Comic Book Series Fan Posts Part 2

A very special thank you to all my wonderful friends and fans, I'm truly honored to receive your feedback, posts, responses and shares on the comic book series and I am grateful for everyone's support! Thanks again! You all rock!

Comic Book Series Fan Posts Part 1

A very special thank you to all my wonderful friends and fans, I'm truly honored to receive your feedback, posts, responses and shares on the comic book series and I am grateful for everyone's support! Thanks again! You all rock!

Photos March 2014

Turning the Ordinary into Something F'd Up: How I Write Horror

 

Copyright Lia Scott Price

"Look at what's 'normal' and f--k it up."

I like to play a "what-if" game when I write. I like to look at something normal, like a Guardian Angel, and see how f'd up I can make it into---a Vampire. A Serial Killer. I also like to take everyday situations and people and just turn them into something out of this world. That's the fun part about writing--to make it into a game and "push the envelope" and see how much more bizarre and unusual I can make my characters and stories. I like to f-up the ordinary and make it into something disturbing.

Another thing I like to do is have a TV show that is completely unrelated to horror playing in the background while I write (say, Animal Planet), and I won't read horror novels--I will read a totally different genre or even a magazine or watch a news channel. Then I let my imagination turn the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Please read my writing and self-publishing disclaimer here

Why I chose to write about Vampires

How did I get into writing about Vampires? Part of it was when I first read the Bible I was inspired by all the blood-drinking references and killer angels, and that also became the basis for one of my stories in which ancient angels were actually Vampires hidden by the church, fed with victims of the inquisition who the church called "heretics", and worshipped as "angels", and hidden and protected by the church in Bible verse. And I was always terrified of life-sized, blood-covered statues and those "incorruptible bodies of Saints" on display in churches---I always thought they were vampires as a child. So those images stuck with me. And that became one of the influences for my stories. It became a "what-if" scenario, and I took it a little further by also making my Vampire Guardian Angels into serial killers.

I'm also a fan of the "classic", "B-movie" vampires, (1980's vampire films such as Lost Boys and Fright Night), films such as 30 Days of Night,  From Dusk till Dawn, and Salem's Lot, and the Hammer Films with Christopher Lee such as the Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires. (Also check out my friend Charles E. Butler's homage to the Hammer Vampires in his book "Vampires Under the Hammer.) Vampires were what scared me the most so they were the perfect "monster" to write about.

Comic Review: Vampire Guardian Angels Resurrection: Afterlife Issue 4

Thank you to amazing writer John Rizo and to horrornews.net for the awesome comic book issue 4 review! Much appreciated! Read the review here! Comic Review: Vampire Guardian Angels Resurrection: Afterlife Issue 4

FAQ: How I feel about Self-Promotion

Copyright Lia Scott Price

I get questions from fans about how I self-promote and what it takes and do I get discouraged, or is it hard. My answer to that is that you have to develop a work ethic. It's a job. You set up a schedule, a plan of action, and you work on it. You have to run yourself like a business, as an entrepreneur. And I'm quite happy and enthusiastic to be self-promoting.

You can't expect to put something out and always rely on others to do your promotion. Sure, any help is great and I always appreciate those who take the time to spread the word about the comic books. My point is that, no one will know about it or even help you out if you don't put the word out and constantly promote your own work. You have to give people a reason to work with you and to spread the word for you. You have to actively take part in your own promotion of your work.

For instance, I hear people complain that they publish something, and then they sit back and wait, and then get upset if nobody buys their work or knows about it. The biggest complaint I hear is that promoting or marketing is not their thing, it's too hard, or that they are not good at it and that it takes away from their creativity and their time used to create. You have to make a case for yourself as to why people should notice your work. When your accomplishment and exposure start to pile up and get more out there, you get more noticed. Have the discipline, work ethic, and positive mindset to do so. Make it a goal. But most of all, do it because you love what you've created.

I think of it this way: It's all about trial and error. When I put something out there, I'm very eager to try out new slogans, images of the comic books, little write-ups about the characters on my blog, behind-the-scenes, photos etc. to see what fans react to. If a slogan doesn't really vibe with fans, then I try another one. And it gives me a chance to be more creative. It only adds more to my creativity because this "market research" helps me either improve the stories, think up more exciting, fun ways to promote the comic book. use the most interesting pics from the comic books, and find other venues or ways to promote. It does not take away from my time to be creative, it only enhances it. Don't be afraid to do it. It also gives me a chance to see what works and what  doesn't, and if something doesn't quite work, I switch gears and experiment some more until I see what "clicks".

It also gives me a chance to engage my audience and interact with them. I realize of course that the comic books are not going to promote themselves and that I don;t have to be a sales expert. I just have to really like what I do and be proud and passionate of my work, and be glad to promote it.