Alyssa Cooper's Blog, page 3

The Witches of Armour Hill

“Margaret May Reis knows how strange she is; people have been telling her for years. At sixteen years old, though, Maggie begins to realize that strangeness is only half the story. Maggie isn’t just strange – she’s a witch.”

I know that fans of Switch have been waiting a long time for the next installment in The Witches of Armour Hill series – I was hoping to have Twisted released this summer, in time for Switch’s one year anniversary. Due to some unfortunately delays, this won’t be happening – but I am back to writing at full speed, and am dedicated to making sure it’s released this year!

For those of you who haven’t delved in Maggie’s world yet, maybe this is good news – you now have time to get caught up before Twisted is released! And since June is the month of sales – you can get your Kindle copy of Switch for just $0.99!

Whispers – $0.99 for a limited time only!

Love short stories?  Love horror, fantasy, and speculative fiction? Love vampires, werewolves, and zombies? Well then, Whispers: A Collection of Dark Tales is definitely the book for you – and right now, you can get your Kindle copy for just $0.99!

A loving mother returned from the grave. A vampire fallen prey to her own kind. A young girl who can set the night aflame. These are the whispered stories of the night’s darkest creatures.

A collection of eleven short stories ranging from speculative to paranormal to horror, Whispers combines terrifying monsters with narrative introspection, digging to the roots of your darkest dreams. Told from the perspective of every variety of monster, these stories look for the humanity – or lack there of – in all our favourite creatures.

This deal expires on June 8th, at which point Whispers will return to its regular price of $3.99 – don’t miss out!

The Motel Room – get it free today!

““It’s a strange feeling, to be dead.”

So begins the tale of our Narrator, a ghost clinging desperately to the memory of life.

Since his death, the ghost has been trapped in a motel room, watching the comings and goings of his nightly guests. The strangers never stay more than a night or two, and they never seem to notice him – no more than he notices them. Wrapped in fading memories of the time he was alive, he drifts through time, waiting for the return of the one person he can still see clearly.”

The Motel Room: A Ghost Story holds a very special place in my heart, as my very first independent publication. This short story was the beginning of a new chapter of my career – and you can get your copy FREE for the rest of the week!

If you’ve missed it so far, now is your chance to check out this paranormal romance – don’t miss it!

Limestone Genre Expo

Registration for the Limestone Genre Expo is now open! Register in advance to save $5 on the admission price!

The Limestone Genre Expo is a fun, interactive event for readers and writers of genre fiction in Kingston Ontario, including sci-fi, fantasy, romance, horror, and speculative fiction. I took part last year, and it was amazing event – this year promises to be even better!

This year’s event will be two days – July 23rd and 24th – with a wide array of authors and publishers in attendance. There are panel discussions, workshops, and readings to enjoy – check out the schedule to make sure you don’t miss out. I’ll be attending both days, taking part in panels discussions on both days, and giving a reading from Whispers on Saturday – I’ve also booked an author table, so please look for me and come say hello!

Free Books

The sign said Free Books. I did my best to show restraint.

Source: Free Books

The Vanishing Season

I’ve started a new book blog! It includes my reading log, quotable quotes, and the occasional book review – the first of which can be found below!

 

The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I’m the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I’m tied—it seems—…

Source: The Vanishing Season

Goodbye Sibu!

Well, blogs are better late than never!

We’ve been back in Canada a while now, but things have been pretty hectic since we got here – between dealing with a backlog of design clients, looking for an apartment, and celebrating Andrew’s birthday, this is the first chance I’ve had to even think about a blog!

Our last few weeks in Malaysia were bittersweet. We had a steamboat dinner at Saylee’s house, featuring Teddy and Hero, the stars of the night.

We went to see Ah Seng for the last time, and I got a beautiful foot tattoo (which swelled up like a balloon!)

We ate at all our favourite restaurants, got our last Red Carrot juices.



And our last WikiTeas.

And said goodbye to our wonderful stray cat friend (I wish she could have come home with us).

We had a pot luck dinner at Michael’s house. We made spaghetti, and I ate more kompia and jello than I like to admit.

I also got to meet Michael’s cats, Champion and Opera. Opera is my new best friend.

The last week in Sibu went by way too fast. We had spring rolls for our last meal at our apartment.

I said goodbye to the little lizard who had lived in the hallway outside our front door for almost a month. He was barely two inches long!

After Andrew’s last class, we took group pictures at the gym, and said our goodbyes to his students.

Andrew even got a going away present.



And then we went back to Michael’s for our last night in the country, and we made it a good one.

In the morning, Michael and Laura took us to the airport, where Brandon and Bryant met us to say goodbye. I somehow managed not to cry.

And then we were on a plane, leaving our home for the last three months behind.

We spent a few hours in Kuala Lumpur, where we found Han Solo and an indoor forest.

And then it was off to Taipei, where we spent a full 24 hours exploring the biggest airport I’ve ever seen – and this time I could actually appreciate it.

We even found a comfortable place to sleep – my time in Taipei was much more enjoyable this time around.



Before we left, I got the last authentically Asian noodles I’ll have for a while.



And then it was back home to Canada, with Malaysia firmly behind us.



This trip was the most life changing, eye opening experience I’ve ever had. I want to thank everyone who gave us the opportunity, and everyone who made our stay so great. I love your country and your way of life – and I can’t wait to make it back to your side of the world.

Thank you.

 

Tattoos, Dancing, Orangutans, and Donuts

I know I’ve been a little quiet on the updates lately (you can blame the rash of new illustration clients I’ve gotten since replacing my tablet pen) but it’s been an amazing couple of weeks in Malaysia.

In the last week of September, one of Andrew’s students offered us guest passes to the Sibu International Dance Festival. The Festival was the same day as the tattoo appointment that Andrew has scheduled with local artist, Ah Seng, which led to a very busy day. Luckily we’ve got a friend named Alex who was willing to spend his Friday driving us all over the city.

So Andrew finally got his bird tattoo, which looks amazing.



And I got to see dancers from all over the world.



We weren’t allowed to take photos of the dancers, but you can take my word that it was really great. My favourite troupes were the Youth Dance Ensemble of Sri Lanka, the University of the Philippines Dance Company, and the Vehaara Arts Group, who are locals from Malaysia – but there were thirteen groups, and they were all really great to watch.

Since then we’ve been eating strange food (black burger buns disturb me) and making new friends.

 

But one friend in particular, who I’m refusing to name in hopes that it will help my heart break a little less when we have to leave her behind.



Last weekend though, was the experience that will mark my time in Malaysia. We spent a night in Kuching, and on Sunday, I finally went to the Orangutan Sanctuary.

We drove to Kuching with Lucas and his family – I spent a six hour trip in a full back seat, but the scenery was amazing. I also discovered some really strange snack foods – yes that is a small plastic container of ketchup, and yes, it did come inside the bag of potato sticks.

After arriving in Kuching, we visited the Indonesian border to update Andrew’s visa – so, even though it was only five

minutes, I’ve technically visited yet another country!

We got a hotel for the night and Andrew and I got to go walking down on the water front, where there were a bunch of little stalls selling souvenirs and handy crafts, as well as a huge amount of food stalls (Oreo ice cream aa, so tasty).

We also found this statue, which was erected in honour of the Kuching Cat Museum – I really wanted to check that one out, but it was already closed that night, and didn’t open on Sunday’s.

At the end of the waterfront shops, we found a pack of kids and their parents playing with an assortment of light up toys. A bunch of them had light up helicopters that they were flinging into the air with sling shots, and because Andrew and I are essentially overgrown children, we had to have one.

When I finally got bored of bright flashing lights, we headed back to the hotel.

The next morning, I found random cannons outside our hotel, a temple that doubled as a cafe, and a specialty donut shop – I haven’t had a donut in over two months, and these ones tasted like heaven. We also visited the famous cat of Kuching, who is actually kind of terrifying up close, but looks cute in our nice touristy photos.

And then… It was finally time for the orangutans!

…except that, when you’re me, nothing is as easy as it sounds. We arrived at the Sanctuary at noon, only to find a sign that said “CLOSED. Reopening at 2pm.” Lucas and his family didn’t want to stick around until they re-opened, but I vehemently refused to go back to Sibu without having seen my orangutans. Lucas found us a taxi driver who was willing to drive us around for the day, and wait for us at every stop, so that we didn’t get stranded anywhere, and take us to the airport at the end of it all so that we could catch a plane back to Sibu.

So, Andrew and I spent a little time at a giant mall, mostly with a few SPCA puppies they had out for viewing that day and at a strange Japanese import store where I got new socks, and at 2pm, we taxied back to the Sanctuary – and they were open!!

We got our tickets and took a long walk into the jungle, where I saw some beautiful flowers and got more excited with every step.

We arrived at the viewing area, where the staff let us know that the handlers were out calling the orangutans, and we just had to wait quietly. The sanctuary is out in the jungle, and there are no cages – the orangutans are wild. They come into the viewing area to eat melons and other fruits offered by the handlers, but if they don’t feel like seeing people that day, they just stay in the jungle.

Luckily, this was not one of those days, and my life is now pretty much complete.

These are less than a third of the pictures I took – I could literally wallpaper a room in orangutans. There were two females and their babies. The rest of the troupe, including the big male with his face plates, stayed in the jungle. One baby was cheeky, he kept getting away from his mother and snapping branches for no reason, and making kissing sounds at the people. The other was a lot smaller, and she almost never left her mother’s chest. They were amazing to see. They’d stare right into our eyes, and you could see how intelligent they were.

After an hour, we had to leave to make sure we made it to the airport for our plane. I hated leaving while they were still hanging around, but it was an amazing experience, no matter how long it lasted. So, we made our way to the airport with our kind taxi driver, ate an overpriced pot pie at the gate, and hopped on a plane back to Sibu.

As I’ve said to Andrew so many times he’s sick of hearing it – the orangutans are my new best friends, and I love them.

Month two begins!

First things first – Switch is on sale for a few more hours! Customers of Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk can get their copy now for only $0.99 – this is a limited time offer, so don’t miss your chance!

That said, I’m still living the Malaysian life here in Sibu. Mostly, we hang out at the gym, watch what I can only assume are pirated DVDs – they come in little plastic sleeves, and cost about $2 Canadian – and eat far too many carbs. Luckily I’ve also discovered shaved ice, so I’m getting a healthy dose of fruit these days.

 

We’ve been doing a little more adventuring, and found some interesting little shops and new restaurants – I can’t post pictures of my favourite purchases though, since a lot of them are birthday presents that I’m sending home to Canada this month. Don’t want to ruin the surprise!

 

Andrew and I also went adventuring through the mall where the gym is, up on the top floors and the roof, where it looks like no one ever goes – most of the rooms and stair wells don’t even look like they’ve been completely finished. We went up an extremely narrow staircase, down and extremely narrow hallway, and we found this strange little set up in a tiny room.



Someone set up their own makeshift library – my kind of person! I thought about borrowing a book or two (everything was covered in dust and the newspaper was from January – I’m fairly sure the makeshift library is thoroughly abandoned) but everything except the Charles Dickins was in a foreign language.

I’ve had much better luck photographing the wild life the last couple weeks as well – there are ibis and monitors hanging out in all the drains, but usually they’re way too quick for pictures.



I also got my hands on some pictures from the birthday party (I felt like a giant).



And was gifted some chopsticks from Lucas, and some very strange candy from Laura.

 

And of course, I’m still good at making friends of the four-legged variety.

    

And then last week, the unthinkable happened – my Wacom grip pen came apart (which has been happening for about a year now) and when I tried to put it back together, it went a little crooked, and the back end of the pen wedged onto the chip inside. When I pulled it apart… well… photos speak louder than words.



An eight year relationship has just come to an end, and a bitter end at that. It’s also left me pretty thoroughly out of work, in terms of my day job – a freelance illustrator isn’t much good without a tablet. I’ve ordered a replacement, but the ETA is October 1st. I’ve got my fingers crossed that it will show up early and surprise me.

And… I think that’s all I have to say for now. Tonight I’m hoping to find the time to dye my (horribly faded) hair, on Wednesday I’m finally going to the beach (the ocean!!!), and I think later this month we may be taking a trip to Kuching. It’s a five hour trip from what I’ve heard, but Andrew has been invited to train at a gym there with a wrestling coach, and he’s not allowed to have fun without me!

As always, I’ll be sure to take pictures. I love you all – thanks so much for following along on the journey.

The Hungry Ghosts Festival

This week, I was lucky enough to celebrate the Hungry Ghosts Festival, right here in Malaysia. It was one of those experiences I’ll never forget, and I’m so thankful I was here for it.

The festival is meant to pay homage to the dead, namely deceased ancestors. People leave offerings of food and burn huge towers of joss paper (paper covered in gold leaf – money for spirits) for their ancestors, all while burning incense and marking the sites with flags, to lead the spirits to the offering. They believe that at midnight on the fifteenth day of the seventh month on the lunar calendar (which happened to be last Thursday night) that a portal opens to the realm of the dead, allowing ghosts and spirits to walk among us.

On Thursday night, our friends who usually stay out with us until 11pm or even later hurried home at 10pm, afraid of being followed home by ghosts. Lucas told us that this was the night that most families would be out leaving their offerings, and that at a crossroads right down the street from our apartment, there would be burnings of joss paper at midnight. When he told us, he phrased it, “I have a suggestion, but I don’t recommend it,” so that if we were eaten by hungry ghosts, he wouldn’t have to feel guilty.

So, of course, we snapped one last picture together just incase we WERE eaten, and at 11:30 we made our way to the crossroads.



We found flags and candles along the way, leading the spirits to the crossroads.



We even found an offering before we made it there – one that was being enjoyed by stray cats rather than ghosts (they were adorable).



When we arrived at the crossroads, there were four different towers of joss paper prepared at every point of the intersection. The burnings began at midnight, and they were quite a spectacle.

              

Once the burning was done, the night seemed to be over – the families who had been conducting the burnings piled into their cars, leaving incense and offerings and flags behind for the dead. Andrew and I walked home. Halfway there a man pulled over to offer us a ride home – he seemed extremely concerned that we were out on foot, after midnight, on a night when ghosts could be following us home.

The next day, Lucas heard from a friend of his, who happened to be making offerings at that very crossroads. His friend said that we were fearless, to come so close – and apparently he has pictures of us there, and even a video (I thought I saw some cameras pointed in our direction). We really are celebrities here.

The next night, the true night of the festival, Alex took us with him to his temple, where the Hungry Ghost festivities were continuing full swing. They had erected a huge paper boat, filled with joss paper, which was to be burned at 9pm. Until then, I had some time to enjoy the beautiful sculpture surrounding the temple. Everything was hand carved, and intricately detailed. It was absolutely beautiful.



We were invited into the temple as well, and given a chance to see the various altars. We even met the temple dog, who seemed extremely unimpressed with all the people coming through his house. There was incense burning everywhere, so much that the air was thick with it, and it was actually a little hard to breathe. By the time we finally made our way back outside, my eyes were watering so badly I looked like I was crying. You can see the gray haze in the photos.



Back outside, Andrew and I picked out a spot to wait for the burning to begin. While we were there, a stray dog came through, probably drawn by all the food they had set out. She was so tiny, and so skinny, and so obviously a mama dog – and I watched an old lady kick her, hard, twice. I wanted desperately to say something to her, but I didn’t want to be disrespectful in another person’s temple – later Lucas told me we’re VIPs, and we could have said anything we wanted – but at the time I settled for dirty looks. Luckily, everyone else seemed to be okay with the dog being there, and bunch of kids were even petting her. I’m hoping she was offered some food later on in the night – I lost sight of her after the burning.

The burning began at 9. The pots of incense were all carried back inside, and then the monks boarded the ship to bring down two lanterns hanging from the masts. Once they had climbed down, a number of people approached with torches, and lit up the paper money piled around the boat. The flames were quick, and hot – Andrew and I, who were so proud of our front row viewing space, were pushed back by the heat. I felt sunburned by the end. I’ve never in my life seen a fire so huge.

       

Once the masts had fallen, people swarmed huge piles of food that had been laid out since we arrived, taking their share and loading it all into grocery bags. This is, apparently, part of the celebration (I’m hoping someone thought to share with my poor dog). I was concerned that all the food was going to be fed to the fire, and I was really glad to see it going to people who need it instead. There was also a feast laid out, and I’m led to believe that most of the worshippers stayed to eat – Alex took us back to the cafe where we usually eat dinner, where we regaled Lucas and Laura and Michael with tales of the horrible dog kicking woman.



When we made it home, I realized that the smell of incense was still in my clothes and my hair – even my skin. It lasted all night, until morning, when I finally showered it away.

It was an amazing experience, and although we didn’t plan it out, I’m so glad that it happened to fall during my stay here. It’s something I’ll never forget. And, I have to say – I think it’s my new favourite holiday.