S.C. Vincent's Blog, page 2

The Sakura Element Cover Reveal & Release Date

*Drum roll*

Here it is! The books cover by artist Melrose Dowdy https://twitter.com/MelroseDowdy

And yes – that’s the big day. Preorder your copy now so you don’t miss out on the freshest YA romance sci-fi novel of the year.

When tradition means damnation, and the future is the past…

Alia Academia – school for the elite. Genetically modified Oka Latellay faces discrimination orchestrated by fellow student Allen Debois. Allen enforces a caste system by the Purveyors of Tradition, keeping modified people in the bottom rung of society. But Oka’s gumption inspires him to start a fencing tourney where everything is at stake. If she loses, her life in high society is over. But if she wins, so ends the bullying of all mods in the school.

Oka struggles with her fencing bouts and growing feelings for Allen as he reveals there is more to him than the cold cruelty he portrays. Simultaneously, Allen is torn between adoration for Oka and the Purveyors of Tradition influence. Choosing the former could risk his family’s wealth and good name.

Little do the two know how much their struggles intertwine when Allen’s friend begins to vie for Oka’s affections, and Allen finds himself blackmailed about his family’s past.

In a post-World War world where society functions on sleight of hand and discrimination, Oka and Allen must find the one thing that will save them. Love.

New novel: The Sakura Element COMING SOON!

My new novel The Sakura Element is a science-fiction, Young adult romance. This might come out of nowhere to you if you’re used to my past books, as they have been fantasy and horror. But I’ve always billed myself as a sci-fi author; I simply hadn’t released this book at the time.

This book is something special to me and I think it will resonate with you as well. It deals with young love, coming of age, discrimination, and human nature. But don’t let that fool you into thinking there isn’t any action – of course there is! Fencing bouts, laser swords, cyborgs – and more. But here is the best way for me to explain the story to you: the book blurb.

When tradition means damnation, and the future is the past…

Alia Academia – school for the elite.

Genetically modified Oka Latellay faces discrimination orchestrated by fellow student Allen Debois. Allen enforces a caste system by the Purveyors of Tradition, keeping modified people in the bottom rung of society. But Oka’s gumption inspires him to start a fencing tourney where everything is at stake. If she loses, her life in high society is over. But if she wins, so ends the bullying of all mods in the school.

Oka struggles with doubt as her fencing bouts grow increasingly difficult. And her feelings for Allen deepen as he reveals there is more to him than the cold cruelty he portrays. Simultaneously, Allen is torn between adoration for Oka and the Purveyors of Tradition’s influence. Choosing the former could risk his family’s wealth and good name.

Little do the two know how much their struggles intertwine when Allen’s friend begins to vie for Oka’s affections, and Allen finds himself blackmailed about his family’s past.

In a post-World War world where society functions on sleight of hand and discrimination, Oka and Allen must find the one thing that will save them. Love.

Does that sound interesting to you? Let me know. I think it’s something both men and women can enjoy. I’m aiming for the book to release this March. It will also have awesome custom cover art which I will share once it’s finished. I’ll have more news to share soon!

Ys The Fallen given RAVE Reviews!

Recently my hard work has been paying off. My sopohmore novel Ys The Fallen has gotten its first review – a stunning 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon!

Click to see what the HYPE is all about!

It’s not too late for you to check out this epic and unique Christian novella.

In January my story A Girl of Peculiar Taste was published in Scare Streets Night Terrors Volume 24. And it too has scored well! Here is the Goodreads score:

I’m working very hard to grow as a writer and I think it’s paying off. I already have three other books written and in various stages of completion. My goal with the next novel is to try and get it traditionally published. That’s a very long process, so please bear with me.

In the meantime, please check out my three published works, review, and share with your friends.

Thank you!!

Vampire Hunter D Volume 5: The Stuff of Dreams Review

Vampire Hunter D Volume 5: The Stuff of Dreams was a vast improvement over the previous installment. With its beautiful imagery and interesting mystery, the story keeps you invested with a satisfying end.

To critique the writing technique, I would say it is better than the previous book but not by much. Where it improves is the previously mention descriptions of locals and lighting. Even some of the characterization of the people is a bit better this time around.

Perhaps it is a difference in writing style between the Japanese and English that keeps it from being greater. Typically, novels frown upon head-hopping but often in one scene you’ll be in the perspective of one character and another the moment next. As well, chapters are few in numbers in the VHD series and thus they cover various subjects, themes, and character perspectives. This can be quite confusing. I don’t know if this is how things are written in the Japanese version and they see no problem with it, or if it’s the fault of the translator; either way it is foreign to me.

Another criticism I must state which is part of the writing style is shared with the story telling aspect itself. There are several layers to this novel – sometimes you never know what’s a dream or a dream within a dream. Often things happen that seem like red herrings but not quite explained. While I understand that it’s a mystery, there is a fine line between being vague and being incomprehensible. And sometimes the story met the latter.

But overall, what was happening was clear; enough to follow the plot. It was fun and imaginative. You got to see a few sides of D never explored, morally, I mean. Unlike the previous novel where he was indecisive to a fault, this novel he is forced to make a rather difficult choice and it pays off in conclusion. I look forward to the next novel.

Huge Announcement: My new story is out!!!

My new story “A Girl of Peculiar Taste” has been published in Scare Street’s horror anthology Night Terrors Vol. 24!

It’s a story about an aging man trying to secure his legacy when his family is all but gone. However, on one cold, bitter night he comes across two youths that make him an offer he cant refuse….

Excerpt from my story. Copyright to Scare Street.

You can purchase the anthology here! https://www.amazon.com/Night-Terrors-Vol-24-Anthology/dp/B0BSG5MWPT/

This is such a special release for me because this is the first time I have been traditionally published. It took a long time to find this story the proper home and I’m glad I didn’t give up on it. I learned a lot about the trad pub process here. I hope the story spooks you. Enjoy!

(This might be the only thing I publish/release this year btw. )

Copyright Scare Street

Review: Overmind by Jon Del Arroz

I recently received my copy of Overmind by Jon Del Arroz, a Kickstarter campaign I supported.

It’s a sci-fi comic book about Ayla Rin who must stop the machine Overmind which plans to conquer the empire via hooking up the citizens to a sort of VR/hypnotic state. I won’t be providing many spoilers so this will be a quick review.

Regarding the art, I thought it was incredible. There were only a few spots where I think Ayla’s face was a bit inconsistent, but it was drawn extremely well otherwise and paneled expertly. The colors, especially, are where this comic shines. It has a wonderful and dynamic color palette that is pleasing to the eye.

About the writing, this is Del Arozz’s best work that I’ve read so far. It’s quick, fun, and violent. Characters have their own voices and motives. I would say the few criticisms I have are small and can be overlooked but the only major one is the premise, which reminded me a little too much of The Matrix or Ghost in the Shell.

I would give this an 8.5 out of ten or a 4/5 stars. I look forward to reading the novel and checking out the next comic.

If you want to find a copy, check it out here. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/forsteamandcountry/overmind-a-science-fiction-thriller-graphic-novel

And if you want to support me, another excellent indie-author, consider checking out Ys The Fallen, my most recent fantasy release.

She has a curse. He has scales.

The Kingdom of Ys has been cursed by the Devil, a mighty dragon who seeks celestial conquest. As Princess Dana, one of the last acolytes of a forgotten church, scours the Dracon Lands hoping to find help for her people, she stumbles upon a giant egg. A handsome man named Ru, who has supernatural abilities, breaks free from the shell.

They set forth on a journey to free Ys of the curses by slaying the Devil, all the while facing Dana’s evil sister and her insidious machinations. But before the apocalyptic battle begins, they first face their own inner turmoil. Ru confronts his relation to the dragon and his contradictory tendency towards good. Dana treads the line between love and lust as she struggles to remain moral in a fallen world.

Can the curses be broken? Or will their relationship be broken first? The bells of Ys must ring.

The fight for salvation begins now!

Winter Update

Ys The Fallen came out during the summer and it was a resounding success! If you haven’t red it yet check it out here. https://www.amazon.com/S-C-Vincent/e/B08QZTSNQT/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

I am working on my third book, it’s a genre change, sci-fi. I’ll be trying to pitch this one to agents and traditionally publish it. It’s not like my other books at all. And it might take a while to release since publishing that way takes a while.

During the late summer I wrote a new horror/pulp/action-adventure novella. So you know, I haven’t been complacent.

I have a short story that’s being published soon, which will be my first traditionally published work. I will update you more when the time comes for it to release!

SERVICES:

I would also like to add that I am now offering editing services via fiver. You can find it here: https://www.fiverr.com/sc_vincent/copyedit-and-proofread-1200-words-of-text

If you need a simple edit, or something written up quickly on a proffesional level, I’m your guy!

Talk to you soon! Have a great holiday season.

Availability!!!

Ys The Fallen has even greater availability than The Arcadian Destiny, my previous novel. I like to do something new with each book. So this novella is available on Amazon, Smashwords, and is also distributed through Ingramspark!

This gives me access to tons of digital stores and even physical stores. Very soon, july 29th, if you request my book at a book store, they will order it for you and sell it in the store. This is huge! You can’t do this with amazon alone. I will be trying my best to stock Ys The Fallen in indie book stores.

Thank you! https://linktr.ee/scvincent

Ys The Fallen is Available Now!

That’s right, you heard it here first. My second novel is finally out. It’s got thrills, romance, and action. Everything. It’s my best book yet! I hope you have fun with it. It will have the widest distribution I have ever had since I’m using both ingramspark and amazon.

She has a curse. He has scales.

The Kingdom of Ys has been cursed by the Devil, a mighty dragon who seeks celestial conquest. As Princess Dana, one of the last acolytes of a forgotten church, scours the Dracon Lands hoping to find help for her people, she stumbles upon a giant egg. A handsome man named Ru, who has supernatural abilities, breaks free from the shell.

They set forth on a journey to free Ys of the curses by slaying the Devil, all the while facing Dana’s evil sister and her insidious machinations. But before the apocalyptic battle begins, they first face their own inner turmoil. Ru confronts his relation to the dragon and his contradictory tendency towards good. Dana treads the line between love and lust as she struggles to remain moral in a fallen world.

Can the curses be broken? Or will their relationship be broken first? The bells of Ys must ring.

The fight for salvation begins now!

Elon’s 4D Chess

I’m sure you’re all well aware of Elon Musk’s billion dollar bid for Twitter. The billionaire has been battling with the company this entire year to take control in some manner for what seems to be, in my view, a vanity project.

One has to ask why someone, who spends their time living a playboy life style while also leading the charge of space exploration and the creation of expensive cars, cares at all about a social media site? Well, NPR asked a business journo the same thing:

“RASCOE: Can he have looked into this before he agreed to buy Twitter? Like, why put an offer up?

SALMON: Not only could he have looked into it, he did look into it. And that was the stated reason why he said he wanted to buy Twitter. He said, I think I can improve Twitter by getting rid of those bots and spam accounts. It was only after there was this big stock market crash in tech stocks that he realized that the amount he was paying for Twitter was actually more than he could really afford and was also more than it was really worth. And so he started looking for ways to back out of the deal.”

Now whether you agree with the opinion of Salmon is up to you. Musk would have you believe things are all going according to plan in one of his cringiest tweets yet. He would have you believe that in court Twitter would be forced to share the true amount of bots on the site in the discovery process.

Okay, but why does he care? Social media seems out of the business interest if you compare it to his past business ventures…which many have alleged quite a few things about in the past. Some of these people say Musk is known for latching on to other people’s works and attaching his name to them.

Perhaps he has a true spirit of an inventor or perhaps he just has a keen eye for business opportunities. Either way, it seems the Twitter deal is neither. His past ventures were akin to engineering ideals. This, in my opinion, seems to be a stroke of ego. Over the years Musk’s wallet has grown and so has his celebrity. Perhaps the only other famous billionaire that could surpass him would Trump…that is, unless Elon owned Twitter? The most popular social media website?

Would owning Twitter dot com satisfy the man who could buy just about anything he wanted? Nothing has as of yet.

But it if you liked this blog post then you will really like my upcoming fantasy novel Ys The Fallen. It tells a story full of action, supernatural powers, and love! Something for everyone. It comes out July 18th. You can even pre-order today so you don’t forget.

She has a curse. He has scales.

The Kingdom of Ys has been cursed by the Devil, a mighty dragon who seeks celestial conquest. As Princess Dana, one of the last acolytes of a forgotten church, scours the Dracon Lands hoping to find help for her people, she stumbles upon a giant egg. A handsome man named Ru, who has supernatural abilities, breaks free from the shell.

They set forth on a journey to free Ys of the curses by slaying the Devil, all the while facing Dana’s evil sister and her insidious machinations. But before the apocalyptic battle begins, they first face their own inner turmoil. Ru confronts his relation to the dragon and his contradictory tendency towards good. Dana treads the line between love and lust as she struggles to remain moral in a fallen world.

Can the curses be broken? Or will their relationship be broken first? The bells of Ys must ring.

The fight for salvation begins now!