Ellie Potts's Blog, page 58

Mythology Blog Hop Winner

Congrads! Kaci McClellan Verdun! I had a blast with this hop a lot. Thanks to everyone who pitched in and told me about what myths and what kind of mythology they enjoy. I am in a limbo at the moment so I am not sure when the next hop will be so just keep checking back and I will let you all know. :o)

Sunday Snippet!

Leslie’s eyes darkened to a thick thundercloud color as the power rolled out of her and over the house. She warded the doors; there was so much blood in the house that it fed her power. It brought a gasp from her, all the hair on her body stood on end as the magic rode through her like lightning. She took in three deep breaths and sucked in the magic. It wouldn’t stay down.

“Go,” she choked out to Patrick.

“Are you-"

She waved him off before he could say another word. She watched him leave, balling her hands into fists. She had never been in so much human blood, but the tainted blood seemed to be affecting her. She looked down at her bare arms and noticed the blood on her skin. She took in a deep breath, but her magic would not calm down. She did the only thing she could, she let it ride. She gave into the magic; three bodies in the house felt it.

Blood. Magic.

Collin’s eyes turned into white orbs as Patrick’s turned into a sea green, his bear eyes, and the Rogue licked his lips.

“What is she doing?” Collin asked Patrick.

“I think it’s the blood. She warded the doors so the rogue wouldn’t get out, and she seemed to let out more then she wanted.”

“Fuck,” Collin said. Patrick nodded.

A noise like scratching above them drew their attention. “Five bucks says I know where he’s going,” Patrick said at Collin's back holding a large silver knife.
Collin pulled out his 9mm, but Patrick stopped him from leaving the carpet, pointing to the blood coating the tiles. They both looked at Leslie. He clicked off the safety. Her hair seemed alive, her dark eyes were watching the roof, but she seemed to be not there. The scratching turned into loud bangs. Collin aimed. A huge piece of the roof fell into the blood, splashing more on Leslie.

Then it sprang at her. She held her hand out and the vampire twisted in the air as if being strung up like a giant puppet. “I almost forget how normal they look,” Leslie said in a far off voice.

Starting over...

If you noticed there are some changes going on with the blog, and soon to the website and facebook page. As of a few days ago my publisher decided to call it quits. This has caused a bunch of mix feelings and lots of extra work I have to do. No Boundaries Press gave me the belief that I can and did get published, and I will be looking into getting those books back out once I have the rights back. I want to thank everyone who helped out on this journey and I have made some great friends some have been guest bloggers on the blog. So here is to the future and sit back it's still Nerd Month which continues on Monday!

Favorite Fandoms- what are yours?

I have and had my fingers in a lot of fandoms. You should have seen me after I read Mockingjay the third in The Hunger Games Trilogy. I needed to find a fanfic through Peeta’s POV. I have wrote my own fanfic, I started off writing some back when I was 12 that involved Disney’s Newsies this had a young Christian Bale dancing and singing. Here is a video for your enjoyment.
This one just made me giggle so I had to share it for those who are fans:


The next time I actually wrote or participated in online fanfic rping was for Laurell K Hamilton’s Anita Blake Vampire Hunter before she became a preternatural porn star. I also did some just general Anita Blake fanfic, which I think the challenge was to add ourselves to the world and who did the better job. We had come together for the love of Anita on a certain message board which we hung out on, and spawned late night group chats. We became friends, and others became more. After Anita Blake I did 2 others English Rage which was a take on the Rage virus from 28 Days Later as it tried to escape the UK, and the other was a Riddick one. *Sigh* Love me some Riddick. English Rage was finished but the other wasn’t. Link to English Rage: http://www.angelfire.com/scary/elliepotts/englishrage.html

I jumped away from fanfic and set to expand on my own writing, but the fandoms never left I just used it as an excuse to collect. And collect I do. You should see the random off the wall Star Wars stuff I own. I own hardcover, paperback and now e-books of the Harry Potter series, and of course every movie. I am team Peeta, having read all three books 2 times and I think watching the movie at least 4 times. This year Catching Fire is released a day before my birthday. So that day I have Catching Fire and the 50th anniversary of Doctor Who! To show how much of a nerd I am my husband is creating a tattoo that will incorporate Harry Potter, Doctor Who and Star Wars. Picture to come when done.

So all what is your favorite fandom and how do you show your love?

Krys Dulay on chick gamers and more...

I am nerd…
...Hear me roar. ^_^  Or ramble, whichever else tickles your fancy. 

Apparently it is Nerd Month and I was given the pleasure of writing about any sort of topic that has to do with me nerding out... This may seem like a typical post, but it's made to give more of an insight about me, a gamer, a musician and a woman all rolled up into one.  I will try not to bore anyone about my life, but if you are still here that means you are, perhaps, interested.  Good.
My name is Krystin but to my followers on blogger, and the gaming website I run, I go by Krys.  It’s a nickname I’ve kept for many years, mostly because I grew up in a family full of boys, and it was a good way to blend in or rather fit in.  Sure, I had my share of Barbies and My Little Pony but when it came to playing with my brother and his Legos or GI Joes, I’d bring Barbie over and we would duke it out with our action figures.  My brother, 10 years older than me, is the one I should blame and/or thank for influencing me, but as we got older, my little brother (4 years younger than me) joined the fray and we were all GAMERS.  Sure, I’ve had my hands on an Atari and loved going to the local pizza joint to have a round of Pac-Man or two but the very first system I ever had the joy of playing (and remembering clearly) was the dear old NES.  The classic and ever cliché movie scenes where you would find the boys sleepovers or brothers getting in trouble for staying up so damn late all cracked out on a game – usually consisted of me, my brothers and two cousins (also boys) because we all loved games so much.  One year, instead of choosing a Princess or doll to dress as for Halloween, I decided to be Chun-Li from Street Fighter, one of the most badass women in my earlier days.  Speaking of badass women, I remember that I got a lot of heat for watching things like Xena: Warrior Princess and idolizing her ferocity, and developing my starry-eyed crushes on Bruce Campbell and Karl Urban – instead of watching shows that downplayed women as vulnerable and susceptible to heartbreak.  Heartbreak? Xena? She’d break your heart. And cut it out. And probably eat it. And dance around a fire too whilst doing so.
There’s always such a “controversy” when it comes to women in gaming.  I worked at GameStop for 6.5 years and there wasn’t a day that went by that someone was baffled that I worked there and knew what I was talking about. I currently work with electronics and I still get that reaction: “Wait, why are you walking me to the game section? Is there a guy who can help me out?”  Of course, my first reaction is to bite their head off and explain that I have gamed for over 20 years, but that wouldn’t get me anywhere. So, begrudgingly, I smile through my painfully gritted teeth and help them along until the next male (who either doesn’t know or refers them back to me), and be on my merry way.  However, I’m only at the bottom of the totem pole.  I’ve meant to blog my brains out about how bittersweet it is to be a woman in the industry, but all of my thoughts have been so jumbled about it, even now.  There’s an expectation set for women in general, but in gaming there are a few things I want to get off of my chest.

1)      We don’t only game because our significant others do. But I do admit it’s too fun to bust a deck that I haven’t even gotten accustomed to out on Magic: The Gathering and come out the victor or look at that scoreboard after that final Killcam and see my name at the top of the list.  In all seriousness, gaming has brought us closer together; we love getting to share our passion for gaming. 
2)      We don’t only play Mario other fufu titles. (SIDE NOTE: Mario was a boss back in the day, and still is.  But that doesn’t mean we only play his platforms or any other sort of game that Nintendo is dressing up with the title Mario.)
3)      We may kick your ass in a game, deal with it.

4)      We aren’t all superficial.  I admit I get pretty girly but I’d rather you pay off or pick up a game or system than buy me a $300 purse.
5)      We don’t always play girl characters and stand in marketplaces dancing for gold, and even if we do, we aren’t giving you our number.  MMOs, I’m looking at you.
6)      I still think it is ridiculous men get paid more than women.  It’s said that some of the most famous and prominent female developers, CEO’s, Brand representatives, programmers, actors, etc., are still paid less than men.
But that’s really only a handful of my thoughts on the topic.  I could go on forever but I’d like to shift gears back to the subject at hand. My musician half started when I was about 3 years old and hasn’t stopped. I’m almost 28 now and I must say I have gone through several different genres so far.  From pop to choir to musicals and opera, even acapella jazz to rock.  I’m currently in a Melodic Metal band as the front woman and it is probably the most fun I have ever had singing.  I’ve endured a lot, mostly because I’m not stick thin and consider myself somewhat modest but I guess it goes hand in hand with what I said above about having to stick to expectations.  People have told me women don’t belong in Metal, but that doesn’t stop me from getting on stage, with my gaming tattoos, singing my heart out about the Assassin who has terrible luck in his bloodlines and is the master of the brotherhood, or the song my guitarist (also a woman) and I conjured up about one of our favorite women in Greek lore: Medusa.
 Maybe it’s because I like bending the rules a little bit, and perhaps defying the “laws of nerddom”, but there’s no going back on it now.  I guess the moral of the story is: don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do.  More clichés, I know, but it is concrete advice.  I love games: tabletop, role-playing and writing, video games, card games, everything.  I love creating and sharing music, especially music I get to make about my favorite heroes in lore and gaming. Please don’t tell me what I can’t do. But what I will do: keep on being me. A nerd. It’s a condition, I tell you.  For those of you who have read this far, thanks for hearing me out.  For those of you who understand this topic a little better, good on you.
/endrant.

/dance…for gold.


;)

Big thanks for inviting me here, Ellie! Nerds unite!
-Krys
http://www.insertcontroller.com
http://www.spiritdescending.com

Samantha Drane stops in to talk about Doctor Who!

My name is Samantha Drane and among the many hats that I juggle throughout a particular day, there is one that I am truly proud to wear.

I am a Whovian. I enjoy all things from the amazing world of Doctor Who.

Now for those who are not educated in this ball of wibbley-wobbly timey wimey stuff, here are the cliffs notes. Doctor Who is a British Sci-Fi program that started on November 23,1963 with William Hartnell as the ‘Doctor‘, who is a Time Lord from a planet called Gallifrey. The adventure begins with the Doctor stealing a Type 40 TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) and adventuring throughout time and space. He picks up companions along the way and introduces them to new worlds, new species and most times new dangers. He has a little trick called regeneration, where if he was ever mortally wounded, then he could change his entire being into someone new and move on. (He is currently on his eleventh body - currently played by Matt Smith.)

Doctor Who is an amazing show. The actors who have stepped into the role of the Doctor over the past 50

years have all brought their own little twist to the role and made it their own. Their passion when talking about how wonderful humanity is or how wonderful it can be, makes us stop and take note, and that’s the point that the show writers always aim for. Wrapped up within a weekly sci-fi adventure, there is an underlying sense of morality. We are shown how much better we could be if we were more accepting of others, less judgmental and open to new ideas and points of view. The show makes us think without even realizing that we’re thinking, and that’s the best part.

Sadly this Christmas, we will be moving from the Doctor in his eleventh body into his twelfth. This means that the amazing Matt Smith will be exiting the TARDIS in what is probably going to be an extremely heartbreaking finale. So, from this Canadian Whovian I say……Cheers for an amazing ride Eleventh Doctor, it’s been nothing short of fantastic.

And for the soon-to-be last time……GERONIMO!!!!!!

Samantha Drane is a paranormal romance author that was born in Victoria, BC, spent most of her young adult life on the Canadian Prairies and now currently resides in Halifax, Nova Scotia with her husband of nearly 7 years, their two daughters and three cats. When she's not writing, she's spending quality time with her young family, taking photos with her 35mm film camera, or watching her Edmonton Oilers and Edmonton Eskimos on television.

When she was younger, her best friends had always told her that she had so much untapped creativity and it would drive her crazy if she couldn't find an outlet for it. She admitted that the inspiration for Twist of Fate came from a month's worth of dreams.

Her first two books in the Blood Rose Series, Twist of Fate and Crimson Moon are being published through No Boundaries Press. Twist of Fate (Part 1) was released in February 2012 and Crimson Moon (Part 2) was released in April 2012 release. Currently she's working on three new projects.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Samantha-Drane-Author/188835824477001?fref=ts

Professor Algernon a Steampunk magician stops in today!!

First off I want to say Thanks to the Professor for stopping in. I met the Professor actually at Barnes & Noble one evening as I was selling him The Steampunk Bible. By the way the Professor made a TARDIS!! So please welcome Professor Algernon!
__________________

"It was a dark and gloomy night, the kind of night that chills you at the very thought of it."

That has nothing to do with this blog; I just always wanted to say that.

When I was asked to write on the subject that I know all to well, that is, nerd-dom, I was so excited at the possibilities that sprung up in my nerdy little brain. But just what is nerd-dom? Let's start with the definition of the root word:

"Nerd - somebody who is considered to be excessively interested in a subject or activity that is regarded as too technical or scientific." Encarta Dictionary

This definition is somewhat offensive to me. I mean, really? "Excessively interested"? "Too technical"? Well, Encarta, you're so bad at Warcraft, you thought the level cap was a wearable item.

Okay, with that off my chest, I will share with you my definition of nerd.

To set the stage, I am 50 years old and still consider myself a nerd in good standing. Today's nerds may be a little more "technical", but I can impart to them the history of that technology we all enjoy. For instance, I owned the first Pong game and have been excessively interested in every game system since.

Now don't get me wrong here; gaming is but only one small facet of being a nerd. Myself, I enjoy way more then being technical and gaming. I am excessively interested in cosplay; it's like Halloween every week! What a better chance to get away from this humdrum, workaday world, than to be a super hero, earth bender, wizard, time lord or Jedi? Lots of people sit at their desks or slave away on an assembly line, wishing they could just fly away with a red cape on and never look back. I say, why wish? I often don my alter ego and strut through anywhere that begins or ends in con (or street, for that matter). My personal religion is Steampunk, but I have been known to wield a sonic screw driver or light saber from time to time. All and all, the nerds I meet at cons have always been, absolutely a great, fun loving bunch, always ready for a photo op or a little larping (LARP = Live Action Role Play, for you new to nerd language).

In my life as a Steampunk, there are still a lot of normals (you know, normal people out there that don't read comic books, cosplay, or explain quantum physics) out there that haven't heard the word, and so I am often asked, "Steam-what?" I have heard a myriad of definitions for Steampunk, some short and sweet, some long and philosophical, but "Victorian sci-fi" seems to be the easiest and broadest of definitions. I like to think of myself as being from a past that never was, headed to a future that never will be, and standing here, in the present that isn't. If I just confused you there, I apologize, but that seems to be my super power.

I have been a Steampunk stage magician for several years now and have loved every moment of this crazy journey. Here's why: after having performed at cons and fests all over the U.S., there is one thing I have found - nerds are nerds, and they make me proud. Race, creed, religion, social status, and any other thing you can think that separates us are never the topic of debate. Whether you are from the North or South, East or West, you are always welcomed and appreciated. Caveat: the only thing I have ever argued about with other nerds is whether Schrödinger's cat is alive or dead, and whether a sonic screwdriver will work on wood (and, of course, it can't). Even though hot topics never lead to raised voices or fisticuffs, one might witness the occasional duel in cyber space... maybe, but always conducted with gentlemen's honor. I am proud of my nerd status and I will defend the lifestyle with every Magic card I have.

When you see me at your next con, please feel free to approach me and say with pride "I'm a nerd too, and can I take my picture with you?" I will be happy to raise my sonic screwdriver in the air and proclaim you my friend.

May the Force be with you, as you live long and prosper,
Professor Algernon, (AKA Scot Violette)


Professor Algernon (AKA Scot Violette) began studying the art of magic since 9 years old and has performed for over 30 years. The show he presents now is a culmination of years of practice, trial and error, education, and love for his craft. Scot has performed in a multitude venues, all over the world: corporate retreats, conventions, summer camps, theaters, schools, service clubs, parties of all sizes, and even a USO tour.

Over the last few years Scot has transformed his show into a Steampunk extravaganza and has never looked back. Love of the genre's esthetics, wide variety, beautiful art, and depth of character has been an exciting breath of life into the show.

Learn More about Professor Algernon- https://www.facebook.com/Professor.Algernon

I want to know what do you love?

The definition of nerd is:
An individual persecuted for his superior skills or intellect, most often by people who fear and envy him.

Wil Wheaton says being a nerd means finding something you love and loving it with all your heart.

I believe Nerd is being different and unique. Loving things with a passion. This could be TV shows, comics, movies, video games, rpgs, writing, reading, cooking, and yes even sports. This month is dedicated to all you nerds out there. The fangirls and boys, the role players, the comic book readers and so on. I have asked a bunch of friends to share their nerdy side. Because deep down we all have a nerdy side, we all love something so much that we immerse ourselves in it. In the next couple weeks I will have guests popping in sharing their nerdy love.
So here is what I want to know what do you love?What is my passion? Other then writing. I love to knit on a loom. I am a Whovian, a Browncoat, a Star Wars addict, I love the Muppets, I watch way to much TV, and I am sad that Game of Thrones is almost over and we only get 10 episodes of True Blood, I love getting to the theater early to catch the trailers, I am a sucker for Superman, my husband makes fun of me for reading too fast, don't get me started on zombies, I enjoy the God of War video games and so much more. So I want to know what do you love? What makes your inner nerd *squee*?

Snippet Sunday: Blood Witch

[image error] She had gotten home, her anger riding high in the winds. She had come into her power late and Rich and his master Jonathan had been there, unexpected, to show her what she could be. They showed her a side she had never seen. Something exotic, different, tainted. At first she had enjoyed it, but deep down she knew it had been wrong. Her body had loved the pleasure that they gave her. Rich had been her “soul mate-” both blood witches in the same town, it had to mean something. Jonathan had been her lover. Human bodies weren’t meant to mate with wereanimals, even in human form they were rough. However, she was not a normal human, and she enjoyed the pain. Then there came the bloodletting, and the dark magic.

She grabbed Persuasion by Jane Austen off the bedside table, and after bunching her pillows around her, she started reading. Lately her only comfort was Miss. Austen. Persuasion was her favorite below Pride & Prejudice. Before her new life had started, her awakening into the Opposite Side, she felt her life was exactly like Anne Elliot. When she had been normal she had been just your regular plain young lady. Her family cared little for her. Except as help to help pay bills, they really had no use for her. She had always been the odd one out. So when Richard introduced her to the Opposite Side she thought she had stepped into a fairy tale, because she was pretty to them actually her power was. Sometimes she wished she never came into her power.

She was getting to the part when Anne finally left to Bath to be with her father and older sister when her phone rang. Irritated she looked at the number, and noticed it didn’t have an ID. “Hello?”

“Leslie,” whispered a small-frightened voice. “Here in Snelling, is rogue werebear. Hurry, help.”

It sounded like a troll. “Where are you?” She jotted down what he hissed to her quickly before hanging up.

Mythology Blog Hop!

I love Mythology, and I really love books that touch in ancient mythology. One of my favorites is the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. I love ancient Roman and Greek mythology and he covers a lot of it. I was very excited to hear that they are releasing the second movie this summer. I also loved the Vikings TV show. I loved the detail they put into the show from how they live to the gods they believed in. I am hoping they do a Celtic show. Another TV show I really liked was HBO's Rome, this one touched on Egypt and you met Cleopatra.

I am giving away a $10.00 gift card from winner's choice of amazon.com or bn.com.
a Rafflecopter giveaway




Grand Prizes!!
The Grand Prize Consists of the following:

$45 Amazon GC or $45 worth of books at TBD.

ebooks from Patricia Bates

a prize from Lisa Beth Darling

an ecopy of Sunburn by Rosanna Leo

an ecopy of Ain't No Bull by Danica Avet

an ecopy of Remedy Maker by Sheri Fredricks

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Don't forget to visit the other blogs:

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