Dangerous Waters
by C M Michaels
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For Emily Waters, a nature-loving, small-town girl with an overprotective father, heading off to Boston University to study conservation biology is a dream come true—until a chance encounter catapults her into a mythical world she’d do anything to escape.
The latest victim in a rash of abductions near campus, Emily is brutally attacked before being rescued by a powerful new friend. She survives the ordeal, only to find herself held captive and presented with an impossible choice. While preparing for the unimaginable life she must now embrace clues soon emerge that Emily may not be entirely human, and her physical transformation awakens goddess-like powers that her new family cannot begin to explain. Dealing with her human first love, the not-so-platonic relationship with her coven “sister,” and her new vampire sort-of-boyfriend further complicates matters, not to mention being secretly hunted by the psychopaths who attacked her. And as the only known offspring of a once all-powerful race, the climactic battle is only the beginning of her journey.
Buy: Kindle | (Amazon)Paperback | (B&N) Paperback | Nook | Freya’s Bower (eBook) (Paperback)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Read an excerpt from the book:
“Would you stop already?” Teresa grumbled, glaring at her ever-pacing brother. “No one’s following us. Relax.”
Travis finished scanning Beacon Street and ducked back into the alleyway. “God damn it! Do you ever listen? I told you we had to cool it for a while. What the hell were you thinking?”
“The bitch spilled her drink on me.”
He sighed and tiredly rubbed his eyes. Arguing with her was like trying to reason with a bratty three-year-old grabbing candy in a grocery checkout line. “So we’re homeless because someone accidentally got diet coke on your shirt?”
“Quit being such a queen,” Teresa said with a huff. “You know Stefan thinks of us as his kids, which is totally weird by the way. All he’ll do is make us listen to his rules again. If you wouldn’t have talked me into running, we’d probably be watching TV by now.”
“If Stefan and Alexander just wanted to talk, they would’ve waited until we got back, not raided our feeding room like a two-man S.W.A.T. team. This is serious, Terr. If they find us, they’re going to kill us.”
For the first time in as long as he could remember, his snarky, narcissistic sister looked vulnerable. She crossed her arms to conceal her jittery hands and looked into his eyes. “So what do we do? I’m not living on the street again, or in the skuzzy-ass hotels we used to stay in.”
Travis placed a comforting hand on his baby sister’s shoulder. “Things aren’t like they used to be, sis. Even you have to admit that Stefan taught us a hell of a lot. Once we get out of town, we can trance a bank manager and get all the money we need. I thought we’d head south—you always wanted to see Orlando.”
Acting as if he hadn’t even spoken, Teresa shrugged off his hand and headed further down the dimly lit alley, veering around overflowing dumpsters and piles of loose garbage before slumping back against the brick wall behind her. “And what about the skank who started all this? We just leave her to her fairy-tale life, sipping wine in her mansion?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How I handled the research for the book
Research for Dangerous Waters was done in several phases. Before I’d written a single word I spent the first several days researching the scientific elements that were key to defining my version of vampire mythology. I had to decide up front what abilities my vampires would have, what could hurt them, how vampirism works and what its origin was in order to be able to put together my plot arc for the series and the first book. Nothing bugs me more than getting well into a book, or even two or three books into a series, only to have the author break their own defined rules in order to get out from under the box they had put themselves in. These kind of gaffes are a result of a lack of up front planning. That does not mean that you need to do a data dump on the reader the first chapter and leave no element of your supernatural world unexplained, but there’s a difference between leaving things intentionally vague or open ended and stating a conclusive fact. If every time your vampires are exposed to sun they burst into flames, then you can’t go back on that just because your beloved female protagonist has at long last been changed and you don’t want to subject her to an eternity of darkness. By trying to provide her with a happy ending you have undermined the credibility of your entire series.
The second phase of research was on the historical elements. Some of my vampires are very old and lived in several countries. Painting a realistic picture of each city, their clothes, and their daily activities required several days of research. Google is your friend, as is Wikipedia. It’s amazing how much information we have readily available at our fingertips if we just take the time to find it.
The third phase of research was centered on modern clothing for my coven of trendy female vampires. As a male writing from a female protagonist’s POV, it was essential for me to not only describe their clothing in a manner that was easy for the reader to picture, but also ensure the observations sounded like they were coming from an 18 year old girl. I’ve always viewed a character’s gender as just another aspect of their character, just like their career, their hobbies, the city they live in and their personality. If any of these elements aren’t handled well it’s a problem. Are you describing a character who is a barista by day, is into the Goth scene or who plays the coronet? In every case there is research to be done.
The last category of my research was on the city of Boston where the book is set. By using Google earth and other online tools I was able to describe Boston University and the city streets in detail, right down to individual buildings. Taking the time to thoroughly research Boston also allowed me to add far more vivid and descriptive detail to scenes, and made the end product come across as far more credible.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the author:
C.M Michaels grew up in a small town in northern Michigan as the youngest child of a close-knit family of seven. He met his wife, Teresa, while attending Saginaw Valley State University. Together they’ve provided a loving home for several four-legged “kids”, including Sophie, their eternally young at heart, hopelessly spoiled Spaniel.
He has always enjoyed writing, and still has fond memories of reading his first book, a children’s novella, to local grade schools when he was 14. Dangerous Waters, the first book in the Sisters in Blood series, is being published by Freya’s Bower on September 5th, 2013. C.M. is currently working on the second book in the Sisters in Blood series along with a Fantasy romance.
When he’s not writing, C.M. can be found curled up with a good book, watching movies or hitting the hiking trails with his wife. An avid reader since discovering Jim Kjelgaard novels in early childhood, his favorite authors include Kelley Armstrong, Peter V. Brett, Richelle Mead, Rachel Caine, Cassandra Claire, J.R. Ward, Laini Taylor and Tessa Dawn.
C.M. currently resides in Louisville, Kentucky.
Follow C.M:
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/UFAuthorCMMichaels
Twitter – https://twitter.com/UFAuthor
Blog – http://cmmichaels.blogspot.com/
Website – http://cmmichaels.com/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/authorcmmichaels
Book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7Q7m0MrwlQ
About Jen
Thank you for hosting me today! I will reply to comments this evening.
Thanks for hosting!
Love this! I always find it so interesting to see how authors do research for their books. An inaccurate book is a huge no-no for me, so thank you for sharing some of your methods! Can’t wait to check this one out. ^_^
cloud.weaver.girl AT gmail DOT com
Thanks for stopping by, Melinda 🙂 Can’t wait to hear what you think of the book!
I love the book cover!!
Thanks Christine! We had so much fun shooting the pics for the cover on the campus of MSU with three of their theater students. I am so happy with how it came out 🙂
It’s always fun to hear about the research process!
Thank you for stopping by, Trix 🙂
Thank you.
I really enjoyed reading the process of how you did your research. I never realized how involved it is to write a book! No wonder the book is so amazing! You really did your homework!
Loved reading about ur research process. I guess I should’ve known there was more to writing a book than pen and paper or a laptop LOL.