Birthday Blowout First Page Contest with Victoria Marini

Here is my entry for the Birthday Blowout First Page Contest with Victoria Marini.  Happy Birthday, Shelley.  Thank you for giving us all a gift for your birthday :D

Email address: rebeccatlittle@aol.com

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Re-tweeted this to spread the word: http://twitter.com/#!/Shelley_Watters/status/84299787964395522

Title: Blood Thief
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Word Count: 65K

First page (250 words):

(With re-write)

"It's Celeste, anybody home?" I called out cheerily, but received no answer as I headed to Catherine’s brightly-lit kitchen. I've seen enough death. I should have recognized what I was seeing, but I stood there frozen looking at Catherine. She was sprawled on the floor, her head severed. A dark pool of blood was spreading out beneath her, the red a stark contrast against the cool white tile. I stared a bit before my brain made sense of what I was viewing.

Sinking to my knees, I sobbed. Losing those you love is part of being a vampire, but it always hurts. Wiping red tears, I got to my feet. My friend was gone.  She’d given all to protect the reliquary vital to my bloodline.  I would see it safe. I sped silently through her darkened living room, fearing the worst. Holding my breath, I ripped open the bottom panel of the Grandfather clock. A relieved exhalation escaped me as my hand found the heart-shaped enameled glass vessel that held the comingled essences of my bloodline. This was the safety and source of our vampiric abilities.

Stepping outside into the dark pre-dawn hours, I opened my phone to check the time, squinting at the bright screen. Snapping it shut, I realized my mistake as faint footsteps followed me. I'd taken the reliquary from its hiding place and whoever had killed Catherine was now somewhere behind me, waiting on the chance to take it. I had played right into their hands.

(Before re-write)

"It's Celeste, anybody home?" I called out, but received no answer as I headed to Catherine’s brightly-lit kitchen. I've seen enough death that I should have recognized what I was seeing, but I stood there frozen as I looked at Catherine. She was sprawled on the floor, her head severed. A dark pool of blood was spreading out beneath her, the red a stark contrast against the cool white tile. I stared for a bit before my brain registered what I was viewing. When it did, I knew what I must do.

Catherine was the Keeper. She guarded the reliquary vital to our bloodline. Now, temporarily, that task would fall to me as few members knew where it was secreted away. I moved silently through her darkened living room. Barely daring to breathe, I opened the panel at the bottom of the Grandfather clock. A relieved exhalation escaped me as I lifted the reliquary from its hiding spot. My fingers caressed the heart-shaped enameled glass vessel that held the comingled essences of my bloodline. This was the safety and source of our vampiric abilities.
Stepping outside into the dark pre-dawn hours, I opened my phone to check the time, squinting at the bright screen. Snapping my phone shut, I realized my mistake as faint footsteps followed me. I'd taken the reliquary from its hiding place and whoever had killed the Keeper was now somewhere behind me, waiting on the chance to take it. I had played right into their hands.

What makes a vampire?

A pair of fangs does not a vampire make.  Neither does pale skin or an aversion to garlic or any other myriad physical traits that vampires have been ascribed with over the years.  I’ve read far too many vampire tales where the bloodsucker in question relied on the physical to convey “otherness.”  I mean really, how much are you going to stand out if you flipping sparkle in daylight or burst into flame at the touch of the sun’s rays?  While having distinguishing physical characteristics that make your vampires different from their human counterparts is all well and good, there has to be more.

Do my vampires have fangs?  You bet.  And they’re self-conscious about them around humans.  Do they have pale skin.  Yep.  They’re creatures of the night.  Is that what makes them vampires?  Not a chance.  It is their life experience and their actions that define them.  Otherwise they are no different from the humans that visit nightclubs decked out in dental-grade fangs and bad hair dye jobs.

Imagine what it would be like to live 300+ years.  Think of the history you’d have to have seen in that time, the people you would have known, loved and lost.  That sense of timelessness makes a vampire.  Having to live with humans as your source of sustenance, preying on someone that is what you once were, that makes a vampire.  Dealing with the secrets, guilt (or lack thereof) and, yes, hunger are what make vampires  interesting, appealing and even terrifying.  Not the fangs - though they do make for a wicked smile.

The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award

Reggie Ridgway nominated me for Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award

http://characterswellmet.blogspot.com/

Thanks, Reggie!

The rules are simple:
1) Thank and link to the person that nominated you.
2) Share 7 random facts about yourself.
3) Pass the award to 3 of your blogging buddies.

4) Notify the recipients

Here are my 7 random facts:

1. I am a writer, but also a mom, a runner and a pretty decent cook.

2. I love to fish.
3. I am married.

4. I adore sushi, coffee and Pernod (just not all together!)

5. I am an amateur nail artist.
6. I have a large collection of high heels.

7. I like shiny things.

I am nominating the following three blogs for the award.

http://anniesisk.com/

http://rosannedingli.blogspot.com/

http://loreleismuse-lorelei.blogspot.com/