Bite Me–now coming to a Kindle near you!

I thought it would be easy…

Two years ago, if anybody told me that I would be writing a vampire story, I’d have laughed hysterically. Not that I don’t like vampires–one of my favorite TV characters is Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s just that vampires have been done, and redone, and overdone until there is not much new to say with them. I tossed Artemis into Wearing the Cape on a whim; she filled the dark vigilante trope and made a nice character-foil for Astra. That she turned into kind of an older sister for Hope was a surprise–that she became many reader’s favorite or second-favorite character was an even bigger one.

So, for the record, Bite Me is not a vampire book. It’s an Artemis book, and Artemis just happens to be an Undead Fiend of The Night. And it has been a real pain in the neck. It took longer to write than Villains Inc., and there were days when I wondered if I could get it done at all.

Why? I’m glad you asked. To put it simply, Jacky isn’t Hope. Learning all about a new city was nothing compared to the frustration of finding Jacky’s voice, of getting inside the head of a perpetually pissed-off vampire. I won’t go into deep character analyses, just say that some days I was as pissed as Jacky.

But it’s finished. Look for it on Kindle this weekend.

And it was fun, in the way that a thrill-ride that makes you almost lose your lunch is fun. Or maybe running a marathon. Now comes the next fun part: biting my nails while waiting to hear from Artemis’ fans.

Word of warning: to everyone who forgot about Jacky’s reference to her New Orleans trip, Bite Me takes place between Wearing the Cape and Villains Inc–it is #2, chronologically.

So, contest time again. For the month of October, everyone who posts a review of Bite Me: Big Easy Nights on Amazon will have their name put into the hat (please post me here with your email addresses). At the end of the month I will draw two names and send the winners signed copies of the Createspace paperback edition.

Meanwhile, I’m going to put my head down and try and finish my third Astra book (tentatively titled Young Sentinels), by the end of the year. I had set a goal of two new books for 2012, so no promises but I’m going to do my level best; updates will be forthcoming.

PS: the awesome cover was created by Michelle Monique, who I was lucky enough to find through deviantart.com. Check out her other stuff here.