Guest Blogger Victoria Perkins

Hello everyone! Victoria Perkins will be guest blogging for me today, doing a piece about her book, The Dragon Three.

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Hero stories are full of people with extraordinary gifts who are generally thought to be abnormal and are often outcasts. Then we have the people who believe themselves to be ordinary, but who actually have great powers that just need to be activated. These people rise to the occasion to use their gifts to save the day. While I love these stories, I had an idea for something different.

The Dragon Three started off as a simple concept. At least, it was simple in my head. There’s this world where everyone has magic except one girl. She’s been born different, a freak who can’t do even the simplest spells. Her parents hide this from everyone, including their other children, and teach her at home, keeping her isolated to protect her. Then, when she turns fifteen, she’s sent off to an institute of higher learning, somewhere her parents can’t protect her. And that’s where the story of Brina Fine begins.

Naturally, the next question became, what if she goes to school prepared to be found out and sent home in disgrace, but through a fluke, is able to stay, undetected, long enough to make friends? I gave Brina these friends and realized that her story wasn’t supposed to be about someone who’s different keeping her secret and living a ‘normal’ life. She had been born that way for a reason. Enter the dragon.

I’d originally envisioned Brina’s story to only be the first section, Dragon Eyes, and then thought about making two sequels, Dragon Blood and Dragon Heart, focusing on her two friends respectively. The more I wrote, however, the more I realized that I wanted to put all three together. In doing that, the idea of a ‘normal’ person in a fantastical world was no longer the entire book and I had to delve deeper into the characters to find what made them into this trio I was calling The Dragon Three.

Finally, I discovered that it wasn’t magic or the lack thereof that made them heroes. Each of these three were charged with a task that only they could accomplish, and it was the acceptance of their tasks, without knowing for certain if they would come out alive, that made them heroes. The journey of the hero isn’t about the feats or the obstacles overcome, but the willingness to do what is right, no matter the cost.

You can buy her book on Amazon.

Interview With S. Katherine Anthony

Hello, everyone! I would like to introduce you to author, S. Katherine Anthony, who won When Stars Die’s cover art contest some time ago. Let’s begin with the synopsis, and then we’ll kick off with the interview.

Being strong is one thing. Being an unlimited source of power is quite another.
Genetically altered by the Organization, Annie Fox takes down criminals CIA-style with her luminary strength. With nothing to mend but her broken heart, she is relentlessly pursued by her boss Derek Lake. Just when Annie is about to give him a chance, her ex-husband unexpectedly comes out of hiding.
A wanted man, Nick Logan is a cold-hearted murderer who is considered enemy number one, and orders are clear: kill on contact. He is more powerful than ever and threatens the lives of those she holds most dear. His plan? Get his hands on Annie and use her Kinetic energy to destroy them all. When Annie finds herself with an opportunity to end him, she pauses, horrified by the scars covering the face she once loved. A split second that will cost her everything…

1. First and foremost, tell my readers about you (well, everything you’d like to share).

– I am a book-a-holic who runs away from baby spiders!

2. Tell us about Kinetic, your inspirations, the story itself, the characters, anything that will draw readers’ attention.

– It follows a broken-hearted Luminary, Annie Fox. She works as a crime-fighter and uses her “special skills” to kick some serious butt. Annie will have to struggle with the fact that her ex-husband, Nick Logan, is now the evil she is supposed to bring down. The problem is, if she even gets close enough to him, she will hand him the weapon that will allow him to destroy everyone she loves: herself.

3. What sets Kinetic apart from others books in its genre?

– Well, it’s a New Adult Urban Fantasy for starters, with some light sci-fi. But the whole premise is based on Annie’s ‘special power’ so its definitely action packed. There are several other characters and each of them come with their own ‘gifts,’ this makes for some interesting group dynamics.

4. What inspired the gorgeous cover art for this book, and who had a hand in it?

– The actual “Kinetic” power of Annie inspired the cover. At first glance it might be hard to understand but once you read the book, you’ll go ‘uh-huh!’ I would tell you more but then I would be giving a lot away 😉

5. How many rounds of edits did you go through to get this book in tip-top shape?

– Oh goodness, I had a lot of rewriting and revisions. I lost track of how many times but it was over fifteen times, for sure. I wrote the full first draft and let that sit for about a month then ripped it apart. I repeated that several times then sent it off to betas and ripped it even more. This final book is version number 3,499… ok, so maybe I’m exaggerating but it sure feels like it.

6. What made you decide to self-publish this book?

-I chose to self publish simply because I love having the control. Originally, I was afraid to write my books because I didn’t want to deal with the query stress, the “change this or else” aspect of it, or the rejections. But once I was researching it (yes, I still intended to pursue it), I found out about self-publishing and loved the idea, so I went for it.

7. So, what is your favorite wine?

– Anyone that will get me tipsy? 😛
I like both red and white, but lately I’ve been enjoying Pinot Grigio.

8. What books inspire you?

– I’ll keep it simple and just stick to the seven Harry Potter books.

Author Bio
S. K. Anthony is a writer, a reader and a make-stuff-up-er who lives in New York with her husband and toddler twins. She is a wine connoisseur, which just really means she knows she loves it, and a caffeine addict. When she isn’t busy with her family she finds herself being transported into the world of imagination. Well, either that or running away from spiders…she is convinced they are out to get her!

Links:
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18072566-kinetic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/S-Katherine-Anthony/403554526400225
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SKathAnthony
Blog: http://www.skanthony.com

My next post will be on The Fussy Librarian. It is an amazing resource for writers and readers, one I would argue that is better than KDP and BookBub, as, not only it is free, but it sends you one update each day with two books. Yes, two books only so you’re not inundated with so many decisions.

Emypreal Illusions On Sale

Since I am practically Jake Bonsignore’s street team, I am posting this on his behalf.

Here are the links to where you can find this awesome book:

Amazon US – http://amzn.com/B00D18OUU4

Amazon UK – http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00D18OUU4

BN – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/empyreal-illusions-jake-bonsignore/1115427220?ean=2940016473031

Contemporary Fantasy and Updates

So things have been going slow on the When Stars Die end because my contract manager is having some major tech issues and pretty much only has her smart phone to rely on. And as we know, smart phones aren’t always smart. But I spoke with Raymond Vogel, founder of AEC, and we’re hoping for a September release and I should be getting back to When Stars Die some time next week after he’s looked through it. (And I also can’t wait to see what my contract manager has done.) It’s coming at a great time too because I should be finished with my contemporary fantasy this week. Then I can let it cook next week while working on When Stars Die, then I’ll probably be able to get back to work on it the week after with line edits.

The mental illness questionnaire I posted on here and Tumblr has yielded some positive results, and I cannot wait to get to line edits. I also have three potential titles for the novel: From Children’s Hour, When Heaven Was Blue, and Good and Ill. More titles might be surfacing as I do the line edits and read more poetry by some of Gene’s favorite authors.

I also had three different people help me with the blurb, which is no longer two sentences. I am horrible with blurbs. If it weren’t for Nazarea Andrews, I wouldn’t even have the blurb for When Stars Die. So here’s the new summary for my contemporary fantasy:

Life is difficult enough for fifteen-year-old Gene White when sudden, disturbing hallucinations of a man in a gold suit threaten to drive him mad. The trauma drives him to suicide, but an equally mysterious puppeteer intervenes and saves him.

The news he brings is hardly reassuring.

The puppeteer offers him protection from the man in the gold suit, who is very real and even more dangerous. Gene is wary but finds himself desperate for any assistance he can get as his tormentor relentlessly attacks his already-battered mind, sending him into a continuously downward spiral of hopelessness.

I want to thank Mariah Wilson, Jake Bonsignore, and Kieran M. for helping me with the blurb.

 

A Review of Jake Bonsignore’s Empyreal Illusions

I haven’t read fantasy in forever, and I can’t even tell you why. I’ve just been thirsting for a lot of YA contemporary lately, along with the occasional dystopian and paranormal YA novel. But I saw Jake Bonsignore’s book on Facebook in one of the Like events for Facebook Pages, and the cover immediately drew me to the book. I am not ashamed to admit I do judge a book by its cover. With so many books competing against one another for shelf space and online space, books nowadays have to have some reason to excite the reader, and his cover lured me in to read the blurb. Then the blurb itself excited me, and I bought the book, despite the protests my bank account made (we’re all good). In any case, let’s get on with the review.

Breena Taljain’s life nearly comes to an end when she comes across the Patriarch, a man so steeped in hatred he has all of Purgaire living in fear. His assault on her occurs because her mother’s addiction put them both in debt and left Breena a practical street rat having to work at a seedy bar just to pay for her own chance at existence.

Then you have Galbrecht Atalir, an alcoholic doctor dealing with the death of his entire family at the hands of the Patriarch. Breena and Galbrecht’s paths cross when he discovers Breena is his newest patient. In order to relieve her suffering, he gives her a drug that sends her to an entirely new world so far removed from Purgaire that Breena does not want to leave. However, when Breena’s health itself begins to decline, she finds she must journey to a harsh world in order to overcome the tribulations of her own mind.

I just want to say that what interests me most about this book is that Breena’s state in the hospital coincides with what’s happening with her in Araboth. At the beginning, when Galbrecht’s drug is working its magic, she is in the beautiful Araboth with achingly vivid, beautiful descriptions. But then Galbrecht realizes he can’t keep giving her more of the drug, so Breena is soon plunged into the hinterlands, a harsh, harsh wilderness filled with terrifying creatures that seem to represent the monsters of her own mind. It is such a psychological thriller that reminds me of Flavia Bujor’s Prophecy of the Stones, except it’s done one hundred times better, and Breena is a fully fleshed character struggling to stay alive against all odds. Her friends are there to compliment her and to help her remember that life is indeed precious, in spite of the appalling life she lived in Purgaire.

The pacing of this book is fast, super fast, so if you’re into psychological thrillers, especially of the fantasy variety, you’ll tear through this book. One moment Breena is living in Purgaire, scrounging any bit of money she can get from her perverted boss, and the next she is on the streets trying to outwit the the Patriarch, only to find herself nearly murdered at his hands. Then you go on to Galbrecht, then to Araboth, then Galbrecht again, and it’s a rollercoaster of intense emotions and varying points-of-view that are very colorful to read. This novel is a third person omniscient book, but Bonsignore does it so masterfully that you can’t wait to see what all the characters are thinking as they’re doing what they’re doing.

The Patriarch himself is so chilling to read about because he kills mercilessly and is responsible for a good majority of the addicted druggies in Purgaire–which is what makes Purgaire such a hostile environment. Since everyone is so contingent on the drug the Patriarch dishes out, people are heinous and have lost their humanity somewhere in the drug addictions, so people like Breena suffer in the process.

Breena is an incredibly strong heroine who, despite all the pain she has suffered, fights through and refuses to give up, especially knowing it is possible for her to have the life she deserves. As someone who has struggled with suicidal ideation, Breena herself is an inspiring character.

Galbrecht is also a very likable character too because of his unrelenting desire to help Breena, in spite of not knowing this girl. He refuses to lose his humanity in Purgaire.

Overall, this book deserves its full 5 stars. It is my type of book: both dark and fantastical. I can’t think of any YA fantasy books I can easily compare it to, but I very much look forward to his sequel, Awakening the Fire. 

“His Vanity” Picture Quote

Stolentime, a Dark Fantasy Young Adult Novel

I’ve finally started revisions for Stolentime and have chapter one done! I’m hoping to get to chapter two today and the plan is to revise a chapter a day, possibly two, if I can manage. But I’m excited because, as I’ve said thousands of times before, I strongly prefer revisions over drafting any day. So here is a tiny snippet from the beginning of chapter one just to give you guys a taste of the atmosphere for this book:

Some nights I imagine a shadowy man standing by my bed with a knife drawn. This man, a faceless thing, will creep around me as I stare at him. In my mind, I tell him to kill me. Do it. Tear me apart. But he never does. He slips away into the shadows and disappears.

But tonight, my fractured mind makes him real.

 

There you go, just a little bit of what I’m working on!

So do you guys prefer drafting or revising? And why?

 

Guest Post: What Inspires You the Most

Today’s guest blogger is Eric Keys. You can find him here. Enjoy!

What are my sources of inspiration? How do I dream up this crazy shit?

For starters, I’m going to side-step the issue of why I choose to write the crazy stuff I do. I mostly write horror but I sometimes write erotica. Even my erotica tends to be tinged with darkness. I’m not a particularly spooky person. If you saw me on the street you wouldn’t think horror writer.

But I see things, sometimes. Not literally, mind you. I don’t see Satanic Messiah’s returned from the grave, or talking road kill, or demons disguised as shy, bookish girls or strange rituals involving the dedication of ones son to some nameless force of evil.

What I do see is the “not rightness” of the world. I see that the world sometimes is a hostile, brutal place and not the place our movies and churches told us it would be. It gets my mind to working. And suddenly, a thought will pop into my head. “That’s too horrible to even think about.” When I think that thought, I know that I am on to something and then I listen. It’s not exactly a voice, but a stream of images. They pour through my head and I try to catch them. Some of them I like, some of them I don’t, but the orgy of ideas has started. They interact and shove each other. Sometimes they strangle each other, but in the end, the strong survive and rise to the surface. Bloody and tired but proud that they have remained standing.

So, my sources of inspiration are the horrible. Even my theological-erotic writings ultimately come from those haunting questions that keep me awake at night thinking: “This is too horrible, too horrifying, too much”

Specifically, I tend to gravitate toward certain questions or themes. For example, religious/theological questions and the hypocrisy of many “believers.” My (not available online) story “God in a Box” dealt with this. My story “A Single Act of Prolong Vengeance” (included in this anthology) dealt with not only the hypocrisy of religious officials but the way people use religious institutions for perverted ends. I saw people comfortable in their own beliefs. They didn’t see the disconnect between belief and reality. The attempted to justify the unjustifiable. I couldn’t stomach it. So, I wrote.

Another theme I come back to over and over is that of the revelation of hidden, horrific truths. “About a House” –story I recently submitted to an online magazine–deals with the theme of a double life and how our tendency to interpret events often covers up the real, hideous meanings. A minor event–a conversation about a house we passed while driving–was the source. The passenger talked about how she interpreted the house and how she interpreted her past. It occurred to me that there might be more than she or I could see and the idea of hidden knowledge leads to the idea of revelation and then it all just took on a life of its own.

These ideas, themes, questions–they haunt me. They keep me awake at night. They turn my guts over and over until I need to vent them somehow. I do that by putting words to them. The words help me explore these issues. I don’t always come to conclusions, but I need to speak/write.

There is a delight, a rush of sorts, that comes from moving in this realm. I don’t know how to explain it. Suddenly you are aware of things you weren’t aware of before. And maybe yes, maybe then you do start to see Satanic Messiah’s returned from the grave. Maybe that dead raccoon by the side of the road was trying to say something to you. Maybe the shy, bookish-intern really wants to eat your soul (but what a delight it would be to satisfy her hunger!) and perhaps your daddy dedicated you to some nameless force of evil.

You find yourself awake at night, wondering what that sound was. Who would be driving down the road at this time of night? Is there something in their trunk? Or someone? Was that music real? Did I just smell Death? What just brushed up against my leg? Who’s there? Don’t come any closer! Stay back! I have a gun! Oh, god! It can’t be! It’s too horrible to even think about!

And then the word/idea/image orgy starts all over again. And maybe you write something and show it to someone and maybe they nod, knowingly. And maybe they tell you a secret that has kept them up all night. And maybe that dream you had reminded your new friend of some sound they heard once. And maybe you two sing a hymn to some ancient and implacable god, some blasphemy the two of you dreamed up which turns out to have always existed. Those songs are what inspire me most.

The Madness of Descriptions

Let’s describe this, shall we?

Descriptions can be annoying. I know with contemporary novels, you don’t have to describe as much because, heck, we can all imagine our own school in place of the school the MC is going to. We can all imagine our own house, or apartment, or whatever that the MC lives at. Things like that don’t really need describing because an immediate picture can pop un place for us.

But what about when you come across a situation that needs describing, especially in fantasy situations? Sometimes describe can be daunting because it has the potential to turn into a list. The castle was gray, windowless, with vines crawling along the bricks, turrets, a moat, ect… You get the point. It can become boring, and then suddenly the reader no longer cares what this castle looks like because it sounds like every other castle in existence.

So how can you go about creating flourishing descriptions that bring your castle to life? Make the description part of the action or make the description part of the tone. I am taking this description piece from my blog post on my writing samples:

“And we’re here,” the driver announces, coming upon an enormous manor that rests on a cliff overlooking rapids.

I shrank against the seat, intimidated by the sheer size of the structure. I’ve never seen a building so enormous in my life. Then again, I’ve never traveled far from Belhame.

From where we are I am able to make out enormous gargoyles on the blackened shingles of the roof that look like they want to come alive, swoop down, and dig their stony teeth into my flesh. There’s a rusty bell on a bell tower behind a peaked roof, one that looks like a signal for funeral services. Thick vines choke the manor, and they cover so much of the building I wonder if the inhabitants inside are able to breathe.

The most frightening décor of Gallows Hill are the stained-glass windows. I have no idea if they are supposed to serve as a warning or not, but they contain pictures of shadowy creatures holding crosses as if to ward me off.

I tug my father’s sleeve. “I don’t want to be here.”

See what I do to describe the manor? I don’t simply say this: There are blackened shingles with enormous gargoyles, a rusty bell on top, thick vines crawling along the rocks, and scary stained-glass windows. That’s very dull. You want to make whatever it is you’re describing as alive as the characters viewing this thing. So I set the description with the tone.

My MC Alice arrives very mistrustful because the governor who wanted her dead in the first place recommended she be sent to this safe house. She thinks she’s coming here to die, so everything she views is going to have a somber tone to it. As human beings, we view our world based on how we’re feeling. When I was depressed, the sun shouldn’t have been shining outside because sunny for me was anything but. So whatever mood your character is in should be used to help describe something. That is how you can bring your object to life.

If Alice were in a happier mood, she would find the architecture fascinating. She might say something like this: While the gargoyles are frightening, their snarling faces look wizened, as if they harbor all the knowledge of the witches who have come in before me and survived their tragic ordeals. This sets up a more optimistic tone for Alice.

So you can use descriptions to reflect your characters’ moods. But mostly, bring that description to life! Make me want to imagine the castle as you described it instead of letting me imagine my own.