C.V. Hunt's Blog, page 13

Audio books coming soon.

I came to an agreement with a narrator for Endlessly. They are currently finishing up a different project, and when they are done the production for Endlessly will begin. I sent the script for How To Kill Yourself to a different narrator and I'm waiting for them to get back with me about if it's something they are interested in doing. As far as the other three books I currently have in print, Danse Macabre is open for auditions, but I haven't had anyone submit anything. And I won't be perusing Legacy or Phantom until Endlessly is finished.
Once the audio books are finished they will be available on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes. I will keep you posted.

Book Review - Chicken by Rob Stennett

Chicken by Rob Stennett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
ABOUT: 
No one expected the home of America’s favorite chicken sandwich to turn into a political battleground. But it happened. "Chicken" is a fictional short story inspired by a fast food appreciation day that took place not so long ago. In Rob Stennett’s humorous, frightening, and surprisingly emotional short story we are introduced to the employees who are pulled like a wishbone by the right and the left. It’s a story about love and hate, heaven and hell, violence and pacifism, and most of all it’s a story about a chicken.

SHORT REVIEW:

A good short story about a teenager trying to cope with his gay identity. This would have made a great full-length book.
View all my reviews

Book Review - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

ABOUT:
Far in the future, the World Controllers have finally created the ideal society. In laboratories worldwide, genetic science has brought the human race to perfection. From the Alpha-Plus mandarin class to the Epsilon-Minus Semi-Morons, designed to perform menial tasks, man is bred and educated to be blissfully content with his pre-destined role.
But, in the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, Bernard Marx is unhappy. Harbouring an unnatural desire for solitude, feeling only distaste for the endless pleasures of compulsory promiscuity, Bernard has an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage Reservations where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his distress…
A fantasy of the future that sheds a blazing critical light on the present--considered to be Aldous Huxley' s most enduring masterpiece.
REVIEW:

This was a reread. Since the last time I read this I was in my teens, I felt I needed to revisit it and see if I still loved the book 18 years later. It's still one of my favorite books. This time around I listened to it on audio book though, and it was my first time of listening to an audio book. I think I prefer to create the narrative in my head vs. listening to someone else's ideal of what it should be.
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There's still time...

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Goodreads Book Giveaway How To Kill Yourself by C.V. Hunt Giveaway ends February 28, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win

Interview of G. Arthur Brown

 Today I have G. Arthur Brown answering some questions about writing and monsters. He's the author of Kitten and part of the New Bizarro Author Series available through Eraserhead Press. You can purchase his book through Amazon by clicking on the cover below. Find out more about his writing at his site:  http://garthurbrown.blogspot.com
Tell us about yourself.
I’m from Maryland. Nuff said. 
How long have you been writing?
All the time.
Do you have any rituals when you write?
I like to procrastinate a lot. That takes up a significant portion of time and energy. When I do start writing, I type, and I like to do instantaneous fact checking, so I get a chance to procrastinate on the internet while I find out if the Vernal Equinox is on the 21st or 23rd.  
Is there any one thing that inspires you?
Reading great writing tends to inspire me to write, which makes it hard for me to stay focused on reading really good books. So I’ve switched to just reading Dan Brown and Danielle Steele.  
Who or what was your bogey man when you were growing up?
Mr. Yuck, the green icky face on the Poison Control stickers. They had commercials in the late 70s that were as scary as shit to a three year old me. And it had this disturbing jingle, “Mr. Yuck is mean, Mr. Yuck is green.” My mother put a sticker on the phone, because it had the number for poison control on it. And I wouldn’t walk by the phone on my own, which made it difficult for me to get to the bathroom. It was the most terrifying shit in the world. 
Who do you think is scarier? A fictitious monster (werewolf or zombie) or one that could be real (a psychopath)?
It’s probably scarier that my mind can imagine horrible monsters of any type. All that evil is within me, somewhere, waiting to be summoned. And people who write really realistic serial killer fiction do freak me out a little bit. 
If you're being chased by a monster would you look over your shoulder behind you to see how close it was?
Not unless I thought the monster was kind of hot.  
In the way of tradition monsters do you prefer the old traditions? Example: Vampires and sunlight, werewolves and the cycles of the moon, and stumbling zombies. Or you do you like the break out of new and improved monsters? Example: Indestructible vampires, werewolves shifting at will, and runner zombies?
Interesting. I’m not sure what era gets defined as traditional. Bram Stoker’s vampires weren’t destroyed by sunlight.  They were just weakened by it, couldn’t change form in the daylight. There are dozens of legends that were made into the composite of VAMPIRE that we now have. There’s an Italian variation of the vampire with only one nostril. That’s what I prefer. One nostril on my vampires. The supervampires from Blade II are also kind of awesome. Maybe I want my vampires to be day-walkers serving time for income tax evasion.  
I actually am really retro with my preferences. Zombies, to me, are mindless slaves brought back from the grave, which comes from the voodoo tradition. And from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. Ghouls are the ones who want to eat you. But these definitions are constantly evolving.   
Here is the mother loaded question. The apocalypse has fallen upon us. Society and government has collapsed. All of technology and conveniences of modern day have crumbled. Groups of survivors are gathering the remnants of what is left and trying to rebuild a new world. You have to start over from scratch. You have nothing. You have to build your own house, grow your own food, and make your own fuel, medicine, and clothing. The question is this: What is the one thing (thing, not person) you would miss the most from the world you live in now?
I would find it fascinating making my own medicine. Where do I get a pestle and mortar in this new world?  My television won’t work, but my pestle and mortar are still intact. Strange sort of apocalypse. I guess I would miss all the ridiculous names that pharmaceutical companies give to drugs. I would try to recreate the effect, but to ill effect. Fuccitol. 
Chocolate: milk, white, or dark?
Dark.
Are you a night or day person?
I try to be a night person. My job has been interfering, though. I work at 4 AM.  
Favorite song or band?
Way too hard to narrow down. I like many types of music, many era. Devo is a good answer though. Let’s say Devo. 
Favorite book?
Man… let’s say Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link. So many great, magical, dream-like stories. 
Favorite movie? 
Time Bandits is the stock answer. I don’t know if it really is my favorite, but it’s one I've liked since I saw it in the theater at age 4. I’ve seen it a million times and I still love it. There are lots of things about it that don’t make any sense, like the ancient Greeks speaking modern English, but it doesn't matter. I think the portrayal of Evil and the Supreme Being have had incalculable influence on the way I present those sorts of characters in my writing. 
Thanks for stopping by G. and answering my random and crazy questions. And for anyone reading this, don't forget to check out Kitten.

Book Review - The Obese by Nick Antosca

The Obese by Nick Antosca
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
ABOUT:

Nina Gilten works in the fashion industry. She retouches images for Redbook, Teen Vogue, Chic, Marie Claire, and Nylon. Her work involves shaving off hipbones, masking moles, and giving more sheen to the lusterless skin of supermodels. In other words, she makes people beautiful. But when a vengeful houseguest forwards Nina's private correspondence with her boss to popular feminist blog Jezebel, Nina finds herself jobless and ostracized.
Then rabid obese people start rampaging on the streets of New York.
Thrown together with her ex-boyfriend Chris and his fianc, the gorgeous Molly Sweet, Ferdinand (a male model with a fat fetish), Chantal (also a model), and Dora (the vengeful houseguest who destroyed her career), Nina must fend for her life in a world where the people she hates most are now trying to eat her.
Lazy Fascist Press is proud to present The Obese, a bloody satire about body image and America's obesity epidemic, written by Shirley Jackson Award-winner Nick Antosca.
Also featuring the bonus story "Predator Bait."
SHORT REVIEW:

I loved this author's writing style. There's a poetic quality to the sentence structures that sucks you in and the next thing you know you've finished the book. I recommend this.
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Book Review - The Horribles by Nathaniel Lambert

The Horribles by Nathaniel Lambert
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
ABOUT:
Since witnessing the brutal death of his parents, Sheldon Delaney swore to never step foot outside again. The Horribles are out there. They're everywhere, threatening the residents of Poe's Creek. Sheldon's life changes again when a savage motorcycle gang parades through town with a deafeaning roar, leather, chrome, and evil. They're here for the children. Nothing will get in their way. The Horribles have arrived for real this time and for Sheldon to do anything about it, he has to confront every fear he's ever had or risk being choked by his poisonous memories.
SHORT REVIEW:
A story filled with the horrors of the unknown. Follow Sheldon as he battles the demons within and an evil that will kill everyone.
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Verbicide Magazine Review.

Here's a review of HOW TO KILL YOURSELF on Verbicide Magazine: http://www.verbicidemagazine.com/2013...
I appreciate every review written about anything that I've written. If anyone has a link to a review of any of my books, don't be shy... send me an email and I'll post it here. 
Do I have any announcements to make?
No... not really. I have completed two books. And yes, one of them is a companion book to the ENDLESSLY trilogy. I don't plan on publishing anything until summer, or later. Keep an eye out. I'll keep you posted. 

James Sebor

I'm providing you with a link to some paintings. These are from James Sebor. Check out his site. http://www.surrealpaintings.com/index... He has several different categories but I like the Invisibles. 

Enter to win...

Don't forget you have until the end of February to sign up for a free paperback of HOW TO KILL YOURSELF.
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Goodreads Book Giveaway How To Kill Yourself by C.V. Hunt Giveaway ends February 28, 2013. See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win