Tag Archives: Disquieting Visions Blog

by | February 2, 2012 · 9:06 am

Welcome to The Dread

by Gail Z. Martin

The Dread, Book Two in The Fallen Kings Cycle, is now available!

The Dread is the conclusion to the struggle for control of the Winter Kingdoms that began in The Sworn.  For those who have read my Chronicles of the Necromancer series, it’s the sixth book following the lives, struggles and adventures of Tris Drayke, Kiara Sharsequin, Jonmarc and Carina Vahanian, and the rest of the crew.

As plague and famine scourge the winter kingdoms, a vast invasion force is mustering from beyond the northern seas. And at its heart, a dark spirit mage wields the blood magic of ancient, vanquished gods.

Summoner-King Martris Drayke must attempt to meet this great threat, gathering an army from a country ravaged by civil war. Neighboring lands reel toward anarchy while plague decimates their leaders. Drayke must seek new allies from among the living – and the dead –- as an untested generation of rulers face their first battle.

Then someone disturbs the legendary Dread as they rest in a millennia-long slumber beneath sacred barrows. Their warrior guardians, the Sworn, know the Dread could be pivotal as a force for great good or evil. But if it’s the latter, could even the Summoner-King’s sorcery prevail?

So is this the last book in the Winter Kingdoms?  No.  But I’m going to step away from these characters for a while and give the survivors a much overdue rest  (the action of the six books takes place over the course of about two years, so they’ve earned it).  Later this year, I’ll tell you more about what comes next, but for now, I’m very excited to share the rest of the story with you and take you along on the dark and dangerous road to save the Winter Kingdoms.

Here are some extra goodies in celebration of The Dread’s launch:

  • “Like” my WinterKingdoms page on Facebook and enter to win a prize package of signed books, foreign editions and rare Advance Review Copies  https://on.fb.me/yRGfHD
  • Watch the video:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teyvxnIEITg
  • Four excerpts to get you started:
  • Excerpt #1 https://www.4shared.com/document/aypH5jjv/An_excerpt_from_The_Dread_chp_.html
  • Excerpt #2 https://www.4shared.com/document/W7IBgFfL/An_excerpt_from_The_Dread_chp_.html
  • Excerpt #3

https://www.4shared.com/document/E7QlVWJc/An_excerpt_from_The_Dread_chp_.html

  • Excerpt #4

https://www.4shared.com/document/xHN5lNvM/Dread_Excerpt_4.html

  • Order from Amazon through my link at www.TheWinterKingdoms.com and get special bonus downloads from a slew of my author friends!

And I’ll be out and about with The Dread, so catch me here:

  • Reading and signing at SheVaCon in Roanoke, VA Feb. 16 – 18
  • Launch party at Mysticon in Roanoke, VA from 7 – 9 pm in the Con Suite on Feb. 24
  • In-store signing at the Barnes & Noble at Carolina Place Mall, Charlotte NC on Feb. 4
  • In-store signing at Books-A-Million at Concord Mills, Concord, NC on Feb. 11
  • Watch for more in-store signings to come!

I’d love to hear from you—please comment on my blog or on Facebook, and of course, I always really appreciate it when you forward my posts to your friends.

I hope to meet you at a convention or signing this year.  Enjoy!

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by | January 19, 2012 · 10:04 am

What’s your writing resolution?

by Gail Z. Martin

If you’re a writer,  what’s your writing resolution for 2012?

Is this the year you’re going to finish your manuscript?  Find an agent?  Self-publish?

Whatever your resolution, when are you going to get started?

I know, things are busy right now.  But here’s the truth—things will always be busy.  There will always be some reason why you can’t work on your book—unless you decide to make it a priority.

The truth is, writing a book based on your area of expertise can be a fantastic way to promote your business.  Just by virtue of the fact that you actually wrote and finished a book (and published it), you can claim the title of ‘expert’.  You can promote your book (and your expertise).  You can even give away your book as an expanded calling card.  You can package your services or products as an extension of the book.  But that only works if you actually sit down and write the book.

So here’s my 30 day challenge to you:  Write something every day.  And by this, I mean a good faith effort, not just jotting down a single word or a single sentence.  Set aside just 30 minutes a day and use that time to outline, to write a few paragraphs, or maybe even, on a good day, a whole page.  My bet is that by the end of 30 days, you won’t want to stop.  It will be so much fun, such a creative release, so invigorating, that you’ll want to keep on going.  Or maybe, you’ll even have a draft completed.

Remember that there is no official definition of how many pages (or words) it takes to make a book.  Your book could be 10,000 words, or 50,000 words or maybe event 75,000 words.  It doesn’t matter.  It’s all about how long it takes to say what you want to say.  And it all begins with the commitment to begin.

So how about it?  I want to know what you do, so please comment and let me know what you’re going to do in the next 30 days to get started on that book you’ve always meant to write!

Go for it!

“Like” my WinterKingdoms page on Facebook and enter to win a prize package of signed books, foreign editions and rare Advance Review Copies  https://on.fb.me/yRGfHD

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by | January 5, 2012 · 9:39 am

What to buy with those holiday gift card? A geek guide.

by Gail Z. Martin

So you got a gift card.  Why not get your geek on and buy what you really want?

Like an iPhone skin that turns your phone into Han Solo encased in carbonite, or a remote controlled R2D2, or even a Star Wars movie poster skateboard?  (Because you already got the BluRay DVD set of Star Wars, ‘fess up.)

It’s late in the season, but you could probably grab a Star Wars Lego Advent calendar so you’ll be ready next year.  Or the Lego Deathstar with over 3,800 pieces.  How about Star Wars Mighty Beans?

Brighten your holidays with a Dalek Christmas tree?  (I’m not making this stuff up, honest– https://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/12/gift-guide-giveaway-2011/)

Or what about a pizza cutter shaped like the Enterprise?  (You know, I never realized the similarity before, but now that they point it out….)

There’s always Klingon Monopoly or a Spock Mr. Potato Head.

Of course, you already have a Jayne hat, right?

Everyone’s got Harry Potter Clue, don’t they?  But how about your very own Mirror of Erised?  A “Team Neville” t-shirt?  How about a wand that lights a candle? (Now that’s a twist on The Clapper.)

Of course, there’s always a copy of William Shatner singing Bohemian Rhapsody  https://youtu.be/cKo4FMzt_hM

 

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by | December 29, 2011 · 9:36 am

A Sci-Fi Fantasy Kind of Christmas

by Gail Z. Martin

If you’ve missed your invitation to the holiday dinner at Hogwarts, here are some seasonal selections that should warm every fennish heart.

Doctor Who Christmas Filk  https://youtu.be/OY3yJ7rCH8g

I Want a Doctor (Who) for Christmas https://youtu.be/gZnqLehMjtc

It’s Voldemort Outside https://chavelaque.blogspot.com/2005/12/harry-potter-christmas-filk-its.html

A Cthulhu Christmas Chorale https://www.khaosworks.org/filk/cthulhuxmas.html

I Saw ‘Nara Kissin’ Cap’n Mal https://squidge.org/~peja/cgi-bin/viewstory.php?skin=eFiction&sid=44271

A mash-up of fandom in “My Favorite Things: https://eeknight.livejournal.com/210981.html

Don’t forget A Christmas Carol—the version with JonLuc Picard (I mean Patrick Stewart).

Or, just pop your VHS copy of A Star Wars Christmas Special into your VCR and enjoy!

Enjoy!

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by | December 22, 2011 · 5:31 pm

Merry Winterstide to All

by Gail Z. Martin
If you’ve read any of my books, you know holiday celebrations in the differing traditions of the Winter Kingdoms are a big part of the story.  I had a lot of fun with this, but I also thought that readers could gain a lot of insight into characters and kingdoms by seeing how their celebrations differed.

Of course Winterstide is the mid-winter solstice, and in The Blood King, my main characters are in exile in Principality for the holidays.  While they’re guests of the king and invited to celebrate in style, there’s a lot of tension as they remember holidays past with loved ones who are now dead, and wonder whether or not they’ll live to see future holidays.  It’s also natural for the characters to reminisce about the foods and celebrations that they miss from back home, which is especially bittersweet because “home” has changed irrevocably for all of them.

Winterstide crops up again in Dark Haven, a year later.  The world has completely changed for all the characters, and most of them are celebrating in places and in ways they never thought possible just a year before.  Once again, Tris passes both his birthday and Winterstide away from home, this time, besieging a fortress.  Jonmarc discovers that vayash moru bring a whole new perspective on holidays.  But for all of them, Winterstide is a light in the darkness.

Wherever your holidays find you, I hope that there is light in the darkness.

 

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by | December 15, 2011 · 10:30 am

Sci-Fi Takes a Holiday

by Gail Z. Martin

What are your favorite holidays in a Sci-Fi or Fantasy book, movie or show?  I’d love to know!

Some of the ones I remember—Babylon 5 did a great job with the holidays of different planets.  Lord of the Rings certainly had plenty of celebrations.  Independence Day (the movie) put a whole new spin on Independence Day (the holiday).  V for Vendetta (not really sci fi but can we stretch fantasy to include it?) did for Guy Fawkes Day what Independence Day did for July 4.

What am I missing?  What’s your favorite?

If you haven’t read John Scalzi’s blog post about sci fi holiday specials, it’s definitely worth a read.  And yeah, we all watched the Star Wars Holiday Special, don’t try to deny it! https://www.filmcritic.com/features/2011/12/truly-terrible-science-fiction-film-holiday-specials/

Scalzi suggests some not-yet-but-could-be sci-fi holiday specials, but I bet you can think of others.  What would you like to see?

Let’s be right up front here—Christmas does focus on a chubby red alien in a UFO  (yeah, eight tiny reindeer…sure).

Here’s one:  Unification Day Pub Crawl.  This is for all the Browncoats who seem to find themselves in a bar on U-Day.

Ok, by now we’ve all seen Rudolph a gazillion times as well as the Grinch.  So what are your favorite holiday specials or stories?  Bonus points for the unusual and the obscure.

Mine—the book How Murray Saved Christmas by Mike Reiss.

Here’s a link to a list of 16 holiday themed Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories:  https://bryanthomasschmidt.net/2011/12/05/16-holiday-themed-science-fiction-and-fantasy-stories/

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by | December 8, 2011 · 5:29 pm

Twelve Days of Writing Over the Holiday

by Gail Z. Martin

We all love the holidays, but how in the sam hill do you get a book written with a house full of guests and a mouth full of eggnog?

I mean, peace on earth and goodwill toward men is fine and dandy, but publishing is a business, for cryin’ out loud!  We’ve got deadlines, people!

So for all those authors who are juggling their work on the next great American novel with festivities, here are twelve ideas to keep you going:

  • When everyone else goes a’wassailing, stay home and write.
  • Put the kids to bed early on Christmas Eve (use the Santa excuse) and stay up late writing
  • Everyone else will go to bed at 12:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day.  You’ve got at least seven hours of peace and quiet until they get back up.
  • Do your Christmas shopping via the Internet and use the time you aren’t at the mall to catch up on your novel.
  • Skip writing the family Christmas card letter and get another page or two done on your manuscript.
  • Post a holiday blog instead of sending Christmas cards and use the time you would have spent licking envelopes on your manuscript.
  • Ask Santa for an extension on your deadline.
  • Interview Santa for an expose—after all, he knows who’s been naughty or nice.
  • Use rejection letters to kindle a good chestnut-roasting fire.
  • Ask Santa for an iTunes gift card so you can stock up on writing apps for your smart phone.
  • Recognize the role writers have played in our holiday celebrations.  Without advertising copywriters, there wouldn’t be Rudolph (Montgomery Ward) or Santa as we know him (Coca Cola).  Or the ghost of Christmas Past (Dickens).
  • If all else fails, knock back a shot of Christmas spirit and keep on typing!

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by | December 1, 2011 · 10:15 am

The Challenge of Short Stories

by Gail Z. Martin

This year during my Days of the Dead online tour, I included excerpts to four of my short stories.  They are set in a completely separate world from my novels, and are written in first-person, rather than multiple viewpoints as with the books.

They also represent a real leap of faith for me, as I came to writing short stories after I was already published for novels—big, fat novels.  After fulfilling a contractual obligation to write 145,000 words, needing to write only 8,000 – 10,000 seemed a lot harder.  I’d never written first-person voice before, either.  But, as happens with many (if not most) anthologies, my friends—the anthology editor and fellow contributing authors—prevailed on me to give it a shot.

I was pleasantly surprised, and the stories were accepted, so I guess it went well.  And I found out that, for all the initial terror, it was also fun.  I’m hoping to contribute to a couple of anthologies a year, and to keep fleshing out the new world I’ve begun to explore.

I’ve also started to read more anthologies, which is also something new for me.  I loved Home Improvement: Undead Edition, which hit me just as we were remodeling my dad’s house.  Here are some anthologies that feature work by many of my writer friends for your short story bookshelf:  The Bad-Ass Fairies series, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail; Writers for Relief, edited by Davey Beauchamp; Tales of Fortannis: a Bard’s Eye View, edited by Michael A. Ventrella; After Hours: Tales from Ur-Bar, edited by Joshua Palmatier and Patricia Bray; and Blood and Devotion.

You can find my short stories in the Rum & Runestones anthology from DragonMoon Press, in The Bitten Word from NewCon Press, in the upcoming Spells & Swashbucklers from DragonMoon Press (2012) and a yet-unnamed UK anthology coming out next Fall.

And in case you missed them during the tour, here are the links to my short story excerpts:

An excerpt from my short story, “The Low Road”, coming in Spells and Swashbucklers from DragonMoon Press https://www.4shared.com/document/CQ5Af400/An_Excerpt_from_The_Low_Road_b.html

An excerpt from my short story “Steer a Pale Course” in Rum and Runestones from DragonMoon Press https://www.4shared.com/document/7YXNnm42/An_excerpt_from_Steer_a_Pale_C.html

An excerpt from my short story “Among the Shoals” in an upcoming UK anthology https://www.4shared.com/document/e5deWqV_/An_Excerpt_from_Among_the_Shoa.html

An excerpt from my short story “Vanities” in The Bitten Word anthology from NewCon Press https://www.4shared.com/document/aA6cz–z/An_Excerpt_from_Vanities_by_Ga.html

Enjoy!

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by | November 24, 2011 · 10:13 am

Cosplay: It’s not just for Halloween anymore.

by Gail Z. Martin

There’s a old panel chestnut about whether you believe fandom is a hobby or a way of life.  We crossed that divide a few years ago when my kids made it clear that for them, the Christmas shopping season officially kicked off at DragonCon and continued through the Carolina Renaissance Festival.

Now sure, there’s a lot of cool stuff to buy at both events, ranging from personal-defense-sized catapults to jewelry, anime videos and t-shirts, but in our family, the quest for the perfect costume usually heavily influences the holiday wish lists.

It makes for some interesting conversations post-holiday at school.  “What did you get for Christmas?”  “Well, I got a sword, and a pair of pirate boots, and a new corset.”  Uh-huh.  Just another holiday at the Martin house.

We’ve all been bitten by the Cosplay bug.  Vendor rooms and dealer tables are scoured for just the right rings, necklaces, arm bands, vambraces, daggers, pocket watch, steampunk goggles, or authentic Firefly reproduction.  What can’t be found in person is searched for online.  After the holiday gift opening comes the next step—modeling of the completed costume with all the new accoutrements.  It makes for interesting family photos, ones which will, no doubt, spark confused conversations in later generations.

Of course, part of cosplay is watching what everyone else at cons is wearing, getting ideas, asking for sources, gushing over great costumes, and taking photos (and the ultimate compliment, being asked to pose in costume for photos).  We’ve found cosplay to be a great family activity, as well as a turning every con and Ren fest into a treasure hunt.  And it’s a great way to confuse the neighbors on Halloween, when my kids go in their Ren fest regalia.  All in a day’s work!

 

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by | November 17, 2011 · 10:11 am

Geek Thanksgiving (Otherwise known as Philcon)

by Gail Z. Martin

It wouldn’t be Turkey Day without Philcon, at least not for me.  Philcon, the annual gathering of PSFS (and yes, people pronounce that phonetically—it stands for Philadelphia Science Fiction Society), is a fun con dedicated to Philadelphia but held in New Jersey.

Philcon is also the end of my con season for the year, a break before things start up again in January with Arisia.  Over the years I’ve gotten to know a lot of the authors, vendors and fans who are Philcon regulars, so it’s a comfortable gathering of old friends along with the fun of cheeky panels and a good con suite.  And don’t forget the Meet the Pros party, which puts out a top notch spread.

This year’s Philcon will be bittersweet, since we’ll be missing one of Philadelphia’s own, L.A. Banks.  I met Leslie (L.A.) at Philcon a couple of years ago, and we chatted for a while at the Meet the Pros event as well as on and off throughout the con.  She was gracious, unassuming, and very kind.  We continued the conversation on my GhostInTheMachinePodcast.com (see the archives, it’s still up), and she was generous in writing an author tip for my second Thrifty Author book (Selling and Promoting Your Book Online, which comes out in December).  I had looked forward to seeing her again and getting to know her better, but Leslie passed away over the summer, far too young.  This year, Philcon includes a panel remembering her work.

On a brighter note, my first time at CapClave outside of Washington, DC was a lot of fun.  Let it be said that CapClave knows how to throw a party, and a damn fine con.  Fun panels, a literary dealers room, and a surprise visit by Terry Pratchett were all part of the weekend.  Not to mention some fine conversations just chilling out in the lounge with other writers and readers.

I hope to see you at Philcon, but if not, perhaps at a con near you in 2012!

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