I’m a firm believer in celebrating the small victories and all the steps along the way in my writing career. When I finish a novel I pop open a bottle of Bubbles and get a pizza. When I finish a novella I pop open just a bottle of Bubbles, and when I finish a short story I either go out for a latte or get a big slab of my favourite chocolate. So when I finished a short story yesterday, titled ‘A Useful member’ (stop giggling and get your mind out of the gutter, it’s not that type of story) there was nobody available to get some coffee with so I went to the shops and got a massive slab of Top Deck.

I think it’s important to celebrate those small steps along the way. It makes me feel that I’m accomplishing something. The publishing industry moves at a very slow pace and you often face rejection, so if you don’t celebrate things along the way, it can all end up getting to you and it can all be overwhelming.

I also celebrate the bigger victories. When I sell a novel to a publisher, I once again pop open a bottle of Bubbles and get a pizza. When I sell a short story to a magazine or an anthology I once again get a slab of Top Deck. What can I say? I’m consistent.

How do you celebrate your small victories?

I’m proud to announce that I’m in a new anthology all about Johannesburg, one of the most interesting cities, full of contradictions, predators, victims, and hero’s.

Here’s the official blurb:

Today I get to chat with Xan Marcelles, the asshole vampire bassist for Crooked Fang. He’s the fictional character from the new book, Blood and Fire, by Carrie Clevenger and Nerine Dorman.

1. You’re a Vampire who also happens to be a bassist in a band. Why did you choose the bass guitar as your instrument of choice?

I got my first bass guitar as a teen when my dad was trying to give me something to get into besides trouble. We started a little garage band, sounded like shit, but had fun. When I left my sire’s house, I needed a place to stay and well, a job to have any kind of money, so me knowing how to play bass worked out.

2. How did you and your band mates come up with the name Crooked Fang?

I came up with the name Crooked Fang. When I answered the ad for a house band, the bar owner, Charlie, wanted to get a live group together to draw in business since Pale Rider’s out in the sticks. As for how? Eh, it just popped in my head. My fangs add a nice touch, don’t you think?

3. By all accounts you’re a whiskey fan. Do you have a favourite make or blend? And what is it about whiskey that takes the edge off of your blood lust?

Favorite brand of whiskey, hmm. You know, I’ve had expensive shit and I’ve had some bottom shelf diesel, but I’d say Maker’s Mark or Weller, both of which are Kentucky bourbon. So I guess I like Bourbon. Not too fond of the Irish whisky though.

The drink quiets the hunger in me, to an extent. It also eases my shyness and stage fright as a bonus. Sober, I’m moody, vampirey, and generally not good around people.

I guess I’d be an alcoholic if I were still alive. I know a few people that have suffered from it, and it sucks, but hell, it’s not like it’s gonna kill me.

4. Are there any other Vampires that you admire or who you would like to meet? Why?

If it were up to me, there wouldn’t be any vampires. Most of the ones I know are real predators, and don’t give a fuck about people, or hurting them. They’re freaks, and live either completely alone, or in houses together and fight like sorority bitches with each other all the time.

5. Is there a favourite blood type that you enjoy drinking or is it case of any vein will do?

Preferably female, because the effect it has on me comes uncomfortably close to erotic at times. People all taste different, for sure. Some taste bright and kind of sweet, while others have a darker, spicier flavor. I guess it depends on what they put in their bodies, what race they are, etc. What I don’t like are drug addicts. Because if they have shit in their system, it gets into mine and fucks me up, and I have no idea what the hell it is.

6. What are some of the pros and cons of living above the bar your band performs at?

The bar is never far away, seriously. That right there is an awesome advantage. Plus, there’s people always around, and so far, has been a great place to hide out and just exist for a while. Not to mention the customers that come in. I have my pick of what I want for dinner. It doesn’t get much better than that.

On the flipside, I’m always kept busy. I don’t sleep much, so the bar owner is always finding shit for me to either do or fix, and I’m telling you, bar work is not pretty. Cleaning up vomit or unclogging toilets isn’t exactly glamorous. And even when I do sleep, I get bugged constantly. That’s why I leave sometimes during the week and stay someplace else. Even I like a little quiet sometimes.

7. Do you miss being human or do you get a kick out of being a vampire?

I’m fifty-three and still look twenty-seven. I bite people and drink their blood to stop the pain of hunger. I can’t go to the lake in the summertime with my friends during the day. I can’t even enjoy a Sprite and a chili dog. I hate being a vampire. I’d do anything to get my life back, but what’s done is done. I just have to find ways to live with myself.

8. You and Ash made a pretty good team despite your differences, would you like to team up with him again?

Not if it means I have to go through that hell again. But if he were to stop by Pale Rider, sure. We could hang out.

9. What can we expect from you in the future?

Next stop is Crooked Fang, the book everybody’s been waiting for. That’s due out August of this year from Lyrical Press. Check out the publisher’s name. Isn’t that fitting for a musician? I thought so.

So yeah, I’m going to be in this book and you’ll get to see my world, and the kind of trouble that can walk into a bar. Some of it’s little, and some of the shit that happens is huge. All of it changes me for good.

But for right now, I’ll offer a little appeasement, and that’s Blood and Fire, the collaboration between Carrie Clevenger and Nerine Dorman, for free this weekend. And since I believe in long weekends, it’ll be free for three days, starting Friday, February 10 and ending on Sunday, February 12. Here’s the links, go get it:

US: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-and-Fire-ebook/dp/B006SD3F2S/

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-and-Fire-ebook/dp/B006SD3F2S/

Add it to your Goodreads here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13358275-blood-and-fire

Give us a like if you would:

Crooked Fang on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/CrookedFang

Nerine Dorman on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nerine-Dorman-author/173330419365374

Twitters:

Carrie Clevenger – @carrieclevenger

Nerine Dorman – @nerinedorman

Xan Marcelles – @crookedfang

I never win anything, so when Adele from Un:Bound announced that I’d won their Zombie prize I was rather surprised, to say the least. I also didn’t realise at the time just how cool the prize was. So when I fetched the parcel from the post office this morning, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I tore open the envelope and found some seriously awesome swag, which included a cool T-shirt, a copy of David Moody‘s Autumn, the script from the Un:Bound Video Editions – Zombies, a zombie hand (so cool), a syringe pen, plus a whole lot of other very interesting assorted goodies. And no, I’m not sharing. It’s ALL mine!

Zombie Swag

Due to unforeseen circumstances the Women Empowering Women Symposium has been postponed until the 19th of March. My apologies for any inconvenience. I will still be on the panel and will have more details for you soon.

Hope to see you there.

I’m incredibly excited this morning. I’m a finalist in the 2012 Bloody Parchment anthology! My short story, Death Express, will be appearing alongside some incredible fiction. You can read the announcement for the anthology on the Bloody Parchment blog.

Congratulations to the winners and everybody else who made it. And thank you to the wonderful judges, Cat Hellison, Joe Vaz, Sarah Lotz, Saun Swingler, and Carrie Clevenger. You guys rock!

Will keep you posted as to when you’ll be able to download the anthology. Now, if you’ll excuse me while I do my very silly little happy dance.

I’ve been asked to speak on a panel at the Women Empowering Women symposium being put together by Kisha Mays of Just Fearless. The symposium is being held on the 31st of January at the Hilton Hotel in Johannesburg.

Please join me on the night, even if it’s just to point and laugh at me trying to sound like I know what I’m talking about.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 27,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 10 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

It’s been a rough year! Our beautiful German Shepard, Max, died. My brother was shot 17 times, but miraculously survived. The guy who shot him, after having escaped from police custody (he’d just murdered a policeman), was released on bail and has disappeared. Shortly after my brother was shot, my uncle committed suicide. Just those three things have made it an unpleasant year. But it’s also been one of those years where everything seems to have been put on pause, and friendships that I thought would last came to abrupt ends. It’s always crappy when that happens.

On the other hand it’s been one of those building years. I’ve made new friendships and built on existing relationships. Special people have come in to my life, people from my past have resurfaced and once again become incredibly important to me. I’ve laid the groundwork for future projects and been invited to take part in events for next year. I’ve had some great reviews come out and some not so good ones. I’ve learnt a lot this year. I’ve learnt that not everybody is who they pretend to be and that you can’t please everybody.

2011 has been an interesting year, full of ups and downs, but I’m happy to see the end of it. 2012 is upon us and should prove to be just as interesting. Hopefully there’ll be less drama. And Let’s just hope the Mayans were wrong!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I’ve been a rather horrendous blogger this month. I’ve been a little busy writing a course on Writing Horror which will be available online shortly. But for today I’m a guest over on David Chislett’s blog talking about Writing Horror in South Africa. Please pop in and let me know what you think.