Welcome to the January 2026 issue of my newsletter, “News from the Crypt,” and please visit Carter’s Crypt, devoted to my horror, fantasy, and paranormal romance work, especially focusing on vampires and shapeshifting beasties. If you have a particular fondness for vampires, check out the chronology of my series in the link labeled “Vanishing Breed Vampire Universe.”
Also, check out the multi-author Alien Romances Blog
To subscribe to this monthly newsletter, please e-mail me at MLCVamp@aol.com, and I will add you to the list.
For other web links of possible interest, please scroll to the end.
Happy New Year!
If you read romance fiction, please consider taking a few minutes to fill in the State of Romance Reader Survey here. Free books are available for respondents to download if desired. It’s offered in association with the Romance Writers of America, but anybody can participate:
My Victorian Christmas romance novella “A Ghost in the Green Bestiary” was featured in N. N. Light’s Christmas and Holiday Book Festival:
Below is an excerpt from that story, in which heroine Lucy watches the traditional Christmas mumming performance while trying to avoid a serious conversation with Walter, to whom she had almost become engaged. (Robbie is her little brother.)
My first interviewee of 2026 is multi-genre romance author Margaret Izard.
*****
Interview with Margaret Izard:
What inspired you to become a writer?
People often ask what sparked my writing journey, and the truth is—it wasn’t one big moment, but a steady pull I felt my entire life. I grew up surrounded by the performing arts, completely in love with storytelling and the escape it offered. I started writing in my thirties, took a long pause to raise and tutor my triplets through college. Then, about six years ago, I put my foot down and told my family I would start a new project.
Once I picked up the pen again, the worlds, the magic, and the romances poured out. Writing became a way to blend everything I love: history, mythology, emotion, and that sense of wonder we all chase. I chose writing, even if it took a while to find me. I’ve been happily lost in these worlds ever since.
What genres do you work in?
I primarily write paranormal romance—rich, immersive worlds filled with Fae, dragons, magic, mythology, and epic love stories. That’s where my heart lives, and it’s the foundation of the entire Stones of Iona mega verse and the upcoming Dragons of Tantallon saga.
I’ve also begun writing contemporary romance, exploring grounded, modern love stories with emotional depth and a touch of wit. But no matter the setting—historical, magical, or modern—romance is always at the center. It’s the thread that ties all my books together and the genre I’ll always return to.
Do you outline, “wing it,” or something in between?
I’m absolutely a plotter—a heavy one. My outlines can run more than 200 pages, complete with detailed beats, character arcs, and even snippets of dialogue. Planning the story helps me address developmental issues early, so when I sit down to draft, the writing flows much more smoothly and quickly.
That said, I always leave a little room for discovery. Even with a meticulous plan, my muse has a way of surprising me, and I love giving her space to do that. While the roadmap is solid, the journey still holds a bit of magic.
What have been the major influences on your work (favorite authors or whatever)?
My work blends the things I love most: romance, mythology, history, and escapism. I’ve studied the performing arts my entire life, so storytelling has always come naturally to me.
Scotland itself has been one of my biggest influences—its landscapes, history, folklore, and the sense that magic that runs through the land. Those elements have shaped the heart of the Stones of Iona mega verse.
How has your background in theater and dance affected your writing?
My lifelong background in theater and dance influences my writing in more ways than I ever expected. Performing arts trained me to think in movement, emotion, and rhythm—all things that naturally slip into my storytelling. I approach scenes the way I once approached choreography/directing: every step, every gesture, every pause has purpose.
Theater taught me character motivation, how to feel a scene from the inside out, and how to create tension you can almost breathe. Dance taught me physical storytelling, the way bodies move through emotion—desire, fear, longing, heartbreak—and that translates directly into the intimate, sensory style of my romances.
Because of that background, my books often read like staged moments: visual, atmospheric, and full of emotional choreography. I don’t just write what characters say—I write how they stand, breathe, lean, hesitate, and collide.
In short, theater gave me voice, dance gave me movement, and together they make my stories feel alive on the page.
Please tell us about your “Stones of Iona” series. And how do you research your historical fiction?
The Stones of Iona series is the beating heart of my entire mega verse. It begins with Stone of Love and follows a sweeping romantic and magical journey woven between modern Scotland, ancient history, and the hidden realms of the Fae. At the center of everything are the enchanted Stones themselves—the Good Stones: Love, Hope, and Faith, forever pursued by the darker Stones: Fear, Lust, and Doubt, all of which ultimately point toward the most powerful of them all: the Stone of Destiny.
Each book follows a new couple facing a new emotional battle. Yet, all the stories connect through family ties, Fae intrigue, dragon-shifter lore, and a mythology that expands with every generation. While each book can stand alone, reading them in order reveals a detailed tapestry.
When researching history for these stories, I take a multi-layered approach. I rely on period newspapers, letters, and broadsheets, as well as academic works on Highland culture and folklore. Architectural studies and sketches of the era often ignite inspiration as strongly as a scene itself.
One of my most meaningful research moments happened during my 2023 trip to Scotland, when I stood behind Glasgow Cathedral on the hill that is now the Necropolis, Scotland’s City of the Dead. Later, I found drawings from that same spot, created long before the graveyard existed. Knowing that people centuries ago stood where I had stood, taking in the same view, shaped Alex MacDougall’s emotional landscape in my recent release, Highlander’s Holly & Ivy, and became a quiet but powerful influence on his journey.
For me, history and magic are never separate—they breathe together. The research grounds the world, and the magic Stones unlock their wonder.
What is your latest or next-forthcoming book?
My Next Book: Stone of Destiny, releases February 9, 2026.
Stone of Destiny is the epic conclusion to the Stones of Iona series—the final piece of the seven-book arc and the long-awaited fulfillment of the prophecy that has threaded through every story. This book follows Kat MacArthur—still grieving her brother’s loss to another time—and Ceallach, the Fae warrior she loved in secret from the start. Their connection has simmered through the series, and now, as the Gathering of the Stones approaches, their bond grows impossible to ignore.
But destiny has never been simple for the Fae. Ceallach fights the pull between duty, prophecy, and the mortal woman who has stolen his heart. His soul binds him to the Iona Stones during the Gathering, and he knows that choosing Kat could bleed her for a price she never agreed to pay. Kat refuses to stand aside—she needs to help her family, the Stones, and Ceallach himself. Even if doing so, puts her directly in the path of fate.
Stone of Destiny brings every thread together: the Good Stones—Love, Hope, Faith.
The dark Stones—Fear, Lust, Doubt, and the final, deciding power that binds them all—Destiny.
Readers can expect sweeping romance, sacrifice, high stakes, and the most emotional and magical moments of the entire series. Every choice Kat and Ceallach make echoes through both realms, and love becomes the one force strong enough to confront destiny itself.
This book is deeply meaningful to me—not only because it completes the journey I began with Stone of Love, but because it ties together years of worldbuilding, research, and the heart of the Iona mythos. It is the finale I’ve been writing toward from the very beginning.
I can’t wait for you to return to Stones of Iona mega verse one last time.
What are you working on now?
Now that Stone of Destiny is complete and preparing for its February 2026 release, my focus has shifted to my next major series: The Dragons of Tantallon. This saga spins out of the Stones of Iona mega verse and follows three dragon-shifting brothers featured in Stone of Love, Book 1 Stones of Iona. Dameon, Magnus, and Tiberius—each cursed, each powerful, and each destined for a soulmate who can break their father’s ancient spell.
Cursed by their father, Balor, the exiled Formoire king, the brothers carry a legacy of danger and desire. Their only hope lies in completing the soul-bonding ritual—seven steps that test trust, emotion, magic, and fate. Failure entombs them in Fae crystal for eternity. Succeed, and they will reclaim their freedom, their future, and a love powerful enough to challenge realms.
The series blends everything I adore writing—sweeping romance, deep emotional arcs, Scottish atmosphere, dangerous Fae magic, and the intensity of fated mates. Each book follows a different brother with a unique love story, unique wounds, and unique battles to face.
The dragons are part of a world I’ve poured my heart into for years, since I drafted the first book shortly after Stone of Love, and I’m thrilled to bring it forward as its own full series.
Expect magic, heat, heartbreak, redemption—and dragons.
What advice would you give to aspiring authors?
Just start writing. Put the words on the page—even if they’re messy, imperfect, or not quite what you imagined. You can’t revise a blank page, but you can shape, polish, and refine words once they exist.
I always encourage new writers to read widely, write often, and don’t do this alone. Community matters—other writers, critique partners, or even one trusted friend who cheers you on. Writing can feel solitary, but storytelling thrives when shared.
And finally, feedback is a gift. I reread and edit my work many times. Each pass sharpens the emotional arc, deepens the characters, and strengthens the story’s heart. Improvement doesn’t happen in one draft—it occurs through persistence.
Start. Write. Rewrite. And keep going. The story you’re meant to tell will find you on the page.
What is the URL of your website? What about other internet presence?
*****
Some Books I’ve Read Lately:
SNAKE-EATER, by T. Kingfisher. The third Kingfisher novel in 2025 (with another forthcoming in March)! In her afterword, she describes the “platonic ideal” of her horror fiction as “a woman and her dog alone in a house full of creepy family secrets,” which encapsulates her first horror novel, THE TWISTED ONES. While her others don’t necessarily include dogs, the protagonists do tend to be women returning home in emotionally fraught circumstances, for a certain value of home. In the case of SNAKE-EATER, Selena flees with her black Lab, Copper, from her overbearing long-time lover, Walter – who dominates and criticizes her only for her own good, of course – to her aunt’s home in the tiny town of Quartz Creek, an arid western milieu totally different from anything Selena has known. For decades her only contact with her aunt has come through occasional postcards. Still, a vague invitation to visit sometime makes Quartz Creek Selena’s only possible refuge. The shock of learning her aunt died the year before devastates her, but she can’t consider returning to Walter. He would indulgently take her back, and her abortive escape would become one more time “Selena Had Done Something Foolish and Walter Saved Her.” Selena plans to stay in her aunt’s vacant home, “Jackrabbit Hole House,” for one night, then for a few days, then maybe for a few weeks, while she decides how to move forward. Meanwhile, she meets quirky local characters including Jenny, mayor as well as postmistress, fire chief, and police chief; Grandma Billy, who keeps a flock of chickens and a guard peacock; and Catholic priest Father Aguirre, who’s surprisingly respectful toward the local desert gods/spirits (the distinction is fuzzy). Selena, as more than one person points out to her, apologizes too much. She’s paralyzingly afraid of doing the wrong thing and certain her new neighbors, who gift her with fresh produce and (in Grandma Billy’s case) a daily bounty of eggs, will perceive her as a “moocher.” She’s even reluctant to “impose” on the weekly community potluck dinner. At first I thought her need to memorize “scripts” for every social interaction depicts her as mildly autistic, but it soon becomes clear that she simply lacks any shred of self-esteem. Over a lifetime, her confidence was systematically beaten down by a domineering mother and a gaslighting fiancé. Reluctantly getting used to life in Quartz Creek, she soon realizes she wants to stay. True, the local people’s matter-of-fact belief in supernatural entities strikes her as peculiar, and she suspects Grandma Billy of being downright crazy. Moreover, as we learn later in the story, Father Aguirre has his own secret. Selena begins to accept the truth only when she witnesses such things as a timid squash spirit in the vegetable garden – unless she’s losing her mind. But she has to accept the reality of the spirit realm when she learns of her aunt’s relationship with Snake-Eater, the roadrunner god. As both the narrative and the author’s afterword emphasize, real-world roadrunners don’t resemble the cartoon bird. They’re more like two-foot-tall dinosaurs, as Selena discovers when she balks at taking on her aunt’s former role, and Snake-Eater won’t take “no” for an answer. Similar to the heroine of THE TWISTED ONES, Selena (with the help of Grandma Billy and Father Aguirre) follows her dog through a portal into another realm, where she has to face the gods of the desert. Ultimately, she triumphs over Snake-Eater not through combat, physical or magical, but through open-mindedness, friendship, her bond with Copper, and her kindness to creatures such as the squash god in the garden and scorpions in the house. The denouement includes a delightful confrontation that sends the insufferable Walter packing. I do have one reservation about the novel, in agreement with a review I read: Its setting around or soon after 2050 seems irrelevant and unnecessary. Aside from passing allusions to near-future technology, little of which reaches Quartz Creek, we learn the approximate year only from the age of Father Aguirre’s truck. Why does the author include this pointless distraction? Her afterword doesn’t say.
BRIGANDS & BREADKNIVES, by Travis Baldree. Sequel to cozy fantasies BOOKSHOPS & BONEDUST and LEGENDS & LATTES, starring rat-person Fern, the bookstore owner in the former. The author’s afterword expresses a reluctance to write the same book over and over, as if “fantasy small-business ownership is the answer to all of life’s woes.” Thus, he acknowledges that this novel turned out less cozy than the other two, yet he still means it to be “affirming” – as, in the end, it is. Restless in her situation at the beginning of the story, Fern divests herself of the store and sets out to join retired orc mercenary Viv, from the two previous books, in Viv’s new home. Fern plans to make a fresh start by opening a new bookstore near Viv’s coffeeshop. Viv joyfully welcomes her and introduces her to friends glad to help with the project. Upon the grand opening, though, Fern finds herself let down rather than excited about the culmination of the shared work. Dismayed by her own ingratitude, she tries to work up the courage to tell Viv how she feels. Drunkenly wandering the streets by night, she accidentally stows away in a cart belonging to the legendary elven warrior Astryx Blademistress. By the time Fern wakes up, they’re far down the road. Astryx, in her role as bounty hunter, is escorting a goblin captive to the client who commissioned his capture. Fern bargains with the elf for transport to the nearest large town by offering her services as a translator of the goblin’s language, of which in fact she speaks only a few words, all of them obscenities and curses. She also makes herself useful as an entertainer, reciting the plot of an adventure novel along the way. So she ends up on a road trip with a famed swordswoman out of practice with company or conversation, a cart-pulling donkey, a goblin oddly casual about his alleged captivity, and a pair of magical Elder Blades, one in the form of a breadknife and prone to frequent complaining about its plight. Along the way, Fern makes multiple attempts to write a letter to Viv explaining her disappearance but can’t find the right words to apologize. Traveling across sparsely inhabited country, the party confronts both natural hazards and hostile attacks. This story, which would make an excellent Dungeons and Dragons campaign, also features midlife crisis character growth. Fern’s disappointment with the move into which she’d put so much effort evokes sympathy. Personally, my first reaction was to wonder what was wrong with her, since living in a bookstore near a coffee shop sounds to me like the ideal existence. She herself, however, wonders the same thing. By the time she returns where she started, to reconcile with Viv, Fern has developed insight into herself and what she really wants. While foul-mouthed characters usually put me off, I had little trouble adjusting to her verbal tic of constant obscene language; it comes across as just part of her personality. The strangely accommodating goblin prisoner and the self-aggrandizing magic breadknife provide comic relief between life-threatening crises. As in the two previous novels, I thoroughly enjoy the multi-species culture of this invented world.
LETTERS FROM AN IMAGINARY COUNTRY, by Theodora Goss. Most of the tales in this collection were new to me, but not the first, “The Mad Scientist’s Daughter,” which ultimately evolved into the enthralling Athena Club trilogy, starring the daughters (begotten or created) of the famed mad scientists of nineteenth-century fiction. To my delight, many of the other stories also expand upon characters from classic works. My favorite, naturally, is “The Secret Diary of Mina Harker,” original to this collection, not the same version of Mina as in the Athena Club series. Likewise, the title character of “Frankenstein’s Daughter” isn’t identical to Justine in those books. “Lost Girls of Oz” portrays an alternate reality in which Oz actually exists, but it’s cut off from the rest of the world, so you can’t get there – unless you’re a girl recruited for Dorothy’s army. In “Child-Empress of Mars,” the latest of many heroes from Earth arrives on a Red Planet that resembles Edgar Rice Burroughs’s Barsoom. The witch in “England Under the White Witch” isn’t explicitly identified as Jadis, but that’s obviously who she is; the protagonist, for a long time a devoted follower of the witch-queen, eventually becomes disillusioned with a world of perpetual winter. “Estella Saves the Village” takes place in a shared-world community inhabited by people from classic Victorian novels. In “Pug,” Goss brings to life a character from PRIDE AND PREJUDICE so minor she doesn’t have any dialogue, Lady Catherine’s sickly daughter. “A Letter to Merlin” revisits the Arthurian mythos through Guinevere’s multiple reincarnations. To mention a few stories on other themes, Goss pays tribute to her native Hungary in “Dora/Dora: An Autobiography” and “To Budapest with Love,” while speculation that imagined countries could become real is explored in the title story, “Cimmeria: From the Journal of Imaginary Anthropology,” and “Pellargonia: A Letter to the Journal of Imaginary Anthropology.” The collection includes an introduction by Jo Walton and the author’s notes on the backgrounds of the stories. Fascinating.
For my recommendations of “must read” classic and modern vampire fiction, explore the Realm of the Vampires:
Realm of the Vampires
*****
Excerpt from “A Ghost in the Green Bestiary”:
About four-thirty, as twilight was falling, Aunt Eunice knocked on Lucy’s door. “The mummers are here. Will you come down to watch? I’m sure Robbie would love to see them.”
Not having spent Christmas here in many years, Lucy was eager to witness that performance herself. After bundling Robbie into his coat, cap, boots, and gloves, she and her mother donned their own wraps and followed her impatient brother downstairs. When they gathered with family and servants at the top of the driveway, the flurries had stopped, covering the earlier snowfall with a fresh, thin layer. Walter, standing beside his parents, smiled at Lucy. Pulling her cape closer, she tried to convince herself that only the brisk breeze sent a shiver rippling through her.
About a dozen local boys and men, some bearing lanterns, clustered in front of the house. They wore oversize coats or heavily padded outfits to disguise their shapes, and homemade masks fashioned with various degrees of skill concealed their faces. Sacks and pillowcases had eyeholes cut in them and grotesque features painted on. One man sported a papier-mâché horsehead, and another shrouded his head in a veil of white lace. A knight in gray trousers and jacket brandished a wooden sword and wore a helmet made of a cardboard box adorned with silver paint. His crudely carved shield bore a red cross. Beside him stood a four-legged, green dragon with two pairs of boots visible beneath its sagging costume.
Robbie shrank against his mother’s side and asked, pointing at the man with the veil, “Is that a ghost?”
“No, dear.” She patted his shoulder.
“And there’s a dragon.”
Lucy whispered, “It’s two men in disguise. Everybody’s pretending. Now, just watch.”
The mummers sang all the verses of “Deck the Halls,” while the dragon cavorted to the tune, its tail dragging on the ground. Next they belted out a couple of rowdy wassail tunes, a clear hint of the festive reward they anticipated.
After the songs, most of the men drew back to clear a circle around the monster and the knight. The warrior, who was probably meant to portray Saint George, pointed his weapon at the dragon and shouted, “Yield, foul fiend!”
With a blood-curdling roar, the dragon raised its claw-tipped forearms and charged. It slashed at the knight while the latter pounded on the monster with the flat of his sword. After several minutes of hearty combat punctuated by bestial snarls and manly vows of dire vengeance, the two foes thrashed on the ground in a climactic exchange of blows. The dragon, groaning in agony, expired in a burst of gore represented by a gush of fake blood from its chest. Saint George rose to his feet with arms raised in triumph. A second later, the dragon leaped up, too, and the pair took a bow to laughter and applause.
Uncle George’s butler and footman brought forth trays of steaming mugs, spiced cider from the aroma, which they passed around to the performers. Slices of brandy-soaked, fruit-studded Christmas cake followed. Some removed the masks to eat and drink, while others simply lifted the bottoms of their cloth face coverings. When the front half of the dragon pulled off its head, Lucy said to Robbie, “See, just men play-acting.”
Walter murmured in her ear, under the surrounding chatter, “The fellow with the veil hasn’t made a sound except to sing. He seems familiar, but he couldn’t be who I think. That person hasn’t shown up for the festivities in years.”
Lucy turned with a start. She hadn’t noticed Walter edging closer to her. She tried to answer lightly, “Well, it’s Christmas. Everyone is welcome, aren’t they?”
He nodded, holding her gaze with disturbing intensity. “Yes, everyone.” He offered his arm. “Walk with me, please.”
She hesitantly rested her fingertips on the crook of his elbow. Even through his coat and her glove, heat radiated over her skin. Their feet left faint prints on the thin layer of new-fallen snow as they strolled around the right wing of the H-shaped manor to an arbor festooned with winter-dormant climbing roses. After he used his handkerchief to wipe melted snow from a bench under the trellis, she sat there with him as many inches apart as the space allowed.
“I understand why you didn’t answer my letters at great length right after your father’s death,” he said. “But why have your replies been so brief and cool for most of the past year?”
Straight to the point, then, whether she was ready or not. She studied his profile, faintly visible in the moonlight. With his wavy, dark-chestnut hair and swoon-worthy brown eyes, he could pose for a portrait of the hero in a Gothic romance, aside from his scholarly-looking spectacles.
This is not what I should be thinking now! Nor could she bear to think about the humiliation of explaining that her less than ardent letters were connected to her family’s reduced circumstances. She didn’t have to, she decided, unless he made an explicit proposal of marriage.
-end of excerpt-
*****
The long-time distributor of THE VAMPIRE’S CRYPT has closed its website. If you would like to read any issue of this fanzine, which contains fiction, interviews, and a detailed book review column, visit the Dropbox page below. Find information about the contents of each issue on this page of my website:
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All Vampire’s Crypt Issues on Dropbox
A complete list of my available works, arranged roughly by genre, with purchase links:
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Carter Kindle Books
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You can contact me at: MLCVamp@aol.com
“Beast” wishes until next time—
Margaret L. Carter