Guest Post: Marian Allen

Guest Post: Marian Allen

We have a guest post from the amazing Marian Allen.  She is a scifi, fantasy, and sometimes horror writer with many published books to her name.  Check her out on Amazon.com or her website at www.MarianAllen.com.

Marian, what is your current work about?

SAGE is a Taoist fairy tale, more than anything else. The ruler of a kingdom neglects her duties, which causes disorder. Her consort usurps her throne and orders her death and the death of any children she might have had hidden from him. But The Way tends to balance itself, given time and cooperation. Book 1, to be released in 2013, is about the disorder. Books 2 and 3 will be about the struggle between chaos and order, forcible control and correct leadership. (Yes, I’ve been reading the I Ching!)

How did the idea of the story come about?

The initial idea was of a benign rivalry between formal wisdom and organic wisdom. My favorite fairy tales are ones about a girl who takes shelter with an old woman and suffers for bad behavior and is rewarded for good behavior; that was a big part of the story seed.
Did you plan this story, or let the story create itself?

I wrote and I planned and I rewrote and I replanned. I stuck new bits in and took new bits out. I outlined. I took notes on stuff I didn't want to forget to tie in. I wrote character sheets. I interviewed characters. Sometimes my short stories come out effortlessly -- SOMETIMES -- but my novels "create themselves" about as well as a cat takes a bath = not very well. When it comes to novels, I don't plan 'em and I don't pants 'em; I wrassle 'em.
Are there any characters in the story you feel greater kinship with? Why?

Probably Devona, because she's such a Mom. She's an observer and a manager and a caretaker. When something needs doing and she sees a way, she does it. She has a temper, but she never hurts anybody with it, which would be a dream come true, wouldn't it? If getting angry resulted only in good effects?

If you were in front of a reader for the first time, and asked to summarize why they would love this, what would you say?

If you loved fairy tale logic, where people get what they deserve based on the quality of their hearts, you'll love this. Nothing comes easy to anybody in this book, but what good is a happy ending without challenges, quests, and adventures?

Thank you Marian, and all the best to your upcoming project!

The Hand of God

Blog Spotlight: The Hand of God

Coming out in spring of 2013, The Hand of God is by author Tony Acree.

What's it all about?

It was 6 p.m. when the Devil walked into my office and had a seat.

Bounty hunter Victor McCain always wondered how his brother, MIkey, went from down-n-out loser to one of Louisville's richest men. Now he knew: his brother sold his soul to the Devil. And in twenty-four hours, MIkey would die and spend eternity in Hell unless Victor agreed to hunt down a thief, a woman as deadly as she is beautiful. On a journey of murder and betrayal, Victor must now put his own soul at risk to save his only brother, battle a dark underground organization with the goal of nothing less than global war between Christian and Muslims, and fight creatures from man's darkest nightmares. Then there's the Hand of God, God's own bounty hunter. During a final confrontation, will he be friend or enemy? Only Heaven knows

1. The Writing Question: Do you tend to plan your stories before you write them, or do you write and just see what you discover in the process?

When I came up with the idea and plot for The Hand of God, I had it all tucked in an attic in my brain. I know where I want the story to go, just not always how to get there. That's the part of writing which I enjoy the most: the discovery. There are many times I have no idea what's coming next until I start typing.

2.The Horror Question: Some writers claim that writing dark stories is easier than writing light ones. True or false for you, and why?

No doubt true in my case. I love to both read and write books with conflict and drama. I enjoy authors who take their characters to great depths and show us how they respond and overcome the obstacles thrown in their paths. The more tension the better. And let's face it. There is a lot more drama in the darkness under the stairs than in the sunshine on the hill.

3.The Oddball Question: If you could be friends with one fictional character, who would it be and what kind of venue would you meet at?

I have been a fan of Sherlock Holmes since I was a wee-little-lad.  To be able to follow around Holmes and Watson, to see how he figures things out, would be fantastic. And, to be quite honest, to see what he is like when letting down his hair (or houndstooth cap, as the case may be). And there is no doubt the venue would be a murder scene. Followed by a spot of tea at 221 Baker Street.

"The Exile's Violin", a steampunk action/adventure!

Please meet R.S. Hunter and his new book "The Exile's Violin", a steampunk action/adventure (available this month).
http://www.amazon.com/R.S.-Hunter/e/B00700ZC9W/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1344474880&sr=1-2-ent

http://rshunter-author.com/2012/08/official-cover-art-for-steampunk-novel-the-exiles-violin/

What's it all about?

Why hire mercenaries to kill an innocent family just to obtain one little key? That question haunts Jacquie Renairre for six years as she hunts down the people responsible for murdering her parents.

Not even accepting an assignment to investigate a conspiracy that aims to start a war can keep her from searching for the key. Armed with her father’s guns and socialite Clay Baneport, she continues her quest for answers abroad.

With the world edging closer to disaster, Jacquie is running out of time to figure out how the war, the key, and ancient legend are intertwined. The fate of the world hinges on her ability to unravel both mysteries before it’s too late.

How did the idea of the story come about?  Did you outline this story, or let the story create itself?

To be honest, I don’t remember how I came up with the original premise for The Exile’s Violin. I knew I wanted to write a steampunk novel that was full of adventure, gunfights, and airship battles. I definitely accomplished that goal! Some of my original ideas involved a lot more magic than what actually ended up in the final product. I’m glad I cut that stuff because it didn’t fit with the tone I was aiming for.
I definitely outlined the story. That’s how I work. If I don’t have an outline, I get real panicky and unable to write. My outline for The Exile’s Violin was about 20,000 words or so, and the outline for the sequel is more than twice that.

Are there any characters in the story you feel greater kinship with?  Why?

I really like writing the main character Jacquie Renairre. She’s a short, petite woman who’s not afraid to get in somebody’s face. She’ll threaten to shoot somebody and actually mean it. It’s really fun to write her because she can be selfish and mean, but she’s also fiercely dedicated to what she believes in. Pretty much any scene with her and her partner Clay was a blast to write. Their banter always came easily to me.
I also really liked writing Admiral LeBlanc. She’s in charge of an airship fleet and is a kickass admiral. It doesn’t matter that everything isn’t exactly how it would be in the military (besides airship navies don’t really exist). It was a lot of fun to indulge in some military speak.

If you were in front of a reader for the first time, and asked to summarize why they would love this, what would you say?

I’d tell them they’d love it because it’s a fast-paced adventure through a steampunk world where a determined young woman goes on quest for revenge. There’s gunfights, airship battles, and lots of banter between the two main characters.

Who is R.S. Hunter?

R.S. Hunter fell in love with science fiction when he watched Star Wars with his grandmother as a small child. From then on there was no turning back. To escape suburban life he turned to stories that took him on wild adventures through time, space, worlds both real and imagined. While he knows space combat won't work the same way as it does in the movies, he still hopes that someday he'll get his own X-Wing or TARDIS.
His short fiction has appeared in anthologies like Abaculus III, Growing Dread: Biopunk Visions, and the forthcoming In Situ. One reviewer commented that his story "Strike Breakers" from 20,001 A Steampunk Odyssey gave "an unsettling but profoundly necessary foundation to the prettier ideas of steampunk [...] because it shows us that it's not just gleaming brass." Hunter's tales love to answer the question "What if?" and they rarely end well for the protagonist.

Eternal Patrol

Behind the Scenes: Eternal Patrol
Michael G Wallace

One problem with writing a story which involves WWII is the number of war historians out there that will hang on every detail no matter how slight. So when I took on the project of writing a time travel story that included two American Gato Class submarines, I knew the details would make or break the book. No one would have a problem with the time travel, but if I said the said the depth gauge was above the ballast gauge, they would throw the book down and say the entire story was unbelievable.

Even though some readers posted, in their reviews, I should have watched more WWII movies so my submarine facts would have been more accurate, several submariners have told me I had the details so accurate it was like being back on the boat.

Before I wrote my first word for this book, I spent a year and a half researching all I could about submarines. I read Commander's logs, sailor's journals and every manual, schematic, and website I could find about Gato Class submarines and their operations. This led to a lot of information about modern day subs which also came in handy as this is a time travel story.

"I did find some very unusual events surrounding the disappearance of two subs"

My research started with the Navy's record archives catalog. I found, since the Navy launched it's first commissioned submarine, (the USS Holland, October 12, 1900), it has kept a record of the location of each boat. They are listed as, "In Port", "On Patrol", "Sunk in Battle", or "De-commissioned". If a sub goes out on patrol, never returns and its fate is unknown, the Navy will officially list the submarine as, "On Eternal Patrol." It was these subs I wanted to find.

I spent days going through each page of the Navy log writing down the names of all the subs from WWII still listed as On Eternal Patrol. Once I had my list, I delved into the logs, sightings and war reports from the U.S, Japanese, and German navies to try and find out what happened to the subs. As I expected, if the Navy couldn't find out what happened, I wasn't going to have much luck going through only the de-classified reports. But I did find some very unusual events surrounding the disappearance of two subs, the USS Corvina and the USS Dorado.

While on patrol in the Gulf of Mexico, the Commander of the Dorado radioed he had spotted a German U-boat. This was the last communication from the Dorado as she was never seen again. According to German records, they did not have a submarine in that area at that time. I'm going to give Commander Schneider the benefit of a doubt he knew what a U-boat looked like and one must have been in the area. If the Germans didn't have any record of this sub in the area, it sounds like German black-ops.

"the Germans claimed they did not have a boat there at that time"

There are several conflicting stories of what happened to the Dorado. She sank under friendly fire, sank under attack off of Panama but none of these stories actually confirm what happened to her.

In my novel, I used the circumstances we know about the submarine. The last contact was that Schneider saw a U-boat in the area and the Germans claimed they did not have a boat there at that time. I knew these details would work well with my time travel story.

The second boat in my novel is the USS Corvina also listed as On Eternal Patrol. Like the Dorado, the Covina had some mysterious facts surrounding her disappearance. After months of searching through both U.S. and Japanese records, (ones that had been translated to English), I again found many conflicting stories. But, they all boil down to no one knows what happened to the sub.

The Corvina reported they were under attack by a Japanese destroyer which had an attack sub escort. The Japanese destroyer reported they had dropped depth charges on the American sub and followed her oil slick for miles. One problem here, after they dropped their depth charges, they never saw or heard from their Japanese attack escort sub. The Japanese Captain insisted he only sank one sub and it was the American boat. There was no way he would go back to Japan and tell the Emperor he sank one of his own subs.
So which sub did they sink? Debris from the Japanese sub was found by passing Allied ships hours after the attack and modern day deep water surveys have found the hull of the Japanese sub in that area but to this day no evidence has been found as to the fate of the Corvina.

"this crew spent the next several days wondering if they had all died in an earlier attack"

So I had my two submarines for my story. But with all that research, I found so many incredible stories of what happened to our subs when they were out there on patrol. Commanders wrote about their boats being flipped upside down and dragged across the ocean floor by undersea storms. While on the surface conducting open sea repairs and unable to submerge, one submarine had a Japanese destroyer pass by only fifty yards away and never saw them. And, what I found was common on many boats, this crew spent the next several days wondering if they had all died in an earlier attack and this is why the Japanese ship didn't see them. Many subs went deeper than they were built to go causing the crew to wonder if they were still alive. Crewmen continuously made makeshift repairs with whatever they could find on the boat.

Every sub had to deal with "rogue fish." These were torpedoes that would loose their steering and come back at the sub which launched them. To make it worse, they didn't come back in a straight line. They darted all over like a tuna chasing a mackerel giving the sub no place to hide.

In the novel, Eternal Patrol, I brought all of these events into one story that linked both the Corvina and Dorado into a battle where the fate of the war, their future and our past is held on the outcome of their journey.

Check out the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd_b0XEqGhM
Here's more about this and my other books. http://timepirate.wordpress.com/

Michael G Wallace

Into the Spiral

Into the Spiral by Erin Danzer
http://erindanzer.com


What's it all about?

Fifteen-year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Lambert wants to get out from under her older brother’s shadow. When Ronnie gets a tattoo and then is struck by lightning, she suddenly finds herself able to see and hear things in shadows that don’t appear to others. Then Ronnie meets Gavin Clearwater, the hot new guy in all of her classes and finds out he can see and hear the same things she can.

Gavin tells her about the Spiral Defenders, a secret group that travels through space and time to defend the planets of the Spiral. After meeting the Commander of the Spiral Defenders and realizing his intentions might not be pure, Ronnie struggles between following her destiny to become a Spiral Defender and trying to regain the life she had before being struck by lightning.

Talent, inspiration, and presentation go hand in hand with any writer.  Erin Danzer has successfully merged these three into her upcoming novel, 'Into the Spiral'.  Erin, what was the inspiration for your upcoming book?

Spontaneous combustion. The idea that a teenage girl is totally fed up with her life and ready to spontaneously combust is what inspired this book. The original beginning had more of that in mind, but I believe I still got that idea across in the novel.

Can you tell us a little about the story without giving it away? (the back of the book blurb, etc.)

Fifteen-year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Lambert wants to get out from under her older brother’s shadow. When Ronnie gets a tattoo and then is struck by lightning, she suddenly finds herself able to see and hear things in shadows that don’t appear to others. Then Ronnie meets Gavin Clearwater, the hot new guy in all of her classes and finds out he can see and hear the same things she can.
Gavin tells her about the Spiral Defenders, a secret group that travels through space and time to defend the planets of the Spiral. After meeting the Commander of the Spiral Defenders and realizing his intentions might not be pure, Ronnie struggles between following her destiny to become a Spiral Defender and trying to regain the life she had before being struck by lightning.
What attributes do you admire in your main character?

I loved watching Ronnie grow in this novel. In the beginning, she was still a bit of a pushover where her mom was concerned and just let things happen around her. By the end, she’d gained confidence and belief in herself. I also love her tenacity, continuing to trek on no matter what happens to her.
What 'favorites' play into your writing?  For instance, favorite color, smell, foods, places you'd like to see, or things you'd like to do?

One of my favorite foods is hamburgers; I love a good burger! Ronnie’s favorite place to eat is famous for its burgers. Another favorite (though it isn’t in the book) is the song E.T. by Katy Perry. It’s probably cliché, but I think of my books every time I hear that song.
Do you have a favorite author(s), and if so who?

I have so many favorite authors! But I’m only going to name one, Cassandra Clare, because her Mortal Instruments books were part of the inspiration for me to write this series of books (I wanted to write something just as good as her books).
Have you or do you plan to write in any other genres?

I used to write contemporary YA novels, without all the supernatural stuff in them. I’ve also written a New Adult novel and even an Adult novel. But for now I’m concentrating on YA.
Is this a single or series?  If series, how many are planned?

Into the Spiral is the first in a four book series. There are also three short stories, the prequel Defending the Spiral, and two stories between books 2 and 3. That’s all that is planned for now, but I never know what other stories will come to mind.
Do you have other books/stories in the works?

I am always writing something. Besides the Spiral Defenders series, I recently came up with a novel idea about a water sprite that has to defeat three evil witches. I also have a vampire story in the works, about two vampire brothers who have to protect a half-vampire female who’s able to reproduce half-vampires or full vampires (something that hasn’t been seen in over 200 years). There are many other novels and stories I’m working on right now but those two have held my interest the most recently.
When will your current work be available?

Right now, Into the Spiral is due out sometime in November from Hydra Publications.
If you had to sum up the feeling of the book in one word, what would it be, and why?

Exciting. There is always something happening, whether it’s romantic or action of some kind.

How can readers keep in contact with you? (Blog, Facebook, email, etc.)

Readers can find me on my website: http://erindanzer.com and can email me from there. Or they can follow me on Twitter @erindanzer or on my Facebook Fan Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Erin-Danzer-YA-Author/201179339901905

Author Bio:

Erin Danzer wrote her first book at 10-years-old for a Young Authors competition, where she was awarded an Honorable Mention and discovered a passion for the written word. She’s written several novels and short stories since that spark ignited. She writes a monthly short story serial, The Cassandra Serafin Chronicles, posting alternately on her blog and in Literary Lunes bi-monthly online magazine. Erin resides in Racine, Wisconsin, with her husband, two children, and their cat.

Sassy Book Lovers: Review- Without A Conscious by James William Peerc...

Check out this great review by Sassy Book Lovers!

Sassy Book Lovers: Review- Without A Conscious by James William Peerc...: Title- Without A Conscious Author- James William Peercy Genre- Mystery Publisher- Hydra Publications Release Date- 13th of April 2...

Pixies And Poetry

Vainamo the mage nods, "Bob The Pixie, begin."

"The mermaid calls from cliff and rock. Her song a sailor's dread. She seeks the one which she has lost within the ocean bed. Human ear cannot stand test against the song so bold. For humans stay upon the shore, and she to the sea must hold. Beware oh sailor where you go; her song of music calls. Stay with the soul you've found on land, or your ship will surely fall."

Bob The Pixie looks around. "Well, what do you think? Should I use it for the contest?"

By James William Peercy
Characters taken from 'The Wall Outside'. Coming soon this summer.
http://www.facebook.com/TheWallOutside