Guest Author Cindy Borgne
Today my guest is Cindy Borgne, amazing author of the sci-fi/paranormal YA novel VALLAR
Hi dear Cindy, welcome! Tell us a few things about yourself.
I’m a mother of two kids from Michigan. I started writing when I was about fourteen. Back then I actually wrote fan fiction, and didn’t even know it was called fan fiction! Thankfully, I moved onto creating my own characters. When I get bored, I can write and escape into these worlds I like to create. I also enjoy the challenge. Writing gives me something to look forward to.
Tell us about your published novel VALLAR, what is it about?
Vallar is the story of Ian Connors, a 16 year old, psychic. He has a vision of a girl he has never met before and can’t help wanting to find to her, but his attempts put her in danger from his own people.
The setting is a dystopian society on Mars where scientific colonies have evolved into military factions in order to survive. Earth refuses to help due to their own problems of overpopulation and dwindling resources. The leaders of Marscorp believe that by conquering smaller organizations they will be able to gain enough power to force their way back to Earth. In order to complete their mission, Admiral Beacon uses Ian for his psychic ability.
Ian must save the girl of his dreams and escape the corruption surrounding him – otherwise there is no future for either of them. He must take charge of his life, or he will remain a pawn and forever separated from those he loves.
I just recently I found out Vallar is a finalist in the Reader’s Favorte contest. I will find out the results in September.
What inspired you to write VALLAR?
It started with a question: What if someone had psychic ability and was caught in a situation of being used by someone with power? What if he didn’t realize at first, but when he did he was still forced to do things he knew were wrong? What would he do?
Also the idea of putting this all on Mars came about when I’d read about companies building rocket-like planes capable of going into orbit around the Earth. I thought maybe one day it would be corporations that go to the moon or even Mars. Rather than NASA.
Then what if things went wrong and the corporations were abandoned by Earth? In my story, they turn against each other.
Which is your favorite scene from your book?
I had to think about this one. Several come to mind. The way Vallar is written everything is discovered through Ian’s eyes, so it can be hard to mention a scene without giving too much away something. There is a scene where Ian finds out a secret about his boss (Sonny) at the elevator factory. I like it because it throws in a bit of a twist and adds to the characterization of Sonny. It also emphasizes more of the suffering caused by Marscorp.
Tell us about your favorite character in your book.
Ian, the main character. His heart is always in the right place even though he makes mistakes. He’s so stubborn, but for the right reasons. He will go against anyone who is trying to make him do the wrong thing no matter how powerful they might be even though he is only sixteen.
I have to mention Sonny as my second favorite. He becomes Ian’s best friend and protects him. He changes so much during the story.
What kind of research did you have to do for it?
There was a good deal of research involved. I studied the book “A Traveler’s Guide to Mars.” This book has the best detailed description of the various areas of Mars that I could find. I also have a geologist/engineer critique partner that helped me with some of the technical aspects. I studied any map about Mars I could find. Google Mars is a good resource. I also studied the environment on Mars in depth.
What are you working on currently? Can we see a bit of it?
I’m mostly working on the sequel to Vallar. I have a small blurb for it. I’m sure it won’t be the final version.
A week before graduation, Ian Connors foresees a war that wipes out his home and loved ones. Can he prevent the Vallar alliance from being destroyed?
This is the last paragraph of Chapter 1.
I gripped one of my pillows and almost tore it apart in frustration over not having seen enough to give me any idea of how to stop it. It had to be an attack from the Marcs. They either knew our location or they had found out, but the swarm, I’d never seen so many ships or anything that even looked like that one with the large wings. No wonder Marscorp had been so quiet this last year. I couldn’t let Kayla and Sonny die.
What are your thoughts on self publishing vs. the traditional route?
I think they both have their pros and cons. With self-publishing, you have control of the product and you can publish it a lot faster. On the other hand, you have to do everything yourself and/or pay for things such as cover art and editing with no guarantee that there will be enough sales to cover it. But you can offer your book at more competitive prices. Yet, there is still the stigma of self-publishing, and some readers just will not give a self-published book a try. But on the other hand, with cheaper prices and e-books more readers are opening their minds about it.
With the traditional route, you have editing and cover art provided, of course. There is someone other than you saying “Hey, this is a good book!” If you’re published by a big house, they have the money to advertise and get your book placed in the showy spots in book stores (if they decide to do so). Smaller publishers usually leave most of the marketing up to the author. Lastly, it’s easier to get reviews for a traditionally published book.
What advice do you have for aspiring novelists?
I think the main thing is to not give up and stick with it. Try to enjoy the process and don’t over think rejections. Most rejections happen, not because they don’t like your writing, but because you are an unknown and they don’t think they can sell it. This goes back to an advantage of self-publishing because you can begin to gain readers on your own, which may later give you an advantage in getting an agent.
Also if you’re planning on self-publishing be careful not to rush the project. Take your time and be sure to get beta readers or work with a critique group. Everything has to come across as professional. Cover art, website, flyers, etc. Try to think of things from the buyer’s perspective. Would you buy your own book?
Thanks for having me today, Chrys.
Blog: http://dreamersperch.blogspot.com/
Website: http://www.cindyborgne.com/
Vallar on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Vallar-ebook/dp/B004SHTNEU/
Vallar on Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/47752
Six Sentence Sunday – The Boat
Good Sunday to all! 🙂 Today I continue where I left off last week, with my novel Rex Rising.
The man appeared at the right periphery of Elei’s tainted vision — a splash of red. He went still when Elei cocked the hammer. The click rang too loud in the quiet.
“Calm down, will you,” the man said, raising his hands. “Just checking on you. You’re bleeding all over my boat.”
I am pleased to say that Rex Rising has started to sell.:)
Blurb: In a world where parasites create new human races, Elei leads a peaceful life as aircar driver — until a mysterious attack on his boss sends him fleeing with a bullet in his side and the fleet at his heels. Pursued for a secret he does not possess, he has but one thought: to stay alive. Yet unless he finds out this deadly secret, he’s a dead man.
Read my interview on Victorine Lieske’s blog about Rex Rising
You can find Rex Rising at the following distributors:
Guest Author Victorine E. Lieske
Meet Victorine E. Lieske, NYT Author.
Chrys: Hi dear Vicki, welcome to my blog. It’s a pleasure having you here. With your first book, Not What She Seems, you made the NY Times list. Now you have a new book out, The Overtaking. What inspired the story?
Victorine: It was an idea for a book I had come up with years ago. I had wondered what it would be like to find out we weren’t really living on Earth, that our memories had been altered, and that we’re living our lives not knowing who we really were. This idea grew, and it came to life in the Maslonian and Dyken races, one taking over the other and putting them in a fake environment. And then I thought it would be great to have members of the opposite races fall in love. That’s when Shayne and Danielle were formed.
Chrys: Do you have a favorite scene in The Overtaking?
Victorine: Yes, I think my favorite scene is where Shayne first figures out he can move objects with his mind after his memory has been altered. Danielle sees him use his power and gets frightened because she knows she has to turn him into the authorities who will wipe his memory again. He’s already had two memory wipes, and she doesn’t want him to forget her again. It’s a tense scene where he reveals to her that he can read her mind and he knows she’s one of them, and also that she has feelings for him.
Chrys: What are you working on now?
Victorine: I’m writing the sequel to The Overtaking, which has proven to be very fun for me. Trenton takes Danielle into the Holodome and puts her into a mental institution where she learns that all of the mental patients were resequencing mess-ups. Many of them can remember bits and pieces of their past, and a few still have their powers. Shayne is locked out of the Holodome and is devising a plan to get back in. Of course he doesn’t know where Danielle is or how to get back out after he’s found her. I’m not sure how he’s going to do it either!
Chrys: What inspired you to start writing?
Victorine: I was an avid reader growing up. Loving books as I did, I always thought it would be cool to write a novel. But I didn’t have the time, and I didn’t make the time, until I injured my back and had nothing else to do. Then I thought I would write that novel I had always wanted to write. I wrote the first draft of that book, Not What She Seems, in one week. I didn’t know anything about writing, so it took four years of revising to make that into something good. I was shocked when that book took off and sold over 100,000 copies and made the New York Times best seller list. I didn’t really think of myself as a writer, it was just something I did for fun.
Chrys: What do you love most about your writing?
Victorine: I love hearing from fans. It’s fantastic when people tell me they’ve enjoyed reading my book. It makes it all worth it, to know someone stayed up late at night to finish my story.
Chrys: What are your goals as a writer?
Victorine: I would love to be able to write full time. That’s a hard goal to accomplish because writing income is very unreliable, but for now I’m happy with juggling my business and my writing.
Chrys: What keeps you motivated?
Victorine: My readers definitely keep me motivated. Sometimes readers will ask me when my next book is coming out. I’ve been in their shoes, anxious to read someone’s next book, so I know how it feels. I try to write each day so they don’t have to wait for a long time.
Chrys: Thank you for stopping over. Best of luck with your writing!
The Overtaking can be found at:
Meet the author: http://www.victorinelieske.com
Guest Author Marita A. Hansen
Today I have an author guest: Marita A. Hansen who just published her novel Behind the Hood, a look into the reality of street gangs and violence in New Zealand.
Chrys: Hi Marita! Welcome to my blog. Can you tell us a few things about yourself?
Marita: I am a New Zealander from Auckland. Currently I am living in Singapore. I have been here since December 2009 and will be leaving at the end of 2012. I am married with two kids. I like to write, paint, coach soccer, and occasionally referee a match.
Chrys: Singapore, wow! It must be a place that inspires you to write a lot! Why don’t you tell us a little about your published book.
Marita: Behind the Hood is realistic fiction based on a town that I used to live in. Here is the blurb:
Life on the rough side of New Zealand.
In this South Auckland neighbourhood where gang culture, drink, drugs, sex and violence is already a way of life; a vicious attack on a teenage girl sparks a ripple effect of revenge and fury. Live the carnage through multiple viewpoints as the tale unfolds to a bloody climax.
Warning: NOT for the fainthearted.
Chrys: Well I have to say, it sounds fascinating, and I can’t wait to read it! Where can people learn more about you and your work?
Marita: You can follow my blog here: maritaahansen.blogspot.com
You can find Behind the Hood at the following distributors:
Sample from Behind the Hood:
Maia
Maia Daniels knew she should just ignore the boys. Walk past, don’t listen, she told herself. Don’t talk back.
It was ten o’clock on a Saturday night. The gang were sitting on a wall outside Claydon Pub, passing around a smoke. She’d seen some of them at high school, when they decided to turn up that is.
Whooping and yelling came from the pub. A television blared loudly, no doubt replaying the All Blacks’ rugby match against the Wallabies. Maia stopped at the driveway as a purple Holden drove into the car park. Music blasted from inside the souped-up machine, the bass pumping its steady beat out into the night.
“Maia, c’mere,” Tama Harris yelled.
The gang leader was eighteen, tall and solidly built, with a wide, flat nose. He’d shaved off his hair recently, replacing it with a curved pattern called a moko. Usually, the tattoo adorned the face, a sign of a Maori warrior—something to be proud of. But Tama was no one to be proud of, nothing but a dreg who constantly harassed her. Unlike the other boys, he wore his hoodie tied around his waist, his ripped jeans and muscle shirt unsuitable for the cold autumn weather. Maia figured he was probably high on something, either from the weed in his hand or the empty bottles at his feet—or both.
“Hey, Maia! Are ya a double d?” a podgy boy with spiky blond hair shouted.
“They sure felt like it,” Tama replied, his hand actions eliciting laughter from the gang.
A blush ran across Maia’s cheeks. Shit, she hated her breasts. Even in her oversized sweatshirt they still grabbed attention. She pulled her hood further over her head, and rounded her shoulders. After another car passed, she hitched up her track pants and walked across the muddy driveway.
Tama hollered, “Oi! I told ja to c’mere.”
She looked back, aching to give him the finger, but instead jammed her hands into her pockets. God, she was a moron for sneaking out, but … Ben’s raves were always awesome. Why couldn’t her mum let her go? It wasn’t like she did drugs, and the boys at the party were just mates.
Tama’s scowl changed into a grin. He threw his joint onto the ground and jumped off the stone wall. With a jerk of his head, he indicated for the gang to follow.
Maia’s heartbeat picked up. Still concentrating on Tama, she stepped off the kerb and onto Waiata Crescent. The blast of a horn made her leap back. The front passenger leaned out of a battered sedan, and swore at her. Ignoring the pimply git, she scooted around the car and across the side road.
A loud wolf-whistle made her jump. She glanced over her shoulder. Tama’s eyes were fixated on her, promising things she didn’t want.
He grabbed his crotch. “I like ya from behind, Maia.”
All the boys, except for Mikey Thomas, laughed. Tama’s cousin looked away as though uncomfortable with what was happening. He was fourteen and in her class at school. She thought he liked her; either that or he had a staring problem. Yeah, she’d only noticed because she was usually checking him out too.
Maia wondered if she could lose the gang by cutting across the highway. Traffic was heavy, making this option just as dangerous as stopping for Tama. Further up the road, past the tyre yard, the video and liquor stores’ lights were on. The neon sign of the happy video man was a welcoming sight. It was maybe a hundred metres away. She thought she had a chance of outrunning Tama. She was fast, damned fast. If she’d showed up to school enough, she probably would’ve been on the track team.
“Maia, pretty Maia,” Tama taunted. “I’ve got sumpthin’ to show you.”
Maia wasn’t sure whether it was a knife—or something else in his pants. She knew he carried a switchblade. He’d stabbed her brother in the arm once when Nike attacked him with a baseball bat. She’d always wondered whether this was why Tama harassed her. But she couldn’t blame Nike for it. Leila, his girlfriend at the time, had caused the fight. The bitch had cheated on him with Tama, then cried rape after he found out.
“Leave me alone, Tama,” she said, remembering the last time he’d approached her. She’d kicked him in the balls for grabbing her breasts. “Nike said he’d beat the living snot outta you if you came near me again.”
“I’d love to see him fuckin’ try. Plus, you owe me, bitch.”
Maia knew she should keep her mouth shut; that whenever she spoke it got her into trouble. Her mother had told her countless times, “You speak too much, Maia, you should listen more.”
She grinned, unable to help herself. “What do I owe you? More bruised balls?”
She heard a slicing noise behind her, the sound of a switchblade being opened. Shit!
“Get her,” Tama yelled.
Author Marita A. Hansen.
Six Sentence Sunday – Rex Rising
I am very pleased to brag about the release of my YA sci-fi novel REX RISING on Kindle and Smashwords. 🙂 In it, Elei’s peaceful life is shattered one evening when his boss/foster mother is shot dead and he barely escapes with his life. With the fleet at his heels and a bullet in his side, he will do all he can to survive – but his pursuers don’t appear inclined to sit down and talk, and they are convinced he knows something they’d obviously kill for…
So, to today’s excerpt!
Danger.
Elei jerked and sharp pain erupted in his side. Hissing, he drew his gun and waited. His possessed eye throbbed; cronion, the strongest of his resident parasites, hated surprises. The world lit up in bright colors. Be ready.
You can find Rex Rising at the following distributors:
Thank you for dropping by. I will be posting snippets from Rex Rising over the next weeks.
Read more excerpts from wonderful authors at: http://www.sixsunday.com/
Have fun! 🙂
Rex Rising is live!
I am thrilled to officially announce the release of my Young adult Science Fiction novel REX RISING on Amazon Kindle and Smashwords.
In case you wonder, this wasn’t a sudden decision. Granted, a year ago I wasn’t considering self publishing anything – but that was still the pre-eelectronic-self-publishing era. 🙂 Publishing for free on Amazon and Smashwords was already available then but few of us knew about it.
Since then I have also published a novella with a small publisher and plenty of short stories with publishers and magazines, so getting to see what traditional publishing was about (even though that is also mostly electronic now). I learned what it was like to work with deadlines, content and line editors, cover designers, how the royalties system works, what to look out for and what to appreciate.
It has been a fascinating year.
And somewhere along the way I decided that I really wanted to try publishing a book on my own as well. I wanted to design my own cover, do my own formatting, set my own deadlines and price and not to have to wait for a year until my next book came out (as it would with a traditional publisher).
That doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear about trad publishing again – on the contrary. My experience with MuseItUp publishing was great and I intend to submit more novellas to them. But I also loved the self publishing experience and look forward to publishing more stories on my own too! 🙂
REX RISING is a project I started years ago. It was a novella, which I expanded into a novel as I revised it. It plays on my fascination with parasites and all the ways in which they change us.
Parasites have evolved alongside us since forever and may have been one of the forces that pushed forward the creation of complex organisms. They affect our health and our behavior in many ways, and our bodies are so adapted to them that not having them causes the illnesses of our century: autoimmune diseases where the body, not finding any parasites to fight with, attacks itself.
What parasites can do verges on magic. We barely understand all the ways in which parasites control us. What may sound like demonic possession or superpowers may be explained by parasites.
I loved the process of researching my novel, then writing and editing it, and then creating a cover for it that pleases me. I always wanted to work with images! Now I hope to start a blog tour to advertise Rex Rising before I move on to writing the sequel.
I have created a page on this blog for Rex Rising which I will be updating regularly. Visit it to watch the trailer, read an excerpt, see the map, and read more about it:
http://chrystallathoma.wordpress.com/rex-rising/
Thanks for standing by me on this wonderful journey! 🙂
Watch the trailer:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-6Gxf8oQas]
You can find Rex Rising at the following distributors:
Six Sentence Sunday – What else makes an angel?
Happy Sunday everyone! I continue with my short story “The Angel Genome” in the “Extinct doesn’t mean forever” Anthology. 🙂
The doctor is explaining to Lucia what sets Zeph apart – why he’s refer to as an “angel” even though he is a child cloned from remains found that are almost human.
“His clavicles have dorsal protrusions, which have been developing. The possibility of growing real wings, even if they’re vestigial, is ever present. And some of the samples have shown promising implications for the cure of a number of immunity-related diseases.”
Wings. Samples. Needles and pain.
Visit next week for more! 🙂
Author Marion Sipe talks about LGBT characters
Boys, girls, androids and anyone else reading: Today I have a treat for you: Author Marion Sipe has agreed to talk here, today, about LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) characters in fiction.
Hi Mary, great to have you here today! 🙂
LGBT Characters
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender characters in fantasy are a subject that’s close to my heart. And I don’t see enough of them in the fiction I love. Don’t get me wrong, there are some really good examples out there from authors like Lynn Flewelling, Fiona Patton, Mark Anthony and Tanya Huff, but these are the rarer occurrences.
I think a lot of straight writers are afraid to write LGBT characters, for a number of reasons. On the one hand, they’re afraid they’ll get it wrong. But if we don’t write the things that challenge us, what fun is the writing? And it isn’t as if we can avoid all the things that we could possibly get wrong… Well, we’d never write anything at all. Indeed, the best way to not get it wrong is the same method you use for when you’re writing about something else you haven’t experienced firsthand, research. Just type “writing LGBT characters” in to Google and hit enter to get a nice start. Read what LGBT people have to say on the subject. There are a whole range of opinions, you won’t find one clear path, but your understanding will improve.
I also think that some writers think that a LGBT character will totally take over their plot. As if your lesbian character, for instance, has to spend a significant portion of her time on this fact, or possibly come to terms with her sexuality during the course of the book. So, they think that, if they write about this character, they’ll have to include that as a part of the story, and if they don’t feel capable of doing so, they may skip the LGBT character all together. The thing is, it doesn’t have to be that way. While LGBT issues in fiction are entirely valid and can be great, it doesn’t have to be the whole of the story. You can have a character who is gay, without having to wrap your entire plot around this fact. It’s entirely acceptable to make being LGBT not a big deal.
Queer people are… people. For some it’s a big deal, and for some its not. It’s okay to write an LGBT character whose storyline doesn’t revolve around them being LGBT.
However, you should do some research first, especially if you haven’t read a lot of LGBT characters. Just as with any other type of character, clichés and tropes accumulate around the idea of a queer character. I’m really tired of the LGBT characters heroically sacrificing themselves for the heroes/heroines. I think this particular cliché came about because writers wanted to show the character as a good person, wanted to make them important to the story, and weren’t sure what else to do with them.
But when every gay character is a self-sacrificing, flawless bit of two dimensional space, it’s not really having a LGBT character. It’s a LGBT cardboard cutout. And this is only worse if they’re the only LGBT character in the story. It kind of gives the impression that the only LGBT character that’s worth mentioning is the dead one, which is a pretty unfun concept all around.
I’m not saying that a LGBT character is no different than a straight character (the obvious difference being that they’re LGBT). There are a lot of cultural and societal influences, and these can make the LGBT character’s experience essentially different from the straight character’s experience. A gay character may be genuinely pissed off about not being able to marry his partner (and rightly so), and that adds depth to the character. But it shouldn’t be the only thing that does, because in addition to being gay, this character is–or should be–a lot of other things besides, both good and bad. When you take the whole person into account, you no longer have a two dimensional LGBT character, you have a person. And all the aspects of a character can, and will, and should come into play.
Remember that there is no one LGBT experience. This is especially true in fantasy and science fiction. Including an LGBT character means that you have to ask yourself what your culture thinks about that. How they react to it, and your character should be shaped by their society. That can mean that it’s not big deal and no one much cares. It can also mean that it’s a huge deal and then it will probably be a bigger deal to your character as well.
However, any two people will experience life in completely different ways, whether they’re gay or straight or bisexual or transgender. There is no one monolithic lifestyle. For some people being LGBT isn’t a big deal and for others it is. Life shouldn’t be the same for every LGBT character, even in the same society.
With A Sign in Blood, I wanted to make Bastian’s sexual preferences not the issue. I wanted to establish him as gay upfront, and make it clear that the world he lived in didn’t care. In fact, because of their particular caste system, and his particular bloodline, it’s preferred if he takes male lovers because there’s no risk of children. In a world without reliable birth control, that can be issue. So his being gay isn’t a central issue–in and of itself–in the book.
Let me say here that Marion has published her great epic fantasy novel called “A Sign in Blood”. I highly recommend this novel, which in all honesty is one of the best fantasy I have read in the recent years.
You can find Marion’s book at these retailers:
Marion’s blog:
Six Sentence Sunday – Angel DNA
Happy Six Sentence Sunday! 🙂
Last week I promised I’d give you an idea of the differences between Zeph and any other human – the ones that identify him as a different race, maybe an angel (depending on your definition of one). Can angels fly? Do they really have wings?
Lucia is about to find out:
She swallowed hard, licked her lips, tasted her waxy lipstick. “What makes him different?”
“Many of his major bones are hollow with criss-crossing trusses. It gives him a light skeleton, like that of gliding birds.” He raised one hand to rub his forehead. “More fragile, true, but lightweight.
Next week there will be more. 🙂
Have a great day!
Six Sentence Sunday – what is an angel?
Six Sentence Sunday time again – let’s play! 
This time I will give you an excerpt from my short story “The Angel Genome” in the anthology “Extinct doesn’t mean forever” edited by Phoenix Sullivan.
Blurb: What if the legends of angels arose from an extinct human branch? Lucia doesn’t believe in angels – but she might believe in the cloned child of a forgotten race – Zeph.
But what is Zeph – what kind of being do the doctors who cloned him refer to when they say he’s an angel?
A thrill went through her. “Another branch of modern humans? That would make huge headlines. Why say he’s an angel then? Why not tell the truth?”
“Ms. Winter, his DNA has certain … particularities.”
Tune in next week to find out what particularities those are! 🙂
Go here to read more excellent excerpts!
Remember that from 1-15 July, all profits from the Extinct anthology go to saving the Tasmanian Devil! Only 6 days left.
Click on the image below for the link to Amazon.com:
Also on:
Extinct? Not yet. Tasmanian Devils and how an anthology can help them.
Good afternoon from Cyprus. 🙂 And now the weather…
Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Today I will present to you very briefly an animal that comes from all the way around the globe from where I live: The Tasmanian devil.
Why? you might ask. What does that have to do with you – or us?
Just read this:
Tasmanian Devils are cute little mammals living in Tasmania, off the coast of Australia. They are marsupials, like kangaroos, and have the size of small dogs.
Due to a type of spreading cancer, caused most probably by pollution and encroaching on their natural environment, the little devils are dying and are currently on the verge of extinction.
Therefore, I was very pleased when our editor, Phoenix Sullivan, and the team of authors of the science fiction anthology “Extinct doesn’t mean forever” chose to donate the profits from the antho from the 1-15 July to saving the Tasmanian devil.
It is a wonderful anthology, and the cause is excellent. I don’t normally say this so crudely, but I will say it now: Go buy this book. Us, the authors and the editor, won’t earn a cent from this money. It all goes to saving the Tasmanian devils.
Don’t you think they are worth it?
Read about the Tasmanian Devils and the anthology on:
Buy the anthology here:
For more information contact the editor of the anthology:
Phoenix Sullivan
Dare to Dream Press
phoenixsullivan@yahoo.com
+00 11 1 903 465 2261
The Save the Tasmanian Devil Appeal can be found at: http://www.tassiedevil.com.au/tasdevil.nsf/
Meet SFR Author A. R. Norris
Morning everyone! I am very happy to have here with me today my friend and published author A. R. Norris. She is a science buff and writes amazing science fiction romance (SFR). Her publisher is Desert Breeze Publishing. Watch out for her novels, of which one is already out, entitled “Duty and Devotion” and many more are on their way. 🙂
Now I will let Amber talk about History for fiction writers:
History Repeating, Use it
It’s sad, but true. History does repeat itself. Present day folks forget the details of the past and end up making the same mistakes. But, SF and Fantasy writers can use this to their advantage in world building and story outlining.
Truthfully, what better source material than history? You can find any amount of intrigue within the pages of the past. If you’re finding yourself at a loss for an idea, well peruse the history books and no doubt something will come to you. And, even if you have a great idea…maybe you dreamed it or maybe it slammed into your head at a stop light. Either way, history material can help define the foundation of the story. It can give a framework to your world building and a motivation to characters (main or secondary).
The most effective way to use history is to be aware of types of sources and the date the source came out. The views of that event will change between when it happened and between the people/governments involved. My advice is to read through multiple references. Get the full perspective of the situation. How did the event come across at the moment? Generations later? Between the opposing forces? How did outsiders look in and see the situation?
I used several historical points for Duty and Devotion, a military SFR that just released through Desert Breeze Publishing. The initial conflict was spurred off the triggering events of World War I. The conflict/perceptions between the nations were based on events of the Korean War. I researched from how the governments viewed the events all the way down to letters and interviews from individual soldiers at the front line.
The excerpt below is the moment the war became official. Up until this moment, no one really believed it would happen. There was a romantic, flippant denial to the situation.
EXCERPT
After twenty minutes in line at the messaging center, Nettie reached her turn. Sitting in the little station, she watched one from Rinny, calling over to her friends. “How many weeks and I finally hear from Rinny? Can you believe it? She loves it up there.”
“A lot more fun than here,” Jenny mentioned, smiling. “I wish I had a little sister… or any sibling at all.”
“Whatever,” Kaitlin hollered abruptly, surprising a couple recruits in neighboring stations. “Move it, Ice Princess, or the training group is going to leave without us.”
“Let it.” Nettie turned to the screen. Thinking about the upcoming terrain training left her stomach scuttling and churning.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Jenny teased.
Nettie flipped her off and recorded a response to Rinny. “Hey Sis. You look fabulously exhausted. Jealous as hell seeing as I’m living it out here in the middle of boondocks hell. Make sure to learn a little during your Peter Pan vacation, sweetie. Better hear from you sooner next time. Love always, Nettie.” She stopped recording and sent.
The overhead speakers came online with a repetitive alarm. “Notice. At 1630 armed Union forces took control of the UPG Conference and issued a Statement of Ultimatum to the Planetary Democratic Alliance governing body. This statement was reviewed and overwhelmingly denied by the senate. As of this moment, Union forces have assassinated the primary UPG council members, which included major Planetary Governors, and have taken remaining UPG staff hostage. By the Union’s aggressive assault, war has been officially declared.”
The three of them only stared at each other, too dumbfounded to speak.
It was really going to happen… war.
*****
Thank you very much Amber for posting, the topic is fascinating, and good luck with your books!
If you want to learn more about Amber Norris, stop by her blog: Adventures of a Sci-Fi Writer
Duty and Devotion is available at Desert Breeze, All Romance Books, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Sony, Kobo, and the Apple iBookstore.
Six Sentence Sunday – Theseus needs weapons
Happy Six Sentence Sunday all! 🙂 I am back with another snippet from Poseidon’s Mask – from Theseus’ point of view again. If you remember the myth of the Minotaur, you know that when Theseus came of age, his mother took him to a rock and told him that below it he would find his father’s arms. Theseus managed to move the rock and retrieve the weapons – which he later showed to his real father, proving their relation.
In my version, the weapons (left by Theseus’ real father, i.e. Poseidon) have been placed underneath the altar in Poseidon’s temple. The Satyr takes Theseus there and tells him to do what he must – move the alter, retrieve the weapons.
Not as easy as it sounds…
Setting his shoulder against the altar, he shoved. Muscles strained in his arms, in his back, in his chest. The tendons in his neck ached with the tension as he pushed hard, a groan rising from his throat.
The altar didn’t budge.
The satyr cleared his throat. It sounded awfully much like a snicker.
Hope you’re having fun with all these snippets! Check out more at the six sentence sunday site!
Six Sentence Sunday – Theseus’ mother
Good sunday everyone! 🙂 Life has been hectic yet again – but I didn’t want to miss sss! So here is another excerpt from my novella about the Minotaur (first draft). The Satyr has planted a doubt in Theseus’ head: is his father Aegeus, like he’d always thought, or Poseidon, a god? He hasn’t seen his mother in some time, but now he goes to her, to satisfy his curiosity.
“Theseus.” Her voice, so familiar, low and rich, brought an ache to his heart that he’d forgotten. A sharp breath tore through his lungs. He’d missed her.
What a bad idea this was. “Listen, I won’t stay long.” Questions wanted to pour from his lips – how have you been, have you missed me too? – but he kept them down with an effort.
I am guilty of giving you more than 6 sentences again (7) – I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me. 🙂
I won’t be online on sunday, but on monday I will check out the others’ posts.
Happy sunday all!
Six Sentence Sunday – Theseus’ gift
Happy sunday to all! 🙂 I was away on a trip to Amsterdam last week and couldn’t post or comment, but now I’m back with one more little snippet from my novella about Theseus and the Minotaur, tentatively called “Poseidon’s Mask”. What does it mean to be Poseidon’s son – what sort of powers would the child of the earth-shaker, fountain-springing god have?
The Satyr stepped smoothly in his path. “What was that?”
“What was what?” Theseus’ heart boomed.
“The rumble in the deeper passages. Shakes and quakes, water fountains wherever you pass.”
For more snippets, check out the six sentence sunday site here:
http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/
Have fun! 🙂
Interview with guest author Barbara G.Tarn
Chrys: Welcome Barbara. I know you are an author and also that, like me, you’re not a native English speaker! Can you tell us a few things about yourself?
Barbara: Thank you for having me, Chrys. I was born in Rome, but for my father’s job we spent 8 years in French speaking countries, so I learned 2 languages at the same time – which probably opened my mind to learning more. BUT when I came back to my hometown I was 13 and it was a shock. I don’t think I ever really fitted in, so I started writing. To cut a long story short, I wrote over 500 stories in 25 years without following any kind of rules, pouring them out and sometimes sharing them with friends. Then I did creative writing courses, started going to book fairs and talking to publishers (we don’t have agents in Italy) and eventually switched languages to “go indie”- I also do graphic novels: I started in the 1990s and usually had both the Italian and the English version even back then, but my latest WiP graphic novel is in English only.
Chrys: Wow, you speak so many languages so well – and do so many different things! Graphic novels, this is fantastic! Tell us about your writing and stories – which genres are your favorites, and what you are working on right now!
Barbara: I started in my teens with contemporary love stories (of course) and some sci-fi and fantasy. In my 20s, inspired by Duran Duran and other popstar music videos, I wrote my first sci-fi saga. By my 30s I had my angry hard rock period and all those long-haired guys inspired me to write medieval fantasy. At 35 I had a short period of M/M romance. Now I write mainly fantasy, set in the world of Silvery Earth, and this year I’m starting to reveal it to the world (who wasn’t lucky enough to get its hand on my photocopied zines in the 90s) through novels and short stories available on Smashwords, Kindle and in print on Lulu. I’m used to multiple projects, so at this time I’m working on Silvery Earth stories (a collection that should come out with next novel, which is out for pro-editing), an historical novel set between 1185 and 1215 (my first, and it’s tough!) + my graphic novel in progress.
Chrys: Sounds great! If you have stories published, give us a blurb or excerpt and link.
Barbara: I am VERY prolific, Chrys! 🙂 The graphic novels are in color, terefore they’re available only on Lulu in print or PDF (until I figure out how to upload them for the i-Pad). On Kindle I uploaded a novella and the first novel. On Smashwords I also have 2 short stories. I have done four book trailers and you can find them here on my blog all together: http://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/my-books-trailers/
Chrys: What inspired you to draft your first story and what prompted you to start writing in English?
Barbara: My first official story dates from the summer of 1978 (but there are precedents!), and I still remember I came up with the idea of an underwater town made of glass because I was at the seaside and enjoyed looking for bits of glass on the beach. I have reworked it into Silvery Earth, part 1 in the Chronicles of the Varian Empire (scheduled for next year), part 2 in Books of the Immortals – Water (out this August).
I started writing in English because a rejection letter from an Italian publisher suggested I write for TV (I stopped watching TV in the 90s, so I decided to write features instead) and one of my creative writing teachers said my prose sounds a good translation of an English writer. Apparently I’m not literary enough for Italian standards. So I started by writing screenplays in English, but after a couple of years trying to break into Hollywood I came back to my first love, prose and graphic novels.
Chrys: I know what you mean about not being literary enough! Greeks don’t care all that much for speculative fiction either… *grumble* Where can readers find you on the web?
Barbara: my blog http://creativebarbwire.wordpress.com/
on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Barb-aka-Barbara-GTarn/175559797281?v=wall
On Lulu: http://stores.lulu.com/barb65
On Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/barbaragtarn
I’m also on Goodreads and Amazon Author Central – but I don’t tweet! 🙂
Chrys: Is there anything particular about yourself that you’d like to share with our readers?
Barbara: I think I’ve rambled enough, your readers must be bored to death or fast asleep! Thank you for allowing me this space on your blog and keep writing – I love your Greek myths revisited!
Chrys: Thank you for being here with me today! Good luck with your writing!
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