Ally Thomas, an Amazon Bestseller author in Fantasy and writer of the paranormal fantasy series, the Vampire from Hell sent me a text the other day and said she was coming out. I stopped for a moment because Ally is straight and married. I texted her back and asked her what she meant exactly. “About the pen name stuff,” she replied.
Many of Ally’s fans have been wondering why Ally stopped writing on her popular series, the Vampire from Hell last summer. After she released “A Vampire on Vacation (The Vampire from Hell – Part 3)”, Ally seemed to take an extended vacation herself. Oddly enough she has been busy writing in between everything else, but not on what we’d expect her to be writing. Continue the interview below.
Click the image to download the ebook for Free at Smashwords.
Friday Freebie
Today’s Friday Freebie is celebrating Ally Thomas, author of the Vampire from Hell series venture into vampire romance. *Gulp* Yup, you heard me right. We have an excerpt below. You can access the free sample here. It contains the first two chapters of Virgin Moon.
EXPLICIT WARNING: Stories under Ally’s new pen name, Eva J. Thomas are FOR ADULTS ONLY.
I’d like to thank Ally for being on our blog today. It’s been a very informative interview. Best of luck, Ally in whatever genre and under whatever name you plan to continue writing in.
Giveaway
Ally will be giving away 5 ebooks of Virgin Moon on Amazon today. To enter, post a comment to this original article at Fanged Love and Vampire Confessions. Ally will randomly pick 5 winners and notify each. Please include your email address in the post to be considered. Thank you! ~Randi
Interview with Ally Thomas
Randi: I’ve gotta ask you straight up. What happened? You pushed the deadline for Part 4 of the Vampire from Hell series several times last year. People now wonder if you are coming back with anymore in the series. Are you?
Ally: I am coming back with the series. My heroine, Rayea is my favorite subject, hands down. I know it’s upsetting to my fans that I have taken so long to get the next installment out. And I apologize for making them wait, but it’ll be worth it. I can tell now it’s going to be a much better installment than the one I accidentally deleted in October 2012. I’ve got my confidence back writing as Rayea.
Randi: Excuse me, did you say deleted?!
Ally: Yes. I probably shouldn’t admit this. I really nose-dived into self doubt or writer’s block last year. Deleting a book certainly didn’t help. I always thought that writer’s block was a lame excuse for a writer to use until I experienced it first hand. I’m not sure what happened after Part 3 was released last July. Maybe I burned myself out. Getting laid off at Christmas only added more to my situation. I’m happy to say I’m writing again and that’s all that matters. I’m working on Part 4, but I’d be lying to you if I said I’ve been working on it all this time.
Randi: So you haven’t then?
Ally: I’ve been exploring new ideas and contemplating writing under pseudonyms. While Rayea’s stories are my first love, I realized late last year that I had hit a brick wall with my writing. I needed a break and wanted a new challenge. When I accidentally deleted the old version of Part 4, I flipped out. Later I realized it was a sign. I needed to re-evaluate things. I started playing around with the idea of a paranormal romance after Christmas.
Randi: Okay, so what did you do? You’re being very vague still, Ally. Come on. Spill it!
Ally: I have several author friends who write exclusively in paranormal romance and erotica. I create covers for them and format their paperbacks so I got curious after skimming sections of their books. I wanted to see if I too could write something ‘romancy’ as I put it. My focus has been fantasy and sci-fi and that’s what I wanted to write with the Vampire from Hell series. Romance, even erotic romance is so different. My strengths are dialogue while writing description is a challenge for me. I had to write lots of description in romance so I read some ‘How To’ books and got to work. I’m not sure I’m any good at it yet, but I’m exploring. I like how different it is and I love to hear from readers. Finding out what they like about your romance ebook is very informative. Reader feedback has always been fun! I think I needed the distraction of challenging myself to write something out of my comfort zone in order to find my way back to the Vampire from Hell series.
Randi: I thought you wrote Young Adult. You don’t consider the Vampire from Hell a YA series?
Ally: No, I don’t consider the Vampire from Hell series YA. I don’t market any of my books in that series as YA. Rayea curses a lot and talks about all of her boyfriends she has sex with. She may not go into details, but someday she might. Rayea has a complicated sex life, remember? I think of it as paranormal fantasy, not Young Adult.
Randi: So how did you approach this idea of writing a paranormal romance?
Ally: Being a movie buff, I watched a lot of romantic movies. I talked with a few romance author friends of mine a lot, so much so I probably annoyed them. Finally I figured out a story I liked, the language I wanted to use, and went with it. I did a test run (releasing a story in February) that seemed to go over nicely and now I’m back at it with another installment of the story for a release later this summer.
Randi: A test run? What do you mean?
Ally: I released the first novella under an unknown pen name., not related to my name.
Randi: Okay, I’m lost. Not Eva Thomas?
Ally: Under a different pseudonym. Different person, social networking sites, blog, website, everything. No, not Eva J. Thomas.
Randi: You are seriously sneaky. Two pen names instead of one. Wow, you have been a busy girl. What’s this other pen name?
Ally: Some people know, but I’m not telling publicly just yet. Some of my friends and street team members know. I’m only sharing the Eva J. Thomas pen name today because several of my author friends thought my story had been stolen. And they guessed the Virgin Moon cover was one I’d do. That was the sinker. I realized I needed to tell everyone what I had been up to since last summer.
Randi: So let me get this straight. You released the same story under two pen names? Eva and this secretive one?
Ally: Something like that. Two stories by two pen names. Everything is copyrighted under my name. The stories start off similar, but end up going in other directions. I played around with the plot and the sex scenes in Eva’s version are way hotter in my opinion. I will have to say that if you have read the other story (written under the unknown pen name) and you read Eva’s Virgin Moon you will see some similarity. I’ve been practicing and working up the nerve to write more explicit. That was a tough hurdle for me to jump creatively let’s say. Writing in the Romance genre has been a lot of fun and I think it’s improved my writing too. I’m more patient with description now. At least I hope I am.
Randi: Okay so we should ask our readers then if you are a reader of Ally Thomas and know this other pen name she writes under, please don’t share it online.
Ally: Yes, please. Ask them not to share it. The Eva one I’m attaching my name to so people will see that both of us are collaborating on some books. I’m sure I’ll talk about the other pen name at some point. Right now, I’m asking those who know to not share that info.
Randi: So what genre do you like writing in most then? Fantasy or Romance? Or Erotica?
Ally: That’s a great question because I’ve been wondering that myself. Possibly Fantasy and Horror are my favorite genres, but I think I’m going to say that I love the variety of writing in several genres and having the courage to do it. As an Indie Author, I can decide what I want to do and how to market my books. Somewhere along the way I lost my confidence as an author. I don’t mean I forgot how to write, but I struggled to write what I wanted to write. I thought I should write what others wanted me to do. It dawned on me a few days ago when I managed to sneak in writing on the upcoming Part 4 of the Vampire from Hell series in between a training delivery for a client just how much I love the first series I ever wrote. Looking back, it brings so many memories to mind when I published that first short story called “The Vampire from Hell (Part 1) – The Beginning” January 2011. Seven thousand words. It was an absolutely insane idea to release such a short book. Had I put that story in romance, they would have killed me over the short length and I would have crumbled under any negative reviews. But I have never regretted that move. It’s been free all this time and it’s the best move I ever made. I know that now. As an Indie Author, I can explore new avenues and ways to write every day. Also I’ve been fascinated to see that the ebook market is changing. New Indie Authors are publishing stories, novels, novellas every day defining the length. To some, 100,000 words is a novel. To another, 30,000 words is a novella. If readers are open to the experience, they get to enjoy that author’s contribution. Amazon even has this new thing called Kindle Serials where authors publish an ongoing serialization of a story idea.
Randi: Is that where the serial romance idea came from then? Your first Eva story is an ‘episode’.
Ally: Possibly. I liked the idea of a romance in episodes. As you know, I write parts of the Vampire from Hell series. Installments. I can’t write long works. Beginning/Middle/End. The traditional way. That is another confession or realization I made over these long months. I’d love to be able to sit down and write 100,000 word novel. Maybe some day I will. For now my length is anywhere from 25,000 to 55,000 words per ebook. I’ve been wrestling with trying to fit in more as an author, trying to do approaches that work for others. But it’s not me. I’m not going to write massively long books and I need to own up to that, privately and officially. I want to find that courage I had in late 2011 and approach my writing (whether it is as Ally Thomas or some other name) and than means me standing up to some personal demons I’ve been fighting with. I never realized how much it would take daily to promote myself as an author when I first started out. Now I know and I have to be ready for it so it doesn’t consume me again. I’ve gotta approach writing the way I want to or I won’t last at it.
Randi: That makes sense. It sounds like you have been figuring out a lot of things so are you ready to tell us more about Virgin Moon?
Ally: Absolutely and I included an excerpt too.
About Virgin Moon
Let’s learn what “Virgin Moon” is about…
Vincent, the rebel vampire son of the dark lord Alichino, receives Emily, a virgin werewolf as a playmate. He wants no part of his father’s latest toy until he looks into the virgin’s eyes and feels his heart respond. Vincent realizes he must escape with the werewolf beauty who has awakened his heart before she’s found or dies at the hands of his evil father. (Word count 28,500)
Virgin Moon is the first episode in an erotic werewolf/vampire romance by Ally Thomas, author of the paranormal fantasy series, the Vampire from Hell series. As a sideline writing project, Ally Thomas decided in 2013 to write a paranormal erotica novella series under the pen name Eva J. Thomas in between her other paranormal series. More episodes will follow.
Randi: I like Vincent. He sounds very delicious. Tall, dark, and handsome with blue eyes.
Ally: Lol! I suppose so. I had to write my vampire hero, the man Emily falls in love with as a dark and mysterious vampire with a compassionate heart.
Randi: What was it like writing in a werewolf heroine?
Ally: I enjoyed it actually. I know that’s hard to imagine since we are vampire fans, but I’m starting to embrace the ‘fur’ *wink* and I had fun with Emily’s character and the transformation ideas. I’m excited to see where it takes me for this story.
Excerpt from “Virgin Moon” (A Werewolf/Vampire Serial Romance, Episode #1) – ADULT CONTENT WARNING
“Are you a virgin?” Vincent ran his hands through his shortly cropped wavy black hair and scratched his scruffy beard, obviously waiting for me to respond in some fashion. I noticed he stared for a few moments at my opened thighs. His shirt was the only clothing I had on. Finally he crisscrossed his hands behind his head and simply watched me.
I wanted to lie and say that I wasn’t a virgin, but drinking in his handsome presence, I couldn’t deny him the truth. I wouldn’t be able to deny him anything I realized. My inner core surged with hot desire for him. I swallowed down my fears. “Yes,” I finally said. “But I’m experienced.” With that utterance, I hoped Vincent would understand what I meant.
He laughed, low and seductive. A smile swept across his face and his eyes brightened. Slowly he raised an eyebrow at me. “Indeed?” he whispered. “You find me attractive, don’t you?”
“Yes,” I replied feeling a bulge in his pants meet the curve of my buttocks as I rested upon him.
Vincent gently ran his fingers across the side of my face. He had amazing blue eyes, angular features, a perfectly shaped nose and square jaw. He was breathtaking.
When he touched me, I froze, unable to resist his sexual magnetism as he stared up at me. His eyes surely held the secrets to worlds beyond my comprehension. No one told me vampires would be so tempting. It was more than I could handle. Or was it? I pushed the naughty thought to the back of my mind.
“I promise to be gentle. I only want a taste. Will you allow me that, Emily?”
My heart again shattered when he said my name. I moaned as his large hands found my neck. He tugged lightly on my hair as he plunged his hands into the cascades of my long curly blond hair. My neck extended upwards and I was forced to look away from him. I was held captive in his embrace. His hands held me powerless as he gripped the back of my neck and the small of my back. The safety of the shirt I wore failed me and the front of my body was clearly exposed to this man, this vampire. My face reddened with shame and I forced my eyes open, looking upward. The lighted design of the warrior with his wolf returned my gaze. It was the most beautiful artwork I had ever seen. An offering of harmony between the two supernatural beings. Was such a thing possible? Instantly I felt my body relax under the vampire’s touch.
Free Sample
Sample the first two chapters of this story for free at Smashwords.
Buy Links (.99) for “Virgin Moon (A Werewolf/Vampire Serial Romance, Episode #1)”
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About the Author
Ally Thomas loves writing paranormal books that showcase vampires, werewolves, zombies, witches, and any furry monsters who go bump in the night. She enjoys imagining new origins for these traditional creatures and seeing where it’ll take her.
Ally lives in the south with her husband and unproductive furry co-workers including two cats and a dog. She is currently working on the next installment of the paranormal fantasy series, the Vampire from Hell as well as exploring her passion for vampire erotica under a new pen name. Learn more at http://www.allythomas.com or contact the author for details. She prides herself on being an author who stays in touch with her fans and will email you back.
Ally’s blog – http://allythomas.wordpress.com
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/ally.thomas11
Twitter – http://twitter.com/alleyalex
The Vampire from Hell Book Page on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/thevampirefromhellbyallythomas
Amazon Author Page
Links for Eva J. Thomas
Twitter – https://twitter.com/EvaThomas69
Amazon – http://amazon.com/author/evathomas
Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/evajthomas
When I’m not running the AS Fan Blog or skarsgarding, I spend time writing fiction. I actually created a vampire angel character based on Alexander Skarsagrd. His name is Michael and he’s in Part 2 of my series, the Vampire from Hell (which is available as a free download). 
According to Rayea, the oldest daughter of Satan, the origin of vampires started in Hell, and it started with her. Here’s her story about how it all began. Rayea isn’t daddy’s little girl, even if he is the most powerful fallen angel around. He wants her to take an active role in the family business. But she’s not interested in his schemes for world domination. Instead she wants to spend her time shopping on the Internet, rescuing humans from a horrific eternity, and practicing martial arts with her seven foot hellhound. Then one day everything changes.
Fanged Love and Vampire Confessions 