Raymond Towers’ Preferred Method Of Vampire Creation

Circa 2014-15, I went looking for a plausible, pseudo-scientifically sound way of creating fresh vampires for one of my novels. I wasn’t taking detailed notes back then like I do today, so I can’t source this, but I did notice a correlation between vampire creation and real-life zombie creation in voodoo practice. After combining what I had researched from both sides, I came up with a formula, which you are free to use in your own vampiric writings. This was before Giant Trees Theory, mind you, so if you figure in a greater amount of oxygen available on Earth, an element included in my Method… Well, don’t try this at home!

The novel is titled The Black Rose, and it’s on Smashwords!

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/565627

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Step 1. Find a suitable subject. This method is not recommended for nagging housewives and their mother-in-laws, because you have enough problems with them as it is.

Step 2. Obtain a mild, or watered down version of zombie powder to induce a catatonic state. Zombie powder, available at your local voodoo shop, contains one or more of the following: ground up poisonous frogs, toads, and puffer fish. This is combined with certain plant extracts, ground up glass and human bone. Do Not Use this zombie powder in its regular strength, otherwise a zombie will be created, and not a vampire.

Step 3. Have the subject reach a state of mild dehydration by abstaining from drinking and eating for a day or two. This is to increase the amount of protein in the blood.

Step 4. For increased shock factor and / or aesthetics, you may perform a ritual in which actual blood may be imbibed. The blood may be taken from a normal human or a dehydrated human, and it would be best if the subject is willing … and alive.

Step 5. Ask the subject to lie down in a box large enough for them to fit in. Once the subject is comfortable, the box is to be filled with bits of rubber, broken glass, and if available, pith. (Look that last one up. It comes from the tiny center of a tree or the white portion of citrus fruit, just below the peel.) This material will build up the electrostatic charge around the subject.

Step 6. Have several people shuffle around the box with the subject inside of it, to promote the static charge into an electrostatic field. To further sensationalize things, instead of a simple shuffle this can be stylized into an elaborate dance involving masks, hooded robes, or even feathers. A laboratory able to reproduce an electrostatic charge is favored over a woodsy setting, but is of course detrimental to the sinister atmosphere of a cave, crypt or secluded grove. It is hoped that enough of an electrostatic charge will be produced as to cause the DNA of the subject to vibrate and evolve into a more primeval state, when mankind was much taller, faster, stronger and more oxygenated than it is in modern times.

Step 7. Expose the subject to direct sunlight as much as possible. Electromagnetic radiation will greatly speed the process along.

Step 8. After three days, wake the subject and study them while keeping a safe distance away. If they have a tremendous headache, act more like a zombie than a vampire, or don’t wake up at all, the entirety of these steps may have to be repeated with a new test subject. If they are ravenous for blood to stabilize their depleted blood cells, you have successfully created a vampire. Congratulations!

Be sure to keep an extra pint of fairly fresh, pure blood (vegan works best) nearby to replenish your vampire’s thirst for it. Since our sun has changed much since the Biblical days of giants, the vampire will continually want to revert to his or her former self, because the present radiation from our sun cannot maintain the changed DNA of the vampire. The addition of fresh blood on a regular schedule will ensure that the antibodies in your vampire’s blood have new cells to react with, because stagnation is what causes vampire blood cells to deteriorate. Fresh blood replenishes your vampire’s superhuman agility and strength, especially if the person who donates the blood is in robust physical condition.

Midnight Rendezvous 1 – horror short fiction

I’m so against the grain I almost never write about vampires. They’re just so burned out, right? Anyway, I wrote three of these shorts, then I shelved them for about 10 years. After that, I met a woman with a very dark past. I put her and the shorts together, and that was my inspiration for The Black Rose duology. Find out about the first novel, The Black Rose 1 – Genesis, by clicking on this link. Leave a like and I’ll post Parts 2 and 3.

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Midnight Rendezvous 1

Midnight rendezvous in an empty graveyard, where although the climate is well tempered, frequent chills course through my body with each and every step that I take.

I’ve placed myself in no minor peril by coming to this most unholy site, to mingle among the darkest shadows and the ghosts of the dead. Yet risk my being I must, for so great is my longing for the one who has taken such a hold and captivated my aching heart.

There are watchers among the tombstones, keeping their distance at the moment, yet ready to pounce like angry snakes should the opportunity be allowed.

Into the cemetery I plunge deeper, ignoring those that would do me harm, for eventually I do discover her, below the branches of a dying tree. She is leaning against the trunk, her head turned away from me, and in her hand she holds a single black rose that is as dead as everything else here.

Ignoring my presence, she sways with the breeze, but I have come too far a distance and risked too great a stake that I defiantly refuse to be denied. Summoning my strength, I pin her against the tree, and in the waning and spotty moonlight witness the traces of warm blood on her lips that betray her recent feeding. My jealous ardor has been aroused at the thought of her embrace with another, and I utter a curse with envious words that the blood should have been my own.

And she knows this all too well, as she easily throws me onto the grass, discarding beside her the cloak that she wears and teasingly mounting me with her seductive form. Her fierce claws rip away at my clothing, unforgiving as they graze against my soft skin, until we are no longer restricted from one another and our bodies meet in the darkest of embraces.

For a brief time, the two of us are in union, issuing the soft moans from the lips of lovers that carry through the air and over the graves, inviting nearer those who sulk among the tombs. But in these moments of passion and climax my only thoughts are gathered towards the being whose body trembles and shudders above mine, while our hands are gripped tightly together.

And then her weakening and utter collapse brings her mouth dangerously close to my throat and the sharp needles that are her curse bring the taste of death into my flesh.

As before, I am torn in the midst of two worlds: The one, to preserve my carnal existence, the other, to succumb to the intoxicating fumes of the afterlife, until my thoughts fade away into the black night.

And when I awaken, cold and pale and naked, with countless new scars that I must account for, searching for the cloak that might have been left behind, and grasping at explanations for my absence, yet all the while looking past these mundane trivialities and further ahead towards my next midnight rendezvous.

Eternalised: Lovecraft’s Dark Philosophy Of Cosmicism

Trying to get into Lovecraft’s way of thinking, if he were alive today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5p4aNjJy0k

Descrip: Lovecraft’s dark philosophy of cosmic horror is known as Cosmicism, which focuses on the insignificance of humanity and its doings at the cosmos-at-large, in contrast to the anthropocentric philosophies in which many find intellectual reassurance. This form of non-anthropocentrism is crucial to the philosophy of Cosmicism.

Curious Archive: The Scariest Genre Of Science Fiction

So, I typed in ‘science fiction heroines’ on Youtube, and I got this about ten entries down. Go figure. Anyway, I’d kind of forgotten about the Annihilation movie. Maybe I should watch that one again. There is some good stuff here!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtzFt7LMSn0

Descrip: If I were to ask you ‘what is the scariest type of science fiction?’ you probably wouldn’t say ‘Evolutionary Horror.’ …Mainly because it’s a name I came up with for this video, but also because it doesn’t sound particularly frightening. Evolution isn’t scary… or is it? Twisting through the history of sci-fi is a hidden subgenre that derives terror from the altered self — from the uncanny dread of a force beyond our control evolving the human into the inhuman. So, for this entry into the archive, we’ll uncover the terrors of this category, and dive into the type of sci-fi that I find the most fear-provoking of all…

The Black Rose 1 – Colonial Horror Novel Now Available

Recently re-released and reformatted. This novel of vampiric horror is currently available for $6.99 at Smashwords.

About this title: In 18th Century Delaware, the Latham brothers are seeking their fortune through taming the wild frontier. Among their workers are the exiled Romani gypsies, a people who harbor many dark secrets, including near immortality. Certain men will do anything to unearth these secrets. It seems that no one has the power to stop them. Many innocent lives will hang in the balance. Rating: HIGH controversy.

An excerpt from The Black Rose 1:

The house was in as much a state of shambles as the man standing before it, the young Alexander Latham thought bitterly, as he first cast his eyes upon it.

Once, he recalled, it had been a worthy place. It had been built in the early Georgian style, named after the pompous English kings of that era, set back fifty paces from the road and protected by paling fencing to the front and sides. The house’s long axis ran parallel to the road, that is to say, its broad face. On the first floor was centered the main doorway, with two large windows placed on either side. The clapboard siding climbed up to the second floor, where five perfectly symmetrical windows had been set. These balanced the placement of the windows and door on the first floor exactly. The roof was pitched in the gable style, hanging slightly lower than the top of the walls. The paint had been one of the more expensive hues of that time, in a combination of blue and gray. His grandfather, James Latham, had seen to the precision of the architecture personally, Alexander had been told many times in the past.

Once, this had been a proud place, but no more.

Now, the House of Latham was a neglected old woman. The fencing was crooked in some places, altogether missing in others. The paint was faded, the clapboard visibly warped by time and weather. The once grand front door was wide open and forgotten, as if the house were beckoning any passing wanderer at all into its no longer warm hospice.

“I do hope no one has squatted in the old place.” Alexander, nicknamed Zander, turned to face the driver of the carriage that had brought him out. “You can leave my belongings here on the road. I haven’t any coin to spare for you, besides that which I used to procure your services from your master. I shall carry it all in myself, in due time.”

“Yes, sir.” The driver replied. He was a big brute of a Negro named Reuben.

The young man had made pleasant conversation with the Negro, during the short ride from the nearby town of Morganville. The slave had warmed up to him sure enough, as Zander was an amiable sort, and even more so when he had a goodly amount of coin in his purse.

Zander had impressed the bigger man with the accounts of his misfortunes and his travels. He’d lived a comfortable lifestyle previously in northern Delaware, but more recently he’d lost his entire fortune due to a short but powerful streak of horrid luck. This had abruptly taken place when his budding company of carpenters had bolted outright to a competitor’s union, after said rival had promised the workers unreasonably higher wages. That the hefty promises wouldn’t be kept had mattered little to his carpenters, as the mere mention of more coin was enough to turn their loyalty against Zander. The loss of his livelihood had led the young man to abandon the places he’d lived in for most of his life. He had no choice but to uproot his entire history, and to retreat back to the place where he’d been born, but which he hadn’t set foot upon for nearly twenty years.

Rubble Kings: Documentary On 1970s Bronx Street Gangs

Great video. You’re going to see a lot of parallels with the 1979 movie The Warriors, from gang structure to gang jackets to boundary lines to a peace effort by the Ghetto Boys to unite the gangs against the ‘imperialist oppressors.’ You might also learn a few things about hierarchy (president, vice president, warlord and gestapo), and the way rival gangs see each other after four decades have gone by, unlike West Coast gangs who keep their rivalries for life, pretty much.

I found this vid while researching names of Bronx street gangs from the seventies. I’ve already come up with a dice-driven random table to generate names for Los Angeles-based street gangs, and I’m working on another one for East Coast counterparts, in the name of inclusion and diversity, of course.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmJ39Tmg540

Trailer descrip: From 1968 to 1975, gangs ruled New York City. Beyond the idealistic hopes of the civil rights movement lay a unfocused rage. Neither law enforcement nor social agency could end the escalating bloodshed. Peace came only through the most unlikely and courageous of events that would change the world for generations to come by giving birth to hip-hop culture. Rubble Kings, the most comprehensive documentation of life during this era of gang rule to date, tells the story of how a few extraordinary, forgotten people did the impossible, and how their actions impacted the world over.

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Full vid on Vimeo:

https://vimeo.com/452020094

Smashwords Read An Ebook Week, March 5th Through 11th

From March 5th through 11th, Smashwords is having their Read An Ebook Week promotion. All of my titles will be reduced by 50%, with a few prices dropped so low they’re ending up at FREE! That’s 30 titles you can stock up on!

A breakdown of what’s available:

The Case Of The Missing Q-Drives – 99 cents!

The Throwback – $1.49

Verum Et Inventa Magazine – all eight issues, always FREE!

The World Changers – $2.99

Roaches In The Attic 2 – Independence – $2.99

Inspired By M.C. – $3.49

The Weeping Thing – 99 cents!

The Zombie Seven 1 – Hell’s Gate, And Beyond – $4.49

Raymund & Natalie’s Grand Adventure – $2.99

Before The Seven 2 – Scary Peter – $2.99

Thorns – True Tales Of The Weird – $2.49

Monster Mayhem – $2.49

Apocalypse Now! – $2.99

Roaches In The Attic 1 – First Contact – $3.99

The Black Cellar – $3.49

Dobrynia’s Path 2 – Ragnarok – $2.99

Before The Seven 1 – Don Diego Meets Lucky Luis – $2.49

Dobrynia’s Path 1 – Dark Harbinger – $2.49

The Two Sides Of Humburg – FREE

A Terrible Thing To Waste – $2.49

Demonic Murmurs – $2.49

Two Bedroom Cottage For Rent – FREE

Variant Worlds 1 – $2.49

Roaches In The Attic 0 – Non-Retrieval – FREE

Book Review: Neuromancer by William Gibson

You can read this book online on several sites, including Archive.org. On PDF Whale, you can download the PDF version free, and you’ll also find a link to the author reading the full book on Youtube. Link to PDF Whale’s Neuromancer page.

I read the book, and I listened to a 2 hour radio play produced by the BBC, which was pretty cool to listen to, and it helped me get a better grasp on the story. Here’s a link to the radio play. My review is below the vid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S89BHnaxULo

Descrip: Here is the BBC radio play of the novel that started it all, launching the cyberpunk generation, and the first novel to win the holy trinity of science fiction: the Hugo Award, the Nebula Award and the Philip K. Dick Award. With Neuromancer, William Gibson introduced the world to cyberspace–and science fiction has never been the same.

Case was the hottest computer cowboy cruising the information superhighway–jacking his consciousness into cyberspace, soaring through tactile lattices of data and logic, rustling encoded secrets for anyone with the money to buy his skills. Then he double-crossed the wrong people, who caught up with him in a big way–and burned the talent out of his brain, micron by micron. Banished from cyberspace, trapped in the meat of his physical body, Case courted death in the high-tech underworld. Until a shadowy conspiracy offered him a second chance–and a cure–for a price..

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This book was published in 1984. It has so much to unpack! If it were released today, for the first time, it would still make a major impact on bestseller lists. As a testament to the genius of the author, not only does it stand up to modern cyberpunk, but it continues to offer a lot in terms of advancing the genre forward. The Matrix Trilogy of movies, as great as it was, is a watered down version of Gibson’s work. As far as movie comparisons, I found Neuromancer as good as the Bladerunner movies, and as far as literature, it ranks just below Dan Simmon’s Hyperion as the second best sci-fi novel I’ve read in the last 20 years.

Nearly everything you can guess as a cyberpunk trope is jammed into this novel, from the loss of humanity to artificial intelligence, to AI becoming sentient, to hackers trying to get into sensitive computer networks, except it was Gibson who had the first real grasp of all of these complex ideas, and who thrust them into the collective awareness like a hybrid fetus of man and machine. Is this a perfect novel?

No, I think, because it reads like an action-packed TV show, in that it jumps from one location or situation to another with no breathing room in between, and it forces the reader to have to run along to keep up. At times, it reads more like a James Bond fast and loose espionage thriller, with the protagonists nation-hopping all over continents and revealing only street level descriptions for each location, including outer space. Also, the novel assumes too readily that the reader is familiar with a ton of specialized hacker jargon, so if you don’t catch it right away, and absorb it, Gibson does not take much time to remind you about it later. Lastly, the ending is a little soft, in that one antagonist in particular is not dealt with in a satisfying way, but overall Gibson did tie up all the loose ends well for a broad conclusion that could (and did) lead to sequels. Overall, however, Gibson’s descriptions, innovations and thematic grandness are top-notch, and that’s why I rate this novel at a resounding 5 stars.

Sonja’s Adventures: The 6 Biggest LARP Genres

The genres are medieval fantasy, post apocalypse, vampire, historical, sci fi / cyberpunk, and horror / mystery eras. I wasn’t familiar with all of these, and am looking to see how they make things work. Let’s see if I can find a vid on a Mad Max or cyberpunk LARP next.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDc2o3WsOvI

Descrip: Live Action Roleplaying – or “Larping” – is a hobby of thousands of people worldwide. There are many settings in LARP – and today, I show you the 6 biggest.

The World Changers: sci fi / fantasy novel now available

Recently re-released and reformatted. This novel is rather complicated to put into any one genre. It’s partly modern day paranormal / spiritual, based on my actual experiences and research, and it’s partly Iron Age fantasy set in Ancient Canaan. This novel is currently available for $5.99 at Smashwords, and the 9th in my Chaos Rift series.

About this series: The Chaos Rift is meant to shake you out of your comfort zone. It is meant to strip away those rose-tinted glasses that keep you complacent, to show you the world as it really is, and also to show you how alternate worlds might really be, based on what has been seen and done here, what has been created and imagined, in our own reality. There are moments or triumph and levity, as there are in real life, but when the pendulum swings, it will go a long way into the shadows. Many of these titles are not for the many, but for the few. Are you one of those few? You have been warned. The Chaos Rift begins here.

Series page on Smashwords.

About this title: What is the nature of our reality? What is truth? What is fantasy? Perhaps it is time for us to break the paradigms of the mind, dogma, history and the universe all around us. This tale begins in the present, but the adventure is more profound than you can imagine. Let us travel to pre-Biblical Canaan, a time when the gods shook the Earth to defy the World Changers. Rating: HIGH controversy.

Title page on Smashwords.

An excerpt from The World Changers.

It was a little awkward for Alyssa to stand there in the great room, naked except for the semi-transparent suit, while waiting for her body heat to activate the material. They decided it was the only practical way. If Alyssa went to change into the suit in another room, it was entirely possible that Oscar would not know when she’d come back. He wouldn’t be able to hear her or make any other observations because his brain could potentially refuse to acknowledge that she was standing there in front of him. In the end, they stood side by side, looking away from one another, uncomfortably, but maintaining a point of contact by holding each other’s hands.

“Is it working?” Alyssa asked, after about five minutes of waiting.

Oscar glanced down at their hands. While they were still clasped, he brought them up to eye level. “Look.”

Clearly, she could see Oscar’s arm and the curled fingers of his hand around hers. Her hand and arm, strangely enough, were now gone.

“Okay, I’m going to let you go.” Oscar instructed her. “I want you to stand in front of me for a couple of seconds. After that, walk over to the bathroom and take a look at yourself in the mirror. Keep talking or making some sort of noise, so I’ll know where you are.”

Nervously, Alyssa stood right in front of him. “Well?”

“I can still see your boobies.” Oscar smiled.

“Really?” She covered up her chest with both arms.

“No, I was joking. I can’t see you at all.” He said.

This prompted Alyssa to reach out and give him a playful slap on the shoulder.

“Hey, I felt that!”

Alyssa started laughing. “Okay, I’m going to the bathroom now.”

“Keep making some sort of noise, like I told you to.” Oscar reminded her, as he took a seat and began writing down notes.

As she made her way to the bathroom, Alyssa decided to hum to herself. The bathroom mirror did not show her the image she was accustomed to seeing. She felt a little weird about that, as if she were a vampire gazing at its missing reflection for the very first time. She didn’t even cast a shadow anymore.

“How do you feel?” Oscar called out.

“Normal. Well, a little warm, even though I shouldn’t be warm because I’m naked.”

“Are you thinking clearly? No dizziness, no fear or anxiety?”

“No, nothing like that.”

“I didn’t think there would be, but I just wanted to make sure. Okay, let’s go out for some burritos.”