A to Z Blog Challenge -- B is for Blood Donor

Welcome to Day 2 of this year's A to Z Blog Challenge.

As a vampire author, I've spent a great deal of time thinking about blood.

For my vampire characters, blood takes on a whole new significance. Certainly, all living creatures need blood in order to operate our biomachines. Yet unless we've sprung a leak, blood doesn't get our attention in quite the same way as the other two driving forces -- hunger for food, and our sexual drive.

Of course, for a vampire, blood takes the place of both food and sex, as blood is their one and only form of sustenance, while it's the vampire's bite that turns a person into a new vampire. I found that as I wrote from the vampire's perspective, my admiration for blood as the essence of life led to my becoming a blood donor.   

B is for Blood Donor

My day job participates in a program called Partners For Life through Canadian Blood Services.

As a donor in this program, I was delighted to represent my corporation at a luncheon this past February, along with Jim, one of my co-workers (in fact, the person who signed our office up for Partners For Life.)

A woman addressed the crowd, telling us about the the 86 units of blood she had received when she'd faced a significant health crisis.

It was very moving to hear her story. I was so impressed with her willingness to share such a very distressing time in her life. She even stood with each team as we received our certificate for participating in the Partners For Life Program.

But what stayed with me was Cindy's personal challenge to sign up 86 new donors, inspired by the 86 units of blood she'd received when her life depended on them.

As of today, with just 4 new donors Cindy will have reached her goal.

For the A to Z Blog Challenge, I'd like to ask all vampire fans out there to consider donating blood in honor of your favorite vampire character.

I became a donor because of my 6th century Welsh warrior-turned-vampire, Peredur.

Who will inspire you?

Free Comic Book Day - May the 4th Be With You

To celebrate Free Comic Book Day, I'm hosting a giveaway that starts today and runs till the end of the month.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SAINT SANGUINUS features my Dark Ages vampire superhero, Peredur.

Last year, Free Comic Book Day was one of my favorite author events for 2012. This year, I have a special treat to go along with free copies of my book.

Toronto sculptor and illustrator Ted Heeley has created an illustrated version of Peredur for my Free Comic Book Day giveaway.

Six limited prints are up for grabs, along with six e-copies and six paperback copies of SAINT SANGUINUS.

Why six?

This blog turned six years old in February, and I'm celebrating six truly wonderful years by giving away six versions of each prize.

Enter through the Rafflecopter link, and good luck! 

A to Z Blog Challenge - V - Thursday Thirteen - 276

On Day 22 of the  A to Z Blog Challenge

V 

is for

Velocatus and the other brethren from my Dark Ages vampire novel

1 -  On Tuesday I introduced my main female character from SAINT SANGUINUS with an excerpt. T was a perfect day to meet Tanwen, the Welsh chieftain's daughter left behind to mourn her warrior bethrothed when he fell to a spear during a raid against the Irish.

As Tanwen discovers, Peredur did not die in the conventional sense. His curses hurled at God with his dying breath called the members of the brethren to collect him for duty in their elite brotherhood.

Peredur becomes a vampire whose task is to prevent humans from wiping out all vampires, and to prevent vampires from turning all humans into vampires. He is a vampire prevented from living the life of a true vampire, while no longer able to live life as a man.

Today I'd like to introduce the other members of Peredur's brotherhood, beginning with:

2 - Velocatus

This member of the brethren hails from present-day northern England, in the area now known as Richmond in North Yorkshire. 

3 - Velocatus belonged to a tribe known as the Brigantes when he lived as a man. They made up a thriving agricultural and trading culture in the present-day Midlands during Roman rule.

In SAINT SANGUINUS, Velocatus is especially adept at sword fighting.

4 - This novel takes place in 6th century Wales, and besides Welsh hero Peredur and Northern English Velocatus, there is another member of the brethren who hails from what we now call the British Isles:

Brude

5 - Brude is a Pict from the modern-day Inverness area of Scotland. There are two members of the brethren that Peredur befriends with closer ties than the others, and Brude is one of them.

6 - Peredur's other close friend is Sigbjorn. In fact, Sigbjorn becomes Peredur's closest friend amongst the brethren.

7 - Sigbjorn hails from the present-day Stockholm area of Sweden. Because the brotherhood is made up of warriors who curse God with their dying breath, their rarity makes collecting them from all across the world a necessity. 

8 - The moodiest and most reclusive of the brethren is Adalhard.

9 - Adalhard once lived in the modern-day area of Orleans, France.

10 - The member of the brethren who gives Peredur the most confusion is Wladislaw, from modern-day Poland.

11 - In an era when all men either serve a master or fight their way to leading others, the brethren operate as a collection of equals. Because Wladislaw was once a prince among men, Peredur finds it nearly impossible to treat the nobleman as an equal.

12 - The member of the brethren who showed up at Peredur's side as he took his last breath upon the battlefield was Melnak.

13 - Melnak came to Wales from across the continent, beginning his mortal life in Byzantium, or modern-day Turkey.

Here's the book trailer for SAINT SANGUINUS, which I wrote and directed (produced by Charlie Mac Productions:)

A to Z Blog Challenge - T

Welcome to Day 20 of the  A to Z Blog Challenge. Today:

T

is for

Tanwen

Tanwen is the main female character in my Dark Ages vampire novel, SAINT SANGUINUS. 

The daughter of the local chieftain, she was betrothed to warrior Peredur until he fell to a spear upon the battlefield.

For today's post, meet Tanwen in this excerpt:

Tanwen clapped both hands over her mouth. Her shaky breathing filled the hut as she realized Peredur truly lay at her father’s front door.

                “Tanwen,” he whispered. He regained his feet then reached a hand to her. “Come away.”

She looked back toward her sisters, at her brother curled by the fire, at her parents under the covers. So odd that none had awakened. Plucking a cloak from a peg on the wall, Tanwen wrapped it about herself, pushing aside the door flap to stride outside into the cold night.

                Her Peredur swept her up in his arms, running easily for a spell until he brought them far into the woods and out of the numbing wind. She clung to him, marveling at his solidness.

                How it hurt to be separated as he set her down on an overturned tree. He knelt before her on the thin powdering of snow. Tanwen clutched the woolen cloak tightly, her breath frosting white in the air between them.

                “I was told...” she tried. Reaching forward to touch his cheek, a part of her recoiled at the whisper of death she found there.

                Her beloved brought his hand up to cover hers. “Here I am,” he said at last.

                “But Cynfelyn,” she said. “He saw you fall. To a spear.”

                Peredur looked away.

                “How did you survive it?” she said, a tinge of fear underneath her words. She pulled her hand back, away from his face.

                “I didn’t,” he said simply, lifting his head to look her straight in the eye.

What could he mean? He was right here, solid and in front of her.

                “I did fall to a spear.” He lifted his tunic but there was no scar from the wound. His flesh was white as a corpse. She covered her mouth with her hand, but the shriek of pure panic escaped her.

                “I am no longer a man, Tanwen.”

                 Tears poured down her face. Why stop them?

                “I did not survive that battle. Cynfelyn was right to tell you what he did. I am no longer the Peredur who grew up here in this village.”

                “Why have you taken me here?” she asked, noticing the remoteness surrounding them as if for the first time.

                “I wanted to tell you I love you.”

                What he had never actually said to her in his life as an ordinary man, he said to her now as if that would help their plight. It just made her angry.

                “Why did you go off to fight, Peredur?” She no longer felt the need to hide her pain at being second-best after the adventure of war.

                He looked away from her. “I wanted to make a proper home. For you.”

                Tears dripped from her nose and chin. He held his arms out and she fell into them. It felt good to sob, Peredur caressing her hair, nuzzling her face.

                “I was visited upon the battlefield as I lay dying,” he said at last. “My curses brought him, Tanwen. I knew I’d never get a chance to do what we’re doing right now.” He could barely form the words. “So I cursed God.”

                She pushed back from his embrace. “What are you saying, Peredur?” An unbearable pit of dread formed in her chest.

                “I cursed Him as I lay dying,” he said. “I should have prayed and asked for forgiveness, but I didn’t.”

                “What do you mean?”

                “I am doomed.”

                “Doomed? What do you mean?” she asked, hearing the lunatic edge to her voice. “Tell me!” She let go of him, and the loss of him even for a moment took her breath away.

                He sat down heavily, seeming faint all of a sudden. “I live by drinking the living blood of people, Tanwen.” He bared his teeth, exposing two long fangs like wolf’s teeth.

                She couldn’t stop her gasp that seemed to pierce him. “I use them to get to the blood,” he said, a look of despair clouding his beautiful face. “I must feed soon. I must leave you or I will feed upon your family. And I won’t be able to stop myself.”

Copyright - Julia Phillips Smith - 2011

Six Sentence Sunday - 6

Writers are encouraged to post six sentences from a work-in-progress or published piece. Sign into the Linky at Six Sentence Sunday, and visit other SSS participants.


This snippet from SAINT SANGUINUS takes place when Cavan, the son of the village wise woman was a boy of thirteen.


Here he watches as a spell launched against his rival--Peredur, future warrior for their 6th century Welsh village--shoots off in an unexpected direction.

~~~~~~~~

The sword master took his time and methodically drew a bloody pattern in his young student’s skin. When Tanwen finally arrived with her brother, dismay marred her features. I don’t know why that angered me, but it did.

It almost distracted me from the show Peredur performed so beautifully, his fellow students flinching in unison with every turn of the knife blade.

Peredur knelt there for a moment once it was over, breathless and shaking as the sword master rose and turned away.

Eventually Peredur pushed himself up, turned and quickly wiped his face as Owen walked toward the bench--this I hadn’t predicted at all.

Thursday Thirteen - 233 - 13 Things About the year 577 in Dark Age Wales

I'm guest blogging over at The Otherworld Diner today - drop by and find out what my main character Peredur's world is like in my debut vampire novel, SAINT SANGUINUS.

CLICK HERE to read my Thursday Thirteen

A note about Scorpius:

I wasn't able to post anything for this week. Scorpius will return in 1 week.

I'm being interviewed today @ Angela Guillaume's blog

CLICK HERE to read my interview by Angela Guillaume who is a fellow blogger @ our group blog, The Popculturedivas.

I'm being interviewed @ Beyond the Veil today

CLICK HERE to read my interview by Amy Ruttan over at Beyond the Veil, a group blog by authors of paranormal, science fiction, fantasy and speculative romance.

5 on Friday - Set 88

Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.

Still an amazing amount of things to take care of while getting my debut vampire novel ready for the big day. Until then, let's check out some of my favorite soundtrack music from TV shows and films featuring vampires in all their ominous glory.

To vote in my Vampire Smackdown, please scroll down to Thursday's post.

1 - Dark Shadows - composed by Robert Cobert

I'm not sure how I managed to watch this show. I was a kindergartner when this series aired, and my mom tried to turn it off if she found me watching it. But I was inexorably drawn to this gothic soap opera and somehow managed to watch the odd episode here and there.



2 - Count Dracula - Kenyon Emrys-Roberts

This is my favorite version of the Dracula story, with the exception of Dracula himself - not crazy about Louis Jordan's version. But Frank Finlay is my favorite Van Helsing, ever.

The theme music starts over the end credits: at the 7:30 mark



3 - Dracula - John Williams

Saw this at the theatre when I was in junior high. I was definitely a John Williams fan by that time and really liked his take on one of my favorite characters.



4 - Bram Stoker's Dracula - Wojciech Kilar

Definitely enjoyed Coppola's version, though I wasn't the biggest enthusiast of the varying states of Dracula throughout the story. My favorite is definitely the steampunk version, when he meets Mina in the city by the moving pictures.



5 - Shadow of the Vampire - Dan Jones

If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing this truly spooky film, don't deny yourself any longer. It's amazing. Plays on a what-if regarding the 1921 German film Nosferatu - what if the actor playing the role of the vampire wasn't an actor...?

CLICK HERE to watch video

I'm heading out to my yearly writers' retreat at White Point Beach. Catch you later!

Thursday Thirteen - 210 - 13 Film-y Type Things I've Been Doing Lately

Here's a brief update on what I've been up to lately:

1 - A mere 15 years after graduating from film school, a brainstorming session at last year's writer's retreat led to a producer approaching me with the offer to work together. This producer is also a writer from my writers' group, and we really connected during that brainstorming session.

So it really is true about networking. You never know when you're going to meet up with the right person.

2 - I finally finished my vampire novel just before last November's NaNoWriMo, and sent it out to readers for feedback. My producer suggested we shoot a book trailer for this story as our first project together.

3 - In the fifteen-year gap between film school and this shoot, I'd worked sporadically on several projects, with the last job being about 8 years ago. I had to lay it out for the producer and director of photography (the DOP) that I was technically behind the times and would be very 'layman's terms'. Luckily, they were both very cool with that.

4 - My producer arranged a meeting between myself and the DOP. I was very nervous.

He was 21. He was apparently very nervous. But we were of course too cool to show it. He was not put off by my utter lack of techno-savvy. I was not put off by his being 21.

5 - I wrote the script for the two-minute trailer. It was four pages long.

In film/TV, one page = one minute. The script was two pages too long.

My producer pared it down to a workable two minutes. I approved the changes, and we were good to go.

6 - I drew horrible storyboards which are par for the course, unless you hire a storyboard artist.The producer and DOP approved them.

7 - The producer sent the cast requirements out to a casting agent, who found me three perfect actors for the lead roles.

8 - I looked over three costuming sites and chose Iron Age tunics and a woman's gown from the lowest-priced site.

9 - I got the measurements for the actors and headed out to Frenchy's, Value Village and Salvation Army for used clothing to remake into costumes.

My mom then set to work refashioning scarves, belts and skirts into Iron Age clothing.

10 - I met with the actors for a script read-through and rehearsal. It was thrilling to see these actors - even at a distance I knew which ones were which characters. SO, so thrilling to see my characters come to life right in front of me.

11 - I turned and saw a wonderful sight during that first rehearsal. My producer's eyes shone with excitement because she'd gotten chills from one of the scenes. We could feel that elusive magical thing happening.

12 - Shooting day arrived, and a very long, exhausting 9 hours later the footage was shot.

Exhausting, yes - it took me 4 days to recover from the shoot - but that one day gave me my life back. I have rarely experienced happiness quite that intense.

13 - This week I'll finally be seeing the footage, and next week I'll be working with my editor.

Stay tuned to A Piece of My Mind for more making-of book trailer updates.

Through the Opera Glasses - 78 - 10 of My Favorite Vampires

Day 22 of the A to Z Challenge brings us to a type of character for which I have a definite weakness.



V is for Vampire












I'm currently preparing to shoot the book trailer for my vampire book, which is now ready to start final revisions before I head to the writers' conference this summer.

If I'm writing about vampires, I must have some favorite vampires from films and television that inspire me - don't I?

Of course I do! Here are my top ten:


1 - Blade from the film series of the same name













2 - Viktor from the Underworld film series












3 - Professor Dracula from the 70's TV series Cliffhangers







4 - Louis from Interview With the Vampire












5 - Count Dracula from Bram Stoker's Dracula








6 - Count Dracula from Dracula 2000












7 - Dean Winchester for one episode of Supernatural







8 - Bill Compton from True Blood






9 - Eric Northman from True Blood







10 - Godric from True Blood

Thursday Thirteen - 170 - 13 Things You'd Find in Peredur's World

Today's Thursday Thirteen is a collection of images that are foremost in my mind as I work on my vampire work in progress. This story follows a Dark Age Welsh warrior who becomes a vampire.


1 - Round hut













2 - Sword




3 - Cloak brooch










4 - Spear

















5 - Pewter ring








6 - Vampires













7 - Caverns











8 - Blood












9 - An angel
















10 - Initiation tree











11 - Spells
















12 - Silver chains















13 - Bone amulet







Ann Pino says I like that round hut.

Adelle Laudan says Great idea. I just might steal it. Sounds like the makings of a great book.

Travis Cody says I'm always curious about the vampire culture a writer chooses to utilize. Would you say your vampires are more in the Ann Rice culture, Bram Stoker culture, or some combined varietal?

Thursday Thirteen - 144 - 13 Reasons to Read Dark Harmony by Lilly Cain

Dark Harmony is the debut novel from Lilly Cain, one of the amazing women from my writers' group, Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada.

She's been to the writers' retreats I so adore, and at the latest one this past fall we all celebrated along with her when she received confirmation of Dark Harmony's release date.

1 - Dark Harmony is part of Red Sage's Action & Adventure/Contemporary/Vampire categories, and is an erotica eBook romance.

2 - We meet Helena Townsend, who loves to feel the pulsing energy of the club crowd as she dances to live music. One night she's uncharacteristically drawn to a gorgeous man who parts the dance floor like a mist to draw her to him. Twenty years later, Lena has escaped the cruel dominance of that man from the club - no man, but a vampire pack leader who made her life both a living hell and a confusing passionate release.

3 - Richard Heron is a music journalist covering trends for Rolling Stone, still not recovered from the violent death of his sexually-submissive wife at the hands of an unknown dom. Richard is entranced by Lena, a beautiful woman he meets in an Irish bar, her face glowing with the energy and vibe of the band and the crowd, as though she's fed somehow by live musical performance.

4 - Before his wife died, Richard had supplemented his journalism by opening a club where sexual fantasies could be revealed and pursued. His own dominant tendencies initially scare off a once-bitten-twice-shy Lena. The same instincts which led him to open his club in the first place serve him well when he rises to the challenge of re-introducing Lena to the authentic lover inside her.

5 - I found this story's BDSM subplot very touching. What is dominance and submission if not the symbolic surrender to a lover? The very fact that Lena has vampiric strength that could break any bedroom bondage puts her scenes with Richard into a different realm, which Lilly writes with accomplished emotional depth.

6 - Lilly Cain handles the reactions of the human characters to the shock of vampires entering their world with wry realism. Her scenes take us from the contemporary world into the paranormal with the jolt one would expect from such a revelation, and she doesn't shy away from the horror aspects of traditional vampire stories. These characters aren't simply bad boy characters - they are chilling killers. As a lover of traditional vampire stories, I'm very grateful for that.

7 - I really enjoyed the black humor peppered throughout the story. This part made me laugh out loud in the midst of a high-tension vampire attack scene:

Glimpses of the men and women surrounding her flashed in the available light. Gleaming eyes, soft lips, long hair, they were beautiful, and they laughed at her. What the hell was wrong with her? She was being molested by a group of psychotic fashion models, and she should be screaming.

When Richard realizes he's been bitten twice by his vampire lover, he says 'So why are you following me? And does being marked mean that you have some sort of power over me? Will I start eating bugs?' He smiled weakly, but the questions were serious.

8 - Lena has made an interesting decision by the time we meet up with her again, twenty years after her turning. She rejects the truths her maker Darien told her about what it takes to live as a vampire. I enjoyed this original concept toward alternatives to the taking of human life.

9 - In order to survive against the vampire pack she left behind, Lena has become an adept martial arts fighter. As a huge fan of the Kill Bill films, I also relished this aspect of Dark Harmony, which leads to some exciting fight sequences.

10 - Lilly really knows how to end each chapter with a hook. Like this, for example:

"Her eyes flicked to the other man, one she really, really didn’t want to recognize. Her fear grew, oh, so much worse. He snarled in anger. Darien. He had yet to move in her direction, but the threat he exuded could not be ignored. He could be her death. Sweat drenched her in a quick flood. The noise in the bar faded, and people near her backed away as her terror brushed against them.

Time to run. The sounds of the bar flooded back into her senses. She grabbed her satchel and left the table. Her body swayed in tempo with those around her as she passed through the crowd. Some wouldn’t step aside for her and she shoved them, hard, and headed for the back.

'Helena.'

She heard him call, her ex-lover, her ex-master, his voice harsh with anger and, perhaps, longing. Both emotions had her heart pounding. There, a fire door. Forcing it open, she ignored the shrill burst from the fire alarm and fled the area as quickly as possible.

Not quick enough. As she entered the alley, she caught the sickly scent of cooling blood."

11 - As someone who also writes about vampires, I really enjoyed Lilly's scenes involving practical problems such as dealing with the oncoming sunrise. Very nice world-building here.


12 - The three-pronged sai, Lena's weapon of choice, is a good symbol for the flavors of this story. The vampire aspect is the central blade, with action/adventure and dominance/submission running alongside like the two outside blades.

13 - I leave you with an excerpt. Enjoy!

"He walked to the mirror hanging over the dressing table. Those few steps made him dizzy again. He clutched the panties in his fist. Great sex was one thing, but this weakness, that was another. He looked pale in the mirror, and tired. A soft green bruise bloomed on his inner thigh, and on his wrist a darker mark had formed. He looked at his arm and shuddered. There were two tiny scabs in the middle of the bruise.

'Lena?' he called again.

She had to be in the bathroom. Was she embarrassed by their impulsive night? Or feeling like him, sick as a dog?

He pounded against the bathroom door. 'Lena, are you okay?'

The door was locked.

Despite his screaming skull, he knocked louder.

'Lena! Are you all right? Let me in.'

What if she isn’t okay? He dropped her underwear and threw his weight against the door.

***

Lena's dream changed. She bared her fangs and hissed a feral warning. The demon threw agonizing beams of light at her. Her eyes streamed as the light pierced them, and she threw up her arm to protect herself.

Then it was gone. All was quiet. She lapsed back into complete unconsciousness. The dark had returned so her slumber deepened. A part of her sighed for the lost dream.

***

'Holy shit!' Richard panted as he slammed the door between him and the creature in the bathroom.

'Jesus Christ!' He scrambled backward and stared at the door, expecting at any moment to be faced with the spitting cat-creature he’d awoken in the tub. It couldn’t be Lena. It couldn’t. What the fuck was that?

The lights had been off. He’d seen a figure wrapped in blankets lying in the tub. Odd, but perhaps she was shy about sleeping in front of a man who, although they had shared the most intimate of moments, barely knew her.

He’d called her name and flicked on the lights. He’d reached in to shake her shoulder. And then—

Richard shuddered and wiped at the sweat beading on his forehead. The bathroom door remained closed. Everything was quiet. Still, he couldn’t move.

As the bathroom light had flickered on, she changed. It had been Lena, he was sure now. But with the light her face grew furious, and she snarled and hissed at him. And her mouth, her mouth stretched wide to bare those gleaming white fangs, so long—

He checked his wrist. The bruise seemed lighter but the marks were still there. Jesus, she bit me!"

- Lilly Cain, 2010

Join me next week when I review Captive of Sin by Anna Campbell.

Jennifer Leeland says I love the way you break books down like this. I'm going to check this one out.

Lilly Cain says Thank you so much Julia for the wonderful review! I love the way you do these Thursday 13 lists. :)

Shelley Munro says I enjoyed the excerpt at the end.

Through the Opera Glasses - 19 - True Blood Season 2

On Sunday night my husband and I settled in to watch the second season of True Blood, another delicious series from HBO. Here's a trailer for season 2.













How could I resist a series featuring a melancholy vampire like Bill Compton?













Vampire Bill is an American Civil War vet who has taken up residence in Bon Temps, Louisiana, the setting for Charlaine Harris' series of books on which the series is based.




This is the only kind of TV show that can capture my attention - one with quirky, edgy characters and writing that really pushes the envelope.

Although having uber amazing Viking leader Eric doesn't hurt.

















The blundering bad luck of Jason Stackhouse - as well as his racy sexcapades - are a favorite part of the show for me.
















And I really love supporting character Terry Bellefleur, the post traumatic stress disorder Gulf War vet. He has a scene in season 1 where he sees something while out fishing, and flips into battlefield mode, communicating with military hand signals. I just love that scene. His befuddled civilian persona gives way to the soldier within and I love that glimpse of him.


Can't get enough of gay cook Lafayette, either. He tells it like it is, girlfriend.




























And who can resist the rivalry between Bill and diner/bar owner Sam? Especially since Sam keeps a secret of his own...


Not every character in True Blood is male - just my favorite ones. Except for Sookie Stackhouse herself, the main character for the series.

She's fast becoming one of my favorite female characters ever.






Here's the original trailer for season 1. If you haven't discovered True Blood yet, and if you love vampires, oddball towns and superior writing, give this series a look.

You'll pinch yourself to see if you're dreaming.



Ms Snarky Pants says Alas, we canceled our HBO because we weren't watching it near enough!

Jen says This series is next up on my to-be-read list. My friend just finished the first one and she loved it.

Travis says We were at the bookstore last week and took a look at the novels.