Raven Bower's Blog, page 6

Hydra Blog Hop ~ Dianne Gardner!

 

Please welcome Hydra author Dianne Gardner to the blog today! She does wonderful art as well as writing – I’d love to know how she does her dragons!

Dianne Gardner is both an author and illustrator living the Pacific Northwest. She’s an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and the National League of American Pen Women. She has written Young Adult Fantasy novels as well as articles for national magazines and newspapers. She’s also an award-winning artist.

The first book of a trilogy, Deception Peak is a young adult adventure fantasy about a teenager, Ian Wilson, who follows his father through a portal that magically appears on their computer screen. They travel into a deceptively beautiful Realm, where horses run free, the wind sings prophetic melodies, and their computer avatars come to life. But when the two are separated, Ian is abducted by a tribe of dragon worshipers and is forced to find his courage. As he struggles for his freedom and embarks on a perilous search to find his father, Ian meets the true peacekeepers of the Realm. It’s then that he learns there is a greater purpose for being there.

Hydra Blog Hop ~ Beth Ann Masarik!

 

Hey Raven and Raven’s friends and followers! Thanks for having me on the blog today.  My name is Beth Ann Masarik, and I’m here to talk to you about my series called The World Among Us.  It’s a YA/Fantasy about forbidden love, gods, demons and all sorts of supernatural creatures.  Well, that’s the 140 character version. LOL.  I am in the process of revising the back blurb as well the first book in the trilogy, Prince of Darkness.  It was originally released with Otherworld Publications, but it was pulled from the market this past June because Otherworld is closing at the end of this year.  Since then, I have signed with Hydra Publications, which is how I met Raven .  Frank and I are working hard to revise Prince of Darkness, and we are anticipating a re-release day for sometime in early 2013.

Now for a bit more about the book, The World Among Us: Prince of Darkness:

Hades is hell-bent on taking over the world, but in order to do so, he has to remove his nemesis, Gaia from power.  But one thing stands in the way, however, and she goes by the name of Selene.

Cue Damien, son of Hades and Persephone.  He happens to be in love with Selene, and will stop at nothing to make sure that she is safe even though their love is forbidden.  Furious with his son’s treachery, Hades tricks Damien into killing the only woman that he has ever loved.  He does so by telling Damien that he will spend the rest of his eternal life in the Fields of Asphodel if he does not prove his loyalty.  Torn between his un-beating heart and his family, Damien does the only thing a true demon prince knows how: killing those closest to him.

Will Damien follow through with his father’s evil scheme?  Or will he be banished to the Fields of Asphodel for his treachery?

And now here is an excerpt from Prince of Darkness:

When the cloaked woman arrived in the depths of the Underworld, the floor shook as if it were feeling the aftershock of an earthquake. Torches lined the walls of the dimly lit room, giving it an ancient feel. Pictures of a man in royal clothing hung along the walls, which were painted gold. The man in the paintings was very lean and toned, but his black shirt clung to his muscles, which gave him the illusion of being more muscular and intimidating than the women knew him to be. A crown decorated with jewels sat on top of his short, brown hair, and his dark, red eyes looked coldly at a small globe that he held in the palm of one of his hand. The other was playing with the crest of an angel displaying black wings and a red dragon that surrounding a shield that read: Angels of Fire.

Colorful rainbows danced on the floor, an effect of the prisms cast by hundreds of crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. As she walked further into the room, she spotted the man from the painting reading a piece of paper. He looked up at the sound of her heals clicking against the marble floor. Sitting up straight in his throne, he eyed her like a hawk as he waited impatiently for her to tell him the news he longed to hear.

“Endymion is dead,” the woman said in a rough and tired voice as she approached the king with a dainty curtsey.

“Excellent! What did you do with the body, DuVessa?” his smooth, bone-chilling voice asked her with testing and knowing eyes.

“My job was to kill him, Hades, not bury him. If you wanted the body buried, you should have said so,” DuVessa said, matching Hades’ cold voice. She was not here to play his stupid games.

Hades signaled for DuVessa to sit on the throne next to him while offering her a smirk.  She removed her cloak and smoothed her black dress before taking her seat, waiting impatiently for her reward.  Knowing she’d done what he’d wanted-what he’d ordered-it was only a matter of time.

“That was exactly what I wanted to hear,” he said. “You have done well DuVessa,” Hades continued with a dazzling, wicked grin. “We will celebrate in your honor tonight.”

“What about my reward, Hades?” she asked eagerly.

“Damien has to complete his part of the mission before you can receive your reward, DuVessa. It takes two to tango, you know,” he reminded her.

“I know that Hades, but what are the odds that Damien will actually go through with the mission?”

“I think I know my son well enough to know that he will do whatever it takes to get on my good side,” the king snapped, a rare show of emotion, but one DuVessa didn’t want to evoke. “He knows he is in deep shit with me, and does not want to disappoint me again.”

“I know, Hades! But Damien can be quite the stubborn bastard,” she hissed bitterly while shaking her head.

“Yes, he can, but I know my son better than you, DuVessa – trust me. Now, go do whatever it is you women do to get ready for parties. I will see you in an hour,” Hades said dismissively.

“Let’s hope you’re right, Hades, for everyone’s sake,” DuVessa snapped while standing up to stretch, and strode out of the room.

A man with short, gelled, dark brown hair and eyes the color of a cloudless sky walked in as DuVessa left the room. She giggled like a little girl who had just won a prize, and ruffled the man’s hair, making him growl and look at her oddly. As she skipped giddily down the hallway, he looked back over his shoulder to see if he’d imagined that. The sound of DuVessa’s rapidly clicking heels bouncing on the marble floor confirmed his theory as Hades greeted him.

“Is DuVessa all right? I just saw her skipping down the hall. I didn’t know she could do that,” Damien asked, looking confused as he approached his father.

“DuVessa has completed the mission I assigned her,” Hades explained, his expression remaining stone like and serious.

“Do I even want to know what her mission was?”

“She kill Endymion,” Hades replied with a sly smile.

“Don’t tell me you are still trying to take over the world, Father,” Damien said disdainfully, shaking his head in disapproval.

“Do I want to conquer the universe?” Hades replied automatically with the air of a father explaining something simple to their child for the hundredth time.

“You do realize what is going to happen when Selene and Gaia find out Endymion is dead, don’t you?”

“This is something that I have been thinking long and hard about, Damien. I needed something that would make Selene angry, and killing Endymion was the best idea that came to mind. Actually, you were the one who gave it to me.”

“How did I do that?” Damien asked, horrified.

“I know all about your obsession with that blasted goddess, son. You know it is forbidden for our kind to fall in love with them.”

Damien’s world came crashing down as he was called out on his obsession with Selene. He looked at Hades in shock. How could he possibly know about his feelings for the moon goddess?  More importantly, what was going to happen now that his secret was revealed?

“I am not obsessed with her! And what happens when they want to start a war?” Damien asked while trying to change the subject.

“We will be ready for them when they do. Selene was crazy about that stupid mortal, and she will be furious.”

“How can you be so sure?” Damien asked, disapproval written all over his face.

“I have ways of knowing these things, son.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” Damien said through gritted teeth.

Tension filled the room as Hades and Damien spoke. All Damien had ever wanted was for his father to understand him, and all Hades craved was for his only eligible heir to abide by his laws. It appeared that it would be easier to find a needle in a haystack than for either of them to cave in to the other’s wishes.

“The first part has already been completed,” Hades hissed through clenched teeth.

“I don’t know, Father. It just seems wrong,” Damien contested, just as tense.

“I am very disappointed in you Damien. Have I taught you nothing about being my heir?”

“Apparently not; are the Angels of Fire even ready for combat?”

“There is only one way to find out,” Hades said, inferring with a look that he wanted Damien to lead them, an old argument that never got resolved.  In Hell, it was either Hades’ way, or the highway. (If you were lucky and didn’t get incinerated.)

“I refuse to lead them in a fight that I do not believe in. Mother would agree with me,” Damien said as he got up to leave the room.

“You will do as I say! I am your king above all. I created you, and I can destroy you!” Hades shouted after him.

“Then you are going to have to destroy me, father,” Damien spat out angrily as he stormed away.

Hades stood there, trying to decide how best to punish his son. Why had he insisted upon having a child with Persephone? It was times like this that made him realize that Damien was more Persephone’s son than his. As much as the king of Hell wanted to destroy his son for disappointing him, he could not hurt DuVessa. He used every ounce of strength to brush Damien’s snide comment aside and changed the subject, before Damien cleared the chamber

“By the way, we are celebrating DuVessa’s victory tonight. You will be expected to attend whether you want to or not,” Hades shouted after him.

Damien’s mind spun in a thousand directions as he turned angrily down the hall to his bedroom. He understood that his father wanted to rule the world, but why did he have to be involved? Ever since the day Damien first met Selene, his world had spiraled downhill, and it seemed to continue to do so every day he was not with her. Even though he did not understand any of it, he knew that he had to find some way to speak to her, and soon.

About the Author:

Beth Ann Masarik is a Young Adult author and writer, indie publisher, and youth advocate. She writes Young Adult fantasy and urban fantasy novels that are mostly about forbidden romance and have some sort of magical creatures in them. Her debut novel, The World Among Us: Prince of Darkness was first published with Otherworld Publications. Unfortunately, OWP is closing on December 31, 2012, and the book is no longer available. You can visit her author website at  and blog  for more details on my publishing adventures.

As a youth advocate, she is one of the adult coordinators of the Our Lady of Fatima youth group that is run by our youth minister, Veronica Ticas-Ludwig.

In addition to writing, she also publishes a bi-monthly e-zine called Literary Lunes Magazine. It is offered as a free black and white e-copy and  also offers a low-cost full colored paperback copy of each issue.  For more information, please visit the magazine website atwww.literarylunes.com and the publishing house blog/website.

Nymph’s Lair ~ New Adventure Fantasy Novella Released!

 

Lain and I are pleased to announce that our adventure fantasy novella, Nymph’s Lair, is now available at Amazon in print and Kindle by Hydra Publications! This novella kicks off a new fantasy series I’m working on  >:)  Muahhaha

Blurb:

For years, the barbarian warrior Roch has hunted the murderous pirate Victor Karn. Finally, through a vision from a beautiful witch, Roch is shown an opportunity to infiltrate the pirate’s crew, but to succeed he needs the fabled treasure of a seductive sea nymph.

With his trusted dwarven companion Tigs at his side, Roch sets out to find and defeat the sea nymph. With a malicious stalker haunting their every move, the duo finds that surviving to face the nymph is a much greater challenge than they’d anticipated.

From me:

Sentimental fact about the naming of a dwarf – My first dwarven character makes his debut in Nymph’s Lair and in honor of the event, he was named after a cuddly cat Tigs that passed on a few years ago. Live on Mr. Tigs.

Hydra Games Exclusive Open Call

 

It’s hard to believe that September is here already – where did summer go?

Creativity at Hydra Games is ramping up! We’ll be introducing more members of our team throughout the next few weeks along with some announcements. Rollin rollin rollin 

Our first announcement is that Hydra Games will be attending the Context Convention in Columbus OH this month and holding an exclusive Open Call for authors interested in writing novels and game modules in our shared worlds.  To submit please visit the Hydra Publications table in the Dealer’s Room and bring:

A cover letter with your contact information

A 10-20 page writing sample in standard manuscript format (double spaced, 12 pt Times New Roman font, author name and page number in the header)

Looking forward to meeting some of you there!

Hydra Games Author Tricia Ballad ~ On Writing

What Tricia has to say about writing:

I’ve done a lot of things, and had half a dozen jobs, businesses, and projects over the years. All that dabbling was my way of hiding. I’ve wanted to write stories for a living since I was four years old, but some part of my psyche was convinced that responsible adults don’t get to have their dream job. Responsible adults go to work in the morning, do things that bore them to tears, come home and drink a beer or three. When everybody else is flipping mental burgers for a living, why should I get to sit around drinking coffee and writing stories? I still don’t have an answer for that question, except that it takes all kinds to make the world go around, and maybe writing stories – the one thing I’ve always been good at – is my contribution to the universe. I can’t imagine living in a world without stories, so somebody’s got to write them. Might as well be me!

Hydra Games Author Tricia Ballad’s Favorite Things

Yuuumm have to like a lady who loves coffee! Here’s Tricia Ballad on her favorite things!

The amazing, rich roasty smell when you open a jar of home-roasted coffee. It’s a little luxury to start the day. I love traveling – not the “16 hours in a car to sleep on Aunt Vera’s couch” travel, but the moment where you settle back in your seat on the plane, look out the window at the runway, and know that you have three or four hours with (literally!) nothing better to do than read a book. I’m a sucker for a great resort too! For me, it all comes back to the experience of stepping out of normal life, even for a moment. Real life is tough. I need to escape it every now and then! I think that’s why I write romance and fantasy.

Hydra Games Introduces ~ Tricia Ballad!

 

We’re pleased to introduce one of our module and novel writers – Tricia Ballad!

Tricia Ballad is probably insane. Rational people do not think they can homeschool children in four different grades all at the same time, and keep up with the laundry. People in full control of their faculties do not decide, in the midst of a large, high-need family, to write stories. Normal people sleep at 5am. Sane people do not slaughter ghouls at the kitchen table, or daydream about new and interesting ways to kill off their players. But Tricia Ballad has never been accused of sanity. She is obsessively organized, chronically sleep-deprived, and addicted to the creative rush of pulling characters out of thin air.

Hydra Games Author Shawna Romkey on Writing!

Getting in the way of Shawna's writing is probably not a wise idea...

With us today is Hydra Games author Shawna Romkey giving us some insight into her writing world

Shawna:

When I write I have to be alone so I don’t get disturbed. Having three dogs, a husband, and two boys makes this challenging, especially since they’re all quite needy and can’t seem to live without me for 5 minutes. I need quiet or mood music related to what I’m writing to be able to work. Other than that I can write at a desk, on the couch, in bed or wherever, as long as no one is around to interrupt me.

I’m inspired visually, so I have to have a picture or some fantasy art of something to write, and if I don’t I always feel something is missing. Then I’ll get a picture and everything will flow. I have an extensive Muses board on Pinterest for these stuck moments.

Author Shawna Romkey’s Favorite Things

Shawna & Apprentice On the Attack!

 

Love this ditty from Shawna Romkey on her favorite things!

Take it away Shawna!

“Sprinkles on donuts and smiles on dogs

Alternative rock, but I really hate frogs.

Extended editions of Lord of the Rings

These are a few of my favorite things.

Hobbits and Hogwarts and vamps that don’t shine,

Back off, Robert Downey Jr is mine!

George RR Martin’s Westrosian kings

These are a few of my favorite things

Pre painted minis and The Big Bang Theory

A positive response from an editor on my query

Xena and Firefly and horses with wings

These are a few of my favorite things

When the cooshee bites

When the stirge stings

When I can’t watch Breaking Bad

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I feel relatively glad!”

Free Book! Primal is Free Today in Kindle!

 

 

“Primal was addicting. Sexy and dangerous.” Amazon Reviewer

Our saucy, gritty urban fantasy novel, Primal, is free today! Even if you don’t have a Kindle Amazon has a free Cloud Reader that enables readers to read Kindle books on their computers.

Primal is book one in the Vengeance series – part of Primal Earth, a new urban fantasy RPG setting from Hydra Games.

Blurb:

Pursued by a ruthless crime lord after witnessing the murder of an FBI agent, Wrey must rebuild the life they stole from her. When she meets mysterious Arvon Night, her precious new life unravels as she’s thrust into a web of betrayal, lust and violence.

Arvon knows he must slay Wrey to keep his secret safe from those who hunt him. Each hour his enemies stalk closer, ready to kill.

Can Wrey’s powers of nature and spirit help her survive the yearning and dangerous Arvon and the tide of peril he brings with him? Or will an opportunistic hitman take advantage of them both?