Kindle Free Downloads for Cupid’s Kill

The second portion of Cupid’s Kill should be released today. In the mean time enjoy a free download of Cupid’s Kill Part 1.

http://www.amazon.com/Cupids-Kill-ebook/dp/B0076AB4UC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1338125899&sr=1-1

Remember, death is only a click away!

Chapter 1 of Weaving Evil

Tapestry of Silk

 

Today, I found an old friend. Death is his name, with pain and suffering accompanying him as comfortable roommates. Vanessa Servais read the newly written words over and over, until tears flooded her eyes. She adjusted her glasses, and brushed away the silky red hair, that her mother, if she were alive, would insist had grown way too long. The late Alexis Servais most likely would have also made less than flattering comments regarding her daughter’s current choice to wear non-fashionable eyewear, especially, with state of the art surgical procedures available to correct such a deficiency. That’s how Alexis had always treated her. A fucking deficiency.  The matriarch and elite socialite didn’t voice her disdain for the only child in an open forum, but distant behavior, excessive alcohol consumption, and numerous adulterous encounters, were strong indicators, the woman who had everything, was not satisfied with the life choices she had made. Opportunity to persecute and demean Vanessa appeared to be frequent on her agenda, especially, after the Servais family had learned, Vanessa’s father, Ripley Servais had developed a cancerous tumor, which all medical consults determined, was inoperable. Discussion between the family on the topic had been sparse, and the tragedy that was soon to befall, even catapulted Alexis’ unscrupulous behavior further. A few weeks before his rapid decline, Ripley Servais presented his only daughter with this journal. A short time later, it was the only piece of her father, or anyone for that matter, whoever cared about her that was left.

Enough down memory lane. Closing the worn journal, she scanned the small apartment, for signs her secret world had been invaded by people, who wouldn’t understand… couldn’t understand.  Satisfied her solitude was intact; she secured the gold-plated hasp locking device. She ran her fingers along the smooth leather, cherishing this gift. A girlish smile crossed her lips, as she gazed at the gold lettering that still managed to emerge through. The Keeper of Secrets was first used, to haphazardly scribble down her fantasies about teenage boys she would have casual conversations with, but was much too shy to ever act on. Since those awkward years, Vanessa had grown into a voluptuous scholar, who experimented with her compliment of relationships, which usually ended up in failure. But she never gave up hope, and continued to jot down a note or two in her journal, for future references, hoping to create a roadmap to find the right mate. Her undergraduate studies at Ohio State found her more focused in the field of entomology, and less concerned with romantic involvements… except one. The passion for work led her to the west coast, involving her more with the bio-chemistry side of the field. As Vanessa’s  post-graduate years passed, visible cynicism crept in, and the journal writings became less and less about dreams of love and being loved, and shifted focus on pain and little tolerance for the human species, in any form…

Vanessa clutched the journal to her chest, as she hurried through the small apartment, only stopping when she reached her destination. The tidy but featureless kitchen housed the standard appliances and furnishings most would have in their residences, except perhaps the door to any pantry they may own, probably didn’t have two industrial sized padlocks keeping safe haven on their staple of Ramen Noodles and Pure Cane sugar from Hawaii. Vanessa reached at her neck, as she removed a gold chain from underneath her blouse. Two metallic colored keys, approximately the same size and shape, were positioned at the end of the chain, and within seconds, found their purpose rotating the tumblers in the heavy locks. She was careful in removing them, almost quiet even, as not to disturb what lay behind the private entry.

Stepping through, darkness swallowed her; she was momentarily frightened. Even though this was her Utopia, the unknown and unseen, especially in this place, would terrify anyone. She reached high above her head, until she located the switch, which quickly put a fluorescent hue upon the interior. My little angels. Her eyes lit up with joy, as she stashed the journal in a man-made cement crevice just inside the doorway. Gazing upon the packed shelves, Vanessa’s breath started to quicken. She smiled. “Did you miss me today? I certainly missed you!” A movement to her right caused her to smile in earnest. “Maxine, you must need some TLC. Come to mommy.” The tall red-head placed both hands around a glass container and removed it from the middle shelf. Careful not to take a misstep and damage the precious cargo, she placed it on a medium sized oval shaped table located in the center of the room. Vanessa gazed at the assortment of colorful foliage, as she mindfully tapped at the glass, trying to gain the attention of the sole inhabitant. “Maxine, time to work…don’t be shy.” At first, the consistent reverberation of Vanessa’s fingertips against Maxine’s temporary home was a mere disruption in the resident’s daily regimen. This was her world. The Queen ruled her Kingdom with a lack of forgiveness. All of her visitors, ended up in a tapestry of silk, only to be drained of their life juices and digested, so she could maintain her beauty and strength.

Vanessa’s efforts finally aroused the female creature to emerge from her shelter. My perfect girl. Vanessa’s face beamed with delight, as she removed the tin lid. She turned back to the rows of shelves, again choosing another container, identical only in description. A quick turn of the cover, unveiled several wrapped medical syringes. She plucked one from the group, and closed the container. Vanessa returned to the table, realizing Maxine was now making a full appearance to her public. The carnivore’s sleek dark body glistened, as her eight thin, but agile legs, glided her along the verdant floor of the glass. Her abdomen was highlighted with a colorful birthmark, which doubled as an identifier; one which could entice fear, intense pain, and sometimes even cause her victims to have a rendezvous with the afterlife. The bright hourglass design was the reason Vanessa had chosen her; a most important role in the demented world Vanessa was about to create.

The redhead removed the syringe from its package, slowly lowering it into the cylinder. The creature realized its’ home had been invaded, and tried to scurry to shelter, but her feeble attempts resulted in absolute failure. Vanessa’s steady hand guided the sharp steel into the depths of Maxine’s flesh, piercing the sweet spot, relieving the creature of her special elixir. Vanessa’s lips formed a devilish grin, as the clear cap of the medical instrument was quickly filled. She was careful not to remove the needle with recklessness; hopefully repeated use would be on the menu. Speaking of menu. She capped the needle, watching as Maxine didn’t waste time retreating to a safe haven under the foliage. “Thank you Maxine. I have a special treat for you.” Excited, Vanessa stored the syringe in the small fridge in the pantry. Returning to the row of shelves, she removed one more container. This one didn’t follow the cookie cutter model of the others. It had two major differences. One, it was square in shape, and secondly, the glass was more opaque than all of the others she used to house her guests. She reached inside, and removed the lone occupant. The tan eight legged arachnid sported many of the characteristics of his female complement, He even possessed the faint unique birthmark the species shared. But the male black widow was rather harmless and for that matter, helpless when compared to his female counterpart and this difference alone would soon cost him dearly. Vanessa slid the new guest into the Queen’s container, and admired how expedient Maxine responded to her mate. A ghoulish grin filled her face. A tapestry of silk ends it all!

Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone!

Many people read my work expecting a mass of intriguing crime scenes, that almost tip the scale when it comes to blood and gore! I love creating these works, but I recently asked myself if this was the only type of writing I could accomplish?
Now, several weeks later, I realize, if I intend to become a author worth his salt, I need to expand my horizons and work on material which propels me from my little comfort zone I have established. I have started this process with research from a novel coming in 2014, entitled, Saviour from the Grave. This story you might classify as paranormal/horror, which may not seem to break my stronghold away from the bloodlust, but it does start me in another direction and hopefully more fans are receptive to this. I promise you, the serial killer tales will still be there, but there will also be some, that just might touch your heart. (Yes, just a little hallmark.) I always envisioned my writing having multiple phases, and within each phase comes new challenges. Each will be answered in due time and I hope all of you stay around to watch! Well, time to finish the second installment of Cupid’s Kill, which will knock your socks off. Hehe!

Until next time…remember, death is only a click away!

Writing the Back-Cover Blurb Part 1. (The Hook)

Welcome, friends and fans! Today I wanted to speak with you about creating the back cover blurb for your potential novel, novella, short story, etc…Your current fully edited WIP, (work-in progress, just in case some of you don’t know. is all but ready to be e-mailed to your literary agent or publisher, and all that remains, is the three to four paragraphs describing your 400 page masterpiece. Now, some authors stress out thinking about this synopsis of sorts, but I’m here to tell you, “Take a few deep breaths and a nice beverage…and relax.”  Remember, you just finished a beautiful story. Time to complete the process and entice the readers (like you did the whole time you were creating.)

The first key is develop a “hook”, to draw people to your work. The “hook” is going to be similar to the one you created when sending out those fifty something query letters. (Maybe more like 100…just saying.) The first several words need to be your best. (just my opinion.) Example:for my debut novel, Lucifer’s Calling, the first sentence draws my readers in. “A paralyzing prescription is recipe for creating one man’s art.” Now, the key words that leap off the page are: paralyzing, prescription, and recipe.  Does that make sense to most of you so far? (Duh, a rhetorical question…indeed.) Words are powerful, and using them in a manner which makes people really think, will reward both  you and your audience. Okay, so there is your juicy tidbit dangling in front of potential readers. They want to know!.

Now, in the last few weeks, I just released the first installment of my two-part novella, Cupid’s Kill. I followed the same pattern on this work, as I did from my debut release years ago. The goal of your blurb/mini synopsis is to immediately grab the attention of your readers or others, who may be scrolling through Amazon or B&N looking for one of their favorite authors. All of a sudden, they happen to see a book cover (Hopefully you have an appealing one.) along the bottom of the screen that catches their eye. Next, they happen to click on it and read the blurb/synopsis. You may receive unexpected readers because of what that first blurb says. So it’s important for us to have key words in our blurb/synopsis which will propel your opportunity for even more sales.  Let’s try a little experiment…if you writers out there would like to throw your opening sentence of your blurb at us, we will put them on next week’s blog and share them with our fans. The audience can tell us, what they like and what draws them to each blurb, or what doesn’t. (We don’t want that to happen.)  Let’s have some fun with this, and hopefully we can help each other to make the blurb creation process for our works something we all can enjoy.  Enough said…until next week, remember…death is only a click away!

Cupid’s Kill Part 1…now FREE on Kindle!

Want a free copy of my latest release, “Cupid’s Kill, Part 1″? Here’s a note from my publisher:

Happy Valentine’s Day from Cold Moon Press. We love our readers…and we’re giving away free ebooks to show it! Throughout this week, you can get a short story for your Kindle from our new line, Cold Moon Slivers. Find out how by clicking here: http://coldmoonpress.com/coldmoonslivers.html

Cupid’s Kill, Part 1

In the next week, I will be releasing part one of my latest short story, “Cupid’s Kill” on Kindle and in several other ebook formats. As a bonus, it will be part of my publisher’s celebration of the opening of their ebook short story line. I will be spotlighted February 12-18, and the story will be available as a FREE download during the “We love our Readers!” week. Stay tuned for how to get your free copy!

Death arrives in diverse delivery methods.

One in particular is a plague to the detectives of the Marcona Police Department. A monster has returned, and he won’t rest until his vengeance is complete. Armed with a paralyzing concoction and the tools of his trade, he targets a select few to add to his collection.

Chief Mark Blankenship, along with detectives Brian Jeffers and Kelli Jordan, face off against the madman, hoping to end his bloody path of destruction.

Unfortunately, they haven’t anticipated the killer will sacrifice at all costs, making one of them his prized token…

To Write…or not to Write!

Now, there’s  a thought for you. I started writing in my teens, and for the most part, during those few years, it was a staple of my daily ritual. I would get up in the morning, have a quick protein drink (Yes, I started drinking those at early age, too), head off to school, and sit through a few doldrum classes (I can’t remember to this day what they were). I would start to get excited when it came time for my study hall period. That’s when I pulled out the pen and paper and began to create my stories. Each selection would be unique and range in genre from sci-fi to thrillers. If I wasn’t saving the galaxy or taking down criminals, the day wasn’tcomplete.

But somewhere between the age of seventeen and thirty-seven (uh oh…I’m dating myself now), my daily journey with right-brain activities became less and less, and then, for the most part, nonexistent. Well, to this day, I believe a large part of me was lost. Several times during those years, I would sometimes get the nerve to sit at the pc and start typing a story…only never finishing it.

After a work related injury, I vowed to re-ignite my hunger for writing. I set small goals for myself and, without much difficulty, surpassed them. Soon, I had finished my first novel, and to be honest, the publication of it wasn’t my only agenda. The reality was this: the ability to create was never lost, just sidetracked.  After such a layoff, I knew writing was a part of me, and that would never disappear.  For me, to write, is a option…I don’t have. Next week I’m going to talk about how to create the blurb for the back cover of my novels, and short stories. Until then, always remember…death is only a click away.