The Allure of the Short Story by Natalie-Nicole Bates

The Allure of the Short Story

By Natalie-Nicole Bates

Since the release of my short story, Antique Charming, I have been consistently asked the same question—Why did I opt to write it as a short story versus a full-length novel?

The answer is actually quite simple. From the start, Antique Charming was always intended to be a short story. It was meant to be six hours in the life of Lizzie Morton. A sensual, delicious little bite to leave the reader asking questions, especially, just who or perhaps better…what exactly is Adam Nichols?

I am delighted that the story has sparked debate among its readers, even controversy. This was my intent. As a writer, it’s very easy to stick to a formula where all of the storylines are neatly tied up with pretty little bows by the end of the story. The curtain falls, all questions answered. But why is this an absolute necessity? Of course it brings a sense of closure for the reader. 

But why shouldn’t the reader be able to speculate her own conclusion to the story?

So, just how did Antique Charming come to be, and from my perspective, exactly what is Adam Nichols?

I am an avid collector of Victorian and Edwardian-era photographs. To me, there is much beauty in these black and white stills. Last spring, I found a photograph from an online seller that completely captivated me. The size of a postcard, but printed on a much thicker stock was the image of a funeral home (I come from a long line of folks in the funeral care business). Outside, a very handsome man stands proudly with his hands clasped in front of him, most likely one of the owners at the time. Although the photo is slightly faded, you can still clearly make out the reflection in the glass of a black funeral carriage tied with elaborate ribbons. The back of the photo reads in very elegant script, Week of Oct-11-1896.

Although the photo was pricy, I splurged and bought it for myself.

When I finally held it in my hands, I was in love. It was then that an idea occurred to me. What if a very lovely lady who is just starting out in the funeral business buys this particular funeral home, determined to restore it to its former glory. And what would happen if one night this woman was visited by the very handsome man in the photo who claims to still own the funeral home?

To me, the idea seemed like a good one. He wasn’t a ghost or a vampire. The closest I could describe him is as a dybbuk. In Jewish folklore, the wandering soul of a dead person that enters the body of a living person and controls his or her behaviour. But even is dybbuk isn’t quite accurate.

At the end of the day, it is you, the reader, who will decide just what Adam Nichols really is. I never expected so many readers to write and ask me for a full length novel. Perhaps at some future time I will speak with my publisher about turning it into a full novel. But for right now, my photographs are beginning to speak to me again and just maybe inspiring a few more paranormal spins.

Antique Charming is available from Books To Go Now Publishing.

My Inspirations for writing Back To You by Natalie-Nicole Bates

My Inspirations for writing Back To You

By Natalie-Nicole Bates

First and foremost, Back To You is a romance. It follows the relationship between Lynsey Reznor and Nick Lincoln. Two basically polar opposite characters who have been in love with each other since they were teenagers.

I wanted to write a story with a true love never dies kind of theme, and explore the situation of dating again after the demise of a long-term relationship, which is difficult to understand unless you’ve actually been through it. It becomes even more complicated when your new partner’s ex is deceased. She goes up on a pedestal, and you are often looked at as a pariah.

But there is also another reason I wrote Back To You, but unfortunately, it got a little mixed up along the way.

For those of you familiar with me, you know I have another Unity-based story called Change of Address. Change of Address was released before Back To You. In reality, Back To You is actually the first story in the Unity series, not Change of Address.

But that is life, that is publishing.

When I envisioned the series in my mind, I saw Lynsey Reznor as the central character. Through Lynsey, the reader would be introduced to the town of Unity, and the characters who live there.

In Back To You, I introduce the reader to the most eligible bachelors of Unity. As Lynsey looks for love, she encounters a number of potential suitors.

We meet Evan Monroe, who is perfect marriage material. We find out he has recently been in a serious accident, and is still recovering. He’s an absolute doll, but Lynsey never felt an instant chemistry with Evan.

Lynsey then reacquaints herself with Owen Mitchell. Lynsey jokes that she met Owen over an open grave. Owen is an extremely complicated man. I call him a provocateur. He also has a very shocking, heartbreaking past which is not explored in Back To You, but the reader knows there’s more beneath the skin of Owen Mitchell, not just the mercurial persona he presents to the outside world.

And then there is Caleb Smith. The gregarious, larger-than-life man that the women love and the men despise. Like Lynsey, Caleb is looking for love, and it’s hinted that Lynsey and Caleb had a relationship in the past. Caleb is Nick’s greatest completion for Lynsey’s heart.

We also briefly meet Ryan Maine, but Ryan is off limits ladies, he has eyes strictly for Amii Sloane, and he’ll do whatever he must do to have her—whether Amii wants him or not.

By the end of Back To You, the reader has a pretty good idea of what might be coming in the future. We have bachelors looking for love and just waiting for their stories to be written.

I hope you enjoy Back To You and Change of Address. Look forward to Amii and Ryan’s story in Amii’s Angel, the next Unity story coming soon.

Back To You is available from Amazon through Books To Go Now as a single release and as a collection featuring BONUS stories Antique Charming and Remember The Stars, in both ebook and paperback format!

Blurb:

On the surface, Lynsey Reznor seems to have it all. She is beautiful, brilliant, and a successful true-crime writer who has been living the past decade in Miami. But what Lynsey lacks is what she needs the most—a family.

After the death of her mother, and yet another failed relationship, Lynsey makes an impulsive decision to return to her hometown of Unity. But Unity will present its own bittersweet memories, most notably, her first love, Nick Lincoln.

Twenty years ago, Nick broke teenager Lynsey’s heart when he decided to marry another. He had his own private reasons—reasons he never explained to Lynsey. Now she is back, along with a chance to reclaim her love. But Lynsey wants answers from him that he may never be able to give out of duty and guilt.

Buy Links:

Back To You (single release)

Back To You (collection)

Change of Address

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Love Triangles – Tara Fox Hall and her novel Taken in the Dark guest bloggers @LallaGatta Blog - LallaGatta

Love Triangles – Tara Fox Hall and her novel Taken in the Dark guest bloggers @LallaGatta Blog - LallaGatta

Inspiration for SEE ME (Part 2 of using early photography as inspiration for your next novel)

Inspiration for SEE ME…

By Natalie-Nicole Bates

Last week, I discussed the different types of 19th and early 20th century photography. Today, I'll put that into action.

I did not begin as a writer. For many years I was simply a book lover who turned reviewer. About two years ago, I decided to start writing my own novel. A year later, I was a happily published author of two contemporary romances.

I was always fascinated by paranormal romance. But as a reviewer, I watched the paranormal market literally explode. Vampires, werewolves, shifters, even zombies were making appearances at an alarming rate. Writers were writing these markets and writing well.

So what to do?

Inspiration came fast. I am an avid collector of Victorian-era photography. To me, there is much beauty in these old photographs, and to my delight—much inspiration as well.

My first published paranormal short story, Antique Charming, was centered on a cabinet card from 1896 of a man standing outside of a funeral home.

                1896 cabinet card from my collection

Antique Charming was successful, but could I write a paranormal that would be a longer length than Antique Charming?

Once again, I returned to my photographs. I had recently bought a Carte de Visite (1860’s) of a beautiful little girl about age 3, her photo surrounded by a memorial wreath. In my mind, Baby Charlotte was born.

                        Inspiration for Baby Charlotte from my collection. Carte de Visite mentioned in SEE ME

SEE ME begins in 1896, where we meet sixteen year old Charlotte. Charlotte always knew she was special, but never knew why. She believed it all stemmed from a near drowning incident when she was three. An incident her family members refused to speak of.

Her hunch comes true one day in 1896 during a lumber yard fire when her true powers reach fruition.

One very small photograph from the 1860’s suddenly became one huge idea for a novella.

I then went in search of my Daniel Tremont, the hero of SEE ME. Daniel’s inspiration is a magnificent 1860’s Daguerreotype of a young man. The matt on this photograph is purple, which is usually the colour of significance for mourning, which means this young man probably passed away young. He was perfect.

Sometimes what you know well can be a powerful ally. In writing, this is so true. I took my love for Victorian photography and turned it into a plot for a novella that combines romance, paranormal, and a touch of my beloved horror.

                    Inspiration for Daniel Tremmont

                    Daguerreotype from my collection

                 Full case-note the purple mourning matt

I hope you will read SEE ME, now available at Leap of Faith Publishing. To view the photographs that inspired both SEE ME as well as Antique Charming and a small sampling of my collection, visit my new blog Ghosts and Phantoms at: http://ghostsandphantoms.blogspot.co.uk/

Buy Links:

SEE ME is available from Leap of Faith Publishing and Amazon.

Antique Charming (short story) available through Books To Go Now Publishing.

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A Brief History of 19th Century Photographs (Part 1)

A Brief History of 19^th Century Photographs for Historical Writers (Part 1)

By Natalie-Nicole Bates

For historical writers, the various types of photography available in the 19^th century can be a valuable resource.  My short paranormal, Antique Charming is centered around a Victorian-era cabinet card. My paranormal romance novella, SEE ME, is also inspired by 19^th century photographs. Getting your terms right is essential for any writer interested in using photography in their historical manuscript. It’s more interesting to say your heroine in 1850 was holding in her hands a beautifully encased Daguerreotype of her beloved, rather than just a simple photograph.

Let’s begin with the earliest form of photograph and my personal favorite-

The Daguerreotype-The first successful photographic process made on a light sensitive silver coated metallic plate. The surface of daguerreotype is mirror-like and unstable. You must tilt the image to view it properly. Daguerreotypes are most often displayed in thick glass covered cases. Daguerreotype photography rapidly spread throughout the United States in the early 1840’s.

                                              Example of a Daguerreotype from my collection

Because of its instability and labor-intensive process, the daguerreotype was quickly replaced in 1854 by

The Ambrotype- This photographic process was done by imaging a negative on glass, backed by a dark surface. The ambrotype was much less expensive to produce and lacked the shiny surface of the daguerreotype, but the general consensus was the ambrotype was visually unappealing.

By the mid 1850’s, the ambrotype was supplemented by

                                                     Example of an ambrotype from my collection

The Tintype- Introduced in 1856, the tintype was a positive photograph made directly on an iron plate varnished with a thin sensitized film.  Tintype “film” is the same as the final print, so the image appears reversed (left to right) from reality. Compared to earlier techniques, the tintype is simple and fast to process, which made it a hit at carnivals and fairs. The photographer could prepare, expose, and varnish tintypes within a few minutes and have it ready to present to the customer. There is no actual tin used in the process. Like the daguerreotype and ambrotype, tintypes were often cased.

The Carte de Visite is a photograph the size of a visiting card and became enormously popular around 1854 when they were regularly traded among family and friends. It was usually made of an albumin print, which was a thin paper photograph mounted on a thicker paper card. By 1870, carte de visite was supplemented by the popular

                                                  Example of Carte de Visite from my collection

Cabinet Cards- which is essentially the same process as carte de visite. The main difference is the cabinet card is larger and usually included the photographer’s logo and advertised their services on the reverse side of the photo. Around 1880, the cabinet card displaced carte de visite.

For approximately three decades following the 1860’s, the commercial portraiture industry was dominated by carte de visite and cabinet cards. However, the public was soon clamoring for outdoor and candid photographs as well as varying sizes of photos which could be enlarged or small enough to collect in scrapbooks. 

With the affordable Kodak Box Brownie camera introduced in 1900, the public rapidly began taking their own photographs and led to the decline of the cabinet card.

I hope this brief history of 19^th century photography will spark your interest and inspire you to look to the beauty of vintage photography when planning your next historical novel.

NEXT UP: Putting these inspirations to work for your next novel.

Bio:

Natalie-Nicole Bates is a book reviewer and author.

Her passions in life include books and hockey along with Victorian and Edwardian era photography and antique poison bottles. Natalie contributes her uncharacteristic love of hockey to being born in Russia.

She currently resides in the UK where she is working on her next book and adding to her collection of 19^th century post-mortem photos.

Visit Natalie online at www.natalienicolebates.com

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Obligatory New Year's post ;)

Happy New Year! So far, I seem only to be missing a resolution.

But we're in the third day. As of yet, I have no complaints, and the year is certainly looking more kindly upon me than last year.

New Year's Eve was spent with dozens of friends that filled the walls of my small-ish town house almost to bursting, but everybody seemed to have fun. We put the kiddly-winks up to bed at about 8.30pm, but I think we all knew they were still up closer to ten.

The night flew by with cheese and dips and more sugar than we could actually consume, and then somebody was suddenly running around yelling that it was only ten minutes till midnight.

Which was around the time we realised someone local had fireworks and was letting them off behind our back fence. While we oohed and ahhed about that, the time grew ever closer to midnight, and then there was the countdown, and then there was a lot of kissing. I was incredibly lucky this year. I got to spend New Year's Night with all but three of my very favourite people in the whole world.

New Year may not have brought around much in the way of resolutions for me (yet, but I reserve the right to make them, even as late as February!) but it has prompted a bit of a spring clean and adding of material to this humble little site. I now have three new tabs across the top bar, posting a little about me, the various places to get hold of me around the net and one of my up-coming projects.

I've also been reading and thoroughly consumed by the Puzzle Quest game (which is actually eating into quite a bit of my reading time...). The books I'm reading are The Secret Life of William Shakespeare, a historical fiction by a writer I'd never heard until I happened across the book in my local library. Jude Morgan also writes historical fictions based on the friendship between Byron, Mary Shelley and Percy Shelley, and also about the Bronte sisters that are now on my to-be-read list, and, of course, my other novel is an old favourite: Kushiel's Mercy from the series by Jacqueline Carey that I don't think I'll ever get sick of.

Lastly, I have a couple of chats coming up this month, on the 19th and 26th of January with Coffee Time Romance, where I'll get to talk about my novel Gothic and maybe a little bit about my upcoming novel Revelry, too. More information about those soon.

Meet the Characters of the Promise Me Series by Tara Fox Hall!

A huge thank you to The Moonlight Romance Authors for having me here today!

 I’m here today to promote Broken Promise, the second book in the paranormal romance Promise Me series. But what better way to introduce my Promise Me Series than a paragraph of introduction by each of the central and supporting characters, from their own POV?

Sarelle McGarran

Independent human heroine recently nursing a broken heart

Hi. My name is Sarelle McGarran. I live on an old horse farm in New York, and work part time at a metal fabrication shop. I thought when I met Danial last fall that I’d found a soul mate. Instead, he broke my heart. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy having a working relationship with a vampire, but we could have made it, if he’d just have told me the truth. I still hope that after I take some time for myself that we can reconcile. I do love him, and I know he loves me. I also didn’t take my oath to him lightly. I just hope he feels the same way.

Danial Racklan

Reserved yet romantic vampire recently nursing a broken heart

It is not easy for a human to accept most of my needs as a vampire: the night schedule, the blood donors I must use, the history I have witnessed and lost, my company which I love even as it demands much of my waking time, and the dismal fact that I will likely outlive her. I thought Sar was different, that we had something lasting. But she has run back to her home, telling me she “needs some time to come to terms with my agelessness.” My own heart is broken, that I could have been so wrong about her acceptance of me. I have no power to make vampires, unlike my licentious brother, Devlin. Was it so wrong to have wanted a child with her, a being that might have had my longevity, so that I might hold onto our love forever?

Terian

 Vengeful half-demon

Danial is not to be trusted, no matter what feelings he professes for Sar. Yes, he did tell me the truth about myself during our fight, that night he came to rescue her from me. In those months since I’ve learned much about passing for human, in addition to honing my magical talents. But that doesn’t mean I trust Danial with Sar. She was kind to me, and helped me when she didn’t have to. I owe her for that. She’s also the first human who didn’t look at me like I was an abomination. I’ll do whatever I can to show her the truth that Danial is lying to her, and get her away from him before he gets her killed.

Theo

Uncompromising werecougar nursing his own secret affection for Sar

Danial is my best friend. He saved my life years ago, and gave me a place in his business, Solutions, Inc. In the ten years I’ve known him, he always treated me with respect, as a partner. Now he’s a wreck, having loved Sar and lost her within only a few months. I told him how many times that it wasn’t going to work, him being vampire and her being human. That bastard Terian is just another problem we’re going to have to deal with, too. But keeping Danial safe is my job. Whatever it takes, I’ll find some way to put Terian down for good. He’s got designs on Sar. I’m sure of it. But no way in hell is he getting near her. She deserves to be happy with someone that loves her and keeps her safe. I’d give my life to protect her.

Cia

Loyal, reticent werefox

I’m one of Danial’s werefoxes, assigned with protecting him and his personal effects. I’m also Sar’s friend. Now that Sar and Danial have spilt, I’m forbidden to visit her. Danial said she needed space, to be completely alone. I think that’s BS, but don’t dare say that to him. I can’t risk my job, now that I’m expecting a child with my mate, Aran. All I can hope for is that Sar takes some time and returns to Danial. I miss her terribly.

Devlin Dalcon

Seductive and relentless vampire

At last, the moment I waited for all these last 50 years…my brother Danial is again in love. He hid it from me at first, knowing what I would do. I will never forgive Danial for taking Anna from me those many years ago. Danial’s heart will break once again over the loss of his beloved, just as mine did almost two centuries ago. Strangely, my charms failed me the night I first met Sar, and she resisted my efforts to seduce her. In fact, all my efforts to ensnare her have failed thus far. But no matter….I have time on my side, you see. I know Sar’s personality now, and that in time, something is sure to happen between my domineering brother and her to give me opportunity. When that time comes, I’ll be there ready in the shadows to pounce. One way or another, Sar will one day be swooning at my feet, offering her body up for my eager penetration as all Danial’s other loves did.

Is that a threat? No, my darling readers, that’s a promise.

Blurb from Broken Promise:

Shocked at Danial’s betrayal, Sarelle returns to her old home to consider her options. Yet even as Sar plans a reconciliation with Danial, Terian arrives, confessing his desire. When Theo witnesses Terian and Sar kiss, he angrily confronts Sar, leading to startling consequences. Will Sar’s heart choose Danial, Terian,…or Theo?

Excerpt from Broken Promise:

“Where were you tonight, that you were so dirty?”

“Don’t ask me that.”

“What happened, Danial? Or is this something else you want to keep from me?” I said sarcastically.

Danial stared at me, and then seemed to decide something. “I fought with Theo.” He turned away from me abruptly, and headed back to the living room.

I was uneasy at mention of Theo, so much so that I followed him. “What about?”

“About you. Theo said if I had any brains I’d come up here and say whatever you wanted, anything, in order to win you back. I refused, and told him it was none of his business. He hit me. We fought, though not for long,” he finished bitterly.

“So you’re here…because of Theo?”

“He said that if he had someone to love like you, who would look at him the way you used to look at me, he wouldn’t let anything stand in the way of being with them.”

I drank most of the wine quickly, savoring the bitter taste. I’d have maybe expected this from Cia, but not Theo. Not after how he had kissed me, and said he wanted me for himself. Maybe this was Theo’s way of making things right with Danial without telling him what had happened New Year’s Eve. His loyalty to Danial had always been strong.

I finished my wine, and put the empty glass on the counter, trying to find something appropriate to utter.

“What do I need to say, Sar? Tell me and I’ll say it,” Danial said, coming to stand in front of me.

I closed my eyes, but even then, I could still feel him there, so close to me I could touch him. My words seemed too loud when I finally spoke. “Tell me that it doesn’t matter to you if I have your child.”

“It doesn’t, Sar. Not after—”

“Tell me that you won’t lie to me again about anything.”

“I swear it, I won’t—”

“Tell me that it’s enough that I gave you my word I’d come back to you. That I can stay here as long as it takes to come to terms with what happened, and with your non-aging. That you can wait for me to do that. That you are willing to do that, because that is what I need.”

Danial looked at me, a battle going on inside him. His jaw worked, but he kept silent. Finally, he looked away.

“Would it be enough, to hear me say that? Would that make the difference to you, that action that would bring you back to me?”

“Yes,” I said, staring into his eyes. “I would probably come back to you, in time.”

Instead of kindled hope, Danial’s eyes held anger. “What about you, Sarelle? Would you love me, want me, if I told you I was yours, and then the next night left you, and refused to come back when you asked me to? How would you feel?”

“It’s not the same,” I said with a sigh.

“It is to me,” Danial said.

I smiled sadly, and reached up to touch his face. He caught my hand easily in his, and kissed it. I was slightly drunk by this time, which was no excuse, but I couldn’t stand the tension, to stand there arguing about my love for him after all that I’d gone through to be with him. After I’d told Terian that I couldn’t love him, because I loved Danial. After I’d stopped Theo from making love to me, because of my oath to Danial. I should have told Danial to stop, but I didn’t, and he took my silence for acquiescence. He moved closer, and then he was holding me. I melted into his embrace, and he began kissing my neck gently, his fangs brushing me.

“Please leave, Danial,” I whispered.

“No, Sar,” he said, lifting my chin to look into my eyes. “Not tonight. Tonight, I’m staying.”

He kissed me passionately. His lips were soft, and cool against my warm mouth, and I drank in the sensation, remembering the way we used to be before everything had happened. When we’d first dated, and started sharing ourselves with each other. I put my arms around him, and kissed him back, my body responding to him. He reached up into my hair, and pulled me against him tightly, and I felt at once how aroused I still could make him.

“Danial,” I said breathily.

“I never meant to hurt you, Sar,” he said, still kissing me. “Tell me you know that. That the things I kept from you weren’t because I didn’t want you to know, but because I was afraid if you knew, you wouldn’t love me, or want to be with me. I was afraid.”

“I know it,” I murmured back. “I never wanted to hurt you either. But I’m still afraid, and until I get past my fear, we can’t be together.”

He put his hands on my waist and lifted me so that I was sitting on the counter. He spread my knees, and slid between them, pulling me tight against him. Danial put both hands into my hair on either side of my head, and held my face inches from his.

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Promise-Me-ebook/dp/B009JQRJYQ

Tara’s Other Links:

www.tarafoxhall.com

tarafoxhallATgmailDOTcom

Tara's Blog: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5286654.Tara_Fox_Hall/blog

Tara's Facebook Page:

 www.facebook.com/pages/Tara-Fox-Hall/151813374904903

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/TerrorFoxHall

For info on my recently published books Lash and Promise Me, click here: http://www.amazon.com/Lash-ebook/dp/B007UJ6KGC and here http://www.amazon.com/Promise-Me-ebook/dp/B0086G4GDC