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Books In My Belfry

~ A Writer's Life For Me

Books In My Belfry

Tag Archives: Goodreads

Was it Jack the Ripper…or Vampires?

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Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Book Spotlight, Corcitura Feature, Excerpts, Fun Stuff, Missives

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Taken from Corcitura, Chapter 10, The Ratliff Horror

Millionaire Philanthropists Found Dead

I snatched the paper off the tray and held it before my eyes, foolishly hoping the millionaire philanthropists of the headline were not the same ones I had been acquainted with since the days of my childhood. The headline danced before me, blurring in and out as I read over the words again and again, too scared to look at the report and have all my fears confirmed. Finally, I looked away from the headline and forced myself to read the article below.

London, Monday, 13 August 1888—Late last evening, David and Marishka Ratliff were found brutally murdered in their home in Westminster. Scotland Yard inspectors immediately questioned Mr. and Mrs. Ratliff’s servants and neighbors, but all were cleared of any involvement in the crime. The inspectors have noted that the modus operandi matches that employed in the murder of a woman, Martha Tabram, who was found stabbed to death in Whitechapel nearly one week ago. Although the authorities had ruled that the Tabram murder was an isolated incident, this new crime has made them reconsider. Do we have a killer in our midst? The authorities seem to think so. As with the former victim, the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Ratliff were covered in stab wounds, but in this case, the killer has added an additional weapon to his murderous arsenal: slashing throats in a particularly savage fashion with what the Americans call Devil’s Rope. Upon further inspection, it was determined that Mr. and Mrs. Ratliff’s throats had been savagely ripped open by a piece of barbed wire. Authorities had thought the killer to be from Whitechapel, but in light of this recent crime in Westminster, it is feared that the murderer has taken up residence in this district and will begin to perpetuate more atrocities in this part of the city. They caution against widespread panic, but one cannot help wondering when the next ax, or piece of barbed wire, as we now have it, will fall.

I ignored the last line for the sensationalism it was and turned the page. A photograph of David and Marishka with Stefan as a child took up half the page and underneath it ran the following:

Mr. and Mrs. Ratliff were well-known throughout Europe for their care of and generosity toward Romanian orphans, many of whom they brought to London to be educated. They are survived by their son, Stefan, who was not home when the murders were committed and is not a suspect in his parents’ deaths. Mr. and Mrs. Ratliff’s only son and heir, who was overcome with grief when given the horrible news, has asked that we print the following in memory of his beloved parents:

In Memoriam

As they were loved in life, so they shall be loved in death. They will be sorely missed.

“Sorely missed by everyone but you, that is,” I grunted, my teeth clenched in anger, my heart appalled by such blatant hypocrisy.

©2010, 2018 Melika Dannese Lux and Books In My Belfry®. Unauthorized use or reproduction of this excerpt without the author’s permission is strictly prohibited.

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Corcitura on sale for $2.99!

24 Friday Nov 2017

Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Fun Stuff, News

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abroad, Amazon, Austria-Hungary, author, Authors, autumn, Belgium, Belle Epoque, Belododia, best friend, betrayal, black friday, blogger, blonde, blood, book, books, Brasov, bravo, breathtaking, brilliant, British, brothers, Bruges, brutal, burn, carpe diem, catalyst, classical, Cluj, Coming of Age, corcitura, Creative, creatures, creepy, dark, darkness, deadly, deal, death, den of iniquity, devil, doorway, Dracula, draculaesque, Eastern Europe, ebooks, England, entertaining, epic, Eric, Eric Bradburry, eternity, Europe, evil, excitement, Facebook, fall, family, fantasy, fate, fear, female author, female vampires, female werewolves, female writers, Film, flesh, Florida, France, Friendship, genuine, Germany, ghosts, glamour, God, good vs evil, Goodreads, gothic, gothic novel, Grand Tour, Greece, grey wolves, Greydanus, Greydanus Belododia, halloween, hell, hellish, historical fiction, horror, Hotmail, Humor, hunting, hybrid, hybrid vampires, Indie, Insightful, inspiration, into the fire, Italian, Italy, Kindle, lads, laugh, Le Fanu, Legacy, Leonora, Leonora Bianchetti, letters, lies, life, life and death, light, Links, living death, lolly, London, Louvre, Love, Luc, lux, maddie, Madelaine Bradburry, Madelaine Dennison, malevolence, marked, melika, Melika Dannese Lux, Melika Lux, milan, millionaires, mon dieu, money, monsters, moonlight, Moulin Rouge, murder, my brother, my son, Mystery, myth, mythology, Nadia, Nadia Belododia, New York, news, nightmare, novel, novelist, novels, november, November feature, november reads, obsessed, Olga Belododia, opera, original, otherworld, otherworldliness, out of the frying pan, Paranormal, plague, Prague, promotion, publication, publishing, quick, quid, red-rimmed eyes, Reform Act of 1867, Review, rivalry, riveted, riveting novels of psychological suspense, Robespierre, Roddy, Roderick Caldwell, Roman candle, Romania, Russia, sacrifice, sale, sales, scary, secrets, shadows, silver, Spooky, steal, steal of a deal, Stefan, Stefan Belododia, Stefan Ratliff, supernatural, Suspense, tavern, thanksgiving, the Czech Republic, The Lord of the Rings, Thriller, transformation, translucent, travel, travelling, truth, turkey, Twilight, unchosen, undead, uninitiated, unnatural, updates, Upyr, vampire attack, vampire fiction, Vampire Hunter, vampire mythology, vampire novel, vampire novels, vampires, vampiresses, vampiric, vampiric equality, vampirism, vamps, vengeance, Venice, Vladec Salei, Vrykolakas, web site, Werewolf, werewolf transformation, werewolves, wolf infestation, wolves, young author, Young Protagonists, young writer, YouTube, Zigmund, Zigmund Fertig

Hi Everyone,

It’s Black Friday! Tis the season for sales, right? Well, from today through Cyber Monday night, you can bring home the Kindle edition of Corcitura for $2.99! Where else could you get a deal like that without standing in line for hours in the freezing cold, being jostled by crabby people? You don’t even have to leave your house to buy the book. In fact, you don’t even have to change out of your pajamas! ;D

Purchase Corcitura from Amazon by clicking here.

Corcitura

Corcitura.  Some call it hybrid, others half-blood, mongrel, beast.  They are all names for the same thing:  vampire—the created progeny of the half-wolf, half-vampire, barb-tongued Grecian Vrykolakas, and the suave but equally vicious Russian Upyr.  Corcitura:  this is what happens when a man is attacked by two vampires of differing species.  He becomes an entirely new breed—ruthless, deadly, unstoppable…almost.

London, 1888:  Eric Bradburry and Stefan Ratliff, best friends since childhood, have finally succeeded in convincing their parents to send them on a Grand Tour of the Continent.  It will be the adventure of a lifetime for the two eighteen-year-old Englishmen, but almost from the moment they set foot on French soil, Eric senses a change in Stefan, a change that is intensified when they cross paths with the enigmatic Vladec Salei and his traveling companions:  Leonora Bianchetti, a woman who fascinates Eric for reasons he does not understand, and the bewitching Augustin and Sorina Boroi—siblings, opera impresarios, and wielders of an alarming power that nearly drives Eric mad.

Unable to resist the pull of their new friends, Eric and Stefan walk into a trap that has been waiting to be sprung for more than five hundred years—and Stefan is the catalyst.  Terrified by the transformation his friend is undergoing, Eric knows he must get Stefan away from Vladec Salei and Constantinos, the rabid, blood-crazed Vrykolakas, before Stefan is changed beyond recognition.  But after witnessing a horrific scene in a shadowed courtyard in Eastern Europe, Eric’s worst fears are confirmed.

Six years removed from the terror he experienced at the hands of Salei and Constantinos, Eric finally believes he has escaped his past.  But once marked, forever marked, as he painfully begins to understand.  He has kept company with vampires, and now they have returned to claim him for their own.

Thanks so much, guys! Hope you have a great weekend!

All the best,

~Melika

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Redaction, & Jagged Ones, & Bears—oh, my!

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Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Book Spotlight, Excerpts, Fun Stuff, News, Updates

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afoot, apaw, atrocities, Authors, autumn, believer, bellows, bigger, black cats, blog, blogger, bloodcurdling, boarding school, book series, books, Books In My Belfry, born, burial ground, by your leave, cat, cats, celts, City of Lights, claws, Coffyn, committed, corcitura, creatures, curses, dark, dark fantasy, darkness, deadly, demon, demonic, demons, devoured, dragons, druids, dwellers, earth, editing, eerie, England, epic, Eric Bradburry, evil, exciting, faeries, fall, fall release, fantasy, female author, fey, ghosts, Goodreads, greater than iron, grown, guardians, guys, halloween, hollow, horror, Humor, hunting, Ilyse Charpentier, iron, jagged, jagged ones, joke, Kindle, knew, Knightley, light, light bearer, lightning, Lockie, lux, malevolence, May, Melika Dannese Lux, men, mere, monsters, moors, Mystery, Nethermarrow, new books, news, night, novel, novelist, novels, ones. Bear, otherworld, paws, Penny Dreadful, pict, publication, publishing, pun, rain, redaction, return, roger, Roger Knightley, scary, school, secrets, series, shadowplay, shapeshifting, sharp, silver, slumbering, snippet, soul ties, spies, spring, spycraft, staff, stash, storm, subterfuge, summer, Suspense, tease, teaser, the game is afoot, the return, Thriller, thunder, transformation, travers, Tuesday, updates, valet, wagner, Wales, werebear, Werewolf, what, wild boars, winter, within, woke, woman, woods, years, Yorkshire, young

Well, it’s that time again! I’m only going to be posting a few more teasers from the new book after this snippet, which happens to be one of my favorites. Chapter 9 is quite eventful, and due to the sensitivity of its title, and the identity of a chief character within it, I had to engage in a bit of spycraft and redact said character’s name. Humor me, guys. If I give away all my secrets, there’ll be no reason for you to read the book!

Third Teaser Tuesday post--8-28-17

I bet you’re now consumed with curiosity about the Bear and what exactly those Jagged Ones are, right?  😉

Hope you enjoyed this sneak peek!

All the best,

~Melika

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The Darkness Within—Tuesday Teaser

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Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Book Spotlight, Excerpts, Fun Stuff, News, Updates

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afoot, apaw, Authors, autumn, bellows, bigger, black cats, blog, blogger, boarding school, book series, books, Books In My Belfry, burial ground, by your leave, cats, celts, child, City of Lights, claws, Coffyn, corcitura, creatures, curses, dark, dark fantasy, darkness, deadly, demons, dragons, druids, dwellers, editing, eerie, England, epic, Eric Bradburry, evil, exciting, faeries, fall, fall release, fantasy, female author, fey, ghosts, Goodreads, grown, guardians, halloween, hollow, horror, hunting, Ilyse Charpentier, inspiration, iron, Kindle, Knightley, light, light bearer, lightning, Lockie, lux, malevolence, May, Melika Dannese Lux, monsters, moors, Mystery, Nethermarrow, new books, news, night, novelist, novels, otherworld, paws, pict, publication, publishing, pun, rain, return, roger, Roger Knightley, scary, school, secrets, series, sharp, silver, slumbering, snippet, son, soul ties, staff, storm, Suspense, tease, teaser, the game is afoot, the return, Thriller, thunder, transformation, travers, updates, valet, Wales, wild boars, within, woke, woods, Yorkshire, young

Hi Guys!

Well, here it is, the second Tuesday Teaser from my new book. This excerpt was taken from Chapter 2, The Darkness Within.

Second Teaser Tuesday Post--8-21-17

Oooo! What did he wake up, I wonder?  😉

Look for another snippet next week. I hope you are enjoying these!

All the best,

~Melika

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Teaser Tuesday—The Return

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Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Book Spotlight, Excerpts, Fun Stuff, News, Updates

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2017, afoot, apaw, Authors, autumn, bellows, best, bigger, black cats, blog, blogger, books, Books In My Belfry, by your leave, cat's paw, cats, City of Lights, claws, corcitura, curses, dark, dark fantasy, darkness, deadly, demons, dwarf, dwellers, editing, eerie, England, epic, Eric Bradburry, everyone, exciting, faeries, fall, fall release, fantasy, female author, fey, ghosts, Goodreads, grown, guardians, halloween, hunting, Ilyse Charpentier, Kindle, Kip, large, light, light bearer, lightning, lux, May, melika, Melika Dannese Lux, moors, mouser, Mystery, new, new books, news, next, night, novelist, novels, paws, posting, publication, publishing, rain, return, roger, Roger Knightley, secrets, series, sharp, silver, since, soul ties, staff, storm, Suspense, tease, teaser, the game is afoot, the return, Thriller, thunder, tips, transformation, travers, undergone, updates, valet, velvet, week, wild boars, woods, Yorkshire

Hi Everyone!

First, a little update. I finished writing my third novel in May and have spent the last few months editing and taking the necessary steps toward publication, which will FINALLY happen this Fall. But in the meantime, how about a little teaser from the new book? This novel does have a title, I promise. I’m just attempting to draw out the suspense as long as I can.  😉

And now, without further ado, here is a sneak peek taken from Chapter 1, The Return.

(2) First Teaser Tuesday Post--8-14-17

As you can see, things are definitely afoot. Or, rather, apaw.

I’ll be posting another teaser next week. Hope you enjoyed this one!

All the best,

~Melika

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Getting to know you!

29 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Author Spotlight, Fun Stuff, Missives, Updates

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Agatha Christie, As Time Goes By, British, Bronte, campion, celine dion, Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, child, City of Lights, city of lights: the trials and triumphs of ilyse charpentier, corcitura, CS Lewis, danny kaye, David Copperfield, detective, eagle and child, England, epic music, Errol Flynn, fall, fantasy, Fellowship of the Ring, female writers, Gandalf, Gladiator, gollum, Goodreads, grace kelly, Greer Garson, gregory peck, halloween, hobbit, hobby, horror, Humphrey Bogart, inklings, inspector alleyn, inspector lewis, james cagney, JAWS, jeeves, JRR Tolkien, Judi Dench, king and i, Kip, laptop, last of the mohicans, Lauren Bacall, Lewis, Lifehouse, London, lord of the rings, maureen o'hara, melika, Melika Dannese Lux, Michael Buble, Midsomer Murders, Miss Marple, Myrna Loy, Mystery, netflix, Oxford, Paris, penguin, personality, phantasmal, promentory, rabbit room, riddles in the dark, Robin Hood, russell crowe, Sarah Rayne, sea, shanties, Shark Week, shows, singer, soprano, soundtracks, Tolkien, Turn of the Screw, tyrone power, UK, unique, USA, Violin, violinist, vivien leigh, WH Smith, writer, young author, Zaniness

Hi everyone!

Be honest…the title of this post has now got that song from the King and I spinning through your head, right? 😉 Anyway, I was scrolling through my old blog posts today, and came upon an interview I did a few years ago. I had so much fun answering these questions, and decided to dust it off and update it with more current info, so it would be ready to see the light of day once again.

I hope you enjoy getting a little peek into my world–and all it’s attendant zaniness, er, um, uniqueness! 😉

Cheers!

~Melika

1. Favorite song/singer?

My favorite song is usually whatever I’m listening to while writing. Sometimes, a scene calls for absolute silence, while at others, it’s nice to have something pumping in the background to get the ideas flowing. For City of Lights: The Trials and Triumphs of Ilyse Charpentier, I listened to Lifehouse’s Hanging by A Moment. This song was a tremendous inspiration for me and became Ilyse and Ian’s anthem. For Corcitura, I listened mainly to Promentory from the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack when I was writing dramatic/conflict or chase scenes (the constant beat really helped focus my thoughts) and then Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis when I wrote a death scene for one of the vampires in the book. Given the sanguinary nature of the lyrics, I thought it was appropriate. 😉

For the novel I am nearly finished writing (One chapter to go, HUZZAH!), it’s epic music all the time. This final chapter is battle-heavy, and music such as this puts me in a suitably warmongering mood. 😉

Celine Dion has been my favorite singer since I was eight years old. I was lucky enough to see her in concert at Caesar’s Palace in 2005. Some singers sound terrible live, but Celine sounded amazing, even better than she does on her CDs. She was also really interactive and did quite a bit of dancing and kept up an incredible energy and excitement level throughout the whole show. It was a tremendous experience, and one that I’ll never forget! I also have recently become a fan of Michael Bublé, with my favorite of his songs being Feeling Good. It’s so James Bondish and awesome and just AHH!

2. Favorite season?

Definitely fall. Just the feel of it. You can almost sense that it’s time to break out The Turn of the Screw for a millionth reread. Or is that just me? I love the crispness in the air, the glorious burnt orange and golden hued leaves, the carte blanche you have to read all the horror/Halloweeney books you want and classify them as “seasonal reading” without making everyone wonder if you’ve been bitten by a vampire and developed rather bloodthirsty reading tastes. Plus, fall also means I get to bake these delicious chocolate chip pumpkin spice cookies that have become a tradition with me over the last ten years.

3. Worst vacation?

I haven’t had one yet, thankfully, although when I visited Paris in 2004, my hotel room was the size of a shoebox. There was also only ONE iron in the entire hotel, as I discovered when the concierge knocked on my door the second day I was there and asked for it back! But that’s beside the point. The important thing was, I was in Paris, and apart from the smallness of the hotel, the location was fantastic! I spent most of my time seeing the sights and wandering around the Rue de Rivoli, making daily stops at W. H. Smith English Booksellers. They were running a 2 for £5 and 3 for £10 sale, so I stocked up on all the UK Penguin editions of the Jeeves novels that weren’t available back home. I would go back to Paris (And London, too!) just to shop there.

4. Guilty pleasure?

British detective & mystery shows. I can’t get enough of them! Midsomer Murders was the show that launched me on this trajectory seven years ago, and I haven’t looked back since, moving on to Miss Marple (with Joan Hickson), Campion, Inspector Alleyn, Rosemary & Thyme, and Inspector Lewis, which is a real favorite. As if visiting the haunts of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien weren’t incentive enough to go to Oxford, there is now the added chance that I might bump into Robbie Lewis and Jamie Hathaway while they are on a case. 😉 I also recently discovered Father Brown, and am hooked!

5. Favorite book and/or author?

David Copperfield. I read this book close to twenty years ago and can still quote passages and remember scenes vividly. All the suffering and hardships this young 19th century Englishman endured and all the mistakes he made in love and in life transcended the ages and became so relevant to me, a preteen living in the United States in the 20th century. That is truly a testament to the genius of Charles Dickens. It is also what I think makes a book a classic—its timelessness.

My favorite author is Agatha Christie. I’ve devoured almost all of her novels, and do not know what I’m going to do when I have no more of them to read. Another author whose books are automatic buys is Sarah Rayne. Nobody does psychological horror/suspense quite like her. She’s amazing!

6. One item you cannot live without?

As a writer, this would definitely be…my laptop!!! I cannot even imagine writing a book, let alone a 700 page novel like Corcitura, in longhand. My admiration for Charlotte Bronte and Dickens especially (who was not known for his brevity) has skyrocketed ever since I became a writer. How did they do it?!

7. Hobby?

I’m a classically trained violinist, pianist, and soprano and have been performing since I was three. I wouldn’t call this a hobby, but for something completely frivolous and unbookish, I can probably recite the entire script of Jaws, complete with dialects and sound effects, and enhanced by the singing of various sea shanties. I can also do a pretty mean Gollum impersonation, precious.

8. Favorite movie/actor/actress?

Jaws. No question. I started watching Shark Week the year it premiered and became fascinated with Jaws around the age of five when I went to Pic ‘n Save and saw the movie poster. I didn’t see the movie in full until I was 15, but I can’t remember a moment when I wasn’t aware of Jaws. It’s been a part of my life for ages.

My other favorite movie is The Fellowship of the Ring. I love the whole trilogy, but The Fellowship (and Gandalf) had a direct bearing on my decision to become a writer, so it will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Favorite actor…hmm…how about we do a modern one and one from the past? Russell Crowe for modern (I love him in every movie I’ve seen him in, but am a huge fan of his historical epics Gladiator, Robin Hood, and Master & Commander), and Danny Kaye, who has provided me with countless hours of laughter since I was a kid. There are also many classic actors I’m a fan of, including Humphrey Bogart, Tyrone Power, James Cagney, Errol Flynn, and Gregory Peck.

Favorite actress…Judi Dench. Love her! Her movies are great, but I’m a huge fan of her BBC sitcom As Time Goes By. I can watch that show over and over again, and have. I own the complete series (plus the reunion specials) on DVD. It’s such a great show—like visiting with old friends.

I’m also a fan of several classic actresses, such as Greer Garson, Vivien Leigh, Lauren Bacall, Maureen O’Hara, Myrna Loy, & Grace Kelly, just to name a few.

9. Favorite food?

Anything that has cheese in it. I think I’m part mouse.

10. Who would you like to meet? (dead or alive?)

Can’t I invite them all over for a ghostly dinner party and count them as one? No? Ok, then, let me think. I’ll keep it in the authorial realm and settle on C. S. Lewis. Jack! The Chronicles of Narnia have been a constant source of inspiration across all areas of my life for many years. I’ve read and reread my copies of the books to ragged shreds. One of my favorite of Jack’s quotes is “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” I would love to hear him talking about his thought process when creating such magnificent stories that are relevant to both young people and adults, since that is something that I strive to do in my own writing. I would also love to have a deep conversation with him about faith, God, and, of course…The Inklings! Ideally, this chat would take place between us in the “Rabbit Room” at The Eagle and Child. Then Jack could give me a tour of Oxford, where we might just run into Professor Tolkien—and I would make Tollers read the “Riddles in the Dark” scene from the Hobbit in Gollum’s voice. As you can see, I’m determined to meet at least one other person from my phantasmal dinner party. 😉

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A Tavern in Venice

01 Wednesday Mar 2017

Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Excerpts, Fun Stuff, Missives, News, Updates

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1888, Authors, beast, beginning, best friend, betrayal, black beast, black winged beast, blood, blood drinkers, books, chronology, classic, classic novel, classic style, corcitura, dark fantasy, darkness, demon, demons, devils, Dracula, draculaesque, drainer of life, Eastern Europe, Eric Bradburry, euphemism, female author, female vampires, female werewolves, female writers, Friendship, give in, Goodreads, gothic, gothic novel, Grand Tour, Greece, hellish, historical, historical fiction, hybrid, hybrid vampires, imagination, Italian, Italy, life, living death, London, lux, melika, Melika Dannese Lux, Melika Lux, months, news, nightmare, nightmares, novel, old world, original, Paranormal, Paris, phrasing, plague, plague carrier, Romania, Romanian, Russia, russian vampires, russians, silver tongue, silver-tongued devil, social media, Stefan, Stefan Belododia, Stefan Ratliff, tavern, The Haunter of Darkness, Twitter, uninitiated, Upyr, vampires, Venice, Vladec Salei, Vrykolakas, Werewolf, werewolf transformation, werewolves, writer, writing, young author

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

I’ve been getting a lot of reader interest in Corcitura lately (Thank you!), and thought it was time to share a short excerpt. This scene comes from one of my favorite chapters in the whole book, and was actually one of the first scenes I wrote before being a good little author and writing the book in order from the beginning. Working chronologically…what a novel concept, eh? 😉

I hope you enjoy it!

Cheers,

~Melika

Short Excerpt

Taken from Corcitura, Chapter 8, A Tavern in Venice

    “A toast to you, my brother,” he said, lifting his glass. “May your eyes be opened on this night, and may you see as you have never seen before. Knowledge is a very powerful thing. Drink and be free.”
    Red light shot through the glass, red light reflected from the candle guttering in its holder above my head. My eyes darted up toward the ceiling. First impressions are tricky things, and mine had been wrong—horribly wrong. There were no angels in these panels. What had I been thinking before?
    Demons cavorted in a pit of rocks and shattered skulls. Fire licked their hellish bodies as they danced through one torture scene after another. In the center panel, a huge, black-winged beast devoured something that was still kicking as it was being forced down the devil’s gullet.
    How could it still be kicking? Or, more importantly, how could I see it kicking?
    The figures in the panel were moving.
    Their movements were slow, tortured, dreamlike, but real—undeniably real. I watched, entranced, unable to turn away, as one poor soul after another was raked across hot coals or had its ashen flesh stripped by one of the devil’s overseers.
    I put my hand to my mouth, but still my eyes remained riveted to the ceiling. The other panels did nothing to cure my nausea. Eleven horned beasts—looking like crosses between satyrs and devils—formed a circle around a giant creature, half dragon, half man, that held a severed head aloft in its clawed hands. Blood dripped from the stump, falling into the waiting mouths of some of the beasts, as the others caught the liquid in black chalices.
    The fresco was blatantly hellish, but its living replica was even worse.
    I had lied to myself from the very beginning, deceived myself into believing that I was being fanciful and overly imaginative. Surely such monstrosities only existed in nightmares? Yet I had lived through a nightmare these past months, and that was no dream at all.
    I was still fighting against the awful truth, not wanting to give in, searching my mind for a logical explanation—but there was none. And the most horrible realization of all was that I had known, somewhere deep inside, ever since the day I first set eyes on that silver-tongued devil in Paris.
    Plague carrier.
    Living death.
    Drainer of life.
    The phrasing did not matter. No euphemism could strike fear into the hearts of men the way that single word could.
    Vampire.
    And for me, the uninitiated, that single word meant death.

(c) 2010, 2012, 2017 by Melika Dannese Lux

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News & an Updated Author Page

17 Wednesday Aug 2016

Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Fun Stuff, Missives, News, Updates

≈ 11 Comments

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1888, 1894, 2003, 2013, 2016, 2017, about, author, barbed tongue, best friends, bibliophile, blog, bloggers, books, Books In My Belfry, changes, City of Lights, city of lights: the trials and triumphs of ilyse charpentier, contact, corcitura, Count Sergei Rakmanovich, curious, dannese, dark fantasy, Eastern Europe, England, Eric Bradburry, exciting, Facebook, family saga, fantasy, female vampires, Fin de siècle, France, Friendship, Germany, Goodreads, gothic, gothic novel, Grand Tour, Greece, Greydanus, happenings, hiatus, historical fiction, hybrid vampires, Ian McCarthy, Ilyse Charpentier, inagural, Interview, Kindle, Leonora, Leonora Bianchetti, London, lux, Madelaine Bradburry, Madelaine Dennison, Manon Larue, Maurice Charpentier, melika, Melika Dannese Lux, Music, Mystery, Nadia Belododia, new series, news, novels, Prague, readers, readers of all ages, reading, redos, Romania, Sergei Rakmanovich, singers, Stefan Ratliff, supernatural, Twitter, updated, updates, Upyr, vampires, Venice, Vladec Salei, Vrykolakas, werewolf transformation, werewolves, writing, YA, Young Adult, young author, Zigmund Fertig

Hello!

Wow! Was the last time I posted really almost three years ago? I have a good reason for being away so long, actually, and, of course, it has to do with books!

I am happy to report that after almost 2 1/2 years of writing, my third book is nearly complete! I only have about four chapters left to finish the inaugural book in a series of four dark fantasy/mystery/supernatural/historical novels that serve as prequels to a fantasy trilogy I started writing back in 2003. I can’t wait to launch this first book in the series into the world! It is the best thing I’ve ever written. Can you tell I’m excited? 🙂

In other news, I updated my “About the Author” page to incorporate the changes in direction my writing has taken. I no longer write YA or NA novels, but now prefer to create stories that will appeal to everyone, regardless of their age or genre bracket. And as for Romance? I will have elements of it here and there in my novels, but it will no longer be anywhere near as plot-specific as it was in City of Lights. Regarding that book, and also Corcitura… In the coming months, there will be an exciting announcement about both of them and their radical new “looks.” And by looks, I’m not only talking about cover overhauls. Curious? Well, you will just have to sit tight until 2017 to find out what I’m hinting at. 😉 I can’t wait to share the news with you when the time is right, though!

As always, please feel free to contact me through this site. I love keeping in touch with my readers! 🙂

All the best,

Melika

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Corcitura visits Because Reading is Better Than Real Life!

03 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Author Spotlight, Book Spotlight, Corcitura Feature, Excerpts, Fun Stuff, News

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1888, 1894, 2013, ashes, author spotlight, backstage, balmy, barbed tongue, because reading is better than real life, beg to differ, belfry, bellowed, Belododia, best friends, blog, blog feature, Blog Tour, bloggers, book, book feature, book spotlight, books, Books In My Belfry, browish-grey wolves, brutal, cabaret, Carmilla, Cecil B DeMille, City of Lights, city of lights: the trials and triumphs of ilyse charpentier, conversation with death, corcitura, creepy, crumble, damned soul, devil, diva, diva in the wings, diva of the paris stage, Dostoevsky, Dracula, draculaesque, drugged, Eastern Europe, England, Eric, Eric Bradburry, Erin Al-Mehairi, Excerpt, exclusive, eyes of a wolf, fall, fall reads, familiar, family conflict, family saga, fathers and sons, feature, female vampires, filmy residue, Fin de siècle, first person present tense, forest, France, francophile, Friendship, Gandalf, gaslit, Giverne, glowing, gone, good hunting, Goodreads, gothic, gothic novel, Grand Tour, Greece, green, grey wolves, Greydanus, halloween, Halloween reads, hand, historical fiction, historical romance, horror, husband, hybrid vampires, Ian McCarthy, if you love scary vampires, Ilyse Charpentier, impressionism, impressionist, impressionists, Kindle, kindle copy giveaway, kindle giveaway, King of Kings, La Perle de Paris, Le Fanu, leaves, Leonora, Leonora Bianchetti, London, lord of the rings, Love, Luc, maddie, Madelaine Bradburry, Madelaine Dennison, Manon Larue, Maurice Charpentier, Melika Dannese Lux, michelle parsons, Moulin Rouge, my son, mythology, news, novels, November feature, november reads, october 2013, october reads, Oh for the hook of a book, painters, Paris, Polidori, pov, Prague, professor fertig, rafflecopter, rafflecopter giveaway, rivalry, Romania, russian, scary vampires, Sergei, Sergei Rakmanovich, siblings, singers, Spooky, spout, staked, Stefan Ratliff, terrifying, Toulouse Lautrec, true love, Tyrian purple, updates, Upyr, vampire genre, vampire mythos, vampires, vamps, Vasily Markolovick, Venice, Vladec Salei, Vrykolakas, werewolf mythology, werewolf transformation, werewolves, wolf, wolf infestation, wolves, woman, woods, writing, YA, YA Lit, ya novel, Young Adult, young author, young female author, young love, young writer, Zigmund, Zigmund Fertig

Corcitura feature @ Because Reading is Better Than Real Life 12-2-13

Huge hugs and a big thank you to Michelle for having me back on her blog to chat about the origins of Corcitura! Think the vampire genre should have been staked long ago? Well, I beg to differ, and if you head on over to Michelle’s blog, you can read an article about how I wove werewolf & vampire mythology together to create an entirely new species of undead. And while you’re there, don’t forget to read a spooky teaser excerpt from the POV of Corcitura’s only female narrator!

Enjoy! 😀

All the best,

Me Sig!

 

 

 

 

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City of Lights Featured @ Because Reading is Better Than Real Life!

25 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by Melika Dannese Lux in Author Spotlight, Book Spotlight, Excerpts, Fun Stuff, News

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1894, 2013, author spotlight, backstage, balmy, because reading is better than real life, bellowed, best friends, blog feature, book feature, book spotlight, Books In My Belfry, cabaret, Cecil B DeMille, City of Lights, city of lights: the trials and triumphs of ilyse charpentier, diva, diva in the wings, diva of the paris stage, Dostoevsky, England, Excerpt, family conflict, family saga, feature, Fin de siècle, France, francophile, Friendship, Gandalf, Giverne, Goodreads, historical fiction, historical romance, Ian McCarthy, Ilyse Charpentier, impressionism, impressionist, impressionists, King of Kings, La Perle de Paris, lord of the rings, Love, Manon Larue, Maurice Charpentier, Melika Dannese Lux, michelle parsons, Moulin Rouge, news, novels, November feature, painters, Paris, rivalry, russian, Sergei, Sergei Rakmanovich, siblings, singers, Toulouse Lautrec, true love, Tyrian purple, updates, Vasily Markolovick, writing, YA, YA Lit, ya novel, Young Adult, young author, young female author, young love, young writer

COL Feature @ Because Reading is Better Than Real Life 11-25-13

A colossal thank you to Michelle for featuring City of Lights on her wonderful blog! To find out how Ilyse’s story was born from a song, and to read a special “backstage” excerpt, just click on the screen capture above.

Enjoy! 😀

All the best,

Me Sig!

 

 

 

 

P. S. And don’t forget to keep in touch!

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City of Lights is an IBD Award Winner!!

Buy City of Lights from Amazon.com (click image)

Paperback Edition: $9.68 Kindle Edition: $3.33 Also available on other electronic devices (via free Kindle reading apps).

Buy Corcitura from Amazon.com (click image)

Paperback Edition: $19.59 Kindle Edition: $4.33 Also available on other electronic devices (via free Kindle reading apps)

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