Years ago, I had a dream that involved a vampire named David and he began the Vampires in Manhattan Series even though it was only a secondary but very important character in the first book When Love Survives.
This is the book where David meets Laura, and his quest to win her love by taking her home to New Orleans, where everything goes wrong and love becomes a life and death matter.
I call it a roadtrip because this winding story of adventure and love takes the reader to many places.
What does an author do when that happens:
- Collect maps of all the places where one of your main characters will stop.
- Figure out driving distances or flying distances if the vampire is flying at night
- Make notes on what happens in each place. You have to justify why that character is there and how is stopping there moving the story forward.
- Put up your main map and put pins in each place. Study that place for the advantages and disadvantages it gives your main character.
- Underworld or other world places. Yes, my book has those kind of places. Make them real by making a list of stops, how to get into these places. How long it took your character to get there? What is good or bad about each place?
- When dealing with other world places, it is important that you know how your character or characters are going to get out. Getting out can be an urgent matter.
- Doing this legwork will make it easier to keep track of time and where your character is. It’s also fun!
An Excerpt from The Stormy Love Life of Laura Cordelais:
When she fell unconscious, David took to the sky again. Dawn was near, and he had to get her somewhere safe. The cemetery on the other side of the river would suffice. In the sheltered dark of the city’s ancestors, David embraced her. He understood the pain she held. As it radiated into him, he knew more and more about her. David could not let her die; he just couldn’t.
Her body was limp, beyond misery. If he didn’t act quickly, she’d be gone. David ripped her blouse to bare her neck, and then pierced the delicate flesh with his fangs. He drew her blood slowly into him and closed his eyes to concentrate. He had to catch that last beat. One, two, three, four. Each grew slower and fainter. Five. Then there was silence. Withdrawing his fangs from the wound, he bit his lower lip and allowed some of his own blood to seep into her. Then he licked the wound to help it close. A tear slid down his face. He mourned for the loss of her humanity and hoped she would accept his gift. The sun came up beyond the mausoleum’s walls, and David wrapped her in his coat. It would be hours before the change, but he would watch over her as if she might awaken any moment.
She was the loveliest creature he’d ever seen with her flowing blonde hair, the pale blue eyes he’d glimpsed just before they closed, the delicate features, and rose petal lips. He so wanted to taste those lips. Was it possible to love someone so completely when you first meet? Was she the answer to his eternal loneliness? He took her sweet hand in his and kissed it. He would wait.
*
Laura struggled through the dark and burst through a great light. She gasped for breath and it filled her. Warmth spread through her every part, then a surge of energy she didn’t understand. Her heart beat. Differently. Odd. Different from any feeling she’d ever had. Her eyelashes fluttered and then in the dim light of a strange windowless room, she saw a man’s face.
His dark, curly hair framed his chiseled features. What struck her most were his dark, fathomless eyes. I can get lost in those eyes and never want to leave.
He smiled.
She flushed. I hope he can’t hear what I’m thinking.
I can.
She sat up, smiling with embarrassment. “You pulled me out of the river?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.” Laura trembled. “I don’t understand. I was dying.”
“You were very badly injured in the fall. I was going to take you to the hospital, but you said, ‘No hospital.’ That you’d keep trying to kill yourself.” His jaw tightened. “I couldn’t bear the idea of your death. Please, forgive me, but I couldn’t let you die.” He gazed deeply into her eyes.
Laura moved her tongue inside her mouth and came across the fangs.
“Oh, my God!” She tried to sit up, but he pushed her gently down.
“Don’t get up just yet. You’re still healing.”
“You made me a vampire?” Every tale she’d heard as a child in New Orleans rushed back to her. Vampires were monsters. “Now I’m a monster!” Anger flushed through her. How dare he make her this! He had no right. She seethed.
“No. You are not a monster. Neither am I. I gave you a life. It’s your choice how you live it.”
Then another emotion unexpectedly filled her, when she gazed up into his eyes. I couldn’t bear the idea of your death. His tender words echoed in her entire being and soothed her broken heart, as if he’d kissed her lips without touching her. She looked at him with wonder, reached up and caressed the young beard on his chin. He smiled and she could see his fangs now. Strangely, she wasn’t frightened.
*
If you want to find out what happens next, The Stormy Love Life of Laura Cordelais, Vampires in Manhattan, Book 2 is available in Kindle and Print and Barnes and Noble Print
Stay safe and well, my friends! Keep warm.
Truly,
Susan
Susan Hanniford Crowley
https://susanhannifordcrowley.com
https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Hanniford-Crowley/e/B004YXOGXG
EverNight for ages 13-113 is now available on Kindle and Amazon Paperback.
EverWarm for ages 13-113 is now available on Kindle and Amazon Paperback.
Lady Fallon’s Dragons for ages 13-113 is now available on Kindle and Amazon Paperback, Nook, Kobo, Smashwords, BAM online bookstore sells the paperback, Scribd, and in paperback in the UK at Waterstones, also on Amazon around the world.
The Vampire with a Blanket of Stars, Arnhem Knights of New York, Book 3 is available in Amazon Print and Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Apple, Walmart ebooks & Smashwords.
Vampire King of New York, Arnhem Knights of New York, Book 1 now in Kindle and Print! Walmart Bookstore Online
Vampire in the Basement, Vampires in Manhattan, Book 4 available on Kindle.
Poseidon’s Catch(mythology romance) is available on Kindle.
Mrs. Bright’s Tea Room (steampunk romance) is available on Kindle.
A Vampire for Christmas, Vampires in Manhattan, Book 3 available on Kindle.
The Stormy Love Life of Laura Cordelais, Vampires in Manhattan, Book 2 available in Kindle and Print and Barnes and Noble Print
When Love Survives, Vampires in Manhattan Book 1 is available on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Smashwords, and iBooks (on Apple devices).
for the return of the princess.
Nights of Passion 