Friday, January 18, 2013

Guest blog: The Newfoundland Vampire by Charles O’Keefe







If you’ve seen the movie, or read the book, you’ll know what the title means right away (and a hint at my anecdote) but the meaning will become clear regardless. In September last year I did a book signing (in fact two in the one day) the first at a local Chapters and the other at a Coles in a mall. The first one went fairly well, I sold 3 copies and I went on the next. The second book signing also was going good, a Twitter follower introduced himself and we had a nice chat about the internet, Twitter and writing in general. It was the first time a Twitter follower had come up to me in person and I was feeling good. Four more copies sold and I had about ten minutes left, I had done some writing, a little reading and played some video games on my iPad.
Before my time was up I noticed a young woman who had been sitting close to the book store entrance, near the escalator. She had been there a good hour or more and did some reading, played with her phone and occasionally looked at me and smiled. I’m a friendly guy so I smiled back and didn’t think much else of it. Then just before I left she came up to me and said, “I noticed you’re selling your book. I’m sorry I don’t have any money on me but I wanted to wish you luck and I wrote this note for you.” I said “Well thank you.” She smiled, waved and left and I was left with the note. I kept it and will share it with you now it said, “Every writer starts off with one word, one phrase, one book. Then builds their success on passion and love for their stories and imagination. Don’t be discouraged at what people say if negative. Write for yourself.”
It touched my heart and I smiled broadly, I wanted to thank her but she was gone. Instead what I can do is pass this note along to anyone who reads this blog and hope that maybe somehow she’ll see it. Simple words of encouragement from a stranger meant more to me than her money, someone who would be nice expecting nothing in return and only wanting to help is worthy of praise. It is comments like that make me want to continue to write, to see the benefit of it. Not everyone (besides my friends, family and wife of course) is apathetic; there are good people out there who care. Maybe she got it from a book or the internet but it doesn’t matter, it’s the thought that counts and its one I very much appreciated. I can’t repay her but I’ll pay it forward, I hope another reads this and takes it heart. Writing is a worthwhile activity that a chosen few (or many if we’re lucky) enjoy and appreciate, I encourage others and I hope you’ll do the same.

The book: If you like what I said maybe you’d like to check out my book The Newfoundland Vampire. It’s gotten some good reviews and I promise that my vampires don’t sparkle. Thanks first to Wenona for hosting this stop and to the reader for getting to the end, have a great day/afternoon/evening!



The Newfoundland Vampire
Book One
Charles O’Keefe

Genre: Horror/Paranormal/Vampire

Publisher: Penumbra Publishing

ISBN: 978-1935563853
ASIN: B007TRWUCS

Number of pages: 224
Word Count: 86,737


Amazon UK          Chapters

Book Description:

Like every other geek alive, Newfoundland native Joseph O’Reily secretly wants to be a superhero. At thirteen he fantasized about being a vampire, and ten years later he’s still fantasizing – but mostly about a beautiful redheaded woman who has eyes only for him. The one thing different about Joseph’s adult fantasy is that, amazingly, it comes true one night when he goes to a local university pub. Cassandra Snow, literally the woman of his dreams, invites him to her place for an evening of personal pleasure. Of course he’s not going to say no. But when strange things start happening afterward, Joseph quickly learns that not all dreams should come true.

About the Author :

Charles O’Keefe lives in the beautiful province of Newfoundland, Canada, with his wife and two feline ‘children,’ Jude and Esther. He works as an inventory manager and enjoys many hobbies and activities that include writing, reading, watching fantasy/science-fiction movies and television shows, gaming, poker, walking, acting, and of course fantasizing about vampires.








1 comment:

Charles O'Keefe said...

Hi Wenona :)

Thanks for being a part of my blog tour, have a great weekend! :-)