Chantal Boudreau's Blog, page 38
January 27, 2013
The Blurb on Other People’s Words – Bruce Blake (Once more with Feeling)
Something new from the awesome Bruce Blake:
It began with a vial of blood, a curse, and a quest to a haunted land.
It continued through a strange subterranean land and a city of the damned, where an assassin raised from the dead sought to end it all while a sorceress invaded his home.
Now, Khirro’s Journey comes to its end.
The highly anticipated follow up to the best-selling Blood of the King and Spirit of the King has arrived.
—————————————————————————
The heart of a coward. The spirit of a king. Together, the last hope to save a kingdom.
Sheyndust, the Archon, desires to be Necromancer and wield dark magic the likes of which the world has never seen. For years, her deadly plan has fallen into place piece by piece, treachery by treachery, death by death. With her enemies on their knees and an army of the dead at her command, nothing stands between her and the ultimate power for which she thirsts.
Nothing except a farmer and a dead king.
The curse that bound Khirro to his task was broken when the blood of the king spilled, but the king’s spirit—a tyger of vengeful flame—burns bright within him. It pushes Khirro through hostile lands to return to his home. It pushes him to be more than he ever thought he could be despite the doubt and fear devouring him. It pushes him in a race against time to save the kingdom, a race he is bound to lose.
As the final pieces of the Archon’s plot fall into place, and her power and army grow, it looks certain that all will be lost.
Unless a coward can look inside himself and find the heart of a king.
Find it on:
Amazon: http://viewBook.at/B00B5JDZ8O
Kobo: http://bit.ly/UqbiM4
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/278428
Haven’t begun the journey yet? For a limited time, grab the first chapter, Blood of the King, for only 99 cents on Amazon: http://viewbook.at/B0091PQG56
Looking for something a little different? To celebrate the release of Heart of the King, get yourself a copy of urban fantasy On Unfaithful Wings (Icarus Fell #1) for free Jan 27-28 on Amazon: http://viewbook.at/B006PJ9M3G
Bruce Blake is a writer, a father, and the trophy husband of a burlesque diva. When he’s not writing…he doesn’t quite know what to do with himself, so please read his books to keep him from wandering around aimlessly and bumping into things.
The Liebster Award
I’ve been busy with formatting and editing, but I’m taking a few moments to catch up on other things. The Liebster Award was handed to me by my fellow Guild of Dreamer and fantastic author, Bruce Blake. Read on to find out what it’s all about.
The rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you. Thanks, Bruce!
2. Post eleven random facts about yourself.
3. You answer the eleven questions asked by the person who nominated you.
4. You think of a new set of eleven questions and nominate eleven others to answer them.
—–
To start…eleven random facts about myself:
1. I was born on a Friday the 13th. Is it a coincidence that I was accident prone when I was young and I write horror as well as fantasy?
2. I am five foot eight tall but I would have been five ten were it not for the wedged vertebrae and compensating curve in my spine that cannot be corrected (the result of a car accident when I was five.)
3. My first real job was as an actress/singer/dancer the summer I turned sixteen. I was in a trio of wartime musicals called Salutes to Victory.
4. I broke my thumb playing softball in junior high.
5. I’m a huge fan of alternative rock. I love Linkin Park, 30 Seconds to Mars, Finger Eleven and many, many other similar bands.
6. I grew up in Nova Scotia, but I was born in Toronto. I always wonder how my life would have differed had we stayed in the big city.
7. I love to draw but I don’t have the patience to get *really* good at it. Then again, I’m a dabbler because I don’t have the patience to get *really* good at anything.
8. I am a dog person – we have a beagle named Sparky. We also have a cat, Charleston, who I tolerate.
9. I shaved my head once to raise money for cancer (and I donated my hair to “Locks of Love”).
10. I’m overeducated. I have a B.A, a B. Comm., an MBA and my CMA. I have used all of them in some way at some point, however.
11. My husband is a stay-at-home dad who will be starting up his costume armory again very soon.
—–
Bruce’s eleven questions:
1. Who is the most famous person you’ve ever met? Yikes, I don’t know how to answer this one. I met Pierre Elliot Trudeau briefly, when I was a little girl. I met a handful of athletes and actors because my dad was a sales manager at a local radio station and handled the PR events, including Gary Carter, Mr. Dress-up and a pile of soap stars. I also got to meet a selection of singers because my father was president of MIANS for a couple of years (like Denny Doherty from the Mamas and the Papas.) I’m not sure who would count as “the most famous.”
2. What article of clothing could you not do without? A comfy pair of blue jeans.
3. You have one meal left before you are put to death. What would you eat and what did you do to be condemned? Cheese garlic fingers with donair sauce and cheesecake and I probably snapped and took out some horrible child molester/killer or rapist/abuser who got off on a technicality.
4. If you were a computer program, which one would you be? The ‘You Don’t Know Jack” game.
5. What book have you read that you most wished you had written? Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl). I read it multiple times when I was a girl.
6. If you could only own one movie, which one would it be? Shawshank Redemption – I never get tired of that movie.
7. Sweet or savoury? Savoury.
8. Would you rather give a speech in front of a large audience or touch your tongue to frozen metal? The tongue thing.
9. If you had your choice, are you an early bird or a late riser? Early bird, but I’m also a night owl.
10. You have a new pet and it is entirely up to you to name the beast. What kind of animal is it and what do you call it? I’ve always wanted a dachshund and I’d name it “Weiner”.
11. If you could recommend one non-fiction book, which one would it be? The Second Tree: of Clones, Chimeras and Quests for Immortality by Elaine Dewar.
The eleven questions for my nominees:
1. What was your favourite childhood show?
2. If you could be a bird, what bird would you be and why?
3. What is the best dessert you’ve ever eaten?
4. If you could pick band line-up for your ultimate concert, who would you have open, follow and headline?
5. What would you say is your favourite book outside of your preferred genres?
6. If you had to sit through the goriest of horror movies of the sappiest of chick-flicks, which would you pick?
7. Kirk or Picard?
8. What is your favourite board game?
9. If you had your choice, quiet night at home or rowdy night out?
10. What are the top three colours in your wardrobe?
11. Have you ever read anything you were expecting to dislike but to your surprise you loved it?
—–
My nominees: (it’s all right to take your time, but please play along – I really am curious, so let me know when you post.)
Look forward to all your answers!
January 25, 2013
Wandering with the Wendigo: North American Mythology in Genre Fiction
Reblogged from Guild Of Dreams:
by Chantal Boudreau
Have you noticed the prevalence of the wendigo or the sasquatch in fantasy or horror stories lately? How about Raven or Coyote? The chenoo? Glooscap? Okay, the last ones are little obscure if you're not local, but North American natives have a vibrant assortment of creatures and gods in their legends and lore, a treasure trove of tales to be tapped for source material to serve as the basis for genre fiction when you tire of zombies, werewolves and vampires, or have had enough of elves, dwarves and dragons.
January 24, 2013
Solutions not Resolutions – Avoiding Meltdown
Sometimes you may hear stories about spontaneous human combustion. I’m getting to the point where I think I’m about to burst into flames any minute, exploding because I haven’t done any writing lately (not quite like this picture here). I’ve been doing plenty of editing, but it’s just not the same. As soon as I’m done my current editing project, I really want to start writing something new. My problem is not that I don’t have any ideas what to write, my problem is I have too many ideas and I can’t decide what to work on next. So I’m putting it out there … I’m going to post a selection of my latest book ideas here and on a variety of social networking sites and ask everyone’s opinion. What do you think I should write next, and why? E-mail me your suggestion at chantellyb@hotmail.com or post it as a comment here, or on facebook. I’ll send a copy of one of my books (Fervor, Elevation, MU, Casualties of War, The Blood is Strong or a zombie anthology) to the most creative explanation I receive detailing which book I should write next.
So here’s what I’m considering (** warning – there may be spoilers in these descriptions):
Masters & Renegades # 9 – Dagramar’s Zoo: Now that Renegade magic is legal in Seaforest, Nia and Snyder decide to seize upon the opportunity to visit their son and grandchild in Feltrey. When the pair fail to arrive at their destination, a frantic Prince Emrys and the captain of his guard, Jarvas are forced to head off in search of them, hoping that they are not lost beyond rescue. (the hubby didn’t want me working on this one until after #5 is published and #3 isn’t even out yet.)
M & R associated – I have a few possible prequels in contemplation:
An Urwick prequel – how he came to leave the underrealm and why he chose to become a Master when he was already a Renegade. It would also look at his run through the Admission Trials, the consequences and his apprenticeship to Jadira.
Another prequel would expand on Kraken Chasm and explore the creation of the Defiance.
Lastly, I could write a prequel based on the voyages of Traveller, from the Snowy Barrens to her employment with Galgamir.
Endeavour (Fervor #5)
When You Scream – Sequel to When You Whisper- Follows Felicia’s life after the first book
Ghost Coast:
Paranormal adventure/romance – Audrey’s father is an established writer who crashed hard after her mother’s death and has written nothing since. At the advice of his agent, he decides to change his environment, and he picks up Audrey and what is left of his life and moves to Sandor Island in hopes of finding solace and refuge from his grief. Audrey’s own life is upended, and at first she feels trapped and bored on the somewhat isolated island until she discovers that there is something very strange about the island’s other inhabitants, its history and its shores. Instead of being stranded in the middle of nowhere and nothing, she finds herself at the centre of a war between the ghosts of pirates and a clan of nereids. She also is introduced to love in a very unanticipated way – one she is not sure she is willing to explore.
Sifting the Ashes:
Post-apocalyptic horror/dark fantasy – a post-apocalyptic tale told from the point of view of Ash, a crow. “The humans rose from amidst the animals and we adapted. The humans started building their cities, and we adapted again. We changed with them, we grew with them, thriving and remaining strong. Now the humans have fallen and we will adapt again. The world is ours to make of it what we will.”
In Her Blood:
Fantasy Romance – An expansion on my short story “The Last” (posted on my account on Scribd and Wattpad.)
Nine choices – as many as I had contestants in MU. It’ll be interesting to see if I get many responses and how creative those responses will be. I’m looking forward to reading them.
January 22, 2013
Solutions not Resolutions – News and Winter Blues:
I don’t deal well with winter – I honestly wish I could hibernate and wake up come spring much thinner and refreshed. Instead, the nasty cold weather and dismally gray days suck away all of my creative juices and leave me one anti-social sourpuss. I’m usually left with three options: try to force away the gloom by taking a couple of art breaks (and neglecting my blog and other forms of social media in the process), focus on less creative tasks like editing and reading/reviewing (I’m doing that) and hole up in a pseudo-hibernation (which never makes me thinner, but keeps me from growling at people.) I’m working on prepping The Blood Runs Deep for release (it makes me melancholic – I miss these characters so much) and keeping to myself while gather resources for next month’s “Love and Hawthorne” theme. It means missing the odd day’s blog post, but better that than going on some awful cranky rant, which I’m prone to do this time of year.
On a happy front, I have good news. Slices of Flesh, the Dark Moon Books anthology in which my flash fiction horror tale “What I’ve Gots in my Pocketses” appears, made it onto the preliminary ballot for anthologies for the 2012 Bram Stoker Awards (woo woo!). This is just as their Mistresses of the Macabre anthology, which contains my ghastly tale “Orbs”, is approaching release. It sounds like it is going to be one very special anthology. Masked Mosaics, an anthology containing my flash fiction “A Face in the Wind” from Canadian press, Tyche Books is also revving up for a February release.
If I wasn’t suffering from the winter blahs, I’d be giddy.
January 21, 2013
The Blurb on Other People’s Words – Blood Skies, Book 5
Now Available!
THE WITCH’S EYE
(Blood Skies, Book 5)
The war continues, and a new evil is born.
The Ebon Cities have created a deadly new breed of undead called the Witchborn, whose very existence spells doom for the entire continent.
To make matters worse, a nihilist cult called the Black Circle has learned of the Witch’s Eye, the source of the Witchborn virus and an item capable of opening a portal to The Black.
Eric Cross’s scattered and war-weary team must find the Eye before it’s too late. With the aid of some unlikely allies, the mercenaries will fight their way across the wastelands and challenge the horrors at the edge of oblivion.
And before the battle is won Cross and his team will make the ultimate sacrifice, and face one of their own…
Return to the world After The Black in Book 5 of the BLOOD SKIES saga!
Grab a copy at Amazon and be sure to check out the page at Goodreads!
****
Steven Montano can’t believe he’s written five full-length novels in this series. Writing four more will likely be the death of him. At least it was fun while it lasted.
He lives in Washington State with his wife, two children, a dog of below-average intelligence, and a ridiculous number of books and bottles of wine.
Visit Steven’s official website and get caught up with the Blood Skies series at bloodskies.com
January 18, 2013
Solutions not Resolutions – Shortly
Excuse my absence for the past couple of days but I was on an art break (see my latest project to the left). I like to work on art when I’m feeling disgruntled and anti-social – winter does that to me.
Anyway, I recently read an article wondering why many new writers seem to focus all their efforts on writing novels. I was guilty of the same, and the reason for this was that the shorter the story, the harder it seemed to be to write it. With time and some nudging from my hubby, I got better at writing short stories, but it is still very hit or miss. From time to time I try my hand at flash fiction (only three flash fiction acceptances to date) and when I really want to challenge myself I write drabble. Here are a couple of samples of my horror drabbles (that means “expect them to be disturbing because they are limited to 100 words”.) The second one received a very awkward rejection from Drabblecast. What can I say – it’s not my forte.
Watch Me Bleed
I was never a fan of confined spaces. I didn’t ever like elevators or tiny meeting rooms. They always made me feel too constrained, sort of claustrophobic. They don’t seem quite so bad anymore, in comparison.
It was a really bad accident. Here I am immobile, boxed into a space smaller than any I’ve been in before. I can hear the jaws of life, but I know that they won’t reach me in time. I’m dizzy and fading fast – so I watch my blood trickling away like sand in an hourglass.
Don’t get any ideas about this second one. I share none of the character’s inclinations. It just seemed like a really horrific concept to me when I wrote it.
A View From the Attic
The rafters creaked overhead as Angela gazed out of the attic window. The sight of Andrew playing happily in the backyard brought tears to her reddened eyes. She wanted to call out his name, but the tightness in her throat limited it to a slight whisper.
Andrew was only six and still existed in a world of innocence. He was afraid of the attic, so he was not likely to venture up there. Angela was thankful of this, as Andrew would not likely be the one to find her. Her body sagged in the noose as her world went black.
Considering the only writing I’ve done lately are rewrites, I’m thinking about dedicating March to a drabble dare. I’ll write a drabble a day and I’ll take suggestions for topics between now and the end of February. Post any suggestions you have in the comments section.
January 15, 2013
Solutions not Resolutions – Flicks Fix
While I could happily live without TV, I’m not so happy without a regular dose of movies, especially horror. Luckily, through a Canadian version of a common Internet movie subscription site, I watch movies on a regular basis. While I love getting out to the theatre from time to time, I like watching a good horror flick from the comfort of my own home too, once the kiddies are in bed, and it’s much easier for me to do (no babysitter required.) This has been my solution to a lack of opportunity for getting away.
My biggest problem with movies is that plots have become so formulaic than I can often predict the “twist ending” from some of the foreshadowing provided. When I point the foreshadowing out to the hubby and say “that means such-and-such is going to happen later” and it does, he usually tells me “you could write these things.” I’m not sure I’d be any good at screenplays, but I could certainly come up with the storylines. Anyway, because of this I really appreciate a movie that takes me by surprise (like The Caller with Malcolm MacDowell or Unbreakable with Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson – two of my favourites.)
Another thing I like about watching movies at home is the selection is so much better. Like exploring indie books, I get to explore indie or lesser known movies as well. I’ve found some real gems I wouldn’t have otherwise seen.
Here’s just a few I’ve watched so far in 2013 that I’ve enjoyed:
The Descendents – An original movie about a dying woman, a discovered affair, the handling of an estate in Hawaii, and not my typical fare, but I liked it nevertheless. All of the characters were flawed and driven by emotion.
The Expendables – A fun action flick with good guy camaraderie and a refreshingly strong female character at the centre of the plot. Lots of explosions, martial art scenes and the slinging of one-liners.
Bernie – A movie based on a true story about a quirky but beloved character and a bizarre murder where the townsfolk sided with the murderer. Jack Black plays the title character.
Suspect Zero – Probably my favourite so far in 2013 about a serial killer targeting serial killers (it has Ben Kingsley in it and he did a spectacular job.)
Three Inches – the pilot movie for a superhero series that never came to be, although these “supers” are more like deuces (for those who are familiar with the Wild Cards series). A nifty concept…too bad the TV series never panned out.
My Soul to Take – Wes Craven possessed slasher flick, predictable but enjoyable nevertheless
Bringing out the Dead – Nicholas Cage weirdness about an ambulance driver who stresses to his breaking point. A little too strange in plaves but I still liked it
The Horse Boy – a documentary about a couple who take their autistic son to Mongolia to see the reindeer people and the shamans there for spiritual healing – very cool
Stake Land – a post apocalyptic flick with vampires and cannibals, definitely my type of movie.
Now of course, you can’t win ‘em all so here are the duds
Kill List – a recommendation from a friend. They loved it. I thought it took far too long (with too many scenes of the main character and his wife arguing, getting drunk and her crying) to get into the real story and even the action scenes weren’t that well paced.
Piranha DD – Okay, I knew this one would be totally cheesy, and I did get some good laughs out of it, but it was as bad as you might expect.
Saw 3D the Final Chapter – A rehashing of a worn-out concept. I loved Saw, but the movies degraded with every new release. I really hope this one is the last.
I’ve got a few I’m eying for tonight but I’m glad to have so many to choose from. I’ll keep you up to date on any other ones that tickle my fancy.
January 14, 2013
The Blurb on Other People’s Words – Tales for the Toilet
Tales for the Toilet from Crowded Quarantine
Let me just state that this anthology is not for the faint of heart. While a few of the stories aren’t that extreme in the way of horror, several of them have major shock value and I’d have to say that some of them even went beyond my fairly broad comfort zone ( a couple of them were so disturbing to me I almost couldn’t finish them.) This is not the type of anthology you would leave in your bathroom as a johnny-reader unless the only people who visit your john are die-hard, thick-skinned horror fans.
That being said, I’d also have to say this has a little something in it for almost every type of horror fan – everything from bizarre and gore-ridden weird tales and standard zombie fare to sci-fi erotic horror. It’s one of the more eclectic horror anthologies out there.
Some of my favourites:
Crimson by Rich Hawkins – A great intro story which I really enjoyed despite a heavier that normal dose of gore. I liked the psychological element best.
Daisy by John Robinson – A solid zombie offering with strong characterization and heart-wrenching family-based plot. I particularly liked the ending.
Firewater by Brian Panowich – An eerie tale of retribution that reminded me of an old episode of “The Twilight Zone” or “Creep Show”.
While a few of the tales didn’t match my tastes and some left me scratching my head, I think this was a reasonably good anthology overall – just be prepared to steel yourself before you read it.
January 13, 2013
Solutions not Resolutions – Dirty Work
I’m tweaking my second rewrite at the moment (yes – it is finished) and prepping for my next round of submissions (I’m anticipating 6-7). This includes something I don’t like to do at all, but I consider it a necessary evil. I’m sending a retraction of a submission.
This is only my third retraction, which isn’t bad considering the number of submissions I’ve made to date. It was almost my fourth. I received a response mere days before I was going to send one out one summer – a very belated rejection (the story has since been published elsewhere.)
I’d like to wait until I get a response to the retraction, to make sure it has been read, but the truth is, I could end up waiting just as long (another delay) in order to *not* get that acknowledgement, and I’m not about to do that. I’ll give it a few days and then put it back on my “available for submission” list. Considering it has been sitting with the publisher for fourteen months for an anticipated charity anthology that doesn’t seem to be manifesting, I don’t think I’m being unreasonable, and I did withdraw it in a civil manner.
Of course, it could be like my first retraction and be ignored. That was a story I retracted after a year’s wait without response and I had an acceptance for it elsewhere within a month. Two months after that, I received a rejection letter from the original venue where I had sent the retraction – and this from a pro-rate market. I’m not going to name names, or point elbows, but I thought that was very “un” professional and I let them know it in a polite way. I don’t intend on submitting anything else to them after that.
My second retraction didn’t get an acknowledgement right away, and I had just re-submitted the story when I got an e-mail begging me not to withdraw it – that they wanted it and apologizing for the delay. I felt bad when I withdrew the submission from the second publisher, and I explained why I was doing it, but I haven’t submitted anything else to that second publisher since. I’ve heard publishers will blacklist you for things like that and I don’t feel like testing that theory.
So what merits a retraction? I’ve heard established authors who only sell for pro rates say that after five months they’ll pull their submission, because anything beyond that is unreasonable. I usually wait at least six months after the submission closing date (longer if they state it will take longer up front) or twelve months if there is no closing date. I’ve let this one slide a little more, but I’ve reached the end of my rope. This is twice I’ve had issues with this publisher being tardy with a response and I’m not up for giving them another chance – not when I have several other publishers I’ve worked with who have been much more reliable.
Oh well – back to the grindstone…
