Eleni Konstantine's Blog: Eleni's Taverna, page 23

Tuesday Tunes: Sarah Blasko's I Awake

Today, it's I Awake by Sarah Blasko. Love the rhythm of the drums.

The first is Audio only



Youtube Link

The music clip is actually a short film at over 7 mins long....



Youtube Link



Enjoy!

~yia~

Musa Monday: SS Hampton, Sr.

It's Musa Monday and I have special guest, SS Hampton, Sr joining me today with a little bit of Halloween imagination...


Take it away, SS.


It’s almost the full moon. Monday, October 29th, will be The Full Moon.

Centuries ago the full moon was a source of wonder and mystery. It was the inspiration of whispered stories; whispered because words have a power and strength to them, and there are some stories best not told out loud lest the words give life to something best left alone.

This weekend I am house sitting for a friend who is off with his girlfriend, attending football games. I have been here only once before, years ago. Yet, when we parked in his driveway and I looked out the window, I remembered the little corner that divides his property from the adjoining property (he lives in the middle of a cramped little middle class neighborhood of suburbia).

At that corner is a cluster of five evenly spaced little flat-topped bushes, and a pair of small, leafy trees. The ground is covered with rock, and a shallow channel that recalls a dry Japanese riverbed comes out of nowhere and ends at the sidewalk. Walking up to the front door there’s another bush and tree to the right. In such a small space there has always been a feel of “wilderness” about it. Imagine—wilderness in the middle of suburbia.

More, next door to my friend’s home is a typical 2-story suburban home. It is apparently empty. That is not so unusual in this Age of Recession.

But, in the moonlight the empty house next door has a different feel to it. When I step outside for a cigarette I sometimes find myself looking away from it. Not that at the age of 58 I am easily spooked, like wondering if I stared at the empty house would I see a pale white face peering back at me from the darkness of the second story window. Nor do I listen for the creak of the front door of that house opening.

And, for crying out loud, I do not peer at the moonlit street that runs up toward my friend’s home, wondering if I might see a misshapen shadow loping down the street toward me. When I turn my back to the street to reenter the home, after having a cigarette, I deny listening for the rapid patter of something racing out of the shadows toward my back. Of course, locking the door and testing it to make sure it is locked, is only a sensible precaution in this day and age.

Yes, I am too old to let my imagination run wild, or half-believe that on the nights of the full moon, hidden, unknown doors may open briefly.

Still, in the middle of the night when I’m upstairs watching television, it is a little bit startling when my friend’s dogs suddenly start barking wildly. Of course, I’m sure it is nothing. The dogs are just barking for the heck of it. I am sure they do not sense anything out in the street, or perhaps something creeping out of the empty house next door…

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!


SS's latest release is “An Incident on MSR Tampa.” MUSA Publishing, March 2012.

ISBN: 978-1-61937-246-7
Halloween Night, 2006 – a resupply convoy commanded by the Air Force and escorted by Army gun trucks, is leaving Kuwait for Baghdad. The lonely desert highway north is MSR Tampa, a bloody highway along which for years the convoys suffered insurgent attacks. And on MSR Tampa there is a particular wooded bend that no one speak of, though many know of its haunted reputation, a reputation given new life by a gun truck crew testing a new generation of enhanced night vision goggles…



Sergeant Travis Harland peered through the helmet-mounted, experimental Enhanced Next Generation/Night Vision Goggles, called Cyclops, at the bright, fuzzy, greenish-white glow of the Iraqi desert. Isolated homes and small villages swam out of the darkness before disappearing into greenish-black static that reminded him of a haunted landscape. From time to time he was rudely jolted when the Cyclops bumped against the side ballistic window of his growling HMMWV gun truck that led the supply convoy up Main Supply Route Tampa, bound for Baghdad.

A bright shaft of greenish-white light swept across the dunes and clumps of brush to their right before locking onto a small dusty mound further ahead. A metallic voice sounded in the earphones shoved under Harland’s already tight fitting Kevlar helmet.

“-at the one o’clock, a hundred yards ahead,” the Gunner, Specialist Paul Bonner, said.

Harland sighed. A gun truck wasn’t built for comfort, especially when the Gun Truck Commander was tall and thin, as he was. Being thin didn’t provide much of a cushion for sitting, especially on army seats. And communications glitches didn’t help his mood either.

“Bonner! You hit the off-switch again, you fucking idiot. Say again.”

“Pile of sand and rocks at the two o’clock, fifty yards ahead. Throwing a glo-stick,” Bonner said. A bright fluorescent stick tumbled through the dusty, windy night to land next to the pile that was already so well marked by glo-sticks from previous convoys. Glo-sticks warned of a sometimes suspicious feature for following vehicles.

The Driver, Private First Class Lee Stewart, veered into the left lane, away from the pile...

Available from Musa Publishing



Check out other books by SS available from Musa Publishing - click HERE


SS Hampton, Sr. is a full-blood Choctaw of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a divorced grandfather to 13 grandchildren, and a veteran of Operations Noble Eagle (2004-2006) and Iraqi Freedom (2006-2007). He served in the active duty Army (1974-1985), the Army Individual Reserve (1985-1995) (mobilized for the Persian Gulf War), and enlisted in the Army National Guard in October 2004; he was mobilized for active duty for almost three years after his enlistment. He continues to serve in the Guard, where he holds the rank of staff sergeant. He is a published photographer and photojournalist, an aspiring painter, and is studying for a degree in anthropology—hopefully to someday work in underwater archaeology. He has wanted to be a writer since he was 15 years old; his first short story was published in 1992, after which it wasn’t until 2001 that he had another short story published. His writings have appeared as stand-alone stories, and in anthologies from Dark Opus Press, Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy (forthcoming on 18 October 2012), Melange Books, Musa Publishing, MuseItUp Publishing, Ravenous Romance, and as stand-alone stories in Horror Bound Magazine, Ruthie’s Club, Lucrezia Magazine, The Harrow, and River Walk Journal, among others. As of December 2011, he became the latest homeless Iraq war veteran in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Thanks for joining me, SS.

Writing Wednesday

Today it's about me. :)

Before I go on - good news:

My flash fiction story, Minion, has been accepted by Antipodean SF. It will be in the January 2013 edition, so yay, January starts off with a bang.

I loved writing this story - it's fun and very tongue-in-cheek. But you can decide in January.





I've done a plan for what I want to achieve with my writing in the next 6 months. I like reviewing these plans every so often to see how realistic I'm being. I think I need to do these plans when I'm tired because I would be more realistic with what i would be able to achieve.

But I did try to keep it balanced. Basically I've lined up the goals with my monthly writer meetings. So far I'm on track with my submissions, but I need to get into some editing and writing - design work and school have taken over a bit as has my bad back.... lots of rest needed.

So what goals do I have planned for mid-October to mid-November?

Edit two short stories
Continue writing a  Warder 2 Tale, and a new fun story which I'm not sure what length it will be. I'm just going to let that one go with the flow.

So it should be achievable, right?

Well, it should but things don't always work out that way.

Wish me luck!


~yia~

Tuesday Tunes: Gangham Style

Yes, I've been living under a rock because even though I'd of this new craze - Gangham Style - I didn't watch it until five minutes ago.

Music genius?

I think not but it's about making fun...


People who are actually from Gangnam never proclaim that they are—it's only the posers and wannabes that put on these airs and say that they are "Gangnam Style"—so this song is actually poking fun at those kinds of people who are trying so hard to be something that they're not.—Psy Wikipedia

The film clip is worth a watch at least once - is it just me or does he make fun of the music clips of today with the 'sexy lady', the large dance chorus, and the over exaggerated love myself attitude  Just for that he got a thumbs up from me.



YouTube link

I noticed that the Facebook page has over 2.1 million Likes ! Totally insane!

It's amazing what the world catches onto, but at least it's something to make you laugh.

~yia~

Musa Monday: The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis

Today is a look at Sharon Ledwith's YA time travel series. Book 1 is The Last Time Keepers and the Arch of Atlantis. 

I can't wait to read it - it's waiting patiently on my eTBR shelf.

Children are the Key to Our Future


And now, children are the only hope for our past.
Sharon Ledwith is a brand new, uber talented author you definitely want to read. Her writing is YA, but pleases readers from every generation are sure to enjoy The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis.
BLURB:When Amanda Sault and her four classmates are caught in a major food fight at school, they are given the choice of suspension or yard duty. It was a no-brainer. A two-week crash course in landscaping leads the kids to discover a weathered stone arch buried in an overgrown backyard. Instead of a forgotten lawn ornament, it turns out to be an ancient time portal from the lost continent of Atlantis. Chosen by an Atlantean Magus to be Timekeepers—legendary time travelers sworn to keep history safe from an evil force—the five children, along with two offbeat adults, are sent on the adventure of their lives to save the Earth from an uncertain future. The Timekeepers’ first mission lands them in England in 1214, where they must find an adolescent Robin Hood and his band of merry teens before history is turned upside-down.
EXCERPT:Amanda Sault silently studied the words she just scrawled: May 1st, 1214—Games and songs and revelry, act as the cloak of devilry. So that an English legend may give to the poor, we must travel to Nottingham to even the score.
She frowned. She was the Scribe. Amanda knew that meant she was supposed to understand what this riddle meant. But she didn’t have a clue. All she knew was that she, her four annoying classmates, and two offbeat adults were standing in what was left of the lost continent of Atlantis and they were supposed to be the Timekeepers, the legendary time travelers handpicked by destiny to keep Earth’s history safe from evil. But no one had told them how they were supposed to do it.
Their problem: no matter what happened—good or bad—they weren’t supposed to mess with the past. Period. Dot. End of story. Amanda felt hot liquid build in her throat. Her thumb traced the words of the arcane riddle. Their first Timekeeper mission. Amanda knew this wasn’t the end of the story. 
This was just the beginning.

Here's the cool book trailer:

To read more about the book, or purchase, please click HERE. Keep up with Amanda and the world of The Last Timekeepers series on Facebook. 
When not writing or digging up the past, Sharon enjoys reading, yoga, kayaking, time with family and friends, and single malt scotch. She lives in the wilds of Muskoka in Central Ontario, Canada, with her hubby, a water-logged yellow Labrador and moody calico cat.
Visit Sharon on her blog and Facebook . She is only a tweet away HERE .

~yia~

Super Sunday: Weekly quote and Musa App

Just love this....





Another thing I love that I think is Super Duper is the new Musa Publishing App.

Click icon to go to App Store



Have a wonderful week.

~yia~

Halloween Week at Book Mark Your Thoughts

Starting Tuesday this week is Halloween Week at Book Mark Your Thoughts. 

I'll be a guest there on Saturday the 28th. 



Here's the line up.


Opening Post- Tuesday the 23rd
Interview with Ann Charles - Wedensday the 24th
Interview with Danny Marks - Thursday the 25th
Interview with Misty Evans - Friday the 26th
Interview with Christina Henry - Saturday the 27thInterview with Eleni Konstantine- Sunday the 28th
My favorite Childhood Costumes- Monday the 29th
Devil's Night, the tradition- Tuesday the 30th
Happy Halloween- Wednesday the 31st

So join in the fun!

~yia~

Stunning Saturday: DarkSider Covers

Here are some covers by the DarkSiders....pretty cool eh?
I love seeing them come in. 












~yia~

Fantabulous Friday: DarkSiders 2nd anniversary

Coming soon is the fantabulous Halloween Blog Hop for the 2nd anniversary of the DarkSiders.... and I've course I'll be joining in on this blog.




On the 31st October, don't forget to come along here and then hop to the other DarkSiders participating.  It's going to be a blast.

~yia~

Writing Buddy Wednesday: Alexandra Sokoloff

I'd like to welcome to the Taverna my special guest  for today - screenwriter and author, Alexandra Sokoloff. I met Alex via email when being on the committee for the RWAustralia conference on the Gold Coast this year. Alex gave a one day workshop on screenwriting tips for writers AND since she's into the supernatural thrillers, she was on the Paranormal panel that I moderated. She's good people and a very intelligent and fun person to be around.




Now over to Alex....


Eleni invited me here to do a Halloween-themed post, and of course I jumped at the chance. October is my favorite month of the year. Always has been – the wind, the lengthening shadows, that subtle chill in the air. I guess that speaks to an early taste for the dark. Is that nature or nurture, I wonder?
Writing what we do, I suspect that not only Eleni but pretty much every single darker writer of us has at some point gotten the question: “What’s a nice girl (or boy!) like you doing writing stuff like THAT?”

Well, first of all, “nice”? Um… responsible, sure. Compassionate, empathetic, thoughtful. Kind, even. But “nice” isn’t the first word that comes to my mind. Still, much as I may disagree with the word choice, I know what these nice people are trying to ask. Really I think they’re wondering about the life incidents that led us to choose this dark genre of ours (some of us darker than others….). I think that’s a fair question, and one that writers should ask themselves once in a while. The answers can be fascinating.

 For instance, I realized after finally seeing the movie Zodiac recently that the Zodiac killer was a huge early – influence? Inspiration? Impression? What I mean is, I grew up in California and even thought it was years after this guy had dropped off the map, we kids were scaring ourselves senseless by telling ourselves Zodiac stories around the fire at Girl Scout camp. He was our Boogey Man. And dozens of years later that eerie legend worked itself into my newest crime thriller, Huntress Moon .

It’s also only recently occurred to me that perhaps I like to write about ghosts because I went to a haunted high school – specifically, the grand and decrepit old auditorium where I spent most of my high school, rehearsing choir programs and plays, was supposedly haunted by a girl named Vicki who died the night of her prom back in the 20’s. Yes, I know that’s a classic urban legend, but we all believed in Vicki, and there were parts of that auditorium where you just didn’t want to go, alone or with others. Cold spots. Strange noises. Disappearing props.

But somehow it never once crossed my mind when I was writing my ghost story The Harrowing  that I was writing about a haunted school because I went to a haunted school).

Also when I was a teenager I experimented with the paranormal, as teenagers do - ESP, dream interpretation, Tarot, spending the night in graveyards, all that fun stuff, that also ended up in The Harrowing   and Book of Shadows . And you know, there's a lot more in heaven and earth, Horatio! It never ceases to fascinate me.

A lot of the blame for my chosen genre I can put squarely on my father. Dad loved horror and suspense -- books, movies, plays, anything – the house was full of mystery and horror and sci-fi classics, so early on I developed a taste for being scared senseless – possibly in self-defense. Also, my father grew up in Mexico and that country lives with spirits in a much different way than we do in the U.S. (don’t you just love this month for all of the Dia de Los Muertos art?) Dad had a passel of terrifyingly realistic ghost stories that he’d pull out around the campfire to scare us with. Come to think of it, I had a lot of campfires in my childhood…

Also, since Dad is a scientist and Russian, and attended a lot of scientific conferences that got turned into family road trips, I have early memories of us in the family station wagon being followed by the CIA because, you know, Russians were out to destroy the world at the time. All that ever happened was that they followed us around but naturally I’d spice the whole thing up in my imagination – my first attempts at thrillers. And this mixture of science and the supernatural also comes out in my books; I like to walk a very thin line between real and unreal, keeping a reader constantly guessing about whether what is going on is a real paranormal experience or a delusional psychological state, or even a con job. To that end I like to put myself in situations where other people claim to have experienced the paranormal; next week I’m going to be staying (again!) at a notorious haunted Southern mansion that I used as a setting for my poltergeist thriller The Unseen .  (I’ll have six other writer friends with me - this is NOT a place you want to stay in alone!)

I have to admit, though - to me those otherworldly experiences are never as horrifying as the evil that people can do. From the time I was a very young child I was very sensitive to the fact that there's a lot of weirdness out there, and a lot of danger from unstable people. My family did quite a bit of traveling, so along with all the good stuff - great art, ancient cultures, different mores and political beliefs - I was exposed to disturbing images and situations: poverty, desperation, oppression, madness.

I had some pretty scary experiences early on in life that made me convinced that there is actual evil out there – in the form of people who have something terribly wrong with them, who actively want to hurt and destroy. A child molester who’d been trolling the streets around my elementary school tried to grab me one afternoon when I was walking home from school. He was a small and creepy man, and even though I didn’t have any sense of what child molesting was at the time, I knew there was something wrong and dangerous about him and I ran. That was my first full-on experience of what evil looks and feels like, though certainly not my last - and it’s not something you forget or let go.

And I had friends, as we all do, who were not so lucky about escaping predators, and I’ve taught abused kids in the Los Angeles juvenile court system, and my anger about what I’ve seen has fueled a lot of my writing, especially Huntress Moon .

There’s more, of course, and once you start thinking of influences, it’s pretty fascinating how much you uncover about your motivations.

But the great, cathartic thing for me about good mysteries, thrillers, horror, suspense - is that you can work through those issues of good and evil. You can walk vicariously into those perilous situations and face your fears and - sometimes - triumph.

So, all, I wondered, for the writers out there - what kinds of experiences from real life have made you the dark, twisted souls you are? And for the readers – why do you think you seek out this dark, twisted genre?

- Alex


To celebrate Halloween I’m giving away 31 signed hardcovers of my spooky thrillers Book of Shadows  and The Unseen . 

 (covers may be different from those shown above)

If you’re a U.S. resident, enter the drawing, by filling in this form.

And I’m sorry – the drawing is open to U.S. residents only. But all my books are available in e-versions for $2.99 and $3.99. 

http://alexandrasokoloff.com

~~~Thanks, Alex!!
And yes, I've always questioned the 'nice' too . 
I've read both The Harrowing and Book of Shadows and LOVED them. You will not be disappointed folks.