S.C. Mitchell's Blog, page 39
October 22, 2013
Trailer Tuesdays
Fellow Soul Mate author Joanne Guidoccio is starting a new feature called Trailer Tuesday. Can you guess who she’s featuring today? (Hint, hint…its me.)
Stop by at: http://joanneguidoccio.com/2013/10/22/trailer-tuesday-steve-mitchell/
October 21, 2013
Gone but not forgotten.
As I write this, my first published work is disappearing from Amazon and CreateSpace. Swiftly Beats The Heart (First Edition) is no more.
Let’s pause a moment to remember:
The cover was done in Microsoft Paint. I hovered over the button for long moments wondering if i was doing the right thing.
That was a year and a half ago. How things change.
Of course, the reason the first edition had to die was so the second edition could be born.
Coming soon:
It’s time to say goodby to the old and embrace the new. The new edition features this new cover, plus up to date information on my other published works including a bonus chapter from There’s no such thing as Werewolves.
Now I’m not saying the old edition is going to become a collectors item, but if (when?…okay we’ll stay with if) I do become famous you never know…
October 17, 2013
Thursday Threads
Welcome to Thursday Threads, a regular feature from the Soul Mate Authors Group. Today Were featuring Brenda Stinnett and her novel, The King’s Vampire:
The King’s Vampire, first in an Abyss series
Written by Brenda Stinnett
Historical Paranormal set in London, England, after the Restoration of Charles II.
Heat Scale : Sizzling
Darius Einhard, demon slayer, will stop at nothing to help Elizabeth Curran, immortal vampire, break the bonds of vampirism, even while helping her protect Charles Stuart II, who’s in danger of being entrapped into becoming an immortal vampire and leading his people into the abyss of hell by the psychic vampire demons.
Excerpt:
The ruins of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, England, November, 1675
First to reach the top of the ladder, Elizabeth said, “I see a dim light outside the archways of the church. Follow me.”
They’d almost reached the entrance when a hooded figure came rapidly gliding toward them. In silence, the shadowy figure stepped in front of them, blocking the exit while tossing back its hood. Elizabeth recognized Julian, his horrible eyes blazing blood-red, and his mummified face transformed into a skull whose hinged jaws tantalizingly opened and closed, while his wings beat back and forth.
Fear-frozen, Elizabeth watched the skull increase in size, the jaws continuing to rise and fall. The creature grew until it filled the archway.
With a shout, Darius shoved his three companions away from him and toward the archway. “Run! John, take the women to safety.”
John grabbed both women by the arm and started running with them, dodging the skull and slipping beneath Julian’s enormous wings. Elizabeth pulled back and turned around in time to see the huge jaws closing over Darius. She screamed, but John yanked her back and dragged her and Amelia out of the church forcibly, before she could protest further. He gave a shrill whistle. Darius’s coach appeared in front of the ruins. John shoved the women into the coach, and shouted to the driver, “To the Boar’s Head Inn. Hurry up, my good man.”
In the coach, Elizabeth glared at him with such ferocity that he drew away from her in surprise. “How dare you, John!”
His eyes widened. “What’s wrong? Darius told me to get you and Amelia to safety, and that’s what I’ve done.”
His wife touched his shoulder and gave a shake of her head.
Elizabeth sat up on her knees, pressing her face to the back window of the carriage. Even with her superior vision, she saw neither Darius, nor the huge skull from her vantage point.
“We’ve abandoned him to those horrible demons. We should have stayed and fought.”
When she let out an enormous sob, Amelia gently pulled her back onto the seat. “John was doing what Darius asked him to do. Darius is a great warrior and he can take care of himself.”
Elizabeth hardly noticed Amelia stroking her arm in a comforting manner. She felt a pain in the pit of her stomach grow until it reached up and clutched her heart. How could she live with herself if anything happened to him?
Buy links
Amazon: http://amzn.to/12HHQ7e
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBrendaStinnett
Web Page: http://brendastinnett.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/brendastinnett
October 16, 2013
Hey, that’s me!
If you live in Northern Wisconsin, I’d love to have you stop by tonight:
October 10, 2013
Thursday Threads
Welcome to a new feature here at A Writer’s Haven. I will be taking part in Thursday Threads as Part of the Soul Mate Authors Group. Each week we will be featuring a different Soul Mate Author. this week welcome Becky Lower, Author of Blame It On The Brontes.
BLAME IT ON THE BRONTES by Becky Lower
Genre Contemporary Romance
Heat Level: Sensual
Three separate love stories intertwine around a central theme, as fractious sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronson, each in her forties, are in Puffin Bay, ME for their mother’s funeral. Each is ready to sink their claws into the fortune their mother left behind. But their mother has other plans. Her substantial fortune won’t be divided until the trio return to their childhood home and live together for a year. It’s a request that pits sister against sister but could unite them in a common goal to find the friendship they shared as children, to create a family jewelry business and to win over the men of Puffin Bay. They have a year to figure it all out.
Excerpt
Anne Bronson pressed her foot on the gas pedal, trying to ignore the little red light on the dashboard—the one highlighting the E on her gas gauge. She willed the rental moving truck to make it up the next hill, hunching over the steering wheel to help with the climb. No good gas-guzzling piece of crap. Anne directed the truck to the side of the road. There should have been plenty of fuel to get to the house.
If she hadn’t already maxed out her credit card, she would have gladly paid professionals to move her from New York to Maine. But here she was, driving her own belongings north, and out of gas. Her stomach knotted even tighter. She had an inheritance at stake. Eighteen minutes till midnight. Damn.
Hauling her purse behind her, she climbed out of the truck. She kicked a tire and let out a half-hearted scream at the damage her instinctive motion caused her black leather Manolo Blahniks. Tapping her fingernails against her teeth, she peered up and down the dark road. No headlights. No life. No sound.
She fished into her purse for her cell phone and stared at it. No signal, of course. With a deep sigh, she wrestled with her old suitcase with its wonky wheel and strapped her oversized purse across her body as she began to climb the rest of the way up the incline. Two miles to the house. She had eighteen minutes to get there. In six-inch heels.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beckylowerauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeckyLower1
Blog: http://beckylowerauthor.blogspot.com
Website: http://www.beckylowerauthor.com
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/authorbeckyl/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Blame-Brontes-ebook/dp/B00CLVACYA
Soul Mate: http://www.soulmatepublishing.com/blame-it-on-the-brontes/
October 7, 2013
My Brand!
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my brand, and come to the conclusion it was time to change some things. Over the next few months I will be doing fresh edits on Swiftly Beats The Heart and the Demons Rising trilogy, that include added features and new covers. These will be second editions, which means my first editions will be going away. Get ‘em while you can, though I can’t guarantee they’ll be collectors items.
Thanks to the help of longtime friend Don Schlishing (http://donschlising.com/), I have a new graphic of my name to use on my new covers:
And I’ve been playing around with redesigning my covers. Here is the new cover for Swiftly Beats The Heart:
I don’t have a timeline yet for the rollout, but I hope to have all four 2nd editions out before Christmas.
September 29, 2013
Slow and Steady…
I’m blogging today over at the Soul Mate Author blogsite. Stop by: http://smpauthors.wordpress.com/2013/09/29/slow-and-steady/
August 31, 2013
A new weapon in the war against the rampaging, mindless undead.
I have written before about my role in the crisis that looms just over the horizon. See my blog Gardening and the coming Zombie Apocalypse at: http://scmitchell.wordpress.com/2012/09/05/gardening-and-the-coming-zombie-apocalypse/
Well I’m proud to announce that my new weapon of choice in the war against the Zombies is . . . The Blue Lake Pole Bean!!!
Yup, this little beauty will help win the war, and preserve the planet for those of us who survive the rampaging zombie hoards.
Now maybe I’m centered on food growing because I have no skills with a gun, or (and this is my preferred theory) I could be part hobbit. When a crisis looms, I think of my belly first.
In any case, I was out picking this little beauty in my garden just this morning when it occurred to me, the Blue Lake Pole Bean is the perfect food to be growing to feed the masses of starving refugees, and preserve my own skin.
It’s versatile: It can be eaten raw, boiled to tender perfection, or even deep fried as a replacement for unhealthy French fries.
It’s easy to grow: Once you get the vines started, food just appears like magic.
It’s unlimited: Yes, truly, and this is the important point. You probably only need one plant. Go ahead, pick every bean on the vine and eat your fill. Still hungry? Go look again, there’s more. Where did they come from? I’m not sure, probably magic. All I know is that even when I’m sure I found every mature bean on the stalk, I just have to look again to find more. These things pop out faster than bunnies, and hide better than chameleons. There are always more beans to pick.
I’m sure the magical nature of the Blue Lake Pole Bean inspired the wondrous tale of Jack and the Beanstalk. Magic beans indeed, these things are a wonder.
So, to recap: In your Zombie survival kit (you do have one, don’t you?) make sure you add a package of Blue Lake Pole Bean seeds. Plant them as soon as you hear that first ‘strange’ news report of sections of the country suddenly going dark. Water and Nurture. These will be your most effective weapon when the mindless hoards come knocking at your door seeking brains.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Stockpile all the guns and ammunition you want, but when your house is surrounded by a sea of mindless undead, and your kitchen cupboards are bare, you’ll realize you can’t eat bullets. Meanwhile I’ll be across the street with my rooftop garden, sitting comfortably, doors locked, windows boarded up, and (as always) full of beans.
Until next time,
Steve
August 19, 2013
It never gets old.
I returned home last night from a wonderful week with friends at the Gen Con Gaming Convention to find a wonderful surprise:
I have received my first shipment of the paperback edition of Son of Thunder.
Even though the ‘book’ has been out since February, it didn’t seem completely real until the moment I held it in my hand.
That incredible feeling of holding your baby in your hand for the first time…that never gets old. Every book I’ve put out, I’ve waited with high anticipation for the paperback edition to arrive. This one took over 6 months, but it was well worth the wait. Now I will have it available for book signings, and can drop one off at my local library.
Okay, enough gloating, I have to get back to work on the next one.
August 15, 2013
Son of Thunder FREE giveaway
Yup, it’s FREE.
Get your FREE Kindle Copy here: http://www.amazon.com/Son-Thunder-Heavenly-Series-ebook/dp/B00BJ64GPY
