C.V. Hunt's Blog, page 33

Book Review: Diary of the Displaced by Glynn James

Diary of the Displaced by Glynn James

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
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REVIEW:

Every once in a while I stumble across a book that is so unique and pure, that I cannot believe no one has heard of it.

Glynn James paints a strange and vivid world for James Halldon, but it's not James' world. James wakes up in a strange and dark land full of dangerous creatures, but with no memory of how he has arrived there. He takes it upon himself to keep track of his exploration of this new place, and his instincts of survival. Through his journey he finds that everything is not what it seems.

This book is strange and unusual, but I feel as though I broke out of a rut of the same old thing.

ABOUT:

There is a place where nightmares come true. 

A dark and terrifying place that is hidden from the world we know by borders that only the most unfortunate of souls will ever cross. 

James Halldon woke up in the dark, alone, without any food or water, and without a clue where he was. 

And it only got stranger. 

"Of all the places I had to end up, it had to be here." 

The Journal of James Halldon is a Horror Fantasy novel, giving a detailed account of his struggle to survive, whilst trying to understand the strange, dark, terrifying world in which he is trapped. 

If it's dark when you wake up, and you can hear growling, then close your eyes and maybe it will go away. 

But maybe it won't.

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Have pleasant vampire, werewolf, and zombie dreams. www.authorcvhunt.comwww.authorcvhunt.com

Just an interview you've heard before.

I know that I have posted this before, but there was some problems with the music at the beginning of the show that I edited out. You can tell that I am nervous as hell. I don't do so well in live interviews. No news about the editing of Legacy other than it is going well. As soon as I see the first chapter I will post it here.

While I wait for Legacy I have picked up a paint brush and I have been reviewing Phantom.
Have pleasant vampire, werewolf, and zombie dreams. www.authorcvhunt.comwww.authorcvhunt.com

Waiting and wasting away.

     I've been patiently waiting for the first few chapters of Legacy to arrive. In this time I have decided to take a small break from writing and explore an old love.
     I use to draw all the time when I was younger. But, as I got older, there just never seemed like there was enough time in the day to sit down and draw. I was having a conversation with someone about painting the other day. I have dabbled in water color, and the end result was the covers for Endlessly, Legacy, and Phantom. Even though I had taken classes for drawing, ceramics, and sculpture, I never took any for painting and I wish that I had. It seems like a lot of people I know are painting lately and it always intimidated me. So Friday I went to the art supply store and bought some starter acrylic paint supplies. It resulted in my very first acrylic painting. I know it's nothing great, but I thought I would share it with you.
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     This is what I did with my spare time instead of writing Friday night.
Have pleasant vampire, werewolf, and zombie dreams. www.authorcvhunt.comwww.authorcvhunt.com

Book Review: Stargazer: The Dark Instinct Series Book 1 by Miguel Conner

Stargazer: The Dark Instinct Series Book 1 by Miguel Conner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
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REVIEW:

This book puts the movie Daybreakers to shame. If you would like to know what really would happen if vampires ruled the world, you need to read Staregazer.

Stargazer is set in the future, after nuclear fallout brought on by vampires, to destroy a killer virus transmitted by human blood. I've never been one for science fiction, but I couldn't put it down. This is what you have been looking for vampire fans. It's time for a change, something new, and refreshing…and you can find it in this book.

It's written from a vampire, Byron, POV as he assigned to single out the cause of human uprising against the vampire kind. He ends up finding out more than just the source of the uprising, but the source of his existence.

ABOUT:


Before The Matrix Trilogy, True Blood, Twilight, Daybreakers, Morrigan's Cross, and Blade there was only Stargazer-- the fountainhead of so many modern vampire and science fiction epics. 
Originally published as The Queen of Darkness(Warner Books), the classic saga has been rebooted, revamped and rewritten in its second edition to further take its place among the greatest vampire tales ever written. 


Five hundred years ago the Stargazers, let by their immortal MoonQueen, sparked global nuclear war, blotted out the sun, conquered the world, and rewrote history. Now humans are cattle whose blood feeds the master race, the glorious rulers of high-tech cities. And no one calls Stargazers by their true name. 
Vampires. 


Yet some impulse is stirring in the slave farms, an echo of a forgotten pride. Byron, a rebellious young Stargazer, is assigned to investigate the 'Warm One's--in other words, destroy any threat. But when a beautiful human shaman shows him unbelievable truths about his past, his origin,and his destiny, a vampire will discover that his immortal enemy is his living Goddess, The MoonQueen. 


"Conner creates an inexplicably touching hero both as man and monster." Publishers Weekly 


"For me, there are only two classic vampire novels: Bram Stoker's Dracula and Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire…now comes Conner's Stargazer which deserves so much of our attention for all the differences it brings into the genre." Science Fiction Chronicle 


"Classic vampire mythology redefined in the most exciting and original way. Science fiction at its finest!" Samuel Benavides, award-winning writer & director of Mansfield Path and Phantom Senses

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Have pleasant vampire, werewolf, and zombie dreams. www.authorcvhunt.comwww.authorcvhunt.com

Book Review: Heavier Than Heaven: A Biography of Kurt Cobain by Charles R. Cross

Heavier Than Heaven : A Biography of Kurt Cobain by Charles R. Cross

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
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REVIEW:
This book is compilation of a man's life from interviews and speculation. But… it is the only way to compile 27 years of the unknown into 365 pages. At the end of every beings life, the only person that truly knows what happened is the being that is living that life.

I'm reminded of a line from the movie Donnie Darko, "Every living creature on earth dies alone."

Kurt was unhappy. There are not too many people that I know that can truly say that they are 100% happy with their lives. Everyone chooses to deal with their level of unhappiness in different forms. People chose their own therapy by; ignoring it, changing it, embracing it, or medicating it. Kurt chose to medicate.

It seemed like he started on the right path, choosing to use his art to medicate his unhappy existence, but that turned him to much more sinister way to cover his pain.

I cannot speak for Kurt, because I am not Kurt. People that have suffered from depression and mental pain know the state that he was in, and they can feel sympathy for him. But every person that has suffered knows only their own hell and will never truly know what Kurt went through. As much as it is a contradiction; you have been there with him, but you will never be there with him.

I know, it doesn't make sense.

The book was well written and the author did a great job of piecing a shattered life together.

ABOUT:
Although the tragic circumstances of Kurt Cobains suicide are well known, the facts of his lifeand the influence of his artistryremain largely unexamined. Now veteran music journalist Charles R. Cross fuses his intimate knowledge of the Seattle music scene with his deep compassion for his subject in this extraordinary story of artistic brilliance and the pain that extinguished it. Based on more than 400 interviews; four years of research; exclusive access to Cobains unpublished diaries; and a wealth of documentation, Heavier Than Heaven traces Cobains life from his early days in a double-wide trailer outside of Aberdeen, Washington, to his rise to fame, success, and the adulation of a generation. Cross reveals the familial turmoil that fueled Cobains creativity, the generational history that forged his character, and the unusual love story that shaped his relationship with wife Courtney Love. Drawing from medical and police reports, and Cobains own private writings, Cross also reveals the truth about Cobains health struggles and his tragic final days. More than the history of a rock and roll star, Heavier Than Heaven is a portrait of creative genius and the will to turn pain into art

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Have pleasant vampire, werewolf, and zombie dreams. www.authorcvhunt.comwww.authorcvhunt.com

An update for "Endlessly" fans.

So here is the most up to date info for all of you Endlessly lovers. Legacy is now in the final editing process. The editor told me today that it looks like it will be done at the end of July. And as always, I told him that there is no rush, so if things get tight for him, he may bump it back some. My only goal was to get it released before the end of the year, and it looks like I am way ahead of schedule for that.
I was tickled to death last week; I found that a local book club has decided to put my book on the reading agenda for discussion. I hope that they enjoy the story. I don't think that there is much to discuss since the book is short, but maybe they will like it enough to recommend it to friends and family.
I'm rushing around now to get shirt sizes together. Just like Endlessly, I asked for volunteers to become characters. I had nine friends, family, and co-workers sign up for this. For Endlessly, I purchased shirts with their incarnate names printed on the front, and my website address and the slogan "Spread the Virus" on the back of the shirts. I am doing the same for the nine that volunteered this time. I've actually been asked about the shirts from people that would like to have one. I may look into setting up a online store for people that would like to order one if more people show an interest in it.
That's all I have right now, maybe once I get chapter one, I will post it. Although, as I stated to the editor, I'm not confident with chapter one (I wasn't with Endlessly's chapter one either) and I think it's sort of slow. The editor seemed to enjoy it and thought it played well into the rest of the story. So, I hope you all are ready for Ashley's story.

Have pleasant vampire, werewolf, and zombie dreams. www.authorcvhunt.comwww.authorcvhunt.com

Book Review: It by Stephen King

It by Stephen King

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
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REVIEW:
I'm sure to never hear the end of this, but this just wasn't my cup of tea. Don't get me wrong, the story was good, but too long for me. For people who love all the tiny details, this book is for you. My own personal tastes are action packed, and we really didn't get to that until the last 100 pages.

I couldn't personalize with the characters, and the back story was too much. I found that about 60% of the back story could have been eliminated, and the end result would have been the same. One of my personal beliefs is to always give the author a chance to redeem themselves, so I never quit a book. On this particular book I found that challenging. I don't know how many times I found myself arguing to finish it, I even fell asleep reading, and I NEVER do that.

This is the third King book that I have read, sorry Mr. King, you write good books, but they are just not my type. I think you do a wonderful job with the majority, but I'm just looking for something different. I think I'm going to have to break off this relationship.

ABOUT:
A promise made twenty-eight years ago calls seven adults to reunite in Derry, Maine, where as teenagers they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city's children. Unsure that their Losers Club had vanquished the creature all those years ago, the seven had vowed to return to Derry if IT should ever reappear. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that summer return as they prepare to do battle with the monster lurking in Derry's sewers once more

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Have pleasant vampire, werewolf, and zombie dreams. www.authorcvhunt.comwww.authorcvhunt.com

Up next week: Legacy vs. The Final Edit

I will be leaving for the land of Legacy tomorrow. (For those that have read Endlessly, you know that that is the Olympic Peninsula) I have finished up my end of edits, but I want to hit up the places in the book one more time before it gets sent off for the final edit. Like I told the editor; I just want to make sure that nothing hits me as something that I want to include about the backdrop. The plan is to send it off a week from today.

I keep looking at Switch, but I found that I can't seem to make myself write beyond where Legacy ends for now. This will all change once the finally edit for Legacy is done I'm sure. I know where the story will go, and how it will end, but I want make certain that it lines up perfectly with the other three. I don't want to proceed forward and then have to pick back through it.

A new character is growing. I broke off a small part of myself again and started building a character the last couple of weeks. I have an idea for a new story. (Not part of Endlessly) I'm going to start researching for this before too long. The story has been building in my head for a while now, but I cant seem to make up my mind first person or third. I've never wrote third person before, and in order to get a clear vision of what is happening internally among the two main characters, it would be best. I prefer first person, but I wouldn't get to write it from the person point of view that I would like. I know this is all methodically types of thinking for how the reader would view it.

Any how, I'll keep you posted about Legacy.

Have pleasant vampire, werewolf, and zombie dreams. www.authorcvhunt.comwww.authorcvhunt.com

Book Review: Vampire Haiku by Ryan Mecum

Vampire Haiku by Ryan Mecum

My rating: 5 of 5 stars [image error]

ABOUT : You hold in your hands a recently discovered poetry journal - the poetry journal of a vampire. William Butten was en route to a new land on the Mayflower when he was turned into a vampire by a fellow passenger, a beautiful woman named Katherine. These pages contain his heartbreaking story - the story of a vampire who has lived through (and perhaps caused) some of America's defining events. As he travels the country and as centuries pass, he searches for his lost love and records his adventures and misadventures using the form of poetry known as haiku.

As Butten documents bloody wars, a certain tea party in Boston, living the high life during the Great Depression, two Woodstock festivals, the corruption of Emily Dickinson, and hanging out with Davy Crockett, he keeps to the classic 5-7-5 syllable structure of haiku. The resulting poems are hilarious, repulsive, oddly romantic, and bizarre.
Read along, and you just may find a new appreciation for - and insight into - various events in American history. And blood.
MY SHORT REVIEW: The haiku has a strange lure for me. This was a great and quick read.
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Have pleasant vampire, werewolf, and zombie dreams. www.authorcvhunt.comwww.authorcvhunt.com

100 Demented, Stupid, and Weird Haikus That Make No Sense.

So the side project is done. If you would like to kill a half hour and baffle yourself, check it out. It's a free download. You can get it at Smashwords -http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/66541 or a PDF off of my site www.authorcvhunt.com

See what happens when I have too much time on my hands.

Have pleasant vampire, werewolf, and zombie dreams. www.authorcvhunt.comwww.authorcvhunt.com