(COVER ILLUSTRATED BY SAMUEL SIERRA OF @SIERRA_GRAPHICS ON INSTAGRAM)
I am proud to announce the release of my book Chronicles of the Vampire Trinity: Rise of the Fallen. The road to releasing this book has been a long road for me. I have gone through a lot of hurdles and judgement and rejection on the way to completion. There were multiple times that I had wanted to give up and walk away from it, but there was always something to pull me back. There would be something that would creep up from inside me that would make me move forward and keep pushing with everything that I had.
This book was one of the hardest things that I have ever done in my life. Page after page and edit after edit, it never became easier. The story never just came to mind. It took time and dedication. It took the need and the will to succeed in completing it.
I began my original manuscript as a Dracula versus Lestat story. I have always had a love and fascination for vampire lore and both Dracula and Lestat. I had never really gotten far with it. Don't get me wrong, I was having fun and I enjoyed the process of story writing. I knew I was very green to the craft and I needed work on story structure and development. But that was not why I stopped writing it. I hit a point while I was writing it that I had an epiphany. I wondered why I would write about two characters who already existed. I wondered why I would take their amazing histories and pretty much shit on what Bram Stoker and Anne Rice had accomplished with these characters. Why not scrape the entire thing and start new with original characters. I knew enough about the subject matter through all of the research I've done over the years and the stories that I have read.
And so that is what I did. I love fiction. I believe that a person who can create an entire universe in their head are among the most creative people in the world whether it be in the form of a drawing or the written word. I wanted to test myself and see if I could pull it off. I wanted to see if I had what it took to create not just a snapshot of story, but an entire fictional universe that existed together.
Again, this project has taken me years. Hell, I started it a long time before I had met my wife. When times were hard I would step away for reprocess my goals. If I had writer's block, I took a creative writing course in college to help me work it out. By the way, that course did not count one bit towards my degree. But it was one of the best experiences of my life. Some of those stories I had written in that class are actually a part of the book.
I did not actually complete the manuscript for Chronicles of the Vampire Trinity: Rise of the Fallen until after I married. Like I said, there were roadblocks during this journey. Due to the support of my wife, I may have never finished. She knows how much she means to me for that. She has a great heart.
After completing the manuscript, I had another struggle. I did not have the confidence to seek publication. I had let a few people read it and I had great reviews from them. These were people that I could trust to be honest with me, they would give me the tough criticism that I was looking for. But all they would ask was, "what happens next?"
I took the time to try to seek publication. But no publishing house would speak to me without a literary agent. Whenever I researched literary agents, I would get referred to vanity publishers instead. What did I know, I've never done this before. I lost my confidence again.
Sometime later, my passion for writing only continued to grow. My wife and I had discussed me creating a blog. She is responsible for me starting Feast and Fandom. I've told the story before. My wife and I discussed what the potential for the blog could be. We threw different names back and forth to each other. I came up with Feast and Fandom. She didn't like it. We went to bed. Then she called me while I was at work the next morning and told me that she designed a logo and created my website for me. She continued to show me that she believed in me. This is still the original version of Feast and Fandom that you see today.
Blogging helped feed my passion. It also helped my confidence grow again. My series of short stories called A Glimpse was a happy accident. I wanted to get back into fiction and I began to accept assignments from a writing website for short stories with different subject matter. A Glimpse was born.
I began the literary agent search again. Between my writing, Feast and Fandom, my job at the restaurant and my wife and children; the only time that I had to sacrifice was the time I allowed myself to sleep. It took a toll on me. But this time around, I took a different approach.
I had looked into publishing with Amazon years earlier and I decided to revisit it. I saw that the process had become greatly improved. I tested the waters with A Glimpse Volume One. I enjoyed the process so much that I quickly wrote a A Glimpse Volume Two. My confidence was at the highest it had ever been.
During the release of A Glimpse, I had shared Chronicles of the Vampire Trinity with my friend Samuel Sierra. He works with me at the restaurant and he is also a graphic designer. His passion is with graphics. He drew my main character and so began a creative partnership that I know will produce something incredible.
Because of the years of belief and support of my wife and the help from my friend Sam, my dream has finally been realized and Chronicles of the Vampire Trinity: Rise of the Fall is now available on Amazon and Kindle in paperback and e-book editions. The first time I help the proof copy of the book in my hands was an emotional moment for me. I can't wait to hold the finalized copy.
Below, you will find the Prologue from the book for free. Please, enjoy it.
Other original stories are located in the Books & Stories section of our website.
Chronicles of the Vampire Trinity: Rise of the Fallen
Prologue
THE YEAR 158 BC
The light of the moon brilliantly illuminated a remote Greek Valley that looked to contain nothing but giant trees and wildlife. Hidden deep inside of this valley was a massive fortress that was one of many homes of the evil Lord Akeldama-Raz. He was greatly feared amongst all of those who knew of him. One would think that he would be remembered as a great conqueror, but he actually preferred to be known as a merciless hunter while he killed his prey for sport and perverse pleasure. But tonight was different than any other night. Tonight, for the first time, Lord Akeldama-Raz was the one being hunted.
A dark figure moved furtively about the shadows surrounding the compound. He studied the layout of the facility in order to determine the most effective ways to kill all of the guards and which corridors would take him to his destination the fastest. He saw that the guards were armed with spears, swords, and bows and arrows. The figure thought to himself that the massive amount of destruction he had planned would be easier than he thought.
With a quick dash, the figure appeared as a blur as he began to move throughout the complex making sure to eliminate any sentry that could possibly attempt to get in his way. He figured that even though these guards were human, he could not give them the same justification for life since they were aligned with a person who was the epitome of evil.
After he accomplished the mass blood bath, feeding on the plasma of those he had killed, he arrived to his destination feeling stronger than ever. Lord Akeldama-Raz was sitting on his throne when he started to hear the sound of moist footsteps slowly coming closer. Lord Akeldama-Raz shoved his slave girl’s head away from between his legs and looked to the entrance to see the dark figure standing in the shadows. Lord Akeldama-Raz then said, “My son, finally you’ve come back to me! I’m so pleased to see you after all of this time.”
The figure walked into the light, covered in blood. He responded, “Don’t you call me son. You don't have the privilege of calling me son. I am just some tortured soul that you turned into a monster. You killed my mentor, the only man I have ever truly looked to as a father. You may call me by his name, you call me Christos!”
“So, you even took his name? You never had a problem with being what I made you until you met that sack of shit. Grow some fucking balls you spineless swine, he was only a man. If you ask me, he wasn’t worth the dirt on my boot.” Akeldama-Raz grinned at the thought.
“He taught me other ways to survive, ways that didn’t involve killing people. He had shown me the light when you had only shown me the darkness. Don’t you dare disgrace his name! He was a better man then you could ever be!” Christos said full of passionate rage.
“Fool! I thought I taught you better than that! Do you honestly think I will let you dare speak against me? ” Akeldama-Raz stood up from his throne with authority.
“You are not my Master anymore!” Christos pulled two monstrous battle-axes from a latch on his back and tightly gripped both by the handle. Christos was ready for battle.
Akeldama-Raz stepped down from his throne and unfastened the cloak from around his neck. He did not grab any weapons; he was confident that his hands would be sufficient enough. “I like your toys boy. You were the first I ever turned. You will certainly not be the last. Pity, I had such high hopes for you. Now, the only thing that excites me about you is that I get to be the one to kill you.”
With that said Christos moved forward with all of his might and swung his battle-axe at Akeldama-Raz. Akeldama-Raz dodged the giant blade and threw his fist into Christos’ face, breaking his nose instantly. Akeldama-Raz knew how much more powerful he was than Christos and looked to take his time killing him. Christos tried to overcome Akeldama-Raz, but each blow took so much out of him. Christos began to lose his bearings as Akeldama-Raz threw him through the stone wall on the other side of the room.
Akeldama-Raz laughed as he walked through the doorway, whistling and enjoying the beating he just laid onto Christos. Akeldama-Raz looked to the ground expecting to find Christos unconscious, but saw nothing but a few drops of blood. “Where the hell…”
Christos dropped from the ceiling and finally got his first blows in on Akeldama-Raz. Akeldama-Raz noticed the fire burning in Christos’ eyes and now found himself attempting to form a defense. The power in every punch was both incredible and unbelievable. Akeldama-Raz thought that Christos was too young to be demonstrating such high power levels.
Christos continued to pummel Akeldama-Raz to the ground with every blow becoming more vicious. Finally Christos showed his teeth and took a huge bite out of Akeldama-Raz’s neck and began to feed. The rush of pure power was irresistible. Christos felt his awareness and other abilities rise. He was now able to read Akeldama-Raz’s thoughts and no matter how much pain and fear he sensed from Akeldama-Raz, Christos felt no remorse.
With Akeldama-Raz drained, Christos grabbed him by the hair and dragged him back into the throne room. He positioned Akeldama-Raz on the floor with his arms and legs spread apart. Christos then picked up one of his battle-axes and looked down upon Akeldama-Raz knowing that he was helpless while drained of all of his blood.
“How…How were you able to?” Akeldama-Raz desperately tried to get the words out.
“You kept too many guards in this fortress. Yes, they may have all tasted rotten, but they gave me the extra power I needed to take you down.”
Akeldama-Raz kept his eyes on Christos and said with a raspy whisper, “You can’t kill me…you kn...know that. I will get my strength back again one day and I’ll kill you for this.”
Christos raised his axe to eye level to gaze upon the sharp blade, and then he looked back down at Akeldama-Raz and said, “Isn’t it going to be a little hard to get your strength back when you’re in pieces?”
The next thing Akeldama-Raz saw was the heavy blade of the axe slicing through his elbow. Christos proceeded to do the same when it came to all of Akeldama-Raz’s joints. He figured that the more pieces there were, the harder it would be for Akeldama-Raz to one day rise again. “Your evil stops now. You will never terrify anyone ever again and I will make sure of it. I will scatter your body parts all over the world to ensure that you will never be a threat again. With the fall of Lord Akeldama-Raz, so shall be the fall of his empire.”
Christos gathered the body parts and put them into separate sacks. He packed up whatever he felt he needed and set fire all throughout the compound to burn it to the ground. His mission of revenge was now complete. Christos stepped outside not realizing that the sun was rising. At first it frightened him, but he was surprised that he did not start to burn up. He held out his hand and looked up to the sun for the first time in countless years and smiled. Akeldama-Raz’s blood has truly increased his abilities. He realized that he no longer needed to fear the sun and embraced its warm rays. He determined he would use his incredible new powers to do right by the world. He decided a path of redemption would be the only thing to make up for the crimes he had committed in the past.
Christos built specialized lock boxes that were strong enough to hold Akeldama-Raz’s dismembered pieces forever, one piece per box. He then kept the promise he made to Akeldama-Raz, the pieces were scattered all around the world. He saw to it himself. But when it came to the head of Akeldama-Raz, he had a trustworthy friend take it and hide it. Christos did not want to know where the head was placed; he even went far enough to make sure that the person who hid the head would never be traced. That individual would forever remain a secret to the world for as long as time itself existed. The long reign of Lord Akeldama-Raz had ended and Christos made certain that his name would be forgotten from history. Finally, Christos was rid of his creator. Finally, Christos was free and reborn to a new life and a new purpose.
