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.

















2 comments:

  1. I love Rayea's story! It's such a new twist on a worn theme and Ally Thomas does a heck of a job with the books. Recommending her work is a no brainer for me. Keeping your interest going with portions of the story is a wonderful way to enjoy this series. I for one can't wait for her upcoming new series.

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  2. Thank you for stopping by, Catherine! I've also enjoyed reading Rayaa's story and look forward to the next installments! :)

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