Masochism at its Finest

12 years ago I remember submitting 187 query letters. That was painful. The amount didn't hurt, only getting used to the silence. At the time I didn't really know that the silence is normal in this industry. 

Last night I began to consider something. I've been listening to a lot of audiobooks lately, and a single audio publisher kept coming up. So I began to do a little research. I found that this company publishes almost everything I like. I found that they tend to choose stories that they enjoy. And I found that they're willing to work with authors that have tried to put their work out there already. They seem like a really good company. And that's why this is such a hard decision. 

This is the stack of returned mail from that campaign 12 years ago. I've had it on my bookshelf ever since. Actually it was on top of my bookshelf out of my line of sight, for a good reason. I didn't think about it until I pulled it down, but even looking at the stack of envelopes brings me pain. At the same time I'm still considering inviting that pain back. I want to do it again. I want to try again with the experience that I now have. I've written more. I've read more. I've grown up. And more importantly I understand more. I know to expect a lot of silence. I know to expect rejection. And I know when not to get overly excited when the first glimmer of interest is shown. Temperance is a wonderful teacher in that regard. Of course I can say this now, but back then I felt like a small slug of metal being hammered into a shape that I didn't want to be. And with all that comes back to me, like a weight on my chest, I still want to try again. 

I miss my characters. I miss getting to know them and their adventures. I miss knowing what they think and how they would react to anything I would throw in front of them. I want them back. And I see this as a way to rekindle my connection to them. 

So yes, I will try again. I will be more selective this time around in my queries, but I will try. 

This weekend I will be writing the first query. The first step is to follow the signs on the road laid out by an agent. When every marker and correct maneuver has been made, I see myself getting to the end of that road. From there it'll require more hard work. More rewrites. And I know at least a little more pain. But as I said, I'm willing to try again. 

Bring on the pain. 

Sincerely, 

Virgil Allen Moore

Creating People

 I'll be hosting an AMA on Creating People May 30th.
https://authorsama.amafeed.com/creating-people-ama-writing-characters-that-feel-act-and-react-as-504630
Want to know how to write the perfect character for your story? Ask Me Anything and find out how.

Have you ever wondered how to come up with a good character for your story? What makes a good character? What traits should you give them to stand out as a protagonist? Should them be young, old, short, tall, or green? What are the things you should think about when thinking about them? What should your readers think about them? I'll be covering all that and allowing everyone to Ask Me Anything on the subject. Anything from your specific ideas to what should you add or subtract from a character concept. 

Over 30,000 is much better than Over 9,000!!!

     Demon Vampire has reached over 30,000+ views! Join me in celebrating another mile stone for this website. As the word spreads and as the book becomes viral, that number will climb. Just a year ago I had the foresight to keep an eye on a certain un-named author that despite her lack of fans at the time was creating a strong following with her constantly determined efforts. One year later and she has sold over two million copies of her books worldwide in print and ebook (mostly ebook) for only a few dollars a piece. I decided to follow that paradigm set before me and set my ebook at the price of $3.00, making it a 500 page novel for less than the cost of an iced coffee. If you have a smartphone, a tablet, netbook, laptop, desktop, or especially a kindle, your ability to buy this book is the quickest and easiest thing ever. The kindle app can be installed on all of those devices for free!

     When 10/30/2011 comes, it's time to set a record. It's time this book over sells it's foundation and reaches the epic status it deserves. On the release day, tell your friends, your family, your brother, your sister, and your mother - anyone that even remotely likes vampires. They will want to read this book. And for the price, you can afford to buy it for them as a gift. Hand them three dollars and order it on their smartphone for them (with their permission of course) and give them the story they will remember. And for once, they will be able to say they read the book BEFORE the movie came out.

You can download the kindle app by clicking here. And the PC kindle reader by clicking here.

Just search "Demon Vampire" to download today.

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My Library. The Books That Have Shaped My Style.

     All my time spent writing, it might seem it's all I do. However, I spend a good deal of my efforts reading nonfiction books on the craft. My personal library includes the following titles.

1. From Book To Bestseller
2. Up The Bestseller's List
3. 2011 Guide To Literary Agents
4. You Can Make It Big Writing Books
5. The irresistible Offer
6. The First Five Pages
7. The Writer's Handbook 2010
8. Author 101: Bestselling Book Publicity
9. Jump Start You Book Sales
10. 1001 Ways To Market Your Books

     I have learned a great deal from all these books. The one that has helped me the most has been The First Five Pages. It has sculpted my writing to avoid the common manuscript mistakes that cause lesser novels to be sent to the circular file.
     The yearly Guide to Literary Agents is also a must. It teaches how to submit, the proper way to write a letter, and who to send to.
     The irresistible Offer is a general sales book, but it is the best way to understand how to word a query letter. All of the books on how to write a bestseller are helpful.
     The one the is the greatest in culminating press releases, press & review packets, and learning how to contact distributors was From Book To Bestseller.


     As far as my fiction library. These books have been the most influential to me.

1. Interview With The Vampire
2. Dead Until Dark
3. The Historian
4.The Dark Fields
5. Dante's Inferno

     I do own far more books than listed here, however they do not pertain to my writing style. I have gained what I know from these books, as well as from a few wonderful blogs.

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Story Crafting. A Model To Follow. The Dark Fields.

There are few stories out that can keep someone that is trained in writing fiction guessing that are out today. The novel "The Dark Fields" by Alan Glynn is one of those that is crafted in a way that is captivating, innovative, and striking. With the monotony of stories written lately, there are few surprises or new ideas to show readers. Alan Glynn has found a way of mixing a large scale story with multiple angles and characters. The seamless interaction of smaller characters constantly coming up out of the works to interfere with the main character is brilliant. I honestly didn't believe anyone else wrote like this other than myself. Introducing almost ignorable characters at the beginning of a story to later have them play a big, out of nowhere part in the main character's life if a welcome nuance to the humdrum of story lines that have been produced in the past years.

Alan Glynn has done what all authors should do at the beginning of their story, establish normalcy. A state of being for the entire novel that is never striped away or changed in a way that would otherwise alienate the reader. Instead, he comes up with a literary device that adds to the normalcy of the story without changing its properties. Glynn adds the effects of a chemical pill to augment the main character. Rather than taking a sci-fi approach, or paranormal set up which assumes many people have access to the chemical augmentation, Alan Glynn writes a convincing drama of the life and changes in the life of one person among others.

In the same way I build transitions between the events of my novel, Demon Vampire, Glynn creates a narrative that is encompassing to the reader in that the main character could be anyone, even the reader if the situation was right. We all long for the escape of temporarily placing ourselves in someone else's life, both Alan Glynn and I accomplish this in the same way, albeit with different story parameters.

Below you can buy the book, now titled "Limitless". The original novel, "The Dark Fields" is out of print and had become very expensive, ranging from $60-$100+, at $10.00, Limitless the novel is a bargain.

As for Demon Vampire, as of this post I am still searching for an agent. As a realistic time line, you can expect the book in two to three years. (Halloween 2012 if I'm lucky.)


Virgil Allen Moore

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Announcing New Books To Be Written!

I am announcing the official start of three new books.

The first is the continuation of the original Demon Vampire Novel. It will be entitled Demon Vampire: Redgold. It will be a direct sequel to the first book. Picking up right after the cliffhanger of the last book ended. (Estimated at 200,000+ words.) It will be shorter than the original, but is pack with more twists and storyline to keep the reader on edge. I guarantee no one will expect what happens in this novel. All I can say is that I will alienate my readers by changing the premise of the story to suit its development. What is established in the first novel is never broken, its spirit never bent to serve a reaching plot line. My novel will be as direct as always and as page turning as ever.

The second is the account of the ritual that made the demon vampires. Entitled Demon Vampire: The Elder Ritual (Estimated at 85,000 words). Chronicling the life of Salas, the demon vampire from the main book, it delves into his life before, during and after the ritual. You will experience his perspective all the way up to present day. (Not, I do not write in 1st person. I will not bother my readers with having to deal with that kind of limited palette.)

The third is the going to be a Novella (About 40,000 words). It will be entitled Demon Vampire: Special Science Report 1192. It will follow the experiments of a researcher during the vampire testing done in the second book. As to why there is vampire testing done by a scientific body, you will to read up. Either novel explains why in great detail.

As of the time line. The all three books have already had their outlines written. The main sequel will start to be written in the next few months. Special Science Report 1192 will begin at the same time. I plan on finishing the smaller novella in less than two months, while keeping on the main novel as well. After the novella is done, The Elder Ritual will begin. Slotted for three to four months, once it has been written, the main sequel will be halfway done. I project that Demon Vampire: Redgold will take a year to write as going with my current speed of production.

I hope you enjoyed this update. Don't forget to follow the blog on the right hand side of the site and to tell all your friends that love vampires stories, the power and grace of the old styles of vampires are back! Read the first chapter of Demon Vampire Here.

Virgil Allen Moore
Demon Vampire

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Time Is A Key. The World Is My Gate. My Hands, The Will To Open The Path.

Time is struck as the heavens call my name. The events that have progressed over my life have lead me to this moment. The click, the snap, the ring of it's passage is music. It tells me in a way that no other understands that I am succeeding in my vested plans. It screams out the lauded salutes to my actions. It whispers in the night of my deeds. The simple service I have placed in my own hands is but a shadow of the mirror that lay before me. Inside there is a prize, a gift known only to those of which their work has blessed them. I have seen it in my dreams, in my desires. I know it is real. Soon I will stand beside it, ready to open the gate. Soon I will see with eyes untainted by the disdain of jealousy the window to my goals. Beyond the steps that I seek is a mountain, not a destination, but a new horizon. The road laid out before me is longer still, yet it holds the pleasures and the pains I have wished for all my life. As I turn the key of time. As the gate opens for me. I know that I possess the will to pass.

Virgil Allen Moore

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Breaking The Cycle. A New Dawn Is Here. Cool Vampires Are Back.

You don't have to sparkle, or wear a pink shirt to be a vampire. Today's youth has forgotten the grace of the Anne Rice Era. The lost art of which is breaking. However, today's dawn is changing that. Demon Vampire is an entirely new look at the classic vampire. It takes the reader through a not only the shoes of the main character Zack Giver, but also through the eyes of the people that would want to end his life. Demon Vampire is written with the perspective of letting the reader who everyone is, without alienating the reader to why they are reading in the first place. Unlike other novels that bore you with long back-stories, Demon Vampire takes the reader through the lives of several people that are intertwined throughout history up to the present day. This is a story like no other read.

Chapter One of Demon Vampire is available here. Click here to read.

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The Weather Is A Tool, A Method Of Conjuring The Words Deep In Our Souls.

     Rain is a force of nature. Wet, powerful, enveloping in all it sway. It can be used, molded to suit a reason, a purpose, a will. The sensual feeling of moisture wrapped in the lungs is inspiring. The sensation of either cold or warm vapors rising into the chest is calming, relaxing. It is this weather I use to write with, to sculpt dreams with. The knowledge that an afternoon storm can draw the emotion from the heart is a gift. Simple solitary rain, the ease of a summer or winter cloud sweeping over a region to give a beautiful scent in it's wake. A damp silk, entering the system to spread a lull over the mind. Some construct with hammer and stone, I create with pen and rain.

Virgil Allen Moore

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Silver Is A Human's Best Friend. Know When To Wear It And When You're Just Being Rude.

     A vampire doesn't like silver because it causes a rash, irritations, and slows the regenerating process. It does not kill them, but it is a ward. As a human, I wear silver. Small charms, trinkets, objects, they all have a clear purpose - They show that I am not a vampire. It is a good distinction to display. However, if one were to be in the presence of a real vampire, it is just plain rude. Silver is a symbol of offense to vampires if worn by a human. It is important to know when and where to wear silver. When I go to events of the general public, I obviously wear it. When I go to a private location, I never do.
     However, there is one thing I am never without. A silver pen. Personal prefference is to just not take it out.

Virgil Allen Moore

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A Muse Is A Funny Thing, Cherish It In Whatever Form It Takes.

     A Muse To Write By.
     Very little lately have I come across a comedy with morals and story telling that is so enriching as the one I have just seen. The struggles of the main character, his losses, gains, and frustrations were genuine to me. I was amazed by how I was able to relate my past with the feelings of the main character.
     It is always important to remember that no matter how unlikely the medium, art can inspire us in many unusual ways. As to which movie in particular I am ranting about, I will not say. There are some secrets best left.

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The Demon Vampire Edit Is Nearly Halfway Done. The Vision Is In Sight.

     It has taken months to get where I am. The goal is in sight now. There are merely a few more chapters to go in editing the manuscript of Demon Vampire.

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More Music That I Write To. The Bands That Help Shape The Feel Of My World.

These are five more artists that have put me in a mindscape to write. Each has a different way to inspire, each a flavor for a certain moment in the book. I find that writing on emotion generated my music develops a stronger character interaction with my scenes.

     Anya Marina has a lot of amazing songs that can set a mood for writing. The TI cover song "What Ever You Like" is seductive when sung by a woman. "All The Same To Me" and "Move You" are two more great ones.

Matchbook Romance is something I just recently got back into. Almost all of their songs put me in a trance to write. It's rhythmic. 

Seether can be hard and melodic depending on the song. I have to admit, I'm not a fan of everything they've done, but there are a few I really enjoy. "The Gift" is a constant song on my playlist.

Rise Against is a band that has a few emotional songs that can drum up a good inner response in the back of my mind. It gets that memories flowing, then the writing begins. I listen to "Savior" a lot.

Sting's later works have a profound effect on me. The soft beats, the sway of the music truly helps me relax when writing. The album Brand New Day is great.

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The Vampire Review Has Given Demon Vampire An Award! The Tide Has Risen, The Work Has Born It's Fruit.

     Recently Demon Vampire was submitted for review to receive a blog award. Within a few short hours, Demon Vampire was declared "Awesome" by Vamchoir of The Vampire Review. It is with great honor I, Virgil Allen Moore Accept this award for my blog, Demon Vampire. Though recognition has come quickly in these past few months of toil, I am seeking to acquire a new level of status with plans to obtain an interview with Guillermo Del Toro.

Apparently I Write Like Chuck Palahniuk, Writer Of Fight Club.

I used the I Write Like Tool to analyze chapter one of my book. It said I write like Chuck Palahniuk.

I write like
Chuck Palahniuk

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

A welcome thought to my aspiring career as a writer.

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Ever Wondered Who You Write Like? There Is A New Tool To Find Out.

I Write Like allows you to analyze your writing and tells you what famous writer you write like. Follow the link to get a real objective view of who you write like. I found this link thanks to Amanda Hocking's post on her blog. Thanks Amanda. Enjoy the tool.

Virgil Allen Moore

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Inspiring An Author. The Music That Lit The Fire.

Quite often I am asked what music inspired me to write the way I do. "What kind of music do you listen to?" Is the most direct question I get. The answer is long, twisted, and contradicting at best. So then, I shall inform you, My cherished reader of what I hear why I close my eyes and write the world I have come accustomed to creating.

     First on my list of musicians is Buckethead. A very eccentric to put it mildly, and highly talented instrumental guitarist. The songs: Padmasana, Ghost, Broken Mirror, Sundial, A Real Diamond In The Rough, Whitewash, Big Sur Moon, Earth Heals Herself, and The Cosmic Calendar just to name a few put me into a serene mood that allows me to write extraordinary things. His music I must say is on the top of my list with good reason.

     The band Garbage. Their songs: The Trick Is To Keep Breathing, Push It, Cup Of Coffee, You Look So Fine.

     Metric. The Canadian band. The song Too Little, Too Late is played over and over again when I need to work out some good personal interaction between characters.

     Peter Murphy's I'll Fall On Your Knife is a song that I will never forget when setting up a playlist. That song is golden for stirring up emotions in my mind. It brings back a lot of memories.

     Broken Bells. Even though I first heard them during the later part of finishing the book. They influenced it very much. Their entire album makes me relax and get into the mood to write.

     Other Artists include: Lacuna Coil, Scott Peeples, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, Evanescence, HIM, Type O-Negative, and many others that honestly I'm a bit ashamed to admit at the moment.
     The point is, Write. Let the words flow and do not restrict them. The heart is a powerful tool that the mind can use to it's advantage. Take control, do what writes you.

Virgil Allen Moore

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Advice To An Over Worked Writer. May They Heed This Call And Continue Their Vampire Chronicle.

Life easily gets in the way of the things we all enjoy. Sometimes the other activities we enjoy go forth and poke their heads over the rest as well. However the parts of our lives that need addressing, that have to be dealt with are constantly there. Taking time to settle each matter is a luxury most days, probably a chore others.
     On occasion, I take three hours to shut the world out around me. I turn off the phone, draw the black out curtains closed in my den where I write, and turn on a small string of tiny lights to illuminate the room in a way that is steady and constant. Inside that room, there is not time. I do not look at the clock. I do not set an alarm. If the three hours passes and I go over, so be it. In that space I contend with my thoughts. I deal with the issues that plague me and attempt to work on my passions with as much focus and concentration as possible.
     Having a place, a sacred avenue near to you is crucial. Remember that you may always think you have time to do something. To see a play, to call an old friend, to finish a chapter that is troubling you. But know that there is a set number to the summers one will experience in life. There are only a hundred, if one manages to live that long. Make each count, you are the only one keeping score.

Advice to Amanda Hocking from Virgil Allen Moore.

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