Monthly Archives: February 2011

by | February 7, 2011 · 10:00 am

“Unholy War”

by Debra Killeen

Ah, a New Year and a new writing project, coming together at the same time!   Where else can you get the excitement of getting something new started and at the same time be completely intimidated at the work you’ll have to put into it?  How about tackling religion, politics and magic in a medieval society?  Which characters will turn to the “Dark Side” and which ones will redeem themselves?  Who will die and who will live?

Just a few of the questions I’m now asking myself as I begin what could turn into one novel or a trilogy, the project with a working title of “Unholy War.”  In the universe I’ve created in my first fantasy series, “The Myrridian Cycle,” I’m moving the timeline forward about a dozen years, giving a few characters the chance to grow up, others to fully mature into their roles, and a few to get crankier in their old age.  Such fun!  I’ll add new characters to the mix, good and evil, and broaden the range of ethnicities and religions, and magical systems to fit into those religions.

Most of the research is done, though you just never know where you might find little gems of trivia.  This past summer I was reading some psychologically oriented books, relating gods and goddesses from the Greek pantheon to Jungian archetypes present in the modern world, and what should I find?  A reference to Arabic hospitals in the Middle Ages.  I pounced on it, noted it down, and I expect to have some kind of hospital turn up in the new narrative.

I’m currently working on a loose plot outline – where the action will start, what’s going on with the known characters, and what’s just over the horizon that’s going to plunge the characters into a new adventure.  An adventure in which some of them are going to be less-than-thrilled to participate.  Political intrigue – there will be much back-stabbing and warring egos as nobility from several kingdoms come together and jockey for position in the crusading army.  Religious intrigue – evil characters from several religions, and plenty of good-hearted people to make up for them.  With luck, a theme of religious tolerance in there somewhere, but not enough to get in the way of the action!

Who will tell the story?  One character’s viewpoint, or several?  It’s an ensemble cast, so I’m leaning toward multiple viewpoints, with the goal of not confusing readers.  Exotic locations, diverse populations, and I expect a flying carpet or two.  Why set a story in the Holy Lands and their surroundings and not put in flying carpets?

In a few years, I hope to be sharing the final version of this tale with readers, whether in one volume or more, providing them several hours of entertainment and enjoyment.  In the meantime, the final novel in “The Myrridian Cycle,” Kingdom in the Balance, is scheduled for publication in a few months.

Happy 2011!

Debra Killeen is the author of the award-winning “Myrridian Cycle”.  Her fourth novel, Priestess Awakening, was published this past spring, with the final novel, Kingdom in the Balance, to be released in 2011.  Debra lives in Wilmington, NC – more info is available at www.myrridia.net

You can listen to the audio from when Debra was a guest of Blog Host, Gail Z. Martin’s Ghost in the Machine podcast here:  https://www.audioacrobat.com/play/WcQm7pdk

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by | February 4, 2011 · 3:02 pm

Paranormally Speaking

Paranormally Speaking

By Tina R. McSwain

Residual Haunts

A residual haunt can be thought of as an energy imprint, or perhaps a loop in time that repeats itself. This is by far the most common type of haunting. These hauntings do not involve an actual spirit. They are basically a memory of the past being replayed in the present. This type of paranormal activity will occur regardless of the presence of the living. Manifestations usually occur on or around specific dates or times of the year; usually around the anniversary of the traumatic event that caused the spiritual imprint. However, the residual haunt is not necessarily caused by tragedy, it can be a happy event as well. For example, a party, wedding or family gathering. If you were to walk up to an old abandoned southern plantation, walk through the front doors and clearly hear laughter and music only to fling open the parlor door to find nothing, you would have just experienced a residual haunting. 

 

Residual haunts present themselves with everything from noises to full blown apparitions. The key difference between a residual haunt and an intelligent haunting is the presence of an actual spirit. While witnesses may report apparitions, foot steps or even voices, these manifestations do not attempt to communicate or interact in any way. They show no awareness of any living people or the surroundings. For this reason, many residual apparitions appear to be at odds with their physical environment…walking in and out of walls for example. In their time, there was a doorway there. The memory replays as the property existed at that time, with no regard to current modifications. There is a well known case in Rome of a column of Roman soldiers walking down an avenue, but only their upper torsos are visible. In the time of the Roman Gladiators, the road was many feet lower, so they are walking along the road as it existed then. Today, that road has been built up over 2000 years, and is at its present height.

Residual hauntings can be very disturbing to those being haunted. (How would you react to strange footsteps in the middle of the night? Or, every year around spring, you’d see a bride walking down the staircase?) These situations can be frightening to any who experience them. But, it’s important to understand the harmless nature of these manifestations. This type of haunting cannot cause physical harm. There is no entity behind the occurrences. It must also be understood that nothing can be done to get rid of the “ghost” either. There is no presence there to remove.

 

This type of haunting can also be experienced in the form of an old movie playing out in front of you.  There are many reports of battles being fought again and again, complete with the smells and horrors of war.  Car, airplane or train crashes repeatedly occur.  Sometimes only the sounds of these events are heard.  Other times, they are replayed exactly as they once happened.

Being somewhat a fan of maritime history, I have often wondered if the Titanic sinks over and over again every year on the anniversary of the ship’s disaster? If you’re ever in the north Atlantic at 2:20am on April 15th, keep a look out and scan the dark waters for an ocean liner in peril.

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by | · 10:00 am

Freebie Friday – Gifts from Marc Bilgrey

Marc Bilgrey, our guest blogger this week is kind enough to share the first two chapters of And Don’t Forget To Rescue The Princess. Simply visit his website at www.marcbilgrey.com. While you’re there, read an article he wrote for aspiring writers about how he wrote the novel. And check out some of his panel cartoons and comic strips.. He writes and draws them for magazines and books. Marc put up new ones every week.

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by | February 3, 2011 · 10:00 am

The Two-Faced God

by Gail Z. Martin

Postcards from Liminal Space—January was named for Janus, the two-faced god.  It makes sense.  It’s a month when we look forward and backward, when we’re nostalgic over what’s ending and tentatively excited about what’s beginning.  I can relate.  I’m wading into beginning a brand new series—new characters, a new world, a whole new world building exercise.  At the same time, I’m getting ready for the launch of The Sworn, which is the newest book set in the world of the Winter Kingdoms.  So I’ve got a foot in old and new, and it’s a little strange.

It’s really exciting to flex my imagination and bring a whole new cast of characters to life.  My mind is becoming a very crowded place!  And it’s also fun to work out their history, the culture and society, the beliefs and mythology—I’m exploring brand new territory, and once I find my way around, I’ll bring you with me.  At the same time, the beginning of any new journey is unsettling, because the traveling always changes the traveler.  Should be interesting.

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by | February 2, 2011 · 4:06 pm

New Books by Our Resident Bloggers

The Sworn by Gail Z. Martin is now in stores.

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?

The Sworn is Book One of The Fallen Kings Cycle, and it picks up the adventures of Tris, Jonmarc and the Winter Kingdoms gang six months after the end of Dark Lady’s Chosen.  There are all new challenges, lots of dark magic and the biggest threat Margolan has faced in 400 years.

You can read the first chapter of The Sworn by clicking here

Or, you can listen to Gail read from Chapter One by clicking here.

Crossed: A Void City Novel by J.F. Lewis is also available now.

You can purchase Crossed from Amazon by clicking here.

You can also read an enlightening guest post on Greta by clicking here.

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by | · 3:00 am

Does anyone else smell burnt toast?

by Crymsyn Hart

It’s now February and today is Ground Hog’s day. I wonder if we’ll have another six weeks of winter or if spring will be coming shortly. For many people they want all the snow to end. They dream of warmer days with the sun melting the snow, tiny rivers of runoff curving down the street and robins pecking between the blades of grass hoping to come away with a worm. People are praying for a new beginning. I’m eager for one.

At the start of 2011, I set a goal for myself to write one new book a month and whatever time I had left over, I would edit or just work on other things that came up. Now that January has past, I can put one big check mark next to it. Two works done for the month and a couple of edits. Now that we’re in a new month, the counter has rewound and I’m hoping to do the same. Although, the biggest news I’ve had in my life, is that my day job got eliminated so I can focus on the words for a while. While I’ve been trying to focus with all the life changing events, I’ve hit the dreaded wall. The one all writers fear. Writer’s Block. And my brain now smells like burnt toast.

I’ve gotten tons of suggestions to overcome the beast, but so far none of them have worked. But I’m sure that stress has kept me from writing. Characters are screaming in my head for face time, but all I smell is toast from the writer’s block. Cleaning the house and cooking is only a distraction. It’s time to face my worst enemy. Myself. Hopefully the smoke will clear soon and I’ll have some hot, paranormal lovin’ for all to read.

I’ll get over it eventually. I’m not sure my love for toast will reappear though.

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by | February 1, 2011 · 6:00 am

Little Green Notes – Part Three

The third little green note is one that has had me setting out little plastic pyramids and occasionally twisting wooden dolls into strange poses or checking out blue prints or zooming in REALLY close with Google Maps… As so, Little Green Note Number Three:

3) Better Blocking

Whether I’m trying to make sure that I keep track of a special hat during a big long fist fight or I’m describing where exactly our hero is a secret maze just before he vanishes forever, the blocking is extremely important. If I’ve done a great job with the blocking, it’s one of those things a reader doesn’t even consciously notice, but if I’ve done a bad job with the blocking the reader will find themselves scratching their head and asking questions like: “Now wait a minute, if the hero was standing over here, then how did he even see the bad guy? I thought he was next to the flower pot with the orangutan…”

For some writers blocking seems to come more naturally than others. In my case, it’s often hard and I sometimes have to use props to keep the positions of various characters straight in my head while writing a fight scene. There’s a scene in STAKED (the first Void City novel) that involves a werewolf hockey team (The Void City Howlers) fighting Eric (the vampire protagonist) on an ice rink. For some reason that was relatively easy to keep track of in my head with nothing more than a map of a normal ice hockey rink (thank you, Wikipedia) and a little imagination. But throw in a few more werewolves and Eric’s daughter Greta all fighting in the middle of the street and out came the little plastic pyramids and chess pieces to keep track of things.

Of course, blocking doesn’t just have to involve complex situations. It also covers those little movements characters make during a dialogue sequence… having a character fold his arms or pace from one side of the room to the other. That type of blocking helps keep your characters from becoming a couple of “talking heads” in a important dialogue heavy scene or convey emotion after a dangerous fight. If, instead of typing: Bob was incredibly nervous, the writer shows the reader how Bob paces the room, chews his fingernails, and makes minute adjustments to portraits that required no straightening, the blocking doesn’t just help keep track of the character, but helps convey the emotion of the scene as well.

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