I'm your typical author and do not claim to be anyone special or unique. My stories are original, but my background is not; I'm an average person.

I started writing stories when I was about 18. I began writing my first book in the pull-behind camper my family (4 kids; 2 adults; 1 dog; 2 cats) was living in at a KOA camp while we were waiting on our house to be built. As one can imagine, living in a camper with that many people, it got quite crowded and boring. I would put on my headphones to drown out the noise and write in my little notebook. That was when the first ideas for my epic fantasy series, "Dies Irae" came out of my pen. That was clear back in 2003-2004.

A person is not my influence, nor my muse. Music is my influence. I cannot write without it. Evanescence's "Fallen" CD was the soundtrack for "Dies Irae." Now, my music taste (writing inspiration) varies from story to story. I listen to everything from classical/movie scores to country to rock. Pirates of the Caribbean to Taylor Swift, to Rob Zombie. You get the picture.

My very first published novel is "Dead Seed," which used to go by the name "Vampires Don't Exist." The story first became popular on the website Quizilla in late 2004. There, it became the highest rated story for over a month. I received 30+ pieces of fanmail on a daily basis, and the occasional death threat from people that thought I was sick in the head. After receiving many emails from my fans begging me to turn the story into a book and publish it, I obliged. That book is still published under my former writing name, "R. Vance."

As of December 2, 2010 -- I have 4 books written and published with Lulu (yes, I said Lulu--get over it; my books are in good shape. They have been properly proofread and are not in the terrible format of a newb. I have worked very hard on them and chose -- yes CHOSE -- to self-publish after extensive research, thank you very much :-p  ):

-- "Dead Seed" (as R. Vance -- vampire horror)
-- "Dies Irae" series (4 books total in two-book paperbacks -- epic fantasy)
-- "Dementia" (vampire thriller)
-- "Bad Customers: A Guide to Customer Etiquette" (humorous guide)

In addition to my books, I am also a frequent contributer to the "Twisted Dreams" magazine. Several of my stories and poems have been published in the magazine since its debut (with the names Reyanna Vance; R. Vance; Sara Vance-Hogan).

I have also been part of two anthologies:

-- "Sinister Landscapes" by Alan Draven ("My Elf" by R. Vance)
-- "2008 Ladies of Horror" by Jennifer Miller ("Death Riders"; "Harper Ridge" by Reyanna Vance)

Works in Progress:

-- "Table Rock's Vampire" (vampire action/comedy)
-- "Dies Irae" sequel
-- "Dancing with Dragonflies" (fantasy/preteen-young adult)
-- Unnamed Haunted House story (short horror -- give me your vote! See here for details)

That's about it. If you want to know more about me or read some of my work, see my websites.