Tuesday, February 28, 2012

WOOD, A New Novella by Robert Dunbar, Author of Willy and Martyrs and Monsters

“Blessed is the beast that knows its purpose.”

Something has begun to creep in from the woods at night … something that stalks a young girl along deserted streets …

WOOD

by Robert Dunbar

$2.95 for Kindle or Nook

To learn more about this or other titles from Uninvited Books, visit www.UninvitedBooks.com.

Learn more about Robert Dunbar’s work at www.DunbarAuthor.com.

An excerpt from WOOD by Robert Dunbar:

Boundaries shift.

Towns and cities grow in spurts, sometimes encroaching upon places better left alone, areas that through a sort of negative geography remain neither forest nor park, neither rural nor urban. No proper designations exist. Unnamed and unclaimed, such regions appear on no map. They never have. Perhaps always they seemed too insignificant: half a lot, a strip of woodland, an acre of bog. Dead space. Easily overlooked or deliberately ignored. As though, all along, people knew … or at least suspected.

Yet such places exist everywhere. In every village. Every suburb. Ask any child. They form the terrain of all the darkest fairytales, the landscape of nightmares.

Alleyways through the worst sections of town inevitably empty into overgrown fields, scruffy and menacing and strewn with rubbish. Bad places. Dwellings on these outskirts slouch toward bitter soil. Boards splinter. Bricks crumble into gravel. So many futile walls loom, intermittent with tilting fences of all variety, a plethora of barricades (as though residents sincerely believed it could be kept at bay). Behind cinderblock barriers, chains rattle as dogs howl out their rage and fear. It is not wilderness that creeps up against these blighted neighborhoods.

Perhaps someday mankind will invent a term for that which seeps in, someday when the cities have decayed and the suburbs have withered and the bad places have inherited the earth. Perhaps, at last, the survivors will know Hell when they see it.

* * *

Critical Acclaim for books by Robert Dunbar

WILLY

a novel by Robert Dunbar

Profound.” ~ The Reading Review

Unique.” ~ Midwest Book Review

“Compelling.” ~ Literary Mayhem

 
MARTYRS & MONSTERS

a collection of short fiction by Robert Dunbar

A masterpiece.” ~ Dark Scribe Magazine

Provocative.” ~ GUD Magazine

Exquisite.” ~ Book Love

 
THE SHORE

a novel by Robert Dunbar

“Breathtaking … a tour-de-force.” ~ Dark Wisdom

Intense and wholly original.” ~ Dark Scribe Magazine
 
The way great horror should be written.” ~ HellNotes

THE PINES

a novel by Robert Dunbar

“Dark, foreboding, menacing, eerie ... seductive.” ~ The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Superb … a masterpiece.” ~ Delaware Valley Magazine

“A work of art.” ~ Shroud Magazine

SHADOWS, Supernatural Tales by Masters of Modern Literature

an anthology of ghost stories

edited and with an introduction by Robert Dunbar

“Superlative and memorable.” ~ Tomb of Dark Delights

“Prepare to be entertained.” ~ Book Love

“Required reading for any serious connoisseur.” ~ Shroud Magazine


Chas Hendricksen, Marketing Director

U N I N V I T E D B O O K S

Monday, February 27, 2012

Monday Musings # 10 - Why Does Toshio Lie Around on His Belly?

Many of you read my blogs about Toshio "The Breditor". If you haven't, then you're missing out. I firmly believe every horror/fantasy writer should own at least one black cat. Toshio is my three year old British Bombay adopted from Texas Cares. He spends a lot of time critiquing my writing. This pose is a sign of approval. But which way is right side up, I ask you? LOL

Okay, demon hunters. Explain to me why Toshio and numerous felines enjoy lying on their backs. GO!


Sunday, February 26, 2012

Serial Sunday, The Telling Place, Part I.

This is the first mask my husband and I bought together in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It's a reproduction, but a nice one. At one of the mask collector shops, we found a four foot tall antique diablo mask we dearly wanted to buy, but we thought $200 was a little pricey at the time. We should have gotten it; it sold within the year and we have always regretted not adding it to our collection.

People love to ask writers where we get our ideas. My husband and I spend a lot of time in bed talking before sleeping. One night he asked, "What if someone bought that giant devil mask or our other mask and it came to life and tormented naughty, misbehaving children. Hence, The Telling Place was born. The story won 2nd place and a whopping $50 in a monthly writing contest for Fantasy Gazetteer in 2008, but is sadly a dead online market now.

Author's Note: This story appears as originally submitted. Unfortunately, I don't have the actual final edited version that was published, but this way, you can see the evolution of my writing from then to now, which is something I love studying about my favorite authors. As writers, we are constantly growing and honing our craft with the help of some great editors and peer reading groups. We are all rough rocks, smoothed and perfected by the waters of time.

This short will be published in four parts, hence known as the Serial Sunday feature. I'm not sure it's going to be an ongoing theme every Sunday, but when I have a story to share, look for this new feature title.

And Enjoy!

The Telling Place
by Nora B. Peevy

“Clarice,” hissed the serpent coat rack. The snake heads addressed her with a chilly gaze. “Your next appointment is approaching.”  They flicked their slithery tongues over their scaly lips, their red eyes slit like splintered rubies.

“Be quiet or I’ll turn you four into a new pair of shoes. You’re supposed to be a coat rack, for Hecate’s sake.”

The four snake heads snickered, their dry scales rustling as they assumed the shape of four coat hooks, eyes dulling and becoming cloudy, bodies and tails entwining to form the stand.   

Ms. Sinclair peeked out the front window of her cozy reception room, absently rearranging a rumpled collection of Highlights and National Geographics on a cheery red table. If anyone had been in the room with her, they would have noticed that the shadows from the windowpane did not fall across the crook of her nose or her face at all; odd in itself, but not totally peculiar. What was more peculiar was the strange bone bird talisman around her neck blinking and shrieking an ear-piercing squawk that Ms. Sinclair’s dry, bony hand quickly stifled.

Mrs. Martin and her son, Logan, blew in on a spirited door slam typical of a wild windy summer day in Wisconsin, the kind you’re grateful for because as soon as you start to sweat from the cloying humidity, a big gust of wind messes your hair and ripples through your shirt, fooling you into thinking it’s not hotter than witches brew out there.

Mrs. Martin adjusted her pixie coif, alternately scrunching and patting her reflection in the mirror by the door. “Good afternoon, Ms. Sinclair.”

“Good afternoon.”  She nodded to Logan, noting his wariness as he placed his Red Sox cap on one of the coat hooks and ran a grimy paw through his curly mop of hair, his freckles infused with sunlight and fresh air.

Mrs. Martin loved coming to see Ms. Sinclair. She felt Logan was behaving so much better since he started coming here. Why, with just four visits he already said things like “yes mom” and “thank you” at home, and last Saturday he even cleaned his room without being asked. She really would have to remember to call and thank Trudy Jenkins for the referral. The Telling Place was a wonderful resource for parents who had almost passed the end of their rope and were only hanging on by two fingers. And it was so homey with all the knickknacks and mismatched furniture. It reminded her of Granny. 

“Logan, what are you staring at? Come have a seat dear.”

“But mom --”       

“I said come have a seat.”  Mrs. Martin patted the crazy quilt patterned couch, fingering a whimsical painted giraffe with her other hand. The wooden giraffe sneered at the unsuspecting mother while she watched her son.

Ms. Sinclair frowned at the giraffe, the tips of her fine silver brows being drawn together. They were one of her prettier features.   

“But mom,” Logan sputtered as his plump sweaty body plopped down on the couch, “I swear that one of those snake heads blinked at me.”

“Really, Logan.”  Logan recognized his mom’s tone from previous fights at home -- the “don’t push it further” tone.  Her denim eyes flushed with embarrassment.  “Do you see what I have to put up with, Ms. Sinclair?  Kids and their imaginations.”  She laughed an uncomfortable laugh like a piece of china breaking in a quiet shop, as she rumpled her son’s red curls.

Still frowning, Clarice risked a quick peek at her coat rack in the corner.  A pink snake tongue flicked the air.  Clarice crossed the room, the afghan from the back of her rocking chair in her grasp.  “We’ll just cover this so it doesn’t bother you, Logan,” she smiled at him through perfect straight teeth, pinching the nose of the offending serpent between two steely fingers.  As she draped the coat rack with her blanket she said in a firm, teeth-gritting voice, “Just you behave now or I’ll be frying you up for the cat’s supper later.”  A rotund marmalade cat poked her pink nose out from behind a collection of dusty tomes on the bookshelf, grinning with glee and licking her whiskers.  With her grandmother smile perched upon her lips, Clarice turned to reassure Logan.  “All better,” she announced as she sat in her rocking chair across from them.       

Logan studied her face, thinking he heard something slippery in her voice.  He didn’t like this place, The Telling Place.  It sounded like a place you went to tattletale on someone, and Logan knew other kids didn’t like tattletales.  It went against the kid code.  And he didn’t like Ms. Sinclair either.  As his mother would say, he couldn’t put his finger on it, but he knew something wasn’t right.  Something wasn’t right at all.  He glanced again at the rack, swallowing his nervousness as he saw a slither of movement from beneath the colorful afghan.  His nervousness settled into a hot coiled pinball ready to spring in his stomach at any moment.       

“So, Mrs. Martin, how are things at home with Logan this week?”       

“They’re going better.”  She smiled at Logan.  “Why, I don’t know what you and Logan talked about, Ms. Sinclair, but Logan’s attitude has seemed to improve greatly almost overnight.  It’s like magic.”  Mrs. Martin beamed brighter than a lighthouse, gushing.      

“Anything new?”  Ms. Sinclair seemed to loom closer to Logan, a snaggle-toothed dragon eyeing its prey.

“Well …” Mrs. Martin glanced at Logan and patted his chubby hand.  “We have had one problem.”         

“Oh?” 

Logan watched the blood drenched dragon’s eyes perk up with the possibility of pain.

“Logan’s been spending a little too much time on his models and not enough time on his grades.  He got another failing grade in math this week.”

“Logan, is this true?”  Ms. Sinclair watched the boy flush a nice shade of red to match her coffee table.

“Yes.”  He hung his head, picking at a week old scab on his knee.

“Why do you think that is, Logan?”      

“I don’t know.”  He shrugged his shoulders, conscious of Ms. Sinclair’s crooked nose pointing in his direction.  He wondered if she had a husband.  Could a woman like Ms. Sinclair be married?  Could she have a family, a boy possibly like him at home?  No, he didn’t think so.  She wasn’t like his mom.  Something in Logan’s gut told him so.         

“Maybe, you’d feel more comfortable talking to Ms. Sinclair on your own, Logan?”  Without waiting to notice her son’s panicked stare, Mrs. Martin stood and adjusted her purse strap on her shoulder.  “I’ll just do some shopping and be back in half an hour.”

“Wait, mom.”  Logan’s voice sank like ice in his throat.  His heart jigged in his chest.         

“Bye, son.”  She winked at him and the red door closed with an ominous click.

Ms. Sinclair’s eyes gleamed with voracious delight.  “Now that we’re alone, Logan, we’re going to have a little chat about responsibility and doing one’s homework.  Give me your hand.”

Logan felt his stomach rising in hot acid waves as he touched Ms. Sinclair’s hand.  The last time he’d done so he’d felt the leathery coldness of a zombie’s curse and smelled something rank and rotting.  He’d also heard the sharp snap of a dried turkey wishbone and tasted musty, stale cinnamon.  This time he tried to focus on Shep’s happy smile, his pink dog tongue hanging lopsided out of his mouth.
End of Part One

Saturday, February 25, 2012

A Poem to Read

Resurrection
by Nora B. Peevy

When the dark blooms wither on the vine,
I yank them from my gut and claim them as mine.

Black petals weeping red,
I wear my new thorny wreath,
though it pierces my forehead.

Clad in a gown of maiden white,
down the winding path to the river I walk at midnight.

I lay my body down on a bed of sweet lavender and rosemary,
one herb to banish and one herb to heal,
and let the tiny Tree Men, all bundles of sticks and leaves,
twist fairy knots in my hair as beside me they kneel.

I watch the pixies dance like thistle down under the moon's embrace.
And for a moment, I breathe in perfect grace.




Friday, February 24, 2012

Award Winning Hank Quense Discusses Book 2 of the Zaftan Trilogy

About the Author: Award-winning author Hank Quense lives in Bergenfield, NJ with his wife Pat. They have two daughters and five grandchildren. He writes humorous fantasy and scifi stories. On occasion, he also writes an article on fiction writing or book marketing but says that writing nonfiction is like work while writing fiction is fun. A member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, he refuses to write serious genre fiction saying there is enough of that on the front page of any daily newspaper and on the evening TV news. Altogether, Hank has over forty published short stories and a number of non-fiction articles.

Hank’s previous works include Tales From Gundarland, a collection of fantasy stories. Readers Favorite awarded the book a medal and EPIC designated it a finalist in its 2011 competition. His Fool’s Gold is a retelling of the ancient Rhinegold myth and Tunnel Vision is a collection of twenty previously published short stories.

Follow/Contact Hank here:


Hank’s website:
http://hanquense.com
Hank’s Blog:strangeworldsonline.blogspot.com
Strange Worlds website:http://strangeworldsonline.com
Follow him on twitter: http://twitter.com/hanque99
Facebook fan pages: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hank-Quenses-Fiction-Writing-Page/102293491907?v=wall
 

Blog Note: Previous interview provided in full by Hank Quense.

Zaftan Miscreants: Book 2 of the Zaftan Trilogy

Book Summary: The Zaftans and the folks from Gundarland are at it again. This time, the encounter is in deep space and two powerful fleets of warships face off. While the fleets challenge each other, a pair females struggle to survive. Sam is a new type of android with an organic brain. She is perplexed by her unexpected ability to experience emotions. Her primary one is loneliness caused by the officers she is supposed to work with. They treat her with contempt. Klatze, a young and beautiful zaftan officer (see portrait in her dress uniform) blessed with talent and ability -- unheard of in the zaftan navy -- comes to the attention of the fleet's commodore, Gongeblazn. He lusts after her and her continuous refusals to have sex angers the commodore and his lust turns to thoughts of vengeance. Sam and Klatze each face unique situations that test their mettle and their desire to survive in the midst of chaos.


What's different about this book? Why should people buy it?

Zaftan Miscreants offers a wealth of unusual characters. The four main characters are an android, a ship's computer, a beautiful alien who is a societal misfit and another alien who is a well-adjusted murderer. If that isn't enough, one minor character is an ancient robot who is a religious fanatic and is the one who paves the way for the appearance of the Mechanical Messiah. I'd say that defines 'different'.


Does the book have a reader's guide to help book clubs discuss the novel?

Yes, it does. The guide is designed to help reading groups delve deeply into the philosophical issues addressed by my book and characters. Here are two questions from the guide.

1) Is Klatze suffering from delusions of grandeur because she thinks that she has "ability". Does she need intensive indoctrination in the arts of assassination and treachery to get her to fit in with normal zaftan society?

2) The author seems to have an unhealthy fixation on the repulsive aliens. Is this an indication of a mental disorder? Can it be caused by an incident in his childhood? How would Freud diagnose the problem? What would he recommend to alleviate the situation?


Does this book pick up where Book 1 left off?

No. Book 1 sets up the initial contact between the two worlds and leaves both with the felling that it is only a matter of time before there is a war. Book 2 starts 300 years later and continues the mistrust that permeates relations between the two worlds.

Zaftan Entrepreneurs: Book 1 of the Zaftan Trilogy was filled with humor and satire. Does it continue in Book 2?
Even if I wanted to, I can't write stories any other way. So yes, Zaftan Miscreants is filled with humor and satire.


Where can we get a copy?

I'm glad you asked that. I have a complete list of sellers on my website: http://strangeworldsonline.com/ZM-main.html
 
 
 







Thursday, February 23, 2012

Time for Some Truth

I've been feeling pretty much like this picture, ticked off and hungry for my next meal, which in the  past two weeks has been liquid or not very exciting. I've been battling with some health complications due to the illness that I refuse to own, fibromyalgia. However, it's enjoyed an extended vacation in my writer's body since 2005 when I was first diagnosed. Before 2005, I was pretty healthy. I wrote whenever I wanted, was at the gym 7 days a week, suffered from more than a few sports injuries, but I healed. I went out dancing after a good gym workout and then the next day could get up and go hiking and clean house without batting an eyelash. Now I'm lucky to get up and get in some writing time.

I'm not sharing this with you for sympathy, though well wishes are always nice. *grins* I'm sharing to explain my absence lately on my own blog, but I'm hoping that my writing stands on its own. I want to be seen for whom I am, not a label a doctor has given me.

In the past two weeks, I've had a few trips back and forth to the ER, my doctor, testing facilities, and undergone anesthesia and a pretty unpleasant procedure that left me fasting for 24 hours before.
(You do NOT want to be around me when I can't eat. It's horrible! Just ask my husband.) I've been having some complications with colitis related to the fibromyalgia. It's a nasty autoimmune disease that causes your colon to have ulcers, which your body tries to heal by making things worse. I had a cancer scare this time, but pulled through that one, but am now looking at more serious treatment, including possible I.V. infusions to get my colon under control and avoid having it removed.

So what does this mean for my writing? Well, it's made me VERY determined to beat this thing so I can get back to the production levels I was at in 2008-2010 before a string of nasty health complications marched into my life and moved in as the monster under my bed. I'm going to get better and write like THE demon from hell. It's the only thing I can focus on right now. So wish me luck! And check back for another post. My blog is not going die and neither am I. *grins* But if I did, I think I would do some ghost writing. *collective groan* Bad joke, I know, but I couldn't resist in respect to the levity of my subject today!

Happy writing and good health to all!

Monday, February 13, 2012

Monday Musings #10 - To Name a Snake

So I have this novel I've been flushing out in conversations with my husband for the past few years. (I am such a procrastinator about this one! LOL) It's a cast of colorful characters. There's a black cat named Phillip Morris, a goat named Baphamet, and an emerald green tree boa, yet unnamed. All of the animals talk and they cause a lot of problems for the poor magician that owns and runs the shop where they live.

But what to call that snake? There is a joke referencing Adam, Eve, and The Garden of Eden in the mix, but naming the snake after a biblical character seems overkill to me. What would you name a wily, mouthy snake with an attitude?

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Feeling Ill

I've been absent from my own blog this week and my online networking places! *shocked gasp* Been feeling a bit under the weather. I don't have a bandaged tail like my beloved Tatsu did at one point, but I am in a walking cast for my left foot with a torn ligament. And I'm sure this would make a great story, but it's too close to home -- my body has been overrun by a nasty bacteria producing toxins that are literally poisoning me. I have to say, poisoning is painful and I now can draw from my own experience the next time I kill off a character in this way! :O

I'll try to have a more spiffy post for Monday Musings, which is tomorrow. Check back then and please bear with me. Thank you!

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

The Joy of Editing by Author Patti Larsen

About the Author: Patti Larsen is a middle grade, young adult and adult author with a passion for the paranormal. Her YA thriller series, The Hunted, is available now. The first four books of The Hayle Coven series, Family Magic, Witch Hunt, Demon Child and The Wild are also out now. Her YA paranormal novel, Best Friends Forever, and steampunk series, Blood and Gold, are due early in 2012. She is a full time writer and a part time teacher of her Get Your Book Done program. Patti lives on the East Coast of Canada with her very patient husband and four massive cats.

You can find her:

On her website www.pattilarsen.com

The Joy of Editing
Patti Larsen
The title may make you cringe or gasp in horror, but I assure you, I’m not being facetious. I love everything about writing, from plotting, to titles, outlining, research... every single bit. 
Including editing.

How can I love editing you ask? The tedious, torturous foray into self-flagellation and abuse? The very task that can make or break a writer, sending them down into a black pit of despair, wailing as they fall that their work sucks and will never be good enough?

Well, I do. And I can because I don't fall for the lies. Oh yes, believe me, that black pit is a lie. Think of it this way. Everything that little voice (your ego) tells you (you suck, you can't, it's terrible, why bother) is a lie. Got that? Excellent. So why allow said voice to make your editing process hell? Yes, it takes time to edit. Yes, if you weren't well prepared to begin with you may have a huge job on your hands (another reason I outline by the way--saves in edits). But, like the writing of the thing, editing needs to be a happy, positive experience, an exploration of your work. A loving taking apart and reassembling of this precious thing you've made. So a particular scene doesn't jive after all.  Don't throw it away. It may be a scene from something else. Instead, craft another with as much care as you did the first and admire it for a bit.  

See how beautiful it has become? Treat it like a joy, a pleasure, polish it like a fine gem. Even the painful stuff is positive in the end. You're making your vision the best it can be. Aside from doing the first draft, editing is the most awesome part! You get the chance to turn it into art. Embrace it no matter what and the ego will run out of you. It has to. It can't stand against that much love. Does this sound hokey? I won't apologize. Because like all the other odd, crackpot ideas I use day to day, it works.

Isn't that all that matters?

If you treat every edit like an opportunity to explore your work and ideas rather than a punishment for ‘doing it wrong’, you’ll learn to love it too.


Tuesday, February 7, 2012

A Bloody Good Valentine's Day Book List - 2012


If you're like me, you hate being bombarded with commercial greeting card crap and probably would like to read a really good book for Valentine's Day, right? Well, here are my picks for you.

A Bloody Good Valentine's Day Book List 2012

1) They're Coming For You: Scary Stories that Scream to be Read: Bloody Valentine Edition [Kindle Edition] - For the love of horror fans everywhere.

2) Zombie in Love - A ghoulish book for young readers. Where will Mortimer find love?

3) My Zombie Valentine - A young book about zombie love.


5) Cupid's Maze [Kindle Edition] - A corn maze and a proposal trip gone wrong.

6) My Bloody Valentine - High School voting for the king and queen of the dance can be quite deadly.

7) Love Kills: My Bloody Valentine - A killer short story collection.




11) Saint Valentine's Clash [NOOK Book] - Featuring a vampire and his pscionist lover.   

12) Valentine's Day Is Killing Me [NOOK Book] - A Mary Janice Davidson murder mystery.


14) Hotter Than Hell - A Paranormal Love Anthology edited by Kim Harrison 

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Between the Covers - Book Review #9

It's time for another installment of Between the Covers! I've still been recovering from a foot injury, so my reading is off the charts. Here goes!

1) The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff is a devilishly delightful Young Adult urban fantasy suitable for adults. Daphne, the daughter of a demon and a fallen angel, is determined to find her missing brother Obie. She'll need the help of the only human who knew him, Truman, a suicide survivor with a severe drinking problem and a death wish. Daphne falls in love with Truman, though she is unfamiliar with human emotions and extremely worried about controlling her hellish desires. I loved this book.Yovanoff's version of Hell is wonderful and her characters are charming. Beelzebub is a favorite of mine in this one. I recommend this book to anyone who's burned out on hell stories or paranormal romance. This is a unique book.

2) The Everything Wicca & Witchcraft Book  by Marian Singer is a skip. The information included is useful, but the format is annoying. All the little green blurb boxes distract from the main dialogue. The facts don't add much to the book. And I found the order of the information presented to be a little backwards and the style of writing felt rushed. This book isn't very useful.

3) 7 Days of Magic by Ellen Dugan is a must-have for any witchy collection. This book explains in plain terms the correspondences between the days of the week, deities, herbs, colors, and other witchy knowledge to give your spells, charms, and rituals the most bang for your broom. I highly recommend it. It's a quick read and a reference keeper. Another plus, her spell supply lists are simple, affordable items. Whether you are a witch or just looking for some great writing research, this is the book for you.

4) The Ancient Art of Faery Magick by D.J. Conway discusses the different types of Fae, including guided meditations and rituals to bring more faery magick into your life. I tried a few of the meditations and rituals out myself. I found them inspiring. This book isn't a dry read and is quite interesting. It would be useful for writing research or for a witch who wants to get in touch with her/his inner Fae. And these rituals won't bust your wallet.

5) Medicine Road by Charles de Lint is another beautiful addition to the Newford series with a mystical look at the world of magick from a Native American perspective. Alice Corn Hair (a shifter jackalope) and Changing Dog (Jim, a shifter red dog) are given one hundred years by Coyote Woman to discover their true love. If after one hundred years the two haven't succeeded, they must return to their animal form forever and leave behind the world of the two-leggeds. Time is running out. Alice has found her true love in Thomas, but Jim is still single. Will he find true love and be able to stay in the human world or will Alice have to say goodbye to her one true love forever? Read and find out. You're guaranteed to fall in love with this cast of whimsical characters.

6) Yarrow by Charles de Lint introduces us to Cat Midhir, a writer with a horrible case of writer's block who soon discovers something or someone is stealing her dreams in dreamtime and cutting her off from her beloved cast of characters, who actually exist in their own world! Will she succeed in fighting the eater of dreams stalking her and her friends or will she lose her writing cast of characters forever? Read and find out. This book will not disappoint.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Oakwood Cemetery, Denton, Texas - Photo Essay Part 2

This is the second part of the photo essay for Oakwood Cemetery in Denton, Texas. Click here to view Part 1. Perhaps, these graves will speak to you and inspire you to write story or at least take your mind off your writer's block. Either way, I've done my job!

To read about the executed prisoners buried in this cemetery, click here.






















Thursday, February 2, 2012

Imbolc & the Celtic Goddess Brigid

Many pagans, witches, and Wiccans, whichever you call yourself, celebrate Imbolc today. As Americans, we know today as Groundhog's Day, the traditional day when we find out if the legendary groundhog sees his shadow, heralding six more weeks of winter.

During Imbolc, in the Celtic tradition, the goddess Brigid is welcomed into your home, symbolizing the return of the Goddess as maiden. The maiden is young, vibrant, and full of possibility. The goddess Brigid is the triple goddess of fire, poetry, and inspiration. Colors associated with the holiday range from lavender and white to the more traditional red and white, depending on which you choose to incorporate into your home.

How fitting for us writers to reflect on this tradition today, whether you call yourself a witch or not! Buy some fresh flowers to brighten up your writing office and give you that boost of energy to get those last 100 words written or one last submission sent out before your family gets home for dinner. Light a candle and reflect on what inspires you as a writer. Take a walk outside to get those creative juices flowing or light some candles and draw a bath with your favorite scented oil and relax, letting your imagination go. Today is a day to renew your commitment to yourself as a writer. You can even ask the goddess Brigid to bless your work in the next year. I'm sure she would be pleased to hear from you.

Happy Imbolc, writers!

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Cars are Characters Too - Meet Barbara!

Barbara is our new OLD '66 Mustang. We just picked her up from Amarillo, Texas yesterday. She's my husband's early birthday gift. Aren't I a nice, wife, huh? LOL

Barbara is fun and flirty and a little flashy, and totally loyal. We named her after Barbara Eden from I Dream of Jeannie. I hope she's happy with us. She might make an appearance in an upcoming short story or the novel I have swimming around in my head at the moment. She'd make a great character or I can totally see a great character driving her. Maybe, a kickass witch or vampire femme like Rachel Morgan or Ivy from Kim Harrison's Hollows series. *grins*




What are you driving? Does your car have a name? Have you considered using her as a character in your stories? If not, she might surprise you.