I'm giving my blog today to my friend, Tara Tyler to talk about the different kinds of beasts in her Beast World books. I hope you enjoy and check her out.

Valentine's Day is Abducted Life's birthday, and to celebrate, I decided to host a blog hop about being abducted by aliens. Because nothing is more romantic than getting kidnapped by aliens. What? Savannah and Evan disagree? Bah. They are no fun.

Anyways, join me and others this week as we muse on being abducted by aliens. You can still join, too, if you'd like.  I decided to write about the moment before they were taken.

The wheat rustled in the night's wind, swaying around Savannah. She ran her fingertips over the tops. Where was he? He usually beat her. Then he'd wrap his arms around her and...

Heat rushed up Savannah's face.

Footsteps turned her around. Evan strode to her. He ducked his head and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry I'm late. Mom woke and--"

Savannah crushed her lips to his.

The force caused him to step back. "Whoa." He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. They held each other, reveling in the warmth of their embrace. Evan kissed her again. His hands slid up her shirt. She moaned against his lips and the world around them faded. Nothing mattered. School tomorrow. Unfinished homework. Getting caught. Not even the shooting star that seemed to be coming toward them mattered. They were together and nothing could separate them.

Savannah Janowitz’s perfect life was destroyed the night she and her boyfriend vanished without a trace. A year later she reappears—alone. With no memory of what happened and strange, new abilities manifesting, Savannah struggles to rebuild her life.

Evan Sullivan never gave aliens much thought until the night he and Savannah were abducted. Changed by the horrifying experiments that made him less than human, Evan hides in the shadows and watches Savannah rebuild her life without him.

But neither can let the other go. Reunited, Savannah and Evan finally see a glimmer of their old lives return. As they face what happened to them together, they realize aliens aren’t the only danger out there.

Someone closer to home is watching, waiting for the right moment to tear them apart.

Now, it's your turn. How would you be abducted by aliens? What would you do?

The first Wednesday of every month is the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Posts go up the 1st Wednesday of every month. Check it out here and join if you need support with your writing. Don't forget to stop by and say hi to the co-hosts: Lee Lowery, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Jennifer Hawes, Cathrina Constantine, and Tyrean Martinson!

February 5 question - Has a single photo or work of art ever inspired a story? What was it and did you finish it?
I have a really short answer for that: no. But, I have had movies and other books inspire a story. My young adult paranormal, Being Human was inspired by the dark ending to the novel Thirsty.

Last month, I focused on looking back at 2019. It was a good year, and it left me with high hopes for 2020. I still have high hopes, but January was a rough month. Not as much as I would have liked got done. I dealt with a lot of fatigue and exhaustion. When I thought about it, I wasn't surprised. Last January I dealt with fatigue. I eventually declared my 2019 officially started on February. Then I rocked the year.

I think my issue with January is I'm recovering. We have three holidays that are extremely social in a short time. I'm an anti-social introvert, so those holidays wipe me out. January signifies the end and I can finally relax and my body is like, "HELL YES! NAP TIME!"

Realizing this has lifted a load off my shoulders. Instead of stressing about how tired I am (despite doing nothing) and what I want to get done, I let myself rest. I recharged and worked on things that didn't require brain power or were easy. Now, I'm ready for 2020 to begin.

Has your year started out with a bang or a fizzle? Do you need to recoup after the holidays? Want to start 2020 in February with me?

*Adding after I initially published this* My little nephew is in the hospital with the flu. He has a compromised immune system, so if it's going around, he gets it. Please send him some healing vibes that he's out quickly and back to be the adorable tornado he is.

Would you like to join me on the week of Valentine's Day for a blog hop? We imagining what it'd be like to be abducted by aliens to celebrate the birthday of my novel Abducted Life. All the details are here.

​As you know, I love vampires. Tell me there is a vampire in the story and I am there. For a while, when it came to writing, it seemed like my muse only gave me vampire ideas. Vampires are never going away, but you don't have to be limited to blood sucking undead that burst into flames in sunlight. There are five types of vampires that are more than bloodsuckers.

Sexual Vampires
Also known as a succubus or incubus, a sexual vampire sustains themselves by absorbing the sexual life force energies of the living. This usually happens during an orgasm. Partners may be willing or unwilling. Bodily fluids do not have to be consumed. They can absorb the energy psychically.

Emphatic Vampire
This vampire is sort of in the same vein as a sexual vampire. The main difference is they aren't limited to sex. They feed on the emotion of the people around them. You probably won't find fangs on these vampires as they aren't consuming the emotion via blood. Emotion can be positive or negative, but most often if it is negative the vampire is feeding from, they are the cause of those emotions and can scar the victim.

Psi-Vampires
This type of vampire usually don't harm those they feed on. They live on life force and the ability can work on single victims or crowds. Usually, victims don't notice they are being fed on. Depending on how much the vampire takes, effects can be as minor as fatigue. It is possible for a psi-vampire to drain a person to death.

Fat-Sucking Vampires
This last entry is one I know little about. It was mentioned during MIParaCon on a talk about vampires. I made a note because this was a twist on the myth I had never heard. Can you imagine if the sparking Twilight vampires drank fat?

This vampire originates from Peru, and yes, it really does drink fat.  "A pale-skinned vampire/bogeyman who roams the Andes and kills peasants in order to drain them of their body fat, the legend of the Pishtaco was basically plucked directly from the real-life horrors experienced by the indigenous communities of Peru and Bolivia during colonization in the 15th century." (source)

So, there you have it. Four vampires who don't only suck blood. Which one is your favorite? Have you heard of any other vampires that don't drink blood? What is your favorite vampire story? If you liked this post, you can check out my Patreon where Patreons get posts like this before anyone else as well as exclusive flash fiction.

Four brothers bound by a higher power. One path they must follow.

As archangels, Michael and his brothers are charged with the divine task of sending escaped fallen angels back to Hell. When they uncover a plan to unleash the most dangerous fallen angel, Michael and his brothers discover there is more to their path than they once believed.

They must join forces with unlikely allies and throw off prejudices they once held if they are to save the world. Are they willing to do what it takes to stop the fallen angels? Or will they be the ones to fall?

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