Red Tash's Blog, page 235
December 23, 2011
You know what I love the most about these photos? It's...
You know what I love the most about these photos? It's not just that the wrapping is cute as hell, or that they've got big jingle bells…look under that chair. It's a flying pig. Aw, yeah, boyz! It's Christmas now!
In completely NON-FLYING PIG NEWS, I have a guest for you today. The kind and accomplished Annetta Ribken invited me to guest on her blog today, so I thought I'd return the favor and have her here.
Heeeeere's Netta:
Red has invited me to tell you a little bit about myself. Frankly, I've talked more about myself in the last ten days than I have the previous year. I'm a writer; I'd really rather talk about other people. Some of them are even real.
The basics are this: I am a full-time writer and editor, although this wasn't always the case. I've worked in a wide variety of jobs such as nurse, dancing hamburger (true story), medical claims approver, house cleaner and in hotel management. I have three kids, all grown, and a wonderful grandson but I'm still really only nineteen in my head. My Feline Overlord, a rescued shelter cat named Athena, allows me to live here as long as I pay the rent and keep her food dish full.
I've been a reader since the precocious age of three. My mom taught me when I was in the hospital with a bad case of croup. Once I started, I was hooked. Words and stories are like crack to me. Thankfully, they're legal and don't cause any health problems. Without books, I don't think I would have survived a rather difficult childhood, troubled adolescence, or challenging adult situations with any part of my sanity intact, although my sanity is certainly up for debate.
I read across all genres, but my favorite could be described under the umbrella of "speculative fiction". I hate labels. I hate them because they tend to limit, and there is such a wide world out there in books. I was not interested in an e-reader, being such a bibliophile, but I inherited a first generation Kindle from a dear friend, and to my surprise, I love it. It will never replace paper books for me, but I have to say it's amazing to have a library of three hundred books in a device that weighs less than a paperback. There are some books which I will never give up in print; The Dragonriders of Pern, the Dark Tower series, reference books, signed books by my close personal friends, but I do enjoy my Kindle.
[image error]
If you're looking for some great books to read, I'd recommend the Darkover universe from Marion Zimmer Bradley (starting with The Forbidden Tower); the Soul Rider series from Jack Chalker (although I believe it may be out of print, alas); John Varley's Titan, Wizard, Demon; Peter Brett's The Warded Man and The Desert Spear. These authors inspire me because they bend the genre lines and make you love every minute of it. For something to really scare your pants off, Bag of Bones by Stephen King will do it, although I really do love much of his work. If you haven't read Black House (co-written by Peter Straub) you really should. It combines fantasy and horror in such a masterful way.
[image error]
My favorite indies this year include Marooned by Joseph Paul Haines; the Hunted series, the Hayle Coven series by Patti Larsen or her novella, Henry; Monsters Unmasked by Lori Whitwam; A Spark in the Darkness by Peter Giglio, and Thieves at Heart by Tristan J. Tarwater. These picks span a wide array of genres, but they all have one thing in common – they are very well-written and tell a hell of a story. And basically, that's what it all comes down to for me – STORY.
So that's me. Nothing earth-shaking, for the most part. I save that stuff for my characters, especially Pallas. Heh. My goal for 2012 is simple. I plan to make it out alive. On the journey, I hope to finish the Ageian Trilogy (I've already released Athena's Promise, to be followed by Athena's Chains and Athena's Release) and a triptych of stories based on the Tarot. I'm also hoping to finally receive a Tweet from Nathan Fillion.
Thanks so much for having me, Red!
To find out more, you can find "Athena's Promise" at Amazon and Smashwords. You can also visit Annetta's blog through the 12 Days of Creepfest to win an e-copy, a print copy, and a chance at a $20 Amazon gift card.
Athena's Promise
"No matter what it takes."
As the front desk manager of a hotel on the edge of Zombietown, Pallas is used to dealing with angry centaurs, surly trolls, and zombie housekeepers. The trouble really starts when one of her guests ends up dead. But that's not her only problem.
A cop with an attitude – can he be trusted to be more than just a pain in her ass or does he have a more sinister agenda?
A new Guest Services Manager, out for her job and ready to sacrifice anyone in his way – what does he really want?
The attractive maintenance guy, endangering the promise she made out of necessity to the Goddess Athena – does he know more than he's telling?
A mermaid diva, whose show at the Sparkling Butterfly must go on – or else.
Pallas needs to find the killer, and fast, or she'll lose her job, her home, and the ragtag family she's adopted out of her crew of "critters".
In the course of the investigation Pallas uncovers connections to a nasty Oddities dealer deep in the heart of Zombietown, forcing her to expose a trauma from her past which could threaten her future. With everyone and everything she loves in danger, the promise made to the Goddess Athena may well damn her if she breaks it, but she is bound and determined to save her friends, her home, and everything she's built.
No matter what it takes.
Annetta requests that you stalk her here (but might I suggest you politely follow?):
Facebook Fan Page
Blog
GoodReads
December 22, 2011
oldbookillustrations:
The first one, nonchalantly stretched out...
The first one, nonchalantly stretched out on a chair, smoked while gazing at the ceiling. Only his foot ran over the canvas, swiftly and firmly…
From Un autre monde (another world), written and illustrated by Jean-jacques Grandville, Paris, 1844.
(Source: archive.org.)
I can't wait for Krampus to come take away all the bad...
I can't wait for Krampus to come take away all the bad children! Ho Ho Ho!
Morning, all. It's Playlist Thursday, so I'm sharing this gem today:
[image error]
Yep, it's a This Brilliant Darkness playlist. I'm thinking about rewording the blurb today, so if you've read TBD, I'd love for you to weigh in on this FB thread, if you can. (And, in case you've missed it, TBD is now out in paperback as well as Kindle editions, so click here to order yours for Kindle or unsigned paperback, or click here to order a signed copy.)
In other news, how about some free reads? If you haven't sampled my style yet and it's not, like, crazy obvious from this blog, give The Wizard Takes a Holiday a try. It's 1500 words, so it's a five minute read.
If you're more in the mood for high fantasy, here's a short story collection by my better half, Tim Tash. It's all original and while there are *no dragons* in it, I think you'll enjoy it. Totally magical, with lady warriors and hidden cities, and lots of cool stuff like that. In particular, I would recommend you pass it along to the 10-12 year old boy in your life. It wasn't written for kids, and I think adults will enjoy it, but I have sons, myself. I just know it's got "BOY" written all over it.
The Wizard, and Tales are both free everywhere we could make them free. The download links are here.
Have an awesome day!
I feel like there's more I should post here, but CHRISTMAS is breathing down my neck. How about you?
My mother had something like this.
My mother had something like this.
