T. L. Barrett

https://www.createspace.com/4187827

The Bastard Prophecy is available for order. This is the second installment in The Vale of Shade Trilogy, my first major literary achievement. It has been a long road getting here, but the journey to the Vale of Shade is that much closer to completion. Lord of an Endless Realm is being edited as you read this, so it shouldn’t be more than a couple of months before you enter the darkest place in the nine realms. Until then catch up with Tuckus, Oakia, Arden, Arriana, Lodon, Carver and the other denizens of Jotunheim in this dark middle chapter (think of The Empire Strikes Back in the original Star Wars saga). The book is reasonably priced at just $14.95, and the cover is gorgeous and painted by the inestimable Curtis Hale.

If this intrigues you, but you haven’t stepped foot into the curse-ravaged world of Jotunheim yet, check out Test of a Prince, the volume that begins the whole shebang!

https://www.createspace.com/4004416

Big News!-

1. The first Valkyrie is finished! The Bone Snake has yet to be edited, but it is finished and anyone who loves, horror, fantasy, monsters, motor cycle mamas, paranormal mystery, suspense, gun fights, mutated hillbillies, and more will love this book. It will be just the first of many about Inge and her girls.

2. The Bastard Prophecy is done being edited and the cover is complete. I just have to format and we will go to press. Here is a shot of the cover. I think it is awesome! done by my good friend the artist, Curtis Hale.

1. I’ve been writing every day, (or making up for day’s missed) and having a great time. My newest novel, The Bone Snake shall be done this weekend. This fantasy/horror story features the monster-hunting motorcycle mamas, The Valkyries. This is one weird, twisted, and depraved novel of heroism, gutsy strong ladies, monsters, supernatural mystery and more.

2. The artist is working on the cover to The Bastard Prophecy, the sequel to Test of a Prince. Thanks for waiting everyone; I know it will be worth it. As soon as the cover is done and formatted it shall be out. I am shooting for March 20th at this point.

3. My next novel will really be an anthology of Crimm tales each of which will be from a different point of view of one of Crimm’s many companions. The deadline should be May 30th. These tales will most likely take place just after the events of The Wardmaster.

In anticipation of the harrowing sequel to Test of a Prince and the second volume of The Vale of Shade Saga, The Bastard Prophecy, the first book will be available for free download 2/8-2/10 at Amazon.com

“The time has come for a new generation of heroes.” is the tag line for this YA superhero fiction book which will not fail to entertain, impress and hook young and old fans of anything heroic and superhuman. In Super Human we are thrust into a world of superheroes during the outbreak of a super-virus that is lying low most of humanity except the children. Bit by bit we are introduced to a number of young people (most with super powers, some without) who are fully realized characters and are trying desperately to make sense of an evil organization’s plot to resurrect the most powerful super-being from Earth’s history. Are there a few moments when the characters seem forehead slapping annoying and childish? Yes, but this just makes us feel them as authentic teenagers in difficult circumstances. By the middle of the novel you are really rooting for these rounded and complicated people. The second ingredient to any good novel, the plot, begins abruptly and tears through the narrative, making this seem like a very quick read (with never a slow moment). In fact, I’m amazed that Mr. Carroll is able to invest as much pathos in the many characters while delivering the plot at such a break-neck speed. The final ingredient is the setting, and this one is so much fun that you will leave the book begging for more, and wondering what will happen to the young heroes who may have more to worry from their elder predecessors than the evil ones they have so heroically fought against. There are no real cheesy knock offs of famous comic book icons, but instead, Mr. Carroll has produced one of the better examples of superhero fiction that I can remember reading. Both my twelve-year-old son and I loved this book. He has already torn his way through the second volume in the series and is anxiously anticipating the third. I am right behind him. If you like heroes, superheroes or adventure, pick this one up, you’ll find yourself in the same situation.

As of 1.20.13, I made a renewed pledge to write everyday (aiming for 1.5 hours). So far I have stayed to it. Making up for one sick day with 5-6 hours during a snowday. My goal is to have the first Valkyrie novel, The Bone Snake completed in first draft by my birthday, 2/20. So far, so good. I average about 1k per hour, and I’m at 57k on the book. The book will be somewhere in the range of 80-85k.

If I continue to write at this speed I should be able to complete four books a year. Which is good considering I have at least six Valkyrie novels planned and 9 Crimm chronicles. That is on top of the scores of novel and series ideas I have planned for the future. Inspiration is not a problem with me, it’s time and discipline.

I also don’t read as much as I used to. Part of this is because of the intense amount of death in my family: (three family members and a dog in the past month). But, whenever I do finish a novel I plan on writing a review and leaving it here. People seemed to enjoy it at the old Blog site, so what the heck. I always love it when I read a review that turns me onto a new author or series.

A note about The Bone Snake: I am having fun with the monster-fighting motorcycle mamas and their allies and enemies. The Valkyries appeared in The Wardmaster, but here they get the spotlight in a work which is comedy, drama, horror, action, and totally twisted fantasy. I’ll try to keep you updated.

Trav

If you haven’t discovered Jonathan Maberry, you are in for a treat! He has quickly become my second favorite horror writer next to the King. The man is a horror writing genius, and I can’t tell you enough how much I enjoy his work. He creates real visceral scenes of horror which are all the more poignant for his wonderful character development and investment (even in the folks who are not long for this world). If you haven’t read Ghost Road Blues, make sure you read that first, as Dead Man’s Song is the second in a trilogy about the haunting town of Pine Deep and the beset characters therein. Honestly, I have never been as chilled from Vampires and their like since reading Salem’s Lot when I was thirteen. The evil is so total and ravenous that reading Maberry is like a blast of fresh October air in a genre which is so saturated with writing that makes the baroque and gruesome seem mundane. The promises of slow creeping horror from the first novel continue to deliver. The only thing that hinders this wonderful read is a slow paced central section of the novel, and some gratuitous scenes which do not necessarily build to the wonderful final section. That said, the character investment in Crow, Val and all the others is so intense, the pay off is all the more sweet. I can only tell you that if you are feeling a little bogged down with the sometimes minute by minute description of these characters trying to process what is happening to them, read on. The fantastic horror becomes all the more real because of it. I look forward to the reading of the final volume of this trilogy and reading all of Maberry’s work as soon as I can.

On December 20th, my wife and I drove down to Marlborough, Mass so that my boy could go to the Children’s hospital and my father-in-law Richard Arthur Brown could spend Christmas with his youngest daughter and youngest granddaughters. Richard had been living with us since April of 2012. The entire time he was with us he was in good humor and was a truly loving parent and grandparent. He focussed on getting good with his past, defeating the demons of war he had with him since coming out of Vietnam without his left eye, part of his skull and lots of hard memories. He focussed on getting in touch with his spirituality and the ancestors that he believed were waiting for him, particularly the Black Foot grandmother that had raised him. On Christmas night we drove back down because Richard had gone into the hospital. He had told us that his grandmother had told him that he would be passing into the summerlands after the solstice, and he was right.

He got a chance to kiss his grandchildren good bye and tell them how much he loved them. He said that it was the best Christmas and the best day. He called me his son and I will never forget the bravery, grace and love with which Richard went on to his reward. He was surrounded by his daughters and granddaughters who held him as he passed and I can’t believe that an event can make you cry for both happiness and grief. I suppose that moment is what makes us most human, and I am thankful for that, too. In response to his passing I wrote him the following message. I didn’t get a chance to read all of it at the ceremony because it was cold and I wanted to give him the Viking death chant which he had asked for as a send off. I will however post it below. His ceremony was lovely with good supportive friends and family and he got to cross off everything that he had wanted. Well, happy times to you, Richard, enjoy your rest and I look forward to seeing you again.

Richard,

As I told you on that last day together, and I tell all who will hear:

I am honored to share your bloodline. As you are now the ancestor of my children you are now the ancestor of me. So I ask for your favor, I give thanks and I tell of you my wonder.

I pray for you to watch over our children, give them aide in their darkest moments and share in the hilarity of the golden times. Know from afar or near how you are woven into their lives for all time. I pray for you to remember us when we take that step to sit under the tree with you.

Richard, I give thanks to you and for you. You have brought such color and kindness into our lives. You made reconciliation and healed old wounds. You made right what was wrong with patient and loving strength. I thank you for rising to bid me farewell in the morning and to welcome me with questions from my long day. I thank you for being an example for how you cherished each smile and each shared moment. I give thanks for how much you loved our children. As you struggled to breathe, and faced the greatest journey without fear, you took the time to tell us of what was waiting for all of us. You showed us how happy and grateful love could make us. I thank you for surviving all of the darkness of war and the wounds therein so that I could have the greatest love I could ever know and have the ten brightest stars of children to love. Thank you for sharing our lives this past year, we will never forget you.

Richard I am astonished by you. I am astonished that you kept your failing body working by sheer force of will till all was mended and all was right. I am astonished by your bravery, your grace and the sheer force of your love. I am astonished by your message of unity that we have always shared, and we will know again in the time hereafter. I am astonished by you, for truly your life, your transformation and your passing tells us one thing; that surely the world is good, that man is good, and that love is truly all we will ever need. We love you.

http://gelmermunson.com/

g. Elmer Munson is a New England writer of the strange and unusual as well as the horrors of everyday life.  He lives with his family and a posse of various critters in a creaky farmhouse older than America herself.

Fellow New England Writer and friend G Elmer Munson was kind enough to provide a link to me so I could tell you about MY NEXT BIG THING that I was working on. Well, I’ll do just that, and please read on to the end where I’ve linked to another great and upcoming author that is well on his way to literary immortality…

1)      What is the title of your next book/work?

This book features the monster-hunting motorcycle mamas that I introduced in the dark fantasy epic, The Wardmaster that was released in October by Post Mortem Press.  The work was originally entitled: Ride, Valkyries, Ride! And then I thought a creepier and more intriguing alternative was: The Bone Snake.

2) Where did the idea come from for the book/work?

Well, a couple of years ago, I was on a trip with my lovely wife and a group of motorcycle ladies zoomed past us on the interstate. A game I often play on trips is to make up stories about the people that go by. I immediately knew that these bad-ass ladies were monster hunters and the stories started filing into the old gray idea depository. After they showed up in The Wardmaster I thought why not find out where they go next. I had written a story, “The Reservoir” for a Post Mortem Press anthology and many of the folks who read the tale expressed dismay about not knowing what happened to the plucky young protagonist, Charlie Caldwell. Thus, I had the first chapter and the Macguffin for the Valkyries first novel of their very own. This will be the first of about seven novels if all goes well.

3) What genre does your book/work fall under?

The book is horror, but has all the elements of a supernatural mystery/action/adventure. It is definitely about experienced monster hunters going into a small town area and trying to stop the apocalypse.

4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?

This is a hard one, because I’ve based the template of the characters’ personalities on my wife and a lot of her friends. A lot of the ladies are older, so it would give a chance to see some cool actresses that might not get a lot of sexy roles. I’m thinking an African American woman like Alfre Woodard only in her twenties, Darryl Hannah, Linda Hamilton, etc.

5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

There’s only one group to call when something crawls out of the local reservoir, devouring people and heralding the apocalypse: The Valkyries, a gang of monster-hunting motorcycle mamas!
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

This is up in the air right now. There are benefits to both. I guess I just want to finish the book and then see what strikes my fancy. I do enjoy self-publishing, as I can offer the books and e-books at a reasonable price, but there is the overhead…
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

Still typing like mad, but should be done first draft by the end of February. I started in November of this year.
8)What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Not sure, although The Wardmaster had some things in common with Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. Also, like Stephen King’s books, characters from my other books (such as the characters from many stories in The Night Library) are finding their way into the pages.
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My wife, and every other tough-minded woman I’ve ever met.
10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?

If the idea of kick-ass ladies on motorcycles protecting American highways from supernatural threats doesn’t sell you, then check out The Night Library which features the tale which will kick off the supernatural mystery. Many people remark that it is one of their favorites out of said anthology.

Well, thanks for listening, and look for The Bone Snake coming your way in late 2013. Hairy Bromance, the horror comedy about a werewolf, sasquatch, drinking buddy duo who take a cross-country road trip has just come out from Damnation Books. Also, the sequel to Test of a Prince, The Bastard Prophecy should be available for Kindle and in print in January of 2013.

Check out this new and upcoming author: Caleb Bollenbacher, author of the book: Monsters

http://americanbanshee.com/

My name is Caleb Bollenbacher…I write.

I am a 2011 graduate of Baylor University, holding a BA in English. I am pursuing a career in fiction writing, but I am capable of writing in a wide range of fields (but please don’t ask me to write in an actual field unless you would like to replace the battery on my computer).

I specialize in editing, proofreading, and any sort of writing.

I am currently working on both a novel and a graphic novel and I have written several short stories and a completed screenplay.

I have had short stories published twice, with one winning Baylor’s Top Prose Award in 2010.

My first screenplay was a semi-finalist at the Black Glasses Film Festival Screenplay Competition.