Friday, February 15, 2013

Busy

It's been crazy at work. See, I work as a CAD drafter for a contractor to the government. The work they do is finished so they're working on shutting everything down. Yes, I'll be out of a job but I knew things were temporary from the beginning.

Because things need to wrap up, I've been very busy with changing drawings to reflect the constantly changing conditions of the plant. This means I've been too busy for anything else and pretty tired at home so not a lot of writing time for Scott.

I'll try to do more and work on an improved schedule. Must do B.I.C. (Butt in chair).

Interview with the authors of The Beautiful Creatures


I do love a good paranormal adventure. Now I'm not as thrilled for teen girl paranormal romance, but we shouldn't judge books by their covers or what we think they're about. Actually this cover looks pretty cool, but I digress.

My wife and kids all want to see the movie. We'll be late for it cause it's not presently in the budget, but we'll try to see it. As for the book, I want to read it ASAP now that I've read a certain article.

Go here to read an interview with the two authors. It's on io9.com. Meredith Woerner has a great interview where we discover how and why authors Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl wrote this book.

Now as a struggling author, it is frustrating that they stumbled upon publication and already had an "in" by knowing someone who could pitch it to an agent. Things aren't that easy for the rest of us.

But I can't fault them for their luck or contacts. They didn't even plan on being published. It was just a dare they did with their teenager friends and family.

But the authors mention an interest in video games, Doctor Who and comics. Sheesh! That has to mean their story rocks. At least I hope so.

So it's on my must read list. I'm not sure if I'll get it from the library or just buy it.

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Bite of Story Thursday

Night Children: Dark Birth

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Three Bite Rule


The jet-black carriage raced down the darkened road.  The horses pulled it with ease as two of its occupants watched the quickly moving scenery.  Eliza’s red eyes peered into the night and Annabelle mused at how strange the two of them must’ve looked. 

Thomas said, “I just want to thank you both, again.  Henry can be a pain, but he’s my brother.”

“Think nothing of it.  He’s a friend of ours.  The children were right.  We shouldn’t leave him to those monsters.”

“You’re amazing, Eliza.  If I was a vampire and someone said I didn’t have a soul I wouldn’t risk everything to save him... oops.”

Eliza’s head snapped towards Tom’s direction.  Annabelle’s mouth fell open as she asked in shock, “What?”

“I’m sorry.  I need to keep my mouth shut.”  Tom sighed.  “Henry thinks when you become a vampire you lose your soul to the devil.” 

Annabelle’s blood boiled. “How dare he?  My brother and I have always treated him with the utmost respect.  What have we ever done to him?” 

Eliza spoke up with her usual calm voice.  “Now, Ann, don’t be too upset with him.  This is the same paranoia we’ve heard throughout the ages.  Besides, I cannot say I blame the mortals for fearing us and making up stories.” 

“But Eliza, it’s wrong!”  She stood up and paced, moving her hands to emphasize her points.  The carriage rocked as it rumbled on its way over the gravely road, but Annabelle had no problem keeping her balance.  “Of course I have a soul!  I’m still the same person I was before I became a vampire.  How can you defend him for saying such lies?” 

Eliza wasn’t reproachful or angry when she replied, “You have known less than a handful of vampires in your short life.  Most are evil, or at least indifferent.  True, there are good ones out there, like my troupe of gypsies, but there are many more rotten ones as well.  The mortals have gained a deep fear because of the atrocities these bad vampires perform.” 

Calm followed by shame washed away the anger.  Annabelle promptly regained her seat.  “I’m sorry I was upset.  It really bothers me when people say things they know nothing about.  I can see what you mean about the bad vampires, but why say we have no souls?” 

“First of all, it’s ignorance.  See, most people do not even know what a soul is.”

“What is a soul?”  Thomas asked. 

“A soul is the combination of your body and your spirit.” 

“Spirit?” 

“Yes.  Here, let me show you.”  Eliza pulled out her white satin gloves from a pocket in her cloak and held one up.  “See my hand?  This represents my spirit.  Your spirit is the ‘you’ inside.  Your dreams, likes, dislikes, everything that makes you who you are.  See this empty glove?  This is my body.  This represents the physical part of you.  When we were born our spirit went into our body.”  She put the glove on and then moved her fingers inside it.  “When we die, and I mean really die for good, our spirit comes out of our body.”  She removed the glove and placed it down on her lap.

“Our body goes into the grave and our spirit goes to a sort of Spirit Realm.  Many religions teach one day our spirit and body will be reunited.  The soul is the name for your body and spirit when they are together.” 

“So vampires have spirits like everyone else.”  Tom reasoned. 

“Of course.”  Eliza sat back and put away her gloves.  “As for the devil, I’ve never met such a thing.  I do not believe vampires owe their existence to the devil.” 

---------------

For more check out Dark Birth at your local online store. Links to Dark Birth on the web can be found on the Store Page on this blog or you could just go here, Dark Birth on Amazon.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Who's Who in the Annabelle Universe? The Palmer Orphans

THE PALMER ORPHANS

No picture at this time. Hopefully that will change someday.


Known History:
In London, when the vampire Rake known as Ryan turned teacher Molly O' Connell, she was upset. She rejected him so he captured five of her students and turned them into vampires in thier sleep. Molly gathered them and escaped Ryan's clutches. She found an abandoned building in the heart of London where they could hide. She named their home the Palmer Orphanage after a famous vampire hunter. It was her way of rejecting their new life. Despite her feelings, Molly continued to teach the children what little she knew.

The American vampires Annabelle Foresight and Thomas Dunston were running from vampire hunter Hawke. They stumbled upon the orphanage and Molly gave them shelter. Annabelle and Thomas soon moved in with the orphans and eventually everyone relocated to Germany's Black Forest where they joined up with the Mullo vampire gypsy tribe.

Who they are:
Mary (Age 16)
Eric (Age 14)
Selina and Samuel (Age 10)
Charlotte (Age 7)


SIR THOMAS PALMER
A knight who fought in the 2ndcrusades. Roxanna turned him and forced him to serve and defend her. He eventually rebelled and dedicated his life to hunting down the few vampires she turned after the Exodus War. He became one of the finest warriors of the Holy Order of the Vampyr. He fought valiantly but lost faith. He fought for England against Scotland in 1314 AD in the Battle of Bannockburn. He fell in love with a Scottish cleaning woman and retired in the hills of Scotland.
His legend impressed many vampires who wanted to be good but nevertheless served the vampire lord Domi out of fear. Molly O Connell used his name for her orphanage.

 

Monday, February 11, 2013

All about those Facebook ‘Like’ scam posts by Daylan Pearce

Here's an interesting post for you Facebook users. It's by Daylan Pearce on his site.

It would be nice not to see these kinds of posts. He mentions how this scam is used such as terrible circumstances or funny posts. It's also used for political and religious ideas too. They know you all too well and their right. Many will still do it even after reading this.