As per my little announcement that it's time for me to stop so much with my own writing for my Terror Tuesday posts and extol the virtues of others, I present Kathryn Meyer Griffith, a young lady who just this week turned
Dinosaur Lake into a paperback. I love this book. It is truly super! What's more, your children can read it as well. Woo, hoo!
Once more, I will repeat that Kathryn is my favorite end days author!
The Last Vampire sizzles!
I have included clips for these two great books as well as a Q&A I did with her for a Woman In Horror post I did with her. All of this is well worth the read. Go Kathryn Meyer Griffith Go!
Blaze
This is Kathryn's best selling book. It is great!
Book Description
Publication Date:
August 29, 2012
Blurb:
An ancient predator has been reborn in the caves beneath Crater Lake
...and it's hungry.
DINOSAUR LAKE:
Ex-cop
Henry Shore has been Chief Park Ranger at Crater Lake National Park for
eight years and he likes his park and his life the way it's been. Safe.
Tranquil. Predictable. But he's about to be tested in so many ways.
First the earthquakes begin...people begin to go missing...then there's
some mysterious water creature that's taken up residence in the caves
below Crater Lake and it's not only growing in size, it's aggressive and
cunning...and very hungry.
And it's decided it likes human beings. To eat.
And it can come up onto land.
So
Henry, with the help of his wife, Ann; a young paleontologist named
Justin; and a band of brave men must not only protect his park and his
people from the monster but somehow find where it lives and destroy
it...before it can kill again. ***
Kathryn is obviously happy with the sales from this book(read below). Bear in mind that this is a self-published book!
Blaze
"My 16th novel, DINOSAUR LAKE....is selling
like hotcakes, more every month and it's only been out five,
and the great reviews (a lot of 4 and 5 stars) are rolling
in. 22 right now on Amazon Kindle. After so many years of
being ignored as a woman horror/mystery writer - as a
writer- I am amazed and excited to finally be noticed. I am
humbled. happy." Kathryn Meyer Griffith
This is the book that started me reading Kathryn's tales. The best end days book ever!
Blaze
Book Description
Publication Date: October 1, 2010
Author's new revised edition. The earthquakes with their
falling ash, the global floods and the devastating fires arrive first.
Then the worldwide plague with its stench of death. And as mankind
suffers and dies out, vampires, their numbers dwindling, struggle and
fight fiercely among themselves to survive in a world where there aren't
enough humans to prey and feed upon. As the weeks go by they become
fewer, more desperate and more ruthless. Emma, as the world
disintegrates around her, finds herself alone, family all have
perished...and fending off an unnatural hunger as she becomes one of the
undead. Fighting her unwanted destiny she's determined to resist the
bloodlust she feels, the need to kill and feed on humans, of losing her
humanity, for as long as she can bear it...but she's so hungry...and the
night calls.
Here is a great Q&A with Kathryn Meyer Griffith!
1. First of all, I want to tell all my readers that you are one of my
all-time favorite writers, present and past, and that I am your biggest
fan. All your stories, as different as they might be from each other,
draw me in to them, captivating me in a very special way. Thank you very
much for sharing your tales with me and the rest of the world. You may
take a bow, my friend.
But I don’t feel like I deserve to take a bow…thought I’ve been writing
over forty years , published for thirty since 1984, I don’t feel as if
I’ve ever made it. Really. I’m going to tell you the truth and you might
be very surprised. I’m not a success in any way, except that I’ve never
given up and kept writing year after year; kept getting published.
Right now, of all my books out, all eighteen, most of them aren’t
selling well…except for my first self-published Dinosaur Lake, which,
against all odds, is selling very, very well. It’s strange to have one
book doing so well when all the others aren’t. I have gotten and still
get great reviews on all of my works, but the sales just aren’t there.
Dinosaur Lake has given me hope, though. Funny, a strange little monster
novel that Zebra Books dumped at the last minute twenty years ago (six
weeks from the book shelves, with covers and final editing done) was
revised and revived by me last September and now is my star seller. The
eBook is making me more money than all my others combined and more money
than I’ve made in twelve years. Hmm. It must be the amazing cover by
Dawne Dominique and the dinosaur subject. That’s all I can figure.
2. I come now to the novel that introduced me to your alluring style of
writing: The Last Vampire. This is by far the best end days tale I have
ever read. And, might I add that I write apocalyptic stories. However, I
don’t hold a candle to what you achieved with this novel. It has
Vampires, love, loss, survival, and so much more. You are my favorite
apocalyptic author. Where did you come up with the premise for this
masterpiece?
Another funny story that. The Last Vampire originally came out from
Zebra paperbacks in 1992…to no fanfare and awful sales; it didn’t even
make me my small advance back. It was like it came out and then
disappeared into a black void. I never got any reviews (or none that I
saw) and, though I’d thought at the time it was my best work so far, no
one told me that. I thought it’d been a failure. When Kim brought it out
again in 2011, rewritten by me and a new editor, I was floored to get
all the five star reviews and people raving about it. Again…how strange
the writing life is. But its sales aren’t very good, either. Oh, and I
think the first book of mine you read was A Time of Demons, wasn’t it?
Another end-of-days story, but one with a touch of religion.
3. Now I come to something I have never told anyone before. A few years
back, I had gone through a divorce, and since I have eight children, my
youngest being only four years old now, I did what I felt was the right
thing to do and gave my family everything I owned with the exception of
my books, clothes, and computer. For a while, I was caught between a
rock and a hard place, with barely enough money to make ends meet. I had
to save to scrape up deposit money for a decent place to stay and all.
At that time Damnation books was running monthly specials on all the new
books coming out, and I took advantage of them, obtaining some great
books from many wonderful writers. You, young lady, are the best one of
those great tale spinners. One night, I turned my computer on and read
The Last Vampire. I was blown out of the saddle! Not only was your story
so great, but the words gave me hope. As far down as I was, your words
lifted me. I went to sleep that night happy, even though the story was
sad. Does this make any sense to you? I mean: why should I have been so
overjoyed after reading a tale filled with so much pain?
Sorry about your divorce. I know the pain it can bring. One day you’re
going to have to tell me that story. I was divorced, too, from my first
husband in 1978. He broke my heart. Left me for another woman. Abandoned
me and his son and never looked back. But I was lucky to find my second
husband, Russell, right after. Now it’s been thirty-five years married
to him. I am blessed. And the bitter divorce back then, what I went
through, gave me so much juicy fodder for my writing.
Your compliments about my book and what it did for you make me happy I
kept writing…it’s for reactions like yours that I’m vindicated. Maybe I
am a good writer, I think. I’ll tell you why The Last Vampire resonates,
as some of my stories do with people – I put hope into them and I
attempt to show the strength of the human spirit. All my books are about
how human love, faith, caring and humanity will/can win out against the
darkness we face every day, whether it be the darkness we find in our
normal life or the supernatural. The darkness of life and the fight for
survival. That’s what The Last Vampire is really about…survival of the
human spirit as well as of the body. I try to embed universal truths in
all my stories so they’ll appeal to as many people as possible. We all
have known love, joy, hate, fear, loss, triumph, pain, hope and
hardship. Everyone can identify with them.
4. Well, naturally, I couldn’t stop with just one of your great books. I
needed to read more. And I did. Many a happy night was spent reading
your tales on my computer screen. I read many of them, and there wasn’t a
single mediocre one in the bunch. How are you able to stay at the top
of your game with all that you have written?
Ah, you should say that to the Sales God! Ha, ha. You’re only
prejudiced, in a good way, towards me and my books. You must just be one
of those open people. You know the reader (and writer in your case)
with the empathy to get all the messages I try to put into my tales. It
takes two people to have a great book. A skilled writer and a receptive,
sensitive, intelligent reader. You are one of those intuitive readers.
Then you must also remember that in the last three years I’ve rewritten
all of those old books using the knowledge and wisdom I’ve gathered over
the years, and my whole life really, since I first wrote them. Read the
original books, they’re not half as good, I believe. I’ve cheated by
rewriting them at my age. Knowing what I now know. What I’ve learned.
But I had to as some were truly bad. Juvenile. Poorly written. I had
terrible editors on most of them. A few reviewers have commented of my
revised books that they heard a mature voice behind my writing or in my
characters and every time I heard it I smiled. That made me proud.
5. You have been writing over forty one years and have written eighteen
novels, two novellas, and twelve short stories. I’ve been writing for
thirty seven years. You have me beat. However, I was much older than you
when I first started writing. What drives you to spin your tales?
Good question. Who knows? I was born an artist, wanted to be a singer,
and always loved words. Books. I felt I had something to say to people
and I had to find a way to say it. That life is hard, but beautiful.
Worth the pain we humans go through living it. Love matters. Family
matters. Books were the perfect way. And without my writing I’d probably
be a crazy person. Writing has always been a sort of therapy for me.
Funny that most of what I write is horror or paranormal and, as a
person, I’m pretty much afraid of everything. Ha, ha. I have my
characters often be fearless in the world. Everything I’m not. But,
their inner beliefs are all mine. I believe in the innate goodness of
man – or woman. But, contrary to what some reviews have said, I’m not
really a goody-two-shoes, it’s just the way I like to write.
6. I know that you are self-publishing your books now, and you are doing
such a marvelous job. Who does your editing, cover art, and formatting?
Okay, I’m a nosey guy, but I’m sure my readers would like to know your
tricks of the trade.
After forty-one years of writing, endless publishers and editors I
finally am at the point where I (oh, I know people will smirk and cringe
at this, but I no longer care) can self-edit and format my own books. I
do it all myself now. No one helps me. Not even a reader or a
proofreader. Never have. I’ve always been alone in this. My husband,
sweet as he is and often the template for my heroes, doesn’t like to
read. I do have a great cover artist, Dawne Dominique from Canada, who
was introduced to me through Damnation Books/Eternal Press. She did all
my covers there. All fifteen. She now does my self-published covers. As
an artist myself, believe me when I say she’s the best cover artist I’ve
ever had. I could do my own covers, but she’s better. Besides I don’t
have the art programs on my laptop anymore.
7. Dinosaur Lake, one of your newer self-published stories, is selling
really well. That must be making you very happy. Too many small Presses
and Indie writers toil at the craft for very little money. I gave this
novel a Five Star review, even though I consider it to be YA. It
certainly held my interest. I found the story to be told in not only an
intriguing manner, but it so aptly described a part of the country where
I had lived for a number of years. As far as I’m concerned, this novel
can and should be read by readers of all ages. How long did it take you
to discover the fact that Crater Lake might not be merely a deep, placid
body of water, but that a secret might be lurking beneath the surface?
Thanks again for the praise. But Dinosaur Lake is not a YA, or wasn’t
meant to be. I think some people think it is because I don’t use any sex
or heavy cursing in it. Truth is, these days I don’t like to use the
really strong cuss words because I want my books to be read by people of
all ages. I want them to live forever. In a hundred years, will people
still be saying f--- and other words like it? No, I want the book to
stand on its story and characters alone. Besides, I don’t say those
words so why should my characters? One reviewer gave DL a 2 star review
because he said the book was too tame, didn’t use the f--- word. Said
when a dinosaur was eating a woman, someone would be saying that. Ha. I
don’t feel that’s true. If a dinosaur was chasing/eating me, I’d either
be running, hiding or babbling incoherently. Screaming at the top of my
lungs. Not spewing that awful, crude word. No offense to those who do.
It’s just not me. Oh, about when did I discover something monstrous
might be lurking in Crater Lake? Hey, I think something hideous,
huge-spider scary is lurking everywhere! Behind a door, in a dark
corner, in a darkened mirror or around a corner…anything could spring
out at me and eat/hurt/possess/scare me. Wasn’t a stretch to think there
could be something predatory lurking in a deep rim-encircled lake.
8. In Human no Longer, you mix a Vampire into a story filled with
hardship and uncertainty. The protagonist appears to be more human than
most any person I have ever known. Wham! Another knockout for Kathryn.
Were you aiming for the soul searching mother when you sat down to write
this story?
No, I wasn’t actually. Truth is, I write all my main characters as some
reflection of myself. I guess my life beliefs bleed through. If that
woman is human it’s because that’s how I feel, look at things. It just
comes out between the words, I guess. I also have a trick I use. I give
the main character something hard in their lives, a loss, a hardship, a
sadness that will get instant sympathy from the reader. Usually
something in their past, recent or distant. A sadness or tragedy in
their early life. The loss of a loved one. I want the reader to feel
something for them right away and go on the journey with them. Truth is,
making her a mother wasn’t my idea. It was the idea of the agent I once
had. I thought she’d represent the book five years ago if I did as she
asked. Write about a woman, a mother, who becomes a vampire and how
she’d deal with it. I took the concept and built on it. I’m so glad you
liked it. The book’s still so new I’m just now getting the responses in
to it. I didn’t think it was that good, myself, and was afraid others
would feel that, too. I just wanted to get another self-published novel
out there after Dinosaur Lake. Alas, it’s not selling so far.
9. Tell us about Scraps Of Paper, please. This is a bit of a departure from your norm, but it is so intriguing.
Gee, Blaze, you need to read all my Backstory Essays on Amazon Kindle
attached to all my books. It explains why/how/when I wrote my books, old
and new. Quick explanation: It was one of two murder mysteries I wrote
for Avalon Books ten years ago. I’ve always loved murder mysteries.
Sherlock Holmes. Murder She Wrote. PBS mysteries. Scraps of Paper I
wrote and sold in 2003 and the second in the series, All Things Slip
Away, in 2006. I was having trouble selling horror novels, trouble
selling anything for eight dry years, so I tried writing mysteries for a
while. Sold both to Avalon. Hardcovers. Terrible, terrible ten year
contracts. Low advance. Never saw a penny, nor a royalty statement, in
ten years because of a sell-off limit they say I never reached. I just
got the rights back to the first book and self-published it. Getting
good reviews, it’s still not selling, though. I think it’s a good book.
Now you know why I’m self-publishing. I can’t number the ways publishers
have cheated me over the years. Made me feel like an incompetent writer
and kept me living in poverty. Oh well. Onward and upward.
10. You have also combined four tales into a collection called Four Spooky Short Stories. How is that working out for you?
Same as Scraps of Paper and Human No Longer…not selling yet. But I’m a
patient person. I’ll keep trying. They’re four horror/romantic horror
short stories I whipped up a few years ago for a fantasy/horror magazine
that went under before I could get them accepted. So I decided to
self-publish them, too. Good stories, in my mind, if people would give
them a chance. My favorite is Ghost Brother (darker, grittier than
rest), but a reviewer recently liked the ghost story Too Close to the
Edge the best.
11. I have mentioned Damnation Books, and Eternal Press is a sister
Press for them. I have the utmost respect for Kim Richards and know she
has worked hard to get your past titles published with other publishers
back into print. How did you hook up with Kim?
I think I saw her post on a horror loop somewhere in 2010, I forget
where exactly now. She was posting that she was beginning a new horror
publisher, Damnation Books, and was looking for submissions. I had two
books I’d been sending out everywhere for years and no one wanted. A
Time of Demons and The Woman in Crimson. No joke. My confidence was at
an all time low. I sent them to her and she loved them, contracted them
right away. Then looked me up on the Internet and noticed I had many old
Leisure and Zebra paperbacks out of print going back to 1984 and asked
if I wanted to rewrite and re release them with her; put them in eBooks
for the first time. I said yes and spent the next two years rewriting
and re releasing all of my 15 older novels. And here I am.
12. How might people get a peek at the self made book trailers you have made?
Go to You Tube and key in my name, Kathryn Meyer Griffith, and all of
them will come up. I think I have five or six. I stopped making them
when I got so busy rewriting my old books and haven’t made any since my
brother got sick. My talented musician brother, Jim Meyer, did all the
original music for them, except Egyptian Heart. I even sing with him in
the book trailer for A Time of Demons because it mimics the two main
characters. I used to sing with him when we were young, folk and rock,
in the 1960’s. And I’m so glad he did that music for me since his
cancer surgery his voice is pretty much gone. At least I have the book
trailers and a bunch of jam DVD’s we did together in the last few years.
My husband is even on the DVD’s playing the stand-up bass. Ah,
memories.
13. You write so many different kinds of tales that I just shake my head
in amazement. There is supernatural horror, Sci-fi horror, romantic
time travel, murder mysteries, paranormal romance, ghosts, ancient
Egyptian Spirits, and haunted places. Have I left anything out?
Yep, my very first written novel, but my second published in 1985, was
an historical romance. The Heart of the Rose. Out now again, rewritten,
of course, as the original was horrendous. Ha, ha. I know, I know. Me,
historical romance? A bodice-ripper, even…with explicit sex in it. A
rape scene because my stupid editor (and this happened a few times in my
career where I was forced to add sex to my stories but didn’t really
want to…yes, some of my older books have sex in them) back then made me
write one. Said all the best-selling romances had them. Ech! I was a
twenty-one year old when I started it; trying to find my writer’s voice.
I hadn’t found it yet. But it was about an alleged witch in 15th
century England. So the stage was set, so to speak, for my horror
writing career. My second written, but first published in 1984 by
Leisure paperbacks, novel was a horror, Evil Stalks the Night.
The Egyptian thing? I always had a fascination with ancient Egypt. Loved
the movie The Mummy. That’s why a few of my books are ancient Egyptian
themed. Same with witches. I was always intrigued with the subject.
Ghosts? My Grandmother Fehrt, an Austrian immigrant, used to tell me and
my six brothers and sisters ghost stories when we were little. It
rubbed off, I guess. Then, also, I saw a ghost when I was sixteen. A
real ghost. Of my Great Aunt Mary two days after she’d died; the night
before we were to bury her. In my home’s hallway. Middle of the night.
In a ball of glowing light. Scared the bejesus out of me. I ran and hid
under my blankets. Ha, ha.
14. I see I have more reading to do, Kathryn. All of these genres and
sub-genres intrigue me no end. Is it tough to juggle so many different
thoughts in your mind?
Nope. If you read enough of my books you’ll realize I actually always
write the same kind of books over and over. Good versus evil. Good
usually wins. Strong characterizations. Lots of details and human
feelings. People, love and faith count. That universal stuff again.
15. You are a Christian lady. Your tales are not peppered with a lot of
the vulgarity that I might use when I spin some of my yarns, and yet
your point gets across, and there is a sense of humanity in all your
tales. Do you find it difficult to talk about the Dark when you believe
in the Light?
If the light exists, then so, too, does the dark. Being raised a
Catholic if it taught me nothing else, taught me that. Horror?
Supernatural? Ever read about those Catholic martyrs, those miracles?
The Bible? That Ten Commandments movie where Moses parted the Red Sea?
The Church and demon possessions. Heck, no wonder I grew up to write
what I write.
16. This is your time to talk about whatever you wish. Tell us about
your next forays in to writing more of your fantastic stories or
whatever else tickles your fancy. You have the floor, my friend.
Right now I’m in the middle of a new adventure. Six of my books are
being made into Audio Books by ACX. They’ll be available from
Amazon.com, Audible and iPhones by summer. Witches. The Last Vampire.
The Woman in Crimson. Dinosaur Lake. The Heart of the Rose. Egyptian
Heart. It’s so neat hearing the narrators speaking my stories. They come
alive.
Then…who knows what. I’m getting older and in two years my husband,
Russell, will retire and we want to travel the United States in a
camper. Maybe my writing will slow down then. Maybe not. I’ve been
thinking of a sequel to Witches and one to Dinosaur Lake. Also another
Spookie Town Mystery (would be the third in my mystery series) after I
get the rights back to the second book because I love those quirky
characters in those books. Love the town. I’m not sure. I do know one
thing, though. The stories will always be in my head and I hope to get a
few more out before my days on earth are through. If God allows it.
17. Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Kathryn. I
realize I never ask the simple stuff, but you’re not a simple lady. You
are an amazing, talented author, and a person I am very happy and
honored to call my friend. I will always be your number one fan.
Robert, you do amaze me. That you love my books so much. You are my
number one fan and have brightened my days as much as you say I’ve
brightened yours. I have to smile, though, over you because you think
I’m so special. I’m not all that. Really. If I were then I’d be famous,
and rich, and I’m not, not by a long shot. Maybe it’s something special
in you that reads between the lines of my work and see/hears things that
most people don’t. Could be only you see them. Could be all I really
need in the future is more exposure. I’m trying hard to get it. Until
then I just keep trying to write the best book, story, I can. So here,
now, I want to thank you for all you’ve done for me. Keep being my
friend.
Kathryn's Amazon bio:
I've
been writing for over 41 years now...published for 30 of those years
since 1984; have EIGHTEEN novels, 2 novellas and 12 short stories to my
name...and more coming. Aug. 30, 2012: I (first time ever!)
SELF-PUBLISHED MY 16TH NOVEL *DINOSAUR LAKE* TO AMAZON KINDLE DIRECT!
January 2013 I SELF-PUBLISHED MY 17TH NOVEL *HUMAN NO LONGER*, my fourth
vampire novel. Also in January 2013 I self-published my rereleased
murder mystery (originally a 2003 Avalon Books hardcover) SCRAPS OF
PAPER-Revised Author's Edition and FOUR SPOOKY SHORT STORIES, a
collection of 4 horror/romantic horror short stories.
I write
traditional supernatural horror, SF horror, romantic time-travel, murder
mysteries and paranormal romance. I've been writing about ghosts,
ancient Egyptian spirits, haunted places and evil vampires WAY LONG
BEFORE Stephanie Meyer (no relation to me even though my maiden name is
Meyer) and the rest of the vampire author crowd, ha, ha. And now ALL 15
of my older Zebra, Leisure paperbacks, Avalon Books murder mysteries and
my Wild Rose Press books have been revised, reprinted and rereleased
for the first time in many years (and in e-books for the first time
ever) from DAMNATION BOOKS www.damnationbooks.com and ETERNAL PRESS
www.eternalpress.biz and AMAZON KINDLE DIRECT. Yippie! So look for them.
I'm
a wife of almost 35 years (husband, Russell), mother (one son, James)
and grandmother (two grandchildren, Caitlyn and Joshua). I was a graphic
designer in the corporate world for 23 years; and have published with
Dorchester, Kensington, Avalon Books, The Wild Rose Press, Amazon Kindle
Direct, Damnation Books and Eternal Press, and Amazon Publishing. Six
years ago I crossed over into e-books as well as paperbacks and now ALL
my old/new books are in ebooks...and soon to be in AUDIO BOOKS from ACX.
I love cats and nature, classic rock and country music (my brother, JS
Meyer www.jsmeyermusic.com, is a singer/songwriter and does the songs
for all my self-made book trailers that are on my websites). VISIT me at
www.myspace.com/kathrynmeyergriffith or www.bebo.com/kathrynmeyerG or
www.authorsden.com/kathrynmeyergriffith to see all my book covers and
trailers.
My published books: (ALL OF THESE OUT AGAIN...PLEASE
LOOK FOR THEM!) Human No Longer (2013),Dinosaur Lake (SF horror), Scraps
of paper-Revised Author's Edition, Evil Stalks the Night (supernatural
horror), Leisure 1984; The Heart of the Rose (historical romance)
Leisure 1985; Blood Forge (supernatural horror), Leisure 1989; Vampire
Blood (romantic supernatural horror), Zebra 1991; The Last Vampire
(supernatural horror), Zebra 1992; Witches (romantic horror), Zebra 1993
& Pinnacle 2000; a novella called The Nameless One in Dark
Seductions, an erotic horror anthology, Kensington, 1993; The Calling
(supernatural horror), Zebra 1994. The Nameless One, a short erotic
novella in the 1994 Zebra Anthology Dark Seductions. And Scraps of Paper
(hardcover mystery) Avalon Books, 2003; All Things Slip Away, the
second mystery in the series came out also from Avalon Books in February
2006 and now both are out again from Amazon and both in ebooks for the
first time ever. And my three novels and two short stories from The Wild
Rose Press are out again from ETERNAL PRESS: Egyptian Heart(ancient
Egyptian time travel romance); Winter's Journey(a romantic suspense
novel); The Ice Bridge, (a contemporary romance e-novel with a dose of
murder mystery) and two ghostly short stories, Don't Look Back, Agnes
and In This House. BEFORE THE END: A Time of Demons, an apocalyptic saga
from Damnation Books, June 2010. THE WOMAN IN CRIMSON, a vampire
eternal love story, is out now from ETERNAL PRESS www.eternalpress.biz.
The Complete Guide to Writing Paranormal Fiction: Volume 1 (I did the
Introduction) 2011 and Telling Tales of Horror 2012(I did the chapter on
Putting the Occult into your Fiction)***