped me from reading a series, and I enjoy the Black Wings series by Christina Henry too much to mope about it.

The series revolves around Madeline Black, a former agent of Death, who was once responsible for transporting dead souls to the afterlife. If anyone's been following my Agents of Limbo short stories, let me clear two things up: I came up with Agents of Limbo waaaay before I even found this series, and the escorting souls to the afterlife is where the comparisons between Maddy and Jace and Leon end.

Because poor Maddy literally deals with the Devil. Yup, she's Lucifer's granddaughter. If you think you have family drama, you have nothing on that poor gal. Not only does Maddy still have her Agent powers despite leaving the company, but she's becoming increasingly aware of the powers from her lineage to Lucifer. And the more Maddy uses her powers for 'good', the darker her actions become. And when the Agency sends the ruthless Retrievers to kill her, Maddy is unwillingly transported to another realm by her "it's complicated" partner Nathaniel. But as with all things Maddy Black, the realm she is sent to is nowhere near as safe as she wants it to be.

Gotta love action packed covers like this!

One of the things I love about Maddy Black, Black Heart, and the series in general is that you watch Maddy's descent into Lucifer's shadow. Try as she might to avoid his influence, the more she convinces herself what she's doing is right, the less right it becomes to outside eyes. She's a very interesting, complicated character and while she is a hero, she definitely has a dark side.

Another thing I love is the introduction of the remainder of Lucifer's brothers. They're unconventional and creative, and the universe than Christina Henry has built is a terrific, creative, and in depth one that peaks your curiosity. There are great surprises, some heartfelt twists, and really, really cool magic.

For those who haven't been following the series, it might be a hard to jump into this book. I mean, you can begin at Black Heart but why would you do that but not all the events will have as much gravity as they would if you'd read from the beginning.

I always have fun reading this series, and it's clear that Christina Henry is a creative mind who loves exploring the possibilities with the supernatural. Definitely a recommended read for anyone who loves urban fantasy, badass heroines who take crap from no one, and intense superpowers. If that doesn't sound like a fun read, I don't know what does.



Amy

The Thing About Vampires...

If there's one monster I'll never get tired of reading or writing about, it's vampires. I'm not talking about the whiny, sparkly fairies from Twilight. I'm talking about the blood-drinking, red-eyed, fierce-clawed, ferocious, dangerous, seductive vampires. To me, there is no more perfect monster.

Every culture has their own take on vampires, even though the basic, blood-sucking monster background is the same. From Slovenian kudlaks to Romanian strigoii and African asanbosam, all types of vampires fascinate me. Their powers can range from anything to astral projection to hypnotism to shape-shifting to nightmare control. It's impossible not to draw inspiration from them.

What I love about vampirism as far as writing goes is that the genre is bendable. Once you have the basic elements, you can make up rules or societies and heroes to match. For example, in Agents of Limbo, my vampires don't have a reflection but they also don't need to be invited into a house. They can't go out in the day, but they don't need to sleep in a coffin, etc.

I might come back to vampires frequently, but I always try to change the mythology so they're never the same vampires. The monsters in my short story Eternity Blood aren't the same as the ones in Needfire (both stories which are progressing nicely, in case you were wondering).

One of my favorite reference books is The Vampire Encyclopedia by Matthew Bunson. It's great for initial ideas when it comes to lore, and has a list of classic vampire books or movies. Personally, my favorite vampire movie is Daybreakers, my favorite vampire TV show is True Blood, and I have too many favorite vampire books to list.

 
Don't worry– my vamps will never sparkle and won't complain too much about their emotional problems. I like the havoc wrecking vampires. The more violent they are, the better the monster they are, and the more fun they are to write/read. Vampires are creatures of blood, not fairytale whiners. And for anyone wondering, yes, I read the Twilight books. The Volturi were my favorite because they acted like vampires.

That's just one of the reasons why Agents of Limbo is my favorite series. I put a lot of work into my vampires and of course, my two dhampirs. Now that I've reworked the series, I'm really excited to get back to it in the next few months after the last of the details have been ironed out. I'll probably write another short story with Leon and Jace in the next little while, but I haven't decided what theme to go with. If you have any ideas of what sort of trouble Leon and Jace should get into next, leave a message in the comments! If I chose your story, I'll be sure to give concept credit to you! ;)

Amy

Hunting Spree

The last couple days have been busy for me- I spent some much needed time with my best friend, her fiancee, and their adorable pets who like to box each other (seriously, who needs TV when you have a hyperactive puppy and a playful cat?), stayed the night, then was invited to her family dinner to catch up, went out for dinner with my family, and watched The Hobbit and ate junk food with my mom. I figured I might as well indulge one last time, since I'm going back to Hamilton today and this is when the calorie crunching starts. Well, maybe I can hold off a little longer. There is New Years Eve to consider.

I meant to post this yesterday but obviously ran out of time, so here is the final story in my Agents of Limbo Christmas series.

The synopsis:

Leon's fun night of Christmas hunting suddenly turns into a fight for survival...

- - -

Hunting Spree 

- - -

This was another one of those stories where I had no clue what I was really doing until I started it. I'm a seat-of-the-pants writer, but as soon as I thought of a winter paintball expedition, the rest kind of wrote itself. Having said that, the entire plan of the series was to find a way for Leon to give Jace his tanto knives as a Christmas present. I was going to have him get them from an arms dealer, an enemy, then a collector, then an arms dealer again... let's just say it went back and forth for a long time. I had this image in my head of Jace opening the apartment door to see Leon standing there, covered in blood and smiling, holding out two blood-soaked tanto blades and saying, "You better like these," before passing out from the fight he went through to get his brother the perfect gift.

It might not have turned out exactly as I planned, but it was a fun story to write and I think it's a good fit for the end of the year. I really hope you enjoyed this series of shorts! This might be goodbye from Leon and Jace for a few months while I work on Cursed and plan the future of the Areios Brothers, but I'm ready to work on them and get them out there. Agents of Limbo is my baby series after all, the one I love more than any of the others (shhh, don't tell them!). They're not going anywhere anytime soon.

Cheers!

Amy

Mistletoe And Mischief

Maybe it's because my best friend is a hopeless romantic who's marrying the man of her dreams soon and I'll get to see them in a few days for Christmas, or maybe it's because I'm kind of a hopeless romantic myself, but I figured Leon and Jace's next adventure would be fun if I brought in the woman who caught Jace's eye in my short story from Halloween, Dances With Werewolves.

The synopsis:

Leon and Jace train a beautiful vampire who ends up bringing trouble to their door...

- - -

Mistletoe And Mischief 

- - -

While not as holiday heavy as the last couple stories, I had a lot of fun writing this story and showing how small acts of kindness are appreciated, and how they're reciprocated. I have one more short story finished and ready to edit and post, and hopefully I can get it online in time. Christmas is in 3 days (how did that happen!?) and I'll be going home to spend it with my friends and family. Between all the reunions and food comas, I might get a bit sidetracked, but rest assured, the last of their adventures will come before the end of the year!

Leave some comments and love- 'tis the season!

Amy

Walking In A Winter Horrorland

I know, I know, I said I was going to do another post midweek, but life got in the way. There was work, snow storms, and dragons that needed to be seen (my new favorite quote: "If this is to end in fire, then we will all burn together..."). But I haven't forgotten about this week's short story!

The synopsis:

Leon and Jace take a walk in a snow-filled forest, and end up drawn into a rescue mission...

How much trouble can they get into during a simple walk? You'd be amazed...

- - -

Walking In A Winter Horrorland

- - -

Admittedly, when I started this story I was a little lost for what I wanted to do. I knew I wanted to introduce the Wiccans from the universe and have secondary characters come in. Once I got started, ideas just poured onto the keyboard like rain. It was a lot of fun to write. Also, it gave me more of an idea for how to work with the Wiccans in the actual Agents of Limbo series. I never paid them much mind, and never considered how much of a threat I could make them until I wrote this story. Since the series is in a bit of a re-writing phase, this was a big help to me.

I hoped you enjoyed this latest story, and would love some feedback in the comments!

Amy

Holiday Kicks

December is a stressful month. The cold temperatures, the heavy snow delaying traffic, endless cooking and baking, arranging get-togethers with family and friends, shopping, lines, complaints, short tempers, screaming children, packed flights, crowds... I could go on, but I won't. You have your own horror stories, I'm sure.

If you're like me, you take the time to sit back with a cup of hot chocolate, slippers and a housecoat, and sit back to read a short story. I'm currently read Kicking It by Rachel Caine, Chloe Neill, and my favorite, Rob Thurman, along with a bunch of other female urban fantasy authors. Granted, the theme doesn't correlate to the holidays much, but it's a fun anthology and I'd recommend it to any urban fantasy fan.

Since I am in the holiday season (more or less since I still don't have my tree up), I thought it would be fun to write some short stories with Leon and Jace from my Agents of Limbo series. I'll be posting one short story a week this month in place of the 500 Word Challenges.

The synopsis:

Even at a charity event, Leon can find a way to get into trouble...

So here's the first week of Leon and Jace's December adventures!

- - -

Holiday Kicks

- - -

While I hope none of you are as abrasive as Leon, I would love to hear stories of how you've donated or helped someone this time of year. Friend, family member, stranger, the dog across the street, anyone would count. I encourage everyone to donate whatever they can to local charities, even if you just do one of those food donations or give away old clothes to the Salvation Army or Value Village. The ads aren't lying when they say every little bit helps.

More short stories coming soon!

Until next week,

Amy

I Have Seen Where It Grows

1. Absolute Zero - Stone Sour
2. I Have Seen Where It Grows - Demon Hunter
3. Modern Wolf Hair - Chiodos
4. Politics - KoRn
5. The Siren - Nightwish
6. The Turning Point - Killswitch Engage
7. Again We Rise - Lamb of God
8. Blow Me Away - Breaking Benjamin
9. Deep Down Ascend - Apocalyptica
10. Event Horizon - Baptized By Blood
11. God Machine - Acid Bath
12. Hysteria - Muse
13. Live Fast, Die Beautiful - Escape The Fate
14. Open Water - Blessthefall
15. Resilience - As I Lay Dying
16. Sink Into Me - Taking Back Sunday
17. This Darkened Heart - All That Remains
18. You Were The Cancer - Thursday

As awesome as the rest of the song on this list are, for me there was only one choice:

I have a little bit of a love affair with this song. No, I'm not religious. I interpret this song as stated by these simple lyrics: "Life is a path, death a destination." Really, that's what life is all about, isn't it? Taking a path, even though you might not know where it leads, and ending up where you should end up. This entire philosophy is incorporated in my Agents of Limbo stories, kind of because it's Jace's job.

I hope you enjoy this list as much as I do! :)

Amy

Weekly Recap and The Next Steps

It has definitely been a productive week for me, even though I haven't been posting much to the blog lately. Last week's goal was easy to finish, but this week's goal is a little more challenging:

• Complete Hollow Hill and NaNo

With Hollow Hill nearly fully completed its first draft, I've been thinking about where to take it from there. And I don't just mean as a series. Oh, I would have no problem continuing on and while I won't give anything away, there's more than enough for me to continue Derek and Liam's adventures. But right now I'm thinking more along the lines of publishing.

I found a couple great articles about getting your NaNo novel published, as well as what to do if your story isn't accepted the first go round. I definitely found both these articles really helpful and will be looking to them for advice when Hollow Hill is ready for its edits.

Bearing that in mind, I'm going to be looking for a digital artist to create a cover for Hollow Hill. I'll be doing one for Cursed once that's completed since I already have some cover ideas in mind, and I definitely think it would help my case if I sent a PDF to a publisher complete with a pretty cover. I'm positive that others have tried this and not succeeded, but you never know until you try, right?

Coming up December, I'll be writing another short story for Christmas. My Agents of Limbo Halloween short turned out to be a huge success. I received lots of praise for it so I'll be bringing Leon and Jace back in time for the holiday season... As soon as I figure out what sort of trouble they can cause during the busiest time of the year.

Another thing that has been going really well has been my story outlines for Elemental Army. When I needed a break from Derek and Liam or while I'm stuck waiting for the bus to show up (yes, universe, I know this is you telling me I need a car, but how about you give me some money first?), I've been working on the outlines for each particular story. So far I've completed three of them in a series that will likely be seven parts long. I gotta say, I've loved writing those out just as much as I have Hollow Hill. I adore steampunk and the world I created for Elemental Army because I really did build it from the ground up. It got to the point where I was about to buy Legos and build my own map of the world. Seriously.

Anyways, this was a longer post but a lot has been going on in my writing life lately. I'm really excited and happy for the progress I've been making and hopefully sometime in the new year I'll have something credible to show for it, whether it's a self-published work or something in an anthology. So that's what's been happening! I'm excited to see what happens next... ;)

Amy

Happy Halloween...

This is my favorite holiday of the whole year. Yes, I am aware that it isn't technically a holiday since no one gets it off of work unless they ask for it (aka people like me). I never understood that; I mean, kids are just going to go out and get filled with sugar, parents have to go with them, and young adults/teens are going to go to parties and be hungover the next day. Why New Years Eve and not Halloween??

Anyways, I'm rambling. To celebrate Halloween on my work day, I thought it would be fitting to post a short story set in my Agents of Limbo universe. It might have been only a few thousand words long, but the series is my baby and I've missed writing Leon and Jace.

The synopsis:

Leon and Jace decide to go out for a Halloween party, and get into trouble faster than usual...

So, without further adieu, here's your Halloween treat from me!

- - -

Dances With Werewolves

- - -

Leave a comment below if you like what you read and want some more!

Happy Halloween!

Amy

So Much To Do, So Little Time...

Today has been a fairly productive day for the most part. I finally got my review for chapter one of Cursed: Demon's Daughter and should have the edits finished sometime tonight. It'll take a couple more read-throughs but will definitely be ready by the end of the month. I'm also working on the remainder of the rough draft, making a few minor adjustments as I near the end of the draft. I don't know if this happens to other writers, but when I get close to the end of a first draft of a story, I tend to go back and think about what doesn't make sense and what I need to change. It's at a slower part right now and I need some more research done, but what I came up with over the last couple days is better than what I had before.

Also, I've decided that on Halloween, instead of a 500 Word Challenge, I'm going to do an Agents of Limbo short story. I came up with the idea while I was on my walk today and think it will be a fun little story. I do miss writing Leon and Jace, and think it will be a good introduction to them. More details will come once I write and post the short.

In NaNo news, Hollow Hill is almost ready. I have a few details left to iron out, but the test writing I've been doing has been going really well. I'm excited to start it, as well as share it with you all. :)

So that's the mid-week update. I'll post another update this weekend wrapping up what I've accomplished over the week and what goals I'll be setting for next week. Stay tuned!

Amy

Decisions, Descions...

National Novel Writing Month is still a ways away, but I'm already getting prepared for it. Since registering won't be hard, I'm focusing on my two current issues:

1. Coming up with the plotline for a story I want to do.
2. Figuring out how the hell I'm gonna write a full novel in between work days. I get two days off a week and while I am writing constantly, a decent sized novel is about 90,000 words, and usually it takes me a couple months to finish a draft. I predict a lot of late nights and Red Bull ahead.

But in reality the first problem is the one I want to iron out right now. I have a lot of ideas (and I do mean a lot), and I'm not going to cheat by putting Cursed: Demon's Daughter in there, prologue or not. That would be cheating, and I don't like to cheat. The same goes for Agents of Limbo and Elemental Army. I've written parts of both of those, so they aren't in the running yet. I've got a couple ideas on the backburner for now that could work:

• A prequel for Elemental Army. While I was writing the first chapter, I came along an idea for a prequel series when one of the characters was mentioning something that happened ages ago. It would tie in to EA in a very huge way, though I'm not going to start with it because I don't know how long it will take me to write the entire story out, whether it'll be one story or two.

• Prequels for Cursed and Agents of Limbo. When I said I wasn't going to put them in there, I meant it, but the prequels would be separate stories on their own. The Cursed prequel would take place while Constance and Andromeda are working for the cartel, while the AoL story would be during Leon's teen years when he was doing his very best to snark everyone to death, including his big brother Jace. I've put Leon and Jace on hold for a while as I work on Cursed, but I miss writing Leon and Jace.

• A brand new story completely unrelated to anything. I have a couple werewolf ones I'd like to try out as well as an idea semi inspired by a dream I can't really remember, though it was a hell of a lot like Inception.

So you see my problem?? I don't know where to begin. I would love opinions, so leave them in the comments! Majority rules in these kinds of things, and I intend to have the story I want picked out by next week so I can start planning during the travel time for my vacation. I can't sleep in anything that moves, and working passes the time. When I make my decision, I'll post the lucky winner and a brief synopsis of what can be expected from the story.

Has anyone ever participated in National Novel Writing Month? If so, I'd love to know what you thought of it and what sort of advice you would give a newbie. Comments are love!

Amy

Agents of Limbo

For the longest time, I had two characters named Leon and Jace Spencer who had no home. There didn't seem to be a story that I could come up with that really suited their personalities, and as someone who writes character based stories, this was a serious problem for me since Leon and Jace are two of my most favorite characters that I have ever written.

Vampire mythology and stories are among my favorite things as well. Twilight doesn't count because Twilight is about glittery drama queens. I like my vampires the way they're meant to be: dark, seductive, violent, bloody, broken, and dangerous. So much better than fairies.

Being a vampire myth fan, I'm familiar with dhampirs. Given that there are endless things you can do with that kind of mythology and I am a huge fan of the 'brothers in arms' concept, I came up with the idea that Leon and Jace should be dhampirs and began to build a universe for them, but something had been missing during the planning. I wanted Leon and Jace to do something that no other vampire in said universe could do. After talking to a close friend of mine (I'm still thanking you Kurtis!), this is what I came up with:

Leon and his older brother Jace are the only dhampirs known to exist in an alternate reality of the modern world, where vampires, Wiccans, and humans reside in an uneasy peace. Not only are they the only half-human, half-vampires ever known, they have the ability to travel into the afterlife to put the dead to rest, but can also use the power of passed on human/Wiccan/vampire souls to hunt down rogue vampires, dangerous Wiccans, and vengeful humans. As the peace breaks down and powerful vampires begin to hunt the brothers, they find themselves needing all the power they can get.

That's all very general and a little strange to explain, I know, but the truth is that I've put a lot of work into this series as far as planning is concerned. There are a lot of details and more explaining to do, but I figured I'd share the gist of it all first. I absolutely love writing this series and now that I'm talking about it, all I want to do is get back to work on it. Until next time!

Amy