Guest Post: Ellie Garratt

So happy to have Ellie Garratt guest post today. She's the author of Passing Time, an anthology of nine very spooky and haunting stories.

Finding Luna Black is the fourth story in Passing Time, and it happens to be the only vampire story. So here's Ellie's take on writing this great tale...

Finding Luna Black

Thank you for hosting me, Jay. I’m thrilled to be visiting with you and your readers today.

I’ve only written one vampire story. It’s not that I don’t like vampire stories – it’s just not my first choice. However, in late spring of 2010 I noticed a submission call for Pill Hill Press’s Fem-fangs anthology. The theme was simple – stories with strong female characters that allow readers to delve into the alluring lore of female vampires – and it immediately appealed to me. On top of the theme, I have to admit the cover seduced me.

The problem was I couldn’t think of a story. Like most of my writing problems, I pushed it to the back recesses of my mind and worked on other projects, hoping a solution would present itself in the not so distant future. A few weeks later one of the national newspapers featured vampires in their 10 Things You May Not Know column. In it they stated on average 417 people a year takes out vampire or werewolf insurance. As soon as I read it, I knew I had my story ‘what if’. What if a woman who doesn’t believe in vampires is seduced by an insurance payout? Two weeks later Luna Black, with a strong female protagonist and female vampire was submitted and accepted for publication.

I learnt two key things from this experience – given time a solution to a problem almost always appears and passing time doing activities other than writing can often lead to the most unexpected story ideas. In my case, reading the newspaper.

Where did your most unexpected story idea come from? What non-writing activities have inspired you?

Book Blurb

Nine dark fiction stories that may just give you nightmares.

A man lives to regret Passing Time. A father will do anything to save his son in Expiration Date. An author finds out her worst nightmare is back in The Devil’s Song. A woman gets more than the claim fee when she takes out vampire insurance in Luna Black.

In Dining in Hell, the Death Valley Diner becomes the wrong place to stop.

A serial killer wants to add another file to his collection in The Vegas Screamer. In Eating Mr. Bone, an undertaker could meet an unfortunate end. A con man meets his first ghost in Land of the Free. And will truth finally be set free in The Letter?

Book Links

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About The Author

A life-long addiction to reading science fiction and horror, meant writing was the logical outlet for Ellie Garratt’s passions. She is a reader, writer, blogger, Trekkie, and would happily die to be an extra in The Walking Dead. Her short stories have been published in anthologies and online. Passing Time is her first eBook collection and contains nine previously published stories. Her science fiction collection Taking Time will be published later in the year.

Author Links

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