Saturday, June 17, 2017
Monday, April 3, 2017
New book!
Everyone, Spell Caster is coming out tonight, and for those of you who don't know, it's a collection of my three paranormal short stories... Once I have more I will add those into the book.
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Sunday, February 19, 2017
In the Darkness...
After Anna Bowden witnesses someone—or something—lurking in her backyard, it starts a chain of frightening events that leads to a gruesome discovery.
If you like this story... Love Caster, a paranormal romance short story, will be out soon!
viewBook.at/leahhamrick
If you like this story... Love Caster, a paranormal romance short story, will be out soon!
viewBook.at/leahhamrick
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Oops, there I go again, barging in on someone else’s blog, grasping for an unsuspecting new audience. No one is more demanding than Mrs N in more ways than two and this piece is inspired by one of her more painful questions.
Writers’ Delusions by Geoff Nelder
This is the question Mrs Nelder stabbed me with when she once peeped over my shoulder at my list of story rejections being three times longer than the acceptances.
W”hat on Earth made you think you could be a writer?”
Answer: I didn’t know I was okay at writing until a teacher made me stand in front of the class and stumble through an essay I’d scribbled. A silly tale about a red squirrel scrambling on the gnarled boughs of the village’s oldest oak tree, stealing an acorn from a tree spirit to bury under a pupil’s desk. Imagine my surprise when every kid sneaked a peep under their desk.
Yes, those words held power and I liked it. Through my teens I wrote jokes. Sold some to British comedians and my first was published in a magazine in 1969. At university I became a co-editor of the rag-mag, a dreadful collection of very funny, awful smutty and politically-incorrect gags. We’d gather in the bar and brainstorm until the beer ran out. That was nearly half a century ago and I still see those jokes. Uncredited, no royalties. It was for charities then, still is. During that time I studied geography, mathematics and literature. Struck dumb, me, when the lecturer read out loud William Langland’s Vision of a Fair Field full of Folk. This is a wondrous sample of that early medieval poem:
‘In a somer sesoun, whan softe was the sonne,
I shope me into shroudes, as I a shep were,
In abite as an heremite, unholy of werkes,
Wente forth in the world wondres to here,
And saw many selles and selcouthe thynges.
Ac on a May mornyng on Malverne hulles
Me biful for to slepe, for werynesse of walkyng;’
I shope me into shroudes, as I a shep were,
In abite as an heremite, unholy of werkes,
Wente forth in the world wondres to here,
And saw many selles and selcouthe thynges.
Ac on a May mornyng on Malverne hulles
Me biful for to slepe, for werynesse of walkyng;’
I learnt it by heart, while hiking on those actual Malvern Hills, a short bike ride from my house. I took my son on those hills a few years ago and the ‘sonne’ softly warmed our backs. I learnt the energy in words of sensual Show. Engaging the reader via all their five senses in every story. I read the great writers and they all do it. Even those science fiction and thriller books that the literati often overlook. Consider these two words from Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle: ‘She gave him a perfumed hug.’ You know which two words. Did you experience that hug? You were there, right?
After graduating, twice, I taught high school where writing lies takes over. Not really, but all teachers have to write masses of words. We talk about a target of 2000 words a day on our novels but teachers often achieve that when writing lesson notes, worksheets and above all, end-of-term reports. Most teachers hate that but writerly ones love it. It gives us the opportunity to be creative with an otherwise tedious activity. (assuming the school isn’t using computerized multi-guess reporting). One of my favourites: ‘The dawn of legibility in John’s writing revealed his utter incapacity to spell.’ Such chores honed my writing decades ago.
Not that I’ve stopped learning the craft. I’m with Pablo Casals – the famous cellist on why he continued to practise at 90: ‘Because I think I’m making progress.’
I remain fascinated enough by gnarled oak trees and squirrels to write them into my stories. This 2017 year sees publication of my ‘Girl in a Wandering Wood’ in The Horror Zine. I’d overheard the phrase wandering wood and thought what if a wood actually wandered? So, a botanist is trapped in a copse, animated by a spirit trying to stop her escaping. A squirrel helps her out, kind of. The same squirrel I wrote about in 1957.
A sample flash story. First published in Bobbing Around: (2004)Vol 3 No.6 A newsletter by psychiatrist Dr Bob Rich.
Nothing Upstairs
By Geoff Nelder
He should take advantage of the perspective from the top floor of a bus. Forrister’s car lingered in Foley’s Vehicular Care Centre for its annual medical but he had to put in a work appearance.
Green vinyl seats as opposed to his red leather but not bad. His nose expected sour milk odours—a foolish bias, so his eyebrows arched with surprise as fresh air slapped his face from the open top windows. Even so, those reasons for individual travel, cocooned in his Ford, came to him—personal space, sublime solitude listening to opera. He sought the least offensive fellow traveller. The beard looked normal enough: its owner gazing through a demisted circle on the window as London glided past.
An uncomfortable moment passed as Forrister obliged the window-side occupant to move a corner of his coat and shuffle up. In his car, Forrister would by now have tuned in to Classic FM talking back, unheard, to the presenter, so he turned to his companion.
“Cold, today.”
No response. Could be his new friend had defective hearing but more likely incredulous anyone had the temerity to strike up a conversation. Twenty minutes before disembarking—he had to give it another shot.
“Hey, there’s Putney Cinema. Don’t go in Screen Three, it’s squeezed in between One and Two—you only hear the other two films and at the same time!”
“Grooten!”
“Pardon?”
“For—is that all?” Beard conversed all right but in gibberish and to the window. Suddenly, Forrister’s head received a blow from behind as a robust woman thrust her elbow over the seat.
She treated Forrister to a cloud of gardenia fragrance.
“Grooten?” She barked. Beard turned, looked at her and nodded.
What? He hadn’t appreciated the rapidity of language development since he last used public transport. Contorted out of recognition. Forrister couldn’t participate. The woman had slumped back into her seat and the beard brushed again at the condensation. Forrister had to try again.
“Full today then,” Forrister said, sketching a wave at the one empty seat.
Nothing.
Then: “Jaffa. Man…”
“I have an orange. Would you like a piece?”
Before the Beard could reply, the elbow dented Forrister’s head again.
“Grooten?” she asked. He shook. She re-slumped.
Dejected, Forrister re-bagged the orange, stood and weaved his way to the winding stairs, three stops early. Before the descent he glanced back.
The woman took Forrister’s seat. Beard took an ear-piece out of his left ear.
And shared the cricket.
About the Author
Geoff Nelder is a professional liar, badass editor, and fiction competition judge. He was awarded Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society for his research into air pollution and microclimates and used his students as unpaid researchers to discover urban heat islands in Yorkshire towns and villages. He taught now-out-of-date Geography and IT to the ungrateful alive but escaped on his bike to write.
His publications include science fiction novels Exit, Pursued by Bee and the ARIA trilogy; and thrillers: Escaping Reality, and Hot Air. Many of his short stories have found homes in mags such as The Horror Zine, Perihelion, Ether Books, Encounters, Jimston Journal, Delivered, Screaming Dreams and many anthologies such as Monk Punk, Science Fiction Writers’ Sampler (with Gregory Benford and David Brin), Twisted Tails, and Zombified.
His non-fiction include books on climate and he co-wrote How to Win Short Story Competitions.
Latest is an experimental science fiction short story, The Chaos of Mokii, published as an ebook by Solstice Publishing at http://mybook.to/ChaosOM
Links:
Where can we buy the books?
Geoff’s UK Amazon author page http://www.amazon.co.uk/Geoff-Nelder/e/B002BMB2XY
And for US readers http://www.amazon.com/Geoff-Nelder/e/B002BMB2XY
How can we follow you on Facebook?
Twitter Handle? @geoffnelder
GoodReads? As Geoff Nelder
Are there any other sites we should know about?
That’s it, thanks for reaching this far, if you did. May the rest of your life be deliriously wicked in the best possible way.
Preview attachment Malverns2.jpg
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Everyone, meet author Christopher Davis!
Good Morning and thank you for having me.
I’ve two novels on tap so far for 2017—one short and one full length—and both will be published by the good folks at Solstice publishing.
Walking to Babylon—the first up and released February 2nd—is the longer version of a story that I wrote for the Multiple Myeloma Research charity anthology Paladins. My story in the anthology was titled Low and Outside and as you could guess takes both its title and story line from the game of baseball, as the story is told over a couple of beers at a farm team game in Las Vegas.
The collection was published in England and is stocked with some of the best indie crime writers on the scene today from both sides of the pond. Paladins was put together for a crime writer friend—Craig Furchtenicht and his wife—Henrietta—who at the time—was fighting a valiant battle against Multiple Myeloma. She has since lost that battle and writing the longer story was my way of remembering the smiles posted from a hospital room on Facebook as she struggled to keep those of us writers participating, in the game.
Walking to Babylon is not for the faint of heart as it follows a pair of unlikely Vegas mob types—Sammy Soriano and Tommy Two Guns Viglierchio—as they grow up busting balls for the old man.
Vigleirchio has cancer and Soriano knows it, but there is really nothing that he can do except be a friend. After a hard life of drug use, fast living and even faster women, Viglierchio chooses to end it all one night in the desert outside of Las Vegas under a silver summer moon.
Ain’t No Law in California is a much longer post-apocalyptic, western that has lived on the hard drive of my computer for six or seven years. The original story was slated to be a traditional western and written as three stories, in the hope of gaining the attention of the shorter e-book publishers of the time.
After two complete re-writes and another in first person, I scrapped the idea and the story took on a more SCI-FI, Steam-Punk, Dystopian feel. A couple of folks read through it—after having read the original version—and it seemed that the Dan Bardwell series of odd westerns would get off the ground.
An untitled follow up is nearly complete and both are written as traditional as can be with the exception that they take place a hundred and fifty years in the future after a nuclear war has nearly wiped humanity out.
Walking to Babylon was just released on the 2nd of February and Ain’t No Law in California is making the various rounds of editing and should be out before spring and available through Amazon or Solstice Publishing?
***
Christopher Davis is a central California native and grandfather of three rambunctious little ones. When not tending herd, he can be found trying his hand at writing Crime, Western and Horror fiction. Chris lives with his wife and a little dog that has nearly lost his mind.
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Good evening everyone!
Sometimes all you need is a good support system and a computer... Okay, I don't know why I wrote that, but it is what it is 😂
Frost on my Pillow book trailer, by non other than, moi. Er, me. I meant me. Haha. Enjoy!!!!!
https://youtu.be/s-Nyhhq3ETo
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
A love-filled anthology sure to make your toes curl!
Check out Cupid's Arrow, which features my short story about the infamous Anna Bowden, a good witch who will do anything to kiss her boyfriend, even with her overbearing dad at their throats every step of the way.
This anthology is a little bit different from normal romantic stories. There is no sex, because we wanted to attract a younger audience as well as the older crowd.
You can be sure to find hot kisses, and good plots in this book though, and I definitely recommend it!!
It's called Cupid's Arrow, and is available on Amazon and Kindle unlimited. It's so in print too.
Have fun, curl up in your favorite chair, and get ready to swoon!
Xoxo-Leah Hamrick
Monday, February 6, 2017
Author CJ Warrant is a guest on my blog this week!
First and foremost, I want thank you for having me. It’s a great pleasure being here and to take over your blog.
There is some much I want to say, but mostly, I would like to introduce myself.
My name is CJ Warrant, and I write Dark Romantic thrillers and Suspense. I’m half Italian and half Korean—and yes, I do eat kimchi and pizza, and sometimes both at the same time.
I was born just outside of Seoul Korea, and my first language was Korean. But when I came to this wonderful country, I had to learn English—side by side with my mother and siblings. Through out the years, and meeting so many diverse people, I have picked up on some other languages.
I was army brat through and through, and had the privilege to travel with my family, and meet so many great people and see different parts of the world.
One of the places that stuck with me to this day is Wisconsin. Yes, I said Wisconsin. We only lived there for a year, but it was a year to remember.
Reason being, I learned not everyone is mean because of my nationality or how my eyes looked. My connection with my family grew stronger. But then our family dynamics shattered when a driver, who wasn’t paying attention to the road, killed my younger brother. And the house we lived in was, or still might be…haunted. (More of a playful ghost, from what I remembered anyway.)
Anyway, my debut novel, Forgetting Jane was developed from that experience from living there, but of course, the plot has a more sinister side to the story than how I lived in that farmhouse.
As for my writing,
My first novel, Forgetting Jane is published through Solstice Publishing and is available at:
Amazon: myBook.to/ForgettingJane
I currently have several stories in the works. Two series, and another couple single titles. All Dark romantic thrillers.
I also have Forgetting Jane coming out in audio book and it’s in near completion. If you would like more detail, please subscribe to my newsletter to get more detailed news about my books. Just follow the link below.
You also can find me at:
www.pinterest.com/cjwarrant/
If you would like to come by and say hi to me, I’ll be at the La Grange Public Library with some of my author friends. We’re doing readings and some giveaways on February 7th, at 7:00 p.m.
Thank you again for letting me introduce myself. It was fun being here!A paranormal romance that is sure to melt your heart...
She makes him burn hotter than the sun, and he makes her more frigid than the arctic... but that's okay, they were born that way.
getBook.at/FrostonmyPillow
getBook.at/FrostonmyPillow
Saturday, January 28, 2017
Check out my guest blogger, Rachael Tamayo!
When Writing: All
Those little details
As a reader, or a writer, have you ever read something that
just seemed to be….missing something? Can’t put your finger on it? Grammar
looks good, plot seems okay….but…..just not quite feeling it?
This has happened to me when I’m working on my own books, or
reading the unfinished manuscripts of others. Occasionally I’ll see it happen
in published works as well. So, what on
earth am I talking about?
Those missing details. That’s what I’m talking about. The
things that give the scene life. They
make the blood flow in the veins of your characters and the heart beat in your
plot. Don’t ever underestimate a well placed little nugget, even something
simple.
Example one: He swerved to avoid the car that veered into
his lane.
OK, it’s to the point. Nothing really wrong here, tells us
what is happening, right? But does it draw you in? Does it make you feel what
the driver is feeling? If you can make you reader feel what the character
does…you’ve succeeded. You will have a
reader that will turn the page to see what happens.
Example two: The
headlights shone into his face on the too dark country road. Is this car in my lane? Gripping the wheel with two large hands, his
knuckles went white as he swallowed and jerked his car to the left. Gravel
flying as his heart slammed into his ribs.
The vehicle sped by, oblivious to the fact that they were in the wrong
lane. Picking up the phone, he dialed
911.
See the difference? Details. Add a couple of sentences and
suddenly you are there, in the car. Your heart is pounding and your mouth is
dry. The detail of the headlights, his internal thought coupled with the action
puts you in the scene, in his head.
This is where you want your reader.
I’ve heard writers say that they have trouble with
this. Personally, this is what I do. I
sit and imagine myself watching this happen…or maybe it’s happening to me.
What’s the first thing you might notice? How is your body reacting? What is
your thought? What sounds do you hear? Is there a smell?
Of course, then there is the issue of character
development. The same method applies. In
order to create people that are real living breathing beings in your books, you
have to think this way. What kind of personality does he have? How does he
react in an emergency, or when he’s angry? How does this play off of the other
characters? What flaws does he have?
Writing the perfect man or woman won’t get you far. People want to read about
people that make mistakes, because they are real. They want to relate to your
story. They want to see themselves in your characters.
However, remember one thing. Don’t take it to far. Being overly descriptive of every little
nuance gets old. Page after page of
little details just won’t due. You must trust your reader to use their
imagination. Be descriptive, but vague. Let them carry themselves there in
their minds, TRUST THEM! Otherwise, they
will find themselves skimming and flipping pages to get past this never-ending
description of a bedroom and back to the plot.
And there you have it. Now that you know what’s missing…take
a breath and open that laptop.
Rachael Tamayo is the author of the Friend-Zone series and
several short stories all available on Amazon. Her Newest release, Claim me
(Finale to the Friend-Zone trilogy) will be available February 14th.
Website: www.Rachaeltamayowrites.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/RachaelTamayo
Twitter https://twitter.com/rtamayo2004
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/tamayorachael
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Rachael-Tamayo
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Monday, January 16, 2017
Hi, my name's Nicole. I'm a writer. I kind of make a big deal
out of that. Specifically, I'm a speculative fiction writer. That means I write
horror, science fiction and fantasy. I wrote a book called Broken Patterns, and
I sort of think it's the best fantasy book since Dragonriders of Pern.
Am I a little full of myself? Yeah, I'll admit it. Calling
myself a speculative fiction writer a hell of a mouthful.
I also happen to be a professional author.
I love the hilarity of that sentence, you know? A
professional author? I can't think of anything less professional, you know? I
mean, think about it.
We make up stories and tell them to people for a living. We
have imaginary friends and they talk to us. Lots of writers, like myself, write
in our pajamas, on our couches, with a cup of coffee. We are the last people
you'd think of as professional. We're really just big kids, playing with our
imaginary toys.
Well, except that we don't just write in our pjs. We
also write in waiting rooms, at red lights, during our lunch breaks. We write
before our kids get up and after they go to bed. We write while other people go
to the movies and go to bars and, you know, sleep.
We have to write in all of these times because most of us,
including me, have day jobs. I have a full time day job, in fact. We write
around jobs, school and families. In fact, a lot of us write around all three
of those things at the same time. (Not me, though. I just have a full time job
and two kids. Oh, and also a husband and too many pets.)
We weep over our writing, did you know that? We kill of your
favorite characters, yes. But they were our favorite characters long before you
ever heard of them. Characters don't just exist for us, they live inside our
minds. Killing one is gut wrenching.
Of course, the rough draft is only half of it. Once it's done
we start in editing. We edit, edit and edit some more. We edit our work until
it glows. Until we could repeat the stories from memory. And sometimes we feel
like we do that.
Usually, that whole repeating it from memory comes when we
start promoting our work to everyone. Have you ever worked in sales? Imagine
that, but all the time. The thing that makes it better and worse at the same
time is that you feel like you're selling a part of yourself. So you really
believe that everyone needs what you're selling, but you're also taking every
rejection hugely personally.
Finally, when we're done with a book, we start all over
again. Because writing's an obsession, one that we cannot escape.
So professional writer is kind of a ridiculous thing to call
us. It's better to call us what we really are.
Addicts.
Thursday, January 12, 2017
CHECK ME OUT!
If paranormal romance is your thing, check out Frost on my Pillow. Be prepared for a fun, sexy, slightly disturbing ride!
getBook.at/FrostonmyPillow
getBook.at/FrostonmyPillow
Friday, January 6, 2017
Retweet!
Follow me on Twitter @kookycharacters and retweet my pinned tweet for a chance to win a free digital copy of my book! I will randomly choose five people at the end of January...
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