Non-Romantic Vampires

This is a pet peeve of mine, that is, vampires that are all about romance. I'll confess, I don't read romance. It just doesn't 'do it' for me. There's something that really irritates me about Happily Ever After (aka HEA). Life doesn't end in an HEA. Ever. I know that really sounds as if I'm a pessimist, but for clarity sake here, I'm not saying that people can't be happy, but rather that the EVER AFTER part is bogus. There's always something that crops up to cause change or unrest.

Now onto the real issue - the vampires and romance. Of course there's a ton of books out there with vampires and romance - including the wildly popular Twilight Series. It's not my cuppa. Believe me, I've tried to read some of these Best-selling fiction, but each time I find I'm disgusted with the leather-pants wearing vampire hottie man (usually with long hair) who falls in love with a mortal woman, though he knows he's not supposed to be with her, thus making him a bad boy too. And she is strangely attracted to him, all of his hulking mass, and despite him being a 'monster' (yeah right), she loves him anyway. Ugh. Tell me how many novels that little blurb describes - probably the majority. They're all the same underneath, and the paint on top is just a slightly different color (if you get my drift).

Let's face it, romance sells. Period. No matter what other genre trappings, if there's romance in the novel, it'll more than likely have a better chance of hitting the shelves than those that don't. And mine don't. To go one step further down that path, I will not consider adding it either. It doesn't make sense in the way I wish to portray my vampires and world.

I KNOW there's a readership out there, hungry for vampire novels that don't have romance. I know this as fact since I've spoken with a lot of you at conventions, book signings, and other events. I also know that there are always changes in what is popular, and I'm placing my money on a movement away from the shiny, leather-pant, long haired, hunky vampire toward a darker, more evil fanged friend. When you look at vampire lore, you'll see that vampires are evil, undead creatures of the night.

And what about a strong female vampire lead? Novels like that are definitely far and few between. This is where I'm going with my vampire series. I have a strong female lead, with a funny, yet strong male counterpart. One of my beta readers said their relationship is very much like Scully and Mulder from the X-Files. Even my vampire is different. I went out to mythology to find a different take on vampire lore. While it is a loose interpretation, I'm using the myth of The White Women of the Scottish Highlands.

Now, to be fair, I will say that there has been some interest in the series by a few select publishers. To date, we do not have any offers. Yet. And certainly when we do receive the offer, I'll be certain to let you all know. :-) (See I'm really an optimist).

Imagicon - Day 2 and 3

So, with all that went on, I didn't have time to update the blog until now - Monday morning after the convention, sorry.
Here is the recap of day 2 and 3 of Imagicon:
Saturday started with a 10am panel on Killing off Characters. We had a blast discussing ways in which we 'did in' characters. From there I went to my table and chatted with all those who stopped by. Just before Noon (and my two panels), we had a fire alarm go off and had to exit the convention space. So, now we have all these costumed people standing outside, meandering around, waiting until we were allowed back into the building. I have to say that several passers by did a double take, the kind that could cause whiplash, when they saw this motley crew standing around outside. After a few minutes, we were allowed back in, and I scrambled to the panel room. Since I was double booked, I'd decided to do a half-and-half session at each. The first half hour, I attended the Ghouls and Monsters panel. We had fun talking about the monsters we created. And in usual style, I tossed out a question to my fellow panelists, then promptly left!
From there, I raced, literately, down the escalator and into the 1st floor panel, No DQ Q&A. There, I joined wrestler Mr. Terrific, and Amazing Race stars to discuss whatever the audience wished to talk about. Of course, my field of ghosts really brought out the goose bumps, as expected. After that session, I wandered back to my table and chatted with more folks, and sold and signed books.
Sometime around 5:00, my stomach reminded me that it was once again time to find food, since the last meal had been at 8 in the morning. After packing up, I headed to grab a burger at the pub - yes, I know I was a bad girl, but it certainly was worth it!
In all the running, I'd forgotten about the Artist Meet and Greet, and realized it wasn't too late to stop by. After making a wrong turn, I found the room. I had a nice glass of wine, and talked with the artists attending the convention.
At 7:00 I went to my last panel of the day, Making make-believe, believable. I was really tired, but managed to keep it together and give my thoughts on the topic.
After the panel, I went to my room and crashed. Hard.

Sunday:
We had an early start - the writing seminar started at 8am. This meant that I had to be up, ready, packed, checked-out of the hotel, and fed all by 8. I managed to accomplish it, but I think it had a lot to do with the fact that I'd gone to bed early the night before. We broke into groups and started helping the attending writers with their prose. My group worked our guys hard. We had them write both a character, as well as a setting, using prompts that we'd given them. They did a great job!
At 11:30, I went directly to the panel, Creating Villains, where we discussed creating the 'bad guys' and answered some great questions tossed out to us by the audience.
With a long drive home ahead, I left when the panel was over.
All in all it was a good convention. I met a lot of new faces, and had some good times talking with some old friends.
Here are the links to those writerly friends, all of whom were panel mates at one time or another over the course of the weekend:
Alan Gilbreath
M.B Weston
Jeremy Lewis
Sherrilyn Kenyon
Jeannie Holmes
Wandering Men

Imagicon - Day 1

Okay, so you'll get a blog today, but sadly no pictures. I'll try to remedy that for the next posting.
Recap of Day 1 -
I got started a bit early from Georgia, headed to Birmingham since it was pouring rain. I *hate* driving in the rain. So, I figured the slow and steady approach would be best given the wet circumstances. After a mind numbing 2 and a half hour trip - I successfully pulled into the Sheraton slightly ahead of schedule, around 11:30 Alabama time. Just so you know, last trip this way, I was plagued the entire time by the one hour time difference. I know, one hour isn't like jet lag material, but it still mucks with my whole system.
I checked in, settled into the room, then went on the hunt for the convention check-in. After that was handled, I had time for a quick lunch before my 1:00 panel.
The 1:00 panel on publishing and self-publishing went very well. We had good attendance, which, honestly, was surprising since it was such an early time slot - the first panel of the convention. I stated my opinionated view on self-publishing. From there I had a 2:30 panel on Character development. Again we had a good number in the audience and lively participation from the authors.
At 3:30 I spent about an hour at my signing table. But my stomach began to rumble, since it was used to the Atlanta time zone, and I went in search of some down time and food.
After a brief stop in the room to check email and such, I went to dinner and had a wonderful feast of salmon from the hotel.
I decided to wander for the remainder hour until my 8Pm panel. However, when I went up to the panel area, the director snagged me, and asked if I'd be willing to hop onto the 7PM panel about Paranormal. Of course, I said yes.
The 7Pm panel was sparsely attended, perhaps due to the other events going on, but we still had a good time talking about ghosts and sharing our stories.
Again the 8PM panel had sparse attendance, but we still had a fun time discussing Urban Fantasy and all it entails.
So, that was today. . . and I'm tired and ready for some shut eye, before it's time to do this all again tomorrow.
A few minor points about the hotel - first, it is a very nice hotel. Staff is friendly and helpful and the rooms are well appointed. Food is good quality, and an okay price (a bit more than I would normally pay, but well. . .). I do have one major worry though. . . the tornadoes. Last year, on the same weekend in March, I was here for another convention. That was the weekend the tornado ripped through Atlanta. Here, I had hail pounding my 17th floor window - a very scary experience. So I was a little worried this time around, knowing that the weather promises more of the same - rain, storms and tornadoes. But this time, at least, I have an East facing room. . . where as last time, my westerly facing floor to ceiling window took the brunt of the wind driven hail.
So, more to come, but hopefully no 'Wizard of Oz' stories about me being sucked up by a tornado.

Imagicon Convention

Are you going to be at Imagicon Convention in Birmingham this weekend? I will be there! I’d love for you to drop by and say, ‘Hi’. You can also pick up a signed copy of my newest book, SEELY’S POND! Reviews have been pouring in now and they’ve all agreed – It’s a creepy tale!

Here’s a copy of my schedule:
*NOTE: There is a missing signing block time, but I’m sure it will be available at the convention.
Friday:
1:00 PM Publishing and Self-Publishing
2:30 PM Character Development
8:00 PM Urban Fantasy

Saturday:
10:00 AM Killing off your characters
Noon Goblins and Monsters
6:00 PM True Scifi
7:00 PM Making make-believe believable

Sunday:
9:00AM – 11:00 AM Writing Workshop
11:30- 11:55 Creating Villains (*note – I’m leaving this panel early due to a schedule conflict!)
12:00 No DQ Q&A

Back from FantaSci Con

(Photo:(left to right): Cheryel Hutton, Christina Barber, Georgiana Kotarski)

Okay, today’s blog is a recap of the weekend at FantaSci Convention.

The weather was great in Chattanooga, though slightly a bit on the nippy side at night. The cold evening normally wouldn’t be an issue for the convention, but this time we were in a new hotel, rather a motel, with outdoor halls. All in all though, it wasn’t too bad.

Somehow, I was the 'Featured Literary Guest', so that was just cool!

Friday was the meet and greet. We had all of our fellow guests and some wonderful food (OMG – French Onion dip!) crammed into a small area. Several attendees joined us for some laughs, and a look into art and writing from the perspective of the artist and author. It was interesting to me how much art and writing are similar in their creative process, but equally fascinating is how much they are different.

Saturday was an early start and breakfast at a diner. It had been ages since I ate at a diner, so this was truly a treat for me. On my first panel, Cheryel and Georgiana joined me for a talk about how a book journeys from the author’s imagination to eventually sit upon the bookshelf in a bookstore. We had a lovely time and good discussion.

My next panel was solo, but Cheryel showed up to drop something off to me, and I snagged her to sit on the panel. In this panel we talked about genres, and bending or blending genre. We had a lively group, who ultimately asked some very good questions. I love an active audience! We also had a fun talk about my novel, Seely's Pond. And the reason it was 'fun' was that we, those in the know, didn't want to tell specific plot points to those who hadn't read it. It would truly spoil the read if we had divulged that information. Anyway, we talked in a code like fashion. For instance we discussed the 'medical' parts - (those who have read will have no trouble knowing what we mean by that one) and how it was really scary/twisted. etc. It was also great to hear others view of the novel, including the men who pointed out that while Seely's was in first person female perspective, they could easily hook into the character. BTW- You guys rock my world!!!

From there I talked with Charles of Silver Phoenix Entertainment about his comic and graphic novel line.

I was then asked to be on the TPIT (Tennessee Paranromal Investigation Team) radio show. We had a rockin’ time, including my surprising the team by turning the ‘interview’ table and asking them a question.

Afterward, much food and merriment (read wine) followed.

When Sunday arrived, I was exhausted and brain dead. After my two plus hour drive home, I relaxed with the family.

Now, I have four days to resume the regular schedule before I’m off again to Imagicon.

I’ll post after (or maybe during) that event next!

Reviews Abound!

Wow! We have two reviews for SEELY'S POND in the last week. And these rock! I'm so happy that the reviewers enjoyed the twisted, horrific tale.

So, without further ado, here are the two reviews:
From ChrisChat Reviews:

SEELY’S POND

By Christina Barber

Publisher: HD-IMAGE

http://www.hd-image.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=206

Genre: Dark Urban Fantasy
ISBN: 0-9770437-5-4

Pages: 206
Price: $15.95

How do you tell an author to stop scaring the bejeebies out of you?

If the author is Ms. Barber – you don’t. You go along for the ride, hold on tight, and be glad you did.

Yes, another phenomenal read. And I can’t give you any details.

Why? Because, “Seely’s Pond” is a read that you must take alone and allow it to unfold and sweep you up into its tense and frighteningly silent menace.

In, “Seely’s Pond” Julia Tayte, her Minister husband, and son have moved to a new home in Western New Jersey. Their new home comes with its own pond and secret history. Only, when Julia starts finding skulls washed up from the pond does she question what’s in the pond.

You do not want to know.

This starts the creepiness of “Seely’s Pond.” What is in the pond and what does it want Julia? Will Julia be able to convince her closed-minded husband, she isn’t crazy? Can one woman destroy an ancient evil?

Okay, you do want to know. But, trust me – do not read this when you are alone. Do not read this at night, in a darkened room. Do not read this near any body of water.

Do read “Seely’s Pond.”

How soon till “Seely’s Pond II”?

AND
From Coffee Time Romance and More Reviews:

SEELY’S POND CHRISTINA BARBER ISBN # 0-9770437-5-4 April 2008 H-D Image www.hd-image.com Paperback $15.95 203 Pages Horror Rating: 4 Cups Julia Tayte, along with her husband and young son, has just moved into a small town in New Jersey, a far cry from city life. But soon strange things start to happen that put her and her family in danger. She discovers she has accidentally released an ancient curse. Edwin Tayte is Julia’s husband and the new minister in town. Even though he loves her, he has a hard time believing what Julia claims she has seen and found near the pond. Trevor is the couple’s son who has felt the strangeness since they moved in and has been witness that what his mother says is true. Instead of finding a relaxing, comfortable life, the Tayte’s find way more than they bargained for with the release of this curse. It turns the family upside down and life becomes stranger. But will they have a chance to fight the evil, or is it too late for them? Seely’s Pond is a wonderfully spooky story. It has all the elements to keep the reader on the edge of their seat, biting their nails and wondering what will happen next. I was also pleased to see there is a second book coming out soon. It will certainly add more to the mystery and maybe put closure on the surprise ending of Seely’s Pond. This is a read you will not want to miss. Matilda Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More

ConNooga Convention Recap

Even though the temperatures were a bit on the chilly side (high of mid-forties), we all still managed to have a great weekend. This convention was at a venue with buildings scattered throughout the hotel property – so lots of walking, in heels, carrying books etc. Yup, I got my workout this weekend, and didn’t even have to use the treadmill!

We’d left early on Friday in order to hopefully miss traffic. Thankfully it was smooth sailing up to Tennessee. Once we made it to the hotel around 1 PM, we had to wait until 3 to check in (the room wasn’t ready). No sweat. I had to get to the dealer room anyway and get my table set up. Luckily I had my trusty assistant and official photographer (aka my daughter) to help. I left the table in her capable hands and did a quick sweep of the other vendors. Friday in the dealer room was slow, but I also needed to be at a 5 PM panel, so that did limit my time there.

My 5 PM panel was on ‘Guidelines to Getting Published’ and though we were in the main building, it was sparsely attended (both by panelists and audience). Guess it was too early for most folks. Once finished there, I scooted to dinner with the family at the Station House Restaurant. We had a nice time eating and watching the singing wait staff. Hubby and I both felt that while the food was okay, I could have done a much better job. Another minor complaint were the unending rounds of ‘and we have another birthday celebration here tonight’, followed by the Happy Birthday song. All in all it was a nice dinner. After dinner my usual entourage joined us for a few drinks and social time.

Saturday – Saturday was chocked full of panels and whatever spare time I had was spent in the dealer room.

At 9 AM we had a ‘Meet and Greet’ in the dealer room. The Army sponsored the convention, so they had a presentation and served coffee and some pastries. During this little party, the ‘Coffee Nazi’ reprimanded Joe and me when we picked the wrong cups for our coffee. That’s what I get for trying to not be wasteful.

After the Meet and Greet, I had an hour at my table before I had to race off the 11 AM panel ‘Authors Roundtable Q & A’ where I was the moderator.

We had such a large and diverse group of authors for the Q&A, though some made me cringe when they made their introductions. For example, I knew darn well there were a few from vanity presses who claimed they were ‘traditionally’ published. Pft!

A few of my panel mates noticed my expression when they misrepresented themselves. I did wish to go down that road, but felt it wasn’t professional, nor what the audience came to hear and see (though I know of a few on the panel and audience who wished I did take these folks to task).

From there, I grabbed a quick bite and dropped a sandwich off to my husband who was amidst a Munchkin Tournament. I was then whisked off to the dealer room for another mini-round. I sold a few books, talked with many people and had such a good time, I nearly forgot about the panel at 4 PM.

And my hubby won the Munchkin tourney, and called to say, “Bring a bag, I need help!” At first I thought he was joking, but soon realized he wasn’t.

In all the confusion, I raced from the dealer room to the 4 PM panel, ‘Writing Short Stories.’ There we talked about short vs. long fiction and some methods we use, as well as discussing the difficulties. I enjoyed talking with everyone, though there were more panelists then audience members, but we got to have a cozy one-on-one chat with them.

Then I had a 5 PM panel about ‘Agents.’ This time only one attendee came to hear the discussion. Unfortunately I was on the panel with a vanity press. And I knew it too. Though the website does NOT state they charge fees, the prospective author will soon find this misleading fact out. While I gave my two cents about what agents are for, and who needs an agent, I also threw in the fact that no matter who you send a manuscript to – agent, publishing house – you ALWAYS check them out first. And I also added that an author should never pay a publishing house a dime. Of course that didn’t sit too well with the vanity publisher! She mentioned that she charges fees. I inquired as to what those fees were for. She explained the fees were for editing, cover art and her time. Then she proceeded to go into the whole marketing thing.

I really did want ask why on earth anyone would pay a publisher fees, then pay them a portion of their sales – when they’d be better off going with a small press or heck, even self-publishing (at least then they get to keep the money they actually make!) But alas, again I didn’t feel it would be professional or right of me to do, especially when we had only one person who came to hear the panel on agents to begin with.

I excused myself early – I was cold and tired of song and dance routine by the vanity publisher.

I had to grab a quick bite, so we went for my favorite food in the world, pizza and beer. I choked down dinner, then ran off to my 7:30 panel on ‘Promotion for Creators.’ There a great group of people – mostly authors, but a movie director and artist, also joined in the fun.

In this panel the one point I made was that even though we’re all struggling to gain fans, make book sales, we network and work together to make some of this happen. With that said. . .

So, while I made some new friends, I also had the chance to visit with others whom I’d met at other conventions:

Shane Moore, Cheryel Hutton, David Boop, Sean Taylor, Bobby Nash,

Rob Freese, Billy Tackett, And of course, my artist – Mark Helwig, And my publisher for Seely’s Pond, H-D Image.

Sunday, got off with a slow, tired start, then time in the dealer room. We packed the car and headed out just shy of 1 PM.

Another convention down . . . and only, what, another 7 to go?