Vampire Dawn is alive!

I was working on Vampire Dawn (name change pending) but was having a bit of trouble with the prologue. It kept nagging at me like Jehovah’s witnesses on a Sunday afternoon. No matter how much work I did on the other pages and how far I’d gone, I would hear it’s call and be forced to guide the cursor up to the beginning and re-read the prologue. I read it so many times that I could recite it in my sleep.

The feeling begun to set in that the pages needed drastic editing. But I didn’t know what to do. I just knew something was wrong with those five pages of prologue and that they screwed up the first half of the book.

Sunday morning I was in the kitchen fixing tea when suddenly it came to me – five pages of prologue had to be condensed to one and the deleted parts scattered throughout the first half of the book. I got right to it and edited the shit out of that baby. When I was done, I read it through and thought, good stuff.

Thing is, now that I’ve done it I realize that all along I knew what had to be done but just didn’t have the guts to do it. I’m flying on a hope and a prayer writing this novel. Sometimes I don’t have a clue but press on regardless. Other times, I’m too caught up and like a mother, refuse to admit the child is bad and must be punished...or in this case, done away with. The effort to redo is daunting. I procrastinate, I bitch and I groan, but eventually, I get to it. The creative process can truly be hell.

The prologue was condensed and I’ve begun placing things where they should have been in the first place. Truth be told, I’ve known I needed to do this from the moment I finished this version of the draft in May. As a matter of fact, if I were completely honest, I would say I knew it from the moment I expanded what was originally a one page prologue into five. Ridiculous, huh? But I had to do it, to know that it really should be one page.

Writing the novel is like writing the story of my life – not the tale but the process. I am a terrible procrastinator and then again I can be dangerously spontaneous; so dangerous that I suppress that part of my instinct in favour of the other. I have to. I’ve seen the results of my spontaneity and let me tell you, it often isn’t pretty, despite the pleasure of the moment. But no matter how I suppress this ‘wild’ side, somehow a bit of it always stabs through, like in my writing.

The best short stories I’ve written – at least I think so – are those done on a Sunday morning when inspiration usually strikes in the middle of making tea when the house is deadly quiet and I’m standing by the kitchen window peering out at the little view I have of the distant mountains. I would rush to the computer and start writing. One hour later, I would have the first draft of something special. The same thing has happen for novel ideas or the name of a novel. Funny, isn’t it, that the thing I suppress the most, can produce something good in one aspect of my life and dread in another. I’m a walking conundrum. The medical journals must have a name for this.

But, back to Vampire Dawn. There are aspects in the middle – the hated middle – that I need to tie up and others that must be clear. I have to go through the first half and make sure the story builds properly and is explained in preparation for the second half – the story’s sort of complicated and to get everything, certain key points must be explained. That’s the thing with science fiction, you have to make sure the ground rules are laid and then play by them and in my case it has to be done in the first part if the second is to be accepted.

The novel is divided into three books: Book I: Spark of Life, Book II: The Dawning and Book III: Awake!

Book III is actually the epilogue – of course it’s one page and I’m not about to change it (lol!) – and will eventually be the beginning of the next book in the series. It will be the real third book because I plan to write the prequel to Vampire Dawn entitled The Cauldron. (Hey! I just thought of that. I think I’ll keep it.) Vampire Dawn fittingly has 13 chapters spread across the three books.

Told you it was complicated.

I use a verse or quote at the beginning of each book and I just thought of the one I’ll use for Awake!

I see the sun
Rise up before me
And I think,
God of man
You,
Are a magnificent
One!

I just created it and wrote it on a piece of paper I have beside the computer – truly, I did. (There’s a hidden gem and if you can figure it out, drop me a line.)

If you ever get to read my novel, you’ll understand why this would be quite appropriate for the protagonist to say, even though he is a vampire.

To summarize, the plan is, when I’m done with all three books I’ll have: The Cauldron, Vampire Dawn (to be renamed) and Vampire Awake! Neat, right? Yeah. I think so too.

My juices are flowing and I feel energized like I could write for the entire day. But as it is with the world, I have to stop to go earn a living.

So until next time, I bid you adieu, adieu.

Vampire Dawn - some more revealed - and Picket Fences - my next project

I've finished the first true draft of the vampire novel I'm writing, Vampire Dawn. By the way, the title will have to change because I've discovered another vampire book by the same name. I'm thinking of renaming it The Dawning, The Vampire at Dawn or Re-Birth...something like that. I'll figure it out although I really did like Vampire Dawn.

There are some things I need to work out like Cutter (antagonist) being like a human and what he can do as his 'humanness' reverses and he becomes more like a vampire and is desperate for the new dawning. Likewise, I need to decide what powers Neloc has and how he will use them. (I looked into the name Neloc which I thought I made up but only to find that Nissan has a car by that name with the same spelling -- one more thing I'll have to change.) I also need to work out the distances between the various estates. Sometimes this appears short and other times too far. There's also a scene that I don't know if I'll keep and if I do decide to keep it, then I will have to rework some parts to make it more meaningful.

I entered the first few pages in this online competition. I was a few marks away from the final 3 but I did get good reviews. I had 3 judges -- one gave a low grade but she did go through and offer some good points. While the other two did the same, they gave rather high marks and one sent a personal comment.

At the same time I sent it to the competition, I sent it to an agent in LA and was happy when they asked to read the first few chapters. Then I was deflated when they wrote back and said it wasn't for them but at the bottom of the email was a personal note from one of the owners that said it was an interesting premise and that I should work on it some more and shop it around. So I'm feeling good. I'm going to look at all the comments and apply them to the book and do exactly as advised.

I finished the draft about two weeks ago and decided I would let it sit and start another novel then go back and do an edit. That way I look at it with fresh eyes and will be able to work out some of the things that I couldn't while I was immersed in the story. Even though I'm not working on it daily, I find my thoughts often drift to it as I try to work out aspects of the story.

Writing Vampire Dawn, is a scary yet exciting processe. Scary because I think I may never get it published and also that I may not present it the way I know it should be presented. The excitement comes because I really do like the challenge of creating the story that's different from anything that's on the market. Then I get scared again because I know the literary world is going through a vampire phase that will soon be over. If that happens, I may have to put it down and hope the phase returns in the next century, as it has done many times in the past.

The story I'm working on is called Picket Fences and it's about 4 friends (as always) who lead dramatically different lives and have the strangest relationships that best friends can have and still call themselves friends. It's about women who have no illusion that there are no picket fences in life, but still they try for no other reason than it's what they were raised to believe. And of course, as it always does, that seed of a dream, planted when they were little girls in their mothers' arms, prevent them as women from achieving true happiness.

Picket Fences is a story that was published in the Observer as a pure narrative with no prose. The section that was published was a restaurant scene when the friends were talking about the various troubles in their lives. I've used this as the start of the novel and will expand on it. The story is told from each woman's perspective and all together as they try to surpass some hurdle.

I have a lot to do and so I'm off to write. Until next time.

Vampire Dawn - a little revealed.

I'm working on my novel, VAMPIRE DAWN which is about a black vampire living in Portland, Jamaica at the time of slavery. If you're into vampires you can imagine what this would be like and see the varying roads the story could take. Think about a black man who is an undead but who is physically stronger than all the white masters put together. That's something, huh? Except, it's dangerous too. Imagine him being discovered and them hunting him? And what would they do to others they suspect of having the same powers? Would they start a manhunt? Probably. In which case, it's important for Neloc to remain undetected.

In VAMPIRE DAWN, Neloc was turned by a white man whom he consider his father, but at the same time blames for taking his life. For Neloc, Portland is quite boring. He has nothing to do at night but roam the forests and chase animals. Then one night, while he lazed on a branch and watched the stars, he sees a slave girl who has come to the watering hole to bathe. Her name is Camilla. He watches her play in the water and is quite taken. She is brave for being out at night when she could be caught and severely punished. But he sees her need for freedom and is compelled to follow, just to be sure she returns safely to whatever estate she came from.

While watching Camilla sneak into the compound, Neloc makes a sound which frightens her. She stumbles. Halton, the guard wakes and goes to investigate. He enters Camilla's hut and sees her still wet from the swim. He decides to take what he feels is his. He attacks Camilla. Neloc comes to her rescue and kills Halton in the process, sucking him dry. Camilla sees this and faints. Neloc must leave or be found out. He chooses to leave and must hurry to Benin, because he is not prepared for the effects of drinking human blood after almost half a century without. As he fights his new found thirst, he wakes to find Alphanso gone. Suddenly his life is complicated as he is torn between ensuring Camilla's safety and finding Alphanso, his creator and father and the man without whom he cannot live in a white man's world.

Imagine the consequences of his actions. How will Camilla explain a dead, bloodless white guard in her hut? What will the white masters do with her when they discover Halton's body?

I'm in the middle of the novel and working my way to the end which I've already written. It's exciting and sometimes I can't wait to add a few more pages. Other times I don't want to be near it because I feel I cannot do the story justice. That's when I become really scared that I won't finish and that I'll never find a publisher.

I first wrote about Neloc in 2001. Yes, in 2001. Believe it or not. I wrote about 4 paragraphs and left it. But it never quite left me. Like all my stories, they remain near and pull my thoughts on a daily basis. I'm constantly thinking about it and wondering what should come next. I remember those paragraphs like I'd just written them. Halton wasn't a guard but Camilla's lover and it wasn't slavery time but some years on when black men were said to be free. Halton was a jerk who slept around with anyone who spread their legs for him. Camilla was thoroughly in love with him and while she knew of his indiscretions, she refused to challenge him on it, thinking that if she showed her love more, he would eventually be with her alone.

The paragraphs pick-up with Camilla walking behind Halton, begging him not to go out. He turns and smacks her on the cheek and tells her to go home and stop following him. Up on a branch in a nearby tree, a black man is watching the scene. he can read both their minds. He dislikes the man's character and his heart pains for the woman because she is so true and when Halton strikes he decides he must teach him a lesson and swoops down on the man, breaking his neck and sucking his blood. Camilla freaks out and runs off. She wakes the village with her noise and the village Madda comes to take control. She puts Camilla to bed and administer till Camilla is calm and is able to tell them about the black man that floated. No one but the Madda believes. Neloc returns home to his estate and is angry for revealing himself and for allowing the woman to go. He should have taken her with him and he vows to go find her. He had to. I didn't write another word until 2006 and then not again until last year.

In VAMPIRE DAWN, Halton is the guard who attempts to rape Camilla and is killed by Neloc who is indeed a vampire. The Madda is Selma who is a blind priestess who can do wonders with her potions and magical spirits. Neloc does live at Benin and he eventually will take Camilla to his home. I've gone 275 pages and I hope I can finish.

The novel was first named Neloc Benin after the lead character. A few weeks ago I changed it to VAMPIRE DAWN because these words are important in the story. I want the story to be a trilogy that tracks Neloc and Camilla's adventures as they travel the world. I don't know how it'll go as yet, but I do know one of two ways the entire thing will end. Either someone will die, or someone will leave. I already know to which way I'm leaning but you'll have to wait on the published novel to find out.

I will continue to blog about VAMPIRE DAWN, my writing and other things. You should come with me on this exciting journey.