Vampire Vacation - By C.J. Ellisson

One of my favorite sayings is the old African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child.” In my case, it took a social network known as Facebook and a website called writing.com, to bring my book into being. While the actual creating part may have been from me, the critiquing, editing, polishing and general belief in this work came from many, many individuals. I won't have the room to thank them all one by one, but please know I'm grateful, more than mere words can express. You all know who you are.

No matter where I got the encouragement to finish my first novel, the work never would have been fit for public consumption without my old writing partner, Supriya Savkoor. You helped guide me on this twisted path to publication by sharing all your vast knowledge and experience on writing with me, and I thank you.

A big thanks to Hope Rice, for being the beta reader who found the most errors in my work. I'll try not to cringe when I think about how clean I thought the manuscript was when I sent it out.

Special thanks to my agent, Kristin Lindstrom, who believed in me and my book, even when the big publishers passed on us. Here’s to hoping we fare better in the overseas market!

Big hugs and a shout out to my family, friends, neighbors and book club members who dealt with me talking non-stop about my novel for well over a year. Oh—and an additional thanks, mom & dad, for agreeing to never discuss the sex parts in the book with me.

Finally, above all, I thank my best friend in the whole world, my husband Pete, for always believing in me and in this book, no matter what. All the achievements I could ever hope to earn would mean nothing without you by my side.

Contributors

I held a few contests on Facebook while I was writing this novel. They varied from creating a book cover, naming a character, to even writing a tag line for the cover of the book.

A few artists did some exceptional work and I'd like to recognize their efforts here: Debi Singleton, Maciej Kijowski, and Melissa Gannon. Thanks for creating some beautiful art inspired by my novel, it was humbling to see such talent expressed on my behalf. If I make some money on this endeavor I plan to send you all gift cards.

The following individuals inspired names for characters. They either thought the name up, I stole their names because I liked the sound of them, or they supported me so much I wanted to thank them:

Andy Lipshultz: It started as an April fool's joke, but then I twisted things and named a character after him (and basically stole his name, too).

Angie Linne: I named a character after her.

Asa Monson: My nephew, whom I based a character on and stole his name.

Cali Blackadder, aka Julie Jewell: I based a character on her Second Life persona, and named the character after her.

Cy Whitfield, aka Michael Stern: My brother, whom I based a character on his Second Life persona, and named the character after him.

Debi Singleton: I named a character after her.

Frank Natsuhara: I stole his last name for a character.

Jerry Stern: My dad, whom I based a character on and stole his name.

Paul Ocker: I named a character after him.

Margery Stern: My mom, whom I based a character on and stole her name.

Michelle Pazdan: I named a character after her.

Miranda Blevins: I stole her name.

Rolando Ray: He thought of the name Ivan, which won in an online vote—and I stole his name.

Romeo LoGiurato: I stole his name.

Theresa Dowd: I named a character after her and she picked Dria/Vivian's original first name, Ceara, which won in an online vote.

And a big, BIG thanks to Linda Treese for crafting the superb tag line “In the Alaskan darkness, it's not just the cold that bites.” It still gives me chills when I read it.

Glossary of Terms and Characters:

Antonio - a young vampire vacationing at the inn, and member of Liam's seethe.

Asa - the fledgling vampire sent by Cy, who was turned in Afghanistan while serving in the Army.

Angie - a human guest who stayed at the inn eight years ago with her first husband, Ivan.

Blood Coffee - a mixture of half-blood and half-coffee, favored by undead everywhere.

Blood Bond - a term used to describe the exchange of blood between either a human and a vampire, both ways, or a master vampire and a member of their seethe.