The Charity Blog
I’ve got a new book out this week, which means two things:
1. Yay, new book! Happy birthday, ISLE OF NIGHT!
2. I’ve been blogging, and interviewing, and Q-ing and A-ing my little heart out.
You’re catching me at the tail end of my publicity blitz, wherein I’ve been asked everything from the nature of horror (my book has vampires, and not the sparkly kind…mine are of the ruthless, bloodthirsty sort), to childhood abuse (my heroine suffered at the hands of her father, sending her careening straight to rock-bottom, which is how she ended up with those vampires), to vanilla vs. chocolate (vanilla in a photo-finish, unless it involves sea salt, in which case, chocolate all the way).
So, yeah, I’ve written lots of blogs in the past month, which has me a teensy bit burned out. But I really, really wanted to stop by and blog with the Pens too, because, seriously, I love these women. And not just in a SQUEE OMG AIR KISS kind of way. In a real, honest-to-goodness, admiring sorta way.
So, when Lisa got in touch, I had to say yes. Our exchange went a little something like this:
Lisa: Wanna come be a guest on the Pens? You could do an ISLE OF NIGHT launch post.
V: (beaming, feeling thankful and honored) Fun! Thanks! I’d be honored!
Lisa: Great! The topic of the week is Charity.
(Shoulders sag.) How on earth do I tie vampires to Charity?
I racked my brain and came up with Weak Idea #1, something along the lines of…if my heroine could’ve relied on some sort of safety net (i.e. charity!), then maybe she wouldn’t have ended up on an airplane bound for the Isle of Night, where a coven of ancient vampires recruits young women to become Watchers, an elite group trained as agents, ambassadors, and sometimes assassins for them.
Meh. Boooring.
Time to bring out the big guns. At that point, I did what any smart person would do and asked Martha. (Because Martha knows, like, everything.)
V: So next week’s theme is charity. What should I blog about? (Cue me, wearing a pleasantly optimistic expression, waiting for Martha’s trademark wisdom to blow me away.)
Martha: You could do something clever and funny, like make up a vampire charity.
V: That does sound clever and funny! (Thinks a moment. Realizes how hard that sounds.) But I cannnn’t. (Hopefully I didn’t whine that last part too much, but only Martha could say for sure.)
Here’s where the panic set in. And with panic came the ludicrous, the ridiculous. I thought…I could look “charity” up in the dictionary and link the definition to my book in a witty, thoughtful way!
Nah. Too much of a stretch.
Or, I could refer to the lesser-used definition, which is mercy, which is something the vampires on my island don’t show. Particularly when they make the recruits compete against each other…and failure means death.
Not quite.
Or—ooh!—I got it…I could take the word c-h-a-r-i-t-y and write some pithy thing for each letter!!
Cue big shoulder slump, realizing that, when panicked, apparently I resort to that part of my brain best suited to fourth-grade homework problem solving.
Really nervous now, I decide to do what I always do when I hit this point. I consult with my critique partner, Kate Perry. Kate is a Kung Fu Master—like, literally, a full-on, red-sashed Kung Fu Master, whom you can see in action as the body double in my awesome
book trailer (because remember, this is still about me promoting my new book, ISLE OF NIGHT—in stores now!) Anyway, Kate is very calm and always has sage advice.
V: I have to do a blog about charity and I need help I don’t know what to blog about tell me what to do and how on earth do I link charity back to vampires?? (Do you hear the panic in my voice?)
Kate: Charity? That makes me think of Chaz Bono.
(This does nothing to ease my panic. Doesn’t she see how urgent this issue is?)
V: That’s Chastity. My topic is charity.
Kate: Hm. Interesting.
V: Well?
(The panic is intensifying now.)
Kate: Just do an interview-style post like the ones I do.
A-ha!! The author shouts in triumph! High-fives self! Thank you, Kate! An interview-style blog it is.
Only, hell, I just noticed…I’m closing in on 800 words, which is getting to be too long for your average blog post (since, as you can see, I’ve become something of a pro at these by now), which means it’s time to wrap it up.
So, to sum, this was a blog about Charity.
Also, I’d love it if you checked out my new book, ISLE OF NIGHT.
And hey, I’d be thrilled to send today’s winner a signed copy…which some might call downright charitable.
