Today I welcome Guy Ogan to my blog with his Paranormal-Romance IMMORTAL RELATIONS series. First Guy, tell us a little about yourself and your writing by answering some questions.
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How did you get started writing? I’ve always been involved in some aspect of writing. In my youth I ran in long distance events (10 to 26 miles) and submitted articles about the races to magazines such as “The Long-Distance Log” and of course there were always writing assignments in school. As I got older, my interest in hot-rods and custom cars, trucks and motorcycles resulted in my writing articles about car shows which I submitted to “Cruisin’ Style Magazine”(see pictures of my cars). In the military I did a lot of procedural writing, helping others perform their duties.
What genre(s) do you write in and why? I now write for fun and include a lot of things I believe in and have learned during a rather full life. I find that the Paranormal genre’ provides me the greatest freedom of expression; however, since there is what I call “explicit togetherness” (sex) in the stories (especially in the first book). One of the editors told me that my stories fit best into the classification of “Paranormal-Romance.”
Tell us about your current series. What started me writing the series was finding out that my late father had had a tryst at the end of WW-II when he was assigned to assist Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic) as it tried to form a new government after the Nazis were driven out. In the first book my alter-ego goes to Prague to find where the picture he found of his father (shown on page two of the first book) was taken. There he meets a beautiful, if mysterious, younger lady who knows far more about his late father than seems possible. Things get “interesting” from that point as Gary falls in love with her, even though he realizes she is much more than meets the eye.
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What inspired your latest book? When I joined the military, I took an oath “To uphold and defend the Constitution against all enemies, both foreign and domestic.” I believe our Constitution and Bill of Rights are currently being systematically attacked. This premise is what causes my good, loyal vampires to form a new coven in Southern Canada to monitor what is going on…they don’t wish to see America go the way Germany went in 1933.
What is your favorite part of writing? Communing, if you will, with my characters as I write their story (that is how writing seems to me). The story comes to me in a flood of words as if my characters are telling me what they have done or are planning to do. I have to type very fast to keep up! (-;
What is your least favorite part of writing? I’d be surprised if any Indie author says anything other than “Trying to interest readers in their works!” Getting the word out about my series is very difficult, regardless of how unique and interesting I believe the stories are. There are two exceptions, I find Blogging to be enjoyable and really have a lot of fun flanked at book signings by a pair of friends (authors who each write in a different genre’).
What is your next project and when will it be released? I’m stepping away from the Paranormal to write a fictional work about time-travel back to the prehistoric era of dinosaurs. My seven year old granddaughter LOVES dinosaurs so I’m writing a book where she, I and a paleontologist friend of mine construct a time-machine that takes us on a tour of every period of early animal development, from the Cambrian Period (about 540 million years ago) through the ages of dinosaurs to the extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period (around 66 million years ago). There may be a small “excursion” into the Pleistocene Epoch to see later animals such as Smilodon (aka: Saber-toothed Tiger). I’m not sure if this will be “published” or not…it depends upon how interesting the story that goes along with the details about the dinosaurs themselves. I feel confident that there will be plenty of running and screaming involved with visiting dinosaurs and saber-toothed tigers…I’ll just have to decide if the finished work is worth the effort to do more than give a draft copy to my little granddaughter Lily! (-;
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How much time do you spend promoting your books and what works best? I feel I spend far too much time on social media each day, which cuts deeply into my writing! As far as what seems to work best, Hasting’s Bookstores often take local Indie author’s books on consignment and set up book signings at their locations. I’ve done well selling books at these events and enjoy immensely talking with visitors to the events about any topic that interests them.
Where do you get the ideas for your stories? I’m what they call a “pantser” (flying by the seat of my pants)! I sit at my computer and let the story come to me. I’m very much someone who “thinks outside the box” and my imagination is extremely well developed, so I have the opposite of what is called “writer’s block.” I’m flooded with ideas for storylines and must pick and choose what seems to work best.
What advice do you have for other authors wanting to self-publish? First, write what you’re interested in writing. It helps to be knowledgeable about the time or topic that fits the story; however, you should also do a fair amount of research as well. It is always helpful to have several friends read your draft and make helpful comments. If you can afford a professional editor who knows the genre well then use him or her after you’ve made your best effort to polish the work yourself. But don’t listen to those who say you’ll fail! If you have written the best story you can and you enjoy it, then I feel you haven’t failed – only that readers have failed to find your book(s) up to that point ( but don’t quit your day job). LOL
Guy’s first book in the series is titled, ” Immortal Relations” and he says the first two pages reveal what his father did at the end of WW-II, which Guy only found out about after the passing of his parents – this event is what caused Guy to start writing the series.
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EXCERPT from “Immortal Relations”
This pertains to something I feel very strongly and get emotional about. I believe dogs are God’s gift to mankind to teach us about unconditional love and loyalty; they deserve both our love and loyalty in return. My first book is dedicated to a no-kill shelter for bully breed dogs – unlike the common belief, I found these dogs to be both gentle and loving even after being abused by cruel humans.
We continued to monitor the screens, but nothing else happened until about 9 p.m. when I saw a large man chasing a little dog down a side street. He carried what looked like a rusty old pipe. Fearing he’d kill the dog, I asked Evy if we could do anything? She said they’d never responded to help an animal… I felt that I had to do something to help the dog and asked where that street was.
“Four streets to the north and about a mile to the east,” she said.
My love for little animals hadn’t abated any by becoming a vampire, and I said I needed to do something to help that dog.
Maggie said she’d go with me. It was dark and a weeknight, so little traffic and no pedestrians were out. I ran the mile without stopping to confront the man. I moved so fast, no human could see me. As I flew by the man, I tapped the end of the iron pipe, causing it to fly out of his hand and I caught the pipe as I continued on. This occurred so fast, his brain couldn’t register what had happened; he slowed and looked at his hands and then stopped to turn around, looking behind him for the pipe he must have dropped. By this time, I’d stopped in the shadows under some trees a mile farther down and simply crushed the old iron pipe into dust.
It was then that Maggie found me. “I’ve never seen anyone run that fast. You didn’t run that fast at the quarry… how could you run so much faster now?”
I looked at her and said, “I was running for fun at the quarry, but just now, I had to save that little dog. I just can’t stand to see a small animal hurt or killed.”
She hugged and kissed me, “I think you are One Of the most softhearted people, let alone vampires, that ever existed.”
I shrugged, “I wish it were this easy to save all the unwanted animals; in America, they kill many thousands of dogs and cats each day, just because no one wants them.” It always broke my heart to even think about such a thing.
Buy Link: http://amzn.com/B006ZCBT6G I’ve lowered the price on all three books to $.99 each
The second book in Guy’s series is, “Immortal Relations, Love and War” and Guy describes it as “Action on Steroids.” He says, “If someone believes they wouldn’t like a Paranormal-Romance because of the ‘romance’ in such a book, this one will change their minds if they like a lot of action.”
EXCERPT from “Immortal Relations, Love and War”
It was a short flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg. There our party was met by two limousines and whisked along to the historic Hermitage Museum. Arriving, it looked to me like the whole world was there. I didn’t know why President Kolukov had asked me to wear the Russian General Uniform he gave me, but I wanted to humor my good friend. We exited the limousine onto a red velvet carpet that had wide gold piping down each side and which looked to be almost 400 meters long. I thought it odd that President Kolukov had me stand to his left and next to him, when Stephan was senior In rank to my uniform. When we got to the head of the carpet, we turned. Stephan and Adam moving behind us, I looked up and turning the corner onto the same red carpet we had just traveled was someone I would recognize anywhere, under any circumstances. It was Magdalena, on the arm of Roger, Our doctor. At first I was confused, but when I saw the dress she wore, an exact copy of her hand made blue dress, only in brilliant white and then heard the music, I realized what was happening; Magdalena and I were getting married! My friends had somehow arranged all this without even a hint that I picked up on. I had already glanced at some of those on either side of the isle and thought I recognized some political figures from various countries.
As Magdalena was escorted slowly forward, I was unable to look anywhere else; she was the only thing that existed in my universe. When she got close, I noticed she had a ribbon with a gold star hanging from it pinned over her left breast. I’d seen a similar medal, back when it was called “Hero of the Soviet Union,” but this one had the double eagle of the Russian Federation. Only an old “war horse” like me would notice that when the woman he loved stood in front of him!
An Eastern Orthodox Priest spoke the vows, translated Into English for. me. Magdalena didn’t need a translator as she spoke several languages, Russian being one of them. We both answered “I do” and “l will,” then I was asked to put the ring on Magdalena’s finger — I started to panic, but Kolukov stepped forward and handed me a ring. My eyes bulged when I looked at it as it must have been five carats of a Red Ruby mounted in Gold! He said it’s just a little bobble courtesy of the Russian people and the Hermitage. I placed it On the finger of my bride, we were officially married and we kissed. Maggie read my thought and on impulse we both turned and kissed Kolukov, each of us on a different side of his face. He broke out in loud laughter and said, “Everything has been taken care of for tonight, but the car will be there to pick you both up at 0900 tomorrow. That’s 9 am in case you’ve forgotten Gary.” He joked, as if I’d ever forget the 24 hour military clock.
The two of us shook hands with Stephan, Adam and Roger, and then we made a bee-line to the limo that pulled up nearby as the driver beckoned to us. I was too busy looking into the dark pools of eternity that were Maggie’s eyes! There were a million questions to ask on how they’d done all this and kept it a secret, but I didn’t Want to break the spell I was under, I wanted the spell to last forever (or at least until we had to board the aircraft tomorrow morning).
Buy Link: http://amzn.com/B00A4IEHL6 I’ve lowered the price on all three books to $.99 each
The third book in Guy’s Immortal Relations series is “Immortal Relations Coming Out.” After saving mankind from a nuclear war, terrorist acts and ecological disasters, the good vampires discuss “coming out” to humans. Letting them know that not all vampires are evil and that they really do exist. There is a lot of political intrigue in the story; however, in the following excerpt, Vlad Dracula explains how he became one of the original vampires (but is now a ‘reformed’ vampire).
EXCERPT from “Immortal Relations Coming Out”
“It was a very long time ago; we were fighting what you would call ‘an asymmetrical war’ against Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror and his Muslim invaders who outnumbered us at least three to one. I was looking for anything to slow them down. I guess you would say I used psychological warfare by building the ‘forest’ Of impaled enemy soldiers and others defeated in previous battles. While we had numerous successes against units of the enemy, we were unable to hold off so large an invading army. It was about this time I was changed into what I am today.
I was always in the front lines of battle and routinely soaked in blood. Perhaps that is what changed me into a vampire. One of my own Generals saw me surrounded by enemies and saw blood spurting up in the air. Thinking it was my blood he sent word that I’d been killed. My dear distraught wife threw herself from the heights of my Poenari Castle into the Arges River below.
Then my second cousin, Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, from whom I had sought help in prosecuting the war, imprisoned me, Locked away, I soon became crazed with the desire for blood I would have other-wise found on the battlefield. Many fellow prisoners died because of it and after my escape I was a plague on the land. It took all too long before I regained some sense of my lost humanity.”
With downcast eyes Vlad thought, That is where the myths, legends and stories about me started – I’m afraid I earned them all.
I reached over and patted him on the arm, “I’m sorry I brought up a topic that has induced clearly painful memories for you.”
Vlad smiled at me, “No, it is alright. If you haven’t heard the story before, I think you need to know the type of vampire you follow. I hope it won’t detract from our relationship.”
“Never fear of my continued admiration and respect for you. You were a great leader fighting to free your people from an oppressive invader. Since you had no one to guide you after you were changed, as a ‘newborn’ vampire you did what came naturally. However, it begs the question, how did you stop?”
“I married again and she helped me overcome the constant thirst, giving me some of her own blood, and lead me back to God.”
With tears in my eyes I thought, Women are clearly the superior gender, without them we men would be little better than wild beasts.
Buy Link: http://amzn.com/B00G5BQS18 I’ve lowered the price on all three books to $.99 each
Guy’s Bio (short version): Guy was born in Washington D.C., grew up in Arlington Virginia but completed High School and Junior College in Los Altos, California. He then transferred and graduated from TCU in Fort Worth, Texas, immediately joining the USAF as a 2nd Lt. serving a little over 20 years. While in the service, he completed a Master of Arts through Ball State’s European Campus and upon retirement he completed a Master of Education from Hardin-Simmons in Abilene, Texas. He operated a clinic to evaluate and treat children, adolescents and adults suffering from A.D.D. before taking a job with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, writing treatment programs for inmates and later served as an Associate Clinical Psychologist doing inmate psychological assessments. Now Guy enjoys writing and loves to read, especially novels by other Indie authors, always leaving helpful and positive reviews! Guy also enjoys a pair of customized 60s era cars and a late model Roush Mustang.
More about the Immortal Relations series can be found on my Blog site: http://immortalrelations.blogspot.com/