Excited to announce the re-release of The Ripper's Daughter, previously published in 2014 by BlackWyrm Publishing. A paranormal historical whydunit mystery, The Ripper's Daughter is now available for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo. The paperback version should be released soon.
Blurb: Louisville, Kentucky 1898. Ten years earlier, Jack the Ripper terrorized London's Whitechapel district. Assigned to the case, Detective Inspector Nathan James discovered the Ripper's true nature, and made a decision that changed his life. But the murders stopped and the Ripper disappeared. Now living in Louisville, Kentucky, Nathan runs a saloon, while trying to keep his relationship with his manservant, Stephen, secret. He's never forgotten his failure to stop the Ripper, and when murdered prostitutes start showing up, suspects the elusive killer stalks the city's streets. But is the Ripper responsible for these deaths, and will he reveal Nathan's and Stephen's darkest secret? Buy Links: Amazon (Kindle); http://amzn.to/2cdUcj9 Barnes and Noble (Nook); http://bit.ly/2cFV8NS Kobo: http://bit.ly/2cHYAe9
I'm so excited! This evening, I got the news via Facebook that copies of my latest release, The Ripper's Daughter, had arrived. The goal was to have them ready for a local author fair this weekend.
The Ripper's Daughter is my first print book. This is a significant moment for me. It gives me opportunities I never had before. I can set up signings, sell my book at local cons, donate copies to my local libraries, etc.
The Ripper's Daughter is the second vampire historical book I've written, the first set during the French Revolution. This one was written during NaNoWriMo in 2011, and was partly based on my fascination with the Ripper case. Of course, this is my fictional take.
Blurb:
Louisville, Kentucky 1898
Ten years earlier, Jack the Ripper terrorized London's Whitechapel district. Assigned to the case, Detective Inspector Nathan James discovered the Ripper's true nature, and made a decision that changed his life. But the murders stopped and the Ripper disappeared.
Now living in Louisville, Kentucky, Nathan runs a saloon, while trying to keep his relationship with his manservant, Stephen, secret. He's never forgotten his failure to stop the Ripper, and when murdered prostitutes start showing up, suspects the elusive killer stalks the city's streets. But is the Ripper responsible for these deaths, and will he reveal Nathan and Stephen's darkest secret?
When I participated in my first National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge, I wrote a vampire story set partially during the French Revolution. Around that time, the Anita Blake novels and Anne Rice's vampire stories were quite popular, although I'd never read them.
Instead, I was influenced by anime and manga, particularly Vampire Princess Miyu and Hellsing Ultimate. I'd read Bram Stoker's Dracula, had seen numerous films based on it. But vampire lore has existed in other countries and cultures long before Stoker penned his horror masterpiece. I knew that if I wrote another vampire story, I'd want it to be different.
One of my favorite anime is the Mermaid Saga series by Rumiko Takahashi of Ranma 1/2 and Inuyasha fame. Yuta is a young-looking sailor who ate mermaid flesh 500 years ago. According to the legend, those who eat mermaid flesh either become immortal, die instantly, or mutate into horrible immortal monsters known as "lost souls."
When I decided to write this current vampire story, I wanted to get away from the blood sucker who stalks his victims. Nathaniel James didn't become a vampire because he wanted to subsist on blood. He wanted to become powerful enough to stop Jack the Ripper, a man who could shapeshift into a werewolf at will. But to become a vampire, Nathan had to find someone willing to turn him. And that was Stephen, descendent of a long line of vampire masters. People like Stephen have a dilemma. They produce too much blood and need someone to drink from them. But the people they turn die instantly from blood poisoning more often than not. If a vampire master can't find an assistant, the only way to get rid of the excess blood is through blood letting, such as cutting. But this practice is frowned upon as being barbaric.
Stephen is Nathan's vampire master and also his manservant and lover.Not only do the men have to keep their vampirism secret but also their relationship. And that's not easy when a young prostitute, Charlotte, has her eyes on Nathan, a former Detective Inspector and someone she thinks is perfect to help her catch the Ripper. But Nathan has his own reasons for seeing the Ripper killed.
Here are a few videos that influenced the story.
Mermaid Forest - Lost Souls
(Unfortunately, I can't embed this video, but here's the link:)
Lately I’ve been playing around with the idea of writing a vampire/werewolf tale set in Victorian Louisville.
It wouldn’t be my first historical. As a rule, I don’t write them very often. Nevertheless, I enjoy reading such stories, particularly those set in the 1920s-1940s. The clothes, the cars, even the music... What’s not to love?
I first ventured into writing historical stories while in high school. Many of these were crime dramas set during Prohibition. Even then, I did my research. However, given these were stories written for English class or a few friends, I didn’t have to worry about historical accuracy, although I tried to be as realistic as possible.
Flash forward a decade or so. After graduating with a degree in English, I pretty much stopped writing creatively. When I decided to write my first novel, a YA horror, I set it in a village trapped in the American Colonial past. The following year I participated in my first National Novel Writing Month challenge. My story about a vampire hunter was partially set during the French Revolution.
Neither of those stories will see publication.
So why this renewed interest inwriting historicals? I think it’s simply a matter of needing a change, of wanting to write something different.
