Proof Vampires Are Real

A few days ago, I read an article in Ars Technica about some archeologists who discovered the burial of a 10 yr old child in a 5th century Roman site in Italy. The child was buried with a rock in its mouth. This practice was done to keep the body from rising from the grave. It is believed the child died from malaria and the rock was to prevent the child from returning and spreading the disease.

picture by David Picked of Stanford University

The locals are calling this corpse the Vampire of Lugnano and is believed to be one of the more unusual preventatives to a body from rising and wreaking havoc like spreading disease to the living. It goes to the belief that vampires must be, might be, could have been, were believed to be, REAL.

I’ve studied this belief of, and in, vampires for over forty years and in every major civilization in every continent around the world. The legend of the vampire, or some version thereof, is deeply seeded in every culture with stories and legends, and makes one wonder if so many believed, why is the possibility of real vampirism also dismissed as a lie?

From the Ars article: QUOTE: Pretty much every culture on Earth has some version of a vampire (or proto-vampire) myth. Chinese folklore has the Jiang shi, [corrected] which are reanimated corpses that rise from the grave to prey on the living; one type has sharp fangs, the better to bite into the neck of said prey. Russian, Albanian, Indian, and Greek folklore have similar undead monsters. Russian villagers in the Middle Ages often drove stakes into the bodies of suspected vampires upon burial to keep them from rising again. UNQUOTE

Again, if so much is believed, then there must be some truth just out of reach. Other cemeteries have odd practices, and it is believed that the Romans even used witchcraft to spell the evil to stay within the bodies. However, burials with stones in the mouth is very eerie and uncommon and drew a great deal of attention to this excavation.

There was a previous discovery of a burial where a 16th century Italian woman was buried with a brick in her mouth. She was discovered in 2009 and the discoverers named her the Vampire of Venice. (Photo courtesy of National Geographic Television)

Archeologists learn a great deal about a civilization’s culture from the way they bury their dead. The dead do not bury themselves, therefore, how a people perceive death and the possibilities of what happens after death, are telling in these discoveries.

Again, I have to ask, with so many cultures afraid of the chance of rising from the grave, of a chance that vampires may be near, why are we so quick to scoff at such a fear?

VIVISEPULTURE

You know the English used to bury their dead with a rope in the coffin tied to a bell up above. If you woke and proved you weren’t dead, you pulled the rope and it rang the bell above. Truth was there weren’t any documented cased who were saved from suffocation in their coffins. But some of those buried rose without ever ringing the bell and families have told tales. And they were never found again. Thus buried alive, vivisepulture, was the precursor to vampirism. Embalming seemed to correct this problem. Still, families did dig up their family members to check to see if they were truly dead. Many did not go back into the ground. Why not?

Picture of Safety Cross, courtesy of Kimberly Bannister

I believe Vampires are real. There are too many cultures afraid to be less than the truth. 

If you are a writer and you want to give new life to a tired trope like the vampire, consider the realities of a culture and their long-held beliefs in superstitions. There is always a bit of truth in every legend. Find it and give new life to your stories. Every day there are new discoveries that give a twist to the vampire mythos. Make use of them, be inventive, surprise us. History certainly does, so why not you?

New life. Like the vampires. A Legend that will not die because they don’t.

Something to think about late at night. Perhaps while you write. Or read. Listen for the bells.

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Yours Between the Lines,

Sherry

Aren’t You Tired?

I’m tired! Time to rant and this is personal to writers everywhere. I’ve reached a limit.

I’m tired of trying to share, explain, convince, persuade, extoll, proclaim and define my worth, abilities, writing, sales, lack of sales, reasons to try, results of failures, reasons for awards or success, writing, re-writing…

I’m just tired. I’m tired of hypocrites, two-faced friends, lazy writers, mouthy writers, backstabbers, whiners, hyperbole, deriders, dividers, promise-breakers, cheaters and pseudo friends.
I think I’m having a day when my cup overfloweth with ENOUGH.

Look. I’m a writer. I have my foibles and my strengths. Some days I’m strong and capable and flourishing while other days I’m useless, struggling, and cranky. Some days I can’t stop writing. Some days I want to stop because it sucks but I keep on plodding through it. It still sucks, though. I’m not perfect but some days I write and say things that nearly are. Little golden moments. I like to be jubilant when those moments come. Please don’t play “put-you-down” on those rare times. I tend to dislike you when you do. I know you need to feel better about you and less about me when you do that, and its ugly of you.

I’m also human. And sensitive. I don’t like it when people assume that I never have a bad day. It would be nice to be asked how I’m doing. Sometimes I’m crappy, too. But if you really don’t care how I feel, please don’t ask me. You are the worst sort of person because I always answer with truth. If you don’t want to know, then move on. And don’t ask me how I am just so you can hurry up and tell me all about your trials and miseries.

Please don’t tell me you share my passion for writing if all you do is think about it or tell others what you plan to write. Planning is good. I plan. I outline. I research (sometimes too much). But sooner or later you have start writing. If you’re still talking about it years later, please don’t try to insinuate yourself into my world just because you need to “feel” like a writer. It’s okay if you don’t write. We can still hang out. But we’ll be more real with each other if we don’t pretend.

Writers/authors are told to surround ourselves with positive people. Well, not everyone is positive all the time. I understand bad days. I have compassion for “troubled times.” I understand long-term difficulties. But if you focus solely on the bad, you’ll send me away. If you focus only on you, you’ll send me away. Sometimes you have to step into the light so that others can help. Be positive even in the face of adversity and let others reach you. And don’t forget that others may have need of you to be uplifting too. Don’t forget to ask how someone else is doing. (Unless of course, you don’t care and then you are the person I’m speaking about here).

I’m tired. I don’t like playing games with people. I don’t like ulterior motives or playing “one-up-manship.” Every writer is different. Every writer walks a solitary path with individualized goals and expectations. I can’t do what you do and I don’t expect to see or feel the same success as you do, when you do. Mine is going to come in its own time and as I work for it. Magic does not happen without effort. You cannot achieve what I do and you shouldn’t try. I cannot do what you do and must not measure myself against you. Do your thing. I will support you. I will encourage you. I will help when and where I can. I expect the same from you in support, encouragement, understanding in return. When you don’t support in kind, it will tell me a great deal about you.

Please don’t be one of these writers that only wishes to speak about self, never has time to ask about me or others. Please don’t be so self-absorbed that you forget there are others out there with projects and stuff to share, too. Don’t care? Then don’t expect me to care about you!

How about you? Haven’t you had enough crap? Aren’t you tired?

Then stop enabling! Stop “putting up with” and start demanding better. The writer community can be a golden, helpful, learning place. Choke out the weeds. Burn off the rot. Seek higher ground. Breathe fresher air. Become energized by light. Shed everything that makes you tired. And anyone.

The thing that makes me the most tired? Those who are determined not to change, those who don’t try, and those who talk a good game, empty as it is.

I’m very tired. But I have the ability to change this. So do you. Here I go. No more crap, okay? All you people with your selfish, self-serving, senseless, useless, two-faced, compassionless, pointless, narcissistic usury, go elsewhere. We’re finished. I’m officially too tired to care for you.

As Yoda said, “Do or do not. There is no try.” Care or don’t. Write or don’t. But let’s stop playing and pretending. ‘Nuff said. Rant over.

Yours Between the Lines,

Sherry

Don’t Write and Self Publish A Book

I’ll bet that got your attention. Please don’t write and self-publish a book? This from a self-published author? Yup. In a world of self-publishing proliferation, I’m here to say you probably shouldn’t write a book, and I have a several reasons why not.

Lately, it seems everyone is into publishing their book. Ex-White House staffers, current and past Olympians, people in jail, people out of jail, famous, infamous, Hollywood stars, musicians, a rescuer, the rescued, the housewife who discovered how to budget, the lady who lost weight, the homeschooler who dabbles in poetry, the cute kid who made thousands selling lemonade. On and on, ad nauseum, it seems that people everywhere are jumping on the bandwagon to be known as a writer, and more specifically, an author. Many of these folks have the benefit of a large publishing house who expects to make money off their clients fame (even fleeting). This is especially true of people who live online.

Then there are “the others” — the lesser knowns probably more recognizable to the common masses like you and me. Check out the podcasts where the hosts are now writing books. Look at Facebook and Pinterest where people are deciding to turn their social life into books. Success and failure is making people decide to write. Had 15 minutes of fame? Self-publish a book. And the result is there are too many people diving into the publishing pool and most of the resulting books are terrible, making the entire pool feel cheap and stinky.

Yes, I went there and no, I’m not sorry.

There are lots of publishing companies (vanity and hybrids) waiting for you to pay for a publishing package and all you have to do is write the words. We’ll market and advertise and make you a “successful author,” they promise. Oh my, it’s too much to resist and the books are flying!

Problem is most of these self-published folks haven’t a clue about writing or how to write well. Most of these would-be writers don’t know what makes a good cover or what trends are passé or which ones are hot. Most novice authors haven’t build up a list of credits to their resume to bring weight to their upcoming “bestseller,” but they are certain all 17 of their family members will buy their book (only to discover that most of them expect a copy for free or else aren’t really interested).

Most author wanna-be’s think that they have a great idea for a cookbook and expect to write a Martha Stewart-esque in demand volume and make the bestseller list. Instead they publish a book with crappy pictures and their mom’s old recipes only to find there isn’t much of anything exceptional about their book and maybe they should have hired a photographer, a ghostwriter, and a taste tester.

There are some publishing companies that don’t care about your credits and promise to make you a star. All you have to do is agree to a contract and they will make your book shine with a slick cover and a professional interior. And they will edit your work too, give you some marketing, put your book in some book conferences and promote. All for a tidy fee of about $5-$10 thousand dollars. And before you gasp, you can get financing and ten copies of your book for friends. Look, the company will say, now you can promote yourself as an AUTHOR.

And so it happens. Another crappy 400 page, poorly written, edited by friends, with a cover showcasing a personal photo hits the Amazon self-publishing arena and muddies the water.

Yes, it irritates me but it makes me sad too.

I remember my long time desire to be an author. I didn’t think it would ever happen for me because I wasn’t a Stephen King or a Daphne du Maurier. But I studied the writing craft, I devoured books, I read “how to” and “how not to” books,  and I wrote and wrote and wrote. I tried publishing through regular channels. I sought an agent too. I was either off trend, too trendy, too inexperienced or too late. I finally self published in 2013 because this was a new possibility that didn’t exist when I first started! My first book came out in 2008. I was 54. I’ve been writing since I was five.

When a 22 year old publishes a book I can’t help but lift an eyebrow. There are few folks who are phenoms and publish brilliant works so young. Yes, there are some who succeed early and are wildly successful – V.E. Schwab comes to mind. She published at 24 and is now 31 and is a USA Today and NYT Bestselling author (and wow is she good). Most of us will never be her. And that is hard truth for many. But hope rises and young people, eager to get in the tide flow, jump in before they are experienced, seasoned, learned, practiced and oh…dear….I do wish they wouldn’t.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t be published or even that you must not if you are only 19 or 23. If you have stories to tell, write them. Enter story contests, seek out venues for your work, and along the way study your craft. If you feel this terrible burn to be published, then work it with small presses, newspapers, magazines, contests. If becoming an author is all you desire, then go with that passion and prepare for the realities of writing, specifically that you probably won’t be rich or famous. 

Why do you want to be an author? IF the reasons include because your friends are doing it, or because you’ll feel more important, then please don’t publish. If your reasons are because it will add to your professional resume or make you look smarter, then don’t do it. If publishing and being an author looks like exciting fun or because your mom thinks you should, please don’t! 

There is only one reason to write a book and self-publish. It won’t matter who else is doing a book. It won’t matter how many of your friends have published. It won’t matter if your boss did it or if your resume will seem empty without it. The only reason you need is that you have a story to tell and you NEED to share it.

And I know you will have studied how to write, you will understand that there is no free road to publishing, that there is trial and error and in the end, the likelihood is that you will never be on Good Morning America or sell 10,000 copies. (How I wish Oprah would read me!). 

But if you’ve studied, if you’ve researched, if you’ve found your way into trends, and have a good designer and formatter, if you’re prepared to work and sweat and cry and bleed. with an understanding that being an author isn’t all million dollar royalties and an easy life…then become an author because you are a writer and are compelled to write.

And nothing else matters. You are going to give the world the very best of you for no other reason than a desire to write the story.

Unless you do that, you should not write and self publish a book. And that’s the truth.

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Happy October! Fun things coming this month so stay tuned. What are you doing for Halloween? Be sure to drop me a note and let me know. This month we’ll look at some fun reads to celebrate the changing season.

Don’t forget my latest book, LOVE AND BLOOD, is now available. You might want to check it out if you want to be a part of the upcoming TRIVIA CONTEST.  More on that next time.

Until then…

I remain, Yours Between the Lines,

Sherry