I know they say “Don’t quit your day job”, but…

There comes a time when you should just sit on top of the world and watch the wheels go round and round.

Happy World Down Syndrome Day!

Jack Wendell, protagonist of the Vampire Syndrome Saga, would like to wish everyone in the world a Happy World Down Syndrome Day! #worlddownsyndromeday

Rise Of The Gearheads

Kirsten Lamb, from “Rise of the Machines: Human Authors in a Digital World“:
“Ten years ago, no one cared if a fiction author gardened, was a gourmet cook or a wine aficionado who loved Golden Retrievers”
‘Consumers want authenticity. They long to connect on mutual ground. They get excited when they realize their favorite author also loves dogs and collects My Little Ponies”
“What this means is that all those hobbies, passions and idiosyncrasies that had no value before are now a priceless friendship chest”
***
THIS is why I want to have a book signing at the Mile-High Nationals next July.
To go where no author has gone before.
To say, “I’m a gear-head, I’m one of you. I love the smell of burning nitro from a Top Fuel dragster. I know the difference between a Boss 302 and a Shelby GT-500. I’m not a Stephen King who will say Christine’s Hydra-Matic pops out of park when I’ve known for decades that a 1958 Plymouth has a push-button Torque-Flite transmission. I have written what is most likely the first book any of you will ever read that has NO CAR MISTAKES, yet it is far more than that. It is a real and moving story about a young man with special needs overcoming challenges that threaten his very existence, without all of the saccharine sentimentality normally sugar-coating such books. I have all the visceral thrills of the Fast and Furious, but in my story’s heart beats the life of a young man who defies all the odds to win the hard-earned respect of his community. It is my highest honor to be here at the Mile-High Nationals, with my fellow gear-heads, as the first published author to be hosted here.”

The Metaphor

One of the many little details hiding in Vampire Syndrome is a metaphor.

Is is the human condition? Well, I do have the alien Pure Vampires, whose DNA bought about the existence of the genetically-mutated human Vampires. The “Humans”, as the Pures call the human Vampires, embrace their humanity with passion, even when they shouldn’t. The “Normals” (non-vampire humans) deem the human Vampires monsters, but of course no human ever considers themselves to be a monster, human Vampires included.

So, we have these beings that are basically human, yet infused with basal, predatory urges, courtesy of the mutations performed to their DNA sequence by the Pures’ DNA.
A metaphor for the human condition?
Yes, and a rather illuminating one (if I presume to say so myself).

But that’s not the metaphor I’m referring to.
The combative relationship between the human Vampires and the Pures is a metaphor for the vampire itself.

How the evolution of culture has shifted the vampire from the grave-escaping revenants of old-world folklore to the sympathetic, revered heroes of romance.
And how the core supporters of the “classic monster” verbally joust with paranormal romance fans.
Vampire versus Vampire. Old versus new. Demon versus angel.
What the vampire was, versus what the vampire is.

Not to worry, my human Vampires are not “totally Twilight”. Damien and Lilith are as twisted as their rocky 253-year marriage. Zetania feels disconnected from Normal humans after the last of her Normal human family died off. And Jack’s battle to be the champion of human Vampires will far exceed even the challenges he faced in becoming a record-setting Special Olympics champion athlete.

Yet each values their humanity. The difference between them and the carnivorous Pures. The two-legged sharks striking terror in the hearts of all human Vampires.
An apex of fear the Normal humans will never know, except in their collective subconscious. The demon monster of old, refusing to die, rising forth once more to challenge its progeny, the human Vampires of today’s stories.

Even mine.

E.T. phone here

Two great songs about extraterrestrial contact, yin and yang.

By then, the Carpenters had made so much money for A&M Records, the only answer they could give to “Can we hire a 160-pc. orchestra for a song about contacting aliens?” was “Sure, we’ll get right on it, Mister and Miss Carpenter!” 😈

Mod fashion or punk? Both! The best album of 1978, in my humble opinion.

Meet the vampires of “Vampire Syndrome”

Jack Wendell

Physical and Calendar Age: 19

Former Special Olympics champion sprinter and 400-meter sprint national record holder. Now the world’s fastest running Vampire, able to run at over 100mph for long distances. Retains his sincerity and good will towards others while living and interacting with a Vampire population generally not known for these qualities. Jack gets his first girlfriend in my trilogy’s second novel, “Vampire Conspiracy”. Jack’s heroism and unique abilities gradually become known to the world’s human Vampire population… and others. 😈

Damien Tepesh

Physical age: 39
Calendar age: 267

Chief Venator (law enforcer) of the United States region. Targets Jack for termination, as Venators traditionally do when they discover a new special-needs Vampire. Jack escapes two of Damien’s assassination attempts, eventually causing Damien to reconsider his position about Jack.  Damien enjoys fast cars and fast women. Damien has been married for over 250 years, and has had several mistresses as well.

Lilith Morrigan

Physical Age: 44
Calendar Age: 308

President of the world’s human Vampire Community. Breaks with her own Venator past by protecting Jack from her husband Damien. Feels some maternal instinct for Jack, but Lilith realizes she would not make the best adoptive mother for him. The conflicts over Jack push her relationship with Damien to a breaking point.

Zetania Vinescu

Physical Age: 25
Calendar Age: 135

Chief Venator of Romania. Summoned to Colorado by Damien, to help him hunt Jack. Lilith over-rides her husband and orders Zetania to protect Jack from Damien and the other Venators. Zetania gradually realizes Jack’s incredible potential, and discovers that Jack may be the key to help Zetania and the Romanian Vampires end their dispute with their most feared enemy… one way or another.

Ronald and Diane Pepper

Physical and Calender Ages: 40

Ron Pepper, Jack’s former Special Olympics coach, and his wife Diane are the closest that Jack has ever had to a real family. Damien and Lilith come to a rare agreement and choose the Peppers to be Jack’s new adoptive parents. Damien and Lilith turn the Peppers into Vampires and hire them as private investigators. The Peppers’ longtime hobby of investigating cattle mutilations becomes their full-time occupation, as they finally uncover the mystery of who is behind all of those mutilations.

Stella Reynolds

Physical Age: 27
Calendar Age: 71

Lilith’s presidential secretary and Damien’s current mistress. Over the last 250 years, Lilith has killed Damien’s previous four mistresses (and several other women who had short-term flings with Damien). The fact that Lilith hired Stella to be her secretary suggests a major change of strategy on her part, in which she plans to heighten her control and influence over Damien.

Gl’Ag

Physical Age: Mature Adult Male
Calendar Age: Over 25,000 years

The human vampires’ worst nightmare. And he realizes Jack’s true potential far more than any human Vampires can.

Fred Henderson

Physical Age: 41
Calendar Age: 266

Chief Mechanic, the MacGyver of Vampires. Owner of Roman Auto Salvage. His kindred’s predilection towards fast cars ensures Fred’s job security. Enjoys customizing pickup trucks and hunting deer. Owns a large collection of vintage film prints, including an original print of “Nosferatu” acquired during his vacation to Germany in 1922.

Tivor Sebestyén

Physical Age: 25
Calendar Age: 43

Mute autistic Vampire, native to the city of Debrecen, Hungary. Pursued by Hungarian Venators upon his change to human vampire in 1991, reported “missing, presumed dead” that same year. Confirmed sighted by several U.S. Venators in Colorado twenty years later. Possesses a unique superpower that could be dangerous to the human Vampire community.