Rachel Tsoumbakos's Blog, page 71
February 19, 2012
Larundel: Inspiration for my latest novel, The Ring of Lost Souls
After the success of my first novel, Emeline and the Mutants, I decided to try something a little different. A little more folkloric and ghostly, in fact. The idea for my latest manuscript, The Ring of Lost Souls, has come from a real place: Larundel.
Larundel is one small section of the larger mental institution called 'Mont Park.' It now lays abandoned on the outskirts of Melbourne, but once it was a leading facility. Lithium was discovered and developed at Larundel by Dr. John Cade. The institution was considered progressive for its time. It even provided its own food and these buildings (being the oldest ones)are still standing, now forming part of the Latrobe University cluster of buildings.
But along with all the scientific developments and advancements in the care of the mentally ill, there are the expected urban legends. These are what I have used to blend my story with a real place.
While I am still editing 'The Ring of Lost Souls,' why not take a look at the latest YouTube video from one of my fave Larundel explorers 'capitainnuzza.' His commentary and music choices always make me smile :-D
Larundel is one small section of the larger mental institution called 'Mont Park.' It now lays abandoned on the outskirts of Melbourne, but once it was a leading facility. Lithium was discovered and developed at Larundel by Dr. John Cade. The institution was considered progressive for its time. It even provided its own food and these buildings (being the oldest ones)are still standing, now forming part of the Latrobe University cluster of buildings.
But along with all the scientific developments and advancements in the care of the mentally ill, there are the expected urban legends. These are what I have used to blend my story with a real place.
While I am still editing 'The Ring of Lost Souls,' why not take a look at the latest YouTube video from one of my fave Larundel explorers 'capitainnuzza.' His commentary and music choices always make me smile :-D
February 8, 2012
So You Think You Can Talk Like an Aussie?
It has come to my attention that us Aussies don't speak the same way as everyone else. Paul Hogan made the rest of the world familiar with 'G'day' and Lara Bingle made us cringe with 'Where the bloody hell are ya?" But, recently, I have come across a few terms that turn the rest of the world on their head. Like: 'Well, that died in the arse, didn't it?' Apparently, we are the only country that don't think of Richard Gere when saying that.
However, it is our overuse of one little word that seems to cause the most grief: Piss.
To everyone else, it is what you do when going to the bathroom. (Although, in Australia, we have a bathroom, but use the toilet when we need to tinkle.) To the average Australian, it can mean a multitude of things. So why don't you take my poll, and see how many of the terms you recognise?
So You Think You Can Talk Like an Aussie?PMSL!Are you coming to Dazza's piss up?You piss me off!I am taking a pissI am taking the pissPissing myself laughingWanna sink some piss?Piss off!To piss in someone's pocket and call it rainI'm pissedLook at you, you're piss-arse drunk!What a pisserThat's a bit pissyShe's a bit pissyYou're as weak as piss/To be piss-weakThat's a piece of piss!That Bluey, he's a pissheadI'm as pissed as a newt (or parrot or skunk)To piss in the windPisswacker pollcode.com free polls
Now, I WAS going to put the answers her, underneath the poll, but I just might wait a couple of days. Make sure you follow my blog so I can notify you when the answers are up.
Let me know in the comments if I have missed anything.
However, it is our overuse of one little word that seems to cause the most grief: Piss.
To everyone else, it is what you do when going to the bathroom. (Although, in Australia, we have a bathroom, but use the toilet when we need to tinkle.) To the average Australian, it can mean a multitude of things. So why don't you take my poll, and see how many of the terms you recognise?
So You Think You Can Talk Like an Aussie?PMSL!Are you coming to Dazza's piss up?You piss me off!I am taking a pissI am taking the pissPissing myself laughingWanna sink some piss?Piss off!To piss in someone's pocket and call it rainI'm pissedLook at you, you're piss-arse drunk!What a pisserThat's a bit pissyShe's a bit pissyYou're as weak as piss/To be piss-weakThat's a piece of piss!That Bluey, he's a pissheadI'm as pissed as a newt (or parrot or skunk)To piss in the windPisswacker pollcode.com free polls
Now, I WAS going to put the answers her, underneath the poll, but I just might wait a couple of days. Make sure you follow my blog so I can notify you when the answers are up.
Let me know in the comments if I have missed anything.
January 14, 2012
The Ugly Truth About Gardening....
...is that I enjoy it so much when I'm not writing!
Recently, I even signed up for the Nillumbik Home Harvest Festival, as a way to get involved with the local food growing community. So, if you want to check out my achievements, and no doubt, my failures, then head on over to my other blog site: The Barefoot Gardener!
Recently, I even signed up for the Nillumbik Home Harvest Festival, as a way to get involved with the local food growing community. So, if you want to check out my achievements, and no doubt, my failures, then head on over to my other blog site: The Barefoot Gardener!
December 20, 2011
Emeline and the Mutants - Free for 24 Hours ONLY!
Recently, I blogged about my publisher Fantasy Island Book Publishers doing an awesome Christmas freebie promo - well my time has come! For today only, you can download my novel, Emeline and the Mutants, straight to your Kindle for FREE.
Make sure you get in quick, because the clock is ticking, and you don't want to miss out on this fabulous chance to read my book. Here are the list of the other books on offer free for today only, so if zombies aren't your scene, there is plenty of variety to chose from! Clicking on the book covers will take you straight to the Amazon purchase page. Enjoy!
Sons of Roland is a group memoir about the birth, life, death and resurrection of The Visitors, a 1960's rock & roll band hailing from Brooklyn. It follows bass player turned music mogul Edward Houlihan as he recounts The Visitors' meteoric rise to greatness, their wild escapades and their tragic demise. It's a story that must be told, and there is no one better to tell it than the Sons of Roland themselves... Forty years of sex, drugs and rock & roll explode to reveal the secrets and mysteries surrounding the most bizarre chapter in the history of rock & roll music, proving that Elvis is Dead, Paul is Alive and so are the Sons of Roland.
Guardian angels are all around us. They watch us, protect us, guide us and some even fall in love with us. And so begins the story of Nena Moore, the teenage girl beloved by an archangel, as she discovers the true meaning of pure and unconditional love.
Deafness is perceived as a culture and not as a disability in the world of "Terps" and interpreters comprise the subculture that can only exist where Deaf and hearing overlap. That's the backdrop, but the story is about a marriage. An interpreter marries the only hearing member of a famous Deaf family. The interpreter has chosen to build her life around the Deaf world, but her husband was born into it and would rather do just about anything else.
Life as a package courier might not be the most glamorous of lifestyles; but for Sakuri it certainly comes at no shortage of thrills and dealings with the city's underbelly. So when an ex-mob boss requests a delivery through Sakuri's work it appears just to be an average job; right down to the attempt on her life to assure that package isn't delivered.
Silent No More is the story of Elisabeth Bauer, a modern young woman side-tracked by a freak twist in time to 1942-era Munich, Germany, where she unites with a rag-tag group of medical students bent on bringing Germany back from the brink of Hitler's insanity. On the desperate journey to find a way back into her own world, she begins to see that life is not all black and white, and that sometimes even the most courageous can falter.
Make sure you get in quick, because the clock is ticking, and you don't want to miss out on this fabulous chance to read my book. Here are the list of the other books on offer free for today only, so if zombies aren't your scene, there is plenty of variety to chose from! Clicking on the book covers will take you straight to the Amazon purchase page. Enjoy!
Sons of Roland is a group memoir about the birth, life, death and resurrection of The Visitors, a 1960's rock & roll band hailing from Brooklyn. It follows bass player turned music mogul Edward Houlihan as he recounts The Visitors' meteoric rise to greatness, their wild escapades and their tragic demise. It's a story that must be told, and there is no one better to tell it than the Sons of Roland themselves... Forty years of sex, drugs and rock & roll explode to reveal the secrets and mysteries surrounding the most bizarre chapter in the history of rock & roll music, proving that Elvis is Dead, Paul is Alive and so are the Sons of Roland.
Guardian angels are all around us. They watch us, protect us, guide us and some even fall in love with us. And so begins the story of Nena Moore, the teenage girl beloved by an archangel, as she discovers the true meaning of pure and unconditional love.
Deafness is perceived as a culture and not as a disability in the world of "Terps" and interpreters comprise the subculture that can only exist where Deaf and hearing overlap. That's the backdrop, but the story is about a marriage. An interpreter marries the only hearing member of a famous Deaf family. The interpreter has chosen to build her life around the Deaf world, but her husband was born into it and would rather do just about anything else.
Life as a package courier might not be the most glamorous of lifestyles; but for Sakuri it certainly comes at no shortage of thrills and dealings with the city's underbelly. So when an ex-mob boss requests a delivery through Sakuri's work it appears just to be an average job; right down to the attempt on her life to assure that package isn't delivered.
Silent No More is the story of Elisabeth Bauer, a modern young woman side-tracked by a freak twist in time to 1942-era Munich, Germany, where she unites with a rag-tag group of medical students bent on bringing Germany back from the brink of Hitler's insanity. On the desperate journey to find a way back into her own world, she begins to see that life is not all black and white, and that sometimes even the most courageous can falter.
December 18, 2011
Freebies from Fantasy Island Book Publishers!
It's time to get into the Christmas spirit - well so says Fantasy Island Book Publishing. At the moment they are doing amazing Freebie promos via Amazon on all their books. It only lasts for 24 hours per book, but so long as you get in quick, you have the chance to snap up some AMAZING titles by their fabulous authors!
Check out today's specials:
The Last Good Knight - Connie J Jasperson (I have read this one and it has made it to my list of all-time favourite novels)
The Last Guardian - Joan Hazel
Sin - Shaun Allan
Losing Beauty - Johanna Garth
Last Kiss In Tiananmen Square - Lisa Zhang Wharton
Make sure you 'Like' Fantasy Island Book Publishing on Facebook to keep up to date on the newest freebies as they appear!
Check out today's specials:
The Last Good Knight - Connie J Jasperson (I have read this one and it has made it to my list of all-time favourite novels) The Last Guardian - Joan Hazel Sin - Shaun Allan Losing Beauty - Johanna Garth Last Kiss In Tiananmen Square - Lisa Zhang WhartonMake sure you 'Like' Fantasy Island Book Publishing on Facebook to keep up to date on the newest freebies as they appear!
November 29, 2011
Returning From the NaNoWriMo Land of Insanity...erm....Creativity......
So, I haven't blogged for a while. I have a reason for that. You see, I went on an adventure to NaNoWriMo Land. I got lost for a while in the wild abandonment that is writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.
Did I make it? Yes I did. I went 10K over, in fact. Is the novel any good? Well, only time will tell, but you can check out the details of 'The Ring of Lost Souls' here. All I do know for the moment is that it took some stupendous and completely unexpected turns, which I never even saw coming.
And this is why I love November and National Novel Writing Month - you get swallowed up by the enormity of it and as a consequence, not only creative magic happens, but crazy risk taking also happens. This in turn seems to lead to even more creativity.
So, since I have finished a few days early, and now no longer know what to do with myself, I have compiled a list of interesting (in my eyes anyway, you may just be lulled into a sleepy land filled with numbers) statistics:
Number of words written in November: 68,387 Actual word count as per NaNoWriMo validator: 60,387Words lost due to laptop malfunction: 8,000 (Yes, I am STILL feeling ill at this. All I can say, is back up your work more often than once a day)Number of days it took me to re-write above mentioned words: 1.5Kilograms of red bullets eaten during the month of November: 1.4Average words per day (as per NaNoWriMo website):2,012 Most words written in a single day: 8,000Least words written in a day: 0Day I reached 50,000 words: 21st NovemberDay I actually finished my novel: 28th NovemberDays it would have taken me to reach 50,000 words if all the days of no writing were taken out: 16 (Holy smoke, Batman!)Number of plots thrown in because I couldn't think of anything else to add: 6Number of above plots that were useful: 1Number of covers designed: 2 (And thanks again to Jade Zivanovic for the best cover art EVER!)So, there you have it! For those of you who are still writing furiously, may you creativity flow while your hands keep up. And for those of you who are writing you NaNoWriMo novel free-hand: are you INSANE?!?!?! No, just kidding ;-P Here's hoping your pen flows as freely as your creativity and your hand cramps up only after the 1st of December!
Did I make it? Yes I did. I went 10K over, in fact. Is the novel any good? Well, only time will tell, but you can check out the details of 'The Ring of Lost Souls' here. All I do know for the moment is that it took some stupendous and completely unexpected turns, which I never even saw coming.
And this is why I love November and National Novel Writing Month - you get swallowed up by the enormity of it and as a consequence, not only creative magic happens, but crazy risk taking also happens. This in turn seems to lead to even more creativity.
So, since I have finished a few days early, and now no longer know what to do with myself, I have compiled a list of interesting (in my eyes anyway, you may just be lulled into a sleepy land filled with numbers) statistics:
Number of words written in November: 68,387 Actual word count as per NaNoWriMo validator: 60,387Words lost due to laptop malfunction: 8,000 (Yes, I am STILL feeling ill at this. All I can say, is back up your work more often than once a day)Number of days it took me to re-write above mentioned words: 1.5Kilograms of red bullets eaten during the month of November: 1.4Average words per day (as per NaNoWriMo website):2,012 Most words written in a single day: 8,000Least words written in a day: 0Day I reached 50,000 words: 21st NovemberDay I actually finished my novel: 28th NovemberDays it would have taken me to reach 50,000 words if all the days of no writing were taken out: 16 (Holy smoke, Batman!)Number of plots thrown in because I couldn't think of anything else to add: 6Number of above plots that were useful: 1Number of covers designed: 2 (And thanks again to Jade Zivanovic for the best cover art EVER!)So, there you have it! For those of you who are still writing furiously, may you creativity flow while your hands keep up. And for those of you who are writing you NaNoWriMo novel free-hand: are you INSANE?!?!?! No, just kidding ;-P Here's hoping your pen flows as freely as your creativity and your hand cramps up only after the 1st of December!
October 31, 2011
Fantasy Island Book Publishing: Scare Our Pants Off Competition
Fantasy Island Book Publishing: Winner of the Scare Our Pants off Contest:
Congratulations to Jared Loper, who is the winner of Fantasy Island Book Publishing Halloween horror short story contest!
Jared wins a full edit of his story, a shelf full of horror, and a place in every blog of every FIBP writer with a link to his full story.
Here is his super scary entry:
Boogeyman by Jared Loper
Everything had been going well the day that it all happened. Surprisingly well, even. It had been a crisp, fall day. As Miguel walked home from his job at the Indianapolis Child Support-Prosecuting Attorneys, he could smell the moisture in the air. It would snow soon. If not today, then sometime later on in the week. The walk to Ransom Street wasn't very far. It also wasn't the most pleasant walk in the world. The neighborhood had been pretty run-down and was only getting worse. (More at http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/Boogeyman)
Congratulations to Jared Loper, who is the winner of Fantasy Island Book Publishing Halloween horror short story contest!
Jared wins a full edit of his story, a shelf full of horror, and a place in every blog of every FIBP writer with a link to his full story.
Here is his super scary entry:
Boogeyman by Jared Loper
Everything had been going well the day that it all happened. Surprisingly well, even. It had been a crisp, fall day. As Miguel walked home from his job at the Indianapolis Child Support-Prosecuting Attorneys, he could smell the moisture in the air. It would snow soon. If not today, then sometime later on in the week. The walk to Ransom Street wasn't very far. It also wasn't the most pleasant walk in the world. The neighborhood had been pretty run-down and was only getting worse. (More at http://creepypasta.wikia.com/wiki/Boogeyman)
October 29, 2011
Halloween, NaNoWriMo and a New "Friend"
Here in Australia, Halloween is not so much of a big deal - or it wasn't a few years back. When I was a child, we never celebrated, mainly because my mother was religious and she didn't want to encourage the devil. So, of course, as soon as I was given half a chance, I stuck to Halloween like warts stick to witches.
This year I have been lucky enough to score tickets to possibly the best fun that can be had on Halloween eve - Club Fangtasia. This is a True Blood inspired party. There are plenty of Sookie's (myself included), loads of vampires and enough blood on tap to keep those vampires away from the humans. This event is so popular, that it is now sold out. Make sure you pop back here later on next week for all the photos in their gruesome glory!
Once Halloween is over, it is time for NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month to the uninitiated). This time last year I had absolutely no idea that the 80,000 word novel I was about to churn out in 29 days would be be picked up by publishing co-operative Fantasy Island Book Publishing. And such is the joy of the wild abandonment that is NaNoWriMo - anything is possible.
This year's theme is just as dark as last years, 'Emeline and the Mutants,' but nowhere near as bloody. Or so I hope. You see last year's novel was supposed to be urban fantasy, not fantasy/horror. Who knows which way the winds of creativity will flow once I start. I have tentatively titled this novel, 'The Ring of Lost Souls.' It will be based around an evil entity that has been trapped in an abandoned mental asylum. It's only point of contact with the 'real' world is via a ring. Needless to say my main character will be stupid enough to put this ring on and come in contact (read: possessed) with this entity.
Just like last year, my main character has graciously decided to set herself up with a Facebook account. So if you want to follow her life story as it unfolds during the month of November, then make sure you send a friend request to Isobel Claudette Smith.
Happy Halloween and good luck to all my NaNoWriMo friends - may all your plot bunnies be well behaved this year ;-)
This year I have been lucky enough to score tickets to possibly the best fun that can be had on Halloween eve - Club Fangtasia. This is a True Blood inspired party. There are plenty of Sookie's (myself included), loads of vampires and enough blood on tap to keep those vampires away from the humans. This event is so popular, that it is now sold out. Make sure you pop back here later on next week for all the photos in their gruesome glory!
Once Halloween is over, it is time for NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month to the uninitiated). This time last year I had absolutely no idea that the 80,000 word novel I was about to churn out in 29 days would be be picked up by publishing co-operative Fantasy Island Book Publishing. And such is the joy of the wild abandonment that is NaNoWriMo - anything is possible.
This year's theme is just as dark as last years, 'Emeline and the Mutants,' but nowhere near as bloody. Or so I hope. You see last year's novel was supposed to be urban fantasy, not fantasy/horror. Who knows which way the winds of creativity will flow once I start. I have tentatively titled this novel, 'The Ring of Lost Souls.' It will be based around an evil entity that has been trapped in an abandoned mental asylum. It's only point of contact with the 'real' world is via a ring. Needless to say my main character will be stupid enough to put this ring on and come in contact (read: possessed) with this entity.
Just like last year, my main character has graciously decided to set herself up with a Facebook account. So if you want to follow her life story as it unfolds during the month of November, then make sure you send a friend request to Isobel Claudette Smith.
Happy Halloween and good luck to all my NaNoWriMo friends - may all your plot bunnies be well behaved this year ;-)
