DamianSerbu.com

Happy Holidays to everyone!

I wanted to take a moment to share my holiday wish for every person who reads my blog.

I wish for each of you a sense of belonging. Some people find belonging with family. Others find it with friends. Or maybe you feel alone but can reach out to one person – a lifeline to help you feel less alone. Whatever form of belonging you discover, I wish for you to feel loved and important.

Whether I have met you, please know you mean something to me. As a reader of this blog and a fellow human, I see your worth. Please join me in uplifting each other, no matter your belief system, race, sexuality, gender or class.

Happy Holidays, my friends. I love you.

I am pleased to announce THE VAMPIRE’S WAR will be coming your way next year!

What happens in Book V of the Realm of the Vampire Council?

An enraged vampire prepares for war against the Vampire Council. Jaret Bachmann possesses the power to assist in the fight but the Council keeps him at a distance. When his lover, Anthony, disappears, Jaret takes matters into his own hands. Defying the Council, combating a violent enemy, and searching for his place in the world, Jaret must find himself and prepare for battle at the same time.

The final clash is set for Notre Dame Cathedral. Who will survive? Who will win? Find out in THE VAMPIRE’S WAR – coming in 2022!

In the meantime, please check out the other volumes in my vampire series! You can find them listed here, with a buy link: MY BOOKS!

I am super excited to share the following anthology with you! Check it out in order to read some spooky queer stories while also contributing to a wonderful cause!

The Bay Area Queer Writers Association presents a collection of spooky tales to fright and delight you. Authors Wayne Goodman, Richard May, M.D. Neu, Liz Faraim, and R.L. Merrill have all contributed tales of the macabre for your reading pleasure. All proceeds from this inaugural collection will be donated to the The Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center of San Jose, CA. Here’s where to get it: BUY LINK!

I had an interesting conversation with some fellow horror writers last month. We noted how many people, events, and such requested our presence in October, which makes sense given Halloween. People focus attention on thrills and frights and things that scare them during this month.

However, we also discussed how many folks, other than true horror enthusiasts such as ourselves, think horror writing disappears or becomes irrelevant once October 31st turns the page to November 1st.

I wanted to assure everyone that, contrary to the stereotype, we horror writers continue to function once November rolls around. We write. We live our lives. We get ready for Thanksgiving and then the Holiday season, the same as everyone else! And we do hope to sell books year round, not just in October!

In fact, I adore the change of seasons. Of course I get all excited to decorate for Halloween! But I also have a lot of fall decorations I get out at the same time. Those items remain up until after Thanksgiving, even after I put away my Halloween decorations. And, as many of your know, I am a nut job when it comes to holiday decorations. I’ll share all of my Christmas trees this season once I get them up.

What’s the moral of the story? PLEASE continue to help me and my fellow horror writers by purchasing our books during every month of the year! And remember – we’re still lurking even if Halloween ended!

No matter how or why you celebrate the holiday, Happy Halloween! As a horror writer and big horror fan, Halloween is the time of year the whole world focuses on the genre.

If you have kids or like to pass out candy, Happy Trick or Treating!

If you love horror movies, curl up for a lot of scares this weekend!

And of course – read horror books of all kinds to celebrate Halloween!

Enjoy Haunted Houses? Then get out to a few right this minute!

A lot of other ways to celebrate exist, too. So take a break and embrace Halloween!!

Happy Halloween Week! The big day is almost here – get ready for the ghosts, goblins, vampires, witches, zombies, demons, and you name it to stop by for a visit! I had some great opportunities to visit blogs this month to chat about my writing, the horror genre, and Halloween. I’ve rounded them up to share with you here:

Horror Writers Association, Halloween Haunts Blog: The Queer Monster Within!

J. Scott Coatsworth Blog: A Chat about My Writing!

Readers Advisory Guide to Horror: Why I Love the Horror Genre!

The week of Halloween is finally here! As a horror fan, what’s not to love about the chills and thrills?! And here is even more exciting news: great books exist to fill your Halloween needs, with great LGBTQIA+ characters from amazing gay writers! I want to share two author friends with you. J.P. Jackson and Rick R. Reed are fellow NineStar Press authors who bring unique vision to the world of vampires, witches, and other dark elements. Please check out their scary Halloween reads – the buy links follow each book description!

SUMMONED by J.P. Jackson!

Devid Khandelwal desperately wants to experience the supernatural. After years of studying everything from crystals to tarot to spellcasting, nothing has happened that would tell him the Shadow Realm is real. And that kills Dev. As a last-ditch resort, he purchases a summoning board, an occult tool that will grant him his ultimate desires.

Cameron Habersham is Dev’s best friend. Cam loves Dev like a brother and will do anything for him, as long as he looks good doing it. So when Dev asks him to perform the summoning board’s ritual, he reluctantly agrees, but he knows nothing will come of it. Nothing ever does.

However, within a day, Dev and Cam’s lives are turned upside down as wishes begin to come true. They discover the existence of a supernatural world beyond their imagination, but peace between the species is tenuous at best.

Dev finally gets to see the Shadow Realm, meets the man of his dreams, and is inducted into the local male coven. But for all the desires that were summoned into existence, Dev soon realizes the magical community dances the line between good and evil, and Cam ends up on the wrong side of everything.

The old adage is true: Be careful what you wish for. BUY LINK: SUMMONED!

IMMORTAL THINGS by Rick R. Reed!

The Horror Writers Association hosts a blog for the month of October, Halloween Haunts. The contributions are so much fun to read as we march toward Halloween. My entry was published today, so please check out “The Queer Monster Within!”

Link: The Queer Monster Within.

The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror has a great blog event for the month of October! The blog spotlights various people explaining why they love the horror genre. I am honored to be included, with Friday, October 15th’s entry. Please follow the link below to check out my thoughts. And do stick around to check out the other people who contributed to the blog, with a rich diversity of opinions and ideas!

Damian Serbu on Why He Loves Horror!

The Wizard World Convention takes place this weekend at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. If you’re in the Chicagoland area, I hope you will attend because . . . I am going to present there!

I am super excited to be a part of the Chicago Chapter of Horror Writers Association. At 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 16th, the chapter will host a panel at Wizard World Chicago on the craft of writing horror!

This should be a fun event for October! Prepare for Halloween by coming to discover where horror authors come up with their frightening ideas. There are a ton of other exciting events at the convention, too, so check it out: Wizard World Convention Information.

For those of you worried about safety protocols, I am, too! This will be my first public appearance since the pandemic began. The convention REQUIRES all attendees and participants to wear a mask at all times over the nose and mouth. No chin diapers. No lame excuses to forego wearing a mask. Protect yourselves and protect others.