Hearts on the Line- Is writing Still an Art?

   I read a very heart-rending blog post today, which I highly recommend to anyone at any point in the writing arena. Whether you are just thinking of writing a book someday or a full-blown published author, this blog post will do nothing less than enlighten you.

Go ahead and read it, and the one it refers to, then get back to me and read my own personal response to all the feelings they bring to the surface for me.

Go here: http://welcometotheasylum.net/2011/06/27/hemming-the-bone-veil/#comment-1510

 

First of all, this is some really deep stuff. I suppose I had a dream a long time ago when I was writing my first book, not knowing a damn thing about the reality of the publishing clockworks. After I was published by a small publishing house- no advance, no marketing help, no tours or publicity- the previous naivete dropped away and I was left with the knowing that this is just another business. The art of it is quickly stripped away when an author transfers themselves from the art of the writing to the business of marketing; becoming, instead of an artist, a salesperson of sorts. I’ve spent way more time trying to hawk my four books than I have on doing what I felt born to do: write great stories. And as time goes by and I find I am a small fish in a big pond of bigger and better storytellers, the love I once had for the art has become so jaded that I now find it hard to write at all. After all, I have shared my very soul with this world; put my heart out there where it was judged just not good enough. That’s enough, I’d say, to have reason to put up a thousand veils. I just ain’t the sales type. But, hey, I still love every bit of what I’ve put down on paper. And I have to believe, nay KNOW, that that is enough. Because in the end, that’s where the only real happiness lies.

 

Some Backstory on Me

I’ve been writing for what seems like forever. My mom taught me to read even before I started kindergarten, so I was highly praised in school for my awesome talent! My mother also read a lot, which made me want to read a lot, too. So I read and I read and I read. Finally, somewhere along the way, I started getting this little feeling inside me saying, “I bet I could write better than that.”

Since my self-esteem wasn’t too great it took me many years before I actually wrote something big: a play titled Angel in the House. It was for a women’s lit. class, and was highly acclaimed by the teacher and my fellow students. I got such a rush from writing down all this stuff that I had made up in my head that I wrote a novella titled Native Vengeance. I wanted to start small so I could see what it took to get a large number of words all together in one place. It worked! So I decided to write an entire novel this time, titled Quantum Earth.

I felt so ‘in the zone’ while writing. It was a high like no other! The next step was finding someone to publish my book. That took almost as long as writing the darned thing! But at long last, I ended up with two different publishers wanting it. I made that hard choice and waited for the revision process. My manuscript went back and forth between my editor and me a few times till we got it right. I was so thrilled at this point I could barely eat!

Of course the boom hit when I found out about the marketing aspect of writing a book. I did a crash course on marketing online, trying to figure out the best way to get my book and my name out there to the reading public. I won’t go into much detail as I’m sure you all know by now how much work and a pain in the arse all that is. And all that work seemed like it was for nothing because almost nobody was buying my book no matter what I did.

Nevertheless, the following year I had my second book, Deadly Lucidity, published. But, alas, nobody was buying much of them either. I consulted a book marketing pro, willing to pay him if I had to so I could just sell a few more books. I was surprised when he told me I didn’t need his services as I was doing everything possible, and it was just a matter of time before my books caught on. Very interesting, I thought.

Then I made friends with someone who was self-publishing his own books, and edified me on why self-publishing is really so much better for a writer than traditional for so many reasons. I was convinced. I published Earthwalker and Native Vengeance within a week. I was very happy with self-publishing for a lot of reasons, like having control of my own work, getting paid WAY more for each paper and e-book sold, having all the information about each sale and who bought it, etc. So I went to my publisher and asked for the rights to my first two books so I could publish those, too. I published Quantum Earth in January, and will publish Deadly Lucidity sometime in the fall.

These days I have what I think is a dynamite idea for a new book: a young reporter is assigned to do a story about the latest drug craze that is raging like wildfire across the U.S. To do the story justice she decides to experiment by taking this drug herself, the effects of which are mind traveling to other dimensions. I don’t have a title as of yet, but I’m pretty excited about starting to get it down on paper. So what’s stopping me you may ask? I have to kick some ideas around in my head a bit more before it is solidified enough to warrant actual pen and paper. Ya see, as most of you may know already, writing a whole gosh darn book is a huge commitment not to be taken lightly. You best be sure you have enough words to last the whole way through!

99 Cent Book Deal

Only a few days left to get my books for 99 cents from Smashwords, then they go back up to $2.99 again! Just search my name and it’ll lead you to my books.

My Books Available For A Limited Time For $.99!!!

That’s right, folks. You can now read Quantum Earth, Deadly Lucidity, Native Vengeance, and Earthwalker- Earth can be Hell for a VAMPIRE in e-book form for only 99 cents!

Just go to: https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=julie+achterhoff and you can get some good books for a good price.

Visiting Troy Lambert

Please visit Troy Lambert’s website where you’ll find some cool stuff from me as well as Troy’s awesome other information.

http://www.troylambertwrites.com

Review of Earthwalker

Mar 06, 2011

Neil Leckman rated it

I enjoyed this book for several reasons, first and foremost would be the writing itself. If a book isn’t well written I’m falling away after the first two pages. Julie takes you for a ride that always surprises you, and leaves you wanting more. It is a vampire tale with more going for it than just a nice bite!!!

The First Three Chapters of Earthwalker- Earth can be Hell for a VAMPIRE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would like to dedicate this book to my wonderful children, without whose support I couldn’t have done this. They are the light of my life. I would also like to dedicate it to my forever love, Ron. He gave me the space and love I needed to complete this project. He is always there for me. He is my rock.

 

I would like to acknowledge my dear friend and mentor, Mian Mohsin Zia, who gave me the opportunity to spread my wings and fly to new heights with this work. He has taught me what a good friend really is.

 

Earthwalker

 

Chapter One

After walking down to the water’s edge, Willa cupped her hand in the fast flowing water to get a drink. Since she was at the headwaters of the Sacramento River, she felt it was safe enough to drink without her filtering water bottle. She stood up and looked around her. This was a truly pristine area she had chosen for a backpacking trip. It was early spring, and there was a light sprinkling of snow on the ground, but the weather forecast called for warm temperatures, possibly even hitting the 60s the next day. The trees around her already had tiny buds on them, ready to shoot out new growth. The grassy field she had just passed had hundreds of tiny wildflowers in bloom.

Willa looked up at the mountains around her. They were capped in white, and there was a soft lenticular cloud off to the side of the top of Mt. Shasta. It was beginning to get a pinkish glow to it as the sun went down. It was getting late. Time to set up camp. She turned towards the meadow and walked over to a copse of evergreen trees, stunted because of the high altitude. This, she thought, would make a nice place to put her small tent.

After slinging her heavy backpack to the ground, Willa began the routine setup of her camp. She started by collecting twigs and fallen wood for a fire. There were some rocks to make a circle around it. As she built the fire, tears stung her eyes as she thought of her son, Nick, who had lost his life two years before as he rode his bike into the path of a drunk driver. She let the tears come this time. It was one of the reasons she liked to come all the way out here into the deep woods. Nobody to judge her here, or offer sympathy. She could just be alone with her pain.
Willa heard a twig snap and turned her head in the direction of the sound. A mother deer and two large fawns had come down to the stream to drink. She wondered if they’d noticed her. She sat down where she was and watched them. The smallest one lifted up its head as if testing the air. Its body quivered. The threesome moved on down the bank, away from where Willa sat, almost as if they sensed it wasn’t safe there. Maybe they smelled her human scent. Or maybe it was just their highly tuned defense system telling them that they needed to keep moving to stay alive. Whichever it was, it made Willa sadder because the deer could only see her kind as an enemy. She’d have liked nothing more than to have gone right up to the deer and hold one around the neck. To let her tears fall on its soft fur until no more tears would come.
How she missed her son. His crooked smile with teeth missing. His dark brown hair so soft like his dad’s. Willa let the feelings flow. She and Jake couldn’t stay together after what had happened. Something had broken between the two of them. They lasted almost a year after the tragedy of losing their only child. They stopped making love almost right away. It just didn’t feel right to enjoy each other anymore when they were in such pain. Jake started sleeping in the den and worked until he could barely stand up. Willa had more time on her hands with her part time job at a day care for elderly folks. Jake still worked at the ad agency in the city. Willa felt sorry for him because she knew he was trying to work off the pain rather than deal with it. They still spoke from time to time, but never for long. It was more a touching of bases than anything else, really. The love was gone from between them. Love was something stunted and half-dead to her now. It was from a different world; a world before her precious son had been taken away.
Willa realized something in that moment. She saw herself as a waxen statue, only existing until her time in this life came to an end. The tears were dry now. She felt as cold as the snow on the mountains inside. The moment was held for eternity in her heart and mind and soul. Sitting there for a while longer, Willa came to life once more as the cold infiltrated her clothes.
She needed to set up the tent and tend to the fire if she wanted to survive the night. She thought that living another day was okay. She could do that much. So she collected her tent and the stakes, and set up. Then she rolled an old log up into the fire and fed it until it warmed her. After heating up some water for her instant food pack and a cup of coffee, she ate and drank, almost mechanically. Then she got into her sleeping bag and looked for the way to sleep, but couldn’t find it at first. It finally found her and she began to dream.

 

Chapter Two

 

The sound was deafening. Willa jumped up and out of her sleeping bag. Her heart was racing like a stallion’s. She had no idea what the sound was that woke her, except that it was something big. Could it have been a bear? That made the most sense, but didn’t quiet her heart. In fact, if it were a bear, she was in trouble. Big trouble. She didn’t carry any weapons and felt completely defenseless. She waited a moment to see if she could hear anything else. Then there was a whoosh! And a roaring sound. Fire?
It took every ounce of courage to get herself to move. But move she did. She threw on her boots and jacket. Standing up from her crouched position on the tent floor, she reached for the door zipper and slowly unzipped it. She pulled back the flap ever so slowly and peeked her head out into the darkness. To the south she saw a soft glow beyond some deer brush. Inching her body further out of the tent, she tentatively made her way over to the outcropping near to where she had set up camp where she could see better. Yes, it was a fire. But it was only in one spot. Then she heard a cry as if someone were in pain. Willa stumbled back to the tent to grab her flashlight. Investigating the scene seemed like a really bad idea, but how could she leave someone who might be in need of help?
By the time she came back to the spot outside, the glowing fire was almost gone. Willa flicked on her flashlight and headed for what was now just a low glare. Sticks and pine cones crunched under her feet. Other than that there was only silence surrounding her. Then she heard the cry again. Hurrying now, she pushed herself through some thicker brush that she guessed was Manzanita since it was so tightly grown together. Finally, Willa broke free and came into a clearing and saw a wondrous sight. It was a small pod that looked like some kind of airplane without wings that had seemingly crashed into the ground. Smoke arose from it, but parts of it were still on fire. She couldn’t take her eyes off of it. She was mesmerized.
Then she heard a low groan to the left of the strange looking plane. Her eyes turned towards the sight of a young man, about her age, lying on the ground and in obvious pain. He was trying to sit up, but kept falling back down again.
“Are you okay?” she called from where she stood.
He looked up at her, startled.
“I’m hurt,” he said.
Willa took a few steps towards him. He didn’t seem like he was dangerous. For now anyway.
“What happened here?” she asked.
The man groaned again.
“My plane crashed,” he said, but something came across his eyes, like he was lying.
Finally Willa walked over to where he lay and crouched down to look more closely at his injuries. He was wearing a uniform she’d never seen before, but it was torn and burned away in places, especially his left arm and leg.
“It looks bad. Let me go get my first-aid kit from camp. I’ll be right back,” she assured him. She began to turn away to go, but he held her arm with his good one. Willa felt a strange sensation crawl up her arm. It felt like electricity.
“Thanks,” he said. “I appreciate it very much.” And he let go of her. She stared into his eyes a moment longer, then took off. The excitement she felt inside her was giving her an incredible energy rush. Willa quickly made her way back to her tent and retrieved her high tech deep woods first-aid kit, which even contained sutures should the need arise. She threw the pack over her shoulder and returned to the crash site. The man was still lying on the ground, moaning. She sat on the ground to his left and asked him if he could pull up his sleeve so she could get a better look. He tried, but cried out. She went for the scissors in her kit and began to cut away the cloth. He grimaced.
“I’m sorry this hurts you,” she said.
“It’s okay,” he replied, sucking air through his teeth.
What she saw shocked her. She had expected red blood to be coming from the wound. Instead, it was the color of an orange. She sat back on her heels.
“Look,” he said, “I’m not from around here. I should tell you that Earth is not my home. I come from another planet. I promise, though, I would never hurt you.”
As he was talking, it was as if Willa were hearing his words from down a long tube or something. She couldn’t move, and her arms and legs felt like jelly.
“Please. You’ve got to help me. Nobody knows I’m here.”
Willa blinked at him. What was he talking about? This person sitting next to her in agony was an alien? It couldn’t be true. He reached out and touched her arm. She flinched.
“My name is Paul. Or at least here it is. I’ll understand if you want to run the other way right now and not help me, but I’m really in trouble here.”
Willa started to come back into herself. She felt a deep sympathy for this person. It began to surpass her fears about the frightening situation she found herself in. She dug into her kit for burn dressings and came up with several that were marked. Cautiously cutting the rest of Paul’s sleeve off, she placed the pieces of saturated cloth over his burns. Although she was trembling, she did a neat job of it. Next she went to his leg and cut away the burned cloth. Some of it stuck to his skin, so she used the saline solution in the kit to moisten it and pried it off. Paul tried to stay quiet, but he almost passed out from the pain. His eyes closed.
“Stay with me here, Paul,” she said. “We’re almost done.”
Willa was able to get past the color of Paul’s blood, and take care of his wounds. She had taken some first-aid classes in college for her job at the day care, so she knew what she was doing. When she was finished she put everything away and stowed the garbage in a bag. Her hands stopped their shaking, and she washed them off with sanitizer. What was she supposed to do next?

Willa thought about getting the young man who called himself Paul and said he was from outer space, back to her campsite and maybe letting him use her sleeping bag for warmth. Even though the temperature was not very cold, Paul had started shivering.
“I’m going to bring you back to my tent if you can make it,” she said.
“I don’t know if I can walk, but I’ll try,” he said.
Willa reached for his right arm to help him up. He cried out. This wasn’t going to be easy. She thought of running away from the scene and never looking back. What was she supposed to do in this strange situation?
“I’m fine,” said Paul, “just give me a little lift and maybe I can get my feet under me.”
Willa could feel the strength of his muscles as she helped pull him to his feet. His left leg was obviously in a lot of pain. He probably needed antibiotics for burns like these, she thought.          Unfortunately, none came with her kit.
Paul put his arm around her shoulder and dragged his left leg as they slowly managed to get through the tangled undergrowth and back to her camp. It took a while, but they finally made it. Willa helped him get into her sleeping bag, and the shivering lessened.
“You are a very kind person,” Paul said as he looked up into her eyes. She looked away. His stare was intense. He had deep blue eyes that seemed to know her.
“Thanks,” she said. “What else could I do?” Willa was scared to ask him any questions, but her mind raced with them.
“I know you must be wondering about me,” he said. “I’ll tell you what I can since you’ve practically saved my life.”
Not knowing where to start, Willa couldn’t think of what to say. What do you say to an alien being who just crashed to Earth? Speechless, she just stared at the ground near her feet.
“Come on. Ask me whatever you’d like to know, and I’ll try to answer you as truthfully as I can.”
“Well,” she began, “Where do you come from?”
“I come from a planet a lot like this one. It’s called Panterra in your language. It has plants and animals and water, too. We’re very low on carbon, though, so we come here to extract it.”
Willa thought this over. It seemed reasonable. So he wasn’t here to do experiments on humans or anything like that. Good. That was a relief. Of course he could be lying. But his eyes seemed so truthful. She wanted to believe him. She needed to believe him.
“Now, what else would you like to know?” he asked.
Willa could tell by his voice that it was paining him to talk. At least he had stopped shivering.
“You just stay quiet now,” she told him. “We can talk more in the morning. You need to sleep and heal right now.”
“Are you sure? I’m healing quickly you know. Ten times faster than you would. I don’t want you to feel you’re in any danger from me.”
“Don’t worry. I’m fine for now. By the way, my name is Willa.”
Paul held out his good hand and offered it to her. “Nice to meet you, Willa. Very nice indeed.”     They shook hands, and Willa felt that electric feeling she had felt from before when she had touched his bare skin. It reminded her of when she was a kid when her cousin Rosie had dared her to put her tongue on the tip of a battery. The difference here was that she felt it through her whole body. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling at all. In fact, it felt rather nice.
“You just need to rest,” she said. “I’ll be right outside by the fire if you need me.” With that, she grabbed her extra blanket and went outside to tend to the fire. Then she curled up next to it and closed her eyes. Sleep wasn’t soon in coming, however. How could it when a real live space man was only a few feet away with who knew what intentions? Her heart sped up with every new thought or possibility that entered her head. Her imagination began to run wild.
Finally, she must have worn herself out because the next thing she knew, the sun was shining on her closed eyes. Willa looked at her watch. It was 7:30. Her head was clouded with sleep. She thought she had had a dream last night, but she couldn’t quite get the memory of it to come into her mind. Then she remembered the crash. It startled her at first, and she felt afraid. She got up abruptly and went to the tent to see if it was true. There he was, sleeping peacefully. She could hardly believe it. So it wasn’t a dream. Her heart beat so fast she felt hot flashes flow through her chest. How could this be real?
Willa had always believed there must be other beings like humans on other planets. But that was just a theory. Now that she was faced with the fact that it was true, she couldn’t seem to digest it. Yet here he was; a real-life alien being. As she stared down at him, he slowly opened his eyes, those way too deep blue eyes of his. He smiled up at her.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Good morning,” she automatically replied back.
Paul pulled back the sleeping bag and began to peel away the dressing on his arm. She knelt down beside him, quickly telling him not to do that. “You still need to keep that on,” she said.
He smiled at her and pulled the dressing all the way off.
“See,” he said. “All healed up.”
Willa couldn’t believe what she saw. What had probably been the worst third-degree burns she had ever seen were now a soft pinkish glow on his skin. Paul unzipped the sleeping bag all the way down and removed the dressings from his leg. It looked the same. It was still pinkish and had no hair where he’d been burned, but it was healed.
“Oh my God,” she said under her breath.
“I know,” said Paul. “Pretty interesting, eh?”
Willa stared at the spot on his leg. She could hardly believe what she was seeing.
“Don’t be scared,” he said. “I’m a very fast healer, that’s all.”
He got up from the ground and stood tall beside her. “Now let’s go assess the damage to my craft.” And he was off. Willa thought twice about following him before she finally left the tent. He seemed to know where he was going, which she thought a bit strange because of the condition he had been in the night before. His clothing looked ragged where the fire had gotten to it and she felt a string pull at her heart.
They arrived at the scene of the crash. Paul looked it over, then began pulling away large pieces of a metal Willa didn’t think she’d ever seen before. It was seamless for one thing. For another it had a dull sheen that didn’t reflect the now rising sun. It seemed as if it absorbed the light instead.
Paul finished his inspection of the craft. “Well, I guess I won’t be going anywhere soon,” he said sadly. “My ship is destroyed. I’m lucky I lived through the crash.”
“What are you going to do now?” asked Willa.
“I’m not exactly sure. The communications are out. There is a place on the coast where I can meet up with a contact, but I don’t know how I’ll be able to get there without transportation.” Paul looked at Willa with those eyes of his. “You wouldn’t want to give me a ride, would you?”
Willa was thrown off balance. This guy seemed okay, but he was not only a stranger, but one from outer space.
“I don’t know about that,” she said. “I have a lot to do.” A lie. But what did he expect from her? For her to skip out on her life and go on a road trip with him? True, it was only a few hours to the coast, but still.
“Do you have any money? You could take a bus.”
“I do have some money, but just look at me. I’m a mess.”
“Look,” she said, “I can give you a ride to my place and maybe some of my ex’s clothes will fit you, although you’re a little taller than him. Okay?”
Paul’s face brightened. And when he smiled, she felt that electricity go through her again. He was the most handsome man she had ever met. He was almost beautiful. She stared at him too long until he said, “What?” She looked away, embarrassed.
“Nothing,” she said hurriedly, and backed away. She kicked herself for staring at him.
They went back to her campsite and Willa began packing up. She had wanted to stay in the wilderness for a few more days. She needed it. But now things had changed. Oh, how they had changed! Paul helped her break down the tent and insisted on carrying it back down the long trail to her car. Willa carried her backpack. She shared her water bottle with Paul on the way down.
“So you’ve come to Earth a lot before?” she asked.
“Oh yes. Many times. Usually with my father or mother. They’re going to be worried about me. The sooner I can get to the contact the better.”
In a moment of craziness, Willa spurted out, “I’ll take you.”
Why she said it she didn’t know. All she knew was that she wanted to spend more time with this strange visitor to Earth. She felt as if she had to learn everything about him. He was unique. Somehow he pulled her out of her depression about her son, Nick. She felt needed by someone for once. Of course the old people at the adult daycare had needed her, but somehow this was different; more personal. She decided she would do this thing.
Paul looked into her eyes. “Are you sure?” he asked.
Of course she wasn’t sure, but she was committed now, to herself and to this stranger.
“Yes. We just need to stop by my house before we go so you can get cleaned up and I can pack a few things.”
Paul smiled at her. He looked boyishly expectant. Willa looked away before she got caught up in those eyes again.

 

Chapter Three

 

Willa and Paul were on the road by noon. They drove down the narrow and curving mountain roads until they reached her house. It was right on the river and surrounded by forest. Willa lived on five-hundred pristine acres left to her by her beloved grandfather, James Goodman. And he had been a “good man”. He raised a large family doing carpentry work during the heydays of the many mills that had run practically non-stop during his life. Willa wondered what he would have thought if he’d ever met someone from another planet. It seemed to come right out of one of the hundreds of stories he used to tell her and her cousins when they were growing up in these hills and mountains.

They used to take big family camping trips up into the Marble Mountains way back when. Grampa always had a good one up his sleeve, it seemed. Come to think of it, there did seem to be the memory of a few UFO stories mixed in. The creatures he dreamed up didn’t seem to have much in common with Paul, though. Except for the color of his blood and his ability to heal quickly, he seemed just like anyone else. Grampa’s aliens were usually monstrous creatures that ate small children for a snack. They were here for no good reason but to terrify and control the world. Grampa told them the story of “The War of the Worlds” because he said when he was young they had thought it was really happening. They truly believed the Earth was under attack by evil space creatures. It was really only a fake radio show, but the announcer sounded very convincing as he relayed what was supposedly happening. People took their own lives the night of the broadcast. They caused huge traffic jams as they tried to flee the cities. Willa pondered this as she took the sharp curves back to her house.

“You’re awfully quiet,” said Paul.

Willa laughed nervously. “I guess I’m just a quiet person,” she said.

“Would you mind telling me about yourself? I so rarely get an opportunity to learn about Earth people up close.”

“I guess that would be alright. What do you want to know?”

“Who’s Jake?”

Willa was taken aback.

“He was my husband a while ago. But not anymore.”

“What happened to him?”

“It’s a long story, but the short version is that our son was killed by a drunk driver while he was on his bike. After that… things just were never the same between us. Jake left about six months ago. I think he’s just working himself to death now. I don’t really like talking about it if it’s okay with you.”

“Of course. I understand. Could you tell me one thing, though? What’s a bike?”

She looked over at Paul and smiled. “It’s this small vehicle with two wheels that you ride.”

“Oh. I forgot. They teach us all about Earth where I’m from on Panterra, but I don’t remember anything about bikes.” He sat back looking quizzical. Willa looked down at her lap and smiled.

“What did you do for fun when you were a kid?” she asked.

“We used to tease the Sertos sometimes. But we had to be fully protected or they would try to eat us.”

“What in the world is a Serto?”

“It’s a slow, short-legged creature that hates to be teased. But when you tease it, it turns all these beautiful colors, not unlike your peacocks here on Earth. You can’t imagine how incredible they look.”

“Wow, they sound amazing.”

Willa turned the last corner and drove up her mile long driveway.

“Well, here we are,” said Willa. She tried to sound cheerful, but the truth was she felt uncomfortable letting this very strange stranger into her home. She lugged her backpack into the house while Paul grabbed the tent and a few other things. She struggled with her keys, dropped them twice, and was finally in the door. Paul followed quietly. He must have sensed her discomfort. He stood just inside the doorway with his arms full.

“You can just put that stuff on the couch,” she told him. He obeyed immediately, apparently knowing what a couch was. It was difficult for Willa to realize that he knew so much more about her world than she did about his. She wondered what his native language sounded like. He had a slight accent of some sort.

“Please, sit down,” she said. “It’s been a long trip and we have a lot of road to cover before the day is up.”

He did as she asked and looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, “What do you mean ‘before the day is up?’ Isn’t the day up already? It certainly isn’t night yet. I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

Willa tried to hide her smile, but was unsuccessful.

“It means when the day comes to an end, silly. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t make fun of you.”

“No. It’s quite all right. I’m still getting used to the way people talk here on Earth. The only way I can learn is by asking questions.”

“That’s so true,” she said. Then she went to her bedroom to find Paul some clothes.

“You just make yourself comfortable,” she called back to him.

Opening Jake’s closet for the first time since he’d left sent a cold shiver down her spine. She hadn’t expected to feel this way. He had not left much, but she found herself wondering why he’d left anything at all. There were a few pair of undershorts, some T-shirts, a couple of very nice shirts and pants, and an old pair of blue jeans. She got a set of clothing for her extra-terrestrial guest, including the blue jeans, and stuffed the rest into the backpack. When she went back into the living room she found Paul looking at her paintings all over the walls.

“These are quite good,” he said.

“Thanks,” she said. “I haven’t painted anything since my son passed away, though.”

“That’s too bad.”

“Anyway, here are some clean clothes for you. I think they should fit pretty well.”

Paul began to remove his ruined suit right there in the living room.

“Wait!” shouted Willa. “You can change in the bathroom. First door on the left.”

Paul looked so completely innocent that she instantly felt sorry for freaking out on him.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I forgot you have taboos on nudity here.”

“That’s okay. I’m sorry I yelled at you. It’s just that… I don’t know. I guess we are pretty uptight about things like that.” She smiled sheepishly at him.

He smiled back at her with those beautiful eyes. She returned to the bedroom where she packed a few simple things. The backpack wasn’t even half full now. Making sure she grabbed an extra toothbrush for Paul, she swung the pack over her shoulder and returned to the living room.

Willa was shocked when she saw Paul in Jake’s old clothes. The tears tried to come, but she refused to let them.

“You look great,” she said.

“Thank you. So do you.”

She had changed into a tank top and shorts. Her hair fell softly around her face. Paul stared at her until she broke the hold his eyes had on her.

“We should get going. Just let me put out extra food and water for my cat.”

Paul looked mystified. “What kind of cat?”

“Just a little house cat, that’s all. What did you think it was? A tiger?”

“Maybe,” he answered quietly.

Willa laughed. “That would be a first,” she said.

“Before we go I need to eat something, if that’s all right with you,” he said.

Why hadn’t she thought of that? Of course he must be starving.

“What would you like? I can make us some sandwiches. Or I have some leftover pizza”.

“Actually, my diet is pretty different from yours, Willa. If I could step outside, what I’d really like is some squirrel”.

Willa blinked. Squirrel?

“Or some deer if I can find any,” he said.

Willa didn’t know what to say, but this scared her. Somewhere deep inside she felt sick.

“It’s the blood I need, actually,” he said. “I don’t mean to frighten you, but that’s what I am. You might call me a vampire.”

Willa squirmed. Her guts felt tight and churned in her belly. What was to stop him from drinking her own blood?

“I told you I would never hurt you, and I won’t. I never feed on humans. It’s against my religion. I’m a rackonist. This means I’ve taken some extremely solemn vows never to hunt human life forms. Do you think I’m evil Willa?”

Willa ran for the door. She couldn’t help herself. Her fight or flight response was in full gear now. In an instant he was at her side, holding her arms so she couldn’t get free. His strength was immense. He whispered in her ear, “Please understand, Willa. Don’t be afraid. No harm will come to you. Now I’m going to let your arms free. But you have to promise not to run. I could get in a lot of trouble just for telling you about myself.”

Paul slowly loosened his grip. Willa made a choice. It seemed the only one she could make. She stayed.

“No. I don’t think you’re evil, Paul. I just don’t understand this. How can you live like this?”

“I was born this way. This is what we are on my planet. I should tell you, though, that there are some who choose to come here to hunt humans. They are the undesirables from Panterra. They crave human blood. But I was brought up on animals’ blood. It’s all I’ve ever known. But I must feed soon. I’m feeling weak.”

“Okay. I’ll wait for you here. But don’t be long. We’ve got to get going if we’re going to get to the coast today.” Truthfully, Willa couldn’t wait to be rid of this vampire alien now.

“I’ll be quick. Thank you for being so understanding, Willa.” And he was out the back door it seemed as if in a flash of movement. She’d never seen anyone move that fast. She tried to stay calm while he was gone, but the truth was she was terrified. How could she even stay on the winding twisty roads when she was shaking so much? She only had a short time to think as he was back before she knew it. He was only gone for maybe ten minutes. She was afraid, but curious to ask him what he’d caught.

“There are plenty of ground squirrels out there,” he told her. “And a couple of fat crows.” He seemed embarrassed as  he told her of his kills. Yet proud in a way, too.

“When will you need to… eat again?” she asked.

“Not for a while,” he said. “Probably tonight.”

“Well, I guess we’d better get going then,” said Willa.

She locked the door to her little cabin in the woods and they put the gear in her car. They were on the road again by early afternoon. Luckily, and strangely, Willa’s shaking had stopped and she was able to maneuver easily down and around the steep curves that led to the coast. She was quiet, though and Paul asked her what she was thinking about.

“What do you think I’m thinking about?! This is crazy. Before last night my world was quiet and mundane. Now it’s completely out of control. I never even thought about a planet of vampires before in my life. Now I’m sitting right next to a monster.” That hit Paul hard.

“I’m not a monster, Willa,” he said sadly. “I’m nothing like what you are imagining me to be. I’ve never hurt anyone in my life unless you count the play fights I had with my brother when we were little. Let me tell you some things about myself and maybe you won’t think of me that way anymore, okay?”

“I’m sorry, Paul. I didn’t mean it that way. I don’t really think you’re a monster. It just came out that way. You’re just so strange to me.”

“Well, maybe if you get to know me a little better you won’t be so intimidated by me and others like me. First of all, Panterra is about a third of the size of Earth and lies just inside the Milky Way Galaxy. We don’t have many trees and not much water compared to Earth. I grew up in the Mapot Mountains near the Sea of Donag. I have a great mother and father, a brother, and two sisters. I’m the oldest, so when I turned 18 of your years I entered the Academy of Space Exploration. When I was a kid, all I ever wanted was to come to this planet called Earth that sounded like paradise to me. I read every book on it I could find. I loved looking at the pictures especially. It looked so different from Panterra. So exquisitely beautiful. My parents started taking us here on trips just so I could see my dream come true. Then, after I entered the Academy, I was sent here with others to study the planet and make sure we weren’t overusing its resources. Carbon is the main resource we take deep out of the ground. Water is another, but only from places not used by humans. Unfortunately there has been political unrest, and some of the Sayers are pushing to get more and more. They don’t have a large following, but there is a trend. I hope they won’t overthrow everything we’ve achieved until now. We’ve created a good balance.

“But enough about all that stuff. I want you to get to know the real me most of all. I love the Earth and everything on it. Even the creatures I have to kill to feed on. I always say a prayer for the being I have killed to send it on to a better place. I honor each one’s spirit. I believe that each spirit is sacred, from the mouse to the jaguar, from the bird to the human.”

Willa looked over at him. It sounded to her that he was similar in his beliefs to the American Indians. She knew because she had Cherokee blood from her father’s side. She had always felt a strong kinship with Native beliefs. Now she was hearing similar things from the mouth of a vampire. Things were getting stranger and stranger. She didn’t know what to think.

“What was it like growing up on Panterra?” she asked him.

“It was usually good, but sometimes hard. There wasn’t always enough food to go around. Grave robbers were common. Some of our people had themselves buried in impermeable crypts. I just want to be cremated, myself. I don’t want to think about maggots and Fradons eating me up bit by bit.”

“What’s a Fradon?”

“They’re little multi-cellular organisms that break down tissue.”

Willa made a face. Paul laughed. They drove along the winding, muddy Trinity River on highway 299. Willa hadn’t eaten anything after having lost her appetite earlier back home, but now she was feeling some grumbling in her stomach. There was a small town up ahead not too far, so she decided to stop at this little sandwich shop they had there to get something to eat. It was called Sandy’s Eatery, and they had the best blended mochas in the county, as well as all sorts of organic sandwiches.

“I’m pulling over here so I can eat. Do you want to come in or wait out here?” she asked Paul.

“I think I’ll come in also,” he said. “I enjoy being around your people. And don’t worry, I know how to behave.” He said this with a slight twinkle in his eye.

They got out of the car and went into the restaurant. Paul was looking at everything very curiously. Willa wondered if he’d ever been inside a restaurant before. He certainly wasn’t acting as though he had. The waitress told them to sit wherever they liked, and Paul made a beeline for a booth near the window. Willa followed. They got their menus, but Willa knew what she wanted and ordered.

“And what would you like, sir?” asked the waitress.

“Um, nothing for now, thank you,” he said.

“All right, then,” she said, “I’ll be right back with your mocha, Miss.”

Willa smiled as she looked down at her lap.

“What’s funny?” Paul asked her.

Willa looked up. “If she only knew!” And she started to laugh. Paul frowned at first, then smiled at her.

“I guess it is ironic. Me being in a place like this.”

“You can say that again.”

Two tall, mean looking truckers came in. They took seats at the counter and ordered a couple of beers, then started looking at the menu.

“So, does it make you feel uncomfortable seeing people eat regular food?” asked Willa.

“Not anymore. Although it used to make me sick to my stomach.”

“I can understand that,” she said.

“I actually haven’t had much interaction with your people until recently. I’ve always come here with my parents and stayed in the woods or the desert. This is my first solo trip, as a matter of fact. And now look what’s happened. I hope my parents aren’t too worried. I should have contacted them yesterday.”

There was a ruckus up front. One of the truckers was raising his voice to the waitress saying, “What kind of fucked up kind of food are you cooking in this place, anyway?”

“I’m sorry, sir, but you’ll have to keep your voice down please. We have a very small variety of food. I’m sure if you don’t like it you can go over to the pizza place across the street and find something you’d like,” said the waitress. But the trucker had just seemed to get started with her. He was obviously drunk.

“I just want me a nice beer and a meat loaf. Is that so much to ask, sweetheart?” He went to grab her wrist. Paul was out of his seat like a flash of lightning. Willa could barely see him as he jumped between the trucker and the waitress. He took the man’s hand off of hers and twisted it until the trucker was on his knees.

“Hey! What the fuck?!” The trucker looked up into Paul’s eyes and sat there mesmerized. Paul just held his arm and stared at the trucker. The waitress called for somebody named Jack from somewhere in the back. Slowly Paul let go of the guy’s arm, and he fell to the floor in a daze. The other trucker stood up then and grabbed Paul from behind. He grabbed him around the neck with his arm.            “You shouldn’t have done that to my friend,” he said evenly. “But for that you will pay dearly, my friend.”

Willa realized she was holding her breath. She got up and started to go help Paul somehow, and the guy named Jack was coming around the counter to subdue the situation. But before either of them could even decide how to fix things, Paul twisted out of the choke hold the trucker had on him and rounded around with his leg to deliver a swift kick to his jaw. Then he put his finger to the guy’s forehead and he, too, fell to the floor. Paul straightened out his shirt and wiped his hands on his pants. He hadn’t even broken a sweat. Willa looked at the waitress and told her, “I’ll take my food to go, please.”

Reviews for Deadly Lucidity

5.0 out of 5 stars The Interpretation of Dreams…Smash Mouth Style, October 25, 2010

By

R. Rubenstein “RJR” (looking for a place) – See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)

This review is from: Deadly Lucidity (Paperback)

Sigmund Freud did not know Marie when he wrote the seminal work above. In neat, logical compartments, the master traced the lives of hysterics and gave us unconscious truths realized. Then came Julie Achterhoff with a futuristic vision as intense as Existenze. While reality holds the key to survival, the earth is too unsettled and the dangers too real. There is no separation from the waking and the real in this video game drama for high stakes. Deadly Lucidity is the closest we can get to the sheer terror of our uncertain footsteps. Sometimes, when we cross the streets, do we not wonder whether, despite our most rational intentions,that we may not make it to the other side? It is not a sudden auto that may smash our lives and our dreams away. Perhaps it only a breath, a voice in the wind that paralyzes our steps? A waking dream or a dream awake,Ms. Acterhoff has wrestled with the nightmares Herr Freud more easily imagined. She has taken the terror of the unconscious, brought it to light, to give us greater capacity for horror than we ever want to comfortably imagine, and with heroes like Murphy, himself a mystery, and gremlins and goblins of would be evil men lurking, brought us out of our hot air balloon for a landing safe and worth taking. Wow..Brava, lady. What a ride!

Robert Rubenstein, Author:Ghost Runners

 

5.0 out of 5 stars What’s Real?, October 23, 2010

By

J. L. Knox “Musical Chairs” (USA) – See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Deadly Lucidity (Paperback)

Schopenhauer said that life is like a dream in that the reality a person creates is merely a reflection of mind. Kant said it, too. Probably, Kant said it first… Anyway, this is the philosophy that drives Deadly Lucidity. It is the story of a woman whose actual dream state becomes a tumultuous but also romantic journey that might become, the reader thinks, her reality. At times, I wanted her to escape; at times, I wanted her to stay. The question that drives it all, of course, is what is real? Her dreams or the life she left behind, which becomes a sort of dream in of itself. A great book by a fellow author at All Things That Matter Press. I’m honored to be in such good company.

 

5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilling suspense novel, October 16, 2010

By

Readers Favorite “Readers Favorite” (Hawesville, KY USA) – See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)

This review is from: Deadly Lucidity (Paperback)

Marie lives in a dream world. Writing horror novels is her passion. But do they lead to her dreams? Due to her childhood, she is now suffering from a disturbing anxiety disorder and rarely ventures out, except to go see a best friend who is also her therapist. She learned that dreams can take you many places, that some dream in color, that some can remember their dreams and that some forget them the minute they wake up, but for Marie it’s a challenge. She claims to be able to control her dreams and wake herself up. She goes from one beautiful dream to being chased by a psychotic person. She is no long sure if she is awake or if she is stuck in her dream. Where is she at, who is she in reality and who is Murphy the handsome ranger? Why does everyone in her dream keep telling her to wake up and that she is in danger?

“Deadly Lucidity” is thrilling suspense novel that starts out with him…Marie locked in her dreams. Injuries that occur in her dream are real when she awakens. She continues to jump from one dream to another, surrounded by good and evil. As the story progresses, the reader is taken to an edge of the seat suspense as Marie is taken through terrifying events leading up to a surprising conclusion. Julie Achterhoff has written a book that is such an amazing and intriguing thriller. This is a mind challenging book.

 

5.0 out of 5 stars What are Dreams?, August 18, 2010

By

Martha A. Cheves (Charlotte, NC) – See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Deadly Lucidity (Kindle Edition)

Deadly Lucidity – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat

`If only she could remember her true real life and what had happened in it to cause her to be stuck in her dreams. Was she even a writer? That thought struck her hard. She could have just created that fiction from her imagination, too. She was having an identity crisis. Who was she really? Was she any more real than any of the other dream images that played through her mind? Then she focused on one of the main themes of her recent dreams – the bad man who had kidnapped her. Maybe that kept popping up because it had a grain of reality to it. Maybe she had truly been kidnapped. Maybe she was still unconscious in this guy’s basement. Oh, God. That must be it, she thought. But she had gotten away from him in every dream scenario, too, hadn’t she? Maybe she had escaped, but was brain dead. No. She wouldn’t be able to dream if that were the case. The only other possibility was that she was in a coma? If so, for how long? Her intuition said that felt right, that she was in a coma. If only she could remember what happened.’

Dreams take us to other worlds and dimensions. But what brings these dream about? Are they pieces of memory from our past? And how much do we actually contribute to what happens when we dream? Are we able to add and delete characters. Even during a nightmare, are we able to defend ourselves by conjuring up defense weapons?

In the case of Marie, where is she? Who is she? Who is Murphy? How did he get into Marie’s dream? Is everything really a dream or is she simply lost in another world? How will she find her way out of her dream and back into the real world? Can Murphy go with her? What is she trying to accomplish and why is everyone telling her she has to wake up?

They say you dream nightly but only remember a few. I have no idea if that’s true but I do know that after reading Deadly Lucidity I’ve found myself wondering more and more about the dreams I do have and do remember. And as with the character Marie, wouldn’t it be nice to start a dream, wake up, go back to sleep and restart that dream? Sometimes yes. Sometimes no.

Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com Stir, Laugh, Repeat

 

5.0 out of 5 stars A Dream World Adventure, August 16, 2010

By

Steven R. Lindahl – See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Deadly Lucidity (Paperback)

There are spoilers in this review If you don’t want to have them revealed you better stop reading this article right now and go buy the book. It’s worth it.

Deadly Lucidity by Julie Achterhoff is about dream lives. The concept of this book starts out as intriguing and eventually reaches a higher level than that. The narrator, Marie, jumps from one life to another starting at the very beginning of the story. Throughout the rest of the book she is surrounded by real people who are dreams and threatened by other real people who are nightmares. She is chased by an evil baron who wants her in his harem. This baron is always a threat because he can jump between all of Marie’s dreams. She is also threatened by clowns, wild animals, and gangs of evil men who try to rape her. She is protected by a “ranger” named Murphy, a marksman who always keeps his six-shooters ready.

Achterhoff’s novel really gets going when it is revealed that Marie is in a coma in her non-dream life. Her mother is getting ready to take her off life support. The only way she can come out of her coma is by finding a way out of her dream world and back into reality. She needs to do that before her mother pulls the plug.
Then the book gets even better when Marie discovers that Murphy is also in a coma. He and Clarice, a young girl who is a third coma victim, are all in the same room of the same hospital and all hooked to life support. The dream isn’t just Marie’s. They are all dreaming it.

Deadly Lucidity is a love story and an adventure. But it is the unusual ideas behind the story that make it such a wonderful read.

 

4.0 out of 5 stars An Engaging Suspense Thriller, June 16, 2010

By

Apex Reviews (Durham, NC USA) – See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)

This review is from: Deadly Lucidity (Paperback)

Caught in a dream world from which she can’t escape, Marie finds herself hunted by a dangerous psychopath. Her situation is far from hopeless, though, as a handsome Ranger named Murphy vows both to protect her and help her find a way back to the real world. Over the course of their shared adventures, Marie looks very much forward to getting her life back to normal – but her growing passion for Murphy makes the prospect of leaving him behind an increasingly difficult choice to make…

Skillfully crafted by author Julie Achterhoff, Deadly Lucidity is an engaging suspense thriller. In it, Achterhoff has crafted a compelling alternate nether world straight out of the darkest regions of any imagination. In addition, as Marie wends her way through a series of increasingly perilous events, you find yourself rooting not-so-silently on her behalf, turning each fresh page in rapt anticipation of precisely what fate awaits her as the story progresses. Furthermore, the genuine affection that she and Murphy feel for one another adds a layer of palpable tension to the overall tale, drawing the reader in even more as this modern twist on the age-old tale of good vs. evil plays itself out in fantastical fashion.

A dynamic, riveting thriller with a host of intriguing twists, Deadly Lucidity is a recommended read for lovers of well crafted fantasy suspense tales.

Chelsea Perry
Apex Reviews

 

Earthwalker Published!!!

My latest novel is now available in paperback and kindle on amazon, smashwords, and createspace. Be one of the first to get a hold of a copy. I really think you’ll enjoy this thriller of a story. You’re in for a wild ride!

Earthwalker Excerpt

That night, as they slept, Paul twisted and turned in the sheets. He saw a young boy; another student of his: Damien. They were feasting on rat’s blood together. Paul loathed rats. They didn’t even have that much blood in their veins. Besides, they gave him the creeps. Yet the two of them were bloodthirsty. Paul couldn’t remember ever having felt so unquenchable in his life. He’d no sooner finish with one rat than grab another from the filthy floor, piercing it with his sharp canines and sucking it dry. He glanced over at Damien, who was covered with rat blood. Paul felt the warm, sticky liquid run down his own chin, and all over his clothes. He suddenly felt disgusted with himself, and threw down the rat he was drinking from. Damien was still gorging. The air was stale and smelled of all that carnage. Paul felt his bile rise. He thought he was going to vomit.
At that moment, Willa walked into the room wearing a gown in the fashion of his people. She came to him and pressed her lips against his own. He was partly disgusted, but partly aroused. He knew she must be tasting the blood in his mouth. Then she looked down at the boy. He held a rat up as if for her inspection. She nodded, and took the vile creature from him. Smiling at Paul, she put the rat to her lips and opened her mouth…
Paul woke up shivering. He’d tossed the sheets completely off himself.
“Paul? Honey? Are you okay?” Willa asked as she sat up in bed.
“Yeah,” he said, “I’ll be fine. Just had a nightmare, that’s all.”
“Really? What was it about?”
He told her about it.
“Eww, that’s pretty gross! I bet I know why you had that dream. We were just talking about humans who become vampires. It was just lying there in your subconscious and came through in your dreams.”
“Yeah, I know, but it seemed so real. We believe dreams can be very powerful messengers. It worries me.”
Indeed, he had a deep frown on his face, and had started sweating. Willa put her arms around him, but he didn’t hug her back.
“What’s wrong?’
“Nothing. I just have a sick feeling in my gut about this one. Something about Damien. I think I’ll meditate and try to reach him telepathically. He wasn’t my best student, but maybe I need to watch him anyway.”
“I trust your gut, honey. You do what you need to do.”
She kissed his cheek and lay back down. But she couldn’t stop thinking about her own interpretation of Paul’s dream. She did not share it with him because it would only upset him. Besides, nothing was ever written in stone. Despite her dismissal of the dream, Willa was too keyed up to sleep, and stared at nothingness for an hour before her own dreams took her away.
Meanwhile, the disgusting images played over and over again in Paul’s mind. He couldn’t stop trying to find the true meaning of it all. He didn’t fall back asleep until dawn.
Paul was only slightly groggy over coffee the next morning. He felt as though he didn’t need sleep here on Earth anymore. His teeth ached. He needed to hunt. He loped out the back door and into the deep woods without a word. Willa tried to be understanding, but after all, it was just a dream. It could just be Paul’s subconscious conjuring up a concoction of meaningless drivel. But Paul was taking it very seriously, too seriously for her liking.
When he returned, she decided to face him with her doubts.
“Paul, I think you might be putting too much weight on this dream of yours. Couldn’t it mean nothing at all? I’ve had a lot of dreams that seemed so real, but ended up being just my imagination gone wild.”
He looked down at her with his unshaven face and mussed up hair.
“Willa, you have to understand there are differences between our races. One of the things we have developed to a higher level is our dream lives. We don’t normally even have dreams, but when we do they have great meaning. The tough part is figuring out the interpretation of the dream. I have to do some thinking about the meaning of my dream last night. I might even need help from a dream looker. Those are people from my planet who can link up with one’s mind and see the visions from a dream. I believe what I saw last night means that we’re in danger, especially you. Please try and open your mind, and realize that it wasn’t any ordinary human dream. For me, it was real, and could have an impact on our lives.”
Willa felt her hand tingle, as she had been holding the arm of the chair so tightly as he spoke these words. Perspiration broke out on her forehead. A slight panic arose inside her.
“So your dreams are sometimes prophetic?”
“Almost always.”
“Okay then, we definitely have a problem.”
“Exactly.”
Willa’s fear escalated as she went over Paul’s dream in her mind once more. What could munching on rats possibly mean? She shivered at the thought of putting one anywhere near her mouth. Paul was going to have to interpret this dream. She had no idea what the heck it might mean. But she had a pretty good idea it wasn’t good.
“I’m going to the bedroom to meditate on it. Try not to make any loud noises, okay?”
“I won’t,” she said, and reached up to kiss him on the cheek. He smiled, but it quickly faded. Apparently he wasn’t feeling terribly positive about the dream, either. Nevertheless, he went into the bedroom, closing the door behind him, to see if he could garner anything substantial from his midnight vision.
Meanwhile, Willa decided to take care of some mundane chores she’d been putting off. When Paul still hadn’t come out she went into the garden. She was happy to see that it had started flourishing again after having been neglected for the past couple weeks. Some of the plants had tiny buds on them, promising flowers. She sat down on the warm earth. It was a good feeling. She let the sun shine on her upturned face. Soon Paul’s lips touched hers. At first it startled her, but then she leaned into his kiss. Finally pulling away, he sat down next to her.
“I think I know what it means. Part of it, anyway,” he told her. “Some very lean times are coming for us. Rats symbolize scarcity. Vampires wouldn’t touch them unless they were desperate. I also got that somehow someone’s going to try and turn you. Don’t be scared, though. I would never let that happen. I just have to be on guard. The only part that still mystifies me is where Damien fits into it all. He seemed like a nice kid. As I recall, he did well in our classes, but didn’t excel. I think I’ll listen in on the radio transmissions and see if I can find out anything from that.”
“You mean a vampire is going to try and turn me into one of you?” Willa’s voice quivered.
“I do. But please don’t forget that that’s just my interpretation of the dream. I’m afraid, though, that seeing you in those clothes and holding a rat to your mouth seems pretty clear. In my dream you were definitely a vampire.”
Willa’s stomach knotted up.
“Paul? You never told me if it’s true that vampires live a long time. Is it?”
“Yeah. Why do you ask?”
“Well, actually I was wondering how old you are.” There. It was out. Willa dreaded the answer.
“I’m only twenty-six. You see, I was born a vampire. But my parents are well over two hundred years old. They were around during the dark times when Panterra was controlled by a clan of vampires known as the Mankyries. Those were bad times from what I know about it.”
Willa was relieved. She’s half expected to find out Paul was much older than she was. Now she knew he was only a year older. Thank goodness, she thought. She couldn’t have stood it if he were really an old man deep down inside. It would have changed the way she saw him, she knew. She smiled and kissed him.
“What was that for? Not that I mind.”
“I’m just glad you’re not really old or something. I couldn’t take that.”
He looked serious for a moment. “But you do realize I’ll get older, don’t you?”
She looked at him quizzically. “Of course, silly. And so will I. We’ll grow old together.”
His face grew sad. “The life span of a human female is eighty-two years as of now. But Willa, the lifespan of a vampire can be hundreds of years.”
Her smile faded. “I’m an idiot,” she said. “I should have realized. I’ll be gone long before you then.”
She put her head in her hands. Paul stroked her hair.
“And you’ll never even look much older than you do now, will you?” she asked, looking up at him.
“That’s right. Willa, I’m sorry.” He brought her into his arms and held her. “I feel as bad about this as you do, honey. In fact, probably worse knowing that I’ll lose you one day. I’ll have to spend the rest of my life without you. I haven’t even wanted to think about it. That’s why I never brought it up.”
Depression fell over her like a veil. This was so unfair. When she was an old lady, people would think Paul was her grandson or something! And how disgusting she would eventually be to him!
“Honey, please don’t be upset. It’ll all work out somehow. I’ve heard your people are making huge advances in how long you’ll be able to live. Hell, some of you live to be a hundred and thirty something even these days. And by the time you’re forty our people will have been able to share our technological advances with Earth, too.” He was pleading with her, but her face said it all.
“But Paul, I’ll look older no matter what. What am I going to do about that? Keep getting plastic surgery so I can look twenty-five forever? I can’t deal with this,” she said, and ran into the bedroom, closing the door behind her, blocking Paul out.
Tears of pain and frustration fell down her cheeks. Why hadn’t she thought of this before? She wondered what else she was blocking out or missing. She supposed she had just not thought Paul was like vampires in the movies or books. He seemed so normal to her except for his diet requirements; so much like a human. Now she was forced to see him as an alien being and she didn’t like it one bit. She realized that he must have thought about all this before now. Yet he had never said a word. He’d kept it from her. She felt a flare of anger towards him, but the feeling left as quickly as it had appeared. He was only trying to make her happy, yet he had been suffering, knowing all along that their time together was short-lived by his time standards. She kept trying to think of something that could be done, but it was like a cat and mouse chase in her head. One thought led to another, which led nowhere.
Paul knocked on the door. “Can I come in?” he asked quietly.
Willa wiped her tears away. She felt so naïve.
“Yeah.”
Paul slipped into the room and sat down by her side.
“There is an answer, you know. I could turn you myself.”
He said it so matter-of-factly that she almost laughed. He couldn’t be serious. But the look on his face told her otherwise. He was quite serious.
“You don’t have to decide right away,” he said quickly. “We’ve got plenty of time. But I want you to know I’ve given this a lot of thought. It’s not just a whim. I didn’t want it to have to come to this, but you’re so upset that I thought this might be the time to bring it up.”
He took her hand in his, and bent down to kiss it. Then he slowly kissed his way up her arm to her shoulder. Willa began to relax at his touch. He kissed the hollow of her throat. They made love almost frantically then, clutching each other as if they were lost at sea, stranded in a lifeboat. Afterwards, they lay exhausted on top of the covers, sweat pouring off their bodies.

What I have learned as a writer-

Deadly Lucidity by Julie Achterhoff

Caught in a tangled web of dreams and nightmares, Marie Reilly is being
hunted by a psychopath in the dream world she can’t escape. Her single ally,
a Ranger named Murphy, may be her only hope. He must help her reach the
Great Fortress, where they’ve been told there is a way back to her reality.
Together, they fight their way through the twists and turns of Marie’s mind
so she can have her life back. But what of their growing passion for each
other? How can Marie leave the man she has come to love behind in this
nightmarish world he has called home as far back as he can remember?

What have you learned about being an author since you started writing
professionally, Julie?

Gosh, I’ve learned so much! I started out reading a couple of books on
how to write and taking a women’s literature class at the local community
college. That was ten years ago. I started writing professionally three
years ago, starting with a novella titled Native Vengeance, which was
published on the Demon Minds website for their Halloween edition that year.
That experience taught me that I might have what it took to write a full
length novel. I started out small because I thought I’d test the waters and
see if anyone thought I could write well. I was pleased to get my first
acceptance letter, as well as recognition for my writing skills. Learning
that someone else enjoys what you’ve written is one of the biggest thrills
I’ve ever experienced!
I had some idea because I got an “A” on my class final, which was to
write something. I went way overboard and wrote an entire three-act play
titled Angel in the House! I wrote that in six weeks, too! So that gave me
some validation about my writing. That’s when I also found out there just
wasn’t enough time to write anything and homeschool my five children at the
same time
So I waited until most of them were out on their own to start writing
my first novel, Quantum Earth. While writing this book, I learned all about
the predictions for the year 2012 from the Mayan calendar. I also learned
that I could create characters and scenes that would last through to the
very end. It took me several months to write Quantum Earth. It takes up a
lot of your day to day thinking to write a book. It keeps you up late at
night, too.
Then I learned about writing query letters and synopsises to send out
to publishers and agents. They have to really hook them from the very start.
I learned that different publishers require different things from a
potential author. Some want just a query at first, some want a query and a
synopsis, and some want these plus some pages from your manuscript. You
absolutely have to follow what they want exactly. If you don’t do this part
just right, that alone will cause them to say no. I found out that some
publishers are very nice, sometimes even giving you advice, but some of them
aren’t very nice, and can say some rude things to you.
I had to find sources for publishers. I used Writer’s Market and
Duotrope mostly. I learned to keep track of whom I sent out to so I wouldn’t
duplicate my efforts. Then I learned the pretty painful feeling of being
rejected over and over again. That was very hard for me because I don’t take
rejection well! Those were a tough few months of sending out my work very
carefully, and getting nothing back but negative replies.
I had already learned that there were people who liked my writing, so I
tried not to give up hope. I tried to see every no as one step closer to
that magical word, “yes.” Finally, after sending out at least fifty
queries, synopsises, and/or pages, I got a very big yes from an e-book
publisher. She said Quantum Earth was exactly what she was interested in and
loved it from start to finish. But one thing I had learned was that e-books
were just sent by email. They are not really a solid book you can hold in
your hand. This put me off a bit, so I contacted one of the publishers who
said they wanted more about Quantum Earth and asked them if they were
interested in publishing it. They said yes, too! Now I had a decision to
make, and not much information about the pros and cons. But I knew I wanted
to see my book in print as a real book, so I ended up having to be the one
to say no to the first publisher. That was a twist. She was very
disappointed, but understood.
So it happened that All Things That Matter Press was the one to publish
my first real book. A year later they published my second book, Deadly
Lucidity. For this book I learned all about lucid dreaming, among other
things. During the time I’ve been with ATTM Press I’ve learned so much from
Deb and Phil Harris. They run this small press, and I couldn’t be happier
with them. Deb has taught me everything I could possibly want to know about
editing, and Phil has taught me all about promoting books and creating a
name for yourself. They are experts at what they do. An author has to learn
how to sell their own books by doing interviews, blogging, publicity,
creating an author platform, and many other ways to get people to buy their
books. It’s not an easy process. I work on this almost every day.
I’ve also learned so much from other authors, especially the ones that
are also published at ATTM Press. We have a yahoo group where we keep in
close touch, sharing ideas and supporting one another. Another source for my
education is my friends on facebook who are also writers. I have learned a
lot from these and other sources, and continue to learn what it takes to be
a writer. Now I’m at the point where I am starting to do some teaching,
myself. I recently got an offer to teach at a writer’s retreat next January
in Georgia. I’m very excited about that, and hope that I can help others on
the path to writing.
As of this writing I am finishing up my next book, Earthwalker, which
will be available by Christmas.

Link to video trailer for Deadly Lucidity:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/video/687534/book_video_trailer_deadly_lucidity.html?cat=38
Link to Blog:

Contact Me

Link to buy Deadly Lucidity:

or
http://allthingsthatmatterpress.com
Link to BookBuzzr preview of Deadly Lucidity:
http://www.freado.com/book/6046/Deadly-Lucidity

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Just A Taste of Earthwalker

He stared right through her. Then he saw the blood dripping down her leg. For the first time since she’d gotten to know him, she felt fear. Willa looked down at the glass on the floor. There was a good sized piece she could use to defend herself if she could get it in time. But Paul was next to her in an instant. He looked into her eyes as he bent over. Then he put a finger to the blood on her leg and lifted it to his lips.
“Just one taste,” he said. He put the finger to his tongue and closed his eyes. Willa held as still as she could. Paul seemed to savor the taste. After moments had passed he opened his eyes. They glowed red again.

Review of Quantum Earth by J. Lorenz- “Rainy Day Reading”

An enthusiastic tale about the metaphysical. Some adventure; you can let your kids read it. If the metaphysical is your genre, this book would make an ‘eyebreak’ when you want something to read that not a text book.

Review of Quantum Earth by G.A. Bixler

One of the themes that resurfaces when there is a “new” prediction discussed is the idea of the “end of the world.” I’ve been reading quite a few since 2012 is “possibly” the year! You know, when we will all be gone… Myself, I don’t pay too much attention to these predictions, even though I tend to agree that someday something “big” is going to happen.

Julie Achterhoff has taken on this “possibility” in Quantum Earth. However, her characters are all involved in metaphysics and their exploration of potential reasons or solutions spans across the entire spectrum that you might want to consider!

The book opens in the midst of a tsunami…one of the methods by which the earth might some day disappear. Of course, this has occurred once in Biblical history. At that time, however, a great ark was built and some part of the world’s humans and animals were saved. Today, as more and more damage is done to the planet, those studying the matter believe that earth just might be totally destroyed.

Dr. Mel Hawkins (Hawk) and his head assistant Shauna Troy are the primary characters, with six other team members. All have some type of “gift” such as communicating with the dead, that is being used as part of the exploration as to whether we, ourselves, are actually causing the various problems! Or, in more technical terms, “that the human consciousness has the capability not only to create its own reality, but on a grander scale to induce horrific natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes…and then attempt to understand the `why’ of the matter.” (p. 11)

An interesting idea. I think most of us would have immediately thought about our overuse or destruction of too many of our natural resources, etc. Instead, this group’s hypothesis is that it is the emotions or thoughts of those involved or affected by disaster. For instance, if you lived in the location where the tsunami came… then this team would come to interview those involved–including those that died due to the disaster, in order to research and prove their hypothesis.

I enjoyed the actual activities involved in the research conducted with the dead, but I felt that the overall scope of “possibilities” was too broad to be effective and I didn’t feel the tension I would expect for a group trying to cope with the earth ending in a very short time.

On the other hand, I did enjoy the interaction and romantic involvement between Hawk and Shauna, after all, they still had some time to enjoy each other, right?

If you are into metaphysics and want to explore the hypothesis that we, as individuals, may actually affect the planet’s resources–water, earth, weather, in strange ways, then you will want to check out Quantum Earth by Julie Achterhoff. One man donated millions to their research and you will be surprised what happened to him!

Review of Quantum Earth by Chris Phillips

Achterhoff has written a great science fiction piece. The book starts with a tsunami rushing to the beach of a southeast Asian coast. A team of researchers is investigating the possible cause of all the natural disasters that are happening with more frequency recently.
Mel Hawkins heads a team of metaphysical scientists who are searching for the possible cause of the natural disasters that seem to be happening all around. The team consists of psychics, mediums and people readers as well as technical but open minded scientists. They set out to prove that the human race can alter the fate of the planet. It all hinges on the Mayan calendar ending in 2012.
The plot deals with the research. The researchers discover there is some connection between the disaster and what people were thinking at the time and just before it occurred. Through two trance mediums they contact the recently deceased and also interview the survivors. They hope to find a common thread that will show humans can bring about these disasters and thus with the right knowledge and correct direction can prevent the cataclysmic events predicted for 2012.
Achterhoff has too many topics to share in this book. She spends the first part of the book explaining the environmental problems and the apathy or pure destructive tendencies of humans to destroy the environment of the planet. These segments tend to interrupt the flow of the story and cause some difficulties for a reading. Achterhoff comes across as preachy in some places. However the story is well worth following.
Technically Achterhoff is an excellent writer. The editing is clean and consistent. The book printing is well done and easy to read. This is overall a very good medium for the warnings Achterhoff wishes to deliver.
This book is recommended for all science fiction, psychic, and end-times readers. The science and psychic portions might be hard for some to understand or accept, but they are well reasoned and evidently strongly believed in by the author.

Review of Quantum Earth by Thomas Alwell

I feel this is a subject which should be imagined now, as we are on the verge of what this book is predicting. As Peter Lorre said in almost every one of his films, “We are Doomed!”

Review of Quantum Earth by Sambath Meas

Quantum Earth is about a team of seven metaphysicians, lead by Mel Hawkins (“Hawk”) and Shauna Troy, investigating why the Earth is in peril.

In light of the tsunami, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and other natural catastrophes, many people are wondering if Armageddon is coming for real. Would 2012 be the end of the human race, as we know it? Most importantly, are we responsible for these natural disasters? If so, are we being destroyed so the earth can replenish itself? How can we survive the Earth changes? What can we do to appease it and save the human race? These are the questions the team is asking and seeking solutions to. They have their work cut out for them.

Quantum Earth is more than about metaphysics and climate changes. The author, Julie Achterhoff, fills it with romance, mystery, and fantasy. I read this book in one sitting, because I couldn’t put it down. I wanted to know who is this mysterious Starborn one, the friend of the team, and the equally enigmatic benefactor who donated 2.5 million dollars. What does he have to gain from the team’s work? Is he benevolent enough to help save the Earth and the human race or does he have an ulterior motive? More importantly, I wanted to know the scientists’ findings and solutions.

Ms. Achterhoff does a great job of keeping the story intriguing all the way to the end. I love that there are actions in this book. She makes me care about her characters, especially the romantically involved leaders of the team: Hawk and Shauna. My jaw dropped when I found out about half of her identity.

I love this book and highly recommend it.

Sambath Meas, Author of The Immortal Seeds

Review for Quantum Earth by Danni Milliken

“A team of metaphysical scientists is dedicated to finding out why the Earth is in crisis. The rate, size, and destructive power of hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions is out of control. All of these acts of nature have become more devastating to human life than ever before in history, but why? Is the Earth cleansing itself of humanity? Or could it be that human thought is the true case? This is what the team is asking; the hardest question of all: Do we create our own reality?”

It’s not an easy thing to offer to review the work of an author you don’t know very well. If it’s a good friend that’s one thing, because you can say something honestly if you find that you don’t like it. But, if it is someone who you don’t know very well, it is a scary thing to offer to do, because the thought screams loudly in your mind, “What if I don’t like it?” But, one day I know that it will be me out there pimping my work. So, with that knowledge in mind I found I had to put my hand up. Because, one day I hope someone will put their hand up for me.

Still, it was with trepidation that I opened the ebook and began reading the prologue. By the end of the first two paragraphs I made a very happy discovery. This is a good book. From two paragraphs I could tell that Julie Achterhoff is a quality author. Her writing style is extremely easy to read and the scenes are painted so that you can envision their detail easily without the over the top page wasting some lesser quality authors are prone to spend setting the scene. I could have written a review based only on the first few chapters, but this book was so good that I wanted to finish all of it for the sake of my own enjoyment. An exceptional achievement on the part of Julie Achterhoff there, as I rarely read novels to the end anymore.

Quantum Earth is a unique story where a group of scientists use new age beliefs to examine whether or not humanity creates its own tragedies. As natural disasters escalate, this team of researchers use a number of methods to collate data including trance, hypnosis, and dreams prior to the event.

This is a fantastically unique story and it is incredibly well written. At the current price of $15.99, you are getting a real bargain. I have no doubt at all that Julie is a future bestseller, and you won’t regret the short time it takes to enjoy either Quantum Earth, or her new book “Deadly Lucidity” which has just recently been released to amazon.com