Hello
everyone! I’m Thomas Winship, author of Væmpires:
Revolution and Væmpires: White
Christmas. Both books are part of a new, ongoing vampire series that
explores the question: what if vampires
evolved?
I’m
so excited to be today’s guest blogger at VampChix & Bite Club! It’s an
amazing site in its own right, but it’s also the site where I achieved two personal
milestones. Back in November, just a few days after the release of Væmpires: Revolution, Michele gave
me the honor of offering my first ever guest blog … now,
six months later, she invited me to offer the concluding blog of my first ever
Blog Tour.
Those
aren’t the only times I’ve been here, but they are the most significant. I
can’t thank Michele—and all of you—enough for the continued interaction and support.
On
the subject of milestones: my younger brother turns forty today. I’ve waited
eighteen long months for him to accompany me in the over-40 club, so please
help me wish him a virtual “Happy Birthday.”
For
my part, I’m still reeling from the emotional and psychological shock of
turning forty. I knew it was coming, of course, so it wasn’t a matter of being
intellectually unprepared—I simply hadn’t fully recovered from turning thirty a
short decade earlier.
I
don’t feel forty. I mean, yeah, my body
feels it—a little more each day, if I’m going to bare my soul here—but my mind
doesn’t. I still like video games and comic books and playing sports. I still
go to amusement parks. I still jump in puddles with my nephew.
I’m
still a child at heart. I feel it. Sometimes, I act it—although infrequently
and only in private, lol. It isn’t necessarily endearing, either, but it is
what it is (and other trite statements). When I speak with my contemporaries
about this, many admit to feeling (and acting) the same way. However, a small
percentage does not. While the responses of those people can range from
baffled, to concerned, to morally outraged, it is important to note that they,
in fact, comprise a very small percentage of the control group and are
therefore considered outliers (or just plain ol’ liars, because there’s no way
they don’t feel that way … they just won’t admit it).
Still,
there is one thing I know as true: my parents sure as heck didn’t seem to be
children at heart when they were forty. Now, I realize that it was a different
time and that they were from a different generation. They grew up during the
Cold War—now, there’s a title for a
militaristic vampire saga—they were poster children for corporal punishment,
and they didn’t even have cable. Heck, when they turned forty the guy in the
White House was older than their parents.
When
I turned forty, we had globalization, Eckhart Tolle helping us toward a
spiritual awakening, and reality shows in which, no matter how bad we may feel
(or life may get), we can always find someone worse off than we are. We even have
the Internet, and blogs, where we can bemoan turning forty or talk about the
books we write. Heck, when I turned forty, the guy occupying the White House
was less than ten years older than me.
However,
even more important was the fact that, when I turned forty, the world was just learning
that one of the most famed presidents of all time had been a vampire hunter—and
that, ladies and gentlemen, brings me to the point of this blog:
I
want to be a vampire.
No,
ha ha, I don’t want to be hunted; not by Honest Abe or anyone else. I don’t want
to be a pretend vampire like some people out there, either. I don’t even want
to seduce young women or slowly build an army of undead to take over the world.
I
just want to be an honest-to-goodness vampire.
And
live forever.
The
thought of living forever makes me giddy. Not in a silly schoolgirl way but in
an oh-so-happy way (disclaimer: I’m not being sexist here; I’ve simply never
seen a silly schoolboy who was giddy. I’ve seen silly schoolboys who were
gaudy, gaga, gabby, and even grubby … but never one that I would characterize
as giddy. Still, I could be wrong. Maybe I don’t know giddy when I see it. Perhaps
my definition or understanding of giddy was irreparably skewed by my upbringing
and/or experiences. Perhaps I had too much nature and not enough nurture. Or
vice versa. Or some combination thereof that’s frowned upon somewhere. In fact,
maybe I should just keep my mouth shut at all times. *sigh* Nevertheless, that
doesn’t mean giddy schoolboys don’t exist or that I don’t believe schoolboys should
be giddy. Of course they do! And of course they should! Perhaps it’s just safer
if I say “not in a silly schoolchild way”).
Anyway
… just imagine all I could do with forever before me. I could finally read all
the books in my TBR pile. I could watch everything on the DVR. I could even
think of new and creative abbreviations, like BUR (being undead rules) and IAV2
(I’m a vampire, too) to tweet.
I
could finally learn how to tie a tie or make a really good bolognaise sauce or even
discover the connection between meta tags and extraterrestrial life.
The
possibilities are endless.
And
that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I believe that that lure of immortality is
the single-most important factor in the continuing popularity of vampires.
It
doesn’t mean the other factors are insignificant. I realize that legions of
fans love the otherworldly mannerisms, the overt sexuality, and the enhanced
senses and abilities (alas, not sensibilities) of our vampire creations—just
not as much as the never-ending lifespan.
And
even the paranormal romance fans—who loooove
the dark, brooding, bare-chested males glowering at us from shelf after shelf
of the local bookstore—wouldn’t have the patience and the empathy (and, I
daresay, the desire) for the aforementioned heroes if those heroes weren’t so
tragically … painfully … complicatedly … immortal.
So
much of early vampire fiction revolved around a vampire’s desire to escape, and
a human’s desire to avoid, such insufferable immortality. Well, I say, “To hell
with that!”
I
don’t want to grow any older and I sure as heck don’t want to meet my maker.
Someone please turn me into a vampire before it’s too late! I’ll choose endless
hunger (or a soulless existence, or a perpetual chill) over endless sleep, any
day.
It’s
my brother’s birthday, but I want immortality—the gift that keeps on giving.
Where’s
my Edward?
I’d like to
thank all of you for stopping in and offer a very special “thank you” to
Michele for allowing me to be a guest blogger at VampChix & Bite Club
today. I hope you enjoyed my guest blog. I’d love to hear what you think of it.
Please comment here, but also feel free to stop by my website or send an email.
Additionally, I’d love to hear from you if you check out Vaempires.
Below
are links where you can find me.
Take
care,
Thomas
Winship
Vaempires
Book One The Evolutionary War
By Thomas Winship
It is the morning of Princess Cassandra’s sixteenth birthday. Everyone’s attention is focused on the heir to the vampire throne. World leaders, the rich and famous, and VIPs from every corner of the globe have gathered in the nation’s capital to celebrate the momentous event.
Cassandra’s boyfriend, Daniel, is late for the party. He’s still outside the city when all hell breaks loose. What he believes is an act of terrorism proves to be a full-fledged revolution.
Væmpires—former vampires who mutated into warm-blooded creatures with an insatiable hunger for cold blood—have launched coordinated attacks across the globe, with three goals: the eradication of humanity, the enslavement of vampires, and the ascension of væmpires as the dominant species on the planet.
The vampire and human leaders are killed. Cassandra is missing. Daniel is the acting king. Desperate to find the princess, Daniel and his friends fight their way across the besieged city. With the hopes of the free world resting on the shoulders of four vampire teenagers, væmpires unleash their secret weapons: a new breed of væmpire that is far deadlier than any ever seen before.
What can four teens do against an enemy that can shape-shift, fly, and walk through walls?
Books on Amazon.com Books on Smashwords
About the Author
Thomas Winship was born in Middletown, NY and still resides in Orange County. He holds an MBA in Management from St. Thomas Aquinas College, where he serves as an adjunct professor of courses in English Composition, Communications, and Business.
He also spent fifteen years working for a global pharmaceutical company, specializing in organizational development, talent management, and training.
Tom writes in his spare time. His first novel, a mystery/legal thriller entitled Temporary Insanity (a.k.a. Case Closed), was a 2008 finalist in a national contest but failed to garner industry attention. His second novel, Væmpires: Revolution, was published in October and a follow-up novella, Væmpires: White Christmas, was published in December.
He is an avid collector of books, comic books, music, and movies. His interests are diverse: on any given day, Tom is likely to be found watching a horror movie, attending a hard rock concert, or enjoying a Broadway show.
He is currently working on the next installment of the “Væmpires” series, which is scheduled for an early 2012 release
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5 comments:
Thank you so much for inviting me to the site today! I'll swing by throughout the day to respond to any comments.
Tom, i'm afraid the sparkly one has no more intention of making more of his kind after Bella lol.
seriously, it was a great guest post. thanks for sharing your thoughts on why you want to be a vampire and not a vaempire!
Thank you.
You never know ... relationships fall apart all the time. And if theirs does, perhaps I can be there to pick up the pieces!
I'll hold off on the vaempire dreams until we know more about 'em.
I look forward to reading the next Vaempire installment. Any release date yet?
Unfortunately, no. I'm still working on it, which is exciting for me but not for the people waiting for something new. I'm sorry, but I assure you that I appreciate you asking (and waiting) and I am working as fast as I can!
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