Kevin A. Ranson's Blog, page 7
October 29, 2014
The Matriarch III: First Draft Begins November 1st #amwriting
Wary of a future misunderstanding, Janiss Connelly pays a surprise visit to an immortal residing in the state capital of West Virginia. The Charleston vampire isn’t amused, a slight that puts the residents and staff of Cedarcrest Sanctum at risk when their administrator abruptly goes missing.Forced to endure a nightmare scenario, Janiss must embrace the potential she has both envied and feared in order to survive – even as a hidden foe takes advantage of the perfect opportunity.
The tetralogy continues…
Filed under: Creativity, Horrificus, Literarian, Paranormal Tagged: #amwriting, Cedarcrest Sanctum, first draft, III, Janiss Connelly, Kevin A. Ranson, the matriarch
October 23, 2014
My Spooky Empire 2014 Appearance Schedule
Friday October 24th
6p – Panel: Keeping the Bodies Fresh – Sarasota
9p – Panel: Sick & Twisted (21 & up ONLY) – Sarasota
Saturday October 25th
12p – Author’s Network – Sarasota
2p – Panel: Writing the Fight – Sarasota
4:30p – Ultimate Occult Showdown! – Lake Ballroom
7p – Author Signing Table
8p – Panel: Choose your Own Adventure – Sarasota
Sunday October 26th
11a – Panel: Sympathy for the Devil – Sarasota
12p – Author Signing Table
Can’t wait to see everyone at Spooky Empire’s Ultimate Halloween Weekend!
Filed under: Existentialism, Hollywood, Horrificus, Internet, Literarian Tagged: 2014, Appearance, Schedule, Spooky Empire
October 8, 2014
Spooky Empire Appearance and Showdown Update!
October 24-26, 2014: Author guest (confirmed) at Spooky Empire Ultimate Horror Weekend in Orlando, Florida.
We’re also presenting what may be the BIGGEST Ultimate Occult Showdown we’ve ever done: Saturday, October 25th at 4:30p in the LAKE BALLROOM – be there!
Filed under: Cosplaying, Creativity, Existentialism, Hollywood, Horrificus, Paranormal, Satire Tagged: florida, Lake Ballroom, Orlando, Spooky Empire, Ultimate Horror Weekend, Ultimate Occult Showdown
October 3, 2014
See the Showdown LIVE at Spooky Empire on October 25th!
The BIGGEST show we’ve done to date…and YOU’RE invited!
Originally posted on MovieCrypt.com:
See the Ultimate Occult Showdown LIVE at Spooky Empire’s Ultimate Horror Weekend 4:30 PM in the LAKE BALLROOM on Saturday, October 25, 2014!
A game show with no prizes and audience participation is mandatory! Vote up your favorites in a contest of characters, movies, and TV programs but be ready to tell us why. Rules are made up as we go along by your opinionated a**hole hosts Kevin A. Ranson and Brett J. Link. Presented by MovieCrypt.com and Grim D. Reaper!
Filed under: Existentialism
September 28, 2014
To Say or Not to Say Ello…That is the Question
The new social network gathering the requisite amount of buzz this…year? Month? Week? It’s called Ello, as in something that cute little caterpillar from Labyrinth would say.
Why is the buzz strong with this one? This is a quote from their manifesto:
Your social network is owned by advertisers.
Every post you share, every friend you make, and every link you follow is tracked, recorded, and converted into data. Advertisers buy your data so they can show you more ads. You are the product that’s bought and sold.
We believe there is a better way. We believe in audacity. We believe in beauty, simplicity, and transparency. We believe that the people who make things and the people who use them should be in partnership. We believe a social network can be a tool for empowerment. Not a tool to deceive, coerce, and manipulate — but a place to connect, create, and celebrate life.
You are not a product.
Sounds good, but it’s still in beta, search is buggy, no IOS or Android mobile app yet, blah blah blah. This same idea, by the way, is what’s made WordPress such a strong web platform (and this website is hosted on it along with all of my other websites). As I’ve said many times over, when ANYONE creates a social network that can give people a better experience than Faceybook, so long, Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (no thanks to all those game requests).
By the way, I’m @thinkingskull over at Ello.
Filed under: Conspiracies, Creativity, Existentialism, Internet, Management, Technology Tagged: @thinkingskull, beta, buzz, ello, social network
September 25, 2014
“MEET MY MAIN CHARACTER” Blog Tour!
I have been nominated by action/sci-fi/horror screenwriter Eric Ian Steele from Manchester, England to join the “Meet My Main Characters” blog tour. Today I will be telling you a little about the protagonist of my vampire thriller series The Matriarch.
What is the name of your main character?
Her name is Janiss Annette Connelly, formerly a college senior with one semester to go before she would begin student teaching, marry, have children, and live happily ever after…all of which changes after running afoul of a vampire named Ian Chrisman.
When and where is the story set?
It is set in and around Glenville, West Virginia and at my alma mater, Glenville State College. The story takes place in modern-day, but the roots of the story are steeped in the local ghost story of Sis Linn, a woman who was brutally murdered a century before and was interred in the old city cemetery on the actual college campus. Her murder was never solved, setting up the gray area in history where the story takes place.
What should we know about the main character?
Janiss is a strong-willed and caring young woman who spends her free time visiting retirees at a local rest home. Her boyfriend Daniel is noncommittal about his relationship with her; being so close to graduation and with their entire lives ahead of them, she is determined to put him on the spot over their Thanksgiving break from school while spending the week together at her late grandparents’ farmhouse. Full disclosure: this is NOT a romance novel.
What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?
Janiss is unaware that the woman in charge of the rest home she visits is not what she seems and is decades older than she looks. While Janiss fears for the lives and treatment of her elderly friends at the home, she isn’t aware that an old enemy of the administrator has been lured back to central West Virginia and decides to announce his arrival by making Janiss his victim. After her encounter with Ian, Janiss’s life as she knew it is over and everyone she cares about is in mortal danger.
What is the personal goal of the character?
Not being the kind of person who gives up when all seems hopeless, Janiss makes the best of her situation. Fully aware that her own life and future has been irrevocably destroyed, she becomes determined to risk everything she has left to ensure no one else will ever have to suffer the same way again.
When can we expect the book to be published?
The Matriarch and its sequel The Matriarch: Guardians have already been published and are available now on Amazon. There are two additional books planned in the series to complete the tetralogy.
My nomination for two more writers for the blog tour?
I’m calling out Dan Dillard and Frank Larnerd to make a spectacle of themselves and the main character of their choice. Good luck, gentlemen!
Filed under: Acquaintances, Creativity, Horrificus, Literarian, Paranormal Tagged: blog tour, Glenville State College, Ian Chrisman, Janiss Annette Connelly, Meet My Main Characters, Sis Linn, the matriarch, vampire thriller, West Virginia
September 22, 2014
“The Crooked Man,” Re-edited and Re-mastered; Enjoy!
“The Crooked Man,” Re-edited and Re-mastered; Enjoy!
Originally posted on The Spooky Chronicles by Kevin A. Ranson:
Same story with the “telling” re-written into showing to match up with the rest of the series. Read something Spooky today; he’ll appreciate it!
Filed under: Existentialism
September 21, 2014
The Color Thesaurus
Color is important to a physical description, but here’s a few suggestions that go beyond Roy G. Biv to provide for a particular hue with a single word.
Originally posted on Ingrid's Notes:
I love to collect words. Making word lists can help to find the voice of my story, dig into the emotion of a scene, or create variety.
One of my on-going word collections is of colors. I love to stop in the paint section of a hardware store and find new names for red or white or yellow. Having a variety of color names at my fingertips helps me to create specificity in my writing. I can paint a more evocative image in my reader’s mind if I describe a character’s hair as the color of rust or carrot-squash, rather than red.
So for fun, I created this color thesaurus for your reference. Of course, there are plenty more color names in the world, so, this is just to get you started.
Fill your stories with a rainbow of images!
Filed under: Existentialism
September 15, 2014
“Parish Knoll,” A Tone Poem for a Special Project
There once was a hill where an eldritch church slept
‘Twas surrounded by many a soul
Not only the bodies interred has it kept
The cemetery of Parish Knoll
Never could the township find fault in its grace
Its mystery to keep they implore
Ever would the townsfolk therein know their place
While always making room for one more
Copyright © 2014 Kevin A. Ranson
Filed under: Cemetery, Horrificus, Literarian Tagged: Kevin A. Ranson, Parish Knoll, Poem
September 14, 2014
So Good, It’s Spooky!
“Spooky” Spencer Lawson’s birthday is September 13th, so happy birthday, kid!
The Spooky Chronicles was my first foray into writing for profit – because film critique pays nothing in the way of actual coin. I’ve written five books thus far, and the series in general has been fun to write and fun for fans to read…and yet, many don’t know that the author of The Matriarch series (that’s also me) has these other books out.
For those neither happy with zombie kids or Appalachian vampires, dark fantasy is coming your way soon…!
Meanwhile, an all-new Spooky Chronicles series trailer (coming soon), one better designed to get folks interested in the story of “a dead boy growing up in a tourist trap town.” Lots of new images herein in an effort to bring River City to life like you’ve never seen it before; just check out that road sign off of Exit 35 on I-10 going through Alabama!
Also, there’s a new edition of “The Crooked Man” being edited as we speak. Why? Frankly, the rest of the series doesn’t have the storybook-to-narrative feel that the this one book had. Since “Forget Me Nots” has become the official introduction to the series, changes needed to be made to marry it better to the series overall. No story changes, just re-edited to show instead of tell, plus a few small Easter eggs for those keeping up with all of the books. If you’ve already bought it, just download it again for free to get the new edition after it’s completed!
Filed under: Creativity, Horrificus, Literarian Tagged: book, boy, chronicles, horror, middle school, mystery, novella, Occult, Paranormal, Series, spooky, teen reading, undead, YA, zombie
