Salvation Day is designed to make you think. My next novel is designed to make you pant. Akeldama has its share of paranormal elements, but at its heart, it's an action thriller.
During the past 10-15 years, a very strange thing has happened in the field of the supernatural - vampires have somehow become the good guys, or at least the romantically ambitious guys. I remember from my youth that vampires were the creatures of terror, the bloodsuckers that would stalk you in the night and then drain you of every last ounce of life until you too became one of them.
However, I've seen more and more vampires that people seem to like. They protect awkward teenage girls and prance around nearly out in the open in society, filling random niches and being fawned on. It's almost enough to make you puke. I don't want vampires on my side; I want them to be the horrors they once were, the horrors they were always destined to be.
In the lore of Akeldama, vampires have been around for nearly 2000 years. They prey on society, but they're very careful not to expose themselves too much or humanity, which vastly outnumbers them, would destroy every vestige of them.
That's not to say that some haven't been fighting them. Early Christians encountered the first vampires near Jerusalem in 70 AD and have been fighting them ever since, with the Catholic Church forming The Order of Mount Sion. Those who wish to join the fight join a three person team - akin to the Trinity - and do what they can to rid the world of the menace.
Seth Gendrickson, the main character, wanted to serve the Church his whole life, starting out in seminary. But after the attack on his brother, he's wanted nothing more than to eradicate those who preyed on mankind. He's disappointed that his first assignment is not a kill mission, but an investigation to determine why vampire activity has picked up in the midwest, an area not known for infestation.
He quickly discovers that the investigation will be anything but simple. The world's two largest factions - The Assembly of Cairo and Los Muertos - have maintained an uneasy truce for the last few decades. However, Los Muertos has begun to move east and are encroaching on the Assembly's territory. A vampire civil war is the last thing the Church wants - open knowledge of vampire existence could lead to societal collapse, so the Order has as much interest in keeping a lid on this as the vampires do.
Seth captures and interrogates one of the enemy and finds that the movement east is less an advance than it is an influx of refugees. Los Muertos is fleeing a greater threat, one that is moving into its territory and is systematically wiping them out, using the Mexican Drug War as cover. Seth takes this knowledge into the heart of enemy territory and begins to track the new threat.
But as with any novel, all is not as it seems. Seth is forced to team up with one of the Assembly's vampires in order to stay ahead of the menace, and leads eventually take them across the Pacific Ocean to Japan, where a shadowy organization flaunts its power and quest for dominance. A 2000 year old conspiracy designed to bring the world to the edge of destruction is at hand, led by the vampire at the heart of it all. The field of blood holds the key to mankind's survival.
Akeldama is an action oriented page turner where vampires just happen to be the main part of the story. How'd I come up with this? Like most of my ideas, mostly just out of the blue. Our fascination with vampires is as old as literature itself, and I wanted to do something just a tad different than everyone else(sorry, no sparkly vampires in this one - most of mine are not nice guys).
Be warned - this can be a violent story at times. As in Salvation Day, I deal with some issues that might make folks uncomfortable in the overall arc, but those who wish to be challenged and like to be kept guessing should enjoy the ride. I'll be posting one of the chapters in the weeks to come.
Next time - the cycle begins again...
However, I've seen more and more vampires that people seem to like. They protect awkward teenage girls and prance around nearly out in the open in society, filling random niches and being fawned on. It's almost enough to make you puke. I don't want vampires on my side; I want them to be the horrors they once were, the horrors they were always destined to be.
In the lore of Akeldama, vampires have been around for nearly 2000 years. They prey on society, but they're very careful not to expose themselves too much or humanity, which vastly outnumbers them, would destroy every vestige of them.
That's not to say that some haven't been fighting them. Early Christians encountered the first vampires near Jerusalem in 70 AD and have been fighting them ever since, with the Catholic Church forming The Order of Mount Sion. Those who wish to join the fight join a three person team - akin to the Trinity - and do what they can to rid the world of the menace.
Seth Gendrickson, the main character, wanted to serve the Church his whole life, starting out in seminary. But after the attack on his brother, he's wanted nothing more than to eradicate those who preyed on mankind. He's disappointed that his first assignment is not a kill mission, but an investigation to determine why vampire activity has picked up in the midwest, an area not known for infestation.
He quickly discovers that the investigation will be anything but simple. The world's two largest factions - The Assembly of Cairo and Los Muertos - have maintained an uneasy truce for the last few decades. However, Los Muertos has begun to move east and are encroaching on the Assembly's territory. A vampire civil war is the last thing the Church wants - open knowledge of vampire existence could lead to societal collapse, so the Order has as much interest in keeping a lid on this as the vampires do.
Seth captures and interrogates one of the enemy and finds that the movement east is less an advance than it is an influx of refugees. Los Muertos is fleeing a greater threat, one that is moving into its territory and is systematically wiping them out, using the Mexican Drug War as cover. Seth takes this knowledge into the heart of enemy territory and begins to track the new threat.
But as with any novel, all is not as it seems. Seth is forced to team up with one of the Assembly's vampires in order to stay ahead of the menace, and leads eventually take them across the Pacific Ocean to Japan, where a shadowy organization flaunts its power and quest for dominance. A 2000 year old conspiracy designed to bring the world to the edge of destruction is at hand, led by the vampire at the heart of it all. The field of blood holds the key to mankind's survival.
Akeldama is an action oriented page turner where vampires just happen to be the main part of the story. How'd I come up with this? Like most of my ideas, mostly just out of the blue. Our fascination with vampires is as old as literature itself, and I wanted to do something just a tad different than everyone else(sorry, no sparkly vampires in this one - most of mine are not nice guys).
Be warned - this can be a violent story at times. As in Salvation Day, I deal with some issues that might make folks uncomfortable in the overall arc, but those who wish to be challenged and like to be kept guessing should enjoy the ride. I'll be posting one of the chapters in the weeks to come.
Next time - the cycle begins again...
Great read and it does get intense. I'm one of the lucky ones that had the pleasure to read it.
ReplyDelete