Elyse Salpeter's Blog, page 5

2020 The Lost Year

Hi everyone. I don’t know about you, but 2020 was probably the most challenging year of my life, both mentally, emotionally and physically. I started the year like I always do, with so many goals. I was going to train and sign up for an Olympic distance triathlon, I was going to publish a book, travel, join some new social groups.

And then the Pandemic hit. In early March everyone in NY was in a tizzy about grocery stores doing away with plastic bags. People were so upset about that, and then Covid hit. Quarantine. Life absolutely changed.

As a Gen X girl, I handled quarantine really well. My generation is super good at keeping ourselves busy. I spent quarantine outside – most times by myself, biking, swimming, jogging. I was able to keep my brain busy exercising.

I also published Book 6 in my Kelsey Porter series, called THE JOURNEY BACK. I love this book. For those invested in the series, it gives you insight into the characters that you didn’t see in the other books. One note of caution – don’t read book 6 unless you read book 5, THE SEARCH FOR STARLIGHT. Just trust me on this.

Probably the biggest and saddest part for me for 2020, was the friendships that seemed to go by the wayside. I learned the true nature of so many people. It was as if a blinder was pulled off my eyes and you could see that the values of many people were clearly not my own. I had to decide how I felt about that. Did I want to interact with people that said derogatory things? That made racist comments as if it meant nothing. That didn’t believe science? That said hateful things about the LGBT community? And don’t get me started on politics. I refuse to go into it. It’s just too darn sad. It was like 2020 said, “Let it rip folks and I simply don’t care anymore.”

AND THEN… to end this horrible year, my family of four got Covid. We are diligent folks. For 10 months we wore our masks everywhere and anytime we did anything it was with the conscious thought of safety. And yet, all it takes is one person to take down a family. This virus is rough, folks. My children thankfully breezed through it like rockstars, but me and my husband are struggling a bit. Weeks out I still have congestion and exhaustion at times. But I am taking it one day at a time and have incorporated some herbal inhalation treatments (filled with everything from cinnamon sticks and red onions and other fruits and veggies) along with juicing. It seems to be helping a little bit every day.

I have never been so glad for a new year in my life. 2021, please be gentle with us. We could use it. Be safe my friends.

Training for Triathlons – Thank you Lifetime Gym

In March, 2018, I joined Lifetime Gym. I was actually at the time looking for a place that had great wi-fi, a cafe and a place for me to work since I was working from home for my job and was getting way “too distracted.” Kids calling from school: “Can you bring me my backpack, my homework, food…” to “is dinner ready? Can you bring up the laundry,” etc. So, I needed to get out of the house and I thought maybe I’d take some classes, too, while I’m there. Figured a monthly membership was cheaper than renting an office!

It turned out to be GREAT. I’d go super early, take a cycle class, or workout class, go to the café and eat[image error] breakfast and then work for a few hours and then take a lunch class, shower and then head home, where I’d work for the rest of the day.

While there, I heard about Lifetime’s indoor triathlon and I so wanted to try it. I’d never attempted three events for a race and I was intrigued. It’s a sprint tri and all indoors, so I felt safe starting with that. I started cycling and running and (gulp) getting myself in the pool. I got a swim instructor lesson to test my stroke. Well, it was pathetic. I could not go ONE lap in the pool without gasping for air and having to stop to rest. Not one. She fixed a few things and told me to just do a lap at a time and build strength.

[image error]Fast forward 2+ years and the other night I just swam 1 mile in open water with a swim group. I can cycle 20 miles easily and can run about 3-4 pretty consistently. I’ll be honest, my sciatica flares up when I run, but I can do it. Everything is hard, but like life, anything you want to do takes work. I really don’t like to hear the word “no.” I hate more hearing “you’re getting too old to do this.” And while it might take me longer to get out of bed in the morning, and there are days my back is screaming, I try to tell this body to give me one more push. I refuse to go into old age quietly.

It’s like my writing. I’ve been working it for 14 years. It’s been so hard getting my books out to the[image error] world with the sheer amount of content out there, but hey, you don’t try, you will never win. So, to end this, if you are interested in a smart, female driven thriller series that I worked incredibly hard on, please give THE HUNT FOR XANADU a look. It’s just 99 cents on ebook. It was actually a Jeopardy! question back in October 2016 and the amazing author Douglas Preston wrote a review on Amazon for it – look under Editorial Reviews. Purchase here or even just read the first few pages for free! https://amzn.to/2EKG8fk

Ok, off to play tennis! Where’s my ibuprofen?? LOL!

How Invested My Family is in ASL from Writing a YA Book

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Millneck Book Talk

When I was in college at Stony Brook University, I took American Sign Language, for two years. It was just something that always fascinated me and I thought the language was beautiful.

Many years later, I had the idea to write a book with a young deaf boy as the main lead. That is how FLYING TO THE LIGHT was born. It is about a deaf child who knows a secret so big that everyone in the country is after him. I then began to do school talks about the novel and had the good fortune to be able to sit with students at a few different deaf schools. But, I didn’t want to just go into the school and have an interpreter. I wanted to be able to speak to the students myself. So I started classes at The Sign Language Center in NYC to refresh what I had learned so many years ago.

I did a few talks, some at Millneck Manor and St Joseph’s School for the Deaf. I did have an interpreter at[image error]

Me and my wonderful interpreter at St Joseph’s School for the Deaf

both events, but I did try my best to use my skills when I could. Both of those visits were eye opening for me. While in my novel the young boy, named Danny, is deaf and does not speak, I have his entire family using sign language to communicate with him. It didn’t occur to me that a parent would not learn sign language to speak to their child. Unfortunately, I heard from the students that most families DO NOT learn sign language to speak to their deaf children. We spoke about a lot of other things, but this really hit home. The conversations really helped me in writing the sequel called, FLYING TO THE FIRE. I changed some content of that novel specifically because of my conversations with the students at these schools.

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FLYING – Young Adult Series

But what is really interesting is now my children are interested in ASL and both took the language for four years in high school. And now my son is continuing his education in Deaf Studies with the hope to either be an ASL Interpreter one day or perhaps work in a Deaf School.

I’ve been written up by so many different deaf websites and I thought it might be nice to list some here so you can learn about them. Please click on each one and it will take you right to the articles.

Sharon Pajka’s Blog – a professor at Gallaudet

able2uk

DeafNetwork

Michael Thal Review

Could You Survive a Zombie Attack?

Ha! I bet that title sucked you in! But really, could you survive a zombie attack? I train for triathlons and sometimes it’s so hard mentally to keep running, keep biking, keep swimming, that I play this little scenario in my head (well, I am a writer) that goes like this, “Ok, there are zombies about a mile behind me, how fast and how far do I need to run that I can put enough distance between us that a) they don’t smell me any longer and b) I can sleep for a few hours before they lumber up to my camp?”

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Swimming on the bay

I know it’s crazy, but it makes me at times go just one more step, one mile more. Another scenario goes like this… “I live on Long Island and there’s been an apocalypse and I need to get to the west side of NYC to get some medicine for someone in my family. Roads are closed to cars, bridges are down.” The fact is, I’m confidant RIGHT NOW that I can do this. I can bike the 20 miles to the East River, swim across it and then run to the west side of NYC, get the medicine and do the trek back home. I’m also pretty confidant I can do this in a good amount of time.

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Creepy Horror Collection

Do you play any scenarios in your head as you’re training? For some reason, my brain always goes to the macabre. I actually wrote so many short stories this way and you may like my horror short story collection called RICKET ROW. It’s a compilation of horror tales for just $0.99. Here’s one of the reviews I just love:

DeeDiDee

5.0 out of 5 stars Creepiest Horror Compilation Out There!

I became a fan of Ms. Salpeter’s when I picked up her full length novel, The Mannequins, so I picked up a copy of Ricket Row almost as soon as it came out! Ricket Row is a compilation of horror vignettes and short stories that promises a little something for every horror reader. It is so crazily good that I read it in two short sittings, and had bedtime not been calling I would have devoured the whole thing in a sitting!

As a serious Poe fan, I couldn’t resist The Pilgrimage to Poe. It was a seriously cool take on the mystery person who is famous for leaving a remembrance in honor of Poe at his grave every year. As a devotee of Chinese food, I ate up Mr. Wong’s Amazing Wok and the sinister reason why the heroine can’t quit eating his house special dumplings. And Mr. and Mrs. Odd got inside my head and is haunting me hours later.

Ms. Salpeter writes horror with the best of authors, carefully constructing creepy, chilling, vivid atmospheres with a fast pace that takes you from shivering to hiding under the blankets in a handful of page turns. She takes the horror genre and preys on your psyche, delivering epic blows without the gore factor. Looking for a horror anthology to shake your nerves? This is it!

My next goal is to be able to run a 10K. That’s 6.2 miles. To be honest, I start to lose it at 4 miles. My sciatica acts up, but I’m determined to do this. I think I’m going to actually start the Galloway method where you run and walk at times. Hopefully I can build it up to get to that.

Please tell me some of your goals? Do they involve surviving an apocolypse or some kind? Would you survive? Love to hear!

Keeping Busy during the Pandemic

Hi everyone,

It’s been so very long since I posted. I don’t know about you, but when the world seemed to close up in March, it was as if a part of my brain closed off, too. It seemed all I could do was try to keep my family safe and happy, keep my job from combusting, and simply put one foot in front of the other.

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Open Water Swimming

As the weeks went by, my kids came home from college and online classes began, I told myself I needed to set some goals, get active and keep myself busy. I had to get back to life. So, I decided I was going to finish THE JOURNEY BACK, Book #6 in the Kelsey Porter series, train for triathlon races as if they were still happening, and lose 20 lbs. Ok, I know I don’t quite need to lose that much weight, but some of the Pandemic carb load would have been nice to take off.

While I didn’t lose 20 lbs, I did lose 6, which allowed me BACK into a pair of jeans I’ve not worn in quite[image error] some time, I published THE JOURNEY BACK to great fanfare and I started Open Water Swimming at the local beach (on the bay side, not the ocean – no sharks for me!). (all social distancing in effect) In fact, this very weekend I swam my first one mile mock race in under 40 minutes. And it was raining. And there were waves going over my head. I won’t lie, I’d been scared to do that race, but I did it. The nice part was there were kayakers and paddleboarders watching us, so I felt relatively safe. I’m a “face my fears” type of person for sure. Next? A 10K run… we shall see!

Now, for those who have read the first 5 books in the Kelsey Porter thriller series, THE JOURNEY BACK will allow you a peek into Kelsey’s teen years. If you are invested in this character, I guarantee you that you will enjoy this. But, trust me – don’t read this until you’ve read the first 5 books. Too many spoilers.

I’ll start posting more, I promise. So tell me, what have you been doing this summer to keep busy? I’d love to hear.

Douglas Preston Supports Lesser Known Authors

[image error]Hi, everyone! I’ve got some exciting news. Douglas Preston, the co-author with Lincoln Child of the Aloysius Pendergast series, just did a youtube video on why it’s so important to support lesser known authors. Now that we are all stuck inside from this crazy virus, he’s touting the importance of reading…. And… he gave THE HUNT FOR XANADU a fantastic shout-out! I thought you’d like to see the video:

Check out the two other books he suggested. They sound amazing. And, please feel free to purchase The Hunt for Xanadu here! It’s just 99 cents for ebook on Amazon.

FREE E-Book Promotion for THE HUNT FOR XANADU

Hi, everyone! As I finish up Book #6 in the Kelsey Porter series, I decided to do a FREE PROMOTION of Book #1 for those who are interested.[image error]

Starting TODAY until Friday (6/19-6/21) I have a FREE e-book offer going on for THE HUNT FOR XANADU, Book #1 of 5 in my Kelsey Porter series. This novel is about a young girl on a quest to find the people who murdered her parents, but along the way she discovers more about her own spiritual past than she ever thought possible. Link here: https://amzn.to/2EKG8fk

Some cool stuff – This book was actually a $200 Jeopardy! question back in Oct 2016! How crazy awesome is that? [image error]

It was also reviewed by the well-known author Douglas Preston who has written the amazing Aloysius Pendergast series. Here is his review below:

The Hunt for Xanadu by Elyse Salpeter is a remarkable novel, a fascinating and fantastical journey in time and space, and one of the most gripping novels I’ve read in a long time. It flies along at the pace of a thriller, with plenty of murder and mayhem along the way. But behind the thrill-ride is a spiritual story, an archetypal tale of mystery and darkness,riddled with fascinating and esoteric concepts in Tibetan Buddhism. Vivid characters, a truly appealing protagonist, unexpected twists, and crisp writing complete this unforgettable book. I can’t wait to read the next one in the series!

–Douglas Preston, #1 bestselling author and co-creator, with Lincoln Child, of the Pendergast series

Please feel free to pick up your copy here: https://amzn.to/2EKG8fk and if you enjoy the novel – I’d love an honest review. Thank you so much and happy reading!

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The Kelsey Porter Series

How to Launch a Box Set of Ebooks: The Kelsey Porter Series

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Kelsey Porter Box Set

Hi, everyone. I have great news! I’m excited to announce that I have learned how to launch a box set for those of you who’d like to jump into the Kelsey Porter series. Here are the first three ebooks all together, now available on Amazon for just $7.99. Please click here: https://amzn.to/2RV8eIY

How did I do it? Launching a box set is actually pretty easy… though I’ll need to caveat that you DO need to actually have multiple books written. I waited to do a box set until after I had 5 books in the Kelsey Porter series published. Then what I did was contact my formatter and she made me an ebook file of the first three novels. She put it all together in one document that I uploaded to Amazon. The only difference is you don’t need the added copy at the end of each novel, as the next book is already there, ready to go. But, at the very end of the ebook, I did the amazon link and the 1st chapter of Book #4 so the readers could continue the series.

Then, I contacted my cover artist, Laura LaRoche at LLPix Designs, and she created this really cool box set cover, as you can see here. She used the same “feel” as the covers of the series and I think she did a great job. [image error]

The Kelsey Porter Series

Now, why did I do only three? Because I heard you can’t do a box set on Amazon for more than $9.99. I heard that at a conference recently and frankly, I just didn’t want to have all five books available for that price. So I put the first three ebooks out for $7.99, which is a savings off of what they would cost if you purchased all three separately.

Then on Amazon, under the description, I put an opening blurb and then a recap of each book like this below:

A fast paced trio of thrillers. Kelsey Porter is on a mission to hunt down her parents’ killers, but soon finds her own life in jeopardy. Join her as she treks across the globe from Tibet and Colombia, to Egypt and Alaska, where she is swept up in Buddhist spiritual mysteries as old as time as she seeks justice from those that hurt her and her family.

THE HUNT FOR XANADU

After barely surviving the slaughter which killed her parents in Tibet, Kelsey has spent the last twelve years seeking vengeance. But before she can locate the murderers, she has to discover their motives for the brutal crime. Determined to discover the truth, she sets out on a dangerous journey with rogue cop, Detective Desmond Gisborne. As they hunt the killers across the globe, Kelsey learns that it is not she who is hunting… but the one being hunted.

THE QUEST OF THE EMPTY TOMB

Kelsey returns from Tibet with Desmond to begin a new life in New York City. But peace is not to come to her. One night, a stranger appears at her door with a note from a man from her past, begging for her aid. It involves her parents and Kelsey leaves for Egypt to learn the truth. But the truth is more than she bargained for. What secrets did her parents hide? Why is she now plagued with odd aches and pains and why is she having nightmares again? Kelsey must find answers and the only way to get them is to confront her demons and solve the ultimate mystery: The Quest of the Empty Tomb.

THE CALL OF MOUNT SUMERU

Kelsey Porter returns to NYC with her world turned upside down. Her brother has betrayed her, her boyfriend is missing, and she’s left with a mysterious manuscript no one can decipher. It’s not until she goes searching for the elusive legend of Bigfoot at a Buddhist Monastery in Alaska that she finds herself, yet again, thrust into situations that are seemingly beyond her control. Why are children suddenly missing across the Pacific Northwest? Where is Desmond? Are these mysterious creatures in the woods really Yetis? It’s these questions she pursues and this time it’s not her life that hangs in the balance, but the lives of an entire civilization.

If you love smart thrillers, steeped in ancient spiritual mysteries and filled with twists and turns to keep you guessing, you’ll enjoy this series. Just $7.99. Purchase it here: https://amzn.to/2RV8eIY

The Launch of Titanium Flow

[image error]I’m excited to announce that I finally launched TITANIUM FLOW, a collection of cross-genre science fiction tales. I have a funny story about this book. Two of the stories I felt were “serious hard science.” I researched things like metaparticles, radiation poisoning, gamma rays, star systems, etc… and thought I had sound stories. So much so, that I was seriously proud of myself and a little pumped up at my ability to pull this off.

Well, not quite.

My 16 year-old son decided he wanted to beta the collection for me right before I was going to launch it last year. Literally two paragraphs into my first hard science tale he turned to me and gave me the “hairy eyeball.” You know, where his expression gets all cock-eyed, one eyebrow goes up and he appeared like he just sucked on a lemon?

“What?” I said, horrified. Did I forget a comma or spell something wrong? (he’s pretty critical that way). But no, it wasn’t that innocuous.

“Mom, you call yourself a hard science fiction writer? I don’t think so.”

Ok, now it got real. He read the rest of the tale as I nervously watched.

Finally, “What’s wrong with it?”

He shook his head. “Everything. How in the world do you expect anyone to walk on this planet with three suns those colors? How can liquid creatures exist in your desert climate without exploding? How can your astronauts just take off their helmets in a cave and be fine? Have you even thought about gravity, and the length of their days? You know, mom, you should really just stick to your fantastical science fiction tales, because they’re good and you can make stuff up, but hard science? I don’t think so.”

And you know what? He was absolutely right. If I couldn’t pass off my science to this kid, how was I going to do it to the fans I so desperately wanted to reach? So, I went back to the drawing board and fixed each of the things that my son said would throw off anyone who was a serious science fiction fan. It took me a long time. After a few months he beta’d it again and deemed them, “not perfect, but I guess acceptable.”

Gee, thanks kid. I guess that was as good as an endorsement as I was going to get!

So, please enjoy Titanium Flow for just 99 cents. My favorite story in there is THE SUN AND THE STAR which is a sweet, romantic science fiction short story and appeared in the Timeless Anthology. I think people will love it.

I just got my first 5 Star review, too!

“I honestly can say I haven’t enjoyed Sci Fi this much since I first dove into my first copy of Asimov’s SF magazine! The stories are well-written, the plot is character-driven, and the action never stops. Buy. This. Book!”

Pick up your copy here: TITANIUM FLOW https://amzn.to/2D8QG8V

Enjoy! I’d love to hear if you think I pulled it off!

I’d like to introduce you to YA Author, Ann Swann!

Hi, everyone! I’m going to take the next few blog posts to showcase some authors you may not yet know about… but you should! The first is a fantastic YA author named Ann Swann. I first met Ann when she published her Stevie-girl series. A downed plane, a haunted house… what could possibly go wrong? I actually reviewed this book back in February, 2012. Here it is below:

I just finished reading THE PHANTOM PILOT and it was such a great book! It’s a fast read and beautifully written. The characters are interesting and compelling and in Ann Swann’s heroine, “Stevie,” we meet a dynamic character who reminded me of a young Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games (sans the emotional instability and psychosis!).

The book zips along and is exciting and scary at times and has a really great ending. I recommend this for all ages. Really looking forward to reading more of Ann’s work!

[image error]Now I’d like to focus on her newest tale, TAKERS: Apocalypse in Eden

Until the moment the sky splits open and spews an infected rain of Soul-Takers into his small Texas town of Eden, Jack Lewis is just like any other ordinary fourteen-year-old boy. His biggest worry is whether the cute girl with the sparkly blue hairband will dance with him at the end-of-school dance. But as each viscous drop of infection hisses off the pavement, more and more Takers appear.

With his deaf pit bull, Snake, Jack begins a journey that is as much inward as it is cross-country. But will he be able to avoid the cannibals long enough to find his family, or will he find himself like the rest of the citizens of Eden, stabbed onto a tree branch with his guts spiraling out below? That’s how the Takers bleed their food before they eat it. Before they ingest their victims’ bodies and souls . . .

Want to learn more about Ann?

Ann Swann was born in the small West Texas town of Lamesa. She grew up much like Stevie-girl in The Phantom Pilot series, though she never got up the nerve to enter the haunted house like her series character did! Before becoming a writer, Ann did everything from answering 911 Emergency calls, to scheduling commercials in a rock-n-roll radio station, to teaching elementary school. She still lives in Texas with her husband, Dude, and two rescue cats, Oscar and Mojo. When she’s not writing, Ann is reading. Her to-be-read list has grown so large it has taken on a life of its own. She calls it Herman.

If you’d like to connect with Ann, please do so here:

TAKERS: http://tinyurl.com/grkm8ck

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