Gary F. Vanucci's Blog, page 16
June 2, 2012
Last of Maturation Process for KDP Select!
Today is the last day to claim MATURATION PROCESS for FREE! Start
your journey into the Realm of Ashenclaw today and sample a bit of
Wothlondia Rising!
It can be downloaded for free on any of the following AMAZON sites
United States UK Germany France Italy Spain
Join me @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a new Writer's Circle that must be seen--a
collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published fantasy
authors with much to give both now and in the future!
All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here
See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!
Please visit MY HOME PAGE
to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase
my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short
stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC
has in store in the future!
All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.
May 30, 2012
Twitter Tips and Tricks (To Avoid)
As I approach my lofty goal of 5,000 twitter followers in one year (Joined July 4th, 2011), I wanted to share some twitter tips for those of you who may be new to the whole thing.
I love the twitter follow-unfollow trick to try to inflate your numbers. People follow you and then a few days later, unfollow you, thinking you wont see or find out. People...we know. Don't do it.
With the amount of twitter apps, products and programs out there, we will find out soon enough. I'm not going to name any of the programs, but suffice to say there are a few and they are free for the most part. Anyone that unfollows me will also be unfollowed, too. Just FYI. So, my advice: Unfollow at your own risk.
Also, the True-tweet validation thing...I don't do it anymore. If you require authentication, I'm just not going to follow you. It's nothing personal, I just don't have the time and energy to do it all. I do follow most everyone back who follows me. Unless I find that you are a spammer or a 'team follow back' or something like that.
Any artist, writer, reader, musician, actor or wanna-be-whatever, I will follow you back!
And one more thing...if someone doesn't follow you back after 2 hours, don't unfollow them if you can help it. Give someone a reasonable amount of time to follow you back before assuming they don't want to.
I hope this has been enlightening to my friends in the twitter-verse and those would-be-tweeters attempting to enter said lands.
Please use twitter safely and avoid drinking and typing. Maybe.
Thanks for listening to my rant.Oh, And MATURATION PROCESS will be FREE
again for the final two days of the KDP Select this Friday &
Saturday (May 31 & Junes 1st) for those who missed it. Enjoy!
All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here !
See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!
Please visit MY HOME PAGE
to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase
my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short
stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC
has in store in the future!
Photo from Stock.xchng
All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.
May 27, 2012
Last Day of FREE eBook!
Last day to claim a *FREE* eBook! Begin your journey into the Realm of Ashenclaw today!
Happy Memorial Day Weekend All!
United States UK Germany France Italy Spain
Elec and Adok by William Kenney
As they crept
forward again, they finally caught a glimpse the source of the snoring—a giant!
The thing was
massive, easily reaching more than twenty feet in height, and surely weighing in
excess of one thousand pounds. There were animal furs covering most of its
lower half, while its chest and upper torso were bare skin, bristling with
coarse hair and corded muscles.
As they neared
the sleeping giant, Elec noticed that it had the widest jaw he’d ever witnessed
on a living creature. He had seen ogres before, raiding his village once after
they had somehow crossed the waters of Sunrise Bay to attack them, but they
were reminiscent of children when compared to this giant! It was balding with
only a tuft of auburn hair upon the top of its head and a scruffy clump on
either side of its jaw, framing its face. It was somewhat bloated, as the ogres
had been, but had muscles everywhere along its arms and chest. Scraps of animal
parts, bones and uneaten flesh lay all around the sleeping behemoth, and also
piles of animal hides piled so high that Elec was uncertain as to whether the
skins were mere pelts or whole creatures.
Shardrin
circled the giant, short swords in his hands, as it lay sleeping, its back up
against a crop of rock that projected up from the floor and was covered in
skins. Elec approached also, sipping an elixir, then removing his sword from
its scabbard. As he neared, he heard a crunch underfoot that echoed throughout the
chamber.
The creature
first opened one black eye—the shade of the darkest of nights—and then the
other, affixing its gaze upon the approaching elf, curiously at first. Then its
brow furrowed and it snarled at Elec. Its mouth opened and it displayed a misshapen
row of yellowed teeth, with some missing, but those that remained were
sharpened at the tips. As it stood, reaching its full height of twenty-five
feet, it remained hunched-forward, its substantial arms stretching almost all
the way to the ground, reminding Elec of a carriage resembling that of a
gorilla. The giant barely fit within the vast expanse of the spacious cavern
now that it was upright.
Elec froze,
paralyzed by fear at the sheer enormity of the giant. It was truly massive, thought Elec as it
reached for a club, which was in reality the trunk of a tree, the base of which
was worn smooth, no doubt from incalculable usage.
It swung the
tree across its body, meaning to turn Elec’s bones to powder, but the elf
regained his sensibility. He rolled nimbly backward and under the swing as the
club slammed into the wall of the cavern, creating a thundering cacophony that
echoed throughout the chamber, seeming to shake the very walls themselves.
Elec looked up
from the ground and glimpsed flashing blades as Shardrin leaped from a ledge
above the giant, landing squarely on its back. He disappeared behind the girth
of the mighty behemoth but must have landed a solid strike as the giant howled
in pain and dropped its weapon. The giant turned slightly in a vain attempt at
wresting the elf from its back, allowing Elec to see that Shardrin was out of the
reach of its grasping hands.
“Strike!”
Shardrin called out to Elec, who held his enchanted blade firmly in both hands.
He downed another potion quickly before running straight at the giant, slashing
wildly many times and scoring several hits. He remembered that his uncle had told
him of the magic within the blade and trusted that this was exactly the time
and place to make use of it.
All artwork by William Kenney
Join me @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a new Writer's Circle that must be seen--a
collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published fantasy
authors with much to give both now and in the future!
All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here
See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!
Please visit MY HOME PAGE
to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase
my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short
stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC
has in store in the future!
All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.
May 25, 2012
Maturation Process FREE Memorial Day Weekend!
I am releasing Wothlondia Rising 3: MATURATION PROCESS for FREE this weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday only) on AMAZON Kindle as another promotional endeavor to bring my wonderful blog readers and friends into to the Realm of Ashenclaw.
Follow a young and naive elf as he attempts to escape from beneath his overbearing father's expectations. His journey takes him down the road of great disappointment and loss, atop the wings of a magnificent giant eagle, and eventually into the company of an old friend who attempts to nudge him onto the road of self-discovery. Check out Elec Stormwhisper and all of my
WOTHLONDIA RISING
prequels to Covenant of the Faceless Knights (now in a brand new KINDLE edition for only $4.99!)Maturation Process is the telling tale of the high elf, Elec
Stormwhisper, who lives in the overbearing shadow of his Father, Keryth.
Treated as an outcast and feeling alienated from his own people, he
exiles himself for a decade, finding a friend in a strange place and
begins to accept his own unique destiny. Will this young and
inexperienced elf ever find his true calling?
Wothlondia Rising
are prequels to Covenant of the Faceless Knights. They are a series of
short stories set in the original fantasy setting entitled the Realm of
Ashenclaw. The series details life altering, significant events from the
past that shape the course of these important characters, setting them
on the path that will change their lives forever!
Join me @ Skulldust Circle where we have formed a new Writer's Circle that must be seen--a
collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published fantasy
authors with much to give both now and in the future!
All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here
See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!
Please visit MY HOME PAGE
to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase
my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short
stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC
has in store in the future!
Cover art provided by William Kenney !
All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.
May 23, 2012
Preview of Wothlondia Rising 5: Strength of Faith
I am releasing the fifth installment of the Wothlondia Rising series tomorrow, this one entitled Strength of Faith. One sample will be here and the other will be on SKULLDUST CIRCLE .
They are two very different passages, so I hope you check them both out!
Strength of Faith is a tale that
paces a young acolyte of The Shimmering One, Garius Forge, on a path that tests
his spirituality and also places him face to face with a demonic presence that
has the power to alter the face of Wothlondia forever. Will his reverence and
devotion to his deity be enough to overcome this horrible demon?
Garius focused
on the door when he heard the footsteps approach, light though they were. He
was awake, but hardly refreshed. He had already refitted his armor
meticulously, prayed and meditated in the cramped confines of the room and had
done so quietly enough not to wake the others.
The expected
knock sounded on the door, echoing in the room as his companions began to stir.
Garius opened the door and beheld a hunched gnome. He looked impatiently into
the room, and then stared up at Garius and began mumbling something to him. The
warpriest bent to one knee before the bald gnome and placed a hand to his ear.
“I said,
Larwinckle be ready for ye,” the unnamed gnome repeated more clearly and then waddled
away along a scarcely perceptible path that was worn into the grassy meadow. It
was barely visible now and had gone undetected all of last evening, especially after
the sun had fallen into the clouds.
“I will
accompany this one. You will seek me out once you are dressed and ready,”
Garius called back to the others, but Divah was already up and out of her
bedroll wearing a long gown made of a thin, yet durable fabric that Garius
assumed was meant to be slept in. The halfling was so excited to get moving
that it seemed she did not care about the state of her undress.
“I am coming
with you,” she told Garius eagerly, her green eyes filled with wonder and joy
at her obvious expectations of finally exploring the gnome village. With that, she
snatched up her shoes and began moving hastily out of the burrow. The Paladins
began to move about in the shadows of the room, donning their clothing and then
their armor. Garius shook his head and a smile cracked his face as he watched
the halfling, hopping forward on one foot and then the other, trying to put on
her shoes while hurrying after him.
She is quite impulsive, he thought,
allowing the smile to remain until it left of its own accord a few moments
later.
The gnome led
Garius and the female halfling to a smallish door that appeared to be anchored to
the ground. It was partially hidden by brush and foliage, Garius observed, as
the gnome knocked loudly on its hard, wooden surface. Garius also noted that
there was no knob to be seen or any other obvious way to pull the door open
from the outside.
With that
thought in mind, he saw the door open outward slowly as a gnome pushed it ajar
and then waved them all in. Garius watched as the gnome and halfling strode
easily through the opening, then he stooped, having to bend low in order to navigate
the space. It was well lit inside by a combination of lanterns and a brilliant,
magical light coming in from above them that appeared to hover and move about
on its own. The warpriest wondered if the wisp of light was something sentient.
Larwinckle sat
at a large table by himself and waved Garius and Divah over to join him.
I hope you enjoyed the excerpts.
Join me over at Skulldust Circle
where we have formed a new Writer's Circle that must be seen--a
collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published fantasy
authors with much to give both now and in the future! It'd be foolish
not to at least check it out...
All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here !
See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!
Please visit MY HOME PAGE
to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase
my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short
stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC
has in store in the future!
Cover art provided by William Kenney !
All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.
May 20, 2012
Sample Sunday Exclusive Excerpts...
Brand new exclusive excerpts from my newly re-released debut novel on Kindle for $4.99!
COVENANT OF THE FACELESS KNIGHTS!
On sale exclusively for the Kindle for only $4.99
Thaurion slowly approached a door. He turned the
handle and it opened without a noise, thankfully. In he stepped and observed
many shelving units holding various books and scrolls. The shelves were many
and set up to give the room a maze-like quality. He walked down one aisle and
pulled a book from the shelf.
He peered through the gap made by the vacant book
and saw a blue eye glinting back in the torch light. Thaurion gasped and let
out a loud and involuntary yelp, quickly turned to run and inadvertently smashed
headlong into one of the shelving units, smacking his forehead hard against its
solid framework. He fell to the ground as his world was suddenly spinning. His
vision blurred as he tried to rise.
Again he turned to run, disoriented from the
massive blow he inflicted upon himself and saw the huge bulk of something
moving toward him, hands outstretched and reaching for him!
He panicked and again, Thaurion found himself
running into another unyielding obstacle. Looking back to see if the creature
was following, he ran headlong into the thick door frame this time and the
darkness claimed his consciousness.
Garius
began an incantation himself, invoking a blessing to The Champion, the god of
war, as the more primal and savage orc began to shuffle toward him. In answer
to his prayers, he became instantly infused with divine strength. His
adrenaline spiked and his muscles expanded slightly, his armor adjusting with
the transformation. He was clearly larger now and even more powerful than
before within his plated armor. He removed The
Repentant from his back, infusing it with holy energy as the runes burst
with radiant light and the hammer’s head shone brightly. He met the first blow
head on from the bone-hewn staff, erupting in a loud and thunderous impact that
rung out within the spacious cavern as the two engaged in a divinely driven
death duel.
Orngoth
used his club and his fist, smashing bone and flesh and simply extinguishing
the life from the goblinoids barring his way with his forceful swings. He hit
them with such tremendous force that most of them died instantly.
His
prey was close now and he recognized a grin begin to creep across the
commander’s face. Only one orc stood between Orngoth and Grubb now as he
gripped his club with both hands. He then brought the full weight of the
massive club down upon the creature, shattering many bones and receiving a
parting slice across his left thigh as he did.
Oblivious
to the pain, he kept moving.
In
a show of either great bravery or great stupidity, the orc managed to stand
again. Orngoth battered it absently over and over again until it stopped
twitching. He roared and stood on top of the dead orc’s helmet and then snarled
at the commander.
A
dented and misshapen shield appeared in the commander’s left arm and in his
right hand, he held up the gem that Orngoth held so dear in a teasing manner,
wagging a finger at him.
“Not a step
closer beast or I will destroy the gem,” Grubb warned.
I hope you enjoyed the new excerpts.
Join me over at Skulldust Circle where we have formed a new Writer's Circle that must be seen--a collection of brilliant, up & coming independently published fantasy authors with much to give both now and in the future! It'd be foolish not to at least check it out...
All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here !
See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!
Please visit MY HOME PAGE
to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase
my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short
stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC
has in store in the future!
Cover art provided by William Kenney !
All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.
May 17, 2012
A ROSE IN BLOOM FREE AGAIN!
This Friday and Saturday (May 18th & 19th), My Wothlondia Rising 2: A ROSE IN BLOOM will be absolutely FREE! This will be the last 2 days for the FREE promotions, so snag yourself a copy and step into the gritty world of this youthful rogue as she learns some valuable life lessons!
CLICK ME!
May 16, 2012
Take a Walk With Me...Over To Skulldust Circle!
Important Announcements!
Come follow me and the writers at SKULLDUST CIRCLE …
...If ya’ know what’s good for ya’!
Simply click the follow this blog link and then let the fun begin!
I am going to be shifting my efforts over there in the near future to add to the amazing writers already gathered there. Join the likes of William Kenney, Jeremy Laszlo, Ben Martin, Ross Kitson, David Woods, Stefain and Gary Vanucci (that’s me).
If you liked the content that I brought you here at Eye on Ashenclaw, please follow me over there. Not only will you hear my insane prattling and opinions, but you will receive exclusive previews, excerpts and things that I cannot fathom just quite yet over there. And not just from me, but from these other amazing writers that I have been lucky enough to meet and read. Do yourself a favor and get in on the ground floor of what I think is going to be an amazing ride! You will be able to say: ‘I was there before it went viral!’
That being said, I will check back in here and re-post and continue to shoo you all over to Skulldust, but I will check in from time to time for important announcements and will double post here and there for a short time until you have all followed me over there!
I appreciate all of my fans, followers and contributors from here and love you all…truly...so in order for me to continue this loving relationship, please follow me over to Skulldust Circe if you haven’t already…you will not be disappointed.I promise!
And buckle up for what I believe will be a ride to remember!And follow the feed here:
http://skulldustcircle.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
or
http://feeds.feedburner.com/SkulldustCircle
I will also be sharing an exclusive excerpt with you now from my upcoming short story: STRENGTH OF FAITH
The
five servants of The Shimmering One formed up next to one another, Bralon at
their head, as they absorbed the brunt of the undead charge--creatures slamming into
their blades and shields in a cacophony of screeches and guttural sounds
unintended for man’s ears. Filled with a blessing of divine strength, the
paladins slashed and sliced into the sickening and diseased flesh as body parts
were sent flying away.
Garius
could sense the stench of disease on these filthy abominations and a miasma of
contagion was released into the air around each and every one of the foul
creatures. He waded through the dead bodies on the floor and allowed the
invigorated knights to cut a swath through the horde of zombies. He removed his
holy warhammer and gripped his shield tightly, fastening it to his left arm as
he joined them.
Art by William Kenney
For
several moments, the divinely charged warriors cut down their enemies with
ease, never slowing or tiring and their blows were charged with the strength of
a dozen men. Blow after blow took the zombies down, one by one, until the speed
of their attacks slowed.
Divah
watched from afar in horror and felt the bile within her throat, threatening to
spew forth.
How are
they doing this? she thought, seeing the volume of the undead creatures and
knowing that there were only five of them.
There
are dozens of the foul things!
She
held fast and watched with mouth agape as the scene unfolded.
Garius
strode into the midst of the chaos and mouthed a prayer, holding his sun-symbol
in his grasp as reassurance and continued his invocation with conviction in his tone. The paladins heard his
words and pressed their attack, not allowing a single of the anathemas within
to disturb the warpriest. The words grew in strength and reached their crescendo
as the priest held both hands on high.
“You
shall not win this day!” Garius screamed as his eyes filled with a white light
as did the rest of his body. That radiant and brilliant energy burst forth from
him all at once, bathing the area in light so bright that none could see within
the divine beacon.
“Your
perdition is fulfilled!” Garius shouted as the radiance burst forth from his
body.
Undead
creatures fell in droves around the holy attack, simply melting or reduced to
ash right before the eyes of the paladins. Micah swung roughly at a zombie and
nearly sent himself sprawling to the ground as the creature turned to
nothingness right before his eyes. All told, several dozen of them fell under
the ubiquitous light.
But
when their vision cleared, it seemed that a dozen more simply took their place.
All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here !
See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!
Please visit MY HOME PAGE
to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase
my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short
stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC
has in store in the future!
Cover art on Distant Familiarity provided by William Kenney !
All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.
May 13, 2012
Is Hunger Games 'Ditz Lit'?
I just saw an article that was pretty interesting. In it, the author claims that genres such as paranormal romance, urban fantasy, and YA dystopian are catering to emotionally stunted teens and presents a base theme that teens are the heroes and portrays adults as the villains. I am simplifying the gist of it.
According to the author, the writer targets teens using modest and overly simplistic emotions and reflects an overall point of view that stunts emotional growth...(perhaps attempting to keep teens in a state of arrested development, so to speak?)
He specifically names the Hunger Games in his article obviously because it is topical and extremely popular right now. He is suggesting that if the trend continues and we use movies to promote books, we can expect all literature that is being churned out nowadays to target the high school young adult and all other literature will fall by the wayside. And let's face it--who has more time to read and disposable income on their hands? Again, I am not saying it is wrong at all, just seeing a logical trend and thought I'd share it with you because it was extremely interesting to me as both a writer and a reader.
I am not going to share my opinion on this at all, so I will let you all decide and perhaps be so bold as to share your opinions. The article can be found here if you want to read it in its entirety. I found it interesting at least...did you?
See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!
Gary Vanucci's AMAZON Author Page
Photo from Stock.xchng
Please visit MY HOME PAGE
to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to
purchase my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the
short stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw
Studios, LLC has in store in the future!
All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.
May 9, 2012
New Look Covenant of the Faceless Knights!
I am here to share something with my blog followers--Covenant of the Faceless Knights is getting a makeover and a price reduction! I am in the process of re-releasing the book in its second edition. This one is edited by the incomparable Stephanie Dagg , whom I highly recommend! And the book will be shown with a brand new cover produced by the amazingly talented William Kenney ! I will also be working on getting a paperback through CreateSpace shortly after the Kindle version goes live. I am not sure what that price will be yet, but news will follow here, so keep your Eye on Ashenclaw.
I am hoping to have the book available for release again in the coming week (and possibly this weekend--*crosses fingers*) I will probably do a Kindle for the KDP select program for people who may want to borrow it. The price point will be $2.99 I believe from the start and I plan to release Garius' short story in the Wothlondia Rising series: Strength of Faith, by the end of May as well. That will be followed by Reflections, the Orngoth short story to be released in June, which will wrap up the Wothlondia Rising series.
CotFK 2nd Edition Artwork only, provided by William Kenney
If all goes well and edits and cover are finished for book 2 in the Beginnings series, Secrets of the Ebonite Mines will also be available by Summer's end! I don't know about you guys, but I am pretty excited.
Please tell me what you guys think of the artwork for the cover and I hope to see some sales when it finally gets released. Make me proud, friends!
All of my work can be found on AMAZON -- Kindle versions here !
See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!
Please visit MY HOME PAGE
to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase
my full length novel, Covenant of the Faceless Knights, the short
stories: Wothlondia Rising, and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC
has in store in the future!
Cover art on Distant Familiarity provided by William Kenney !
All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2012 unless otherwise noted.
