On Conversations: #vampire #author #Guy D. Ogan

Please welcome author, Guy D. Ogan! He's here to talk about his Immortal Relations books and the story behind the story. Be sure and check out his interview too and get to know Guy. And don't forget to leave a comment because Guy's giving away a digital copy of his second book, Immortal Relations, Love and War to one lucky commenter!

Lisa ~
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IMMORTAL RELATIONS, LOVE AND WAR

While Maggie and Evy hope things have settled down, events have a way of foiling the best of intentions. Death stalks a close friend, but our vampires can help him cheat death if he will accept the offer. His expertise is vital as international events are about to happen that only this old friend can solve! Greed is at the bottom of so many of histories problems, and this book shows just how greedy some governments, rogue OPEC Ministers and terrorists can be and the troubles they can cause. Who is available to thwart their greed and what about the ecological disasters of the impending failure of Chernobyl's containment cap and possible reactor collapse at Fukushima, Japan. When the reactor building at Fukushima falls, a possible "Extenction Level Event" has been predicted! Our heroes will help, if their help will be accepted!

Purchase Links:
Immortal Relations, Love and War (Book 2) on Amazon / Barnes and Noble

 
Immortal Relations (Book 1) 





Immortal Relations, Coming Out (Book 2)

Immortal Relations Excerpt:

     The sky was starting to clear and looked as if the day would be clear and bright. At that time of morning, since it was Sunday, there were very few vehicles on the road. My driver slowed to a stop and pointed out the Old Town Hall through his windshield. Then he said, "Hotel...very soon," and in seconds he had stopped his cab at the curb by the hotel's front entrance. I got out with my bags and held out paper money and coins to pay for the trip. He took what he needed; I thanked him and waved as he drove off.
     At the front desk, I arranged for a room and took the stairs to the third floor. I was still very early, but I wanted to start looking around, so I just dropped my bags by the bed, went back to the first floor and walked the short distance back to the Old Town Hall. The sidewalks were deserted; the only traffic I saw, as I walked, was a cab and an almost empty bus. Getting out my picture, I looked everywhere for other pedestrians, but it seemed too early, and I saw no one else anywhere in the area. I held the picture up high, walking around, and closely compared both the architecture and the angle from which the photograph had been taken. As I looked at the windows, I noted one that gave me a reflected view of the other side of the road. There, on the opposite side which had been empty only seconds ago, someone was suddenly standing; but I was sure there hadn't been anyone there a second before. Seeing her, dressed like a high fashion model, in a light blue, lacy, scalloped, and layered, yet shape-hugging haut-couture, dress, I gasped; My God she was stunningly beautiful! I'd seen pictures of "Hollywood starlets" and "super models" and I knew the Czechs had several of  these, such as the lovely Paulina Porizkova and Petra Nemcova, and I thought this had to be one of them. But just as suddenly as she appeared, she vanished! I thought she might have moved, and I'd missed it, so I turned to look and found myself starring into a pair of eyes with nearly black irises. Automatically, my head jerked back; the vision of loveliness I'd seen across the street was mere inches from me. She said, "Excuse me; I didn't mean to startle you!" Then she smiled the most brilliant smile I'd ever seen, my knees felt like rubber as I started to fall back, but her hand shot out, grabbing my arm to keep me upright. The power in her arm surprised me, and my heart raced, but I couldn't tell if it was from almost failing or the close proximity of such a beauty. After I felt like I could stand on my own, she introduced herself as Magdalena Dvora'k, saying she had seen me looking at a photograph and asked if I'd been to Prague before.
     When I told her the picture was taken of my father standing near this building many years before, she asked to see it and I handed it to her. Without skipping a beat, she said "Doug Logan." If my legs had been rubber before, now they were Jelly! Dazed, I staggered back with her hand back on my arm, and I leaned against the wall of the building. Her gaze transfixed me as she looked deeply into my own brown eyes. It seemed as if she were God's own angel assigned to test and weigh my soul, but for how long I didn't know.
     Once I'd regained some composure I said, "How...how could you know my father's name?"



The Story Behind the Story


When I was little my mother said some things that I didn't understand, things like "He is over there with that woman." At one point she even asked me what I would think if she divorced my father. I think all little boys are defensive of their mothers and I told her if he hurt her, she should. As I grew, I "forgot" all about that, as they never divorced. Now that I look back on it, they probably stayed together "for the children" or in the case of our family "the child" since I had no siblings. Being young, I never thought it odd that they slept in separate rooms. I had retired from the Air Force and was working for the State of Texas about four and a half hours away from where they lived when I got the call that my father had died. Knowing my disabled mother needed care, I set in motion my retirement from my job in Huntsville, Texas and went to care for my mother who stated that she wished to remain in her home. I was the single caregiver for her for her for the next five years. She had given me life and cared for me all those years, I felt honored that I could do something for her. After she passed away from Alzheimer's I had the daunting task of going through all the many, many file cabinets my father had. These weren't the small lightweight cabinets found at discount stores; these were tall and deep, seven drawer, lockable, government style file cabinets stuffed to bursting with papers back as far as the 1930s. When I finally got the last drawer cleaned out I had over 50 of the largest heavy duty trash bags overflowing. Looking into the bottom drawer, I saw one small item. Yellow from age with coffee cup half and full moon stains an abandoned envelop was all that remained. Grabbing it, I felt that it had something inside it, something flat, small and lightweight. Had I just thrown it in the trash, I wonder if my life might have gone on without ever writing a novel, let alone a series. Being curious, I opened the envelop finding a very old photograph of my father as a younger man standing in front of a strange looking building with a large clock face on the outside. I flipped the picture over and saw my father's handwriting, "Prague Czechoslovakia." Had I just glanced at it and threw it away…oh well, I didn't, instead I looked closely and saw the feminine handwriting on the lower half of the photo which said, "I'll always be waiting here." Suddenly, what my mother had said all those many years before came rushing back and the photo proved that my late father had had an affair while stationed in Czechoslovakia, or the Czech Republic as it is now known. This event is what started me writing the novels and the photograph is shown on page two of "Immortal Relations" that is what spurred me to start the series. My character travels to where "his" father had worked and had the tryst and there he meets a captivating lady. It doesn't take long before he realizes she isn't "normal," nor is love long in blooming between the two (like they say, "love conquers all"). The story is full of action as the man trades in his human life to be with the woman he loves "literally more than life itself." He becomes one of the guardian vampires whose duty it is to guard humans and animals from evil.



Interview with Guy D. Ogan 


When did you first start write?

In my youth I'd written articles on various long distance running events I participated in. Then, in the military, I did a great deal of technical writing and continued technical writing in my work for the Prison System in the State of Texas. I'd also written many articles and sent pictures about car shows I attended; however, if anyone had said I'd someday write adult paranormal-romance novels I would have laughed at them. Like most men I believed that "Romance Novels" were all "tear-jerkers" & "mushy stuff" that some women like." I didn't realize how encompassing the romance genre' was, or how extremely interesting most of the books are!

Can you tell us a little about yourself?

A: I’m a retired Air Force Major. I have a pair of graduate degrees unfortunately not in English or Literature. I’m also retired from a second “calling” as a psychologist with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice where I evaluated inmates for various treatment programs and in another area of work actually wrote treatment programs for overcoming addictions.

Tell us a little about your current project?

The third novel in the series, "Immortal Relations Coming Out" has an unexpected run-in with a shape-shifter wolf. The story is full of political intrigue where forces are at work that threaten the peaceful coven of guardian vampires. Attempts are made to destroy the entire group as well as assassination attempts on Gary. Media "spin doctors" lie about the dangers posed by the guardian vampires in order to gain support for abrogation of the Constitution and Bill of Rights and the imposing of Marshal Law. Additional full vampire births are recorded and in addition to saving the lives of a large segment of the population in Cayuga, Canada, a couple of injured dogs are given a second chance at a good life during a honeymoon trip to and from Las Vegas.

What is the craziest thing you've done to research a story idea?

 

Most men are not as well versed on the female anatomy as they probably should be in order to provide pleasure to their partner, myself included. In the first book in the series, "Immortal Relations" there are some rather erotic scenes of "explicit togetherness." I had to do some research on Google because of my lack of knowledge in this area of anatomy.

Everyone always wants to know about a writer's writing space.  What's yours like?

When my father-in-law passed away (he was a really great friend to me), my wife and I asked her mother to come and live with us. We had an addition to the house constructed to provide her a bedroom, bathroom, large walk-in closet and a sewing nook (the latter was 46" by 52" just big enough for a swivel chair on rollers & the sewing machine she used that sat on a built-in-shelf. She lived with us for about 15 years (a marvelous lady - greatly missed). Several years after she passed away, after my own mother passed away, I needed a  place to put my computer and this small alcove came to mind...my wife calls in my "hermit cave" as I will hide out in there every chance I get to do E-Mails and write my novels. It is stacked with books and articles containing some of the research I do for my writing, among other things that pile-up in there.
 
Do you write every day?  Every week?  Odd times?


I write whenever I have a chance. My wife likes me to be with her when she is home so my writing is done during the part-time job she has or when she is off doing something with her sister or one of her other friends (she calls it "hiding-out in my hermit cave").

When you get deep into a project, how do you balance your time between work and family?

My lovely wife makes sure I don't hibernate in my hermit cave...if she is home, she will roust me out of it, she knows if she doesn't I'll stay in there writing all day and all night!  LOL

What was the most exciting thing that has happened in your career so far?  

My "Immortal Relations Series" is totally unique among the vampire genre' (or so I've been told). As with humans there are good vampires and evil vampires, the good vampires have funeral homes where the little blood they need is obtained (still following strict funerary procedures)...I'm told this technique is something new I've added to the genre'. Of course the evil vampires try to get all the blood they can, the old fashioned "Bram Stoker" vampire way. My vampires do their best to stop them, fight human criminals and resist government take overs by evil politicians, seeking to enslave the people. All that said, the most exciting thing, after writing my stories, has been the book signings I've had. There is little I've enjoyed more that discussing my characters and their actions in the novels as well as comparing them to other, more traditional vampire stories with readers who attend the book signings. This Halloween, I'm doing a book signing IN COSTUMN at the Hastings Bookstore in Abilene, Texas. I'm pretty sure a "fun time shall be had by all!" LOL
 

Did you draw upon your military background in writing the series?

Definitely, in the first book, an evil vampire gang makes a frontal assault on the guardian vampires' compound and a secondary attack on military units to gain "converts" and heavy weapons to use against the good vampires. When the evil vampires go after nuclear weapons in England, will they be successful? When the evil vampires seek to steal biological weapons from old Soviet stockpiles what will happen to the human race. As you will see, I use the tactical and strategic knowledge gained during my military career in both books. The second picks up where the first leaves off by offering one of the heroes of the first book the chance to beat the cancer threatening his life.
 
Do you use any “present day” threats or concerns within your series?

Absolutely. In the second book in the series, there is a terrorist attack to decapitates the leadership of the Russian Federation. Suddenly the human friend the guardians are offering their help to overcome his cancer is thrust into his county's leadership role and subjected to an ambush. Rather than isolated terrorist attacks these have been a prelude to an invasion of Siberia by Communist China seeking vast oil and mineral reserves as well as land for their burgeoning population; is another major power in cahoots with the Chinese? Will the Chinese be successful in their theft or will The Russian Federation respond militarily, perhaps resulting in a nuclear war? Greedy OPEC ministers unhappy over cheaper Siberian oil driving down their over-inflated rates decide to use terrorists to stop it's distribution. If those dangers were not enough, there are two "real world" threats, the failing, 25 year old, cap over the Chernobyl Reactor will release deadly radiation again at any moment and the collapse of the reactor building at Fukushima, Japan has been called a potential Extinction Level Event . With all the non-stop action it seems amazing that there could be the opportunity to create additional full vampire offspring yet as has been proven with our loving vampires, anything can happen.  Book three has political intrigue as a rogue regime in Washington seeks to eliminate the threat they believe the good vampires pose to their grasping for absolute power. As some of the vampire children mature, there are relationships started and one is with a shape shifter- wolf (who has no idea he possesses that genetic abnormality until it happens). My love for small animals comes out in all three books.
 
I offer a comment published on Amazon by one of those who bought the book: "Being a bit of a vampire-phile, I find myself constantly searching for the next vampire series to reach out and grab, or, more appropriately, bite me. I believe I have found my holy grail of vampire novels. You see, the Vlad books are typically a bit gory for my tastes, while the Twilight series is campy, sophomoric, and I feel, is most appealing to teenage girls. Mr. Ogan has delivered a tale at breakneck speed, one that jumps out of the starting gate and never loses steam. A tale filled with life lessons, love, sex, action and adventure. Complete with new insights into the powers of the immortal vamps, and fresh takes on the complex inner workings of their existence. From page 1 until the very end, Immortal Relations promises to have you on the edge of your seat and begging for more..."



Guy Ogan ran track and cross-country at Los Altos High School and Foothill Junior College in California and at Texas Christian University. He retired as a Major from the United States Air Force, also retiring from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a Psychologist. He holds two graduate degrees in Counseling Psychology and Counseling and Human Development from Ball State University and Hardin-Simmons University and has taught Counseling, Psychology and Sociology at the college and university level.


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