Dead Camp
Author: Sean Kerr
Series: Dead Camp
Book: One
Release Date: January 1, 2016
Blurb
Eli is an ancient vampire with an ego the size of a planet and a sex drive to match, but his tumultuous past left him broken, so he hides from humanity and cowers from love, left to endure the crushing guilt that haunts his every waking moment. Even his best friend Malachi, a ghost who is hopelessly in love with Eli, remains unaware of all that transpired in London. Malachi can never know the truth.
When the Angel Daniyyel pays an unwelcome visit, Eli must face his secrets, secrets that he has tried so long to hide. To make matters worse, a chance encounter with the most beautiful man he has ever seen shatters his beloved isolation, pushing him into the world of the living once more.
Something about this strange man seems so familiar, but Eli can’t even remember who he was before he became a vampire, never mind explain the unwanted emotions the enigmatic stranger ignites in his dead heart. So Eli has a choice—return to the world that ruined him, or continue his self-imposed exile with no hope of salvation.
Something about this strange man seems so familiar, but Eli can’t even remember who he was before he became a vampire, never mind explain the unwanted emotions the enigmatic stranger ignites in his dead heart. So Eli has a choice—return to the world that ruined him, or continue his self-imposed exile with no hope of salvation.
Publisher: Extasy Books
Cover Artist: Latrisha Waters
Pages or Words: 87,422 words, 260 pages
Categories: Dark Themes, Erotica, Fiction, Gay Fiction, Historical, Horror, M/M Romance, Mystery, Paranormal, Romance, Vampires/Demons, Thriller
Excerpt
With a sickening wet sound, his body finally broke free of the earth. A cry of agony burst from between his perfect lips and his head fell back against my shoulder. I felt his long eyelashes brush against my neck as his eyes flickered in defiance of the blackness trying to consume him.
“Stay with me fella, stay with me, we’ll be home in a jiffy.”
Home, back to my castle, what the f*ck was I thinking? I was out of my little f*cking mind. I didn’t know the man. I owed him nothing. I had an Angel in my dining room and a German soldier in my dungeon and to top things off, I lived with a ghost. Yet I still wanted to take him home? No, I was intent on taking him home, I had decided that the moment I saw him.
But why, why should I get involved, why should I tread that path again, the path that could only lead to pain. It always did. And yet, as I held him in my arms I felt it, something inescapable, something that I could not understand, a stirring, a feeling, like something found when all hope of ever finding it had been forgotten. Something complicated.
A tingle of warning trickled up and down my spine making my hair stand on end. I lowered the hunk to the ground, slowly, carefully and whispered into his perfectly shaped ear. “Remain quiet.”
In a flash of lightning speed, I leapt into a tree, clinging with one hand to a thick branch while my legs wrapped around its thick girth. Someone was out there and not just Mr F*ck Me He’s Perfect. The smell of human, living heart pumping human was unmistakable, that incomparable odour carried on the wind to entice my nostrils and excite my senses, and I was dutifully excited. But there was something else there too, a feint undercurrent, an elusive aftertaste that went beyond sweat and skid-marks, an elusive scent that pricked at my memory, the smell of Demon.
I saw him then, a German soldier winding his way through the field of corpses. His uniform, a grey green feldbluse replete with bottle green collar and shoulder straps, made him almost invisible amongst the branches and the sludge. I could not see his face beneath his field cap but I could easily make out the eagle and swastika emblem embroidered on the bottle green cloth and I noted with disgust the Sturmgewehr semi-automatic rifle hanging loosely from his shoulder.
The Nazi stood barely six metres away from my injured future husband. Do not move lovely man, I said to myself, do not move and don’t make a sound and if you can, be still your beating heart, because to me it sounded like a jackhammer pounding through the forest. He was frightened and in pain. His eyes darted everywhere looking for me, desperate for me, pleading for me to drag him out of that Hell.
I saw the agony flash across his face before the sound escaped his lips. My entire body tensed. Too late, the soldier heard his pain.
He was running then, running towards my Adonis in the pit. Without hesitation, I soared through the air and landed with feline grace before him. The soldier fell backwards with a bloodcurdling scream. The rifle landed at my feet and I picked it up, rising to my full magnificent height, slowly and with purpose, relishing every moment of fear that blossomed across the soldier's white features. I snapped the weapon as easily as though it were a twig and threw the shattered weapon at his feet, watching with satisfied relish as he scrabbled backwards in the mud, his mouth curling away from his face as his terror burst from his throat.
“Demon! You are not from the camp. What are you?”
My teeth extended and my eyes flashed black. My Vampire was out. In one swift movement, barely visible to the human eye, I leapt at him, pulling him off the floor with effortless ease, lifting his flailing body high above my head. I threw him with all my might at the nearest tree. His spine snapped with an audible bang as his fragile body wrapped itself backwards around the trunk of the trembling pine, his lifeless body sliding to the ground and my stomach rumbled. Dinner was served.
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Carra's Review
I'm not quite sure how to describe Dead Camp. There were parts that were intriguing, parts that were amusing, parts that were complicated and parts that were downright disturbing. The writing is a bit wordy at times, usually during the longer, explanatory narratives and other areas of the story where dialogue between the characters is sparse.
There's a unique group of characters, with Eli (vampire), Malachi (ghost), Daniyyel (angel) and Ethan (presumably human) being the main ones and the bulk of the story being told from Eli's point of view. We're also introduced to other characters who have shaped the circumstances in which our group now find themselves (Ethan's parents, Eli's ex, and oh yes-the devil). They all make for some interesting interactions that reveal plenty of secrets on just about every characters' part, adding to the complexity of the story which only serves to draw the reader further in.
There are some scenes with sexual content, and plenty more with innuendo. The one part that I found disturbing though is the final scene read from Ethan's father's diaries. While I had already guessed where things were leading in regards to his father's friend's identity, the events that allegedly cement his friend into who he became are graphic and disconcerting, and might be found distasteful by some readers.
I do find myself thoroughly absorbed in the story to where I need to find out where things go from here. The end of this book leaves us on a cliffhanger that promises a lot more drama to come, and I really want to see how the group's plan pans out as well as what might come for Eli and Ethan. Dead Camp book one was a 4-star read for me, and I'd recommend it for fans of M/M paranormal fiction who like historical settings and flairs of drama. 18+ for adult language, graphic horror/gore and M/M (and a small bit of M/F) sexual content.
There's a unique group of characters, with Eli (vampire), Malachi (ghost), Daniyyel (angel) and Ethan (presumably human) being the main ones and the bulk of the story being told from Eli's point of view. We're also introduced to other characters who have shaped the circumstances in which our group now find themselves (Ethan's parents, Eli's ex, and oh yes-the devil). They all make for some interesting interactions that reveal plenty of secrets on just about every characters' part, adding to the complexity of the story which only serves to draw the reader further in.
There are some scenes with sexual content, and plenty more with innuendo. The one part that I found disturbing though is the final scene read from Ethan's father's diaries. While I had already guessed where things were leading in regards to his father's friend's identity, the events that allegedly cement his friend into who he became are graphic and disconcerting, and might be found distasteful by some readers.
I do find myself thoroughly absorbed in the story to where I need to find out where things go from here. The end of this book leaves us on a cliffhanger that promises a lot more drama to come, and I really want to see how the group's plan pans out as well as what might come for Eli and Ethan. Dead Camp book one was a 4-star read for me, and I'd recommend it for fans of M/M paranormal fiction who like historical settings and flairs of drama. 18+ for adult language, graphic horror/gore and M/M (and a small bit of M/F) sexual content.
Author Interview
Today I’m very lucky to be interviewing Sean Kerr author of Dead Camp.
Hi Sean, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Tell us a little about yourself, your background, and your current book.
Hello! Well, I’m a 46-year-old gay man living in Cardiff, Wales, with my partner of 27 years, Derek. Oh, and our two cats, Rita and Harry, and a load of tropical fish! I have worked in retail most of my life, and for the past 11 years, I have been running my own Interior Design business in Cardiff with my fabulous business partner, Jayne. I am a huge sci-fi and horror fan, Doctor Who being my first love in television, Alien my first love in film. Sigh. How I would love to write for both of them, but that is never going to happen, so move on lol.
Working for yourself, and trying to pay yourself, is not easy. Bit like being an author then lol. In an ideal world, I would love to see our shop run by someone else so that I could spend my days writing, but again that is just not going to happen. I love the design industry, I love working with fabrics and blinds, and helping our customers to create a beautiful home, but at the same time, I do not want to spend the rest of my life tied to our store. The recession hit 3 years after we opened and it has been a struggle, but we survived, and Jayne and I are proud of our achievement.
Writing has always been my passion. I never thought, never in a million years, that I would be published, and here I am with two books out, and I am now busy writing my third! When I started this series of books two years ago, I wrote to every agent in the Artists and Writers yearbook, and then some, well over 200 emails and letters, and I have a huge pile of ‘no’s’. I was on the verge of giving up. I knew my book was a bit fruity, I knew my book was contentious, but it was something I really wanted to write, and I loved every minute of writing it. Just when I thought there was no point in pursuing Dead Camp, I started to write something else, but then I thought I would try contacting some publishing houses direct. I contacted 6 publishers, and within two weeks had 3 offers of a contract! To say that I screamed a lot would be an understatement. I signed with the wonderful Extasy Books, and boy are they fabulous. My editors, cover designer, all of them, just wonderful, talented, incredibly supportive people, and I feel mighty privileged to be with them. I owe them everything, for making my dream come true, and I hope that we will be together for very, many years!
Dead Camp is a series of books, all with different stories that tell one big saga. As a gay man, I wanted to write it from a gay perspective, so all my characters are gay, well, except the odd one or two…spoilers sweetie. The series of books start during World War 2, and as they progress, you will find yourself in Victorian London, the Crucifixion, and then back to the downfall of Hitler. It’s a complex story, and every character is linked, even if they don’t know it. Book 1 & 2 are out, and I am currently working on book 3, which has been the toughest write so far. This book is proving particularly challenging because of the subject matter, but I think I have just broken the back of it, so now, with a bit of a push, I can finish the first draft.
When all is said and done, Dead Camp may contain Vampires, Ghosts, Demons and Angels, but ultimately, it is a story of a father’s forgiveness, and tolerance of that which is different, in a roundabout sort of way. I know the very last page of the very last book, it is there, in my many, many notes, and all I can say is, have a very large box of tissues at the ready!
Is there a character in your books that you can’t stand? (Antagonist for example) And what makes them someone you don’t like?
The Mother and Father. They have absolutely no redeeming features whatsoever. Even with Melek, you can’t help but love him, but with that Demonic pair, they are just pure malevolence in human form.
Real evil is always born of something, there is always a catalyst, and during the course of the books, this will be revealed, but even then, you will be hard pushed to feel any sympathy for them. They have a very singular motivation for their actions, and they really don’t give a shit about how they achieve them. What they put Isaiah through is pure evil. What they did to Eli in London is born of pure hatred. They want what they want, and if mankind falls because of it, then all the better.
When you find out who they are, and why they are, their motivations become all the more apparent, but all the more horrific for it. Some people are impossible to love, and some people are impossible to forgive, and the Mother and Father fall into that category. Cruelty, torture, murder, the total annihilation of society as we know it, that is their mantra, and by God they do everything in their power to realise it.
Are there misconceptions people have about your genre?
That all Vampire stories are the same. Yes, there are a series of tropes that we have to follow, but I have always wanted to write my Vampire story, and I have tried very hard, to add a different and unique spin on the genre. The origin of the Vampire, the reasons for its existence, daylight, mirrors, God, I have addressed it all throughout the course of my novels in a way I hope is fresh and different.
There is a larger misconception that I had about the M/M genre. One of the most surprising things I have realised about this genre, is the readership of such books. I wrote Dead Camp because I wanted to write something as a gay man, from a gay perspective, for gay people. Yet, this genre, M/M romance, gay fiction, whatever you may call it, is read by a huge, enormous readership of wonderful, supportive, and very kind women. Married women with children, single women, just lots of fantastic women. I had no idea. When my Facebook presence began to grow, it was only then that I realised this fact, and I have met so very many wonderful women who have really enjoyed my books, and who really love this genre of M/M fiction, and that surprised me more than anything. I assumed, stupidly, that I was writing for a primarily gay audience. WRONG! And I am so glad, because I have now been accepted into a world that I never knew existed, and I love it, and I love the people who inhabit it.
Is there message in your novel that you hope readers grasp?
Ultimately, it is about forgiveness. Every character, every story, every slice of history that I take you through, it is all connected. When all is said and done, when it gets to the very last few chapters in the very last book, it will all boil down to a son wanting his father’s forgiveness. It will be painful, as all reconciliations are, but the underlying message will, I hope, be quite strong. As a gay man, I did not choose this life, it chose me. I did not choose to be gay, I just am. I love my life, and I love the people within it. It doesn’t matter if you are gay, straight, trans, bi, any of it, we are people, we love, we laugh, we cry, and we all need to be forgiven at some point in our lives, and we all need to forgive.
How has your writing evolved since your first book? (If this is your first book, how do you hope it evolves?)
How has your writing evolved since your first book? (If this is your first book, how do you hope it evolves?)
The more you write, the better you get…I think lol. It took me two years to write Dead Camp 1 & 2, and I did many re-writes. I have realised how important a singular voice is within your work, because it is that voice that will drive the reader forward. The voice of Dead Camp 1 and 2 is raw, rough, and crude. But as the story progresses, that will change as Eli changes. Writing book 3 has is a tough gig, much worse than 1 and 2, if anything it has been even more difficult, but that is because of the voice within this novel, and the subject matter it deals with. I think that we, as authors, never stop learning, and never stop trying to make ourselves better. Working with editors and proofers at Extasy Books have taught me a huge amount about structure, layout, etc, all things that I am applying to book 3, but I am more driven now than ever. I have two books, published by a professional publisher, and they are available on Amazon, wow, I never thought I would see the day. That alone has made me want to do better, to make my writing better. But above all, this whole process has taught me about my lovely readers, and it is for them that I want to make the reading experience as exciting and fulfilling as possible, because without the readers, it is just a pile of paper with words on.
One food you don’t care if you never eat it again.
Dragon fruit. Really? Who ever thought that was a good idea? My stomach is turning at the thought. Do not eat Dragon fruit if you value your life.
I love writing—I have done it since I was a child when I would happily write about the latest episode of Doctor Who (Tom Baker in those days) in my schoolbooks. Growing up and becoming a business owner with my friend Jayne left little time to pursue my dream of publication, but of late the desire and the compulsion to put words onto paper have once again dominated my life so that now, my laptop has become surgically fused to my fingertips.
There is something desperately satisfying about telling a story. My fascination with History, Religion and Conspiracy theories have, in this instance, gone hand-in-hand with my love of all things vampire, fantasy, sci-fi and horror. I drove my parents nuts when I was young because that was all I would read about in books, all I would watch on television, but they have held me in good stead, and long may my obsession with the subjects continue, at least, that is, until the day they put me in my own wooden box. And imagination is such a wonderful thing. I once had a rather vivid dream about David Tennant and the Tardis console, but I could not possibly go into details about that here. Let’s just say that my polarity was well and truly reversed.
Dead Camp is just the beginning. I have to check my knickers every day at the thought that this book is now in the public domain. My first book, and I hope the first of many. And to those out there who love to write, who love to transport us to new worlds, or old worlds with a twisted perspective, I say to you keep going. I never thought I would ever see my work available to download, and thanks to eXtasy Books, the dream that I always thought unobtainable has finally come true. So thank you all at eXtasy, I am one happy homosexual thanks to you, and thank you the reader for taking the time to read this strange tale and allowing Eli and the incomparable Malachi into your lives.
Meet the author
I think that as I approach that milestone that is fifty, I must be one of the oldest gamers on the face of this earth. Many a day you will find me lashed to my PS4 enjoying a good session of Skyrim. Who doesn’t love a good session of Skyrim?
I love writing—I have done it since I was a child when I would happily write about the latest episode of Doctor Who (Tom Baker in those days) in my schoolbooks. Growing up and becoming a business owner with my friend Jayne left little time to pursue my dream of publication, but of late the desire and the compulsion to put words onto paper have once again dominated my life so that now, my laptop has become surgically fused to my fingertips.
There is something desperately satisfying about telling a story. My fascination with History, Religion and Conspiracy theories have, in this instance, gone hand-in-hand with my love of all things vampire, fantasy, sci-fi and horror. I drove my parents nuts when I was young because that was all I would read about in books, all I would watch on television, but they have held me in good stead, and long may my obsession with the subjects continue, at least, that is, until the day they put me in my own wooden box. And imagination is such a wonderful thing. I once had a rather vivid dream about David Tennant and the Tardis console, but I could not possibly go into details about that here. Let’s just say that my polarity was well and truly reversed.
Dead Camp is just the beginning. I have to check my knickers every day at the thought that this book is now in the public domain. My first book, and I hope the first of many. And to those out there who love to write, who love to transport us to new worlds, or old worlds with a twisted perspective, I say to you keep going. I never thought I would ever see my work available to download, and thanks to eXtasy Books, the dream that I always thought unobtainable has finally come true. So thank you all at eXtasy, I am one happy homosexual thanks to you, and thank you the reader for taking the time to read this strange tale and allowing Eli and the incomparable Malachi into your lives.
And now I really need Skyrim.
Rafflecopter Prize: eCopy of ‘Dead Camp’ book one
Tour Dates & Stops:
29-Mar: Full Moon Dreaming, Velvet Panic, BFD Book Blog
19-Apr: Wicked Faerie's Tales and Reviews, Inked Rainbow Reads, Emotion In Motion, Book Lovers 4Ever
10-May: Dawn’s Reading Nook, Cathy Brockman Romances, Unquietly Me
17-May: Kirsty Loves Books, The Novel Approach
31-May: MM Good Book Reviews, Making It Happen, Love Bytes
7-Jun: Happily Ever Chapter, Alpha Book Club
14-Jun: Molly Lolly, A.M. Leibowitz, Outrageous Heroes
thank you so much for your very kind review and for hosting me today xxxx
ReplyDeleteI was very glad to host you today :-) I'm looking forward to starting book two!
Deletethank you Carra and please keep in touch! I would love to connect with you on Facebook. I am just finishing up book 3 now xxxx
DeleteSean your books are amazing as are you! I'm very proud of you and so thrilled your dreams are coming true! Anxiously awaiting book 3! Can't wait to one-click! Love you! xxxx
ReplyDeleteSean your books are amazing as are you! I'm very proud of you and so thrilled your dreams are coming true! Anxiously awaiting book 3! Can't wait to one-click! Love you! xxxx
ReplyDeletethank you so very much Leah my friend, you are an amazing woman xxxx
ReplyDeleteI have become a huge fan of Sean's, I even want to say his number 1 fan *cringe* sounds so stalkerish. I agreed a lot with the review that you wrote, but also disagreed on the too wordy part, simply because I believe we also need to understand the history behind Dead Camp and in my opinion those words are needed. I did have to re read a bit to fully comprehend the meaning but I don't mind doing that. I would highly recommend purchasing Dead Camp 1 & 2. Once you have read them you will be looking for book 3 with grabby hands because now you're hooked.
ReplyDeletethank you so much Marggie, and I am privileged to have you as my number one fan, love you very much xxx
DeleteI can not wait for book 3. Getting through the summer will be torture waiting. Two of my favorite books ever! I'm am a huge fan.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much Patricia, I am so very grateful for all your kind support xxxx
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