Donnie Light will be appearing at two live events in the upcoming weeks.
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Read Between the Lynes Bookstore – Woodstock, IL
6:30 PM
Ghost Stories, book signing, book chat.
Saturday, November 18, 2023
Coliseum Museum, Oregon, Illinois
11AM – 3PM
Book Fair with numerous authors.
During a recent promo week for the first book in my new series, The Lightning Ghost: Enter the Fray, I did an interview with Naomi at ManyBooks.net. It was fun, and Naomi asked a few questions I didn’t expect. The interview is roughly a five-minute read, and we spoke not only about the new book, but my writing process as well.
Here’s the link: Donnie Light Interview – ManyBooks.net
Thanks to Naomi and the kind folks at ManyBooks.net for the opportunity to interview, as well as a successful promotion for The Lightning Ghost: Enter the Fray.
Creatures, Hauntings, Legends, Myths, Phenomenon.
All things that make us think, make us wonder, and sometimes makes our hair stand on end.
Visit the realm of the unknown, where mysterious creatures lurk in the shadows. A place where myths and legends abound. Take in the stories and ponder their meaning. Read about unexplained phenomenon, and wonder.
Three authors offer glimpses into the question, what if?
Some of the stories are dark, some are scary, and some are hopeful. But all these stories have a common thread… the unknown.
Now, a little more about the book, and the publisher — Fat Elvis Publications.
First off, I met Ophelia at a book signing event back in 2007 as I recall. A year or two later, I met up with Ophelia at the Love is Murder book con in Chicago where Ophelia then introduced me to Terri Reid. A few months after that, Terri invited me and my wife to a dinner at her house, and Ophelia and her husband were also invited. We three authors and our spouses seemed to hit it off. We have all gotten together many times over the past few years.
So, on a beautiful late-summer day in 2014, we all met in Wisconsin to visit and investigate some paranormal places, including a Native American burial ground. After a full day of exploring, we visited a small town for something to eat.
They had a dish on the desserts menu called “Fat Elvis” Ice Cream – made with banana ice cream, peanut-butter and chocolate. All but one of our group indulged in the Fat Elvis treat.
I’m pretty sure it was Ophelia who originally referred to our group as the “Fat Elvis” group, and we’ve been calling ourselves that ever since.
At a recent Fat Elvis get-together, Ophelia had the idea of the three authors in our group putting out a book together. We didn’t know what to call it, but we knew we had to include some creepy stories regarding the paranormal.
Back in 2015, Terri and Ophelia and I all contributed stories to an anthology titled Lyrical Darkness, which included stories from ten different authors. But this time, we wanted to limit the book just to us three, which is what we did.
We all spent the spring and summer of 2019 writing and editing our stories. We found a cover image we all liked, but still had no title. I heard Simon and Garfunkel’s Sound of Silence on the radio, and noted the line “because a vision softly creeping… and I wondered if Softly Creeping would work for a title. I passed the idea to Terri and Ophelia, and the title stuck.
The new book, Softly Creeping is subtitled “A Modern Collection of Penny Dreadfuls” because we all liked the concept of the old Penny Dreadful stories published in the UK in the nineteenth century that sold for a penny each.
Softly Creeping is now available on Amazon and other sources in both eBook and paperback formats. I hope you will take a moment and check out the book, and hope even more that you will read and enjoy it. And of course, if you get that far, I know you will leave a review to help other readers find the book as well.
A couple of years ago, I was listening to 70’s songs on satellite radio. I was paying more attention to the lyrics than I normally did, and realized that the lyrics of many of those songs told some interesting stories.
Being a writer, I’m all about the stories. I was rather amazed that some lyrics tell an entire story in just a 3 or 4 minute song. Writing that tightly requires a lot of skill, but also forced the writer to leave out a LOT of details… and I became interested in those details.
As a music fan, I had heard these lyrics perhaps hundreds of times, but I had never thought about those missing story details. Songs like The Hotel California told intriguing stories, but I wanted a bit more. I wanted to know about the mysterious woman at the Hotel California, and what kind of beast could not be killed by stabbing it with their steely knives. So I explored some ideas, and wrote them in a novelette titled The Hotel California where I expanded on the basic story and filled in many of those mysterious details.
Then I invited some of my writer friends to explore the themes behind some of their favorite story-songs, and what they came up with was amazing. Some fleshed out the bare-bones stories told in the lyrics, offering the reader the gritty details they lacked. Others wrote sequels or prequels to the stories told in the lyrics, giving them an entirely new dimension . Some used the song lyrics as a background theme to create completely unique stories.
The resulting stories were gathered and edited and put into a single volume titled Lyrical Darkness.
Putting this book together has been both challenging and rewarding. The authors involved have amazed me with their creativity and writing skills, and I have enjoyed reading their takes on some classic song lyrics.
Lyrical Darkness was published in June of 2015 and is available exclusively at Amazon in both print and Kindle versions.
So check it out, and see if you are not pleasantly surprised by some of the stories you thought you knew so well.
Watch Full Movie Online Streaming Online and DownloadWatch movie online The Transporter Refueled (2015)
Watch Full Movie Online Streaming Online and DownloadWatch movie online The Transporter Refueled (2015)
Watch Full Movie Online Streaming Online and DownloadWatch movie online The Transporter Refueled (2015)
A new anthology titled “Lyrical Darkness” is now available on Amazon in both Kindle and print versions.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1514373165
Inside, you will find 11 dark fiction stories inspired by the lyrics to popular songs. Songs like Maggie Mae, Satisfaction, The Hotel California, Angie Baby and several other are included.
I have 2 stories in this collection. Swamp Witch is one that I wrote just for this anthology, and I also included The Hotel California which was previously published, but now available in print for the first time thanks to this title.
I have read all of the stories in this book, and I’m happy to say I loved them all. Ten different authors bring you their literary visions provoked by their favorite song lyrics to create a chilling read you will not soon forget.
Lyrical Darkness brings your favorite tunes to life in a way you have never experienced them before. I hope you will look up this title and take a look. I’m confident that any fan of dark fiction will be happy to have found it.
Writing is a single-player sport for the most part. A game one plays with oneself, where words replace a ball or chess piece, and single game can last for months or years. Near the end of the game, others may get involved and lend some specialized expertise, but for the most part, its a lonely sport.
I was recently tagged in a blog post by the fabulous writer and friend, Terri Reid. Terri is the author of the Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mystery series, along with some Fantasy and other genres worked into her bibliography. Check out her Amazon Author Page as well as her Website and Blog to find out more about Terri’s books. You’ll be glad you did.
I get to see Terri face-to-face on occasion, and always enjoy her energy and creativity. Her friendship and wisdom have had an impact on me, and I am so appreciative…
The idea of this “author tagging” is to have an author some basic questions about their work, give a shout-out to the “tagging” author, and invite yet others on the downstream side to participate. I was supposed to tag 3 other authors, but I’ve had 3 “thirds” now, and in each case, participation didn’t work out for one reason or another. So I hereby authorize one of those downstream authors to tag a 4th… You have my permission.
what are you working on right now?
I’m currently working on a thriller with a working title called Delaney’s Cure. In this story, a cellular biologist discovers a breakthrough in veterinary vaccines. He creates a genetically modied virus for his testing, which is released into the environment, infecting a large number of dogs.
But this story is not about the science, it’s about dogs. It’s about what happens when the dogs in an isolated community turn viscious and begin attacking – and killing – the people who love them.
So Delaney’s Cure is about dogs – both demonic and heroic, and how one small town is driven to fear their family pets, and the steps they take to protect those that are not yet infected by this man-made sickness.
How do your stories differ from others in its genre?
I try my best to write “reasonable person” characters, which to me adds realism to the stories. For me as a reader, I am put off by characters who do not act as a reasonable person for sake of the story.
Now, I write horror and fantasy – so I don’t mind putting characters in unusual places or circumstances – in fact, that’s what I love to do. However, I want those characters to behave as a reasonable person would given the situation. Reasonable people don’t open doors to rooms where they think monsters lurk. They don’t attack a mob of 20 people with guns when all they have is a slingshot.
So keeping people real is what drives realism – not creating a realistic world or setting to put them in.
Why do you write what you do?
I’m sure the common answer is that writers write what they love to read. For me, that’s true. However, I like to write about topics that you don’t see in the news everyday, which leads me down the path of the paranormal or supernatural. I love being scared by a story, and my goal is to scare others with similar preferences. I don’t like gory, bloody splatter stories, but tight stories where the tension is palpable is what I seek. I also try to keep the story moving, and don’t tend to drag out subplots unless absolutely necessary. I want a story to read like a movie in the readers mind.
How does the writing process work?
Typically, by the time I get to writing a story, it’s been brewing in my head for months or even years. When I have idle time, like driving or waiting in line – I’ll be working out plots and scenes in my head. I must have a pretty good memory for this stuff, because this is what works for me.
When it comes time to write it down, I just jump right in. I’ve tried outlines, but find that as the details of the story emerge, it changes the direction the story might go, so outlines are largely abandoned – and therefore a waste of time. I will sometimes write scenes out of order, and sometimes I will move a scene to a different part of the book, depending on what makes the most sense for the story.
Then edit, and edit again, and then edit some more…
First on my list of “tagees” is Niki Danforth, author of “Stunner” – a Ronnie Lake mystery.
I’ve known Niki for over a year now, and we’ve had countless email discussions and several phone conversations – which saves a lot of keystrokes that we can both save for our next book! Niki is a class act, and her work shows it. Have a look at Niki’s website and blog, and you can find her book on Amazon as well as other retailers. Niki does everything full-out, and Stunner shows it.
Jannifer Powelson is another writer friend and author that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting face-to-face as well. Jan is a principle at Progressive Rising Phoenix Press, and we have worked on a number of projects together. She has written a series of children’s books that are absolutely adorable and well done. The subject is nature and conservation, and the stories and incredible artwork make her “Rachel and Sammy” series a wonderful introduction to these topics for kids. Jan has also written an adult mystery novel titled “When Nature Calls” and also follows the Nature and Conservation theme. Her titles are available at Amazon and and other book retailers. Visit her website and Amazon Author Page to learn more. You can also check out Progressive Rising Phoenix Press to learn what Jan is doing over there.
I’ve just taken a big step with my writing – one that I had been trying to avoid for a long time.
The step wasn’t in the act of writing itself, but in how I try to reach readers with my writing. The act of doing my best to find that audience and deliver my work to them. For the past several years, I have made my eBooks available on every viable platform out there. I went through a lot of effort to make sure that my eBooks could be found anywhere a potential reader was looking for them.
But that just changed. I have now taken all of my eBooks down from those other sites, and they are now only available at Amazon in eBook and print versions. This was a move that I struggled with for a long time, but in the end, there was really no other alternative.
In my mind, every business needs a competitor. The old saying is that “competition keeps everyone honest.” That makes complete sense to me. Having a single supplier is a risky move in business. What if something happens and the supplier can’t deliver? What if the supplier increases pricing over time? The only way you would know that is to get a competitive quote.
However, it seems to me that eBook retailers are not watching what Amazon does and trying to duplicate it, it seems they only want to complain about Amazon. I was truly hoping that B&N and Kobo and Apple would individually see how Amazon continues to take marketshare, and then try to mount a competitive response.
But that has not happened. The others just continuously pump the bestseller list, throwing out adds for the big-name authors and the books that are coming out as movies. They are not marketing what readers want, but what they want to sell. And that game is getting harder and harder.
None of the other eBook retailers came up with a single innovative marketing plan to help authors and publishers reach target readers. Amazon has, and it looks like it’s working.
Many of my writer friends and clients have been moving to Amazon Exclusivity through the KDP Select program, and giving up on the other retailers. They had been telling me that they sell far more books on Amazon than anywhere else, so gaining the tools that Amazon provides with exclusivity – Like KDP Select, paid Library Lending, The Matchbook Program, free promo days and Amazon’s intelligent marketing was much more appealing than having the other retailers who did basically nothing and sold basically nothing.
So I’m all in at Amazon, have run a very successful promotion through KDP Select and am selling more eBooks as a result. And it looks like a trend that is gaining momentum among Indie Authors and Publishers, and the result will be a one-retailer eBook marketplace unless the other retailers wake up and see what is happening and try to compete.
The Ripper Trilogy
For the many thousands of readers who have read Ripper’s Row for free and would like to continue reading the story of Jack the Ripper as he battles the vampires who have killed his true love, you can now get all 3 books in one volume – The Ripper Trilogy – on Amazon, in Kindle and paperback editions.
The Ripper Trilogy contains the complete texts of Ripper’s Row, Ripper’s Revenge and Ripper’s Wrath.
Many thanks to all of you who have made this series of books so successful. Both Shawn Weaver and I appreciate all of the comments regarding the books, and will be working to create other books that you will enjoy.
Thanks again for reading!
~Donnie
I recently saw the movie, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” and was impressed with about every aspect of the movie.
The movie is based on a novel by the same title, written by Seth Grahame-Smith, who also wrote the screenplay for the movie version.
The premise of the movie is that early in young Abe’s life, he has an encounter with a vampire that leads to the death of a loved one. From that day forward, Abe is determined to destroy the vampire responsible for the death which leads him to encounter a number of vampires along the way.
As I watched the movie, I could not help to draw some parallels between Grahme-Smith’s story and the “Jack the Ripper” series that I co-wrote with author Shawn Weaver.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was first published early in 2010, and our “Ripper’s Row” was first published in October of the same year with the sequel, “Ripper’s Revenge” published in 2011.
Of course Grahame-Smith took one of America’s most beloved historical figures and showed us all a dark side of Abe, where the 16th President of the United States secretely hunts vampires. Weaver and I took one of the most infamous characters of all time – Jack the Ripper – and told a story that shows the good side of Jack and why the famous murders took place.
Like Abe, our Jack is bent on vengeance for the death of a loved one killed by vampires. The two stories take place the late 1800’s, so much of the background settings are similar as related to transportation and the state of technology.
In AL:VH, Abe had grown up with an axe in his hands, and the axe becomes his weapon of choice for vampire hunting, and he weilds it with the grace of a dancer and the skills of a ninja. Our Jack is good with blades – knives and razors – and uses them just as effectively. In fact, Abe has a specially-modified axe with a hidden gun barrel in the handle. Our Jack has specially designed blades that are hidden up his sleeves abd can be deployed at will.
Of Course AL:VH takes place in America. Ripper’s Row takes place in London, and the sequel, Ripper’s Revenge moves Jack to America in pursuit of his adversary. Both Abe and Jack have mentors who taught them about vampires, and are with them throughout the story. Both Abe and Jack are absolutely determined to fulfill their missions, although each would rather have never known about vampires in the first place.
One of my favorite scenes in AL:VH is a battle with vampires aboard a moving steam train – close quarters vampire fighting at it’s best. In book three of our Jack the Ripper series, (in the final draft) Jack also encounters multiple vampires aboard a moving steam train, and has a tremendous battle both on top and inside the moving traincars.
So while there are many similarities in the stories in AL:VH and our Jack the Ripper series, they are an equal number of differences between them. I look forward to reading AL:VH now that I’ve seen the movie, and I believe that any fans of AL:VH would also find “Ripper’s Row” and “Ripper’s Revenge” an interesting read.
The story started in Ripper’s Row will be finished in Book Three (as of yet untitled), and Ripper’s Row is currently FREE as an eBook on Amazon and other eBook retailers. “Ripper’s Revenge” is currently priced at $2.99 and available at Amazon, B&N.com and numerous other eBook retailers.
I hope all of you “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” fans will take a look at Ripper’s Row and Ripper’s Revenge – you may be happy that you did.
~Donnie
I'd love to tell you a ghost story...
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