Sunday, January 29, 2012
Rosetta Press: Rosetta Literary Contest January 2012
Rosetta Press: Rosetta Literary Contest January 2012: To celebrate the opening of Rosetta Press, a new concept in linguistic services, we are launching the Rosetta Literary Contest. All es...
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Rosetta Press: Rosetta Literary Contest January 2012
Rosetta Press: Rosetta Literary Contest January 2012: To celebrate the opening of Rosetta Press, a new concept in linguistic services, we are launching the Rosetta Literary Contest. All es...
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
An autobiographical memoir from a vampire's perspective
Mr. Bek Harrington has a very interesting webpage where you can see his writing. He proposes an autobiographical memoir from a 3000 year old vampire's perspective.
If you want to check it out:
Vampires Revealed
I'll leave you with an image to further tempt you to check it out:
Blurb:
For centuries the debate has raged; are vampires real? There has been plenty
of myth and superstition regarding vampires but not a lot of truth or answers.
Do not deceive yourself, do not believe the myriad of lies sold to you by
publishing houses, TV & Movie studios. Vampires are real, and are very
dangerous creatures.
Finally the truth will be told.
Join Bektamun, a 3000 year old vampire, on a journey of discovery. Leave
behind your preconceived ideas, forget the horror stories and disregard
everything you think you know about vampires. Never before have humans had
and an opportunity such as this. To know the unadulterated truth, for every
question you may have ever had about vampires to be answered.
If you want to check it out:
Vampires Revealed
I'll leave you with an image to further tempt you to check it out:
Blurb:
For centuries the debate has raged; are vampires real? There has been plenty
of myth and superstition regarding vampires but not a lot of truth or answers.
Do not deceive yourself, do not believe the myriad of lies sold to you by
publishing houses, TV & Movie studios. Vampires are real, and are very
dangerous creatures.
Finally the truth will be told.
Join Bektamun, a 3000 year old vampire, on a journey of discovery. Leave
behind your preconceived ideas, forget the horror stories and disregard
everything you think you know about vampires. Never before have humans had
and an opportunity such as this. To know the unadulterated truth, for every
question you may have ever had about vampires to be answered.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
An amazing author to check out: George Straatman
George Straatman writes fiction in the horror genre, here I'd love to introduce you to The Converging: Closures in Blood, his latest book in a trilogy.
An introduction to this amazing book:
The Converging: Closures in Blood is the concluding volume of George Straatman’s epic Converging horror trilogy. Though rooted firmly in the horror/supernatural thriller genre, Closures in Blood is a skilful weaving of intense action and compelling drama that will stand as a fitting finale to this dark and richly imagined tale.
After apparently vanquishing the demon, Cynara Saravic…the now-immortal Elizabeth Simpson returns to America to begin a desperate search for the only man she has ever loved and the one person who can grant her absolution for the sins she has committed while under the demon’s dark thrall. Abhorred as an abomination by both Heaven and Hell, Elizabeth must run a deadly and insidious gauntlet to find David Stillman, unaware that she has become the catalyst for an apocalyptic war between good and evil. Pursued across a dying America by legions of religious fanatics and satanic assassins, Elizabeth is forced to turn to her avowed enemy…a dark mistress who represents her only hope of eluding her relentless pursuers and finding some sense of closure to the dark nightmare of her life…and a hope of personal redemption. Populated by a cast of dark and richly detailed characters, Closures in Blood is a frenetic rollercoaster ride into darkest depths of the Converging universe…a place where the vile and the righteous will find a grim measure or resolution in the explosive conclusion to this master work of dark horror.
Now... let's have some questions and answers with George about his book:
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS FOR CLOSURE IN BLOOD
1. What are the primary themes of this final segment?
As the title would imply, the novel’s plot revolves around putting a measure of closure to the story elements that have bridged the trilogy. By the conclusion of this novel, all of the primary characters who have populated the world of the Converging will have found a sense of resolution by the novel’s closing page. In addition to this, the story deals with the protagonist’s search for personal redemption and atonement for her culpability in Cynara Saravic’s twisted tapestry of evil.
2. Is there one common theme that ties the three segments of the trilogy together?
This is first and foremost, a horror trilogy and its roots are fixed deep in the dark soil of the supernatural thriller genre, but really, the story transcends the genre to become more of an intense drama about one woman’s thirty-five years search for a degree of normalcy after the foundations of her life have been eradicated by cataclysm events. Elizabeth’s painful and often tragic journey is really a metaphor for perseverance and a sustained belief in the compelling power of hope. The horror elements merely serve as a vehicle through which this story is told.
3. How long did it take to complete the full Converging cycle?
The full cycle took twenty-five years to write from the first moment I took up a pen and began the first page of the original novel until the moment I decided that I was happy with the end product of Closures in Blood. The characters of the story become constant companions of sorts…who I’ve come to care about and develop an emotional attachment to.
4. The first two novels were characterized by intense and dark horror…that could often be considered disturbing…does this atmosphere prevail in the final installment?
Most definitely…I’ve attempted to infuse the novel with a pervasive sense of desperation in which Elizabeth’s search for David Stillman is undertaken against a frenetic background of terror and incessant pursuit. The central concept of the Converging has always been about a wide array of forces coming together at one juncture in time with catastrophic results and Closures in Blood is fraught with this element. I wanted the story to unfold like an avalanche…or more correctly, a convergence of avalanches…all coming together with a brutally violent finality. Every character in this novel is much like a piece of an intricate jigsaw puzzle…the commonality of each of these pieces is Elizabeth Simpson, who serves as the lens through which they are all focused…with extremely explosive results. This novel certainly serves up the most diverse collection of characters of the series…and this diversity adds to the volatility of the plot.
5. Was there a single facet of this story that would stand out as the most difficult to write?
The segment of the story that dealt with the teenage runaway, Cassandra Jasic was perhaps one of the most difficult that I’ve ever written…the scene in which she reveals the story of the abuse she suffered as a child was difficult to write…and equally difficult to read. Ultimately, horror is an emotional response and Cassandra Jasic’s hellish ordeal goes a long way toward justifying the depth of psychosis she demonstrates in the story. The tone of segments such as this one is critical…an author has to be attuned to the need for presenting this type of material in a way that does not make it gratuitous or even worse…appears to condone the actions being depicted.
6. With the conclusion of this series, is there any one character with whom you feel most connected?
Though I’ve enjoyed all of my characters immensely and feel a strong affinity for each, I would say that Elizabeth Simpson is the individual for whom I have the most empathy…I often reflect on the things that she endured over the course of the three novels and I’m suffused by a profound sense of sadness. Cynara Saravic presented me with the most perplexing technical challenges as a character, but Elizabeth Simpson is the one who resonates emotionally through the trilogy…her closure is, for me, the most emotionally poignant.
7. Are the any specific moral concepts contained within this final novel?
It would be difficult to write a two thousand page story without inculcating some personal philosophy into the fabric of the story…The story is violent and bloody, but beneath this, there resonates a subtle judgment on the nature of this violence. The story also holds an implied statement on the nature of seduction and the way that an individual’s personal prejudices can ensnare them into accepting things that both dangerous and illogical. This subtext is most clearly demonstrated by the characters of Gregor Ingram and Contayza Prowzi, whose inherent prejudices allow them to be deceived into seeing Elizabeth Simpson as the ultimate manifestation of evil.
Elizabeth Simpson takes center stage in this novel and it is through her that I have implicitly conveyed my own personal view on violence and moral integrity…Through all of her travails and loss, Elizabeth retains an inviolable sense of dignity and grace and vehemently refuses to succumb to the more primal urges that drive many of the novel’s other characters…she comes closest to representing my own perspective on the treatment of violence in art.
8. With the conclusion of the trilogy…have we seen the last of Elizabeth and Cynara?
As mentioned earlier…this cycle had a twenty-five year creative life. In that time, I have transitioned from a horror novelist to a fantasy novelist…a genre with the broadest creative potential. Still, it would be impossible to invest so much creative and emotional energy into characters such as Cynara and Elizabeth and not have a strong bond with both. The Converging as a concept has definitely run its course, but I have tinkered with the idea of writing a novel that tells the story of the demon Cynara Saravic and her life through the years between her disappearance in 1850 to her appearance in the fictitious town where the first novel takes place in the 1970s. As for the trilogy’s primary protagonist, Elizabeth Simpson, I have developed a plot outline for a novel that would take place some years after the events chronicled in the epilogue of Closures in Blood. Both of these notions are in the formative stages and whether they will germinate into full novels, only time will tell. My primary focus over the next few years will be on development of my fantasy cycle – Journey through the Land of Shades.
If you want to know more about this superb author and his amazing work, check out the following links:
Check out his website!
Discover him on Goodreads
Get hold of his books!
Follow him on facebook
Follow him on twitter
null
null
null
An introduction to this amazing book:
The Converging: Closures in Blood is the concluding volume of George Straatman’s epic Converging horror trilogy. Though rooted firmly in the horror/supernatural thriller genre, Closures in Blood is a skilful weaving of intense action and compelling drama that will stand as a fitting finale to this dark and richly imagined tale.
After apparently vanquishing the demon, Cynara Saravic…the now-immortal Elizabeth Simpson returns to America to begin a desperate search for the only man she has ever loved and the one person who can grant her absolution for the sins she has committed while under the demon’s dark thrall. Abhorred as an abomination by both Heaven and Hell, Elizabeth must run a deadly and insidious gauntlet to find David Stillman, unaware that she has become the catalyst for an apocalyptic war between good and evil. Pursued across a dying America by legions of religious fanatics and satanic assassins, Elizabeth is forced to turn to her avowed enemy…a dark mistress who represents her only hope of eluding her relentless pursuers and finding some sense of closure to the dark nightmare of her life…and a hope of personal redemption. Populated by a cast of dark and richly detailed characters, Closures in Blood is a frenetic rollercoaster ride into darkest depths of the Converging universe…a place where the vile and the righteous will find a grim measure or resolution in the explosive conclusion to this master work of dark horror.
Now... let's have some questions and answers with George about his book:
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS FOR CLOSURE IN BLOOD
1. What are the primary themes of this final segment?
As the title would imply, the novel’s plot revolves around putting a measure of closure to the story elements that have bridged the trilogy. By the conclusion of this novel, all of the primary characters who have populated the world of the Converging will have found a sense of resolution by the novel’s closing page. In addition to this, the story deals with the protagonist’s search for personal redemption and atonement for her culpability in Cynara Saravic’s twisted tapestry of evil.
2. Is there one common theme that ties the three segments of the trilogy together?
This is first and foremost, a horror trilogy and its roots are fixed deep in the dark soil of the supernatural thriller genre, but really, the story transcends the genre to become more of an intense drama about one woman’s thirty-five years search for a degree of normalcy after the foundations of her life have been eradicated by cataclysm events. Elizabeth’s painful and often tragic journey is really a metaphor for perseverance and a sustained belief in the compelling power of hope. The horror elements merely serve as a vehicle through which this story is told.
3. How long did it take to complete the full Converging cycle?
The full cycle took twenty-five years to write from the first moment I took up a pen and began the first page of the original novel until the moment I decided that I was happy with the end product of Closures in Blood. The characters of the story become constant companions of sorts…who I’ve come to care about and develop an emotional attachment to.
4. The first two novels were characterized by intense and dark horror…that could often be considered disturbing…does this atmosphere prevail in the final installment?
Most definitely…I’ve attempted to infuse the novel with a pervasive sense of desperation in which Elizabeth’s search for David Stillman is undertaken against a frenetic background of terror and incessant pursuit. The central concept of the Converging has always been about a wide array of forces coming together at one juncture in time with catastrophic results and Closures in Blood is fraught with this element. I wanted the story to unfold like an avalanche…or more correctly, a convergence of avalanches…all coming together with a brutally violent finality. Every character in this novel is much like a piece of an intricate jigsaw puzzle…the commonality of each of these pieces is Elizabeth Simpson, who serves as the lens through which they are all focused…with extremely explosive results. This novel certainly serves up the most diverse collection of characters of the series…and this diversity adds to the volatility of the plot.
5. Was there a single facet of this story that would stand out as the most difficult to write?
The segment of the story that dealt with the teenage runaway, Cassandra Jasic was perhaps one of the most difficult that I’ve ever written…the scene in which she reveals the story of the abuse she suffered as a child was difficult to write…and equally difficult to read. Ultimately, horror is an emotional response and Cassandra Jasic’s hellish ordeal goes a long way toward justifying the depth of psychosis she demonstrates in the story. The tone of segments such as this one is critical…an author has to be attuned to the need for presenting this type of material in a way that does not make it gratuitous or even worse…appears to condone the actions being depicted.
6. With the conclusion of this series, is there any one character with whom you feel most connected?
Though I’ve enjoyed all of my characters immensely and feel a strong affinity for each, I would say that Elizabeth Simpson is the individual for whom I have the most empathy…I often reflect on the things that she endured over the course of the three novels and I’m suffused by a profound sense of sadness. Cynara Saravic presented me with the most perplexing technical challenges as a character, but Elizabeth Simpson is the one who resonates emotionally through the trilogy…her closure is, for me, the most emotionally poignant.
7. Are the any specific moral concepts contained within this final novel?
It would be difficult to write a two thousand page story without inculcating some personal philosophy into the fabric of the story…The story is violent and bloody, but beneath this, there resonates a subtle judgment on the nature of this violence. The story also holds an implied statement on the nature of seduction and the way that an individual’s personal prejudices can ensnare them into accepting things that both dangerous and illogical. This subtext is most clearly demonstrated by the characters of Gregor Ingram and Contayza Prowzi, whose inherent prejudices allow them to be deceived into seeing Elizabeth Simpson as the ultimate manifestation of evil.
Elizabeth Simpson takes center stage in this novel and it is through her that I have implicitly conveyed my own personal view on violence and moral integrity…Through all of her travails and loss, Elizabeth retains an inviolable sense of dignity and grace and vehemently refuses to succumb to the more primal urges that drive many of the novel’s other characters…she comes closest to representing my own perspective on the treatment of violence in art.
8. With the conclusion of the trilogy…have we seen the last of Elizabeth and Cynara?
As mentioned earlier…this cycle had a twenty-five year creative life. In that time, I have transitioned from a horror novelist to a fantasy novelist…a genre with the broadest creative potential. Still, it would be impossible to invest so much creative and emotional energy into characters such as Cynara and Elizabeth and not have a strong bond with both. The Converging as a concept has definitely run its course, but I have tinkered with the idea of writing a novel that tells the story of the demon Cynara Saravic and her life through the years between her disappearance in 1850 to her appearance in the fictitious town where the first novel takes place in the 1970s. As for the trilogy’s primary protagonist, Elizabeth Simpson, I have developed a plot outline for a novel that would take place some years after the events chronicled in the epilogue of Closures in Blood. Both of these notions are in the formative stages and whether they will germinate into full novels, only time will tell. My primary focus over the next few years will be on development of my fantasy cycle – Journey through the Land of Shades.
If you want to know more about this superb author and his amazing work, check out the following links:
Check out his website!
Discover him on Goodreads
Get hold of his books!
Follow him on facebook
Follow him on twitter
null
null
null
Friday, April 15, 2011
Author Interview: Atarah L. Poling
1) Before we ask you more about your writing, it would be very interesting to know more about you, the author. How and when did you start writing?
I actually started writing in the fifth grade because I really got interested in an assignment for English Class. Also started writing poetry in the sixth grade.
2) Was it hard to decide to "share" your writing with the world? What's the best thing about it?
No it wasn't really hard for me to decide. Ever since I started writing I wanted to share my works. The best part about sharing my writing is that I know in my own way I am promoting reading. I know not many people enjoy reading, not as many as there once was years ago. With writing young adult books and making them slightly shorter in length I hope to captivate the readers.
3) One of your books, Hidden Light deals with some difficult topics but it is quite special from what I've read. Can you tell us more about it?
Yes, I can. I have personal difficulties with mental illnesses and I know how they can affect anyone's life and make you feel alone. It was because of this that I wrote Hidden Light, hoping that many will see that you're never alone in this life. There's always someone else out there that can understand. I want to get it across that yes, at this time, life may seem dark but there's always a hidden light.
4) Your other book, Forbidden Secret: Shadows Behind Locked Doors is quite different, right? What motivated you to write this one?
Yes, Forbidden Secret: Shadows Behind Locked doors is actually a young-adult fiction based on a paranormal romance. I've always found the paranormal to be interesting and I enjoy reading these kind of books the most. It always help to be able to escape our current lives in the pages of books. That is why I decided to write Forbidden Secret. Even I, myself, was able to escape this world and imagine this young girl's life.
5) Are you currently working on another book?
Yes I am writing another one currently and there's also one that is in the process of being published. The contract has been signed. The one that is soon to come out is another paranormal-romance for young adults.
6) Is there any reflection you'd like to leave our readers with?
I just want readers to know that no matter what obstacle you may face things will be alright. The stress will eventually dwindle down. Also to keep up the reading. I find that reading, especially fiction based books, allows us to handle whatever stress we may be handling in the present. Us authors wouldn't be able to continue on writing with out the support. If you enjoy a book by all means leave a great review. Those reviews are always helpful.
7) Where can our readers find out more about you and your books?
I am on goodreads.com, simply look up Atarah L. Poling. I love getting friend requests and would be willing to answer any questions. I also have a fan page on facebook. Once again under the name Atarah L. Poling.
I actually started writing in the fifth grade because I really got interested in an assignment for English Class. Also started writing poetry in the sixth grade.
2) Was it hard to decide to "share" your writing with the world? What's the best thing about it?
No it wasn't really hard for me to decide. Ever since I started writing I wanted to share my works. The best part about sharing my writing is that I know in my own way I am promoting reading. I know not many people enjoy reading, not as many as there once was years ago. With writing young adult books and making them slightly shorter in length I hope to captivate the readers.
3) One of your books, Hidden Light deals with some difficult topics but it is quite special from what I've read. Can you tell us more about it?
Yes, I can. I have personal difficulties with mental illnesses and I know how they can affect anyone's life and make you feel alone. It was because of this that I wrote Hidden Light, hoping that many will see that you're never alone in this life. There's always someone else out there that can understand. I want to get it across that yes, at this time, life may seem dark but there's always a hidden light.
4) Your other book, Forbidden Secret: Shadows Behind Locked Doors is quite different, right? What motivated you to write this one?
Yes, Forbidden Secret: Shadows Behind Locked doors is actually a young-adult fiction based on a paranormal romance. I've always found the paranormal to be interesting and I enjoy reading these kind of books the most. It always help to be able to escape our current lives in the pages of books. That is why I decided to write Forbidden Secret. Even I, myself, was able to escape this world and imagine this young girl's life.
5) Are you currently working on another book?
Yes I am writing another one currently and there's also one that is in the process of being published. The contract has been signed. The one that is soon to come out is another paranormal-romance for young adults.
6) Is there any reflection you'd like to leave our readers with?
I just want readers to know that no matter what obstacle you may face things will be alright. The stress will eventually dwindle down. Also to keep up the reading. I find that reading, especially fiction based books, allows us to handle whatever stress we may be handling in the present. Us authors wouldn't be able to continue on writing with out the support. If you enjoy a book by all means leave a great review. Those reviews are always helpful.
7) Where can our readers find out more about you and your books?
I am on goodreads.com, simply look up Atarah L. Poling. I love getting friend requests and would be willing to answer any questions. I also have a fan page on facebook. Once again under the name Atarah L. Poling.
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