Tag: Writing

Mmm, books… :)

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Today I’m excited to share with you some excerpts from Blood in the Water by Tash McAdam, a fantastic new novella from the fine folks at Glass House Press. I’ll be reviewing it as well, but for now, here’s a little taste of what it’s all about:

Purchase on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1MtINrb

Purchase on B&N: http://bit.ly/1ExFSr7

Purchase on iBooks: http://apple.co/1E0aW80

About the Book

There have always been warps—tears between realities—and they’ve always been a threat to humanity. Most people are blind to them. But Hallie’s eyes are opening. Now that she’s going to school at the Protectorate, she’s learning there’s more to life than fun and games.

The truth is, she’s just become part of Earth’s only shield against the monsters of the warps. Before, she didn’t think she was anything special. Now, yanked from her relatively normal life, she realizes that she doesn’t have a choice.

When the emergency alarm sounds, calling everyone in the school to arms, even the young and inexperienced are needed. As one of the warp weavers—capable of closing the warps and stopping the monsters—Hallie must now work to save lives. And she must do it in the most complicated situation she’s ever experienced. Because there are sea serpents in the Thames, and Hallie has to close the doors that are letting them in.

The problem is, they’re underwater, and they’re hungry.

Now everyone is relying on her, and Hallie must find a way to do her job—with a brand new partner—before it’s too late. Because if she fails she’ll die, along with everyone who’s depending on her.

Excerpts

The team next to us glides to the edge of the wharf and drops into the water, the weight of the girls plunging the whole apparatus under.

I flinch in shock, and…

Come on along!

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I finished my short story this noon.  Woo!  It feels good to be finished with a project!

Well, okay, maybe not finished in the classical sense of the word, to quote one of my favorite movies. 🙂  The first draft, though, that’s done, and it feels awesome, except for one little thing…

I’ve got a song stuck in my head.

So this ghost story calls for sensory cues, like the smell of roses and snippets of an old song (“Alexander’s Ragtime Band”, for those inquiring minds out there).  I discovered over the weekend that the song I had in mind actually had lyrics, and I was able to find an old recording of it online.  If you’ve seen Titanic, then you’ve heard the song – it’s one of the numbers that the string quartet plays as the ship is sinking.  I have that version on CD, and now I have the Billy Murray recording from 1911 (which you can listen to and download here) as well.  Woo!

But to get the proper mood, I had to weave the song throughout the story.  And to get myself in the proper mood, I listened to the song on repeat all.weekend.long.  Now it’s stuck in my head, Billy Murray singing over the Titanic soundtrack version, which let me tell you, is a little strange.  It’s also kind of fun, though – I haven’t fallen this hard for a song in quite a while.

In my search for info on the song, I learned quite a bit about ragtime, and now I’m on a major ragtime kick.  It’s a shame the genre died out so quickly because the music is really interesting, and I notice something new every time I listen to the songs (“Maple Leaf Rag” and “The Entertainer” in particular).

What about you?  What kind of music gets you in a writing mood?  Have you ever fallen in love with a song on your writing playlist and listened to it non-stop?

(c) 2015.  All rights reserved.

Can you believe it?

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It’s been almost a whole week since my last post!  Hard to believe the week is almost over already.

Today, to make up for my absence, I’d like to share the first couple lines of my current WIP (no, not from The Lokana Chronicles), a short story I’m working on for the upcoming Ink Slingers League’s next anthology.

It’s a ghost story, but I don’t have a title for it yet.  Heck, I don’t even have an ending for the story yet, or even a middle, which means I’ve got my work cut out for me to get it into shape by the submission deadline.  But this idea’s been rattling around in my head all summer, and I’m really starting to get excited about it.

It’s the stuff of urban legends (and Saturday morning cartoons): a long-lost relative has died, leaving you part of her fortune.  But there’s a catch.

There’s always a catch.

Very, very, VERY loosely based on something that actually happened to me, I love this story idea.  I used to read all the ghost stories I could get my hands on as a kid, but I haven’t really written very many of them.  This is going to be a fun challenge.

So, tell me – what do you think of my opening?  And what kinds of books did you love as a kid?

Have a great weekend, folks!

(c) 2015.  All rights reserved.

It’s almost here!

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Promo_Banner_AWB_Anthology

That’s right, the release of A World of Their Own is fast approaching!  After years of writing and editing and planning and editing and arting and editing one more time, I’m proud to announce that the Alliance of Worldbuilders has, at long last, chosen a release date for our first anthology.  Available in print and e-versions, you can get your copy on September 4.

This book is chock full of stories set in all kinds of fantastic places and featuring all kinds of creatures.  It’s got angels, dragons, vampires, dwarves, and much, much more.  You won’t want to miss this!

All proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the World Literacy Foundation in honor of our fallen comrade, Lindsey J. Parsons.  She was a fantastic author, archer, artist, and friend, and we miss her dearly.

We’re planning all sorts of fun things for the release, including a Facebook party that you can join now, so stay tuned!

(c) 2015.  All rights reserved.

Lambent Dreams: A Review

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Lambent Dreams Cover5As promised, my review of Lambent Dreams.  What’s it about?  Poetry.  Plain and simple:

The Poetry of Tallis Steelyard. This appropriately slim volume is the fruit of a unique artistic collaboration, bringing together the writings of one of Port Naain’s most major minor poet with the personal commentary of an esteemed cartographer and traveller, and the guiding notes of an informed poet-critic. You cannot say you have not been warned.

The poetry in this book is endlessly fascinating.  I read the whole volume in the course of a morning, punctuated by short bursts of doing my day job, and I can’t wait to go back and read them over more closely to see if I can find some deeper meaning.  (If, of course, there is any deeper meaning.  Sometimes a poem is just a poem.)

My favorite bit is behind this cut!

On books and writing with W.R. Gingell

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wrgWith me today is W.R. Gingell, author of the fabulously entertaining Spindle.  Read on to find out more about the author, and then stay tuned because tomorrow I’ll be reviewing the book!

KK: Hi there, W.R.!  Please – tell us about yourself.

WRG: I’m a Christian, a Tasmanian, and a lover of anything to do with bacon. I have a rather hobbitish Hubby (and the photos from Hobbiton to prove it!) and one lovely little dog who knows it’s a lost cause to beg food from me but still tries anyway.

I love jigsaw puzzles and knitting, and though I love my violin I do NOT practice as I ought to practice.

The word most often used to describe me when I was growing up was ‘dreamer’, though with my parents, the phrase ‘off with the fairies’ was probably more often used.

KK: I’m the exact same way with my flute.  I love it, but it spends most of its time lying lonely and sad in a cupboard. *sigh*

Anyway…Tell us about Spindle!  What’s it all about?

Memo to Self: A guest post by Jim Webster

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JimToday, I’m pleased to let Jim Webster hijack my blog with a bit of flotsam (or maybe it’s jetsam?) about how not to pace oneself. 🙂

You know how they always say that to get there I wouldn’t start from here? I’m feeling a bit like that at the moment.

I had a succession of bright ideas. Even now, in retrospect, I think they’re bright ideas. But I suspect that the secret of good writing is the same as the secret of good comedy, it’s Timing.

It started when I was…

Photo 365 #350: Change is afoot

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wpid-20150720_122623.jpgJust look at this sky.

*inhales deeply*

*exhales happily*

Isn’t it beautiful?  I snapped this picture on my way back from lunch on Monday.  This has been one heck of a crazy week, and as a result, I’m going to have to make some changes.

For starters, I think I’m going to let my Photo Friday feature go on hiatus for a while.  I completely forgot about it last week (and possibly the week before), and with trying to learn a new job, things are pretty hectic here right now, so the fewer things I have to worry about, the better.

This also means that once I finish my Photo 365 project, I’ll probably stop posting quite so frequently.  I want to be able to publish quality blog posts, and if I’m so zonked at the end of the day that I can barely string together a coherent sentence, there’s probably no way I can put together a coherent (to say nothing of entertaining) blog post.  I’ll try to post at least three times a week, but if I go silent for a couple days, try not to worry.

I’ll be Bach. 😀

With that said, I’m pretty zonked right now, so I’m going to go hit up the caffeination station and pray it kicks in soon.  Have a great Thursday, everybody!

(c) 2015.  All rights reserved.

Talking books with Laura Liddell Nolen

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Happy Monday, everybody!  It’s a great Monday, isn’t it?

If you said no, then prepare to have your mind changed, because today I’ve got with me Laura Liddell Nolen, author of the fantastic book The Ark.  So kick back, relax, and let’s talk books!

KK: Tell us about yourself.

LauraLNolenLN: Hi! Thank you so much for having me! I do love your site. I’m a sci-fi/fantasy fangirl turned writer. I grew up in Mississippi, and I live in Texas now. The Ark is my first book.

KK: And The Ark?  What’s it all about?