In Ancient Greece, the capital of Sparta was named Laconia (alternately spelled Lakonia). This is not that Laconia. In New Hampshire, USA, there is a town named Laconia. This is not that Laconia.
This Laconia exists on the East Coast of the United States, somewhere surrounded on three sides by state and national forest. We know it's not in Maine. We know it's not Pennsylvania. We know it's not Maryland. It could be in Virginia, but the winters seem entirely too cold for that. The quickest route is through the mind of Donaya Haymond, a precocious young storyteller who began her first novel in 2003 at age 13, obsessed with the past and future residents of this town she carries in her pocket. She started out posting it in segments on fictionpress.com (later Fanstory.com as well). Drafts and rejections, years and tears later, the book that started it all is now available as an eBook at Eternal Press, as well as for sale on Amazon. EBook ISBN: 9781926704173. Print book ISBN: 9781926704265. The sequel, Bite Me, is now available in both eBook and print form. EBook ISBN: 978-1-926704-49-4 Print ISBN: 978-1-926704-57-9. If all goes well, the next book will be available a few months after that, and so on. Donaya Haymond is currently working on the last Laconia novel, making for twelve in all.
The eBooks are also now available from Fictionwise.com in many formats, including Kindle-compatible. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: BITE ME HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR BOOK OF THE MONTH AT DARK DIVA REVIEWS! PLEASE GO VOTE AT http://darkdivasreviews.webs.com/bookofthemonthpoll.htm ! THANK YOU! HALLOWEEN ROMANCE  . Selene believes Ferdinand would abandon her if he knew she was a werewolf, something that isn't supposed to exist. Ferdinand hides his vampirism from her for the same reasons, and must also hide from a world that thinks he's evil. He's just a melancholy English major who had a serious misadventure last summer. She's just a college student with a bizarre family history. A comedy of secrets and a romance of accepting what makes us different. Sample Passage:
"I have a condition that makes me, um, sensitive to strong light. My name is Ferdinand, by the way."
"Ferdinand?" She had visions of German counts and friendly bulls.
He shrugged. "My roommates call me Ferdin and my mother says Ferdy, when she's in a good mood."
Selene couldn't repress a giggle. "Ferdy doesn't suit you at all, especially in that vampire get-up. What color are your eyes, really?"
He stared off into space for a moment, then said, "Blue...Your costume. What creature are you supposed to be?"
Selene grinned. "Nobody gets it on first try. I forgot all about the party until this morning, and didn't have time to put a costume together, so I just came as a werewolf on the other twenty-nine nights of the month."
"Clever!" he said, amused. "I've never seen such a good-looking werewolf in all my life."
"Are you flirting with me?"
"Aren't vampires supposed to be oversexed?" BITE ME  It's hard enough for Dianne to be fifteen and obviously to love her
parents, even worse when there's something weird about them no one
quite understands. Her father being a vampire and her mother being a
werewolf is a simple fact of life. More worrisome are Mom and Dad
getting sick for unknown reasons, the effect an accidental display of
power is having on her social life, and the possibility that the boy
next door thinks she's a freak. Matthew seems to like her, yet there's
something off about him. Dr. Nat Silver, a vampire with several medical
degrees, may provide some answers. For the most part Dianne feels it's
her wit and devotion versus a world more cruel than any supernatural
being could ever be.“Dianne Anghel, is there something wrong at home that's bothering you? Your grades are still good, but your behavior has slipped so abruptly. I'm worried.” Hah. I could just see myself sitting down and solemnly saying this to the principal, “Yeah, in fact, there is. You see, my mom's a werewolf and my dad's a vampire. Which wouldn't be so much of an issue, except everyone thinks they're weird for other reasons and won't stop ragging me about it. Worst of all, my social status has managed to plunge to a negative rating, and I might have some no-longer-latent shape-shifting abilities. Other than that, no, there's nothing wrong at all, ma'am, and I'm sorry I slapped Tammy. I wish I'd bitten her.” |