Shotgun Opera details

This novel isn't started yet, but I thought I'd share the characterizations and plot.  The title is temporary, but I really like it. It came from the Linkin Park song "Bleed it Out". The line is "Shotgun opera, lock and load." I just love the ring to it every time I hear it, haha.

Characters: Teagan Meadow, Amis Meadow, River De Wilde, Hugo Black

Teagan Meadow: ***Sidhean vampire with shoulder-length hair the color of ripe lemons and eyes a soft violet. Her skin is almost translucent.  She stands at 5.0 with very minimal curves. Teagan lives alone in a 2 bedroom romantic style apartment on the Chattahoochee River, down the street from her brother and River, which is minutes from downtown Atlanta, Ga. She works with Amis as a Death Teller in The Raven’s Shadow.  She spends most of her time reading psychological thrillers and writing poetry out on her patio. River drives Teagan crazy and would never deal with him again if she could as she agrees with her line’s view on weres. Teagan’s powers are stronger than her brother’s.

Amis Meadow: Sidhean vampire with hip length coffee brown hair he wears in a braid and soft violet eyes like his sister’s. His skin is closer to a human pale than translucent and covers a very muscular 6’4 frame. Amis lives in a modern styled condo on the Chattahoochee River down the street from Teagan Amis works with Teagan at The Raven’s Shadow. He spends most of his time partying with River downtown and in their house. Down time is spent fishing out on the river. River saved Amis’ life when he first became a vampire so he is the exception to the rule of Sidhean not associating with werewolves.

River De Wilde: Werewolf with short onyx hair that he never seems to style (just rolls out of bed and goes) and cool apple green eyes. His skin naturally looks like he spends all day every day at the beach. River towers over everyone at 6’7 and his muscular body could put Olympic swimmers to shame. He lives with Amis and works as a bartender at The Raven’s Shadow. River loves being Amis’ wingman.

Hugo Black: Mysterious Lamia vampire with blood red hair that falls to the middle of his back and eyes such a pale blue they could disappear. Hugo’s skin is bright white, humans would swear he glows. His 6’ frame is stretched so taut he looks like he’ll snap if touched just right, but unyielding power lies behind his eyes. He comes to Teagan with a deal: A stranger’s life for your brother’s.

Extra characters:

Rose female 22 bartender at The Raven’s Shadow

Tad male 28 bartender at The Raven’s Shadow

Amelyn 24 waitress at The Raven’s Shadow

9

Mr. Fenton male 45 client of the Meadows'

Mr. Meeks  male 27 client of the Meadows'

Ms. Callia female 21 client of the Meadows'

Info: The Raven’s Shadow is an exclusive vampire club. If you know someone –seriously important—as a human you can get in to dance with the vampires. A spell cast by the Sidhe shields the club from anyone seeing it that isn’t on the list. They play dubstep and other really grungy, dirty, dark music. There’s a secret back door that leads to a room Teagan and Amis work out of. A special password spell is needed to get in.

The whole novel is done in steam punk style. Teagan owns two steam punked sawed-off shot guns that she wears at her hips and River owns a self-made steam punked 6-barrel gun.

PLOT: Teagan Meadow is a vampire who works in The Raven’s Shadow night club with her brother Amis as a Death Teller. Because of their vampire line heritage as Sidheans (faerie mixed vampire line), they have touch induced visions about then when and how of people’s death. If you want to know your fate, you can pay them to tell you. Teagan and Amis have never seen their own.

One night Teagan sees her brother’s death for the first time and that it’s nothing short of barbarous. The next night she is visited by a mysterious Lamia vampire that tells her that he can change her brother’s fate. The catch? She has to agree to have a stranger take his place. She has three days to decide. Teagan decides to go on a mission to figure out who causes Amis’ death so she can stop them instead. She is joined by Amis’ best friend River.  Will she get the answers and stop them in time, or will she hold the death of someone else in her hands? 

***Sidhean vampires are a clan/race of vampires I made up among a few others.

Little write up on them:

SIDHEAN (SHEE-AN):

MEANING - underground dwelling faerie (Sidhe)

HISTORY- A group of Sidhe out to collect flowers and herbs for spell work stumbled upon an abandoned baby female vampire and took it in to raise. The vampire became family and any Sidhe she changed became more beautiful. She mated with many of the Sidhe to grow the bloodline. The Sidhe raised all of them to protect the Sidhe and to form symbiotic and family relationships.  Each generation of Sidhean vampires become breath-taking upon being Embraced and assist any Sidhe in need.

CALLED BY OTHERS – Bugs

KINDRED AND OTHER SPECIES – Sidhean would much rather just interact with their own kind and the Sidhe. They view the weres as “foul uncivilized creatures”. Goblins are only for making treaties and deals, not friends.

OUTER SHELL – Masters choose their progeny to be similar to the Sidhe they are descended from. They are always tall (at least 5’8) and leanly built. Sidhean females have minimal curves and tiny waists. The males are known to be described as “beautiful and awe-inspiring”.  Sidhean have pointed ears which they keep covered with long hair and/or elaborate hairdos. Most can shape shift into small pixies and are born with wings tattooed onto their backs that can come out for them to use. This is why they get called “bugs” (also because of them living underground). Sidhean also shape shift into other things so their clothing is usually handmade or cheap as they tend to forget where they put their clothes or otherwise lose them.

RESIDES – They make homes in caves and underground usually either with or near Sidhe. They protect the Sidhe and are known to work with the Slaugh (darker Sidhe that roam the halls of faerie mounds protecting Sidhe). If they choose to live in the human world, they must keep their homeland soil (where they “died”) with them to heal while they sleep.

POWERS- can shape shift and can foretell someone’s death

FLAWS – If they are badly injured –something that would kill a human- they must have their homeland soil. Most keep some in vials as jewelry (necklaces and belts) or vials in pockets.

COMBAT – Sidhean are known to borrow or trade for spells and other magic with their actual Sidhe counter parts. They like to fight without actual weapons, but will use knives and daggers in close combat if need be. They are best at the hypnotic eye powers of the Vampire and use that to put non-vampire enemies to sleep. When someone is going to die, they get a vision of themselves washing the person’s bloody clothes in a river and then they see when and how they die. They can induce this vision on others to scare them.