Counting Blessings & An AKM Update

Really? It's February already? Where did January go?

2013 has already started off with a bang. A loud, very wild KABOOM! But in a good way.

Aside from having to dodge a couple of stalkers, January was an outstanding month. I released my fourth AKM book, Rebel Obsession, while simultaneously offering book one, Rise of the Fallen, as a free read.

Oh goodness! I can't describe how successful the free offering was. Best thing I think I could have done to celebrate the release of book four, because January was a record-breaking month. I sold more books in January than I did in all of 2012, and my final results amazed even me. Fan feedback was incredible, with my AKM boys pulling in hundreds of new fans, and Rise of the Fallen being voted by readers as their second favorite story for January on GraveTells, ahead of books by Lara Adrian and Kresley Cole. I'm one extremely grateful person right now for a lot of reasons, one of which is that I have a mountain of respect for Adrian and Cole, and I love their work, and for my little story to be voted so favorably by readers in a category of stories that included theirs is humbling and unfathomable. So, many thanks to those who have shown such love for Rise and all the other AKM books.

Additionally, book two of the AKM series, Heart of the Warrior, has won over a tremendous amout of first-time m/m romance readers, and the feedback from readers has been heartwarming. I have received so many comments about how a reader had never considered reading a m/m romance before, but Heart of the Warrior won them over. Readers love the raw emotion and love between the characters in Heart, and if I had a nickel for every reader who said they broke down in tears from the story (in a good way), I'd be rich. One reader actually told me Heart touched him on a very real, personal level, because Sev's and Ari's story reminded him of his own. That means so much to me to know that something I wrote touched someone in such a very personal way.

Furthermore, the initial feedback for Rebel Obsession has been outstanding. I've had several tell me that Rebel is the best of the series so far, with a few more saying that this story also brought them to tears. The pain of the characters seemed to touch readers on a deeper level than I thought it would. And who would have thought Io could redeem himself after the way he behaved in Heart of the Warrior? But, he did. And fans love him.

Lastly, the response to Rise of the Fallen carried over to Micah's Calling, the novella follow-up to Rise. MC was my #1 seller in January, which is simply amazing. I actually feel like MC is my weakest of the series, but fans have loved it. Just loved it.

Next up is Malek's book, Return of the Assassin, and I hope he continues the trend so that readers can once again cry and rejoice through his pain and eventual (hopefully) salvation.

And I know you're all waiting for Traceon's story, Bound Guardian Angel. He's on his way. His story comes after Malek's, and it's shaping up in my mind to be worth the wait. But something tells me that even after his story, we'll hear more from him. A lot more.

In addition to those two books, I'm also working on a four-part prequel, which will include a view into Tristan's and Josie's story, as well as a novella for Sev and Ari (yes, my hot m/m couple get a novella). Beyond that, there's lots more to come in the AKM world, with a sister series beginning to develop, as well as 5 more AKM books already in various stages of planning.

Happy reading and writing! And HAPPY 2013 TO ALL!

-D

So, I Like To Write About #Vampires - 31 Days of #Halloween Continue

Since I was uber busy moving into my new home office this weekend, I got behind on my blog posts, so I'll try to make up for that in the next couple of days. So, onward we go with the 31 Days of Halloween. And remember, I'll post a quiz at the end of this week based on the week's posts, and one lucky person will win a prize.

Drake Mefestta - Proclaimed Real Life Vampire
Chicago, IL

As my 31 Days of Halloween continue, I thought I would talk about vampires today. Fitting since the series I'm working on is about vampires. A few years ago, the buzz was that vampires in fiction were out. "Oh, vampire stories are phasing out. No one wants to read about vampires anymore." I haven't noticed this trend. Fans seem to love my vampires, and the vampire buzz is as strong, if not stronger, than ever. For instance, love it or hate it, Twilight is still popular, and J.R. Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series doesn't show signs of letting up, especially with the much-anticipated story of Blaylock and Qhuinn coming out. And then of course, there's True Blood. Countless authors continue to write fabulous stories related to vampires and their realm. And who's that fellow in the pic? Drake Mefestta, who lives in Chicago, claims to be a real life vampire. So, no, I don't think the vampire rage is dying just yet. I think readers want different takes on the vampire concept, but vampire stories are still popular.

My All the King's Men series focuses on a team of vampire warriors-turned-enforcers, but my vampire world isn't the run-of-the-mill world as depicted in tradition or in other books. My vampires can be born as mixed-bloods who inherit special powers as their genetic makeup misfires. Some gifts are more benevolent than others, and while some of my vampires, such as Traceon, have to remain on constant vigil to ensure their powers don't consume and alter them into mutants, others live in relative harmony with their extra special powers.

Some of my vampires can endure daylight, but others can't, based on whether they are full-bloods or mixed, and each comes with his or her own inner demons and quirks. In Rise of the Fallen (book one of the series), Micah's demons revolved around the loss of his first mate. He externalized that loss and became a reclusive yet powerful vigilante...a danger to himself and others until he found Samantha (well, she found him).

As for some of the other characters:

• Malek, who has known Micah the longest and could pass as his brother for all their physical similarities, also suffers from the loss of his first mate, who was human. Unlike Micah, though, Malek internalized his loss, becoming a sterile, whitewashed version of himself rather than face the reality of his mate's death. I'm writing his story now, and as he finally faces Carmen's death, he explodes into near-psychosis from the emotional upheaval and inner struggle not to defile Carmen's memory as he fights his desire to mate another who has unwittingly stolen his soul.
• Severin's inner demons involve hiding his genetic ties to the vampires' natural enemy, the drecks, as well as the tragic way he was conceived.
• Arion? Well, Arion has lived a lie his entire life so he could maintain peace within his family. But when he meets Severin, all bets are off as his true self demands to be heard.
• Traceon or Trace...well, I can't begin to detail all his demons. That male has stolen the series and has become THE character EVERYONE wants to know more about. He has a good heart, but he is damaged, damaged, and damaged some more. So much has happened to Trace throughout his life, and I allow his story to unfold a little in each book as the series progresses...because if I try to reveal all of his issues just in his book, it will be too much and won't work.

At any rate, here is some vampire trivia for you to chew over, and if you're a paranormal author like me, you might garner a few plot/story ideas from the list:

Vampire Trivia - Part 1

Vampire Trivia

A group of vampires has variously been called a clutch, brood, coven, pack, or a clan.

One way to supposedly deter a vampire is to throw seeds (usually mustard) outside a door or place a fishing net outside a window. Vampires are compelled to count the seeds or the holes in the net, delaying them until the sun comes up.

Anemia (“bloodlessness”) was often mistaken for a symptom of vampire attack.

The Egyptian goddess Sekhmet was known to drink blood, and the ancient fanged goddess Kaliof India also had a powerful desire for blood.

A vampire supposedly has control over the animal world and can turn into a bat, rat, owl, moth, fox, or wolf.

Female vampires were often blamed for spreading the bubonic plague throughout Europe.

According to several legends, if someone was bitten by a suspected vampire, he or she should drink the ashes of a burned vampire. To prevent an attack, a person should make bread with the blood of a vampire and eat it.

Some historians argue that Prince Charles is a direct descendant of Vlad the Impaler, the son of Vlad Dracula.