Short Story - High Moon

      Hello and thank you for dropping by my blog today.

The video attached to this particular outing is of Yours Truly reading the short vampire story High Moon. This particular story has a very special place in my heart as it is the earliest of many shorts that I have written over the years. Back in 2011, I was working on The Casebook of Sam Spallucci and, one day, I felt like a bit of a break. I had recently been watching (for about the hundredth time) For A Few Dollars More, which still ranks as one of my favourite films, and I decided to sit down and whip out something similar but with, shall we say, teeth. High Moon was the result. 

Originally intended to be a stand-alone story of a Wild West vampire that was set in the past of Sam’s world, it was a story that stuck with me and I revisited it a year later when I started to play around with ideas for Sam’s fourth outing, Dark Justice. I realised that I had inadvertently created the titular character for Sam 4 in this story, even though I had, at the time of writing it, left him nameless. So, as Dark Justice started to percolate in my imagination, I created two more shorts (First Hunt - Then and Family) to act, with High Moon, as a trilogy prequel to the vampire novel surrounding the rogue vampire named Justice.

I hope you enjoy the story in all its glory here. If you want a hard copy for yourself you can find it in Oh Taste and See and my Children of Cain - A Vampire Omnibus. It is also available as a single short ebook story. 

Don’t forget to visit my website www.aschambers.co.uk for more details about my books. 

You can subscribe to my newsletter here for up-to-date details regarding all my writing and appearances.

You can check out my Patreon Book Club for advance screenings of my videos and free books.

Take care and keep looking out for what lurks in the shadows…

A.S.Chambers.

Spalluccipedia: Grace

      Hello and welcome to this little Spalluccipedia article, a quick dip into the world of Sam Spallucci.

This time around, I want to ramble on about Grace. Those of you familiar with my books will know that Grace Darling is a postgrad student at my fictional Luneside University and, to supplement her income, works as a barmaid at The Borough, Sam’s local in Dalton Square. She is a firm regular in Sam’s stories, appearing in every one so far (at the time of writing this, I have just finished the seventh book, Sam Spallucci: Fury of the Fallen). She is incredibly likeable, never seeing bad in people or, at least, keeping her thoughts to herself, and is a firm favourite with my readers.

 

It is quite apparent from the outset that the young woman has a severe crush on Sam, even though he is considerably older than her and, unlike everyone around him, is oblivious to her attentions. This was a really important factor for me when writing the stories. As I say in the video, many noir writers insert a feisty secretary or such to sex up the stories. I wanted to keep away from that trope and have a female character who was more normal. As such, Grace does a normal job and reacts as a normal person would to things that happen around her. She is not throwing herself at Sam but waiting patiently in the wings until the time is right for her to declare her feelings.

Unfortunately for poor Grace, when she feels the time is right in Dark Justice, Sam distances himself from her for her own protection, feeling that the circles in which he moves are far too dangerous for the young woman. Little does Sam realise that this action inadvertently pushes her into danger in Troubled Souls.

I think the thing that I like most about Grace is that she is completely non-judgemental. We see this in Ghosts From the Past when Sam’s ex, Caroline, is an utter bitch to her. Plus time and time again she encounters weird and wonderful folk who cross paths with Sam and she just accepts them. My favourite instance of this has to be in Fury of the Fallen when she encounters the fallen angel Asherah and the two just bond immediately, discussing tea, the ancient Levant and, when he’s not in earshot, Sam himself.

So, where is any possible relationship likely to head for Grace and Sam? Well, all I can really say right now is that way spoilers lie, so just watch this space.

Don’t forget to visit my website www.aschambers.co.uk for more details about my books. 

You can subscribe to my newsletter here for up-to-date details regarding all my writing and appearances.

You can check out my Patreon Book Club for advance screenings of my videos and free books.

Take care and keep looking out for what lurks in the shadows…

A.S.Chambers.

A.S.Chambers - May Roundup

 Good morning and welcome to what seems to be a rather damp start to May.

First, I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported my latest Kickstarter for Bobby Normal and the Children of Cain. The project reached its target in less than an hour, which is amazing. It’s just so great to see so many of you wonderful people eager to read the third outing for Bobby and his kid sister Katy as they journey through the Divergent Lands with three familiar figures from the modern-day stories of Sam Spallucci.

The Kickstarter has about six days left and there are still plenty of rewards available, including bundles which contain the first three books of the series, the vampire books Children of Cain and Songbird, plus one with The Casebook of Sam Spallucci. So something for everyone. You can have a look here.

Talking of Sam, two exciting pieces of news on that front! First, his next adventure, Sam Spallucci: Fury of the Fallen, is now complete! This, the seventh book in the series will be out this autumn and will see my beleaguered investigator of the paranormal recovering from the after-effects of Bloodline. He will have a new houseguest in the form of the Potency, the sociopathic rock from the beginning of time who manifests itself in the form of an eight-year-old girl, plus there will be an entanglement between our hero and the fallen angel Asherah who sweeps into his life as he tries to solve the mystery of some cursed books. 

Not only that, but I have just finished the formatting of the first Sam Spallucci: Omnibus. It’s a collection of the first three books: Casebook, Ghosts From The Past and Shadows of Lancaster. I am really excited about this one as it will be my first hardback and, not only that, but the cover art is all my own work, using photography of the gorgeous Ashton Memorial.

    Don’t forget to visit my website www.aschambers.co.uk for more details about my books. 

    You can subscribe to my newsletter here for up-to-date details regarding all my writing and appearances.

    You can check out my Patreon Book Club for advance screenings of my videos and free books.

So, that’s all for now.

Have a great May!

ASC.