Thursday, August 09, 2012

Supernatural Friday: Imagine That! The Reason behind "REICH": Guest Blogger Donald Allen Kirch



Welcome author Donald Allen Kirch as he gives reason behind his new historical horror release, Reich.

Vampire novels have always fascinated me.  I mean, what better way for a guy who grew up...always...as the "new kid" in town, alienated, and not too well liked to live out his need to be around people, than to vicariously live through a fictional character who was always powerful, cool, and great with the ladies?  Seriously...there is something primal about being able to defeat death, and to be, somewhat, in control of your own destiny.  Not to be disrespectful to the "Twilight" circle, I also prefer my vampires to be evil.
One of the first vampire memories I have, was while watching the ABC movie "The Night Stalker."  The show is quite tame by today's standards, but it gave me nightmares as a child.  What was worse...I LIVED in Las Vegas at the time, and that was where the vampire in the story was killing people!  My mother went nuts, while trying to explain to me that I didn't have to keep making sure all my windows were locked before I went to bed.  Once, I even called a local newspaper, asking to speak with "Carl Kolchak."  I am quite sure the man I called had no idea what I was talking about.  Hey!  I was six...give me a break.
Vampires are great!
When putting together my recent novella "Reich" I was delighted to discover that I had the facts of history on my side.  Three important anomalies allowed me to get away with the notion that Adolf Hitler might have been a vampire.  One, an assassination attempt was performed on Hitler, and he did survive.  Two, the facts of his true death have always been a mystery, thanks to the paranoia of Joseph Stalin.  Three: A message was found in a bottle claiming Hitler died in a U-boat heading to Norway after the war.
Like the fictional character Dracula, Adolf Hitler can be identified, solely, by the horror of his last name.  What better fiend as a vampire?  As a kid, I read several books about the Second World War, and one of the most fascinating facts that stuck with me, was the assassination attempt on Hitler's life.  He was less than six feet away from a powerful explosion...and LIVED!  Six men, standing in the immediate blast range were instantly killed, but NOT Hitler!  What a lucky bastard...sort of.  That always fascinated me, and I looked long and hard for a "fictional" way to explain it.
His death in the bunker, at the end of the war, has always been in a historical flux, due to the fact that no one in the West witnessed it.  We take these facts as historical; because it is the only story the old Soviet Government was willing to sell the Allies.  Even the witnesses changed their stories throughout the years, claiming that most of the facts were gained from them by means of torture.  Hell!  I'd lie too, under such circumstances!  So, Hitler, killing himself in the dark universe of his bunker...a so-so fact with me.
Now!  We come to the heart of "Reich's" creation!
Fact:  On November 26, 1946, a message was discovered inside an empty wine bottle, which had washed up upon the Danish shore.  It claimed that Adolf Hitler did not die in his bunker, but was killed on board a German u-boat named NAUECILUS.  The message appeared to be written upon the torn out page of a captain's log - commonly used by the u-boats of the time.  Upon investigation, the message was later thought to be a hoax.
Still..."What if?"
In "Reich" the old values of Germany are allowed their day "in the sun" and battle the forces of the "Nazi evil," and save the day.  Something that wasn't done until after so much destruction and death.
We live, again, in dangerous times.  Hitler came to power during an age of economical distress and chaos.  Politicians in his time had no guts to stand forward and offer answers.  Like most today, they were caught in a rut.  Again, Europe is circling the drain.  Let us hope that reason takes hold, and will not allow yet another monster to rise.
END?
Donald Allen Kirch

Book Blurb:
Adolf Hitler, the “Supreme Warlord” of Germany’s Third Reich ruled Europe with an iron fist. With his political promises to a desperate people he spoke of a reign that would last a thousand years. Under his command humanity had entered a new dark age. Tales were told of horrors taking place in the East—of railroad cars, of ovens, and death. Still, there was one little secret he had kept to himself.
When Hitler survived an assassination attempt upon his life his secret was discovered by those in command. Something had to be done!
A German U-boat Captain is ordered to transport Adolf Hitler to a secret military base in Norway, during the closing days of the Second World War. While on this mission, he discovers that there is more to Germany’s “Supreme Warlord” than meets the eye. To his horror, the Captain discovers the Third
Reich’s darkest secret: Hitler was a vampire!

Excerpt:
Everything went terribly wrong.
“Line the pigs up against the wall!” Hitler yelled, stepping out of a truck. The ringing in his ears, a side effect from Stauffenberg’s bomb, was starting to give the German leader a headache. Stauffenberg, beaten, chained at his feet, and wrestling with a pair of handcuffs, looked on in disbelief.
Stauffenberg, along with the rest of his group, were silently lined up in the tiny courtyard of theBendlerstrasse, one of Berlin’s many ministry buildings, just so Hitler could gloat at them. Behind their leader was a line of soldiers with guns pointed. Stauffenbergdid not need to know what they were for—he knew that he had only minutes more to live.
Hitler just stared. Sneering.
Stauffenberg could not understand it. The man looked unharmed. He had seen the blast. He had positioned the bomb to be only a few feet from Hitler when it exploded. He had seen the Map Room destroyed! What went wrong?
Hitler silently ordered the soldiers to point their weapons at Stauffenberg. He found himself in prayer. His worries would soon be over.
Stauffenberg took one last look at Hitler.
Draped in darkness, looking like the evil troll that he was, Hitler noticed Stauffenberg’s curiosity. The Lt. Colonel could see that Hitler was enjoying the confusion immensely.
Hitler’s eyes glared back in an unholy yellow, piercing the darkness of the night. The German Leader’s gaze was like none upon the earth—inhuman in nature.
Stauffenberg blinked. His only eye, blackened by kicking boots to his face, ached with pain. Blood was fighting with his vision. What he was seeing was impossible.
The soldier’s aimed their rifles.
“This cannot be!” Stauffenbergshouted, addressing his horrified amazement directly at Hitler. “What are you to have survived such a blast?”
Hitler laughed. “Much more that you first perceived.”
The rifles cocked.
“You will not succeed,”Stauffenberg shouted, fighting the chains keeping him in place. “There will be others who will see you for what you really are. They will destroy you where I could not. Long live sacred Germany!”
The shots were fired.
Stauffenberg’s world stopped.
About Donald Allen Kirch:
DONALD ALLEN KIRCH lives in Kansas City, Missouri. He is an avid reader of history, Sherlock Holmes Mysteries, and the paranormal. He has a degree in Radio and Television Arts, and is listed in “Who’s Who in America.” After spending two weekends in the famous “Sallie House,” a “haunted house” featured on the Fox TV-series Sightings, in Atchison, Kansas, he is one of the only authors of his genre who can claim to have been attacked by a ghost!
“Mr. Kirch has taken an obscure historical fact and let his curiosity and imagination run wild with it, taking the reader on a terrifying submarine ride. The atmosphere weighs heavy, the tension mounts and the brief glimpses of the monster encourages one to turn on a light. Mr. Kirch is a master at imagery and phrasing: “Like a tiny steel splinter the vessel plunged deep into the ocean’s body aware of its surroundings.” He leads the reader step by step into an improbable scenario and we are captured by it. Reich manages to both chill and thrill and confirms what history has always suggested, that Hitler was not only monstrous, but indeed a monster.”
—Rating: 4.5 Tombstones, BittenbyBooks.com


Buy at Amazon:
Buy at BarnesandNoble.com:


All Kinds of Downloads at Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/180719




4 comments:

Janice Seagraves said...

Hi Donald,

I might just buy your book for my daughter. She loves anything vampire and she also enjoys Sherlock Holmes. She's watching an old Sherlock Holmes movie right now.

Good luck with your release. I wish you many sales. :)

Janice~

Donald Allen Kirch said...

Janice,

Thank you very much for the wonderful wishes! I sincerely hope that the BOTH of you enjoy my book. All the best!

Donald Allen Kirch

Stephanie said...

I so love vampires, and the idea of Hitler being a vampire is fascinating and chilling. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

Donald Allen Kirch said...

I look forward to hearing what YOU think of the story, Stephanie! Happy Reading!

Donald Allen Kirch