Tag: vampires

Social Vampire COVER REVEAL

In bringing Social Vampire into the world as a novel, I knew I had to create a cover that jumps off the page as much as the story does. Something that would showcase the fact that the book is hilarious, but with heart hiding beneath.

After weeks of design and workshopping, I finally have a cover I love.

And today I’m ready to show it off!

What’s more: as of now, the book is available for preorder in both Kindle edition and paperback.

What’s even more: the book is available to PURCHASE TODAY in hardcover. That’s right, you can get Social Vampire a full five weeks early in hardcover! I’m still waiting for my copy to arrive so I can show it off, but the hardcover edition has a gorgeous removable dust jacket and a handful of interior illustrations to make it extra special.

A few notes:

  • With an official release date of 4/4/2023, the novel will launch in paperback, ebook, and audiobook (hopefully…more on this later).
  • The ebook version will initially be Kindle-exclusive for 90 days to do various promos, with plans to take the electronic version wide to other retailers after this launch period.
  • The paperback preorder currently shows “unavailable” on Amazon, but I’m told this should update any day now. The paperback and hardcover are already available for preorder/purchase respectively at all major book retailers, including Barnes & Noble.
  • As of this post, the hardcover purchase page is so new that sales page doesn’t show the cover image, but rest assured, it’s the same as what you can see below…

So, without further ado, here’s the cover for Social Vampire!

At a new school, you get a chance to reinvent yourself, so…why not be a vampire?

Click me to see a gigantic version

What do you think? Personally, I LOVE how it turned out. From the sad-sack vampire telling us “a novel” to the mean girls vibe of the teens at the top, for me it just works.

(Aside, from a design perspective, he’s the one “upside down” but we’re seeing the story from his point of view).

And here’s the full wraparound cover:

Click me to zoom in

Okay, I’ve told you enough times that I love this cover, but now I want your thoughts! Let me know in the comments what you think (good, bad, or ugly — I’m happy to receive whatever feedback you’ve got).

Are you excited to read my first novel?

Will you be waiting for the ebook, the paperback, the audiobook, or picking up the hardcover right now?

I’ll share pictures once I get my copy of the hardcover and share more about the audiobook version soon.

Until then, I remain:

Your author,

by Categories: Social VampireTags: , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

Halloween Hangover?

I don’t know about you, but Spooky Season is one of my favorite seasons. After that, it just gets cold and…merry…(shudders).

So, I’ve got a bit of a Halloween Hangover (and not just because my Vella just released part three of three in its Halloween party episodes!).

The HAUNTED: Deluxe Illustrated Collector’s Edition has been well received, so thank you to anyone who picked up a copy to keep the spooky times rolling.

I’m currently working on a collection of short stories centered around death and extinction (sounds fun, right?), which will likely also make its debut on Vella.

Now it’s November, and I need your help. If you’re not aware, Vella has these things it calls “faves” — basically a vote for your favorite story you read that week.

I kind of love that my Vella about a teen pretending to be a vampire…is the #2 fave in vampires.

They reset at the start of the month, and there’s a lot of shifting and vying for positions in these early days.

So…I need your help. 5 minutes of your time.

A new month means it’s time to crown the new kings and queens of Vella! This is the NUMBER ONE way for new people to learn about the story. I hate to ask, but it makes a huge difference.


If you’re in the US, go to my SOCIAL VAMPIRE page (https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B0BDGM1J8J) and unlock any episode (past 1-3). Then you get to vote for your “fave” — this should pop up automatically after you like the episode at the bottom, but if not, you can click the icon noted in the image below:


If you’re not in the US, I’m sorry they STILL haven’t made it available for you to read. Fear not, it will be available in print & ebook (and I’m looking into audiobook) in 2023.

Now I’m going to go crawl under a rock and try to recover from how awkward it felt asking this of my fans.

Does anyone have any bonus spooky stories they can give me? I’m enjoying Cabinet of Curiosities on Netflix. What about you?

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A Novel Idea

And now for something completely different.

After yesterday’s post about some recent setbacks, I’m excited to tell you about my current project, and the timing couldn’t be better.

I actually finished this novel back in 2019, but I told myself I’d try the traditional publishing route because it was a book I was both extremely proud of and one I thought had an important message and needed to be put in as many hands as possible. But, as it turns out, sitting in a folder on my computer for three years has put the story in as few hands as possible.

Equal parts heartwarming and humorous, “Social Vampire” is a coming-of-age story about a kid who pretends to be a vampire at his new school to get the attention of a girl. It’s about young love, loss & grief, and growing empathy. I think it’s the best thing I’ve written.

Early draft cover image for “Social Vampire”

I decided to do an initial run publishing the story serially on Kindle Vella. If you haven’t heard of the platform, it’s only available to readers in the US right now, but it’s for short, episodic reading. After this initial run, which is going from now through December, I’d look to publish the book as a paperback and ebook in April, 2023.

You can wait until then, orrrrrrrr, you’re in luck. Amazon is running a promo that starts today. You get to read Vellas for free (including mine) and I still get paid royalties. For the next week, which will include two new chapters being released, you get a free look at “Social Vampire.” Amazon is taking the hit, hoping you’ll want to continue reading on this new platform.

You can head to my Vella page now, or I’ll tell you a bit about the story.

At a new school, you get a chance to reinvent yourself, so…why not be a vampire? When we first meet Gordon, he claims he can’t physically tell a lie, yet says he’s stopped aging and that his peers believe him to be a vampire. He tells us his mother left him, but doesn’t give us the full story.

It’s soon clear that Gordon is an unreliable narrator, if an entertaining one.

Gordon is a California native, a theatre geek, and an aspiring screenwriter. His life starts to unravel when his special-effects artist dad loses his job and relocates the family from Los Angeles, CA to Bozeman, MT. If that wasn’t hard enough, through a comedy of errors, Gordon’s new classmates—who are obsessed with self-pubbed vampire fiction—think he’s secretly a vampire.

With help from Gordon’s improv background, Dad’s special effects gear, and a little luck, this new school might be the perfect place for Gordon to shine—or, better yet, sparkle. But will the costs of living a lie outweigh the newfound popularity that comes with being a social vampire?

Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/Social-Vampire/dp/B0BDGM1J8J

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