Month: November 2019
Divorce By Grand Canyon: 8 Riveting True Crime Stories by Elizabeth Engstrom Genre: Crime Thriller, Suspense
Christian Longo.
Jeremy Bryan Jones.
Joel Patrick Courtney.
Patrick Wayne Kearney.
Russell Obremski.
Robert Spangler.
Gabriel Morris.
Underground: Revelations Underground Book 1 by John Grover Genre: Horror
THEIR LAST REFUGE COULD BE THEIR TOMB…
Underground: Revelations
The war the world feared finally came except this was a different kind of war. One fought between the living and the dead. The living lost.
**Get it at half price for only $2.49 until Nov 1st!**
John Grover is a fiction author specializing in Horror, Fantasy and Sci-Fi residing in
Massachusetts. John grew up watching creature double feature with his brother on Saturday afternoons. This fueled his love of monsters, ghosts and the supernatural. He never missed an episode. In his spare time he loves to cook, garden, go to the theater to watch horror movies with his friends, read, talk about food, bake amazing desserts, play with his dog Buffy (yes named after the character in the TV show) and draw-badly.
Some of his favorite TV shows and influences are The Twilight Zone, Tales from the Darkside, Space 1999, Battlestar Galactica, X-Files, Night Gallery, Monsters, Star Trek, and much more.
He completed a creative writing course at Boston’s Fisher College and is a member of the New England Horror Writers, a chapter of the Horror Writers Association.
Some of his more recent credits include Best New Zombie Tales Vol 1 by Books of the Dead Press, The Book of Cannibals by Living Dead Press, The Vermin Anthology, The Northern Haunts Anthology by Shroud Publishing, The Zombology Series by Library of the Living Dead Press, Morpheus Tales, Wrong World, The Willows, Alien Skin Magazine, Aurora Wolf and more.
He is the author of several collections, including the recently released Terror in Small Doses for Amazon Kindle as well as various chapbooks, anthologies, and more.
The Dragon’s Dove Chronicles by Kim Iverson Headlee Genre: Historical Fantasy
Kim Headlee lives on a farm in southwestern Virginia with her family, cats, goats, Great Pyrenees goat guards, and assorted wildlife. People and creatures come and go, but the cave and the 250-year-old house ruins–the latter having been occupied as recently as the mid-twentieth century–seem to be sticking around for a while yet.
Creating characters with the help of shining stars and spinning planets © M.C.V.Egan
For writers, many tools can help give depth to our characters, intricacies to the storyline, and shine a light on the settings. I have attended many workshops in the last few years, exploring new angles and techniques to give my characters more depth, my plots more conflict, and my settings more detail.
People are complicated multi-faceted beings; therefore, believable characters need a variety of traits. Settings are more credible when shown, not told; no-one explained that better than Anton Chekov, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” And then the much needed spicy ingredient to any story that will captivate the reader – CONFLICT.
Many workshops suggested similar techniques to create the characters.
– Interview your character
– Fill out a job application as your character (Please don’t apply for the job, identity theft of a fictional character is bound to be a crime in most countries).
– Write a bio of your character
– Get an image from a magazine or online of how you visualize your character.
If you write, I am sure you have come across the lot, and frankly, they can all be instrumental. I am pretty sure that if you write, you have also come up with your very own unique ways, I know I have.
I use several techniques to get to know my characters, form them, and give them traits before I infuse them into a storyline. I love to pretend they are my invisible friends (yes, I did have those when I was a kid) and allow them to hang out with me from time to time. I have used the above techniques; after all, why attend a workshop and not use what you are taught, right?
I do have a favorite technique, one, to be honest, I thought was all mine, and then I googled and found books on the subject! You see, I am an amateur, fascinated by but quite inexpert at Astrology. I also think it is a tool that can be used very effectively by any writer, even those who never before thought to read a horoscope. Still, surely at some point in life, most of us do check the paper to see what a Cancer, Libra or Scorpio should expect.
As one studies the various signs and planets in Astrology, they have keywords and traits; again I am a writer and NOT a professional Astrologer, as such I am not going to go through each sign and describe it; anyone can find that easily today in countless sites or books. To keep this simple, I will stay with just one sign.
I’ll take the very first sign of the Zodiac; Aries Assertive a go-getter, a mover, and shaker, fearlessly forging ahead, a warrior. Okay, that gives you a great basis for traits, now famous Aries in history Thomas Jefferson (April 13) and Leonardo Da Vinci (April 15) and Adolph Hitler (April 20). Nice combination right? Well, every sign has them, traits that can be used for good or evil.
There are countless ways you can use astrology to develop a character, once you give a character a sig you can always read their horoscope. Bad day for Aries as the ruling planet Mars enters… well again we do not need to be master Astrologers, but now you can imagine your character on a very bad day he/she cannot control.
Astrology books are filled with descriptions of the typical physique of any sign, in regards to Aries books will have variants of similar descriptions; strongly defined facial lines, bony structure, triangular shape of a face, and sharp eyes.
Here is the beauty of using Astrology as a tool, as we are all unique we may be reading the very same description and visualizing very different characters. That being said since I have dabbled in astrology for several decades I can play with birth charts and create more defined characteristics that way.
If you are not interested in learning Astrology in any great depth the solution is simply look up famous people in the sign of Aries. That way with a long list you can pick and choose the traits of the famous. For example, the prototypical mad scientist/inventor out to rule the world could be a combination Of Leonardo Da Vinci and Adolph Hitler. Just imagine how many combinations are out there for you to blend and create.
With this fun and simple tool, a writer can easily give a character a distinct look, by choosing any physical traits of famous Arian traits (not to be confused with Hitler’s Aryans) and creating the look you need. Remember Anton Chekov and don’t tell the reader the character has thick hair have him or her struggle in some way with it; brushing it, untangling it.
Creating a personality with the traits described in numerous site you are bound to give the reader a deep and complex individual. This can easily be done again by looking up famous people born under a certain sign, and they need not be historical figures; I just googled famous actresses born in Aries and came up with Emma Watson, Kristen Stewart, Reese Witherspoon, and Elle Fanning. If you Google that as well however you might find that Marilyn Monroe with Venus in Aries (some in Gemini) is the image that pops up the most.
Venus brings me to the spinning planets. That is something we are all familiar with and even if Astrology is not to your liking, another brilliant tool is tapping into the music of Gustav Holst; THE PLANETS, spend time listening to MARS, the Bringer of War ( http://youtu.be/2BpEH0LFlMY ) and the Arian traits of aggression and war are sure to flow through your mind! Also, look up Martian traits that should be compatible and complementary to the Aries ones.
Gustav Holst not only will give you beautiful writing music but just the title of each piece will enhance any Astrological traits for the signs they rule. The Sun rules Leo and of course, those traits shine. The moon rules the sign of Cancer and the traits of the moon vary from light to dark. Pluto was discovered before Holst died and in modern Astrology is used to rule Scorpio, but Mr. Holst chose not to write a piece for it, so enjoy the seven.
- Mars, the Bringer of War (Aries and Scorpio)
- Venus, the Bringer of Peace (Taurus)
- Mercury, the Winged Messenger (Gemini)
- Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity (Sagittarius)
- Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age (Capricorn)
- Uranus, the Magician (Aquarius)
- Neptune, the Mystic (Pisces)
Murder? Stockholm Sleuth Series Book 3 by Christer Tholin Genre: Mystery Crime Thriller
My Girl Gambling Hearts Book 3 by Jacquie Biggar Genre: Contemporary Romance
A Fresh Restart by Chelsea Falin Genre: Contemporary Romance
Inseparable during their youth, Josette dreamed of growing up and
moving away. When she left ten years ago, Josette didn’t know how
Walker really felt about her.
regretting he’d never told Josette how he felt. In a twist of fate,
Josette and Walker find themselves moving home within months of each
other. They aren’t kids, anymore, and the attraction this time
around is mutual. Maybe a “Fresh Restart” is just what they
needed to get their happily ever after.
published in 2009, at age 19. Chelsea writes in a variety of genres,
including but not limited to: romance, young adult, comedy, cooking,
poetry, and dramatic fiction. Professionally, Chelsea is also a
freelance blog/article writer, web designer, and book blogger.
she enjoys reading, writing, fishing, hiking, biking, traveling, and
spending time with her friends or family.
Web of Echoes by Melody Ash
archaeologist. History wants to teach her a lesson.
initial exploration leads to the discovery of a mysterious river rock
with peculiar etchings. Puzzled, she breaks all the rules to examine
the stone closer.
in pre-Civil War Charleston. As she tries to work out how she time
traveled to 1859, Caitlin learns the terrifying risk she poses even
while she tries to return home.
archaeologist. History wants to teach her a lesson.
Instead, the stone thrusts her further into the past and onto a
different continent. Now in 1831 England, she’s discovered by
William, the Duke of Lancaster. By sheer luck, he’s willing to allow
her into his manor.
stone also ripped John from Charleston. Everything she thought she
knew about how the stone worked is false, and neither of them
understand how to escape the grip of the past.
Duke plots an intricate scheme certain to destroy them all. She and
John must solve the puzzle, in an unknown amount of time, or risk
getting stuck–or buried–in 1831.
archaeologist. History wants to teach her a lesson.
before it sinks, and John is missing.
tries to jump ship before it plunges to the bottom of the Atlantic
Ocean. She meets Elizabeth, a woman with valuable knowledge about
time travel and how it works. Yet nothing is ever easy, and her new
friend’s memory proves to be unreliable.
the pieces together, or she’ll find herself in lying in a cursed
grave at the bottom of the ocean.
between their pages or played on the big screen. At age ten, she
picked up a pencil and began coming up with stories of her own that
toyed with other worlds and the mysteries of this one.
into Ghiradelli chocolates and creating memories with her families.
for special content and a giveaway!
Earth Immortal
Passion,
betrayal, murder, intrigue…
All this and
more await you in the new space opera
series by C.L.
Roman:
Earth Immortal
Ascending the Black
Throne wasn’t easy, keeping it will be almost impossible.
Gaia must battle unseen
enemies and guard against betrayal from those she most loves
in order to protect her
people, her children, and herself from annihilation.
Can she outsmart those
who would take everything from her? Or will she pay
the ultimate price for
failure?
Find out this December
with the launch of this four book series by author C.L. Roman.
Cover Reveal
If she loses, she dies, but winning will break her
heart.
The murder of her brother thrusts Gaia into the spotlight – a place she
never wanted to be. Her proposed marriage to Atoli, the power hungry,
arrogant prince of a rival clan, is the last thing Gaia wants. But as
heir to the Black Throne, her duty is clear. The balance of power among
the Simoi, an ancient race with god-like powers, must be maintained.
Atoli’s fascinating half-brother, Bardan, catches her eye, but a love
triangle is the last thing Gaia needs. As the attacks on her family
escalate, it becomes clear that someone doesn’t approve of her impending
marriage to Atoli and they are willing to kill to prevent it.
Faced with a devastating new weapon, Gaia must elude cold-blooded
assassins and unmask her secret enemies if she and her people are to
survive. Far more than the fate of the Simoi hangs in the balance. Their
destruction will destroy species, devastate galaxies, and may even
unhinge the universe itself.
Gaia cannot afford to lose. But someone is determined to ensure she does
not win.
For fans of Game of Thrones and J.N. Chaney, this dynamic space opera
elevates political intrigue to the galactic level. Embark on this
breathtaking science fiction adventure with dazzling alien species
across a magnificent galactic empire.
Gaia Rising Links:
Amazon / Universal
Author Bio:
C.L. (aka Cheri) Roman, writes fantasy and
sci-fi with a paranormal edge. You can find her at www.clroman.com and with her Novel Bunch on
Facebook. Cheri and her ever-patient husband live in the
not-so-wilds of Northeast Florida with their dogs, Jack E. Boy and
Bennie the Jet, and Pyewacket, the invisible cat.
Twitter: @cheri_roman
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Mara Crystal is a powerful witch, but in Euphonia Gage, she may have met
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