R.A. Goli's Blog, page 6

Faces in the Bark

My story FACES IN THE BARK has been published in Things in the Well’s ‘Trickster’s Treats – Tales from the Pumpkin Patch #2’. A fun Halloween themed magazine with profits from sales going to the charity: Women’s Community Shelters Ltd.

Stories are between 666 – 1000 words and fall under one of these 6 categories: Halloween House, Pumpkin Head, Trick or Treat!, Haunted Forest and Trees!, Bob-Apple and Fancy Dress.

Faces in the Bark is included in the Haunted Forest and Trees! category and follows two twelve-year-olds who decide to cross an urban forest to go trick-or-treating in the more affluent side of town.

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R.A. Goli Interview by Clarendon House

As you know, R. A. Goli’s short story collection Unfettered was released a couple of days ago. (You don’t know? Where have you been?)

You can get the amazing but very Adults Only collection here at Lulu, kindle version coming soon. And now, in a special ‘behind the scenes’ Interview, you can meet the author herself!

Welcome Roberta! And thanks for answering these questions for us!

1. How long have you been writing?

I don’t remember when I started, but I remember writing a lot as a young teenager, often in classes that weren’t English related. No wonder I’m so bad at math! As I got older, I only wrote sporadically, and never seemed to finish anything. I always talked about writing, but somehow, I’d stopped making time for it. It was only a couple of years ago when I had a long break from work that I got back into writing on a regular basis and I feel like I’m doing alright so far.

2. What in particular attracts you to the genres you write in?

I predominantly write fantasy and horror, so it’s no surprise that these are the genres I read mostly too. I’d always loved the shock value of the horrifying and gruesome death, or the quickening of my heart at the creep in the dark coming closer… closer. And what’s not to love about fantasy? Whole worlds are created, there are battles, and magic, and beasts unheard of in our realm. It can be violent, sexy, heartwarming, funny, but best is its ability to transport you to that other world and make you believe it’s real.

3. How does a story take shape with you?

I perform a summoning ritual and small black fluffy creatures crawl out of the ducted-vacuum port and whisper ideas to me. All they ask in return is for me to vacuum more often. They feed on dog and cat hair and say they can’t believe how much there is in my house.

Other times I find inspiration in the call for submission I’ve chosen to write for and the story unfolds as I go.

4. What are your most productive writing habits?

Ha ha ha. Oh, this is a serious question? Well, let’s see. I do my best to write or do something writing related most days, though if I’m working a lot of shifts at my day job, this plan falls by the wayside. Trying to write a little on most days is a good way to keep at it. I don’t say every day because I believe it’s okay to have a day off, even from your dream.

5. What is the main thing you would like readers to take away from reading your collection?

I hope they’re entertained and that I manage to surprise them. This collection is a mix of genres but hopefully the readers will enjoy all the stories and some tales will stay with them long after they’ve put the book down.

6. Tell us about your novel.

There was a call for fairy tale inspired novella-length stories and I was drawn to Snow White. The Eighth Dwarf serves as a prequel, following Tiberius, a dissatisfied dwarf who forms an alliance with a powerful witch. The lure of money, titles and power leads Tiberius to perform increasingly violent tasks at the witch’s insistence. He’s thrust into the life he thought he wanted, but after meeting Snow White, he begins to wonder if the cost is too high.

7. What are your writing goals and ambitions?

Short-term goals are to continue writing short stories and I’m planning on writing another fairy tale novella or two. I’m building up to novel length. Like most writers, I hope to one day actually make a living writing what I enjoy, but let’s leave the fantasy to my stories.

8. What advice would you give to other writers?

Write a lot. Read a lot. Get yourself a good beta-reader. It takes a lot of practice but you will get better. Be open to critiques or suggestions, good beta-readers and editors will help you improve your stories. Don’t compare yourself to great/famous authors, that’ll just make you feel inferior.

9. Do you have a favorite or couple of favorite stories from the collection?

I think The Seer is a very good story, I also really like Clash of Goddesses and Winter’s Widow. I genuinely feel for Gothel in Hidden, I enjoy the tension and gore in Dead and Breakfast and A Fool’s Errand makes me laugh. So those would be my top six I guess.

10. What would you be doing if you weren’t a writer?

I’d continue working my day job as a veterinary nurse. It’s quite separate from my writing, except for that one poem where the vet (or vet nurse) deals a special kind of revenge on her cheating ex-boyfriend.

Thanks Roberta! Keep writing!

In case you missed the first link, you can get a copy of Roberta’s spicy collection here – but a word of advice: don’t read it alone at night…

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Pulp Appeal : Clash of the Titans (1981)

Broadswords and Blasters

(Editors’ Note: R.A. Goli is an Australian writer of horror, fantasy, erotic, and speculative short stories. In addition to writing, her interests include reading, gaming, the occasional walk, and annoying her dog, two cats, and husband. Her short story collection Unfettered is currently available at Lulu. Her fantasy novella, The Eighth Dwarf is available at [image error][image error]Amazon and [image error][image error]Fantasia Divinity Magazine. Check out her numerous short story publications at her  website [image error][image error]https://ragoliauthor.wordpress.com/ or stalk her on [image error][image error]Facebook)

Clash of the Titans is an epic tale of Olympian gods, mythological monsters and heroic mortals. Released in 1981, it stars Laurence Olivier as Zeus (Spartacus, 1960), Harry Hamlin as Perseus, (who later goes on to star in LA LAW), Maggie Smith as Thetis (Downton Abbey), and Ursula Andress as Aphrodite (who only has one line).

The movie opens with Acrisius, King of Argos, condemning his daughter, Danae and her infant son…

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You Better Watch Out

My story YOU BETTER WATCH OUT has been published in Thirteen O’Clock Press’ ‘Haunted Holidays Anthology’. It’s 2-books-in-one! Over fifty depraved and delectable stories; one half is Halloween Haunts, the other is Blood on the Tree.

The first half of the anthology is dedicated to All Hallows’ Eve and all the candy collecting and ghostly shenanigans one would expect on such an evening. The second half is full of carols and carnage. This isn’t your typical Merry Christmas.

My Christmas horror flash-fiction piece about two boys who haven’t had a visit from Santa for a number of years, and are pleased when St Nick comes calling. But it’s not presents they want this time.

Available in print at Lulu. Kindle version coming soon.

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Unfettered Launch Day!!!

Today is the launch of my first short story collection, UNFETTERED! Published by Clarendon House Publications.

316 pages, 31 stories…

A bird succubus that comes in a storm; a bed-and-breakfast from Hell; secret histories from before fairy tales and myths; an asylum from beyond your darkest nightmares…

This is a collection not for the squeamish or faint hearted – be prepared to have your spine tingled: this is not a book to be read alone, at night. But here you’ll also meet wonders, including fairies who wield snow and a horse that rides on the air; you’ll participate in a mermaid orgy and see how sensuality can lead to predicting the future.

Including the award-winning story ‘A Flicker of Time’, this collection displays the creative talents of the Australian author R. A. Goli – a rising star in the fiction world.

It’s available in print at Lulu now with kindle version coming soon.

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Silent Conversations

My flash fiction piece SILENT CONVERSATIONS has been published in published by Clarendon House Publications in FIREBURST: The Inner Circle Writers’ Group Second Flash Fiction Anthology 2018.  The story is about a woman trying to communicate with her Grandmother in the cemetery, via an Ouija board.

“In this unique collections of over sixty short stories, you will find tales from the amusing to the overwhelming, from the earnest to the cute. You can be intrigued, surprised, and moved.”

Available at Lulu (print) and Amazon (kindle) version coming soon.

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Unfettered……coming soon

316 pages, 31 stories…

A bird succubus that comes in a storm; a bed-and-breakfast from Hell; secret histories from before fairy tales and myths; an asylum from beyond your darkest nightmares…

This is a collection not for the squeamish or faint hearted – be prepared to have your spine tingled: this is not a book to be read alone, at night. But here you’ll also meet wonders, including fairies who wield snow and a horse that rides on the air; you’ll participate in a mermaid orgy and see how sensuality can lead to predicting the future.

Including the award-winning story ‘A Flicker of Time’, this collection displays the creative talents of the Australian author R. A. Goli – a rising star in the fiction world.

Bookmark this page and stay tuned for further announcements:

http://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/anthologies

 

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The Pied Piper of Essex

My short story THE PIED PIPER OF ESSEX has been published in the ‘Spooky Isles Book of Horror Anthology’ along with my non-fiction article about the Ratman of Southend which was the inspiration for my story.

The Ratman of Southend is an urban legend about a homeless man who was beaten nearly to death and is said to haunt the underpass at the Queensway. The anthology is a collection of  scary and disturbing short fiction of British and Irish horror, paired with their inspirations, be they real-life historical events or myth/folklore.

“From the UK and Ireland’s favorite horror and paranormal website, this first volume of the Spooky Isles Book of Horror features twenty stories and essays from eighteen different authors. Well-established dark literary voices and new writers explore the UK and Ireland’s darkest horror and folklore, from long-dead serial killers to malignant fairies, evil cults, spontaneous human combustion, vengeful dogs and black dogs…

… welcome to the Spooky Isles.”

Available at Amazon, The Book Depository, Kobo, Nook, Scribd and Googleplay Books. iBooks coming soon!

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Interview with R.A. Goli on Smiles Stiles

Check out this brief interview of mine in the Smiles Stiles August newsletter.

Alright, I am a huge Disney fan myself, but I can’t say that I recall the presence of an eighth dwarf. Roberta, please share with us a bit about this fairy tale of yours.

Tiberius is an annoyed and bitter man who feels like the world owes him something. By chance he meets a witch and an unbalanced partnership begins. Tiberius is thrust into the life he thought he wanted but starts to wonder if the cost is too high.

What inspired you to write this story?

Fantasia Divinity Magazine had a call for fairy-tale inspired stories, and Snow White was on the list. I’m not sure why I was drawn to that story in particular, but an idea for an eighth dwarf started forming. I wondered what his role would’ve been and what happened to him; as we all know, there are only seven dwarfs. I like a prequel to a well-known story. I remember reading Wicked, by Gregory Maguire and thinking what a great idea to tell the story from the witch’s perspective. Wish I’d thought of it.

If you’d like to find out what my favorite book was as a child, or what my writing pet peeves are, visit Smiles Stiles My Two Cents newsletter.

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Clash of Goddesses

My fantasy story CLASH OF GODDESSES has been published in Fantasia Divinity’s ‘Beneath Yggdrasil’s Shadow: Forgotten Goddesses of Norse Mythology Anthology’. Norse goddess and Frigga’s messenger, Gna’ is sent on a mission to negotiate with the goddess of the underworld, Hela.

Print edition available at the Fantasia Divinity store, kindle and print versions available from Amazon soon.

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