Gerry Bartlett Writes the Real Vampire Series with Gloriana St. Clair

Just when you think it's easy being a vampire... gorgeous, never aging, an endless supply of money, the ability to lure men and then snack on them as your devoted slaves...

Gloriana St. Clair is a vampire with curves. More curves than she really wants. She's also a small business owner living on a tight budget. Though she does seem able to attract men easily she doesn't drink blood (usually). She prefers synthetic blood.

Turned vampire while she was a widow working for William Shakespeare (washing dishes mainly), Gloriana was a size 14 when she became stuck in time - at least when it comes to her physical body.

Gloriana longs for real food, chocolate, chips, all of that good smelling stuff. But she really wishes she could just lose a few inches and fit into more of the vintage clothes she sells in her vintage clothing store in Austin, Texas.

Her curves are very much appreciated by her long time lover and vampire sire, Jerry Campbell. A Scottish warrior, stubborn, proud and wtih a few battle scars from his life before being a vampire. Jerry protects Gloriana, though she rebels against it, wanting to be her own, modern woman. For years Jerry hired Valdez as Gloriana's body guard. Valdez is a shape shifter, living in dog form during the years Gloriana worked as a show girl, got over a gambling addiction and then revamped her life in Austin by starting her own small business. In later books, as the series progresses, Valdez becomes his own man... literally. Suddenly Gloriana is faced with a Valdez who isn't just a guard dog and best buddy.

The image for 'Defend the Blueberries' comes from a fan page. (Link below). The Defend the Blueberries campaign started when Gloriana was dating rockstar Israel Caine and some of the media were a little rude about her size - she's no size 6! Gloriana was tempted to jump into bed wtih Ray (Israel Caine) she has been fangirling about him for years Glory has a little shrine in her apartment as well as CDs and posters for Israel Caine. But she stays just friends. Until finding out she was never actually human at all, but started out as a Siren. Jerry leaves for his castle in Scotland, the family home where is parents still live (as vampires).

The Siren part of the plot seems a bit thrown in but Gloriana has always had a fear of the water which she never understood. She also took far longer than other vampires to get used to shifting her shape - which is the best method vampires have to defend themselves. Now Gloriana is discovering who she was, as a siren, and new powers she is able to learn to use.

Gloriana is not all about the men. She has strong women friends along the way. Some closer than others. Florence, is her best friend, someone she can always count on. Even though Florence is a perfect size six and Gloriana does get a little envious at times. Other friends are shapeshifters, vampires, and sort of friends include sirens and a demon who seems determined to hang around even though she really isn't all that much of a friend in any way.

Resources for Fans of the Gerry Bartlett Real Vampires Series

Gerry Bartlett Homepage The homepage of Gerry Bartlett, author of the Real Vampires series, featuring Glory St. Clair.

Real Vampires - Glory St.Clair Fan Site Fan site for Gerry Bartlett's Real Vampires book series.

Rogue taxidermy is the mixed media art of using stuffed and mounted animals which do not have real animal counterparts. Rogue taxidermy is mix and match (with accessories added) to create an artistic rendering of obscure, weird, creepy, mutant, and unique creatures to be put on display.

Many taxidermists do not consider this true taxidermy.

Taxidermy itself isn't for everyone. When it comes to rogue taxidermy especialy, there will be people who get squeamish and don't want to look and there will be people who get curious and just have to look. Then there are the people who think the more hideous the creations are the better they are.

The showmanship of oddities, mutation natural adaptation and displays of curiosity through use of taxidermy with animals. A creepy and odd hobby to some. Dark humour to others. Then there are those who just like to collect them and put them on display.

Beast Blender - where you can create your own curious creation.

If you aren't grossed out by some of the weirder creations... think about it. What if you could create an animal. I think this is part of the attraction of rogue taxidermy. Turning a slow, plodding animal like a turtle into a flying creature with light, colourful wings to take it to new heights and let it become something new, more than it was or could ever have been naturally.

In your mind, combine elements, features and parts of various animals and come up with a new creation, something better than the original version. Or, a creation which shows a sense of humour, like pigs that could fly.

The Legend of the Jackalope

What may be the most famous creation with rogue taxidermy is the jackalope.

According to legend and lore, the jackalope is the product of a male jackrabbit and a female antelope.Thought to be extinct, there are still reports of jackalope sightings. Jackalopes were known to be aggressive, often called the "warrior rabbit", using its antlers to fight.

Jackalopes were said to love music. They could mimic human sounds and noises and would sing along with the cowboys around the camp fires at night.

Jackalopes aren't a real animal, at least not so far. It's thought jackalopes were actual, real rabbits which had a mutation or virus causing bumps to appear on their heads. This could have appeared like antlers from a distance. Up close it would have been a simple explanation for the mystery of the weird looking rabbit.

Jackalopes became a legend as people began to produce "real" jackalopes to impress friends, create stories and generally enjoy tricking anyone who didn't already know the jackalope myth. Using a rabbit body and attaching deer or antelope antlers, people would show off their creation. Some jackalopes were given the bonus of a pheasant tail. Those were the extra fancy warrior bunnies.

Rogue Taxidermy Groups

• La Luz de Jesus Presents Rogue Taxidermy 2012

• Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermy [MART]

A Few Rogue Taxidermists

• Angela Singer

• Custom Creature Taxidermy - Sarina Brewer

• Afterlife Anatomy - Katie Innamorato

Links for Finding More

• Rogue taxidermist in the Netherlands - Boing Boing

• Rogue Taxidermy | Pinterest

• Art - Rogue Taxidermy | Pinterest

• Flickr: Crappy Taxidermy

• Flickr: Bad Taxidermy

• Rogue Taxidermy | Tumblr

• The Rogue Taxidermist: The Quantum Biologist

• Crappy Taxidermy

• Taxidermy - Wikipedia

• Taxidermy Net

In my own way, I am a shark collector.

I don’t keep stuffed sharks, whether real sharks or cotton stuffed. I don’t really have much at all to show for my shark collection. Not any more at least.

It still bugs me that my brother threw away the shark book I had been given for a long ago birthday. The book was published in 1976, full of paintings of sharks done by Richard Ellis.

I’d been thinking about the book this week, but I couldn’t remember the name of the book or the painter/ author. So I began digging online. I found it.

My Mother thought it was weird to have an interest in sharks, a predatory animal from the ocean. She tried to talk to me about it and talk me out of it. I knew I didn’t have a weird interest. I’m not planning to swimming with sharks, I don’t think about trying to make friends or pet sharks or hunt them or anything else really. I like to look at the sharks, in the photographs and paintings.

I think I like their sleek lines against the backdrop of the ocean. The ocean Richard Ellis paints is quiet, sparkling and bouncing with light hitting the water and the smooth looking shark coasting through the water. I also like the photos of sharks in the waves and crashing ocean. Yes, we know they are dangerous, but there’s more to them. They are a quiet, skilled predator, at home in their universe.

Have you had a book which sticks in your mind due to the loss of the book? Is it worthwhile buying the book again, even if it isn’t about collecting it as much as being able to see and read it again?

I thought about getting another copy of the book. But, it seems unfair when I did have one. So, I decided to leave it. A book unopened, sort of. However, if I see the book somewhere else, like a thrift store, I might get it. This is an emotional decision rather than anything base on logic. Don’t judge me, as they say when they know they have given the appearance of being loopy.

So, at the moment, my shark collection is all online. Available to be shared with anyone who follows the link on Snip.it. (Note: Snip.it closed their service).

Rag dolls, plastic dolls, porcelain dolls... there are dolls made out of so many different materials. Then there are Barbie dolls and baby dolls and show dolls who are dressed up but never played with. Then there are dolls by brand, some doll collections are all about the company who makes the doll. Most doll collections are vintage dolls. An older doll, not so easily found has more commercial value.The easiest thing about doll collecting is to decide which dolls to collect. You just collect the dolls you want to keep. The dolls which have personal appeal to you.

Where to Find Dolls

Retail stores are not the best, or the only source, for finding the dolls you want to collect.

Look online at sites from other doll collectors. Online auctions and shops like eBay.

Garage sales, thrift stores, flea markets, antique stores, doll shops and doll hospitals. Go to craft shows. Look at museums too.

Talk to friends and family, ask around.

Identifying and Valuing a Doll

The first value to put on a doll is your own personal value of the doll. It's sentimental value to you.

Beyond the personal value you can find the commercial value with guides written by doll collectors who evaluate the worth of the dolls based on their re-sale value, their rarity and the condition they are in.

Search online auctions, retail shops and sites from doll appraisers for the market value of your doll. See what people are currently paying for the same doll you have, in the same condition as your doll.

There are guide books written and updated each year which will give you a price guide based on the value doll collectors put on each doll. This is only an estimate really. The value of a doll can go up or down depending on what someone is actually willing to pay versus what the book says the doll is worth.

Also, a doll may be worth more to you, personally. Someone may offer to pay a price from the guide book or the selling price on eBay but that may not be how you feel about it yourself.

Protect, Repair and Preserve your Dolls

If you collect dolls you will need to know about doll repair, doll preservation and doll conservation. Light, dryness, humidity and storage and display of the dolls are important for maintaining them. Even if your dolls are displayed behind glass and never touched they will still need to be taken out and given a light cleaning now and then.

Avoid natural or fluorescent light. Natural light will fade the dolls clothes. Fluorescent light can change the colour of the doll hair and/ or skin.

Avoid extremes of hot and cold temperatures. Most dolls are made of materials which can degrade in the heat or begin to crack in the cold or even cooler temperatures.

It's good to keep the dolls in glass cabinets but not in air-tight plastic. Any least moisture inside the plastic will cause mould and mildew to grow.

If you use paper or cardboard to store the dolls make sure it is acid-free, just like they use for scrapbook making.

Keep pets, bugs, dust away from the dolls. Not smoking either. Those should be pretty obvious really.

Cabin fever is an old phrase for people who would be trapped in their cabins during the winter months. Have you ever noticed a mystery door on the second level of an old house and wondered what a door was doing up there with no stairs or any other way to exit from the door to the ground outside? Then you've seen the winter escape door which was built into older homes when winters were harsh, far more than they are now. Snow would build up with snowfall and blowing drifts until people couldn't get out of their homes from the regular ground floor door. They could use that second floor door then. Step out with their snowshoes and avoid being trapped inside their own home.

It was when they couldn't get out, when they had nothing to do but wait for winter to thaw, that cabin fever came along. The night came early and the day started late. That gave them a lot of hours of darkness. Light was expensive. Cabins didn't have a lot of windows in the days of early settlers. If they have fuel for lamps or candles they had to be conserved to last all winter. It was also frigidly cold so everyone kept close together to share heat, days and nights too. That meant close, cramped quarters and a lot of time on their hands.

Can you imagine living like that? How restless you would become? How depressed over the length of winter and the hours of darkness? If it weren't so cold you could go off by yourself but everyone would be huddled around the source of heat. Sometimes they would have all the farm animals in the cabin with them in order to keep them through the winter. No wonder they would feel desperate to escape. My Grandparents told me some people did go crazy. Some of them needed to be outside so badly they died from exposure to the elements.

Modern Cabin Fever

Cabin fever didn't end with the early settlers. People can get the feeling of cabin fever in the summer when they stay indoors with the air conditioning on. People can be camping and living in a small tent during a few days of rain and have cabin fever. People who become afraid to leave their home for all kinds of reasons can be house bound and have cabin fever at the same time.

What do to About Cabin Fever

If you can get out at all, do it! Even if it means sweltering in the heat, getting soaked in the rain, freezing in the snow or having to talk to your neighbour - get outdoors for at least a few minutes. It will make a difference. Look around while you are out there. Kick some snow, pick a couple of flowers, splash the rain and rescue a worm from the sidewalk. Do something with your moments of freedom so you can go back to indoors feeling you took some kind of action.

If you have fellow cabin fever sufferers don't all commiserate, play a game. Drag out the board games no one has looked at in awhile. If you have limited supplies use pen and paper to play hangman. Start a jigsaw puzzle. Get out a deck of cards. Play I Spy even, you don't need anything extra for that.

Create your own TV show. Even if you are alone you can interview the four walls and everything in between. Talking to yourself is better than listening to the silence and feeling trapped inside of it. Break the silence - at least you know you have a captive audience who can really appreciate your sense of humour.

Relax. Get into a good book. Try yoga or something else you like to do to unwind. Spend the time pampering yourself with a hot bath, bring a book and spend as long as you want in there. If it's hot, bring a fan to sit on the floor and blow the air around from the doorway. The radio can sit on the counter. Just keep electrical things safely away from the water.

Exercise. Jumping jacks, twiddling your fingers and toes, whatever sort of exercise you can enjoy inside the house will work.

Go through cookbooks and find a great dinner to make with whatever you have available. Or, go out and grab what you need. This isn't a great time to over eat unless you are able to be active inside the house.

Start a new hobby or take up one you used to enjoy. Teach yourself to crochet or knit for example.Finally read the instruction book that came along with that new camera. Repair things you haven't had time to get around to doing in the house.

Sleep. It's free and pretty easy to do when you just sit there awhile.

Don't isolate yourself. Pick up the phone and find someone else home and fighting cabin fever. Send out a few emails, check Facebook and Twitter and see who you can find. Invite friends over.

If you are stuck indoors with people and you need to get out from under everyone bury your nose in a book, write in a journal or listen to movies or music which everyone can enjoy without having to talk to each other.

If you have the winter blahs, SAD (seasonal affective disorder), turn on some extra lights. The extra hours of darkness in winter can make you feel like you're living in a cave. So brighten things up. Even open up a couple of windows to let in some fresh air for a few minutes.

Don't overdose on the news. You can be sure they will be talking about how bad the weather is, you really don't need to hear more of that from someone else.