Welcome to my blog Julie,
I understand you had a great co-author on your new vamp thriller, S L Daniels. And a historical novel to boot.
Most of us have never co-authored a novel. Tell us how it worked out for you and how you both managed.
Thanks for
having me here, Lorrie! Always good to see you!
Writing an
historical novel is different than writing a lot of other types of books
because it involves things that actually happened, not just things that take
place in the author’s head. Verifiable events and times which can be remembered
or read about in history books. This requires more meticulous research into the
era involved, and people’s lives at that time. Also, collaborating with another
author is different from sitting down and writing whatever comes to mind. SL
Danielson and I managed both feats in our first collaborative effort, My
Fair Vampire. The research was relatively easy to do, especially made
easier as we set the book in our own back yard—turn of the century St. Louis,
Missouri, during the time of the Louisiana Exposition. Or you might know it by
its more common name—the World’s Fair.
As for
learning to write together, that came with trial and errors, but we seemed to
fall into a definite rhythm of literary cooperation almost immediately, and in
the process became friends.
I imagine
every literary couple has its own methods for writing together. Without the Internet,
though, most couldn’t do it, and we were no exception, despite living in the
same town. We did our work via emails and attachments. Back and forth, both in
the writing and in the plotting. And bit by bit a story began to grow.
Basically we
started by each creating a character. These two became our protagonists. We
developed them separately but worked on the plot together. William Deming is a young reporter from a
small Utah newspaper who is given the chance to cover the World’s Fair—and he
leaps at it! Fresh-faced and eager, he arrives by train to the city that has
the spotlight of the world for this moment in time. Many people in St. Louis
were opening their homes to the visitors that flooded their town, renting rooms
to the newcomers for the duration of their stay. William finds a place within
walking distance of the Fair, to his delight, a boarding house on Lindell
Avenue, run by a Russian woman by the name of Ekaterina, who just happens to
have a dark and mysterious nephew. His name is Misha.
But Misha
has a secret, one he dare not reveal to the handsome reporter who intrigues him
so. Misha is a creature of the night. A vampire. Turned by the not-yet infamous
monk Rasputin in his homeland of Russia, Misha has come to the United States to
live with his aunt in order to avoid service in the Russian army. He is
discreet both in taking sustenance and in satisfying the needs of his libido,
which hungers for young men, and not women. But how long can he withhold the
truth from William, and when it comes out will he lose him forever?
Working with
another writer has advantages. You have someone to bounce ideas off of, someone
to do half the writing, someone who understands the characters and the
situations as well as you do who can give you insight into them and vice versa.
If you pick the right co-author, and
work hard together, your book can come together in less time than if you’d
written it alone.
Thanks for
having me here today, Lorrie. I always
enjoy visiting with you!
Always a pleasure to have such talent on my blog. Now give us a little taste of the novel.
Blurb: In 1904, the world’s spotlight shone brightly
on St. Louis, Missouri—gateway to the West and host of the Louisiana Purchase
Exposition. Visitors came from all points of the globe to wonder, to gape, to
taste, to explore and to enjoy the marvels which the World’s Fair had to offer.
An ambitious young reporter from Utah, William Deming, sees his chance to not
only visit the fair, but make a name for himself by reporting on its goings on.
He takes a room in a boarding house, close to the Fair itself. What he doesn’t
count on is meeting Misha—a young and handsome Russian, whose aunt owns the
boarding house.
Misha is
something William has never encountered before—a vampire! As if that isn’t
enough to accept, when a man is discovered murdered at the Fair, William has to
wonder if his Misha is involved. Especially as there seems to have been a
connection between the vampire and the victim. Will an old flame cause new
problems for William and Misha? Will they find love at the World’s Fair? Or
will theirs be doomed to be a fatal attraction?
Excerpt:
Prologue
April
23, 1904
William
unfurled the crisp Utah Gazette in
his hands. The periodical smelled of fresh ink, and the paper was still warm.
'Hot off the press', as the saying went. He took care not to hold the page too
long, so his fingers wouldn’t smudge the fresh print.
1904 World's Fair to be held in St. Louis, Missouri.
William's
heart skipped a beat. Such an opportunity! To meet people from distant
lands, to see amazing sights from around the globe—truly a marvelous
undertaking. I must make certain I become the reporter Mr. Andrews chooses to
send to the exposition.
He licked his
lips in anticipation and felt his woolen pants rise. Travel always had that
effect on him. Of course, so did the delicious possibility of an exotic visitor
who might cross his path. One that didn't speak English, but was a linguistics
master in the language of sex. It'd been far too long for him, and he needed to
tip the scales in the other direction.
He slipped
into the washroom and nervously checked his reflection in the mirror. His blond
hair was darkened by a liberal amount of oil; he only used it to tame his
unruly cowlick. His cheeks appeared hollow in his thin, pale face, and his chin
pointed. His favorite feature was his large, blue eyes; after that, he was most
fond of his tame nose, thankful his family's history of large noses had not
carried over to him.
He adjusted the
round Benjamin Franklin-like spectacles he'd worn since he was ten years old,
when he’d squinted at the blackboards at school. All eight of his older
siblings taunted him with cries of four
eyes and other teasing nicknames, which he greatly resented. Over time,
though, he'd adjusted to the glasses. As his grades surpassed most everyone
else's in the family, he felt as smart as they made him look.
He smoothed
down his large tie and flattened out his vest. His brown woolen suit was still
somewhat new—a Christmas present from his parents. He’d have to get it tailored
a bit. He'd lost some weight since he’d moved from the quiet mountains to the
relatively hectic Salt Lake City to take his position at the Gazette. The work
kept him busy, often with little time to eat.
Chapter One
April 30, 1904
The crowds began arriving
even before the sun, making their way from streetcars, from shuttles, and on
foot—some having parked their vehicles at great distances in order to attend
this historic event. They milled patiently about the main entrance gate on
Lindell Boulevard until eight o'clock, mingling with the three hundred some-odd
St. Louis police officers who’d been assigned there. At that time they were
allowed to slog their way through the turnstiles and onto the fairgrounds
themselves. This grand event had actually been delayed for a year. Originally
meant to begin on April 30, 1903, which would have been the centennial of the
day on which Thomas Jefferson completed the Louisiana Purchase, it had been
postponed to allow time for it to be done properly. Even President
Roosevelt—who’d traveled to St. Louis on the original day just for the
occasion—had to admit that while progress was remarkable, and everything was
just "bully" (as he put it in his own inimitable way), it did need
more time in order to be the vision they wanted it to be.
The weather in St. Louis
had decided to cooperate, which in and of itself was something of an
accomplishment, as the natives of that fair city would attest. Balmy
temperatures were an added incentive to attend the Fair; the day was filled
with gentle breezes, and sunny skies, and spirits were running high.
Shortly after nine
o'clock, the opening ceremony speeches began, the first speaker being none
other than David R. Francis, whom many considered to be the architect and chief
mover of the World's Fair. Former mayor of St. Louis and former governor of
Missouri, now a respected member of the business community once more, he’d
begun drumming up support for the Fair back in 1896. Having obtained five
million dollars from the U.S. Congress, he went on to acquire ten million more
in state, city, and private funding, forming the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
Company. He was named its president, and people referred to him thereafter,
with affection, as President Francis.
After Francis's speech, in
which he referred to the 1904 World's Fair as a distinct step forward, a marching band led by John Philip Sousa
began to play, to everyone's delight. The strains of Stars and Stripes Forever reverberated throughout the area by the
Grand Basin where all were congregated. After some two hours of speeches, the
crowd parted to admit a carriage escorted by cavalry from Jefferson Barracks.
The vehicle contained none other than Secretary of War William Howard Taft, who
spoke on behalf of Theodore Roosevelt, who waited back in Washington, in the
East Room of the White House. Taft spoke of harmony and world peace, of nations
working together for the good of all, of hopes for the future.
Once Taft concluded his
speech, it was time. An expectant hush fell over the crowd, which was estimated
somewhere in the two hundred thousand range. President Francis pressed a gold
telegraph key, which sent a signal to the waiting President Roosevelt back in
Washington. In turn, T.R. pressed his own key, sending the signal back to St.
Louis. Thousands of flags in a multitude of hues were raised on high, while
water flowed into the fountains and the waterfall known as the Cascades, which
traversed the hill from Festival Hall down to the Grand Basin, to the cheers of
the excited throng.
The 1904 World's Fair had
begun!
Wowee, Julie, I know what is going next in my Kindle. This one!!!
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Bio
Julie Lynn Hayes was reading at the age of two and writing by the age of nine and always wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Two marriages, five children, and more than forty years later, that is still her dream. She blames her younger daughters for introducing her to yaoi and the world of M/M love, a world which has captured her imagination and her heart and fueled her writing in ways she'd never dreamed of before. She especially loves stories of two men finding true love and happiness in one another's arms and is a great believer in the happily ever after. She lives in St. Louis with her daughter Sarah and two cats, loves books and movies, and hopes to be a world traveler some day. Currently unemployed, she continues to write her books and stories, and reviews which she posts in various places on the internet. Her family thinks she is a bit off, but she doesn't mind. Marching to the beat of one's own drummer is a good thing, after all. Her published works can be found at Wicked Nights, Dreamspinner Press, and Silver Publishing. You can email her at tothemax.wolf@gmail.com or follow her blog, Full Moon Dreaming
Thanks so much for sharing with us today, Julie.
You are such a talented author, I've enjoyed your books.
Leave a comment for Julie, folks, we happen to love comments.
