C.V. Hunt's Blog, page 21

What's the future looking like?

Well... uncertain and open. I think that's the same answer you would get from anyone else on the planet for any number of subjects. Recently I've had people inquire about what's next from me, and I felt you all deserved some answers... even if the answers only create more questions.
Are you writing more books for the Endlessly series?
Maybe.
Is Danse Macabre going to have a sequel?
Possibly.
When is your next book coming out?
I don't know.
I've been writing but I've also been lazy. Right now I'm compiling short stories and working on a novella off and on. What's the novella about? (sly grin) I'm not telling. I will give you some extremely vague picture clues to tickle your curiosity bone, and I will tell what it's not. It's NOT a continuation of the Endlessly series or a sequel to Danse Macabre. 
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What? You say these don't make any sense? Good. Cryptic is good. It keeps the imagination running, and the imagination is a terrible thing to waste or lose.
Now on to extra curricular activities - conventions.
I plan on attending a few conventions this year, but I won't be a participant as an author. My plan is to strictly be a spectator. I'm currently planning on attending http://www.horrorfindweekend.com/ and http://bizarrocon.wordpress.com/ There may be others and these are subject to change due them taking place in August and November. You know, the future is uncertain and open. So if your planning on stalk me you might want to keep up on my posts to make sure I'm still attending. (just kidding)  If you have trouble viewing, please visit www.authorcvhunt.com, my blog feeds to several other sites. Thank you.

Book Review: American Fever by Peter Christian Hall

[image error] [image error] 4 out of 5A young libertarian flu fighter huddles at home in New York’s East Village, blogging about a devastating avian flu pandemic as he sells masks, gloves, and goggles over the Internet. An intriguing, vexing woman stalks him while he delves into the mysteries of influenza and serves up colorful commentary on the chaos swirling around—and within—his world. When 'Count Blogula' gets involved with some lively community flu activists, he collides with a government bent on controlling Americans as if they were viral intruders. With the U.S. staggering through a kind of national Katrina—Chinatown a smoky ruin, Atlanta evacuated, Houston blown up—he must fight both the system and the contagion to save his life and love.
http://www.americanfeverbook.com/

REVIEW:
When the world is struck with a raging virus, one man takes his opinions, research, and eye-witness accounts to the internet. A personality known only as ‘Count Blogula’ ships personal protective equipment to people looking for salvation from a deadly flu virus. He begins his blog by offering advice, brief history lessons, and a variety of links that take you to the information that he talks about. But eventually, the world falls apart before his eyes as the virus breaks down his friends, the city that he lives in, the government, and eventually him.
FROM THE BOOK:We need to infect society with rational fear. We need to go viral – no less than H5N1 has done. People far from New York must prepare.  It’s not too late! Yet.
American Fever doesn’t read like a book, but exactly like the story intends: a blog. It’s filled with the random musings of a man as a deadly virus begins to wiggle its way in to his life, and the narration grows more personal every day. It’s a dairy of the madness that the world would become if we were consumed with an epidemic.
I enjoyed this book, but I’m not sure how I would perceive it in paperback. Normally I can rate how much I like a story by how quickly I read it - this was an exception. I read American Fever on my Kindle Fire, and found myself constantly sidetracked by the hyperlinks that were posted within. The narrator offered informational links to videos and websites that made the story extremely interactive.
Toward the end of the story, I found myself reading it on the actual blog. That’s right, the author actually has a blog that contains all of the posts, and you can read the whole story as originally intended online. I enjoyed see the photos that were posted in the blog that didn’t transition over to the download. I’m curious if they made it to the printed version.
You could easily get lost in this, or the hyperlinks, whichever fascinates you more. Overall, I was impressed with the amount of research that Peter Christian Hall invested into creating this… book?
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Author Interview: Kody Boye

[image error] You can find out more about Kody, his writing, and links to purchase his books by visiting his site: http://kodyboye.com/


Tell us a little about yourself.

            Tostart, my name is Kody Boye. I was inspired to start writing when a teacherassigned an object-specific writing assignment when I was seven years old.Fast-forward seven years and my first story, [A] Prom Queen's Revenge, was published, and three years after thatmy first novel Sunrise (which has nowjust been rereleased) was published. I moved to Austin in the month of May 2010due to a variety of reasons and have been here since.
Can you give a brief summary of what Bloodis about?


[image error]             Thequick and dirty response would be that Bloodis about a young man who wants to join the military. To expand upon that, thenovel is about how, due to being magically-gifted, our main character, OdinKarussa, is conscripted into the royal pagehood to train as a knight after ahigh mage of the Ornalan court decrees him beneficial to the king's army.

What inspired you to write this book?


            I initially wrote Blood (and the three original books thatencompass the overall story arc) between the ages of twelve to fourteen. Itried to pick it up a second time after 2007 but failed miserably. However,come time for 2009, I had a brain tumour scare that could have possiblyaffected my writing, so I wrote an anxiety and panic-ridden draft of the firstchapter the night before I was to go meet with a neurosurgeon. Turns out thescare was nothing more than a bruise on the brain and I'm still writing to thisday.
What was the biggest challenge you facedwriting Blood?


            I think the challengeof writing any fantasy story is sculpting your characters and your world. Goinginto The Brotherhood universe again,I had a variety of things to think about, mainly geography and just where allthey would be traveling. I spent a week drawing a map that displayed thenorthwestern world and from there expanded upon the idea. While I did rewrite Blood in 2009, I rewrote it anadditional time in 2011 because I wasn't satisfied with the writing. This majorrevision point was also where I noticed some of the bigger flaws in thebeginning, which I fixed thanks to my amazing editor.
Why do you think people should read your book?


            Ithink people would enjoy Blood basedon the fact that it's a very character-driven novel. One of the major things Iwanted to do when I started writing the saga was make it easy to read, easy tounderstand and easy for the reader to imagine. The world the series is set inis broad in scope (as are the cultures and histories,) but it never overburdensthe reader (so far as the feedback's told me, anyhow.) One of my major pointswas to not jar the reader out of the story by introducing a random term thatmeant nothing to the context of the story (i.e, making a complex system ofnames for a high mage when they could just be called a 'high mage,' etc.) Forthe most part, I think I succeeded.
What are the future plans in writing?

            My futureplans for writing is to (hopefully) make enough money off it to substantiate myincome. I have just finished the first draft of the fourth Brotherhood novel, Rebel. Afterward, I will resume writingmy YA M/M urban fantasy novel with my friend Rhiannon Frater. As of now I'm notsure if I will be writing the fifth and final Brotherhood novel after I finishme and Miss Frater's novel, though I'm sure it will come sometime in the monthsfollowing that (most likely this year as well.)


Below is a chance to enter a giveaway to win a free copy!


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If you have trouble viewing, please visit www.authorcvhunt.com, my blog feeds to several other sites. Thank you.

Another author painting.

I had another author offer up their mug for one of my crazy paintings. This one is of Brent Michael Kelly, the author of Chuggie And The Desecration Of Stagwater. You can find out more about him at his website http://www.catbat.com/bmk/ 
Brent offered me 5 photos to choose from, and I favored this one for the haunting eyes. Again, if you are an author and interested in this strange side project, feel free to contact me. 
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If you have trouble viewing, please visit www.authorcvhunt.com, my blog feeds to several other sites. Thank you.

Book Review: Hellhound On My Trail by D.J. Butler

[image error] [image error] Heaven doesn'twant them. Do they stand a chance in Hell?

Bass player Mike Archuleta is down on his luck in a major way. The shatteredsurvivor of a misspent youth, he is haunted by the ghost of his dead brother,and is now driven to planning his suicide. Halfway through the show that'ssupposed to be his last, a hellhound bursts into the club and attacks the band.The band members pull out karate moves, guns, and even a sword... and thenthings start to get strange.


Can Mike survive the show? What can he do about his brother's ghost? And whatkind of band is this, anyway?


Hellhound on My Trail is the first installment of Rock Band Fights Evil, a pulpfiction serial by D.J. Butler.


http://rockbandfightsevil.com/
REVIEW:
D.J. Butlertakes his turn with heaven, hell, and everything in between with Hellhound On My Trail. Much like otherauthors that tackle biblical stories, his rendition is unique. He starts with avery diverse and strange band of characters that somewhat confuse you, butlearning about who they are, and what they are capable of, keeps you flippingthe pages to find out more.
The story isaction packed! You barely have time to breathe from one chapter to the next asthe misfit band fights against unstoppable demons.
Mike decided toplay on more gig with an obscure band, and after the show he planned on killinghimself. He's been faced with the ghost of his angry brother for years, anduses alcohol to keep the delusions away. His scheme of one final night seems tobe going as planned, until an angry demon busts into the bar and threatens toswallow him whole. Now under the sobering pressure, he realizes that where heis going after he dies isn't an ideal place. Mike forces himself to step up andfollow the group as they jump from the pan and into fire.
The story isfast-paced and slightly chaotic to keep up with, but you are following Mike ashe learns about the same world that you are being introduced to: God, Satan,demons, angles, shape shifting fairies, immortals, narcoleptic wizards…. Butlerbuilt a crazy world with infinite possibilities.
This read givesyou a great pulp fiction feel that would easily transfer into a comic book, andin a sense, that is what I felt like I was reading – minus the illustrations.
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New painting project... authors.

I've taken up a new painting project. My goal is to paint other authors and the first author who volunteered was Andersen Prunty. If you haven't had a chance to enter Andersen's world, you can here http://www.andersenprunty.com/ 
If you are an author and interested in this side project of mine, feel free to contact me. There will be a few requirements in order for me to produce an original piece of art. You must relinquish all artistic freedom for me to produce the portrait how I see you. This is all based on your writing, personality, likes and dislikes. In another words... I need to get to know you. 
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If you have trouble viewing, please visit www.authorcvhunt.com, my blog feeds to several other sites. Thank you.

Book Review: Crimson Groves by Ashley Robertson

[image error] [image error] 4 out of 5Intense andsuspenseful with a twist of romance. Abigail Tate was a normal human girl.Until the day Bronx the vampire barges into her life and turns her against herwill. Held captive while forced to deal with never ending cravings for blood,Abby prays for a way to escape. Only when an opportunity arises, it's with theaid of an innocent human named Tyler--except vampires are forbidden to interactwith the unbitten. But Abby quickly learns this human has secrets of hisown...secrets that can either help her or get her killed. Only Abby discoversthat she was the one with the biggest secret of them all.
http://www.ashleyrobertsonbooks.com/

REVIEW:
Vampire loversrejoice! There is a new kind of clan of vampires in town, and they areterrified of the sunlight, fire, and decapitation.
With every newvampire story come a new set of rules to which these creatures live by. AshleyRobertson has given her vampires a unique twist. Although the vampires of Crimson Groves cannot withstand thesunlight, they do not sleep when the sun is up – or ever.
The story startswith a disgruntled Abigail Tate on seemingly normal day. But after aconfrontation with her ex-boyfriend, a mysterious phone call from her estrangedfather and a sudden undeniable attraction to a stranger that waltzes into thebar that she works in, her life is never going to be the same.
Bronx Grangerseems like a dream come true, until a passionate make out session turns into deadlynightmare. Abigail is turned into a vampire against her will, and trapped my anoverbearing and jealous Bronx who is in a constant state of denial that Abbywill become his lover.
Abby quicklylearns about an underground world of blood donors that line up to be bitten bya vampire, because a vampire's venom causes a euphoric and addicting attractionto be bitten again.
The whole whileAbigail struggles with who she has become, what is happening to her body andmind, and overall, how to escape from Bronx.
FROM THE BOOK:I was going to look twenty-one forever. Iknew plenty of people that would pay big money for that. I had to pay for itwith my soul.
I enjoyed AshleyRobertson's take on the vampire, and the book was well written. There seemed tobe a bit too much crying from Abby, but it was a defining part of herpersonality, and an essential trait to show how she was struggling with her newlife. I find jealousy in a man's character a huge turn off, which all of themen involved oozed, so I couldn't really feel for them. The plot was strong andwell planned with a couple of huge twists. Good job Ashley, I look forward toreading more.
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Book Review: Harry Wall's Man by John Leahy

[image error] [image error] 4 out of 5Harry Wall's Man by John Leahy.
Ridley Case isin a race against time to discover the secrets of a very strange apartment tower.Will he be able to save its residents before something terrible takes place?
http://www.melange-books.com/authors/anthologies/unearthed.html

REVIEW:
Harry Wall's Man by John Leahy is one story from ananthology.
After RidleyCase attends the funeral of one of the most admired architects in the industry,Harry Wall, he is approached by Harry's estranged wife to investigate his finaldays. Harry seemed to have it all: a beautiful wife, money, and success. Thensomething happened as he began to design a new apartment building in the shapeof a standing man.
When Ridleyenters Harry's home, what he finds is more than shocking. Among the decayinglife that Harry left behind, Mr. Case finds the diagrams of "The Man", alongwith scribbled and maddening plans of a life that it could gain.
With Harry'snotes in hand, Ridley seeks information from the internet to find another manthat will help him warn the building's residents.
John Leahy doesa fantastic job of captivating his audience. Right when you want to dismiss thestory as fiction, Leahy pulls you back in for a ride. Even though this storywas short, it was well written and pulled me in. 
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I'm being featured.

The Endlessly series is being featured on www.vaempires.com and you can check it out HERE. I read and reviewed Vaempires a few months back, and I highly endorse it for those who like action-packed vampire stories with a little something extra. Check out my review of it HERE. 
If you have trouble viewing, please visit www.authorcvhunt.com, my blog feeds to several other sites. Thank you.

Latest Updates and find me at Horrorfind 2012.

Not a lot has changed here. If you haven't heard or seen, Endlessly is finally a free download on Amazon's site HERE. I can't thank everyone enough for helping with this. It's been a frustrating process to get this accomplished. 
Hand Ramblings is now available HERE and HERE. It's a compilation of poems and short stories in download form. If you purchase the paperback you will get to see my photography and paintings. Due to the screwy formatting with ebooks, and the lack of color screens on older ereaders, I left the photos out of the digital download.
There is currently a giveaway of Phantom being hosted on Goodread: 
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Goodreads Book Giveaway Phantom by C.V. Hunt Giveaway ends March 31, 2012.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter to win
And a little something beyond the writing. I will be attending Horrorfind this year. It is the last weekend of August and it's located in Gettysburg, PA. I wont be performing a reading or any of the cool stuff famous people get to do, but I will be roaming around as a spectator. I'll only be there the Friday and Saturday of the weekend. So if you are attending, and you see me, feel free to approach me. I'll be there with another author and I'd be thrilled (actually shocked) to have someone recognize me.  
If you have trouble viewing, please visit www.authorcvhunt.com, my blog feeds to several other sites. Thank you.