Today begins my ‘Ten Days of Superstition’. For the next ten days I am going to share something about my soon-to-be-released book, Superstition, and the long journey that finally produced the finished novel. This will lead up to the release date on June 9, 2017.

The first words of Superstition, which I originally called Savage Bite, were written while I was in Forks, Washington doing a book signing for my eleventh book, White Owl. I had been invited to be a guest during the town’s annual celebration for Stephenie Meyer’s vampire series, Twilight. I was staying at the most picturesque place at the edge of one of the most beautiful forests I’d ever seen, and there was a little deck at the back of my suite. I was sitting out on that deck one evening staring out at the lush foliage, completely in awe of being in this magical place.

It was no wonder to me, why Stephenie Meyer had chosen this magnificent area for the location of her Twilight Series. As I thought about her fictional vampires romping around in those thick dark woods, I knew the time had come for me to fulfill my lifelong dream of writing about vampires, too.

Years earlier, I had picked a different genre for my writing path. My amazing father was a real cowboy who loved the history of The Old West. I shared his love of this by-gone era. So, when I started writing romance novels back in the 1980s, I chose to write historical romance, mostly because I had grown up listening to stories about cowboys, outlaws and Indians. I will always be a fan of this time period, and rugged cowboys and sexy Native American men will forever make me swoon.

But, also years ago, I had become a huge fan of vampire movies and books. When I was about ten years old I watched my first Dracula movie with my mom and aunt. It terrified me, but not as much as it fascinated me. That was the beginning of my vampire love and it has only grown throughout the years.

Dracula, whether he was portrayed as a hideous monster or a drop-dead gorgeous hunk, was the ultimate seducer. With nothing more than his intense stare he could entice his victims to do anything he desired. Women eagerly offered him their necks so he could quench his unearthly thirst. Then, after he had stolen all that they had to give, their immortal corpses were devoted servants to him for eternity. Wow. I knew there was some serious romance material there.

So, on that beautiful evening, in that enchanted site in Forks, the idea for my first vampire novel was born. I grabbed my laptop and started writing my ideas down. Tomorrow I will talk about why I chose to write a vampire book with a Native American Hero and the location I picked for the setting.

Now available for pre-order in ebook and paperback! Release date: June 9, 2017