22 Comments

Great tale and another Beaumont! :) Coincidence! He's a special kind of Van Helsing. This could be a nice setting for a serial!

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Ha, what can I say: great minds think alike! I actually meant it as an homage to the Belmonts of Castlevania fame. But yeah, that 150 year gap in the story leaves an awful lot of fertile ground to explore.

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Explore you must! I dig it. Lycans, vampires, daywalkers... what's not to like?

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Thanks so much for the encouraging words. Knowing there are people out there enjoying my stories is what keeps me going when I occasionally feel burnt out and discouraged.

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Trust me, you're not alone. The important part is that you have fun writing. Whatever others may think or say. Some may like it others don't. C'est la vie!

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Wow, so many interesting threads woven together in this tapestry. Great job! And just in time for Halloween.

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Thanks, man! I was inspired by your epic werewolf tale to step it up a notch.

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Brilliant! Thank you for sharing.

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In eternal darkness, from home to home

from the Rhone to Italy's Rome.

Always hungry, always famished.

Always miserable, always damaged.

Until at last, eternal life is o'er

hunched over a silver bladed door.

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I’ve only had time to read “French Alps” so far, but it was a really beautiful and enjoyable read. Very relaxing before bedtime, too!

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Thanks very much! I suppose it is kinda cozy in its own macabre sort of way 😅

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4dEdited

Indeed, it was! Brahm Stoker’s Dracula makes me feel that way. Maybe in part because of all the letter-writing…Victorian era letter-writing is such a lost art. Decades ago, for a while, I used to write emails that way…but also, here in Maryland, we’ve had a lot more snow in the past week, than we’ve seen in a long time. So many winters, now, it’s been dry…though we do get the huge mega snow storm, or ice storm, every so often.

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I like this. Thanks for sharing it with us! I love classic horror with good endings.

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I'm glad you enjoyed it! I was inspired by Beauty and the Beast, as well as Brotherhood of the Wolf. I hope to revisit these characters at some point. There's a lot of potential.

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It would really like to be a full book, and I'm here for it.

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Funny you should say that: I've been thinking about what short stories I could expand into at least a novella, and this one is right at the top of the list.

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Great story! I loved that Ryzak got to have his redemption moment, but his cowardice made me so angry, lol! Flawed protagonists are the best. Tipped!

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Yo! Thanks so much! That's incredibly generous! This story is a personal favorite of mine, and I definitely plan on featuring Ryzac in future stories. There's a lot of fertile ground to explore in between the first and second halves of this story.

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Would definitely love to read more stories featuring him.

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Not gonna lie: I am intrigued.

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Jan 1, 2024
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Goodness, thank you so much for the kind words! I'm incredibly grateful and humbled. I actually wrote this story for the last season of Brian Reindel's Lunar Awards, which I highly recommend you subscribe to and join in. An author of your caliber would do very well.

https://www.lunarawards.com/

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