Heath Stallcup's Blog, page 11
September 22, 2014
Voices In Your Head?
I dunno if you hear voices in your head. Some people do. Some go so far as to argue with those voices. Do they realize they’re arguing with themselves? Or are they?
Here’s your chance to have a whole new voice in your head. The voice of Jack Voorhies from Falcon Sound. He’s the talent behind the audible version of the Monster Squad and if you weren’t aware, Full Moon Rising has been released and is ready to continue the story for all of you audiophiles!
That’s right, Monster Squad 2, Full Moon Rising is one click away from transporting you back to your favorite characters either through Amazon or Audible…but wait! If you act now, we’ll also include…you may have seen this one coming. I’m going to offer a lucky few of you a free download of Full Moon Rising. There’s a couple ways you could get these ten luscious hours of full on entertainment. You could pony up the $19.95 like most folks. You could take Audible up on their trial membership and get it for free. OR, if you would be so kind as to leave an HONEST review, I can give you a download code and you can get it free, no strings attached. And believe me, when I say ‘honest review’, I mean just that. I’m not looking for a string of 5 stars and simple one liners like ‘great story, you’ll love it’. I’d like to hear what you liked and what you didn’t like about the story. Jack and I are big boys and we have thick skin. Besides, how else can we improve on the product if we can’t get honest feedback?
So there’s the offer folks. Limited number of these freebies so feel free to hit me up here or on Facebook or email me at heathstallcup@gmail.com. If I don’t respond in a reasonable amount of time, please, hit me up again. There is the odd chance that your message gets sent to spam.
And for those few of you who have never listened to an audio book before and aren’t sure if you want to jump into the middle of a series…hit me up. I’ll see what I can do about getting you a download code for Phoenix as well. We may as well start you at the beginning.
For those of you who think this is a great deal, but it’s just not your cup of tea, I want to personally ask you a favor. Please spread the word about this offer. If you have a friend or relative that you think might enjoy an audio book…someone whose eyesight is failing, someone who drives a lot (like a trucker or someone with a long commute), or maybe someone who just doesn’t read well but loves a good story, pass this offer on to them. You never know who might pick up on it. You may just open up a whole new world to somebody who didn’t realize what was available to them.
Thank you.
September 18, 2014
Special on iBooks! Epic Apocalypse Box Set!
Out of the numerous box sets offered up to iBooks for inclusion in their special promotion, only 100 were selected. Of that 100, our Epic Apocalypse Box Set was one of the chosen few! Many thanks to iBooks for this opportunity as this will not only give tons of readers a chance at a truly fantastic box set for only 99 cents, but it will also give us exposure to a global audience that we previously wouldn’t have had.
From September 18th to October 14th the epic Apocalypse Box Set will be offered across the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia and those fine folks will be exposed to the fantastic writings of Mark Tufo, James Cook, Shawn Chesser, John O’Brien, Armand Rosamilia and myself. It’s still sinking in just how fortunate we are to be included in this promotion and I simply can’t thank the folks at iBooks enough for this.
For those of you with an Apple product who want to take advantage of this, here’s the link:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/epic-apocalypse-apocalyptic/id911643350?mt=11
If you have the new operating system iOS8, then you have the iBook app already installed. Why not take advantage of it and get an awesome set of horror fiction in time to set the tone for the season?
September 10, 2014
Picking at Mark Tufo’s Brain
Welcome back dear readers. Today I have a refreshing take for you. A short interview with none other than horror author extraordinaire, Mark Tufo! He’s taken on a whole new genre with his latest release, Dystance: Winter’s Rising, and today we get to find out a little bit more about why he decided to go there. So sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.
If you’ve been living under a rock and have never heard of him, Mark Tufo was born in Boston Massachusetts. He attended UMASS Amherst where he obtained a BA and later joined the US Marine Corp. He was stationed in Parris Island SC, Twenty Nine Palms CA and Kaneohe Bay Hawaii. After his tour he went into the Human Resources field with a worldwide financial institution and has gone back to college at CTU to complete his masters.
He has written the Indian Hill trilogy with the first Indian Hill – Encounters being published for the Amazon Kindle in July 2009. He has since written the Zombie Fallout series and is working on a new zombie book.
He lives in Maine with his wife, three kids and two English bulldogs.
Well, now that the introductions are over, let’s get this shindig kicked off!
Me: What is the title of your latest release?
Mark: Dystance: Winter’s Rising
September 5, 2014
FREE!! And If You Act Now, We’ll Include…
Did the title grab your attention? It’s supposed to. Everybody likes free. Don’t they? I do. Usually. Unless it’s herpes. Nobody wants herpes, even if it’s free.
But no, I’m not offering anything like that. What I am offering is a handful of free download codes for the audible version of Whispers! You can save your $24.95 and get it absolutely free…with a slight catch. Aha! There it is! You knew there would be a catch, didn’t you? Yeah, there always is. No, I don’t want you to sign up for some revolving charge on your credit card or force you to donate a kidney to the ice water challenge. No, all I ask in return is an HONEST review once you’ve finished.
There it is. That’s it. An honest review. A high price, I know, but still…
I’m only going to start with a small handful of freebies. Say…five? Depending on the response, I may add more. BUT, the first five to take me up on the offer will have the option of getting codes for Monster Squad 1 and the soon to be released Monster Squad 2. And yes…future releases. Consider yourselves to be the ‘core’ reviewers, if you will. You can get my audible books as fast as I get the codes for the sky high price of an honest review. And by ‘honest’ I mean just that. I’m not looking for 5 stars on all aspects…I mean HONEST. If something about the story doesn’t measure up, report it. If something about the narrator grates…say so.
That’s it. That’s the offer.
And of the first five to take me up on the offer…who knows? There may be an internal contest of sorts in the near future. Maybe a drawing or…who knows. So there ya go. The offer is made. If you want to take part in it, feel free to contact me. You can reach me at Facebook or just email me. As always, it’s heathstallcup@gmail.com and I look forward to seeing who may be interested.
Until next time…
August 25, 2014
Exciting Week Ahead
This week will be a rather exciting one for me. Rarely do I have more than one thing going on at a time, but this week I have two things to look forward to.
For starters, the Monster Squad Compendium has been released on Smashwords and should be ready shortly on Amazon. Due it’s size, it will only be available as an e-book or hardback. It IS nearly 365,000 words.
For those who aren’t familiar (and yes, I’ve actually been asked, ‘what is a compendium’) it is the first four books, re-edited, rechaptered and placed back to back…the way the story was originally written. A complete saga with a new cover, new title and the same great characters in the same story.
My second big thing to look forward to? The audible edition of Whispers should be made available some time this week. For those who don’t know, Aaron Shook narrated this story and he did a helluva job! When your story is based in Texas, get a Texan to tell it!
I know I’ve said it a hunnerd times, and I’ll say it again, any time somebody else can read my own story to me and leave me wanting more…I know I picked the right guy for the job. I’m hoping that this story will sell a gazillion copies, if for no other reason than to repay Aaron for all the hard work he put into it. Trust me, once you hear it, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
So, that’s it really. It’s a waiting game now. Trust me though…once everything is available, I’ll definitely let you know.
August 12, 2014
Lisa Vasquez In da House!
Okay fans and followers. We have a treat for you today. Lisa Vasquez has agreed to stop by and share a bit about herself with us. You may be asking yourself, ‘who?’ and rightly so! She’s a new talent on the scene and like any new talent, she’s trying to get the word out. The difference is, I’m predicting this girl is gonna go places. Hey, I may be wrong. I’ve been wrong before. That whole Rubik’s Cube thing? Yeah. But for a little while, there were a lot of really frustrated kids out there ready to kick old Rubik’s…anyway.
No sense in making people wait. Let’s kick this party off.
Me: Welcome Lisa! You and I already know each other, but for those fine folks who aren’t in the know, tell us a little about yourself so that they can at least pretend that they know you too.
Lisa: My name is Lisa Vasquez and I was born in Chicago on the south side. My father was a Vietnam veteran and my mother is a retired City of Chicago employee. My step-father was an entertainer and owned his own business. In 1996 I moved to Houston where I’ve been ever since.
I went to college to study pre-med but decided to change my career path to my passion which is writing. I have four boys, and this awesome dude that puts up with all my shit in exchange for me not smothering him in his sleep. His demons play well with mine.. Sometimes they even dance a little.
I collect Clive Barker action figures, living dead dolls, Nightmare Before Christmas anything, horror anything.. I think I have a problem.. And I have an unnatural obsession with Hannibal Lecter.
Me: Eesh. And here I thought you were just another pretty face. Looks like there is a much darker side that I wasn’t aware of. Okay…moving on. Let’s get to some of the standard questions. What is your writing style? Are you a plotter or a seat of the pantser?
Lisa: I’m a little of both. Sometimes pants just aren’t warranted. It gets hot.. You know? I live in Texas and it gets 100+ degrees here. Other times when I’m writing my ideas come in the form of little mini movies in my head. Sometimes they are dreams. Being a lucid dreamer makes it interesting because I will stop and pause things, rewind them, work them out. Sometimes, I even have conversations with the characters.
Me: Wow. That’s a talent I wish I had. Seriously. Rewind a dream? I could think of a lot of…um. Nevermind. So, when did you first decide to start writing? What influenced you to go the indie/small press route?
Lisa: I started really writing stories on paper in the fourth grade. I had this fantastic teacher that read to us and then she would break us into groups, give us a sentence or scenario and have us build a story from it. It was the most fun I’d ever had in school. My step-father was also an entertainer and he’d do little skits or pretend with us. He was also really into special FX and horror movies so we’d always watch Tales from the Crypt and The Twilight Zone together. When we were older we got to watch Dracula, The Mummy, and the classics. I spent a lot of Saturdays with him at the matinee watching Godzilla marathons.
What made me go the indie route was that I had put so much of my own time and work into my book…the story, extensive social media, the marketing, the book cover.. It was ask exactly how I wanted it. I don’t think I could have handled someone else changing it or having that much control over it.
Me: That makes a lot more sense than you’d think. I get a lot of generic answers to that question that usually deal more with the problems dealing with Big 6 publishers. Anyway, where are you from (what do you consider home) and did it influence your writing?
Lisa: I’m from Chicago. Born and raised. I spent my life on the south side and in some pretty bad neighborhoods. People think it’s all gangs and violence. There was a lot of that, but mostly it was hard working families trying to make a living. I met my best friends there and I’m still friends with them to this day. One of them runs an Internet radio show that specializes in the preservation of exploitation movies. Another is an actress in New York, another runs his own dance studio in California. So, really I was surrounded by creative, genius minds all the time.
Me: That’s cool. I guess you fit right in, then, huh? So tell us a little about your book. What is the title of your latest release?
Lisa: The Unsaintly
Me: Okay. Can you give us a spoiler-free quick description of it?
Lisa: The main character is Isabel who is the daughter of Blanche of Castile and Louis VIII. She’s dedicated her life to her faith and even talks the Pope into allowing her out of an engagement to pursue her life as a nun. In the background watching is God and his eternal rival, Lucifer, who even though he is cast away from God, still shows him respect as a father. In their long-lived war, they’ve used humans as pawns to gain leverage to their favor and Isabel becomes their next target. Only this time something goes awry. And you’ll have to read more to find out what happens!
Me: That’s a hook if I’ve ever heard one. So, what (if anything) makes this story unique?
Lisa: I think what makes my story unique is that the story goes deeper into the father /son relationship between God and Lucifer and I create a unique race that isn’t your usual fantasy creature. They aren’t vampire, demon, angel etc.
Me: That’s interesting. Tell us about your hero/heroine? Is this a masked or blanketed characterization of yourself?
Lisa: That’s a fantastic question. I think she is for sure. But I think all of the characters touch on every side of me that has struggled with my faith and reconciling that with what my religion was.
Me: Would you say that there is a lot of symbolism in your story? How did you pull historical fact and apply it to your fictional story?
Lisa: There is a tremendous amount of symbolism in the book. The hardest part about my book was the historical aspect. I actually knew an ex nun who helped me with the daily life and mindset of what Isabel and the other nuns might think or feel. I wanted it to feel authentic and then build the fantasy fun there. I also wanted to show respect to the Catholic religion and their rituals. So I needed to do a lot of reading. Some of it isn’t easy to find, like stigmata and exorcisms.
Me: Yeah, I can see where those things would be something they wouldn’t want to advertise. Not the real cases, anyway. So, do you see this being the first in a series or is this a stand-alone novel? If it’s part of a series, do you have a set number of volumes in mind?
Lisa: This is definitely the first in a series. I’m not sure how many I’ll write. I’ll leave it up to my characters!
Me: Classic ‘seat of the pantser’ answer! Okay, how about you give us a list of authors who most heavily influenced your work.
Lisa: Anne Rice influenced my writing the most for several reasons. She’s so smart, she’s unafraid, bold, cultured and she’s a woman. It’s tough for any writer, but for women I think it gets harder if you don’t write romance, or “light hearted” content. We have some really stiff competition in the horror/fantasy genre.
Me: Ain’t that the truth. Okay, let’s switch gears and get personal. How do you balance your ‘writing time’ with ‘family time’? Do you find your family encouraging you more now that you have been published?
Lisa: My family is very supportive. If it weren’t for them I might not have finished my book. Balancing family, work, and social life is hard, though. I think you just have to have a good schedule and lots of things to keep everyone else busy.. It gets tough writing in the bathroom but since I got the wireless keyboard it’s a little easier.
Me: Hahaha, I hadn’t thought of hiding in the bathroom to write. What a genius idea!
Okay, for those folks who want to way to catch you online, give me a list of ways to reach you. Whatever you feel comfortable sharing.
Lisa: Here ya go.
@unsaintly – Twitter
http://www.facebook.com/theunsaintly
http://www.Unsaintly.com
http://www.wordpress.com/unsaintlybook
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00MF34PFQ
Me: Awesome! Thank you Lisa for dropping by and gracing us with your presence.
Remember folks, the name of the book is Unsaintly and once you’ve read it, go by Amazon and leave a review. It’s important for all authors, but especially so for those just starting out.
August 7, 2014
Q&A with TW Brown!
Today is kind of special. I get to interview a friend and an awesome author. This guy has helped me succeed in so many ways…I can’t even begin to start. He’s put his own projects on hold in order to push mine to the head of the line, just so I could meet a deadline that…well, it wouldn’t profit him at all. Not many people will do that.
When I first got started and knew even less than I know now, Todd did a quick author interview of me and put it on his blog. It helped to get my name out there amongst his followers and I’m sure boosted my sales before Phoenix ever hit Amazon. It does me great pleasure to be able to finally return the favor. He helped me to build a brand, a name amongst readers and now I have my own small, but faithful following. So, for those who aren’t already familiar with TW Brown, you’re in for a treat.
So let’s get this party started. Everybody, meet Todd (TW) Brown. We’re going to start with some standard boilerpot questions and then get a little more personal. So…
Me: Tell me, what is your writing style? Are you a plotter or a seat of the pantser?
Todd: I definitely let the story unfold as it goes. So I guess that makes me a seat-of-the-pantser. I just believe that an outline can make a writer too linear and predictable.
Me: Thank goodness you said that. I thought I was the only one until I talked with a couple of others. One agreed with me. The others were all classical plotters. I felt like the odd man out. Okay, so when did you first decide to start writing? What influenced you to go the indie/small press route?
Todd: It just sort of happened, and at the perfect time. I think 2009-2012 will be looked at in many ways as the start of the Indie revolution. Folks keep saying it will die…but I think they are wrong. Traditional pub got too predictable and I believe the Indie scene is rife with amazing storytellers.
Me: I’d have to agree with you. There are tons of awesome storytellers out there that we might never have heard of had they not had this opportunity. And thank goodness we can. So, where are you from and does it influence your writing?
Todd: I live in the Pacific Northwest. I would not say that it influenced me, but I do enjoy using it as a backdrop.
Me: Beautiful country up that way. I wouldn’t mind living there again, myself. So, let’s move on to your writing. What’s the title of your latest release?
Todd: DEAD: Spring, book 9 of the DEAD series is my latest release, and Next, on a very special That Ghoul Ava is just around the corner.
DEAD: Spring: book 9 of the DEAD series
August 3, 2014
Quick Update
Things are fluid. Much like life, no matter how much we plan and plot, things happen and monkey wrenches are tossed into the best laid plans. Meh. Take it in stride or your blood pressure goes up. When you have a houseful of kids (and now grandkids) you soon learn that things get broke, other things get spilled, things come up missing and NOBODY did it. If I ever find this invisible person named ‘Nobody’, I think I’m going to wring his neck. Until then, he’ll continue to get the blame piled on his poor unfortunate soul.
Is there a point to my rambling? Ha! You should be so lucky. Actually, yes, there was. I’m finding a pretty consistent theme to the questions being asked. Whether via email, Facebook or posts here on the blog. What’s next for the Monster Squad? Will there truly be a ‘next’ book in the series? The answer is YES. MS5 Homecoming has been sent to my editor and I’m in the middle of MS6.
MS5 is planned for a September-ish release. As we’ve all come to realize, it could be early, it could be later. MS6 has been renamed from Snapback to Wayward Son. The story took on an interesting twist and although the original title could have worked, Wayward Son is much more appropriate. I have a feeling that MS7 will probably take the title Snapback.
The compilation of the first four was placed on a back burner for a while. Things at WHC weren’t what was expected and interest in a hardback compilation seems to have dwindled somewhat. Will it still happen? Perhaps in time, but there isn’t a huge push to make it so.
Will there be a YA spin-off of the Monster Squad? As of now, it is only in the planning stages. All of the ingredients are there. MS5 & 6 lay the groundwork for a young adult series to spring from the original, but it isn’t etched in stone. A different YA series has been discussed since Phoenix was originally published but the idea lost steam until recently when it was revived during a brainstorming session. Totally unrelated to the MS storyline, this YA series would be centered around a shape-shifting family that still had to deal with common problems that most families see touching their lives in one way or another.
Caldera is sitting at the editor’s and the second in the trilogy is now only a few chapters into the story. Things will have to be revamped in the storyline to prevent appearing as if it is stealing ideas from popular TV shows. Shortly after Caldera II – Return to Yellowstone was begun, certain TV shows aired that paralleled a lot of ideas that were highlighted in the story. Rather than try to explain why there were so many coincidences, I thought it better to simply rewrite the story and omit anything that gave the appearance of being another person’s idea. So, it’s back to almost the beginning.
I know, that isn’t much in the way of ‘updating’ but honestly, not a lot has been happening. I slacked off this summer. Took it easier. Dealt with things other than writing. Now, it’s almost time to put the nose to the grindstone and get caught up. I have to have MS6 & 7 to MDP by September. And they have to measure up. I need to have Caldera II to Todd by then as well. Something tells me that I probably won’t make that one. Not since I had to delete the better portion of the story.
Stay tuned. Things are constantly changing, but I’ll keep you up as they happen.
Heath
July 18, 2014
Bringing You: John O’Brien!
Unless you live under a rock, you should be familiar with John O’Brien. I’m proud to be able to call this guy a friend. He’s always willing to give advice or help out, or just offer encouragement whenever I get discouraged. Isn’t that what a friend does?
So, if you live under a rock, it’s time to crawl out and get with the times. If you don’t live under a rock, you need to know what all the cool kids are talking about. And buddy, they’re talking about John’s zombie series!
So, who is this guy? Let me tell ya. John is a former Air Force fighter instructor pilot who transitioned to Special Operations in the latter part of his career gathering his campaign ribbon for Desert Storm. Immediately following his military service, he became a firefighter/EMT with a local department. Along with becoming a firefighter, he fell into the Information Technology industry in corporate management. Currently, John is writing full-time on the series, A New World.
As a former marathon runner, he lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest and can now be found kayaking out in the waters of Puget Sound, mountain biking in the Capital Forest, hiking in the Olympic Peninsula, or pedaling his road bike along the many scenic roads. In other words, far more active then I’ll ever be!
So let’s kick this thing off. I want to welcome John O’Brien to my humble blog. And he’s got something new to spread the word on.
Me: John, welcome to the blog. Please disregard the mess. We have some new construction going on. Anyway, let’s get down to business. Tell us what the title of your latest release is?
John: Thanks for having me. I don’t mind the mess so much, but I think I stepped in something. Do you have a cat? Oh, the title is A New World: Untold Stories.
July 16, 2014
Spotlight on: Eric Shelman!
So, that group of writers that I’m with? Yeah. Well somebody left the door open and these strays wandered in. Lucky for us, they’re writers. That means we have to lock up the beer, hide the good snacks and lock out the PPV on the remote. But hey, other than that, they’re a great addition.
Of the additional members, one is none other than Eric Shelman. Eric Shelman was born in 1960 in Fort Worth, Texas. In his early teens, his widowed mother remarried a man named Ed Middleton, and his new dad moved the family to southern California. Eric used to write short stories that featured all of his friends as characters, but because Eric was a longhair living in Laguna Beach, California in the 1970s, you can bet they usually involved drugs of some kind (this is from him, not me, so I don’t want to get any anti-hippie hate mail!).
Fast forward … to the mid-nineties. Eric started writing some short stories, and finally had one published. After that, he felt it was time to write a book. He initially intended to write supernatural fiction, along the lines of Stephen King and Dean Koontz, as well as many others. But when he discovered the story of a little, abused girl who was rescued by the ASPCA in 1874, he got sidetracked and wrote the very first book on her case, Out of the Darkness: The Story of Mary Ellen Wilson. It came out in 1999, and since that time, thousands have read it, and it is one of his biggest selling books ever. It’s also been optioned for a Major Motion Picture.
From there he wrote a thriller called A Reason to Kill and shelved it. Eric began work on a witch novel that involved past lives, but he became so confused while writing the book that he put it down at 53,000 words and didn’t write again for eleven years.
Wow. That was dumb.
Since 2011, Eric has written and released NINE full-length novels, including SEVEN volumes of his Dead Hunger zombie series. So … time travel, zombies, witches and serial killers. Something for everyone … everyone twisted, that is.
Eric A. Shelman lives in Southern Florida with his wife of 27 years, Linda.
Life is good.
Don’t forget that his newest release, Dead Hunger VII: The Reign of Isis should be available as a paperback on Monday!
Dead Hunger VII: The Reign Of Isis
