The Literary Fatale

Character Interview: Nicole Salem

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:40:00 -0700

Originally posted on the Talaria Press website.

Talaria Press: Thanks for joining us, today we’re kicking off the Talaria Press interview series by speaking with Dr. Nicole Salem. Dr. Salem, thank you for being here.

Nicole Salem: Please call me Nicole.

TalP: Alright, Nicole, let’s start with your profession. What do you do for a living?

NS: I’m an archeologist on the payroll of the Field Museum of Natural History inChicago,Illinois.

TalP: That must be interesting. How do you feel about your profession?

NS: I love it. It’s all I’ve wanted to do since I was a little girl.

TalP: What’s your favorite part of what you do?

NS: I’d have to say the excitement of discovering things that haven’t been seen or handled in thousands of years. It’s a pretty amazing experience, to open a site; a lot of people would find it tedious, but I guess I’m one of those strange people who likes scraping away the dirt little by little to see what’s hiding underneath.

TalP: What’s your least favorite part of your job?

NS: Oddly enough, there can be some pretty big egos in the field which can be a challenge to deal with.

TalP: Tell us about your family. Are your parents alive?

NS: Yes, they’re both still alive. My dad was an Army aviator when he was younger and when he left that, he went into construction inChicago. Mom was a housewife most of our lives, until we got into school, at which point she started helping Dad out at the office. They’re pretty amazing people.

TalP: How about siblings?

NS: I have a younger sister, named Janie.

TalP: What’s your relationship with her like?

NS: Complicated.

TalP: Complicated? Care to elaborate on that?

NS: I love my sister, but we’re so vastly different that it’s hard to get along with her. When we were young, we got along really well, but it seemed like when I hit college, Janie decided that I abandoned her or something and started acting out.

TalP: Siblings can do that sometimes… Speaking of your childhood, where did you grow up? What was your childhood like?

NS: My parents still live in the family home inEvanston, which is where we grew up. It’s a little upscale suburb outside ofChicago. Overall, I’d say I had a happy childhood.

TalP: What were you like in school?

NS: (laughter) Remember Hermione from Harry Potter? Yeah, that was kind of me, except my hair was better behaved and I didn’t have buckteeth. Admittedly, I was a bit of an obnoxious overachiever in everything I did.

TalP: (laughter) Well, let’s also not forget that it was often Hermione’s nerdiness that got Harry and Ron out of trouble. So, do you have any tattoos or scars?

NS: It’s not really a tattoo or scar, but when I was chosen by Sekhmet, a mark in the shape of her sigil appeared on the back of my left shoulder. It looks like a tattoo though so I guess that counts.

TalP: Do you have a significant other?

NS: Significant other? (laughs) That’s a very diplomatic way of asking if I have a girlfriend without directly asking if I’m a lesbian.

TalP: Okay, okay, guilty. I don’t assume either way. So, are you seeing anyone?
NS: (more laughter) Well, that’s kind of a personal question, but I am seeing someone. He’s a pretty amazing person… he’s really inspired me to push beyond my normal boundaries and grow into a much better person.

TalP: Sounds like he’s very special.

NS: Oh, he is. That’s all I’ll say about it, though.

TalP: Fair enough. So, do you have any children? If no, do you want them?

NS: Wow, with the personal questions… No, I don’t have any children. Honestly, I’ve never given it much thought, but I don’t rule it out.

TalP: Alright, stepping away from the personal issues, what do you like to do for fun? Do you have any hobbies?

NS: I studied martial arts in my youth, and made it into the competitive circles for a while. I parlayed that into collecting ‘primitive’ weapons and learning how to use them.

TalP: Do you prefer books or movies? Favorites?

NS: Both. I’ll read or watch just about anything that’s really well written. I love old-school sci-fi like Heinlein.

TalP: Do you have a favorite food or drink?

NS: Growing up inChicago, I’ve been exposed to a wide variety of foods growing up. I’ve always been particularly fond of Italian and Polish, though.

TalP: So, let’s go into a few more esoteric questions… What quality do you like most in a man?

NS: Willpower

TalP: What quality do you like most in a woman?

NS: Integrity.

TalP: What scares you most?

NS: Um… spiders.

TalP: On what occasions do you lie?

NS: (smirking) When people ask me about my greatest fears.

TalP: (laughter) Touché. Alright, then who do you admire most in the world?

NS: Wow, that’s a tough one. There are so many to choose from. I guess I’m going to have to say my friend Aramair. She’s the kindest, gentlest woman I’ve ever known, but she’s also tougher than people think. She’s also absolutely brilliant and a talented doctor on top of all that.

TalP: Do you support any charitable organizations? If so, why those particular ones?

NS: No formal charities, but when I’m not out at a dig somewhere, I’m one of the researchers the Field prefers to send out to visit schools and children’s groups. I also help out with occasional overnights for kids at the museum. As you might imagine, I have a vested interest in encouraging a love of history in kids.

TalP: That definitely makes sense. Bearing all that you’ve said in mind, what do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

NS: Well, that’s hard to say. I suppose I would have to say my acceptance as NuruSekhmet. It wasn’t without its controversy and stress, but it’s really been a turning point in my life.

TalP: Yeah, I’d say that’s a pretty intimidating proposition. So, what are your goals for the future?

NS: That’s easier: defeat the bad guys, live happily ever after.

TalP: Well, if there’s any such thing, I’d say you deserve it if you beat the bad guys. One last question: If you had a free day with no responsibilities and your only mission was to enjoy yourself, what would you do?

NS: Wow, I really don’t know. I’m not really a sit on the couch and veg kind of person. Probably just spend time with my friends and family.

And there you have it, our interview with Dr. Nicole Salem. Thanks for reading, and keep an eye out for future interviews!

Crypticon

Fri, 25 May 2012 17:40:27 -0700

So, if any of you reading this are planning on attending Crypticon this weekend, make sure to stop by my friend, and fellow writer, Marie Frances’ table. She’ll be there all weekend. Somehow she’s managed to charm her way out of the writers’ corral and has a table in the main hallway!

She’s got paperback copies of her book Nighthawk on-hand (normally the book is only available in ebook format for Kindle & NOOK) as well as prints from her modeling photoshoots (behave pervs!).

Marie is a very sweet woman and an awesomely talented writer, so drop by, say hello, and BUY HER BOOK!

Cheers!

LOVE this! chrishemsworth: Florence + The Machine - Breath...

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:21:38 -0700

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

LOVE this!

chrishemsworth:

Florence + The Machine - Breath Of Life (Official Music Video)

Shomu

Fri, 11 May 2012 19:22:00 -0700

I’m incredibly proud to announce that my third novel and the culmination of the Sekhmet’s Light Trilogy, Shomu, has gone live in Kindle format. For those of you that have been reading for the last couple years, it means finding out what I’ve been keeping to myself for a while now: how Nicole’s story ends.

It’s kind of surreal knowing that her story has been told, but gratifying at the same time to know that I’ve actually completed the trilogy. I hope that you’ll agree that the ending fits nicely with the mythology I’ve established.

As of right now, I’m looking forward to what comes next. There will be one last touch on the SL universe, possibly before the end of the year. A collection of stories that I’m titling The Days Upon the Year to continue the calendar theme of the titles.

As readers will know, Ancient Egyptians had a three-season calendar, each containing four 30-day months. That 360 day calendar, however, leaves us with 5 rogue days unaccounted for. These are the epagomenal days, or Days Upon the Year. Each of these days is said to be the ‘birthday’ of the most powerful gods in the panthon (Osiris, Horus the Elder, Isis, Set, and Nephthys). They’re also said to occur outside of normal time and people believe that strange things happen on them.

For my purposes, each “day” will present a story that ties in with the Sekhmet’s Light trilogy or was touched upon in the novels, but wasn’t shared in its entirety to avoid bogging down the main narrative. You’ll get to see things like the story of the first NuruSekhmet, Aramair’s story, and others. They’re things that add flavor to the universe, but aren’t absolutely necessary to Nicole’s story.

I’ve also plotted out my next novel, the first in my as yet untitled supernatural thriller series and was blessed with the idea for the second of that one as well. I’m also producing some short stories for the next Talaria Press Founder’s Anthology which has a fairy tale theme to it which should be fun, in addition to helping with proof-reading/editing my husband’s second novel.

Factor in my efforts to find a new day job and I’m on massively busy girl!

Ahem.

So, I hope that you’ll pick up Shomu, if you’ve been reading along. If you haven’t, I have a treat for you. In celebration of the completion of the series, I’m offering the first novel, Akhet, for your kindle Sunday through Tuesday this week. This is a great opportunity to grab it and start on the series, knowing that the whole story is there just waiting to be read!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to break out the ‘tasty adult beverages’ to celebrate!

SyFy’s Sci-Fi Resurgence?

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:25:00 -0700

Yesterday afternoon, SyFy Channel published a press release on their Blastr news feed, announcing the various projects they’re developing for the coming year. Anyone who knows me is well aware that SyFy has been a source of frustration, consternation, and downright infuriation for me.

Since it debuted (as the Sci-Fi Channel, back in the day), it’s gone from exclusively science-fiction and fantasy oriented programming (reruns of classic shows, movies, miniseries…) to a channel that features wrestling and tons of reality programming. Like many fans, I’ve lamented this change in orientation, and have come to largely ignore the channel I once adored.

In the last few years, there have been bright spots: Battlestar Galactica, Eureka, and Alphas, I’m looking at you! However, BSG ran its course,Eurekahas been cancelled, and we have no word on when the new season of Alphas will start airing again.

Now, that said, this new press release gives me a glimmer of hope that they’re starting to come back to the sort of programming that I, and other sci-fi fans want to see.

The full content of the article can be found here, but here are the items I’m actually interested in:

New Scripted Series

Defiance - 2013 -Defiance is in collaboration with Trion Worlds, with the Syfy series and Trion’s multi-platform shooter MMO poised to debut simultaneously. The series stars Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Tony Curran, Jaime Murray, Fionnula Flanagan, Mia Kirshner and Oscar-nominee Graham Greene. Set in the near future, Defiance introduces a completely transformed planet Earth, inhabited by the survivors of a universal war. Forced to co-habitate, the disparate group struggles to build a new society among the devastation. The dramatic tapestry of the series and the intense action of the game will exist in a single universe where their respective narratives will inform one another and evolve together into one overall story. Defianceis directed by Scott Stewart (Legion, Priest) and written/executive produced by Rockne O’Bannon (Farscape), Kevin Murphy (Desperate Housewives, Caprica, Hellcats) and Michael Taylor (Battlestar Galactica). Kevin Murphy serves as showrunner. Defiance is produced by Universal Cable Productions.

Scripted Development/Drama

Rewind - Rewind revolves around a team of military field operatives and civilian scientists who must use untested technology to travel back in time to alter events and change the future—and avoid a devastating terrorist attack. Shane McRae stars as Sean Knox, ex-Special Forces who ranks as a field operative in a special division of the Department of Homeland Security. The pilot also stars Jennifer Ferrin, Academy Award nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider), Robbie Jones and Keon Mohajeri, and is currently in production inToronto. Jack Bender (Lost, Alphas) is directing the pilot, written by Justin Marks (Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li), who will also executive produce with Tom Spezialy, Gail Berman, Lloyd Braun and Gene Stein. A production of BermanBraun and Universal Cable Productions.

The Adjustment Bureau - In this drama, based on the hit movie starring Matt Damon, guardian angel-type agents work to keep the world according to The Plan. They create everything from plane crashes to coffee spills in order to steer people to realize their true destiny. But there is one thing the operatives and their Chairman can’t control—free will. Writers: Todd Slavkin & Darren Swimmer (Melrose Place, Smallville). Executive producers: George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau, The Bourne Ultimatum), MRC, Slavkin and Swimmer. A production of Universal Cable Productions.

High Moon - Based on the novel, The Lotus Caves, by John Christopher, this imaginative, out-of-this-world series explores a world where the countries of Earth have established colonies to mine the Moon’s resources. When a new life form is discovered, chaos erupts as various factions race to uncover its powerful secrets. Executive producer: Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies). Co-executive producer: Jim Danger Gray (Pushing Daisies). Writers: Bryan Fuller and Jim Danger Gray. Executive producer: Granat Entertainment. A production of Universal Cable Productions.

Untitled Booster Gold Project - Based on the best-selling DC Entertainment Comic, this is the story of a washed-up athlete from the future who travels back to the present in hopes of becoming the greatest superhero of all time. But instead of chasing criminals, his main priority is chasing fame and money. Booster Gold discovers that being a hero takes more than just a megawatt smile. Writer: Andrew Kreisberg (Arrow, Warehouse 13). Executive producers: Greg Berlanti (Green Lantern, Arrow) and Andrew Kreisberg. Producers: Greg Berlanti Productions in association with Warner Horizon Television. The Booster Gold comic book series is published by DC Entertainment, which will also act as an executive producer.

Grave Sight - From the best-selling author of True Blood, this Charlaine Harris book series follows Harper Connelly—a young woman with a unique gift. After being struck by lightning as a teenager, Harper can sense the location and last memories of dead people. She teams up with her protective stepbrother, Tolliver Lang, to help find a missing teenage girl—only to uncover a network of lies and murders throughout a small town in the Ozarks. Writer: Kam Miller (Law and Order: SVU). A production of Universal Cable Productions.

Seeing Things - Based on the comic Grey Legion from Platinum Studios, after a cop meets his violent demise, he returns as a ghost to close his last case. But the only person who can help him is a socially awkward man who is realizing for the first time that his hallucinations may not be all in his head. Writers: David Slack (Person of Interest, Lie To Me) and Gabrielle Stanton (Haven, The Vampire Diaries). Executive producers: David Slack, Robert Cort and Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. A production of Fox Television Studios.

Defender - In the aftermath of an intergalactic war between humans and transhumans, the starship Defender, populated by a combustible mix of former enemies, is sent on a seemingly simple goodwill mission, which turns into a fight for their lives and for the safety of the Universe at large. Executive producer/writer: Robert Hewitt Wolfe (Alphas). A production of Universal Cable Productions.

The Family - For generations, an alien family has hid amongst humans in plain sight using their advanced intellect to carve out a life for themselves as their family grew. But when the family patriarch that kept peace amongst the factions dies, a war begins to brew with some members believing the time has come to reveal themselves, and their superior power, to the inferior human race. Writer: Dan Harris (Superman Returns, X2). Executive producers: Neal Moritz (21 Jump Street, Total Recall), Mark Verheiden (Falling Skies, Battlestar Galactica). A production of Sony Pictures TV.

Longform Scripted Development:

Eyes Of The Dragon - Based on Stephen King’s best-selling novel. A kingdom is in turmoil as the old king dies and his successor must battle for the throne. Pitted against an evil wizard and a would-be rival, Prince Peter makes a daring escape and rallies the forces of good to fight for what is rightfully his. Writers: Michael Taylor (Defiance, Battlestar Galactica) and Jeff Vintar (I, Robot). Executive producers: Michael Taylor and Bill Haber. A production of Universal Cable Productions and Ostar Productions.

Darkfall - When, without warning, modern forms of power and technology become a thing of the past,Los Angeles, and the world at large, becomes a place where magic rules and life as we know it is turned upside down. Writers: Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris (Kung Fu Panda, Sleeper Cell). A production of The Jim Henson Company and Universal Cable Productions.

One Mile Straight Down - When a powerful earthquake hits California and opens up a chasm bigger than the Grand Canyon, it reveals an enormous hidden ocean lying deep beneath the earth’s crust. Billionaire adventurer James Exeter works with the government to take an advanced nuclear submarine down to explore it and discovers more than he ever could have imagined. Writers: Skip Woods (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Naren Shankar (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) and Deran Sarafian (CSI: NY). Executive producers: Skip Woods, Naren Shankar and Deran Sarafian. A production of Universal Cable Productions.

As you can see, there are some really interesting ideas that they’re looking to develop and that, I hope, will turn into some great programming. The thing we as fans need to remember is that high quality science-fiction and fantasy programming ain’t cheap to produce and channels like SyFy are businesses. If they don’t get ratings (and advertising dollars that accompany those ratings), they aren’t going to produce the sort of programming we want to see.

What we need to do is prove to them that there’s an audience for these shows, movies, miniseries, etc. When they premier, we need to tune in. We need to tweet about them. We need to blog about them. And when we do that, we need to tag SyFy, include their twitter handle, and hashtag them so we get them trending.

I believe that we can reclaim SyFy for SciFi, but we have to put in the effort. And hey, if they want someone with tons of great ideas, they can send me and my husband an email! We’d love to get some of our stories up on the screen.

That’s it for now. Happy viewing!

ECCC Post-Con Update*

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:02:49 -0700

Hello, everyone!

EmeraldCityComiCon is in the books and it was a rousing success! To all of you who came out to visit and support us at the convention, we’re all incredibly grateful to you… and to our new friends that we made during the convention, you guys ROCK!

For those of you who didn’t get to see us, here’s a picture of our awesome table in the Artist’s Alley, courtesy of the inimitable Ren Cummins!

We also had the chance to go on stage in the big panel room at the convention, following Adam Baldwin’s panel, and preceding the Phelps twins (Fred & George Weasley from the Harry Potter movies for the uninitiated!). In front of a packed house of 3000+ sci-fi and fantasy fans, Ren and I got to give brief explanations of our books and invited people to visit us… and they did! I’m hoping to get a copy of the footage, and will post it here when I have it in hand.

The winners of our Talaria Press Complete Library Giveaway have been drawn and I will be emailing the winners in the next day or two to inform them of their incredible luck. If you didn’t win, we all still thank you all for signing up for the newsletter. We look forward to keeping you up to date with our new releases, author appearances, and other cool stuff!

Again, thanks to everyone for coming out and supporting your local and independent artists. We’re both humbled and incredibly gratified by the positive responses we got!

*This post originally appeared on the Talaria Press website. You should check it out for more cool stuff!

What's Going On This Weekend?

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:08:25 -0700

Hey, folks. I just wanted to pass along a couple of links about this weekend’s activities. My Talaria Press compatriots and I will be appearing at Emerald City ComiCon and there are lots of great things in store. Come on down and see us if you’re in the area. We’ll be in Artist’s Alley, Table C-22!

If you are on Twitter, follow us at @TalariaPress as we’ll be tweeting frequently throughout the weekend with all the cool haps at the convention.

Here are postings on the Talaria Press website with details of what you can expect:

Founder’s Anthology Free Download Weekend

Talaria & Operation Paperback Book Drive

Akhet Free Download Weekend

Happy Birthday to ME!

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:35:24 -0700

Happy Birthday to ME!:

That’s right, tomorrow, March 21st, is my birthday, but I’m giving you guys the present this year! Tomorrow, you can download my first novel, Akhet, for your Kindle for the low, low, low price of… FREE!

Talaria Press Complete Library Giveaway

Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:07:47 -0700

Talaria Press Complete Library Giveaway:

We’re giving away a complete set of our Talaria Press books! WOOHOO!

Shelfari Review

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:32:36 -0700

Shelfari Review:

A nice 4-star review of Akhet was posted on Shelfari earlier today.

A Game of Thrones

Sat, 10 Mar 2012 11:39:29 -0800

My husband and I just finished a marathon of Season One of HBO’s impeccable adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. We were literally up until 4am this morning, watching all ten episodes and would’ve probably powered through ten more if there’d been additional episodes!

I read the book A Game of Thrones (A Song of Fire & Ice, Book 1) about a year ago now and I absolutely loved it. The characters and the intrigue presented in the novel were so lush and amazing that I didn’t want to put it down. That translated so perfectly to the screen I was astounded.

The casting was spot-on. Peter Dinklage, in particular, is a standout to me as Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion was my undisputed favorite character in the book (with Arya Stark as my second favorite and her father Eddard close behind) and Peter knocked his performance out of the park!

Sean Bean was a fantastic choice for Lord Stark. I was highly pleased to see that not only had he kept his Lord of the Rings sword skills, but he seems to have improved on them.

Lena Headey was beautifully evil as Cercei and the casting of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as the handsome but wicked Jaime Lannister was a coup as well. Sophie Turner turned in a great performance as Sansa, maintaining the level of foolish naivete that had me wanting to crawl into the book and smack the crap out of her in the novel. And then there was young Jack Gleeson who was perfectly horrible (in a good way, in terms of acting) as Joffrey.

I could easily go on about the book and the series for hours, and there will, no doubt, be some lively discussions in the Reasby household… particularly as my husband has okay’d us picking up books two and three for our kindles to hold us over until the next season comes out on dvd!

HBO has another winner on its hands and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Anthology Question

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:45:13 -0800

I expect to have the first draft of my Red Riding Hood story completed by the end of this week, or the beginning of next. As I need one or two more fairy tales to adapt for an anthology I’m contributing to, which ones would you like to see me tackle next?

Cinderella (aka, the Little Cinder Girl)
Rapunzel
Sleeping Beauty
Puss in Boots
The Snow Queen

The Vampire Diaries

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:37:00 -0800

Okay, so I’ll admit I’m not a fan of the show or the books. It’s not that I dislike them, but that they’ve never really blipped on my radar for whatever reason. However, I do realize that they’re extremely popular as an intellectual property.

As an author myself, I was both shocked and horrified to stumble across this blog post earlier today. You can find the full text of the letter the post references here.

The unfortunate fact that this maneuver is completely legal (however morally reprehensible) underscores the desperate need for creators of all types to educate themselves as to their rights and responsibilities to their creations. Despite the fact that I feel horrible that this has happened to a fellow writer, Ms Smith’s plight underscores the fact that we need to be careful that we educate ourselves.

Companies like Alloy Entertainment are not going to look out for you. They’re going to look out for themselves. Although it may sound cynical, the best approach may be to look at it this way: ultimately, no one is going to have our best interests at heart but us. To think otherwise is to leave yourself open to being put in an untenable situation, so please, please, please educate yourself.

The Pulling Report

Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:54:35 -0800

As a gamer, I’ve heard about The Pulling Report for several years. For those who don’t know, the Pulling Report was drafted by Michael Stackpole to refute the efforts of Patricia Pulling and her Bothered by Dungeons & Dragons (BADD) organization.

For the first time, I actually sat down and read the full text of the report, thanks to a link that Michael provided in a recent blog posting of his. It’s a fascinating and horrifying read, to be honest. I believe that this should be required reading for anyone who’s a gamer or into sci-fi and fantasy. Whatever good intentions Pat Pulling started out with clearly devolved into what almost appears to be a complete break with reality.

In reading the document and some of Mrs Pulling’s misguided attempts to ‘educate’ authorities about the danger signs of troubled youths, it occurred to me that I might’ve been a victim of her well-intentioned but hideously misinformed tactics. When I was in eighth grade, I was a generally quiet, shy kid who did well on tests and in-class assignments that didn’t require me to talk. I was also a big reader who had been reading at college levels since about fifth grade. I always had at least one book on my person and it was frequently science fiction, fantasy, or horror.

One day, I was called out of class and told that I was going to be spending my study periods twice a week meeting with a group of kids and teachers. I was never explicitly told why this was to be, or what the meetings were supposed to be about. As the meetings went on, however, I came to realize that these were kids who were considered ‘troubled’ in some way; abused or neglected at home, fighters, druggies… In short, everything I wasn’t.

I was flabbergasted at being thrust into these meetings. I didn’t understand why I was there. I had a good home life. My parents were loving and supportive. I fought with my brother occasionally, but what sibling doesn’t? My tactic for dealing with these sessions was to simply remain quiet unless I was forced to speak, and even then I was honest about having nothing to share.

Reading the Pulling Report, I realized that someone must have shared the ‘trouble signs’ that Mrs Pulling put forth in her materials and I was tagged as a potentially endangered kid. The heavy-handed effort to protect me from an imaginary threat resulted in an already reserved kid withdrawing further into herself and caused no small amount of fear and humiliation for me.

I understand that people want to protect their kids, but common sense has to kick in at some point.

Quests & Answers

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 09:34:50 -0800

Quests & Answers:

I’m extremely proud to share with you the new anthology of short stories. I helped create this volume along with my husband Garth, and our friends Ren Cummins and Quiana Kirkland, aka, my partners in Talaria Press.

The seven stories include new, original tales of our established worlds; Sekhmet’s Light, the Children of Divinity, and the Chronicles of Aesirium. There are also several featuring brand new, never before seen original stories.

We’re all incredibly pleased with the stories and hope that you’ll check them out and enjoy them as much as we did creating them.

Author Interview - Steve Sims

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:24:30 -0800

Two interviews in as many days? Yes, indeed! I love getting the chance to meet other authors and talk writing with them. I’m very pleased and excited to introduce another new friend from the Superhero Hype! Forums, Steve Sims.

Steve has published his first novel, Marlsbeth, an epic fantasy chock full of adventure and magic.

H – Hello, Steve. Thank you for talking with me today! Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

S – I’m a 37 year-old IT professional, and proud father of two girls (4 and 8).

H – What inspired you to write your first book?

S – My inspiration came from a lifelong passion for the arts; concept art is a passion; I’ve always loved comic books (The Avengers/HULK/Batman), and superheroes. I remember watching the Hobbit cartoon back when I was a kid, and I’m a movie buff, so many movies inspired me as well… Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Legend, Dragon’s Lair, Star Wars. My dad was a good storyteller as well.

H – That’s a pretty heady brew. How did you come up with the title?

S – Originally it just came to me… I went deeper as I wanted everything to have substance. Breaking down the root words I would define Marl and Beth and determine it to loosely mean ‘God’s house of fresh soil’.

H – That definitely seems an appropriate name for a land inspired by the likes of Tolkien! What prompted you to write epic-style fantasy over other genres?

S – I would say that my love of poetic words and fantastic stories converged. I just started writing it with no real plan, and it grew from there. I know, really not the way it is done, but I studied and everything blossomed quite organically!

H – That’s one of the beautiful things about writing, it’s very individual and there’s really no “right” way to go about it, in my experience. Tell us about Marlsbeth. What makes it different from all the other fantasy novels out there?

S – To me what really makes Marlsbeth stand out is that it wasn’t written with preconceived notions of what fantasy was or is. I had a movie playing in my head, and it wasn’t based off of one or two writers, as I just let all of my influences converge. I also think it has a classic feel to it! Even though I did my research, I tried to write the story passionately, with a poetic overtone, rather than being overly cerebral.

H – Oh, yes, passion is definitely a must when it comes to writing. Putting your passion on the page is what makes simple words resonate with people. Which of your characters is your favorite?

S – It has to be the main character Banion. Virtuous, passionate, devoted, honorable. The traits of a real hero!

H – Which of your characters would you most/least to invite to dinner, and why?

S – That would most likely have to go to General Geldik of the Dark Armies, a.k.a. Bloodhunter… nuff said!

H – With a nickname like that, I can’t blame you! What motivates you to write?

S – My brain can only hold so much before stuff starts spilling out!

H – Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

S – I love the parables of Robert Plant in Led Zeppelin, and the figurative lines of Scott Stapp of Creed. King David wrote some beautiful Psalms.

H – I also love the imagery in many of Creed’s songs. Where do you get your ideas?

S – Most of my ideas are spawned from images, and music is very inspirational. I put the ingredients in my brain, and cook them up! For Marlsbeth I have a whole Excel workbook FULL of the characters (some aren’t even in the book), places, etc.

H – Best to hold on to those characters, you never know when you might decide you want to write about them. What are your current projects?

S – Just the Marlsbeth website http://www.marlsbeth.com content is enough right now! Appendices, and downloads… the facebook page as well. Check it out! I had an amazing professional concept artist out of Norway do the artwork on the website, which is some of the main characters.

H – So, in terms of technical aspects of your work, do you work with an outline, or just write?

S – I just wrote Marlsbeth, but I have started an outline of part 2.

H – What was the hardest part of writing your book?

S – Keeping transitions seamless. Following along on the map… The map is a free download on the website to accompany the book!

H – Transitions do seem to be the bane of many an author. Do you ever experience writer’s block?

S – No, not really. Perhaps shrinking down what I see in my head, but no writers block yet!

H – Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

S – I’ve just written the one book for now, but yes indeed! It is a little difficult though — the notion of putting a piece of your soul out there for people to examine… but it’s worth the risk! I would let it influence my writing a little I guess, but to change solely to make others happy wouldn’t make any sense.

H – How do you market your work? What avenues have you found to work best for your genre?

S – That is certainly a work in progress, but just talking to people and handing out cards is a good start. You have to have a web presence! Get out in the community too.

H – So, for my final question: Do you have any advice for other writers?

S – See it through! Push yourself toward finishing… It won’t finish itself, so do what you need to do to see it through to the end!

Steve, thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me today, and I wish you the best of luck in your writing!

Author Interview - Kevin Rau

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:24:06 -0800

As my regular readers will know, I’m a huge fan of comics and superheroes. I find the concept of super-powered heroes and villains to be intriguing, particularly with regard to the struggles of morality that such beings would inevitably encounter. I also tend to prefer seriously flawed characters. It’s probably why I consider the X-Men to be my favorite team (seriously, if you look at their personalities, they’re all messed up in the head!).

So, knowing my predilection for loving heroes, combined with the distinctly super-heroic undertone of my own Sekhmet’s Light series, I joined the Superhero Hype forum and found several other writers there!

And so, it was my very great pleasure to sit down with one of my new friends from SHH, Kevin Rau!

H – Hi, Kevin. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

K – By day I’m a giant squid under a small corporation’s ship. E.g. The InformSation Technology manager, who does everything from software programming, to web development, to server administration, network administration, and database programming. I’ve been in the computer industry my entire career, only branching out into writing in the last few years.

My history as to more interesting things lies more with comic books, role-playing games, MMORPGs and reading a great quantity of science fiction and fantasy novels. I’ve been into (non-computer) tabletop gaming and reading for over 30 years. Comics and computer games were a little later. I collected comics very heavily for about 15 years.

I’m overweight, but weight lift/workout 5-7 days a week. (Love the oh-so-tasty, but unhealthy food.)

I like cats, but primarily because they are a tiny bit like the large predator cats, such as tigers. I’m very independent and driven - this is part of what drives me to do my own cover art.

H – Well, I know I’ll never be able to deal with an IT department without having that image in my head! *chuckles* What inspired you to write your first book?

K – I completely quit online gaming for a while, and read about 30 books in December 2008. I remember getting irate about so many stories ending. I wanted to know what the characters would get into next. I wanted MORE. I realized the only way that would occur is if I wrote my own series, and in January 2009 I began writing H.E.R.O. - Metamorphosis.

H – I’m sure you’re far from the only writer who’s ever felt that way. How did you come up with the title?

K – I knew I wanted to call the primary organization in my series “H.E.R.O.” and had to come up with an acronym that would work for it. (Thus was born the Homeland Extraordinary Response Organization.) I like being able to tell in an instant that numerous books are part of a series, and thus chose to use that at the beginning of every novel’s title. The second part has to do with the story in that one novel - for that first book, Metamorphosis has to do with the three main characters changing into supers and dealing with those changes.

H – What prompted you to write about superheroes?

K – My history with comic books. I also love superhero movies. I’m not restricting myself to this genre long-term, however. At some point, I’ll start a fantasy series, and will likely go back and forth creating a novel for each. I’m not sure how many H.E.R.O. novels I’ll get out before I hit that point - probably 7-10.

H – That’s a pretty ambitious long-term plan. Do you work with an outline, or just write?

K – Both. I come up with a batch of core plot points that will interweave through the story, as well as a “to-do” list of things that need to come about in various characters’ lives. Then I’ll write out from one sentence to a paragraph for the first 10-15 chapters of a novel. Often, strange things will occur while writing, and the plot takes a wild turn on me, changing everything. I generally work out a rough idea of the forthcoming chapters to work on and use that as a guide after that point.

H – What motivates you to write?

K – As I mentioned above, I want to see what else happens to my characters. A character’s story doesn’t just *end* (unless they die - and even then, things can occur….). I’m interested in finding out what happens as much as everyone else might be.

H – Where do you get your ideas?

K – Wild binges at the local tavern? Just kidding! Some have come about because of a single keyword/phrase (H.E.R.O. - Dark Research was an example, as was H.E.R.O. - Horde). Others I’ll look around and pick out words and phrases off random things as I drive around (the slave market idea in H.E.R.O. - New Markets happened this way). A few others I knew I wanted to do something to a character, picked one, and forced them through it (such as what happens with Chrome in H.E.R.O. - Rise and Fall).

Smaller ideas, such as a few random events that occur in Metrocity I’ve used some software I created quite a while back for use in a superhero gaming campaign to do the very same thing. I’ll randomly generate a bunch and pick out an idea that ought to be interesting to work with in the story.

H – That software sounds like it might be a pretty handy thing to try to market as a sideline! What are your current projects?

K – I’m going through my edit phase of H.E.R.O. - Paragon (Book 6). Once I complete my own edits, I’ll hand that off to my editors and begin the 3D work on a few new characters that came up in H.E.R.O. - Paragon. Then I’ll create the cover for it. After that will be the initial idea phase of Book 7 until my editors come back to me with their revisions and suggestions.

H – Writing is rarely easy. With that in mind, what was the hardest part of writing your books?

K – Choosing to write in third or first person. (I prefer first person to give the reader the opportunity to experience things along with the heroes.) Getting past the occasional mental block can be rough. Not that the ideas don’t come to me, rather I’ll come to a crossroads where a decision can make significant changes to both the story and the characters, and having to select one can be a challenge.

H – Which of your characters is your favorite?

K – Oh, wow, that’s a tough one. Diva’s got to be one of my top choices. She’s dumb, but has common sense. (The boneheadedness can be fun to write.) She wants to be liked so much, yet believes she’s never good enough. She’s quick to react and to help people - a hallmark of a good hero. Oh, and she’s flirty.

H – Which of your characters would you most/least to invite to dinner, and why?

K – I’d love to meet and chat with many of my heroes. It’d be a fun party, barring the potential broken furniture from the bricks. Rayna might be one of the neatest, assuming one could get her to make some lifeforms to give away.

Least … hmm. If you include villains, then I’d not want to invite any of them. Either they are jerks, greedy, wouldn’t mind killing you or making you a mind slave, etc. Of the heroes, probably Watermane - she’s way too serious. She hasn’t had a lot of time in the novels, so that might not have come out yet. Of the heroes who’ve had a little face time, I’d say Psycom. He’s stuck up, and only does things when they benefit him. (He’s good at what he does, and he knows it.) Of the heroes who’ve had a lot of face time, I’d go with Black Tiger. I like the character, but I’m not sure I’d enjoy sitting around talking with him.

H – Sounds like it really would be a heck of a party! Do you ever experience writer’s block?

K – Yes. Normally, only in terms of choosing one of several paths to take with the storyline. There have been a few times where I’ll argue for days or up to a week with myself over the ramifications.

H – I once had a character who refused to work with me to the point I had to stop trying to tell her story entirely, so I can definitely sympathize. Who is your favorite author and what is it that really strikes you about their work?

K – Laurel K. Hamilton is probably my favorite. The thing that probably sticks out to me is the ongoing storyline of her Anita Blake and Merry Gentry series.

H – Do you read reviews of your books? If so, do you pay any attention to them, or let them influence your writing?

K – I haven’t had a great number to compare against, but I do read them. At times I’ll try to pick out issues people are bringing up to work on. Some people become fixated on the way they believe a story ought to occur, and hold it against you if it doesn’t. So these need to be read while expecting a skewed viewpoint.

H – How do you market your work? What avenues have you found to work best for your genre?

K – My website (http://www.kevinrau.com) is one way. The Facebook page I created for my characters is another (http://www.facebook.com/pages/HERO-Superhero-Novels/312142538816826?sk=app_4949752878). Otherwise I put notices of each new book on a few forums. I’m certainly no marketing expert - quite the opposite, I’m fairly bad at that side of writing. I’ve tried advertising via Google and Facebook - both were horrible, expensive failures. I’ve given out promotional copies of my novels, although that has had minimal (if any) success as well.

H – So, before I send you back to tormenting your heroes, do you have any advice for other writers?

K – Find something you enjoy writing about, because for most writers the success is minimal. Study grammar. Get multiple editors to review your work. Use a thesaurus.

And there you have it! Kevin’s books are available for Kindle via Amazon.com and in paperback both through most major online retailers.

H.E.R.O. – Metamorphosis

H.E.R.O. – New Markets

H.E.R.O. – Rise and Fall

H.E.R.O. – Dark Research

H.E.R.O. – Horde

I, myself, just picked up Metamorphosis, and am looking forward to delving into the world of H.E.R.O.!

Akhet for Free?!

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:45:05 -0800

Akhet for Free?!:

Yes, it’s true. As a KDP enrolled title, all Amazon Prime members have the option of ‘borrowing’ the book and reading it for free… However, that’s not what this post is actually about!

If, as a Kindle user, you’ve been pondering reading the first book of Sekhmet’s Light, or if you know someone who has, on February 1st, I’m offering Akhet for free! Yes, you can download it for yourself, or gift it to a friend for absolutely no money.

But why would you do this, Heather? Don’t you want to make money?! Well, yes, of course I do… believe me this is not something I’m doing purely out of the goodness of my heart. It’s my hope that when you’ve read the first novel, you’ll be willing to shell out the cash for Peret (book two) and Shomu (book three which will be available in the next couple of months!). So, please, if you’ve been on the fence or you know someone who’d like it, feel free to download it!

Thanks for reading! :D

Score: Four out of Five Stars This is a well-researched book and...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:45:00 -0800

Score: Four out of Five Stars

This is a well-researched book and you will learn some Egyptian words while reading it. I found this very interesting.

The main character doesn’t look like me at all so I wasn’t able to imagine myself as her, but the author did a great job of in description. All I can say is I’m not tall and lean with an angular face and dark hair long enough to brush the waistband of my pants when pulled back in a ponytail. The research done shows in the work and was very thorough, while the descriptions are clear enough that this should be a graphic novel. Even though the characters are adults, the way subject matter is handled well and this is safe for early teens. This story might help inspire a new generation of Indiana Jones wannabes.

The Scorpion's Lair: New Years Update

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:07:53 -0800

The Scorpion's Lair: New Years Update:

thermalscorpion:

Hello and Happy Apocalypse Year!

Sorry for the silence lately but with the holidays and working on my second book my time has been scarce. I wanted to drop everyone an update though so here it is!

Book 1 Awaken:

Sales have been pretty good considering I don’t have some advertising…