Valentine's giveaway

I'm giving away signed copies of my historical novels, Gilded and Voices Airy, in honor of Valentine's Day. Here are the rules and info about each book.

RULES:

Send a blank email with the title of the book you'd like to win in the subject line to suburbanvampire@gmail.com. All entries must be received by Wednesday, February 13, 2008.

I'm conducting the contest raffle style, and I'll announce the winners on Thursday, February 14, 2008. One winner will receive a signed copy of Gilded and the other will win a signed copy of Voices Airy.

VOICES AIRY: In 1918, Rosaline Milne, a captivating young San Diego woman, conjures up spirits in her darkened seance room and mystifies both her new husband and her sister.

"A ghostly historical drama...captivating and suspenseful. Karp is a gifted wordsmith."
~Dark Realms Magazine

"Karp hits the literary nail on the head with her latest novel."
~The Historical Novels Review

"This offbeat, unique tale has memorable characters whose stories are told against an expertly researched background."
~Romantic Times BOOKclub

GILDED:Hollywood Film Festival Book Award Winner. A tale of sex, violence, and gorgeous hats in 1890s America.

"Superbly written and highly recommended... The movement for women's liberation and its intersection with the fate of one woman trapped in a turbulent and unhappy marriage form the substance of an exciting, emotional, reaching novel..."
~The Midwest Book Review

"A juggernaut of suspense."
~The Historical Novels Review

"Karp has written an exquisitely plotted tale of female angst."
~Blether

For more info about the novels, visit CatherineKarp.com.

Buffy lives on

Looks like Buffy tops my vampire movie/TV poll. I asked, "Which would you prefer to watch?" Here are the results:

30 Days of Night (11%), Buffy the Vampire Slayer (33%), Dracula (11%), Dark Shadows (5%), The Lost Boys (22%), Love at First Bite (16%)

I'm adding a book-related poll this time, and your answer can be in regard to any books, not just ones involving vampires.

Check back by the end of the week--I'll post info about my Valentine's giveaway, hopefully no later than Friday. I'm still working on my freelance project and dealing with a cold, so I'm running a little slow right now.

Stuff

I've added a new poll to the blog just for fun. The results from my last poll showed most Suburban Vampire guests are seeking vampire names for themselves--although I'm sure there are various reasons why one would need a vampire name.

Speaking of which, if anyone's a vampire fan in the Portland, OR, area, check out the Vampires Masquerade Ball on March 29.

I probably won't be blogging too much this week. I'm doing a freelance project, plus I'm my daughter's troop's Girl Scout Cookie Manager and orders are due this week (no, I'm not able to sell cookies over the Web). By the end of the month, I plan to post info about a giveaway in celebration of Valentine's Day. And as soon as I hear word of a publishing contract, I'll give away wine from Vampire Vineyards (she writes in hopes that the positive vibes from vampire and fiction fans will be felt in New York).

The need for writer buds

I may have to revise my answer to the writing mentor question in the Ten Writerly Questions post from the other day. There was a discussion of the answer at The Writer's Tale. Specifically, the idea of a writing mentor was expanded to include writer friends who are there for you when you need emotional support, feedback, and the type of empathy that only a writer friend trying to make a go at this business can give. In my post, I said I didn't have a writing mentor, meaning there isn't a wise, old (or maybe not so old) writerly soul who offers me Yoda-style advice. If we're talking writer bud, then I'll have to give a resounding yes.

I first signed with an agent in the late-1990s (not the agent I'm working with now), during a time when historical fiction wasn't doing well. When my first historical novel, Gilded, was turned down by publishers wary of marketing historicals, I decided to explore independent publishing options. For help, I turned to historical fiction Yahoo Groups and found a plethora of other agented historical authors who were in the same boat--we all got the "glowing" rejection letters from publishers saying they couldn't sell historical fiction.

Long story short, some of these historical writer buds are still with me at the end of this decade, even though a lot of us have moved to contemporary tales. I also have writer friends I know from my non-online life, and they too are a wonderful source of support.

It's been said many times before--writing is a solitary life. If you're going through the writing process, look for online groups of writers who work in the same subject matter as you, attend in-person critique groups if that's something you're comfortable with, or visit the blogs of other writers. It really helps finding others going through the same process, even if they're at a different stage than yourself.

On another note, I'm back to working on Sea Hags and Other Modern Women--just in case anyone's keeping tabs. ;-)

Ten Writerly Questions

Susan at The Writer's Tale posted these questions on her site for other writers with blogs to use as their posts. If you have a blog, feel free to let us know if you've placed your answers there. Here's mine:

1. Your genre(s)?

I started with historical fiction, and now I write contemporary mainstream with some crossover to urban fantasy.

2. How many books have you completed?

Technically, if we're counting a novel I wrote in high school, five. Two are published (the historicals), one will hopefully find a publisher, and the other two will stay safely in my hope chest. Don't even get me started about the novel I started writing about the Smurfs when I was 9!

3. How many books are you working on now?

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to work on at the moment. I've become the Queen of First Chapters lately.

4. Are you a linear or chunk writer?

Mostly linear.

5. The POV you're most partial to?

I used to prefer third, but I'm now enjoying first. I originally wrote Vampire in third, but I switched it to first after my then-future agent recommended some revisions last summer, and I felt it made a huge difference.

6. The theme that keeps cropping up in your books?

The desire to live a normal life...and trying to figure out what normal is.

7. How many days a week do you write?

If I can, seven, but that doesn't always happen.

8. What time of day do you get your best writing done?

Any time--but it's hard finding time to write until after the kids go to bed. My three-year-old is home with me full time (but preschool starts in Sept!).

9. Who are your mentors?

I don't have any mentors who are writers. I think the memories of two elementary school teachers who made me feel like my writing was special still inspire me to keep trying.

10. Who are your favorite authors to read? (different from mentors)

Tom Perrotta, T.C. Boyle, Margaret Atwood, Evelyn Waugh, Margot Livesey--to name just a few.

And be careful when writing about ferrets

I just read an interesting article about plagiarism involving ferret info and a steamy romance novel:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/94543

I don't know the other half of the story, but the article is written--quite humorously--by the author of the ferret book.
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In sadder news, I read that Vampira, Maila Nurmi, of 1950s late-night TV fame has died at the age of 85. I first learned of her through the movie Ed Wood.

More on writing vampire fiction

For more on writing vampire fiction, check out this NPR excerpt that talks with authors of successful modern vampire novels:

"Readers Sucked in by Vampire Lit"
by Rick Kleffel

Writing vampire novels

I guess my visitors are a little poll-shy. I'm still getting plenty of hits from people searching for vampire names, but the poll isn't getting much activity.

Nevertheless, I thought I'd add some info for those of you getting started on writing vampire novels. Here are some reference books you might want to check out:

The Encyclopedia of Vampires, Werewolves, and Other Monsters by Rosemary Guiley

The Vampire Encyclopedia by Matthew Bunson

The Complete Book of Vampires by Leonard R.N. Ashley

Vampires and Vampirism : Legends from Around the World by Dudley Wright

There are plenty of others to choose from, but these are a good start. If you know what genre of vampire novel you want to write (romance, horror, chick-lit, etc.), it's certainly a good idea to read novels like it to get a feel for what gets published and to make sure you have an original angle.

And another word on vampire names: once you've familiarized yourself with the vampire legends around the world, decide where you want your vampire to be from and find a dictionary (online or otherwise) of common names from that country. Like I said in my last post, not all vampire legends come from Romania. And be original. Don't simply find a vampire character name that's been used before unless that character is part of your tale. So many vampire tales exist already--you need to make yours stand out.

Vampire names

I added a stat counter to the blog last month, and by far the most hits I get here are from people who search for "vampire names" or some variation thereof. This has me wondering: why are people on the hunt for vampire names?

Therefore, I added a little poll on the left-hand side of this page. If you came here because you're on the lookout for a moniker of the undead (or even if you didn't), please leave your feedback. I'm curious if the entire world is writing vampire novels right now...or if there's something else going on.

As I've mentioned in an earlier post, regular names are more my style, just to go against the norm. I named my vampire George in A Vampire in Suburbia. And keep in mind that not all vampire legends come from Romania!! Many countries have their own versions of vampire lore, so don't feel limited by Romanian names.

L-O-L-A, Lola

Oh, dear. This new book, Lola, seems to have taken over everything. I think the sea hags are going to have to be put on hold. I'm walking around the house plotting out the novel, snickering to myself, taking notes while watching one of my son's kiddie shows because of bedtime story details I need for this book. If Vampire gets sold as urban fantasy, I might have to go back and pick up with one of my darker tales, but Lola is certainly being written in the same vein (no vampire pun intended) as Vampire: a fantasy character in the modern world, wicked humor, etc.

I still don't feel ready to post any details. Let's just say it's a bedtime story for grown-ups.

Fickle stage

I don't know how other writers work, but after I've finished writing a novel that I really felt passionate about, I have a hard time deciding what to work on next. I go through a fickle stage, where I start working on one manuscript, think it's "the one," and then another idea comes along and takes over. I just posted yesterday about how gung-ho I was feeling about my sea hags book, but today I was at a story time with my son at our local library, and a thought popped into my head when I sat there listening to the bear-themed books the librarian was reading. The idea started growing and evolving and haunted me at lunch at Arby's, where I scribbled down ideas on a napkin. When I got home, I wrote three pages, and I fiddled around with it some more tonight. I know of one other novel with a similar plot point, so I borrowed it from the library to make sure I'm not doing anything unoriginal. I'm not going to say any more about it until I feel more confident and do some more writing, but I will mention that I'm currently calling it Lola.

On a completely different note, I need to add a post about you Web surfers' obsession with vampire names. I'm running out of time tonight, but I'll leave you with that thought...

Congrats and a Sea Hags update

I found out one of my hardworking writer friends just signed with an agent. Congratulations, Susan!! She and I know each other from a past job editing scientific journals. Because most of us held English degrees at the company, there were several of us aspiring writers running around (well, not literally running--it was a land of cubicles and file cabinets).

I've been working more on one of the book ideas I've mentioned in past posts--Sea Hags and Other Modern Women. I've figured out what I want to do with my main character, and I've written a prologue and one and a half chapters. Hopefully, I'll have more time to work on it more now that our vacation and the holidays are over. I don't think any vampires will be showing up in this one, but I have an ex-goth girl, two sea hags, and some undines. Never heard of undines? Check out water sprite legends or read Undine by Friedrich de La Motte Fouque. I discovered the story in a superb fairy tale course I took in college.

Back from Southern CA

We survived our first trip back to Southern California after moving away 1 1/2 years ago. Nothing has changed dramatically since we've been gone--I guess our old areas have been built up so much that's there's not much more to develop. In fact, even our first house, a then-brand-new home in San Diego, looked exactly the way we left it 5 years ago, with the same plants and trellises still intact where we originally arranged them. It was almost eerie.

On to some vampire tidbits: is anyone familiar with Bite Me Magazine? I came across their website for the first time tonight.

Also, I'd be curious to hear if anyone has read Christopher Moore's vampire novels. I actually have trouble finding vampire novels that I enjoy reading (which is why I think I decided to write a vampire novel of my own). I read about his books and they sounded interesting. I'm a fan of dark humor and satire.

My current read? The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta. He's my favorite satirical novelist of late.