Monday, May 30, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 23

Chapter 23 - "Jay-nay uz uh li’ul girl"


Buy the books!

Then review them, please!

If you still need to get into the Secret Society, email me at peterandthevampires (at symbol) gmail dot com.

And by the way, J.E. Taylor was kind enough to let me do a guest post on her blog at http://jetaylor75.wordpress.com/2011/05/23/manic-monday-with-darren-pillsbury/.

Go check it out if you'd like to know what a bad blind date said to me that made me start writing again after I'd given it all up.

And leave a comment on the piece! A testament to your presence, like footprints on the digital sands of teh internetz!




<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.
<!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE

Sunday, May 29, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 22

Chapter 22 - "Out of the frying pan..."






<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21 - "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"



By the way, please write a different review for each of the three books.

But remember, they don't have to be works of art. Just 2 or 3 sentences each. 9 sentences in all, at most.

And if you're not in the Secret Society, email me at peterandthevampires (at symbol) gmail dot com.


<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.

Friday, May 27, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 20

Chapter 20 - "Chopsticks"

Hey - please leave me a review for the books, if you don't mind! It can be really short.

I've sent out a PDF for instructions on Amazon.

Thanks again to everybody who bought the book!


<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 18 and 19

Chapters 18 & 19
"Into the darkness" & "Stank-caused insanity"


Hola, everyone!

First off, thank you to everyone who bought the ebooks yesterday. It was truly, truly appreciated - and quite effective.

I started off with a rank of around 250,000. I think Amazon's updates are probably 6 - 12 hours behind, because Thursday morning VAMPIRES peaked at around #4500, and in the low 30's for Kindle children's ebooks for "spine-tingling horror."

That's pretty amazing.

According to my Kindle publisher's reports (which may not be the final figures), there were 22 copies of VAMPIRES sold yesterday, and 15 each of WEREWOLVES and FRANKENSTEIN. And another 5 of VAMPIRES and 1 each of the others on Amazon.co.uk. Not bad!

I would especially like to thank everyone who pasted on Facebook and emailed their friends. You went the extra mile, and I really, really appreciate it.

A special shout-out has to go to MistyCat. If you haven't read his epic of the misery he went through in New Zealand to purchase the book - amidst earthquakes and repeated phone outages - it's stunning. Scroll down to his comment at the end of the page.

MC: For actions far above and beyond the call of duty, I hereby dub thee Sir MistyCat of the Order of Jax (What A Guy). You are the first Knight of the Secret Society, and entitled to all titles and privileges which this entails. (For instance, when referring to MistyCat, the correct honorific is to now add "What a guy" in parentheses after his name. Jax heartily approves.)

Long live Sir MistyCat! (What a guy!)

=====================

#1) For those of you who haven't bought the books, please do. It would be nice to not slip back to #250,000 overnight. And the longer I retain that #32 ranking in the children's horror section, the more exposure the book gets. So please buy the books!

#2) I would ask those of you who bought the book to submit a review to Amazon. I'll say more about that in tomorrow's post, like a quick primer on which stories (and plots) are in which books, but this would be almost as greatly appreciated as buying the book. Even a couple of sentences will do.

<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 16 and 17

CHAPTERS 16 & 17
"A More Familiar Face" and "A Blood-Curdling Surprise"

IT'S HERE! THE BIG DAY IS HERE! GO OUT AND BUY THE BOOKS!

Important heads up! It turns out that in order to buy the Kindle ebook, you have to have a Kindle or download the app first, which you can do by clicking here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_ipad_mkt_lnd?docId=1000493771


As of 2:15PM Eastern Time (New York City time for my international readers):

VAMPIRES: #7139 in US Kindle with only 8 purchases made! And #46 in Kindle for Children's "Spine-Tingling Horror"!
WEREWOLVES: #17,389 in US Kindle with only 5 purchases made!
FRANKENSTEIN: #20,025 in US Kindle with only 4 purchases made!

And I don't even know what the UK Kindle rankings are! Quite possibly even higher!

The point is, you can bump up these books by THOUSANDS of ranking places with just one purchase!

Thanks to everybody who's bought the books so far! I really, truly appreciate it!

========================

1) Please buy the ebooks - you would really, REALLY be helping me out a lot. More than you know. And 50% of the profits go the charity www.SaveTheChildren.org.

Here are the links. Buy all three if you can, but if you can't, please buy VAMPIRES - it's only 99 cents.

Download Kindle App: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_ipad_mkt_lnd?docId=1000493771

PETER AND THE VAMPIRES:
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/PETER-AND-THE-VAMPIRES-ebook/dp/B004ZQRLS4/
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/PETER-AND-THE-VAMPIRES/Darren-Pillsbury/e/2940012438874
PETER AND THE WEREWOLVES:
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/PETER-WEREWOLVES-Peter-Monsters-ebook/dp/B005067YEE
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/PETER-AND-THE-WEREWOLVES/Darren-Pillsbury/e/2940012466082
PETER AND THE FRANKENSTEIN:
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/PETER-FRANKENSTEIN-Three-Monsters-ebook/dp/B00506UA4A
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/PETER-AND-THE-FRANKENSTEIN/Darren-Pillsbury/e/2940012466150


2) Please post on Facebook or write an email to friends extolling the virtues of these fine, fine ebooks! If you want a boilerplate email to sent, just send this (and ask them to forward it):
=================


I've been following this writer Darren Pillsbury for a couple of years now as he blogged his books page by page. Now he's publishing them as ebooks on Kindle and Nook.

PETER AND THE VAMPIRES is a bunch of stories about a kid who moves into his grandfather's house, and bad, baaaaaaaaaad things start to happen. It's similar to the HARRY POTTER books in that it has a kid battling a bunch of supernatural monsters.

On Wednesday, May 25th, the author is trying to get as many people as possible to buy his books, and he's donating 50% of his profits to www.SaveTheChildren.org for people who buy it then.

So check it out on the Kindle store or at BarnesAndNoble.com - it's only 99 cents (and $2.99 for each of the sequels, PETER AND THE WEREWOLVES and PETER AND THE FRANKENSTEIN).

The best part is, you don't have to own a Kindle or Nook to read it: you can download a free Kindle app here for your computer, Mac, iPad, iPhone, or cell phones. In fact, if you don't have a Kindle, you'll need to do this first to buy the ebook.

It's a really good story, you'd be helping a struggling author, and you're donating to charity.

Check it out - and please forward this on, if you don't mind!

PETER AND THE VAMPIRES:
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/PETER-AND-THE-VAMPIRES-ebook/dp/B004ZQRLS4/
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/PETER-AND-THE-VAMPIRES/Darren-Pillsbury/e/2940012438874
PETER AND THE WEREWOLVES:
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/PETER-WEREWOLVES-Peter-Monsters-ebook/dp/B005067YEE
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/PETER-AND-THE-WEREWOLVES/Darren-Pillsbury/e/2940012466082
PETER AND THE FRANKENSTEIN:
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/PETER-FRANKENSTEIN-Three-Monsters-ebook/dp/B00506UA4A
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/PETER-AND-THE-FRANKENSTEIN/Darren-Pillsbury/e/2940012466150


<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 15

Chapter 15 - "An (un)Familiar Face"

WE'RE ALMOST THERE.

Wednesday, May 25th. Big Launch Day.

Actually, some parts of the world are already there - shout out to MistyCat in New Zealand for being the first to purchase the books! Thanks!

1) Tomorrow, please purchase as many of the books as you can - preferably on Kindle, but Nook is fine, too. If you can only purchase one, buy VAMPIRES (only 99 cents).

2) If you don't mind, please post on Facebook or email people something like the following (change as you wish):

===========================

I've been following this author, Darren Pillsbury, for a couple of years now as he blogged his books page by page. Now he's publishing them as ebooks on Kindle and Nook.

PETER AND THE VAMPIRES is a bunch of stories about a kid who moves into his grandfather's house, and bad, baaaaaaaaaad things start to happen. It's similar to the HARRY POTTER books in that it has a kid battling a bunch of supernatural monsters.

On Wednesday, May 25th, the author is trying to get as many people as possible to buy his books, and he's donating 50% of his profits to www.SaveTheChildren.org for people who buy it then.

So check it out on the Kindle store or at BarnesAndNoble.com - it's only 99 cents (and $2.99 for each of the sequels, PETER AND THE WEREWOLVES and PETER AND THE FRANKENSTEIN).

The best part is, you don't have to own a Kindle or Nook to read it: you can download a free Kindle app here for your computer, Mac, iPad, iPhone, or other cell phones.

It's a really good story, you'd be helping a struggling author, and you're donating to charity.

Check it out!

PETER AND THE VAMPIRES:
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/PETER-AND-THE-VAMPIRES-ebook/dp/B004ZQRLS4/
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/PETER-AND-THE-VAMPIRES/Darren-Pillsbury/e/2940012438874
PETER AND THE WEREWOLVES:
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/PETER-WEREWOLVES-Peter-Monsters-ebook/dp/B005067YEE
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/PETER-AND-THE-WEREWOLVES/Darren-Pillsbury/e/2940012466082
PETER AND THE FRANKENSTEIN:
Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/PETER-FRANKENSTEIN-Three-Monsters-ebook/dp/B00506UA4A
Nook: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/PETER-AND-THE-FRANKENSTEIN/Darren-Pillsbury/e/2940012466150


==============================
======

3) I'll save #3 for Thursday. And then I'll stop bothering all of you guys after that. (For awhile, anyways.)

4) As always, if you want to join the Secret Society, email me at peterandthevampires (at symbol) gmail dot com.

Thanks!


<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.


Monday, May 23, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 14

Chapter 14 - "When Tattoos Attack"

Hola all,

We're almost there.

Wednesday, May 25th. The Big Book Launch Day.

1) If you can, please purchase all three books, preferably on Kindle (Vampires, Werewolves, Frankenstein). If you have a Nook, you can get them here (Vampires, Werewolves, Frankenstein). If you can't purchase all three, just buy VAMPIRES - it's only 99 cents. The others are only $2.99 apiece. Remember, 50% of profits on Wednesday go to charity.

2) If you don't mind, please email friends or post on Facebook with a link to buy VAMPIRES. Here's a sample of something you could write (copy it if you like, or rewrite at will). I'm also including some thumbnails of the covers if you want to use them.

If you just want to write, "Hey, I like this guy, he's publishing ebooks, here's the links, he's donating 50% to charity on Wednesday," that's fine by me. But please put in the URLs (at the bottom of the email thingee I wrote), because people like stuff made easy for them.

==============

Hey!

I've been following this author for a couple of years now as he blogged his books page by page. Now he's publishing them as ebooks on Kindle and Nook.

PETER AND THE VAMPIRES is a bunch of stories about a kid who moves into his grandfather's house, and bad, baaaaaaaaaad things start to happen. It's similar to the HARRY POTTER books in that it has a kid battling a bunch of supernatural monsters.

On Wednesday, May 25th, the author is trying to get as many people as possible to buy his books, and he's donating 50% of his profits to www.SaveTheChildren.org for people who buy it then.

So check it out on the Kindle store or at BarnesAndNoble.com - it's only 99 cents (and $2.99 for each of the sequels, PETER AND THE WEREWOLVES and PETER AND THE FRANKENSTEIN).

The best part is, you don't have to own a Kindle or Nook to read it: you can download a free Kindle app here for your computer, Mac, iPad, iPhone, or other cell phones.

It's a really good story, you'd be helping a struggling author, and you're donating to charity.

Check it out!

PETER AND THE VAMPIRES: http://www.amazon.com/PETER-AND-THE-VAMPIRES-ebook/dp/B004ZQRLS4/ or http://search.barnesandnoble.com/PETER-AND-THE-VAMPIRES/Darren-Pillsbury/e/2940012438874
PETER AND THE WEREWOLVES: http://www.amazon.com/PETER-WEREWOLVES-Peter-Monsters-ebook/dp/B005067YEE or http://search.barnesandnoble.com/PETER-AND-THE-WEREWOLVES/Darren-Pillsbury/e/2940012466082
PETER AND THE FRANKENSTEIN: http://www.amazon.com/PETER-FRANKENSTEIN-Three-Monsters-ebook/dp/B00506UA4A or http://search.barnesandnoble.com/PETER-AND-THE-FRANKENSTEIN/Darren-Pillsbury/e/2940012466150




<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 13

"The crazies are coming, the crazies are coming!"

Don't read this update right before you go to bed.

#1) Wednesday, May 25th! Big Book Launch Day! Buy the ebooks - or at least VAMPIRES! 50% of the profits go to charity!

#2) The original blog post got eaten by Blogger, so I thought I'd add it in here. Jim Zoetewey was one of the first people to promote PETER AND THE VAMPIRES years ago, and I wanted to let you know about his fiction blog http://inmydaydreams.com where he's putting down stories about superheroes. Check it out!

#3) Also, Amy D.C. sent me some way-cool drawings, and I posted them on this blog post. Check 'em out - they're halfway down in the green.

#4) If you're not yet in the Secret Society of Updates, email me at peterandthevampires (at symbol) gmail.com so you can get the latest 5 chapters!

#5) I'm out of town for several days. I'll try to send more updates, but no promises.

Again, I chose a lovely place to leave you in the story. >: D

<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 12

"In which the heroes squabble,
then come up with a plan"


I'm ba-aaaaaaaaack! And I come bearing Chapter 12 of "Peter And The Crazies"!

#1) Remember, Wednesday May 25th is the Big Launch Day! Buy all three ebooks if you can! Buy VAMPIRES at the very least if you can't! Tell your friends on Facebook - and email people, if you don't mind!

#2) Also remember that I'm donating 50% of everything I personally make on the 25th to www.SaveTheChildren.org! So telling people is for a doubly good cause!

#3) If you're not yet in the Secret Society of Updates, email me at peterandthevampires (at symbol) gmail.com so you can get the latest 5 chapters!

<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.

Friday, May 13, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 11

Dang Blogger, they wiped out the Chapter 10 page AND all the comments...

If you left a comment after my announcement about the Monkey Rodeo, please re-comment it!

Chapter 11 went out eaaaaarly Friday the 13th (boo-haa-haa), and here's the notice that went with it.

By the way, if you want to join the Secret Society of Updates, email me at peterandthevampires(at symbol)gmail.com.

=============

#1) Remember the Big Launch Day! Wednesday, May 25th! Please buy at LEAST a copy of VAMPIRES (more if you can afford it on that day) so the book can get a big promotional push as it zooms up the Kindle charts, and more people will see it!


#2) I’ve been thinking: I’m going to donate 50% of the money I make on May 25th to a charity, Save The Children (www.SaveTheChildren.org).

I figure if an author I liked asked me to email people and let people on Facebook know about his books, I might be a little uncomfortable. A lot of you don’t feel that way, but some of you might.

HOWEVER…if I were not only promoting the work of a struggling author, but also promoting giving to a charity, that would make me a lot more comfortable.

Plus, it’s a good organization. I donated to Childfund International for years until a spate of bad economic breaks forced me to stop. (The bad breaks also forced me to move back home with my folks, just so you don’t think I ditched the charity instead of, I don’t know, iced lattes.)

When I looked it up, though, I found Save The Children ranks higher in the percentage of funds that go towards helping kids, so I’m going with them.

Plus, not only do I write about kids (and thus giving to needy kids worldwide makes sense)…I couldn’t resist the name of the charity in relation to the stories I write.

“Save the kids!” sounds like a wailing plea from Dill as he points at himself.


#3) As I noted in one of my comments on the blog yesterday, I have decided that one of the next four stories after CRAZIES will contain a monkey rodeo.

Yes.

You heard me correctly:

A monkey rodeo.

I have not yet decided if this might be Jax’s favorite event of the year…or if he would just shake his head in dismay. I guess it depends on how the monkeys are treated.

I know it will be Dill’s annual highlight.

Either way, it’s ON like Donkey Kong.


#4) I have friends coming from out of town for the next four days, so you might not get any more updates until Monday. I’ll try, but no promises.

And what an unfortunate point to leave you on a cliffhanger… ; )


<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"In which Dr. Prescott freaks OUT."

#1) The new "Buy An Ebook" date is May 25th!

Wednesday, 5/25/11!

That's right. That's the Big Launch Day. Make your preparations to buy a book - all three if you can afford it, VAMPIRES if you can only afford 99 cents!

If you've already purchased the books, that's cool, don't worry, I am super stoked you bought them! And if you are behind - like, you missed half of the stories - and you can't wait any longer or you will pee your pants like Dill, go ahead, you have my blessing.

But if you haven't bought any yet, please buy at least VAMPIRES on May 25th!

It will help enormously to push the book into the top 1000 (or top 100? Do I dare hope?!) of Kindle, which will give it more exposure, and hopefully more people will buy it!

Which means YOU will get more updates and books...and faster.

And if you have a Nook (BarnesAndNoble.com), that's cool - I love Nook, too. Buy it on Nook - but if you have neither, download Amazon's free Kindle app for your PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android phone, or Windows phone and buy the ebooks off Amazon.

More info to follow. MAY 25TH! That's the Big Day!

=========

Update 1.5:

By the way, Jim Zoetewey was the first guy to put PETER AND THE VAMPIRES on the Web Fiction Guide three years ago. (My thanks to Eldoran and others for their positive reviews on that site, too.) Jim's got a fiction, story-based blog of his own (much like how I did PETER) about modern-day superheroes at http://inmydaydreams.com/ , which he's planning to self-publish in the months ahead.

Drop on by and give the story a read - it seems pretty cool! And thanks, Jim, for helping me get the word out back in the day!

Update 1.75:

By the way, Amy D.C. busted out some awesome drawings I wanted to share with you guys. I think there's a certain antler-chewing li'l dude down in the second one...and I especially love how Dill looks in the second! Actually, Gwen and the werewolf are pretty awesome, too...

Thanks, Amy! Awesome pictures!

Click to embiggen:


#2) I hate Google Groups, however.

I will try to send updates out through Gmail. If they slap me for BCC'ing everybody (I assumed you might not want your emails revealed to all the world - this IS a Secret Society, after all), which they regard as Spam, I will try Google Groups again.

But I hate it.

I have attached Chapters 8, 9, and 10. This is not normal, but so many people missed 9 because of my ineptitude with Google Groups, I have included them all.

=============

#3) If you are reading this off the blog, are part of the Secret Society, and have not received 8, 9, or 10 (all three will be attached in the #10 email), then please email me at peterandthevampires(at symbol goes here)gmail.com and I'll set you up.

=================

#4) If you would still like to join the Secret Society, just email me at peterandthevampires(at symbol goes here)gmail.com and put NEW MEMBER in the subject line. This will help me see you and get you set up faster.


Thanks!


<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"In which Dr. Veedermeier asks for a favor, and gives a strange piece of advice."

UPDATE: I just sent out Chapter 9 as of 9:35 PM Eastern on May 10, 2011. If you are a member of the Secret Society and didn't get your email, email me again and I'll make sure you get on the list. I've never had to delve this deeply into Gmail before, so getting everybody into "My Contacts" might be a bit sloppy at first...



Hola, folks! Welcome to the Secret Society of Updates! If you haven't read previous days, be sure to email me at peterandthevampires(at symbol)gmail.com to continue getting these chapters through email!

Here's the update that Secret Society Members have received:

Hola, all!

First, a little business:

1) Many have asked when physical copies of the books will be available. I definitely plan to do them, but each book will cost somewhere around $400 to get ready for printing (I would pay someone else to format them and do the back covers). Since I’m already in the hole for the ebook covers and formatting, I’m going to wait awhile to do the print versions. It might be 6 months – I would love to have them ready for the holidays.

2) But don’t wait to buy the physical copies! If these stories have given you ANY enjoyment over the last months (or years), I ask you to please buy a copy of the ebooks. If you can only afford 99 cents, get PETER AND THE VAMPIRES. If you can afford $7 US, get all three. The reason is not for money, it’s for the exposure. I hope that if I concentrate enough buyers on one day – right now, I’m thinking May 18th – then the book might land somewhere in the top 400 on Kindle, and maybe in the top 10 on some of the lists (like Horror and Fantasy > Supernatural). If it does that, more people will see it. And the people who see it, the more people will buy it. Which will hopefully build like a snowball in promoting the book. And if that happens, I can devote more time to writing – which means you get more PETER AND THE… stories faster. It may not happen like that at all, but it’s worth a shot.

3) I’m still working out other tactics, but if you are willing, I would really really REALLY appreciate you posting something about it on your Facebook page when we do the Big Book Launch Day. I know that I buy a lot of stuff on the recommendation of friends; if you’re passionate about the PETER stories, I could really use the help in telling people about it when May 18th rolls around.

4) In fact, if you don’t mind, go ahead and friend me now on Facebook: I'm darrenpillsbury1 (look for a guy with a red shirt in the profile picture).

5) Also, I’ll need reviews on the books. That will be key. If you don’t mind, please post a review on Kindle (or Nook/BarnesAndNoble.com if that’s where you buy it) after May 18th. In fact, I think there’s a way to review things you haven’t specifically bought, so even if you can’t afford to buy the books, you can still leave a review.

6) What else…if you have a blog and wouldn’t mind reviewing the book, that would be awesome. If you’re a member of Goodreads or another website that reviews ebooks, a review would be DOUBLE AWESOME.

7) I am open to giving bribes. For those who want a little something extra for your efforts, let me know. Want your name to be mentioned in one of the books, perhaps as one of Peter and Dill’s classmates? Hmmmm…what would you be willing to do for a bit of immortalization in the Peterverse?

I also have a lot of villains to name over the course of the next 60 stories or so. The promotional “pricetag” on that would require a lot, but I’m open.

Send me your ideas, either through email or on the blog, and I’ll put them out there for all Secret Society Members to see!

Anyway, enough shameless promotion. Thanks to those who have continued posting on the blog – which will still continue, in its currently altered form – and drop by and post if you haven’t already!

Enjoy the next installment! It’s not creepy yet…but we’re getting there awful fast. Soon I will be advising you to not read the updates before bedtime. Or before meals with marinara sauce.

Get that installment by emailing me at peterandthevampires(at symbol goes here)gmail.com!



<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.

Monday, May 9, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

"In which Dr. Veedermeier chats with Peter, Gwen, and Dill"


HEY! If you guys didn't read yesterday's announcement, I'm discontinuing the blog - but I've started a "Secret Society of Updates" via email! (Thanks to Kyle for the name.)

Part of that is to make sure that people who read the ebooks but have never heard of the blog, don't find this blog and read spoilers on stories that won't be released for several more months.

Some of it is that I don't want to frighten away somebody who sees a particularly scary entry (or a kind of boring one, either).

And part of it is just plain mercenary, as I don't want to compete against myself.

However, for all my long-time readers (whether 3 years or 3 weeks), email me at peterandthevampires(at symbol)gmail.com and I'll add you onto the list to get these updates by email.

(Just put in @ instead of (at symbol) up above. I don't want to have the email harvested for spam by robots, that's why I didn't just provide the full address.)

Do it quick! NOW! Email me at peterandthevampires(at symbol)gmail.com! DOOOOOO EEEEEET!


<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

"Peter and the Crazies" Chapter 7

A very important update. PLEASE READ!

I've decided that, as people start to buy the ebooks, they might start looking online and find this blog. However, this chapter holds some major spoilers, and it's also going to be pretty gruesome in parts. If you've already read DEAD MEN, SWAMP MONSTER, and EVIL CARNIVAL, it won't be that shocking (I think)...but a newbie might freak out at some of the things coming up.

So, here's what I propose: email me at peterandthevampires( at symbol )gmail.com (I didn't put the actual email because I don't want it getting harvested by spam bots - just stick the @ in there instead of the parentheses). I'll start emailing updates to everybody who does this.

EMAIL ME, QUICK, because I'll probably start doing email updates only within the next 7 days.

Since people like commenting - and I like SEEING the comments - I'll probably continue posting blank pages on the blog with a simple descriptor (such as "Dr. Prescott returns"), and you can put in comments below that. It'll be a slightly wacky secret society, kind of. We'll see how that goes.

But definitely be sure to email me NOW at peterandthevampires(at symbol)gmail.com if you want to continue to get the rest of the pages on "Peter And The Crazies."

Thanks!


7


They turned the corner and came to yet another guard station. The man on duty buzzed them through another set of gates, too – but this time Peter was happy to go through, because once on the other side, the muffled moaning and screaming died away.

They were in a completely quiet hallway of metal doors. Dr. Prescott strode purposefully to one at the end, took out a plastic card, inserted it into a slot over a keypad, and punched a few numbers.

“We’re here,” he announced, and opened the door.

In the middle of the room sat Dr. Veedermeier.

Peter froze. Nightmarish images played in his mind as though from the scariest movie he had ever seen – except this was a movie he had lived through.

Dr. Veedermeier was the mad scientist who had graverobbed bodies and used them to construct a collection of horrific monsters. Dr. V had attempted to kill Peter, Dill, and Grandfather when they tried to stop him, and had only been thwarted when one of his own creations turned on him. The last Peter had seen of him, Veedermeier had been taken away in an ambulance, screaming and cackling, to Shadow Hills.

Now he sat here on a rickety chair, dressed in a white t-shirt and prison jumpsuit, surrounded by a jumble of chemistry equipment. Behind him was an elaborate structure of glass tubing that dripped a clear fluid into a metal cup.

The short, chubby, bald man looked up. His eyes were unnaturally large through his oversized, thick glasses.

He smiled. “Hello, Peter.”

Peter felt Dill tense up beside him and grab his arm.

“You, too, Dill – good to see you!” the little man said cheerfully.

“What’s he doing here?!” Peter cried out.

“He’s a patient here at Shadow Hills,” Prescott said. “You know that.”

“No, I mean, what’s he doing HERE?! In this room with us?!”

“This is part of your therapy. You obviously have a shared history of trauma, which you need to address. In addition, I believe Dr. Veedermeier is one of the sources of your delusions and paranoia, which you have to confront if you’re to break through the elaborate fantasy world you’ve constructed for yourself.”

Peter wasn’t quite sure what all that meant, but he knew he didn’t like it.

“I don’t care about that – get us out of here!”

“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen,” Prescott said.

“He’s a mad scientist! Why did you give him this stuff?! He’s probably making something horrible!”

“Yeah, a nuclear bomb or something!” Dill wailed.

“I highly doubt that,” Prescott sniffed.

“I’m not making a nuclear bomb, Dill.” He smiled slyly as if sharing a little joke. “For one thing, I don’t have any plutonium or uranium.”

Dr. V and Dr. Prescott both chuckled, which alarmed Peter even more.

“Well, he’s probably doing something bad!” Peter looked up at Prescott. “Why’d you let him in here with this stuff?”

“It’s occupational therapy,” Prescott explained mildly. “It’s part of his rehabilitation.”

“Peter,” Dr. V said, “I know that the last time we saw each other, it wasn’t under the best of circumstances – ”

“You tried to kill me!” Peter yelled.

“We all make mistakes, and I certainly made my fair share with you,” Dr. Veedermeier said apologetically. “I really am sorry, and I hope that we can move past that.”

“Okay, fine, I forgive you, can we GO NOW?” Peter snapped at Prescott.

“No, you’re all going to talk with Dr. Veedermeier for 15 minutes,” Prescott said as he physically pushed them inside the room.

“Why me?” Gwen asked. “I don’t even know him!”

“You all have shared delusions. Dr. Veedermeier is an integral part of them, thus you all must participate at once.”

“That’s stupid.”

“Nonetheless, it’s what I prescribe.”

Dr. Prescott stepped inside the room and closed the door behind him. Peter, Dill, and Gwen stood there in horrible discomfort. Dr. Veedermeier just sat smiling pleasantly as the clear liquid drip, drip, dripped out of the glass tubing into the metal cup.

There was a moment of silence.

“Well?” Prescott asked, irritated.

“Well what?” Peter barked back.

“I’m not talking to you,” Prescott said, and looked at Veedermeier. “I’m talking to him.

“I was waiting for you to leave,” Dr. V explained, “so the children and I could talk privately.”

“WHAT?!” Peter cried.

“Oh, hell no,” Dill said.

“Leave you alone with them?” Prescott asked Veedermeier. “Are you insane?”

“Uhhh, YEAH-uh,” Peter snapped in a DUH tone of voice.

“Doctor…I really don’t want my interaction with the children psychoanalyzed,” Dr. V said with a smile. “As one professional to another, I’m sure you understand.”

“That wasn’t part of our agreement,” Prescott snapped.

“What agreement?” Peter asked in alarm.

“I’d like to alter the arrangement.”

“I’m afraid that’s out of the question,” Prescott answered.

Dr. V reached over, took the metal cup from under the piping, and held it over a small drain in the middle of the room’s bare concrete floor, as though he were about to pour out its contents. “Oh…that would be very disappointing.”

Prescott’s sweaty, pale face went ghostly white. “You wouldn’t,” he whispered.

“All I’m asking is fifteen minutes.”

Prescott hedged. “Five,” he finally said.

“WHAT?!” Peter almost screamed.

“Let’s say ten,” Veedermeier said, and tilted the metal cup even farther.

“Fine,” Prescott snarled between gritted teeth.

“You can’t be serious,” Gwendolyn said in horror.

“He can’t touch you, he’s shackled to the chair,” Prescott said crossly.

To prove the point, Dr. V lifted up one leg. A metal band was locked around one ankle, and a short, heavy chain linked it to the chair leg – which, Peter noticed for the first time, had all four legs bolted to the concrete floor. It was immovable.

“He’s a genius!” Peter snapped. “He can get out of that no problem!”

“I promise I won’t,” Dr. Veedermeier said, holding up his free hand as though pledging an oath. “Scout’s honor.”

“I’ll be right outside the door,” Prescott muttered.

“That’s not going to help us when he kills us!” Peter shouted.

“I wouldn’t do that!” Dr. Veedermeier exclaimed in a voice both shocked and hurt.

“Don’t kill them, Doctor,” Prescott said ironically, as though scolding a naughty child. He opened the door, then eyed the drops of liquid plopping quietly on the tabletop. “And for god’s sake, please put the container back.”

Dr. Veedermeier smiled sweetly. “As you wish,” he said, and placed the metal cup back under the dripping spout.

Prescott, visibly relieved, stepped into the hallway.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Peter howled. “DON’T LEAVE US!”

“I’ll be right outside,” Prescott said, not at all reassuringly, as he shut the door.

Peter turned around, horrified, and stared at Dr. Veedermeier.

They were alone with the madman.


<< previous page | next page >>


Copyright © 2011 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.