Freelance and the Blood Countess...

The Holy Roman Empire, Transylvania

Along with my Psychology major fiance, I've been reading a book on female serial killers. This picture is of Elizabeth Bathory, and she is the only one of her kind. All known female serial killers since Elizabeth were influenced and led by an alpha male. That was not the Countess's experience. She began her bloody campaign while her husband was actually away fighting the Turks- he had done nothing to encourage her sadistic desires.

In the late 1500s and early 1600s it is believed that she tortured and killed over 600 servant girls and young women. Her methods were brutal, and a lot of the truth is worse than the legend. She was arrested in 1610 at the age of fifty, and was entombed alive with only a small window through which she received food. Only her noble blood kept her from immediate execution. She survived four years before supposedly being found dead on the floor of her chamber, still looking as cruelly beautiful as ever.

They called her a vampire because when she was finished murdering a victim, she was often sopping with the girl's blood. The peasants who lived beneath her castle were terrified and the population was dwindling- almost all of the eligible girls had gone to work for Elizabeth, and had never came home. Pretty grisly, huh? When we were reading about her I couldn't help but think of a fiction story I could write. Maybe Elizabeth was a vampire. Maybe she didn't die on the floor of her tomb. Maybe she's alive today...

On to freelance. I've fiddled around with the idea for two years now and have finally decided to give it a try. My resume is built, my web page is http://www.google.com/profiles/katethompsonportfolio and I'm shaking in my boots. When you first go to college, you don't think about life after the fact. Everything is new an exciting and the real world can wait. That novelty wears off around junior year, which is where I am now. Now, I have to pay attention to the real world, because by next summer I need to know how I'm going to make enough money to feet my dog when I'm done with my BFA. Next year, I need to find me a grad school. I'm confident that I can write about almost any subject (except any form of math whatsoever) as long as I'm given a directive and research topics. All I need are professionals and private parties who are interested in what I have to offer. Hmm... where are you?

And because this blog is supposed to be about Daniel Bellamy, I'm going to put some new information in here about him, too. The pieces are starting to come together. Suddenly, there's hope for Daniel in his quest to catch the person responsible for his sister's murder. Before he gets the information he needs, he receives a phone call. There's been another double homicide. They hadn't been quick enough. When I last left Daniel, he was on his way to the scene of the crime. This one will be grislier than the first.

Kate.