Who Needs Spring When You Have The Vampire Family?

I'm sure some of naughty little fiends (!) are familiar with Eternal Press and my novel with them, The Vampire Family. We came out last year in ebook formats and last month, we became available in paperback! Hip, Hip! So, I'll just get right to the good stuff. I know that's what you want. Horror, dark fantasy, historical, urban, paranormal, romance, these greedy little vampires do it all!

Here's Our blurb from our Eternal Press Page:

Sadistic? Check. Domination? Check. Happiness? Not for all.

Antonio Welshire accepts the mysterious Mestiphles' offer for vampiric power, but fails to consider that not all in his family desires evil. Daughter Victoria revels in the debauchery, but eldest daughter Samantha loathes the darkness. Enemies are in no short supply when the family turns to darkness. Charismatic rebel Gaston turns up to rival for Antonio's power; the vampire lover Jean can destroy them once and for all, and henchwoman Lilith seeks to supplant Antonio as Mestiphles' favorite. Who will be declared the victor? And in the end, though they've survived coven wars and persecutions since the 12th century, can The Vampire Family survive each other? Killing his abusive parents isn't enough for Antonio Welshire. Rape and death follow him through his youth in the 12th Century-until a stranger named Mestiphles give Antonio unimaginable vampire powers. Fearful yet captivated by his allure, Antonio's adopted sisters Ann and Elizabeth share this gift with him and their children-Victoria, James, Samantha, and Stephen. Antonio is a cruel ruler , and after his defeat of the young rebel Gaston, Antonio struggles with Lilith-another magical pet also created by Mestiphles. Antonio's vampire family grows over the centuries, each vampire loving and losing vampire fledglings over time. Wars, persecutions come adn go, but the family's troubles always stem from within. Elizabeth may be his wife, but Ann supplants her as Antonio's mistress. By the 20th century, Elizabeth has found love again-unfortunately her fledgling Jean share's Samantha's disdain for the vampire life. Will The Vampire Family self destruct before the 21st Century?

We're also available at Fictionwise/Barnes and Noble-at a discount if you're a member!


The Vampire Family is meant to be a parallel examination into the high and lows, loves and losses, darkness and light of one twisted group of immortals through the centuries. Here's a more detailed breakdown of our storylines and characters. For more infor, you can check out my official website For Flying Servants Only.......

Book 1: Conflict

Antonio Welshire’s downfall begins as a young man in the British Isles almost 1,000 years ago. Caught between abuse and poverty, Antonio's ambition leads him to power, and a unique stranger named Mestiphles. Antonio's tyranny, however, is contested by Gaston-Antonio’s shrewd and charismatic young rival. Will Antonio be victorious against the unruly Gaston and gain Mestiphles’ favor? Or will the battle destroy Antonio and his family?

Book 2: Pinnacle

Elizabeth’s new fledgling Jean romances the weary Samantha, and the lovers plan to upset the already shaky 1,000 years of Antonio’s reign. Mestiphles wants The Masquerade-an annual party held by Antonio to attract unsuspecting guests-to go off smoothly, but Ann and Elizabeth’s escalating tensions also threatened to destroy the family's decadent lifestyle. Will Samantha finally be free of her father's rule? Can Antonio keep his vampire coven on top or will Mestiphles take it all away?


Book 3: Hunted

Victoria returns to upset Samantha’s not so perfect life. The remaining Welshire vampires must form an uneasy alliance to defeat Lilith, an avenger sent by Mestiphles to finish the dysfunctioning Welshire coven once and for all. Lilith failed Mestiphles in the past and is determined to hunt down the fallen coven one by one to impress him. Will the Welshires prevail? Can Lilith complete Mestiphles’ plans and destroy the Welshires? Which coven will gain Mestiphles’ favor?


Now, now, you probably want an excerpt for those juicy little appetites! I've got a short one ready here-I can't hog up all of Ginger's Space, now, can I? ;0) For a lengthy dash of free samples, Check our our Vampfam Blog.

http://vampfam.blogspot.com

You can also read more about The Vampire Family and keep up to date with our appearances by subscribing to our blog or friending and following us. If you prefer groups, you can come on over and hang out at the Kristin Battestella Yahoo Group. We're due for a Summer contest in a few months!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kristinbattestella/

And of course, you can get all the latest information about our paperback edition by visiting our page on Amazon. The look inside feature is now available!


Alright so here's the naughty little excerpt!



“Catherine?” Antonio’s shadowy figure stood at her door. The tiny flame shortened in a clump of wax as the maid looked up.
“Yes, sir?” She set down her quill. “You sound different, sir. Are you ill?”
“Yes.” He stepped toward her. “I need your help.”
The dim light shined in his face. He couldn’t see. His eyes felt bloodshot, and his hands seemed pale as the candle flickered. He put his hands on Catherine’s arms. She felt warm to his cold touch. Sharp teeth cut the inside of his lips.
Antonio’s voice trembled. His hands shook. “I need your help.”
“Of course, sir.” She put her arms on his, but Antonio shook and felt the muscles of his forearm clench. “What can I do? Here, sit down.”
His arms came around her waist. Antonio heard her blood rush and saw her face flush. He put his head down on her chest. She trembled, but held Antonio’s head.
“Such overwhelming!” He spoke more to himself than Catherine. His words and hot breath were muffled against her. “Now I know what Mestiphles meant. I know what to do. I need to do it. I have to have it!”
“I’ll get some water.” Catherine was about to get up, but Antonio clenched his hands tighter around her.
“No,” he said hoarsely. His nails dug into her sides, and she winced. Antonio relaxed his grip, and she allowed his hands to roam. He unlaced her dressing gown. His hands stopped shaking, and bewitched, Catherine gave him total control. He pulled the loosened gown off her shoulders and swept Catherine to her feet in one swift motion. Yes, he knew she was captivated and paralyzed. He could be so frightening, yet masculine and desirable. Antonio put his head to her neck and bit the pumping jugular.
She flinched, but her blood flowed into Antonio’s mouth. The short life drain was ecstatic, but soon grew empty. Her life was now in him.
Antonio let Catherine’s limp body fall to the bed. He had her, and now he wanted more.


Bless Ginger's little heart for having us today! You can catch me, Ginger, and the rest of the Eternal Press Gang next when we hang out with the Talking Two Lips Group Saturday April 18. I'll also be chatting live 9 p.m. Tuesday April 21 at Coffee Time Romance. If you've got a few moments that night, stop on by!

Previously, I've taken The Vampire Family out for some live fun with Fallen Angels Reviews and Night Owl Romance. We've had several reviews and interviews as well, most recently with Raine Delight's Spotlight:

http://authorrainedelight.com/2009/03/author-blog-spotlight-is-on-kristin-battestella/

http://www.fallenangelreviews.com/Interviews/2007/Nov07-LindaL-KristinBattestella.htm

http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/interviews/kristinbattestella.asp

http://redrosesforauthors.blogspot.com/2008/10/interview-with-kristin-battestella.html

http://eternalpressauthors.blogspot.com/2008/05/interview-with-kristin-battestella.html

Whew! There's plently more Vampy press at my home page, jsnouff.com/kristin. You can read up on severl of my horror short stories as well or taste a bit of my non fiction and reviews at I Think, Therefore I Review.

Up next writing wise is a horror short story I've been going back and forth on called The Haberdasher. Samples of this and other short stories are available at Yahoo Group. I've also done some editing work on my pal Leigh Wood's sf erotica On The Way To New Isosceles, which I am happy to say was recently contracted with Eternal Press! For seriously naughty samples of that one, check out Leigh's blog:

http://leighwood.blogspot.com

On a final note, I have to mention that one of the first questions I'm always asked is, "Is there a sequel to The Vampire Family?" My answer? Maybe...

The Challenges of Being E-Pubbed

I"m very proud of my accomplishments. In 2002 I didn't know the difference between vanity publishing, e-publishing, or mainstream publishing. I only knew I wanted to put a story into words and see if people liked it. Guess what, they did.

Through internet research, I quickly found that dealing with a vanity press meant you bore the expense of turning a story into a book, and no one really cared if it was good or not. No one edited it or looked for mistakes, they simply took what you wrote and put it into print. To me, that didn't display any level of achievement. So, I queried what I learned was a e-publisher.

I wrote a letter of introduction, told about my story and was so pleased when I received a response asking to read the first three chapters and a synopsis. Wow, I had to learn how to write a synopsis, and trust me, that's almost as hard as writing the book. You have to capture the essence of your work in a concise description and make it interesting enough to make the publisher or editor want to read more. I guess I did, because my manuscript was accepted and published.

What I learned from my first editing session was that I told a wonderful story, but it wasn't even close to a novel. I'll bet most readers don't realize the difference.
Stories tell you what's happening. Novels show you, engage you, put you in the character's shoes and let you sniff the apple pie baking in the oven, feel the fabric of the hero's shirt, ache for that kiss. And if you write historical, you'd better not screw up any of the facts. *lol*

Each editing session has been a learning experience for me and has helped me grow as an author. There were times when I wanted to strangle my editor, but in the end, I realized accepting criticism and making changes only made my story better. I learned the true value of editing when I signed with a well-known press for two short humorous stories that were published without another pair of eyes and a sounder mind than mine. I was compared to Erma Bombeck in some reviews, but I'm sure she'd spin in her grave if she knew that. My books were in no way as polished and professional as hers. Although my attempt at humor worked, the editorial errors took away from my creativity. I wish I'd done things differently, but you can't change some things. You learn and move on.

I believe each published book has shown improvement. I've re-read some of my earlier stuff and cringe. If only I'd known then what I've learned since. But...even though my books keep improving there is still a stigma attached to be e-published. I find if I use that term, people roll their eyes and consider that I've not done anything special. "Oh, that kind of book." I hate that remark. If only they experienced the angst of waiting to see if your work was accepted, or chewed fingernails while waiting for a review to be posted by someone who read your book. Trust me, being an author is not for the faint of heart. Most of the burden of promotion falls on our shoulders and it's hard to sell people on a new concept.

Computer technology is amazing. It's the wave that's washing away all the old ways of doing things and exposing new ground. Unfortunately, until the 'now' generation starts buying romance novels, it's hard for those of us who offer our work in e-format to convince people to sit in front of a computer and read a book, especially when most of them have sat in front of a screen all day on a job. Computer wizards are realizing the problem and have developed ebook readers. I have one and love it. I simply download my PDF books that I purchase online (at a very reasonable price, I might add) and I can read whenever and wherever I like. A back lit screen even allows me to read a night without disturbing my husband. That made me laugh. I could read with a 2000 watt bulb over the bed and he'd still be snoring.

Okay, so ebook readers are nice, but some people want to feel a real book in their hands...turn pages, smell the ink. I can't fault them. I'm one of them. So, I've tried to find publishers who offer print along with download options. Downloads are cheaper and faster. You order a book and it's zipped by email right to your computer in one of several formats. Most people, as I mention, are still reluctant to try it.

Our paper books are called POD (Print on Demand). They don't have to be stored and this saves money for the company. E-publishing isn't a 'brick and mortar' store, it's a virtual business that fulfills your reading needs via the computer. You order a book, it's printed and sent to you. Simple? Not really, they cost double what mass market paperback books cost, ergo my dilemma.

I still have a hard time when someone asks how much my books cost. It's difficult to admit to charging $12-15.00 for one book when I know they can waltz into Walmart and get two or three written by Nora Roberts for the same amount. Let's see, Ginger Simpson...Nora Roberts. Who has the bigger name and following? It's a no-brainer. Someone really has to love me to fork out the bucks. It stuns me that people do and I'm so eternally grateful.

So, while I'm proud of my accomplishments, I have one goal left. It's not about money or getting rich. It's about pride and realization of a dream. Someday before I die, I'm determined to see one of my books next to Nora's in my local Walmart. I'm working on a manuscript now that I hope will be my ticket. I don't want to have to sneak in and put my own book up on the shelf...I want to do it the right way. My name is Ginger Simpson and I'm a legitimately-published author. Now I just have to pen the best query letter, create the most captivating synopsis, find the best day of the week to send it and hope the person who reads it is in the right frame of mind at the time. No challenge there!

Where's Oprah when I need her. I'm a candidate for the "Big Give". :)