Gail Z. Martin's Blog: Disquieting Visions, page 29

Excerpt from The Low Road

by Gail Z. Martin

My short story, The Low Road, will be in the new Spells and Swashbucklers anthology that launches at Balticon.  Here’s a short excerpt:

An Excerpt from The Low Road by Gail Z. Martin

Published in Spells and Swashbucklers, now available from DragonMoon Press

Despite our quest, my mood lifted as we left the gray North Atlantic for the warmer waters of the Caribbean.  We easily kept the merchant ship in our sights, with a plan to attack that night, before we reached Bermudian waters.  Yet even the warmer temperature and bright sunlight couldn’t drive away my sense of misgiving.  And the nearer we came to Bermuda, the more my magic tingled in the back of my mind.  There was something strange about these waters.  Growing up along the coast, I’d heard stories of ships lost to pirates and to the treacherous reefs.  There were dozens, maybe hundreds of ships that had gone down over the last few hundred years in the shipping lanes between Bermuda and the mainland.  Some blamed it on reefs while others cursed fickle winds and dangerous currents.  But as we sailed onward, I recognized another reason these waters had become a graveyard of ships.  Magic.

I could feel the wild magic on my skin, making the hairs on my arms rise.  It waxed and waned like the wind, swirled in eddies no one else could see, and slipped along the surface of the sea in places, racing the current.  It was a tinderbox, waiting for a spark.

“Do you think he knows we’re here?”  Coltt asked.

“More to the point—if he did know, would he care?”  I wasn’t sure what the limits were for the magic of those confounded boxes, or what type of magic it was.  The sooner they were off Lawry’s ship and onto ours, the happier I’d be.

While the Vengeance couldn’t outgun a warship, our guns were more than adequate for frightening a merchant ship into submission.  Adjusting our sails, we quickly pulled up alongside the Sea Lass, and readied our guns for a shot across their bow.  But as my men went to load the cannons, the Sea Lass slowed and came around, and as it did so, wooden panels in the sides opened up, baring the muzzles of twenty cannons.  That was five more cannon than the Vengeance carried, which wasn’t good.  We looked up to see Lawry smirking at us from the deck, which now brimmed with heavily armed pirates, not the passive merchants we expected.

Shots fired, close at hand.  I looked up to see that eight of the ten new sailors I had hired in Philadelphia stood armed, their flintlocks pointed at the rest of the crew. Grappling hooks flew through the air, pulling the Vengeance closer to the “merchant” ship as rope ladders were flung over the larger ship’s sides and dozens of invaders scurried down the ropes to land on the Vengeance’s deck.

“My sources were quick to tell me of your interest in my ship,”  Lawry taunted. “It didn’t take much to buy the loyalty of your newest crewmen.  You seemed quite fascinated with my expedition at the reception,” he said, fixing his gaze on me.  “You’re just in time to see the real show.”

Lawry’s pirates and the turncoat sailors prodded the rest of us to climb the rope ladders that hung from the sides of Lawry’s Sea Lass.  We were badly outnumbered and while we would have given them a fight for their money had we the chance to draw our guns, as it was, we were outmatched.

“Where are your divers?” I challenged Lawry.  “Is this really all about retrieving treasure from old shipwrecks?”

Lawry did not answer.  He sent the majority of his sailors and the traitors from my crew back to their posts with a jerk of his head.  Several armed guards herded most of my loyal crewmembers into the hold, while Lawry and three of his guards motioned for me, Coltt and two of my crew into his cabin.

There on the desk in his cabin sat the mirrored cube Coltt had spotted in Lawry’s room back in Charleston.  And as Lawry entered the cabin and locked the door behind him, I saw the small cube on its chain around his neck.  Lawry wore a triumphant smile, and the armed guards made him bold.

“Treasure is only part of it,” he said.  “Have you never heard the strange tales about these waters?  Even the Spaniards whisper about the number of ships that have gone missing and the odd things they’ve seen if they were lucky to pass this way and leave alive.  Some blame the currents and some say it’s the winds, but I know the truth of it,” Lawry said with a conspiratorial grin.  “It’s the magic.”

I remembered how my own powers had sensed the oddness of the magic in this place, how my nerves jangled and my skin crawled.  “Magic?” I said, wondering whether Lawry could sense my power.  I clamped down my shielding, just in case.

Lawry lifted the small cube on its chain and caressed it with his fingers.  “I intend to own these waters.  I’ll turn the wild magic to do my bidding, and when I am the master of this sea, I’ll have the power to take Bermuda for my own.  We’ll control this shipping lane and all who want to pass will pay tribute or be destroyed.  We’ll have gold aplenty from the wrecks, and time enough to loot them when our men aren’t waylaying ships.”

“How do you plan to do that?  There’s a British fort on Bermuda.  Magic or not, why would they just give up without a fight?”

Lawry’s smile broadened.  “Let me show you.”  He jerked his head, and two of his guards pushed one of my crewmen forward.  Lawry removed the cube necklace from around his neck and held it out toward the frightened hostage.  The mirrored surface of the cube began to shimmer and glow.  It flared, and for an instant, I thought I saw a reflection of the crewman’s terrified face reflected and distorted in its surface before the man fell down dead without a word.

Coltt and I surged forward to take Lawry, but the guards held us back.  He turned his cube on the second crewman, who met the same fate as the first.  This time, I was certain that I saw a reflection of his face on the small cube.

“What is that thing?”

Lawry fingered the cube fondly.  “A tool.  What matters more are the souls in my cache that amplify my magic, giving me the power to bend this region’s wild magic to my will.”  He walked over to the large cube and held the small cube out toward it.  Both cubes pulsed with a bright glow, and I felt a surge of old, strange magic as a flicker of light moved from the small cube to the large one.  Worse than that, in my mind, I heard both of my crewmen scream, and I knew in every fiber of my body that it was their souls held prisoner within that awful cube.

 

© Gail Z. Martin 2011, all rights reserved

After the Con

by

Crymsyn Hart

This past weekend I attended ConCarolina’s with my fellow bloggers, Tina McSwain, Gain Z. Martin, and J.F. Lewis. It was nice to see them and say hello since that doesn’t happen much. As much fun as I had hanging out with all the other authors and meeting such wonderful fans and new ones, I am still recovering. Who would think three days of talking would be tiring, but it is. Although it is exhausting, it also invigorated me to get back to writing.  I guess my muses got over eating their pot brownies and were tired of parting with the Kilingons and singing karaoke.

Once they recovered, they were at me like bears on honey and all they wanted to do was tell me their stories. Trying to slow them down these past couple of days has been rough, but I am managing. At the end of the month I’ll be at FandomFest in Louisville, KY and I’ll be doing the same and meeting new people. That is the glory of the conventions getting to meet wonderful people and hanging out with other who are of like minds and sometimes like muses.

Of course my muses are trying to tell me stories of what they did while I was at ConCarolinas, but I keep telling them, what happens at the Con stays at the Con.

Favorite Pets in Fiction

by Gail Z. Martin

Who are your favorite fictional pets?

I’m a pet-lover, so I enjoy pets that are written well in fiction.  I think for sheer number of fictional pets, the Harry Potter series probably holds a record, with all of Hagrid’s pets (Fang, Fluffy, Aragog, Buckbeak, and others) as well as Scabbers, Crookshanks, and all of the owls.  Data the Android had his pet cat on Next Generation, and Captain Kirk had the tribbles.  Dr. Who has K-9, and even Harry Dresden has pets.  Of course, in mystery series, cats seem to be represented more often than dogs, but sci-fi/fantasy seems to have some of both, with some otherworldly creatures thrown in for good measure.  In my own Chronicles of the Necromancer series, Tris Drayke has two wolfhounds and a mastiff, and a perk of being a summoner is that you know when the ghosts of your departed pets are still with you.

Which Comes First, the Author or the Muse?

by

Crymsyn Hart

Today I have spent most of the day stuffing goody bags with candies and other fun things for this upcoming weekend. I’ll be attending ConCarolinas to hang out with all the other awesome guests and some of my fellow blog members.

While stuffing the bags, plot badgers started rooting around in my brain and a new story bloomed. I hate it when that happens. I think my muses have been eating too many of those pot brownies that I’m not supposed to know about. My muses claim they get together and discuss plot ideas and are relieved when I finally start writing something. I don’t see how they are relieved. I finish writing a book and my brain goes on lock down for at least a week and I can’t even think about sitting at a keyboard. Although my muses end up banging at the bars and want out. So I think my muse’s perspective on things is a little skewed.

She claims they attend workshops to inform me on how to write better, but it’s really me doing all the leg work and researching to make sure I have the details correct if I’m writing on a subject I don’t know.  She thinks she can hide all the drunken parties with the werewolves and gnomes that live inside my mind. Well, she’s wrong. I know all about them. They can’t hide anything from me. *Evil Laugh*

So makes me ponder a question.

Which comes first, the author or the muse?

What do you think?

 

Paranormally Speaking

By

Tina R. McSwain

CAPS is Featured in the June Issue of Charlotte Magazine

We are proud to announce that CAPS is featured in the June issue of Charlotte Magazine.

We would like to express our thanks to Writer, Michelle Boudin, Charlotte Magazine Editor and Staff, and Photographer, Adam Whitlow, for including us in their publication.

Tina R. McSwain, Founder & Director,

The Charlotte Area Paranormal Society (CAPS)

http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Charlotte-Magazine/June-2012/CAPS-Charlottes-Own-Ghostbuster/

Who are your favorite Villains?

by Gail Z. Martin

We just finished up a fun session in my Thrifty Author Meetup group about villains.  Everyone had fun talking about who their favorites were and why, and then we hashed out how to create good villains in our own writing.

In no particular order, here are some of the villains who hit our Top Villains list:

Darth Vader (before Episodes I – III)

Dolores Umbridge (everyone agreed she out-eviled Voldemort)

Good ol’ Voldy

Syndrome (from The Incredibles)

Randall Flagg (from The Stand)

The Joker (voted best nemesis of Batman’s)

Angelique (from the original Dark Shadows)

Sauron (LOTR)

Dracula (the Bram Stoker version)

Satan (as portrayed in Piers Anthony’s Incarnations of Immortality series)

I know we mentioned more, so if you were at the meeting and you know which ones I’ve missed, or you just want to nominate some of your own, please add to the list!

 

Updates on my convention tour: Ravencon

by Gail Z. Martin

Once again, Ravencon in Richmond VA was a fantastic event.  From the steampunk Darth Vader to the wealth of panels to choose from, to the great dealer room, it’s always a well-run con and a darn fine party.

Personal panel schedules were not available when I checked in, so I started the con by showing up at the wrong panel (they let me stay), but I had a blast anyhow.  One of my favorite panels was on the “magical middle class”—characters in Harry Potter who weren’t main characters, but who kept the world running.  It was the perfect topic for a panel, and we had a full room with people who were not afraid to participate—which is ideal for those of us upon the panel who don’t want to do all the talking.

One of the evening highlights was an invitation-only scotch tasting party where I learned a lot about both scotch and Scotland.  As usual, the Capclave and Barflies parties were both well attended and great places for free-wheeling discussions.  And although I didn’t make it to the Belle Morte concert, I have it on good authority that it was fantastic, as was the masquerade, which I did attend.

Next up is Balticon, where I have a short story in the Spells and Swashbucklers anthology that will be having its launch party.  I hope to see you there!

The World According to a Muse

By

Crymsyn Hart

Hello world!

Wow, I can’t believe I’m actually getting to break out of my author’s mind and get a chance to address all of you. It isn’t like my author keeps me chained up and tortures me. Although, there are certain times when my fellow muses and I do have to attend workshops so we can accurately inform our author how to use certain equipment when she writes about it. Those can be exceptionally fun and always breed more entertainment and shenanigans than our author can handle so we restrict her access. But I can tell you that ten muses running around in a BDSM dungeon, set up in some mountain retreat, filled with werewolves and gnomes makes for an excellent weekend party. But shh…we can’t let on to our author that we get drunk and frolic naked. She still thinks we’re all sophisticated sitting around collaborating on ideas all the time.

Of course, there are times we discuss ideas, but that is usually when we are all playing poker and munching out on pizza. I get my best inspiration when I’ve had too many pot brownies. Our author doesn’t imbibe, but what goes on in her mind is a well kept secret. So the current ideas we have lined up for her are starting to pile up. It’s getting rather crowded in our cramped quarters, tucked away in the paradise of her thoughts.

However, when she finally gets to one we will all have some relief, but then the partying gets to start all a new. Until then, I’m going to hide out and munch on some delicious brownies.

Ta!

Paranormally Speaking

By

Tina R. McSwain

Being more than you can be.  CAPS and I are paranormal investigators and researchers first and foremost.  We strive to help those folks who live in a haunted house or otherwise experience the paranotmal and are frightened by it.  However, when you find yourself with such a captive group as the team members of CAPS, we often find other outlets for our talents.

We volunteer our time with the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina.  And, in the next few wkeks, you can do the same.  Like NASCAR?  Want to help the hungry?  Then, read on…

AARP Million Meals packing event needs 3000 volunteers for this special program.

Volunteers will get the opportunity to pack a million meals for seniors living in poverty. The event will take place May 24 – 25 at the Charlotte Convention Center and will be coordinated by Second Harvest Food Bank. Celebrity Race Car Driver Jeff Gordon will be there packing meals and will be working side by side with the volunteers for this event.

AARP and AARP Foundation, in collaboration with the charitable organization Outreach, Inc., are bringing together thousands of volunteers over the course of two days with a goal to package one million nutritious meals through Drive to End Hunger. Be a part of this extraordinary effort to help fight older adult hunger in your community and across North Carolina. The meals packaged will help feed older people in North Carolina. Together we can leave hunger in the dust.

Jeff Gordon, four-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion and driver of the #24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, will be at the Convention Center on Thursday 5/24 to participate. Also participating are tennis legend Martina Navratilova on Thursday 5/24 and Friday 5/25, and Host of CBS NFL Today James “JB” Brown on Friday 5/25.

All participating volunteers will receive a t-shirt at check-in, on the day of the event.

Please consider volunteering for this event!

Thank you!!

Tina R. McSwain, Founder & Director

The Charlotte Area Paranormal Society (CAPS)

Value Beyond the Book

by Gail Z. Martin

Think of your book as the ice breaker for an ongoing conversation between the author and the reader. If the book has made an impact on the reader, it’s only natural for him or her to want to continue the conversation, ask follow-up questions, or go deeper. That’s why it’s important for your site to give readers something they won’t find anywhere else—extra value.

“Value” can take many different forms. You could have a forum area where readers can post questions and you can respond, or where readers can discuss the book with each other. You could post extra material that didn’t fit in the book, or updated information that became available after the book went to press. You can add your voice and personality through blogging, audio and video so that readers who can’t see you in person at an event still have the feeling that they’ve met you. Most of all, you can extend what it was that they really liked about the book by giving them more of it.

For a non-fiction author, this can include posting new tips, links to additional resources, quizzes or research results. For a fiction author, it might mean creating new content not available elsewhere, or posting content first on your own site to reward faithful readers. Authors who have a new book in the works definitely want to let readers, reporters and reviewers know, and readers who enjoyed the first book will find it valuable to know that there’s more good stuff to come.

One way to provide this value is through free downloads and an email newsletter. A free download could be a bonus chapter, brand-new article or report, but anything that can be delivered via a web link or email is a possibility, so long as the reader would consider it to be valuable. If you ask visitors who want to receive the free download to enter an email address, you are now building a permission-based mailing list (otherwise known as an opt-in list).

It’s important to have permission before sending out group emails (such as announcements or newsletters) because you can get in a lot of trouble if your emails aren’t wanted and get reported as “spam.” The Internet community takes a very dim view of unwanted emails, and if your emails generate too many complaints, you may find your site taken down or your email disabled.

When visitors choose to enter their email address in order to get a free downloadable bonus, they are giving you permission to use that email to stay in touch. You are also making an implicit promise not to bombard them with sales pitches and junk. Email announcements and newsletters should give readers the option to unsubscribe easily.

Your opt-in list is a valuable tool for staying in touch with readers, and your website helps you to build your list and deliver the downloadable bonus items. Once you have a growing opt-in list, you can use your email newsletter to remind readers of upcoming live and online events, new books, related products, classes and speaking engagements. Treat your opt-in list like a precious treasure and only send information that readers will find valuable.