Saturday, July 28, 2012

The Spotlight is on The Vampire From Hell

Welcome to our Saturday Spotlight here on Not Enough Time in the Day. As promised, author Ally Thomas returns today to shine the spotlight on her newly released volume series The Vampire From Hell (Parts 1-3). It's available in both ebook and print formats. If you click on each of the covers below, you will be taken to the site to purchase your particular format choice. So now that the "bookkeeping" is out of the way, let's learn a bit more about this series from Ally herself. 



ebook format

In one or two sentences, give the core premise behind your story.

The description I wrote for the first part of my series, The Vampire from Hell sums it up best. Rayea is the oldest daughter of Satan and she feels the origin of vampires started in Hell, and it started with her. Rayea isn't daddy's little girl, even if he is the most powerful fallen angel around. He wants her to take an active role in the family business. But she's not interested in his schemes for world domination. Instead she wants to spend her time shopping on the Internet, rescuing humans from a horrific eternity, and practicing martial arts with her seven foot hellhound. Then one day everything changes. She's turned into a vampire by her father.



What is she running away from (literally or figuratively)?

Rayea is really running from her definition of who she sees herself as being when she is with her family. She loathes her father, Satan and her sister, Stephanie because they are just not nice people. Rayea wants to define who she is as a person and a vampire and move on.



What is the theme at the heart of your story?

For me, the theme is overcoming one's obstacles no matter what they are.  It's about having the confidence to step forward, accomplish what you want to accomplish, even if you aren't sure at the moment that you can succeed, but still trying and ultimately realizing your potential or your dreams. 


In the Vampire from Hell series, Rayea struggles with letting fear affect her and becoming a confident person.  She's quite capable as a vampire to defeat her enemies, but sometimes she has her doubts in her skills. She doesn't trust people very easily because of her past. She struggles with opening her heart up to love and finding someone she truly wants to be with, so "living happily-ever-after" is going to be quite a feat for Rayea if it does indeed happen for her.



Print format

What message do you hope readers take away from this story?

It may sound grandiose, but really it comes down to " don't let fear stop you." If there is something you want to accomplish in your life, set your sights on it, don't take no for an answer, and go for it. That's it. That's what I want readers to take away from my stories, especially this series, the Vampire from Hell. It's the whole reason I'm now writing. 


I struggled for many years to write. I wanted to write vampire stories, but I just didn't think I had anything to say that anyone would want to read. I struggled with a lot of self-doubt. I didn't trust in my own abilities. Finally I threw caution to the wind in September 2011, took a short story class, wrote a twenty-page short story that became "The Vampire from Hell (Part 1) - The Beginning," and got it published.  When I offered it as a free download on Amazon and saw how many times a week it was being downloaded and got emails from readers saying they wanted to learn more about Rayea's story, I decided to step into the writing arena and go for it.



What inspires you to write?

Despite still having a full time job writing online lessons for clients, I get up in the morning early and write. That's why this series is being released in installments or parts, so I can keep sending out Rayea's story to readers. When it first started, I wrote for myself. Now I write because I want to share Rayea's story with my readers. They want to know more about her and her adventures, so that's what keeps me going.



Do your stories tend to be character driven or plot driven?

That's a good question. I'm not totally sure. I think really they are character driven. Rayea in the Vampire from Hell is driving this story. I sit down to the computer and we have a big discussion about what I want to say and about what she wants to tell her "online friends" as she calls them. She's writing each installment as an article for her blog, so we have to make sure it all lines up together...if that makes sense. :)



What are you working on now?

I'm actually working on a spin off of my current series. I worked in a new character, Grace who Rayea tries to save in "A Vampire on Vacation (Part 3)" that I just released In July. Grace falls for Rayea's ex-boyfriend, Death (he also goes by Demetri) and so things will get complicated for Grace and Demetri as they work on their relationship in this new paranormal romance called Fanged Destiny (Fanged Love #1). It will be out in late September.




To learn more about Rayea's adventures and the new paranormal romance series from Ally Thomas, stop by her website today.

















Thursday, July 26, 2012

Thursday Thirteen with Vampire from Hell author Ally Thomas!

Hello and happy Thursday! Today I have a special treat for you. For the Thursday Thirteen spot, I have authors submit the first thirteen sentences or the first thirteen lines of their book. I thought it would be fun to give you BOTH options from special guest Ally Thomas. Her Vampire from Hell series is very popular with both young adult and adult readers. If you love vamps, you will enjoy this series.


So on to today's feature. First let's look at the first thirteen sentences from A Vampire on Vacation (The Vampire from Hell: Part 3)

Sometimes even vampires have to pay for their sins.  My case is no different than anyone else’s.  Wait!  What am I talking about?  My case is like no other case.  My name is Rayea and I’m probably the only vampire created in Hell.  As far as I know, I’m the only vampire in existence anywhere.  I mean do witches or werewolves or zombies for that matter have to face Judgment Day?  Seriously?  I’d like to find one and ask him.  Yeah, my case is different, and then some.

Being summoned to the Golden Skull Bar in San Francisco by J only adds to my worries.  I’m currently drowning my sorrows with a bottle of tequila.
Why is J sending Death?  Am I really about to die? 


Whoa! That reached out and grabbed your attention didn't it? How about we now compare it to the first thirteen lines from Chapter 1 from Ally's website.

Sometimes even vampires have to pay for their sins.  My case is no different than anyone else’s.  Wait!  What am I talking about?  My case is like no other case.  My name is Rayea and I’m probably the only vampire created in Hell.  As far as I know, I’m the only vampire in existence anywhere.  I mean do witches or werewolves or zombies for that matter have to face Judgment Day?  Seriously?  I’d like to find one and ask him.  Yeah, my case is different, and then some.

Being summoned to the Golden Skull Bar in San Francisco by J only adds to my worries.  I’m currently drowning my sorrows with a bottle of tequila.

Why is J sending Death?  Am I really about to die?  Death shows up when people die, or are about to die.  Is it my turn?  Can a vampire forged out of Hell be killed?  Is this part of the ‘greater plan’ as J calls it?  What am I missing?

Immediately the painful memory of the mind meld J gave me during our conversation at Blick’s home surfaces at the back of my skull.  Will dying feel like that?  I visualize my brain turning to a globby mess of orange jello and oozing out of my ears.  “It probably will be a lot like that,” I mutter to myself.

If you're anything like me, Ally has you hooked! Once you start reading, you will have a hard time putting the book down. So check out her links below and get lost in Rayea's world. I promise, you won't regret it!

Blurb


As a vampire from Hell, Rayea’s life is rather complicated so when she’s given an opportunity to take a vacation on Earth, she jumps at the chance. In the third part of the Vampire from Hell series, Rayea travels to Earth hoping to meet her online friends, leave her disturbing past with her father behind her, and embark on a new future without her meddling family. The Vampire from Hell is a novella series and is being released in installments


Links to Excerpts





About the Author

Ally Thomas loves writing fantasy and paranormal books about vampires, werewolves, zombies, witches, and any furry monsters who go bump in the night. She enjoys imagining new origins for these traditional creatures and seeing where it'll take her.
Ally lives in the south with her husband and unproductive furry co-workers including two cats and a dog. She is currently working on the next installment of the fantasy paranormal series, the Vampire from Hell and the upcoming paranormal romance series, Fanged Love. 

Where to find Ally

Website - http://allythomas.wordpress.com/

Amazon Author Page - http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004VY7JB4

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/ally.thomas11


The Vampire from Hell Book Page on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/thevampirefromhellbyallythomas

Ally on Twitter - https://twitter.com/alleyalex 


Make sure you stop in again on July 28th. Ally will be joining us for Spotlight Saturday and sharing her compilation novel that includes all three parts of Rayea's story so far. 

Until then, Blessed Be.















Saturday, July 21, 2012

Today's Spotlight is on author Amelia Mah

I'd like to welcome Amelia Mah today to Not Enough Time in the Day. She's graciously agreed to be our first Saturday Spotlight author. Fangs Rule: a Girl's Guide to Being a Vampire and her new release Amy Mah Vampire (Night Life) document the ups and downs of being a teenage vampire. Let's get started shall we? Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hi my name is Amy, ok my full Vampire name is: Lady Amelia Mistress of the Night Mare but I prefer to shorten mine to Amy Mah (Vampire) or just Amy to my friends. For those who do not know me I should point out that I used to be a feral vamp living in the outside world raised by humans until I was discovered and adopted into Vampire society. In the human world life was very difficult for me, I knew I needed blood but did not know how to get it, all I had was human books and films telling all kinds of stuff that was useless like I can change into a bat, and that is so not true as I tried it and all it does is make you look stupid as you flap your arms up and down! It was while living with humans I started writing my own little journal, recording what it is like being a teenage vampire, I know that a lot of it will be very obvious but I started it when I knew very little about Vampire-ing…


What inspires you to write?
Well I have lots of stories playing in my head so it’s either become a writer or start wearing white jackets that tie your arms behind your back.  If it was not for being able to step into my own world I expect I would go crazy.




Do your stories tend to be character driven or plot driven?
The characters. The plot just seems to happen on its own. Nothing is ever planned. I just provide the fingers on the keyboard.


In what ways are your characters like you? In what ways are your characters not like you?
The main character is just like me.  Yes, she is very like me. In fact we both have the same name! Ok so we are a little different, like she can hang from the ceiling by her foot claws where as I would be lucky to hold onto a ladder with two hands.
 
I based her on my own childhood and yes I did have a very odd upbringing. I remember sleeping on roofs as a child. Well we had a flat roof and it was so much fun on a hot summers night to wear PJ’s and snuggle up in a sleeping bag staring up at the stars and yes my PJ’s did have bats on them. Ho, those were the days!
 
I now own panties with bats on! See I did say I was crazy. I will try and add a pic of them to this just to prove it. 



What are the recurring core issues in your stories?
I can remember all the embarrassing stuff that all teenagers go through and I show that they are the same when you happen to be a different species and to this day I still think boys happen to be a different species with or without fangs.

In the book I talk of the problems with simple things like wrapping a tower around yourself when coming out of a shower, this sort of thing definitely comes from my high school days where for fun girls used to pull off other girls towels so you had to run after them naked, apart from the writing has it affected me? Well if ever see me wear just a towel in company nowadays I would be the one with that comes with a belt!  



My vampire world has lots of rules and when something happens then there is a reason for it. You can see how the main characters run up against rules and what happens to them when they do. Normally it is very funny to watch.

Why do you think you are drawn to these types of characters/plots again and again?
I try to put myself into a situation and then look around and think heck how would I get out of this. As I said, the world has rules and my characters are not super heroes.

Just because a vampire has better teeth than most people all it means is they need to brush them more often! 

What are your favorite fiction genres to read from?
I love funny novels.

What are your favorite non-fiction genres to read from?
History, yes I so love history.

Where can we find your book Fangs Rule: A Girl's Guide to Being a Vampire and your new book Amy Mah Vampire (Nightlife)?

 Signed and post free just visit my website:  www.fangsrule.com



And


Give the core premise behind your story.
Today's world is difficult for everyone, especially teenagers. 
They face the stresses of school, deciding whom to date, and the biggie of sex, just to name a few.  Imagine all of those things ten times worse, and you might get an idea of what it's like being a living, breathing teenage vampire.

At last, the world can read about the life of a girl with good teeth, her problems with strong sunlight that gave her spots, and the sunblock that made her hair go yucky and produced more spots. Yes, sunlight was dangerous, as she could be the first teenager in history to die from terminal acne!

In her everyday life, older vampires expected her to walk about at night in the traditional female uniform, a see-through, 18th-century nightdress, without undies! Well, this female vampire knew why the cold winds blowing along the corridors were called, "male winds," so she wore her see-through nightdress over jeans and a very thick jumper. To be sure that people would still know she was a vampire, the jumper had a very large, pink bat on it.

And as to guys, well, it was normal for a girl to dream about guys; she just wished the dreams could have involved chocolates and holding hands, not leaping out at someone, ripping off his shirt, and demanding to know what blood type he was (well at least not on the first date).

When and where does your book take place?
With a world filled with blood sucking denizens of the night (vampires) you want me to give you a location? Ok, think of it as America and as to the time well, about right now. ;)

Who is the heroine?
Amy Mah who is a teenage girl that finds she is stuck as a teenager for far too long.

What drives her?
Day to day living, the same that drives most people.

What is she running away from (literally or figuratively)?
Mostly humans that want to kill her just because she has better teeth than they do.

What about her will make readers sympathetic to her?
Anyone who is a teenager or lived through the teenage years will know her problems.


 What is the theme at the heart of your story?
Growing up and being different

Will your new book be part of a series?
Yes I hope it is, but it will depend if people buy this one. If they do then it will be the first in the Night Life series.
Last Year I did a book which is a guide to help to understand my vampire world it is called FANGS RULE: A Girls Guide to Being a Vampire”
Its done as an A to Z of what to expect to happen as a teenage vampire, a self help book if you will. The guide is fully illustrated by manga Artist Heby and is written in an easy to follow A - Z format explaining everything a teenage vampire girl would need to know about living life as a modern Vampire. What is fashionable to wear when eating out? Fang maintenance & how to keep your claws sharp. Should you let a boy bite you on the first date? Easy to understand clear advice is given to every day problems Example: When you get an urge to bite: We all get those normal urges to bite things, and I must point out it is very normal. Claws are all well and good in a fight but a bite gives the extra advantage of getting a refreshing drink at the same time. Lots of girls worry about showing their Fangs in public believing that to show your fangs is rude, but don't be shy they can be a girls greatest asset (ok second greatest asset) if a boy is being rude to you, don't just snarl at him, bite him! You are a vampire why do you think you have sharp teeth if not for sinking them into a boy that is being rude to you?

Very good point, Amy! Where else can we find more about you and your books?

You can find me at my website http://www.fangsrule.com and at The Vampire Book Realm http://www.vampirebookrealm.com/

Thank you so much for joining us here today, Amy! Life as a teenager is rough enough, but being a vampire on top of it has to be even harder. 

As an extra special treat, here are two of Amy's videos for you to enjoy.






















Saturday, July 7, 2012

More changes!

Our Wedding Day...new beginnings!
Hello all!
In the spirit of change, I decided to give this blog a make over. I will still post things about new releases and such, but the details will no longer be here. Instead, I will direct you to my other blogs and links for that information. Instead I wish to make this more of a personal web page for myself as a writer, poet, veterinarian, new wife and hopefully a mother. The guest spots can now be dedicated to my writer friends who are in genres other than the steamy erotica and erotic romance groups. It will be young adult friendly too.

In that vein, I am going to remove the adult content warning at the beginning of the blog and only post the warnings on individual posts if they're needed. Sometimes my "potty" mouth may get the best of me in a post and as such, there will be a warning at the beginning of it so folks who don't wish to read that, can opt out of that post and yet feel free to visit any other time without fear of having "taboo" pictures flashing on the screen.

So if you're an author, aspiring author or know one, spread the word that Not Enough Time in the Day is open for guest spots.

I hope those of you who are currently following, continue to do so. You know my Dr. Tammy spots won't stop. There is just too much material! LOL  I'm off to put together some presentations for our local street fair near my veterinary hospital. I'm doing three of them: heat stroke, toxoplasmosis, and common household toxins. The street fair is always a fun time and I get to be in full on Ask the Vet mode.

Knowledge is power and I"m out to educate as many pet owners as I can from noon until 6pm tomorrow!

Tammy

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Change Is In The Air

Resistance is futile

That's right. I said it. Resistance to change is in the end a futile endeavor. Life in general is an ever flowing stream of energy, constantly CHANGING and adapting as it goes. Look around you. The vegetation is constantly changing to adapt to soil and weather conditions. Animals must find ways to survive in their habitats or migrate to areas where they can flourish. People are no different. Unfortunately in a lot of cases humans have forced the changes on their fellow Earth inhabitants and not always for the good. 

Today, I don't want to discuss the harm that man has done to the planet. Instead, I'd like to focus on those little every day changes one must make in their lives to make things move forward. Be it with your health, family or career there are many ways you can better yourself and achieve true happiness and balance if you open your eyes and your mind to alternate paths. Today's post will lean more toward changes in the field I work in now, medicine.

If It Ain't Broke, Why Fix it?

Just because you've done something one way for a while or in some cases years, doesn't mean it's still the best way to do things. In my profession as a veterinarian for example, medicine is constantly evolving. There are new surgical techniques developed, stronger medications, vaccinations, new breeds of animals, new discoveries of how individual species react to medications, develop illnesses and recover from them. There's a LOT of information being thrown at us all the time not to mention what gets posted on the Internet. There's so much misinformation out there about the health of animals and it really complicates matters. In some cases it downright does more harm than good.

There was a time, not so long ago (sorry, I've got Bon Jovi songs running through my head right now) when it was unheard of to send pain medications home with pets recovering from spays, neuters or even major surgeries like fracture repairs. Even today there're veterinarians who don't make it a routine part of their treatment plans to control the pain in their patients. Why? They never did it before, why should they do it now? Their patients recovered just fine without those new fangled expensive drugs.

Really? Just because a patient remains quiet and huddled in the corner of the cage or it's little bed at home doesn't mean it's just sleeping off the anesthetics. It's not moving because it HURTS to do so. Come on people! It's not just a spay. It's a complete ovarian hysterectomy! When humans have this procedure done they are knocked completely out and are full of pain killers for at least a week after they go home from the hospital. They are not up and running the next day. Sorry charlie!  So why should our four legged patients not get the same kind of medical care and pain relief?

Ignorance is Bliss


It's these archaic ideas about medicine that keep animal owners ignorant. Yes that's right. I said IGNORANT and willing to believe the bullshit rather than what's now considered the standard of care for their pets simply because it's less expensive to do it that way. They've had (insert type of pet here) all of their lives, they know better than some young smart ass doctor who is only out to take their money. Really? If I was out to take your money, I would've chosen another career all together. Just last night I had a client yell at me on the phone because I wouldn't fill a particular prescription for her cat. She wanted something that needed an exam first before we'd consider sending it home with her, and yet she kept pressing me to say yes. She didn't call us until the last hour we were open for business. This happened to be a favorite trick of hers in order to get other medication filled for her pet. Unfortunately, we have relented in the past because the medication was something we KNEW her pet needed already and as always she would promise to be in for an exam within the next month.

Here we were two months later and she wanted to pick up fluids. We had never dispensed them for her pet before and we have no way of knowing if it really needed them or not. She kept saying her pet was fine, just a little dehydrated and could use some fluids. She wanted me to give the okay for her to pick some up. I refused. We hadn't seen her elderly pet in over six months and it's on some potent medications. We needed to do a full exam to be sure the pet was indeed dehydrated or sick from something else. That's when the conversation got nasty. After I told her once again no, she then said "so you're just going to let my cat die because I can't afford to see an emergency vet." 

She hung up on me. She will keep herself in denial until her cat goes downhill to the point where there is no turning back. Sometimes you just can't help people who refuse to listen.

In the late 1970's parvovirus hit with a vengeance.  At that time, no dogs had immunity to it and it spread like wildfire. Veterinarians were inundated with these poor puppies dropping like flies and no one knew what the hell was killing them. Now we have vaccinations that can keep these puppies healthy as well as certain protocols to follow until their vaccine series is complete. Unfortunately, even now we still lose hundreds of puppies every year because people don't vaccinate their dogs and take them everywhere, exposing them and the environment to this deadly virus.  

Why aren't they vaccinating? Well some stay away from it because they read on the Internet vaccines are the killer here, not the virus. There are breeders who perpetuate the myth that "vets are only out to get your money. Don't listen to them about the vaccines." Because of that tidbit there have been outbreaks of canine distemper all over the country too. Yeah, vets are the bad guys until your animal gets that horrible disease that could have been prevented all along. Makes me so sad and yeah really looking forward to the day I retire. One can only take so much smacking your head against the wall!

Listen to your heart and your audience

So who is actually driving all the changes in veterinary medicine? Believe it or not, the pet owners. Our clients want to have their fur babies live longer, play harder, and enjoy life with the whole family. In order to do that, veterinarians have to listen to what they want. Chemotherapy, Western and Chinese medicine, nutritional food choices at affordable prices, insurance to help offset the medical costs, emergency care, and when the time comes grief counseling. They want prompt service and hate to wait for it. They understand having to wait in the emergency room, but having to wait two hours to have a routine health visit is becoming unacceptable. On the other hand, they want to know they can drop in to see someone during business hours if they have an unexpected emergency/illness.

For years our hospital tried to cater to this by seeing walk ins. This in itself was a great idea at first. Unfortunately it's now turned into something that's spun out of control. Having only a couple doctors seeing appointments and one or two others seeing the walk ins creates a mess. Clients can't always get to see the doctor they want to see. They want an actual appointment and don't want to have to wait in the first come first serve line. Top that off with emergencies coming in the middle of things and the backlog gets even larger. 

Our staff had been trained to tell people to feel free to drop in all day until such and such time. Unfortunately, that has lead to huge backups at times, specifically around 5-6pm. Some of those drop in clients call early in the day to get an appointment but are told none were available. Instead of dropping in earlier in the day, they come after dinner, or after work. Now since we close at 9pm, having 10 or more walk ins waiting to be scene by ONE doctor gets a bit much.  

I've worked in hospitals that were only walk in and they flourished. I've worked in clinics where it was only appointments, but we squeezed in anyone who needed to be seen. Basically an appointment secured your place in line. Those practices thrived too. Now with this one, it's time to change. Our clients are really missing the ability to have those appointments. So to cater to this, we've started an all appointment schedule with hold slots to accommodate to same day appointments/emergencies and walk ins.

Sounds good right? Not for some people. The resistance here is not from our clients, but from some of the staff. They've only known one way of doing things and they just don't want to learn a new method. They want to keep the status quo. Why? Variety of different reasons for this one.  Here are a few excuses...I mean concerns they have. 

We'll be turning people away who want to drop in.

No we won't. These folks usually call ahead to find out the wait time. If we can give them a same day appointment, they will be more than happy to take it. The phones ring off the hook with these wait time requests. Why not give them what they've been asking for all along?


We need a designated drop in doctor to help keep the appointments running on time. 

No we don't. The drop in doctor has become the do all and be all. Not only do they have to take care of the patients who were dropped off in the morning for grooming and boarding, they have to take the random phone calls from clients, pick up the patients for the appointment doctors who are running behind, take the appointments who show up late and still cover anyone who drops in on their own and any emergencies. This has created some tension at times when once again the appointment doctor declares the client who was only 10 minutes late now has to be seen by the drop in doctor. With so much to accomplish during the day, it leaves very little time to actually spend in the room with the clients. Not a good thing. Clients want more of our time, not less.

It's going to lead to confusion as to who's going to see the emergency or drop in that is waiting to be seen.

This is a valid point now in the early stages. Once we get our flow going and used to the new schedule, that confusion will fall away. The doctors who've always jumped in and did extra patients will continue to do that. Those who hang back and stay at a slow pace will continue to do that. The difference now is the slower doctor can't shove off their appointments onto someone else while they take an hour or two with one. We are a fast paced hospital and always have been. If you're not a fast paced doctor, tech or receptionist, this hospital is not for you. Plain and simple.

It's just not going to work. Our long time clients will hate it and the new clients won't come in if they can't just drop in whenever.

This is just stupid. Sorry to be so harsh, but COME ON! It's for our long term clients we are doing this. They're the ones who want the appointments and who have been the loudest voicing their displeasure. Why are we catering to clients we don't even have yet? How about we keep the ones we have happy and they in turn will spread the word far and wide about us to their friends and family.

We're going to lose business to competitors.

Not one bit. Those clinics will still be turning their clients away while we make them same day or next day appointments. It's a win/win situation for us and for our clients both old and new. In fact, we will continue to get new clients because we can offer them the same service with scheduled appointments and squeezing them in if necessary.


Finding peace through the chaos

I truly believe this is the way our practice needs to go in order to achieve the goals of our hospital and in the service community. I feel this is the best way to fulfill our mission statement.

Where your pet's health is our top priority and excellent service is our goal.

By listening to our clients and offering them what they've wanted all along, how can we go wrong?

I'm looking at the final years of my career as a full time veterinarian. I want to be able to leave knowing I've done everything I can to keep my patients healthy and still say I'e enjoyed my time as their doctor.  Wouldn't you want to say the same?







Wildfire Romance Series