and thank you for your interest in Vampire Project (Halfsoul from here on out). I appreciate it!
What's the book like? Halfsoul is a mix of dark and epic fantasy featuring a vampire main character. Stranded on a mist-shrouded island, Afya gets drawn into a war while working as a bodyguard for a young war leader, who saved her from a witch that ate half her soul.
At 213k words, it's also a chonker. But if you're looking to sink into a world and a story, you may love it.
Halfsoul has a third-person narrator and a soft magic system.
The island of Ulong-Dan mixes far-eastern and western cultures (with some inventions of my own). For example, its mists are a result of a year spent on the North Island of New Zealand, while the Steampot Mountains are a bit of a love letter to the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. Japanese influences are the result of a lifelong love for Japanese storytelling, and more recently, several months of travel around Japan. This is a story of traveling among and living in other cultures, having to adapt and at times feeling at odds with them (or with one's own culture). Halfsoul is influenced by our world, but I hope its worldbuilding stands on its own.
(Two years ago, I started doing a dev log for Halfsoul on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/@sharkiatwrites/playlists Life got in the way and I didn't get very far, but you'll find some more information and a reading of the prologue there.)
There's no spice, but there may be some romantic feelings, and a kiss. (If you're looking for Romance/Romantasy, this book is probably not for you.)
Are there triggers? It's adult dark fantasy, so there will be blood, violence, and death. I'm not a very gory writer, nor do I linger on suffering, but Halfsoul is a vampire book. Beyond that, there's some abusive behavior by the witch (eating someone's soul for a start), some characters express questionable views on people of other nations, and characters sometimes get drunk and don't act smart while under the influence.
I don't use AI. Not for research, not for coming up with names, certainly not for any part of the writing process. All my mistakes are my own. Yes, I do use em-dashes. No, there can never be too many em-dashes.
Who draws my cover art? I do. No AI here, either. Just me, my drawing tablet, and Clip Studio Paint. It may not be perfect, but it's a nice change of pace from writing, and I enjoy the process. (
https://cara.app/sharkiatwrites/all has more of my art.)
If you've never heard of me, but somehow landed on this form, feel free to browse my Goodreads to gauge whether you'd like my work.
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/20174401.Susanne_SchmidtSo, if you're interested, fill out the form below, and I'll get back to you with more details as they become available.I
