I can’t tell you how difficult and painful it is as an author to get book reviews these days. The volume of books being published must overwhelm reviewers and review websites. I preface the following with that preamble because, when reviews of my novels do appear, I get super excited! I wanted to share them with you. Thanks for checking them out!
Queer Sci Fi reviews The Vampire’s Witch!
Queer Sci Fi reviews The Vampire’s War!
Alas, the approach of Halloween means speculative fiction/horror writers begin to come out from under the rock and hidden places in which they write to scare people in person! Here is a list of my upcoming appearances! I hope to see you there!
Sept. 26th at 7:00 p.m., Cadence Kitchen in Downers Grove, IL
Sept. 30th in the morning, Knox Book Festival in Starke County Indiana
Oct. 13th at 7:00 p.m., Bucket O’Blood Books in Chicago
Oct. 14th, time TBD, Skokie, IL Barnes and Noble
Oct. 20th 5:00-8:00 p.m., Glen Ellyn Public Library Haunted Library Event
Oct. 28th at 5:00 p.m., Algonquin, IL Barnes and Noble
First, if you receive my newsletter, you already know about this announcement! What are you waiting for?! Click the link on my website to sign up!
I am super excited to announce that I signed a new contract with NineStar Press! Witch On the Wind will be released next year. The official date is to be determined, but I will keep you posted along the way.
I can’t wait to share another story with you! We’ll begin editing before too long.
Hey, Everyone!
I am super excited to announce two Release Party Celebrations for THE VAMPIRE’S WAR, my latest release! I’ll do a reading, sell and sign books, and we’ll all hang together to have a good time!
September 26th at 7:00p.m.; Cadence Kitchen in Downers Grove, IL: 5101 Mochel Dr. Come join me for a drink! Or two. Or three.
Oct. 13th at Bucket O’Blood Books and Records, 3182 N Elston, time TBD. I’ll be there with fellow horror writers Christopher Hawkins and Lauren Bolger!
It’s been too long since I hosted an event; Covid prevented such gatherings. I can’t wait to be back together. We’ll hang, talk about vampires, and have a good time!
War brews among vampires. Facing extinction at the hands of an ancient one, the Vampire Council plods along with a secret strategy. Jaret Bachmann, both vampire and witch, fears the Council elders move too slowly. He has the power to assist them in defeating their enemy, but the longer they keep him at arm’s length the more defiant he becomes. He’s already pushing the boundaries to assert his will when tragedy strikes, devastating him and compelling him to become even more rebellious. A young vampire alone in the world, Jaret struggles to find his true self and discover how he wants to spend the remainder of his eternal life, even as the vampire war intensifies and the rogue vampire strikes again. To compound his problems, he’s faced with the allure of a hot renegade vampire, not sure if he is friend or foe. Who will win the war, and where will Jaret’s soul-searching lead him? Find out in The Vampire’s War.
Hey, Gay Vampire Fans!
I am super excited to be attending Fan Expo Chicago! I will be with the Chicago Chapter of the Horror Writers Association, so come see me!
Most of the time, I’ll be hanging at the HWA table; my books will be available for sale and a signing, and I’d love for you to stop by for a chat! I will be there on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
On Sunday, I’ll be on a panel with fellow horror writers: “Crafting Evil: A Method to the Madness”; we’ll be chatting about how horror authors create a monster, villain, or something to scare the crap out of a reader!
I love summer! The weather is fabulous and there is a lot of fun stuff going on.
This last weekend, Paul, Chewbacca, Mika and I journeyed up to Michigan from Downers Grove for my mother-in-law’s 80th birthday party. The entire Wilson family was there. We had a wonderful and super special time celebrating an amazing woman. The love in the air was powerful!!!
Paul and I have already gone to Oregon for our annual vacation, taken in a couple of shows here in Chicagoland, and, of course, are raising the new puppy.
Coming up we will venture to Colorado to harass my family, go see friends in New York, attend a graduation party for our niece and later a wedding gathering for a cousin! Oh, and we have visitors coming here, as well as the Water Lantern Festival in Chicago.
There’s more, but I think you get the picture . . . we’re pretty busy! Whew!
I’m sharing this in part to tell you I promise to plug away at writing between all the excitement. I also hope you have some summer fun planned. As fast as this will go by, I also want to make sure I embrace each moment. Even when super active and moving from one thing to the next, it’s important to be fully there for each step of the way. Life is short. Time flies by.
My wish for you is to make of the summer what is best for your life’s moment. Stop to contemplate and know yourself with each step, whether you’ve got a jam packed schedule like us, or a much more calm time ahead of you. I love all of you!
Hey, Favorite People in the World!
My June newsletter went out this afternoon! Woot! I wrote about the importance of pets in my life, and how they end up in my writing.
If you’ve already signed up for my newsletter, please check it out! And make sure it didn’t land in your spam folder.
If you haven’t signed up, do it NOW!!! Newsletter Sign Up!! And after you do, shoot me a message and I’ll send you June’s issue: DamianSerbu (@) aol.com
As many of you know, my dogs are an enormous part of my life, and they have a profound influence on my writing. We had to put dear Akasha to sleep a few weeks ago. I am writing this blog as a tribute to her, and all she meant for my writing.
She was aptly named after Anne Rice’s vampire, the Queen of the Damned! Akasha, the dog, was willful and loved being in charge. She was also the most loving dog you could imagine. She loved everyone, and she loved every moment of life. Everything was an adventure and to be celebrated. She entered every room, assuming you were just waiting to greet her and have fun.
She had the highest energy of any dog I’ve ever known. One infamous story came when the HVAC person was doing our annual check up. She was “helping” and demanding attention. He said, “well, they’re like that as puppies until they outgrow it.” Paul paused, looked at the guy, and said – “Except she’s eight.” The guy looked bewildered and just said, “Oh.” LOL.
If you’ve read any of my novels with Jaret in them, you know Darth, his dog, is a main character. Darth even becomes a vampire. Spoiler alert – if you’ve read THE VAMPIRE’S WAR, you know that Jaret makes more vampire dogs as his pets. Akasha is one of them. Immortalizing my dogs in my stories is one of the ways my personal life bleeds into my fiction.
I miss her desperately. But I could never express adequately the gratitude I have for being with her for 16.5 years. Here’s to you, Akasha. Teach them how to party hard on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge.
Today I want to reflect on the community of authors. I mean both in the grand sense of all authors, and a couple smaller groups in my life. In particular, I want to voice appreciation for the camaraderie I experience with them.
The world has so much vitriol and hate. Social media often descends into the person who can spew the most criticism. Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion, and when a person writes a book or short story and throws it into the world, you have to expect the good, the bad, and the ugly! But rather than fellow writers putting each other down and bashing others’ content, I find more people applauding and supporting each other. So many authors represent the wonderful side of humanity.
Here are two examples for me, but I know more exist:
-I am part of the LGBTQIA+ writing community. I mostly interact with these folks on Facebook, Twitter, and email. There is a celebration of having our inclusive work out in the world! I feel a sense of uplifting each other, promoting others, and being together. In the true spirit of the LGBTQIA+ community, there is a safe space for everyone. I so cherish my colleagues there. For example, my fellow authors at Ninestar Press write to each other, give tips, and help each other whenever possible. It’s such a fabulous outlook on publishing and storytelling!
-I also am a member of the Horror Writers Association, and specifically participate in the Chicago Area Chapter. What a great group of people! I have always felt welcome and supported there. The chapter includes everyone from best selling authors, to librarians, to people starting out with writing, to me. I think people have an image of horror writers looking and acting like the monsters or demons we write about. If you ever get the chance to come to one of our events, and you SHOULD come to see us, you’d find the kindest, most embracing people. We all come from many walks of life, but again want to assist each other, as opposed to tear anyone down.
This is what I’m getting at: writing is hard work. You toil away in obscurity, until you venture out to give someone else a copy of your work. They criticize and edit it, you work on it some more, and you hope eventually to have it published. Then you brace yourself for reviews, sales numbers, and quite a bit of judgement. As much as I love writing and sharing my stories, this is not a business for the faint of heart.
It’s nice to know that those who share a passion for writing recognize this journey together, instead of thinking that bashing someone over the head will help their sales or take away competition.
Whether with authors in general, or especially within the affiliations of mine, I seldom encounter someone who is a complete asshat. I am honored to be part of these communities. And I am grateful for all the love and support!
Hey, Friends,
I am starting a newsletter. Sign up here: Damian’s Newsletter!
As those of you who know me already understand, publicity is not my strong suit because I am shy and introverted by nature. When I have previously contemplated writing a newsletter, I hesitated because I wasn’t experienced with such an endeavor and worried about what I could write in it.
But I have been reading and studying a lot, and over and over again I see that authors should have a newsletter. Despite changes in social media, new ways of communication, and a myriad of other alterations to our universe of advertising, old school direct email contacts continue to resonant the most with people. The best way to tell people interested in your writing about what’s up is to give them the news directly!
This advice finally sunk in, so later this week I will take my maiden voyage! My newsletter will come out once a month – no more! I am sensitive to people being inundated with such email. I detest businesses or organizations that email email email email email email email – which leads me to delete delete delete delete delete. I want to keep in contact with you without making you go bonkers.
What will I include in my newsletter? I am going to restrict the amount of “plugging”I do. Sure, I will link to new works when appropriate and make sure folks know where to find my writing. However, in addition, I will always provide exclusive content for you: a story, a behind the scenes glimpse into my writing, or an inspiration for what leads me to write something.
Again, if you’d like to sign up, follow this link: Damian Serbu Newsletter!
I appreciate each and everyone of you. I have always believed that, even if I touch one person and no one else with a story, I’ve done something good with my stories. I am flattered whenever someone picks up one of my novels. Thanks! And thank you for continuing on the journey with me!
