Blood Family Cover Reveal

The cover for Blood Family, the third book in The Martyr’s Vow series, is here! Check out the awesome work by artist Greg Chapman! 

Here’s the spooky blurb:

A bloodline curse haunts monster hunter Armand Tarkanian, granting him the ability to summon the dead. But the more spirits he channels, the more supernatural energy threatens to tear him apart. 

An unexpected invitation from distant relatives gives him a chance to learn more about his curse. What Armand finds in their moldering mansion is an odd assortment of Armenian traditions, dark secrets, and personal grudges. 

Besides a history of genocide and tragedy plaguing his kindred, things aren’t what they seem: paintings shift and change, bones hang from trees, and the family’s elusive patriarch is a dakhanavar – a vampire from Armenian folklore. 

When his undead host hungers for vengeance, Armand finds himself trapped between worlds. 

He must choose: either take the Martyr’s Vow and pledge to sacrifice himself, or succumb to the dark impulses that claimed his ancestors. 

Blood Family is a harrowing tale of generational trauma, folk magic, and ripping free from the past. 

Blood Family will be available Dec. 15, 2024 from Shadow Spark Publishing. You can preorder it here. 

I ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS

To foster better relations with readers, I humbly submit to your inquiries. These questions were randomly selected and culled from hundreds of fan letters I receive and promptly ignore, because who has the time to go through everything? The ones that weren’t mulched were sent to my inner sanctum for my response. 

How do you deal with writer’s block?

Screaming. Crying. Sinking into an existential crisis where stygian blackness is my only comfort. But mostly I write through it. I force myself to write even a small paragraph. Every little word leads to a sentence, leads to a paragraph, leads to a story. Assemble it bit by bit, at your own pace. The words will spill forth once you remove the block. If that doesn’t work, shed blood in the name of the Muse. Or take a nap. Whatever works for you.

What’s the best thing about being a writer?

The best thing about being a writer, especially an indie author, is the adulation from people wherever I go. I can’t tell you how many times I leave the house and am mobbed by fans who want me to sign their books or parts of their anatomy. If you think the Beatles were besieged by rabid fans in 1964, try being an indie author in 2024. How many attractive supermodels want to take me to their penthouse suites in Dubai for the weekend just so they can hear about my latest horror novel? None. But one day, it will happen. Until then, the best thing about being a writer is making things up and concocting unbelievable scenarios like this paragraph. 

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

First, don’t call yourself aspiring. If you write, you’re a writer. Period. Full stop. The best advice I can give to those would-be scribes about to delve into the lucrative world of word-smithery is this: read a wide variety of books and write every chance you can get. Be a freak who carries around a small notebook and jots down every thought that enters your brain. Seriously. Make it a habit of writing your ideas down before you lose them. You don’t have to write every day, but get into a regular habit of setting writing goals and sticking to them.  

What are you currently working on?

I’m writing Book 4 of The Martyr’s Vow. 

How do you get inspired to write?

First, I gaze deeply into the mirror and say Kurt Vonnegut’s name three times. When he appears behind me and whispers some generic writing advice, I make coffee or tea, depending on the day. Weekends are coffee, weekdays are tea. Then I stare at the computer screen for thirty minutes and question my dismal life. Should I have majored in law or medicine in college and made something of myself? Then, when I’m in the throes of a complete mental breakdown, I begin writing. This continues for an hour, at which time I go to lunch where I read the papers and discuss the issues of the day with gentlemen of the town. After that, I begin my second writing session by primal screaming at the laptop, then write for a half hour and hike in the woods until the sun goes down. After that I lead the nocturnal creatures in a ritual that fortifies my writing powers. 

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Blood Family continues the adventures of Armand Tarkanian, the protagonist in The Martyr’s Vow series. 

The novel is about family, and the connections we have with them. There’s also a dakhanavar, an Armenian vampire. Armenian culture plays a significant role in the story, and how culture can be both a crutch we lean on and a blanket we wrap ourselves in.