Raven Bower's Blog, page 7

Hydra Games Introduces Shawna Romkey!

And the dice tell me… *peers at them* Nothing! (Okay okay a mutation of a line from Willow – couldn’t help it )

The dice really tell me that we’re proud to introduce another of our Hydra Games writers – Shawna Romkey!

Shawna grew up in around farms in the heart of Missouri but went to the University of Kansas, was raised in the US but now lives on the ocean in Nova Scotia with her husband, two sons, two rescue dogs and one overgrown puppy from hell. She’s a non-conformist who follows her heart.

She has her BA in creative writing from the University of Kansas where one of her plays was chosen by her creative writing professor to be produced locally, and two of her short stories were published in a university creative arts handbook. She earned her MA in English from Central Missouri State University where she wrote a novel as her thesis.

She’s taught English at the university and secondary levels for close to twenty years and can’t quite fathom how all of her students have grown up, yet she’s managed to stay the same. She’s a huge geek and gamer, having played since AD&D 2nd edition, and she still plays and runs a weekly Pathfinder game. She’s a fan of Xena, Buffy and all kick ass women, and loves to write stories that have strong female characters.

Her debut novel, Speak of the Devil, launches March 2013 with Crescent Moon Press.

Eden’s Favorite Things

Our Hydra Team Author Eden’s Favorite things:

The Fall: This brilliant movie has just about everything you need to know about writing: great character creation, fantastic play on tropes and a good twist. An epic tale from a stuntman in a hospital sweeps a young girl into a world of danger, bravery and betrayal. Soon, the tale collapses, as the bedridden stuntman’s depression starts chewing away at the foundations of all fairy tales. The Fall is an aesthetic experience second to none, The Fall is a must see for any writers out there. Trailer:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO0LYc...

The Book of the New Sun: What’s this you ask? The best Sci-Fi book ever written. Yes, you heard me. No apologies, no second guesses. The sheer scope of Gene Wolfe’s masterpiece is staggering. The writing – masterful. The characters? They’ll haunt your dreams and nightmares. In a Far Earth, humanity has collapsed from its state as a solar empire. All that remains are forgotten memories of technology and dominance. But amongst the oppressed a voice stirs and a prophecy is soon to be fulfilled. Will it be doom or salvation? Get this book. Read this book. It will change how you write and understand sci-fi forever. http://www.wolfewiki.com/pmwiki/pmwik...

Twilight Imperium: This is the motherload of all board games. Twilight Imperium pits players for the dominion of the galaxy. It features intricate resource management, cut-throat politics, intense space combat and over 15 unique races, each with its own abilities and strategies. This is truly the crowning glory of board games and a challenge to every experienced player out there. I game with a veteran group of 3 other grizzled players and let me tell you: the tensions run high as we battle each time for control of a fading empire! http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edg...

Eden’s Thoughts On Writing

Our torture subject for this week, Hydra Games writer Eden Kupermintz, shares some thoughts on writing.

In his words:

Writing is an individual experience. Some describe it as a flow, others as an inner voice and yet more as a necessity. I don’t think that there’s one quote that can encompass the magic and mystery that is the writing process. However, one of the undeniable masters of writing and sci-fi is Roger Zelazny. I shall let him speak in my stead:

“Occasionally, there arises a writing situation where you see an alternative to what you are doing, a mad, wild gamble of a way for handling something, which may leave you looking stupid, ridiculous or brilliant — you just don’t know which. You can play it safe there, too, and proceed along the route you’d mapped out for yourself. Or you can trust your personal demon who delivered that crazy idea in the first place.

Trust your demon.”

Close your eyes. Breathe slowly. Soon enough, you’ll hear the demon speaking to you. Write down what he says. It’s actually you talking and it’s the best writing guide you’ll ever have.

Introducing the Hydra Games Team ~ Eden Kupermintz

 

We’ll be introducing one of our Team Members each week – decided by die roll of course – feel free to say hi or comment here or at our Hydra Games FB Page.

Eden Kupermintz is 25 and is working furiously towards never dying. He lives in Tel Aviv, Israel where the choking heat sends him to his writing, in his air-conditioned room. Eden has been reading Science Fiction and Fantasy for the past 13 years and writes poetry, short stories, game systems and settings. He has a B.A in Philosophy and History and is currently starting his M.A studies in History. Expect epic battles, court assassinations and a flare for the historic.

In his free time Eden loves playing overly complicated board games (record playing time: 3 days), worming through his 500 book library and bothering all his friends into reading some obscure Phillip K. Dick title or an Indie sci-fi film. Standing tall at 6”5’, Eden uses his physical size to subdue his enemies into a cowed existence before he wins their heart with a poetry quote or a timely philosophical musing. When he’s not busy vanquishing foes, Eden holds a Brown Belt in Shotokan Karate and has experience in Judo and fencing.

Primal ~ Finalist in the Ariana Cover Awards!

 

We have several fantastic announcements to make. The first one is that the cover art for Primal is a finalist for the 2013 Ariana Award! Congratulations to artist Karri Klawiter!

Our team at Hydra Games is locked in and smoking on the content. Lots of goodies processing for our launch in 2013.

Our team members will be announced throughout the next few weeks at the Hydra Games FB page. Join us there next week as we celebrate our authors!

Since our team is set, we’re now closed to submissions. However, we will be having an exclusive Open Call soon – details to be announced.

 

 

Movie Review ~ Creature

 

Title: Creature

Director: Fred M. Andrews

Genre: Horror/Creature Feature

Rating: 3 bats

For its budget and lack of good FX, this was a fun movie! It’s set out in the swamps with lots of murky water and mud. The cast played well off of each other and there was a varied set of voices that kept the movie chugging along.

The plot was straight forward, with no unexpected twists but that’s good for this type of movie. It simply tried to be a fun creature film and succeeded.

I particularly liked who won at the end (you’ll have to watch it to see), even though we later find it’s a partial win, but still it’s uplifting when the character you’ve been rooting for scores!

The monster looked a bit unbelievable but, hey, not every movie has a blockbuster budget. For what they had, they did a fair shake with it.

 

 

Rolling Initiative at Hydra Games! ~ RPG Opportunities

 

It’s exciting times at Hydra Publications!

I’m pleased and honored to announce that I’ve accepted the position of Lead Designer and Head of Hydra Games Development! It’s been a life-long dream of mine to create fantastic worlds for GMs and Players to explore and bleed in    So to say I’m bouncing off the walls of the Lair is an understatement!

We’re in the process of building our team and designing the Hydra Shared-Worlds. I’m beyond excited to announce that our shared-world for Hydra Games will be Primal Earth, based off  our Vengeance urban fantasy series! We’re also building a fantasy world rife with chaos!

Many of our Team Positions are already filled, but I still have a slim slot of positions to be filled. I’m interested primarily in:

Module writers for Primal Earth and our fantasy world.

Novel writers for our shared worlds.

If interested, please send a query letter and a 10-20 page writing sample in standard manuscript format to: raven(at)hydrapublications(dot)com

We’re also interested in fantasy and urban fantasy artists for creating and designing artwork for modules, world handbooks and cover art for novels. If interested, please contact our Hydra Art Director, Desiree Finkbeiner  at art(at)hydrapublications(dot)com

 

Rags Beneath (book 3 of the Apparitions Series) ~ Released in eBook!

 

Woohoo!

Lain and I are proud to announce that Rags Beneath has been launched in Kindle form! The  Nook edition is forthcoming and the paperback is due for release in September!

For your enjoyment, here’s the blurb and short excerpt!

Fog in Munising Bay

 

A family vanishes while sailing on Lake Superior with no sign of wreckage, no S.O.S and no bodies. A curse is unleashed by an intrepid team of shipwreck hunters, releasing a crew of vengeful spirits.

Desperate and his world spinning out of control, Sheriff Trace Sinclare calls upon the one woman capable of granting him closure. Unfortunately, his call for aid puts Bailey at the forefront of a brutal fight for life and justice.

Upon Superior’s haunted shores Bailey faces the fury of a ghost scorned and in order to survive and save her friends, she must discover the truth behind a tragic tale of lost love.

 

Ok, so it's not Thor, but it is the Hellhound in Lake Superior, close enough

Excerpt:

Cold. An endless cold that never began and never ended. It stretched throughout her memory as if it had been an eternal part of her.

Silence. The silence of an unmarked grave. It was a silence so great it was broken only by the creaks and groans of her coffin. A coffin buried in a grave unknown by those of her blood that still roamed the land above, alive and breathing. No one visited a forgotten grave. No one spoke prayers to release her soul from its hellish fate.

How many years had it been since she’d known anything but those dreaded companions of cold and silence? Forever.

Yet today she felt it. Felt her. It was a tingling vibration, not so far away. The breath of life blew so close. So close. The breath of freedom. The breath of revenge.

Friday’s Five Faves ~ Weekend Views!

 

Grave Encounters ~ In this horror flick, the stars of a paranormal-investigation TV show spend the night in a derelict psychiatric hospital, hoping to uncover what’s been going bump in the night. As their cameras roll, they find themselves trapped — and hunted.

See my review here.

 

 

 

 

The Woman in Black ~ Dispatched by his boss to an isolated seaside village to tie up a recently deceased client’s affairs, a young London lawyer finds himself in a community grappling with dark secrets — and a haunting presence with a sinister agenda.

See my review here.

 

 

 

 

 

Cutthroat Island ~ Ahh, the 1600s, when the men were daring…and so were the women. Geena Davis and Matthew Modine deliver nonstop action and adventure in this swashbuckling saga of ruthless pirates, buried treasure and bloodthirsty betrayal. A pirate’s beautiful daughter (Davis) inherits command of her father’s ship. She and her crew set sail to avenge his death and lay claim to the treasure of Cutthroat Island.

Raven’s note ~ nothing mind-bogglingly new here but it’s a lot of fun to watch. If you liked Pirates of the Caribbean, this might be an interesting way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

 

 

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Tomb Raider ~ Based on the popular video game of the same name, director Simon West’s adventure places English aristocrat Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie), skilled in hand-to-hand combat, in the middle of a battle with a secret society. The shapely archaeologist moonlights as a tomb raider to recover lost antiquities and meets her match in the evil Powell (Iain Glen), who’s in search of a powerful relic. Jon Voight appears as Lara’s dearly departed dad.

Raven’s note ~ I admit, I’m a sucker for this type of movie    And I simply loved the Lara Croft character.

 

Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life ~In director Jan de Bont’s adventure sequel, thrill-seeking archaeologist Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie) journeys to an underwater temple, where she finds a sphere that contains a map pointing to the mythical Pandora’s box. But the orb is promptly stolen by Chen Lo (Simon Yam), the leader of a Chinese crime syndicate with ties to a maniac who wants to use the box as a doomsday weapon. Can Croft prevent them from destroying the world?

Raven’s note ~ I want them to make a third *sniff sniff*

Aaron Ritchey ~ Trouble with Sagging Middles? There Are No Middles, Grasshopper

This is a fantastic guest post by author Aaron Ritchey! Take it away Aaron!

 

 

For a long time, every novel I wrote became a dumping ground for cool ideas, and where did I stick these gems of self-indulgence?  In the middle.  I’d stuff books full of cool little things that didn’t support the story arc or the character arcs.

Ah, those heady days of failure and despair.  I miss them, writing books no one could read.  Well, I had two hearty friends who would weather through all that cool nothing, but only two.

Story, by Robert McKee, changed my writing life.  I left the world of seat-of-your-pants writing to become a wanna-be plotter.  I still write seat-of-your-pants, but I start out with a map of my story, and I just adore the three-act structure.

I’m big, huge, climactic sort of guy.  I like the eye-bleeding, soul-crushing, world-destroying climax and the three-act story structure gives you at least three climaxes—end of Act I, end of Act II, end of Act III.  Queue explosions.

With the three-act structure, there is no real middle because you are always building toward the next climax.  And if you are really good, you slam in a reversal right there in the middle that changes everything!  I did that in my debut novel, The Never Prayer, by a big reveal.  In the middle, I revealed who the villain of the book really was.  And once the reader hits that part, the whole book changes.

Let’s take another example from probably the tightest story I know, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.   And you thought with all my talk of world-destroying climaxes, I would do something with more bazookas, but really, Pride and Prejudice has a ton of conflict and climaxes without a single gun (or zombie).

Not sure if Jane Austen followed the hallowed three-act structure, but look what she does in the middle of the book.  Elizabeth Bennett refuses to marry Mr. Darcy, which is like taking a winning lottery ticket and ripping it into pieces.  It’s a game changer and it changes everything we think we know about Mr. Darcy.  It’s a reversal and a reveal.  Mr. Darcy was in love with Elizabeth Bennett the whole time!  Shocking.

Like with any good reversal/reveal, things can never be the same, and I love the tension that follows when Elizabeth runs into Mr. Darcy at Pemberley.  And before we know it, we are heading toward the end of Act II where Elizabeth’s hopes of ever being with Mr. Darcy are dashed by her stupid little sister Lydia.

Like I said before, if you get your story down into three acts, there is no middle because each act will have its own structure of inciting incident, growing conflict, and climax.  And it’s funny but generally the story is going to want a reversal/reveal in the middle of Act II.  Stories, I believe, grow organically and the ideas will come through following the process.  It’s cool, strange a little, but stories want that kind of structure, and the more skilled you are, the more you can really slam something in the middle that is completely unexpected.

So in thinking of your work-in-progress, what secret can you keep hidden until the middle that will change everything?  What obstacle can you throw at your hero that will lead to the dark moment in the book?  What character can suddenly turn rogue and villainous?  That Mr. Wickham, what an a-hole.

Above all, trust the story.  It will give you what you need.  And keep a notebook for all your cool ideas because if you write long enough, you can incorporate them in a little at a time.  You wouldn’t want to dump all of your cool into one story!

 

Aaron Ritchey Bio: YA Paranormal author Aaron Michael Ritchey has penned a dozen manuscripts in his 20 years as a writer.  When he isn’t slapping around his muse, Aaron cycles to look fabulous, works in medical technologies, and keeps his family in silks and furs.  His first novel, The Never Prayer, dropped March of 2012 from Crescent Moon Press.

For more about me and The Never Prayer, you can visit us both at www.aaronmritchey.com.  And of course, I’m on Facebook, as is the book at http://www.facebook.com/TheNeverPrayer.  And I tweet – @aaronmritchey.   If you are at all curious about the novel, our friends at Amazon.com would love for you to visit them!