Hunters' Assessment

Vampire hunters are as much a part of cultural folklore as are the vampires themselves. From these tales many fiction novels have derived their roots, and developed into creations of the imagination as lively as any human you may encounter. The folklore stems from many cultural references. Unlike the Vampires themselves, the lore around the hunters is often shrouded in deeper mystery. While many villages would participate in a full scale hunt for a believed vampire, much as they would a witch, it was not uncommon for a village to find themselves unable to eliminate the perceived threat. This is where they would enlist the help of someone who was considered to be a professional vampire hunter. Some of these hunters would travel great distances to assist a town in need of their services.

Among the limited we know about these vampire hunters includes what a vampire hunter’s tool kit would have looked like during the 1800s. This often resembles the things of fiction. A cross, a stake, various liquid vials or bottles that include holy water.  In many of the folklore stories the hunters would not only carry such a kit, but some would display a level of supernatural ability as well. Fighting the undead was no easy task. Being able to view an invisible creature seeking blood appears to be the most common supernatural skill a hunter has in the folklore from many countries. There are no references to training, or how one came to be a professional vampire hunter. While such things remain unknown in history, you can often find those possible answers filled in by fiction.

Hunters’ Assessment is a short story that introduces you to Arcturian Bloodlines. This unique and lively series is full of action, adventure, excitement and well crafted characters. In Hunters’ Assessment you are introduced to the Hunter’s Society, and their training methods of today. It is a year's long process that is briefly examined in this story as it follows one team from inception to their final exam. In this case, the exam is more than any could have expected.

Hunters’ Assessment by Karyn Pearson: 
In the Arcturian Bloodlines series you find dual societies coexisting with normal humans. On one side you have Vampires and all that is involved with them and on the other are those who hunt them. The Vampire Hunter’s society educates, trains, and prepares young hunter teams for what they will face
when it is time for them to seek out the feral and criminals among the Vampire Society. In the story of Hunters’ Assessment you will meet three of the four jobs a potential hunter will have.

Karyn Pearson

The four possible jobs a Vampire Hunter will have to choose from are:
• Dancer is someone who is a melee-specialized fighter
• Marksman is someone who is a mid-to-long-range fighter and expert at all arms
• Predictor is special hunter class able to see the future (amount of time ahead that can be seen varies from person to person)
• Mender is field medic, also the class of hunters that studies vampire blood and reverse engineered anti-virus from vampire viruses

The Arcturian Bloodlines series will go into great depth about this and the opposing society and the impact it has on the world around them. In the story of Hunters’ Assessment you meet Dancer, Shane
Kantor and his team. His Predictor is Sophie Pineda, and his Marksman is Troy Weston. This team develops their skills over the course of their training but comes together before their first assessment. Together they face trails, and grow to become a strong team. Upon the final assessment they are sent to do their job, and face the unthinkable. Each character is alive with energy, and uniquely designed with emotions you can feel. Without question, you will find the first page as captivating as the last.

Buy the book here:

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/377948

Amazon USA: http://www.amazon.com/Hunters-Assessment-Arcturian-Bloodlines-Pearson-ebook/dp/B00GOAMAT4/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hunters-Assessment-Arcturian-Bloodlines-Pearson-ebook/dp/B00GOAMAT4/

Do you write everyday?

Am always curious how other authors, balance the work-write routine. Here's how Charles O'Keefe, author of The Newfoundland Vampire series, gets around it:  
"For me I guess it’s not so complicated, I’m married but with no kids I still have a lot of free time. With that said my hobbies do distract me and all kinds of promotional activities involved with writing do as well. I find the best way to do this is to make a little schedule, set aside some time every day for writing. I have a routine, I try to get up between 6:30-7am (Monday to Friday) and start writing by 7:30 am or so. I don’t try to overdo it (I do have to go work eventually ;), just 30-45 minutes in the morning and then if I’m on a roll maybe another 30-45 minutes at night. I also just try to do 1-2 (single spaced) pages a day. Surprising if you stick with this after 4-5 months you have the rough draft of your book done! (at least I do). I find also that my day job isn’t very mentally demanding (most of the year anyway) and it gives me time to think on what I’ve written that day and where I’ll go next. If you imagine a scene and work out the details it’s a lot easier when you sit down to write it. Also I find a big help is do an outline for your whole book (or at least 2 or 3 chapters ahead). With an outline I always know where the story will go next (not that it can’t be changed). In fact I do two outlines, one is vague and just summarizes each chapter while the other breaks down every event in each chapter in numerical order. 

The second outline is more for use with my editor but I have on occasion used it myself.Of course there are times when real life gets in the way but I find once you get into the writing groove it’s something I enjoy and it’s nice to see progress. Be realistic and don’t try to write for hours on end, at  least that’s what works for me. Thanks again and happy writing everyone!"

Genre: Horror / Paranormal / Romance / Vampire

Publisher: Penumbra Publishing

Formats Available In: All eBook formats and Print

Release Date: January, 2011

Blurb: Joseph O’Reily is still adjusting to the lifestyle and the dangers that come with being a new vampire. He and Cassandra recently fought to the death with Cassandra’s estranged husband John Snow, and now Joseph has experienced his first ménage a trios, as only a vampire can. As if all of this was not complicated enough, he and Cassandra have been tasked with hunting down and killing a rogue vampire, Donald Rathmore. Another of John Snow’s creations, Donald is an evil misogynistic killer in his own right. Donald has no interest in avenging his creator’s death, but killing 

Cassandra is at the top of his list.While Donald continues his murderous spree, Joseph and Cassandra always seem to be one step behind him. The chase is further complicated as they encounter other vampires and learn more about the mysterious nature of the Vampire Council and the coming war between good and evil. Joseph is only now beginning to trust Cassandra, and this trust will be shaken when he discovers she has even more secrets than he imagined. Her idea of justice and morality is at complete odds with his own. Despite all his powers and growing skill, Joseph is tested physically as a vampire and emotionally by Cassandra. This time the answers and challenges may be too much for the young vampire to handle.

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Editing while you write, makes you wise? Almost!

This is a guest post from fellow author Jack Eason:

When I first began seriously writing back in 1995, I wish I had adopted what I like to refer to as the constant editing technique at the time. But back then I was yet to be published.

What can I tell you – after almost eighteen years of writing I have finally found a process that works for me. Each and every word is not only spelt correctly, but its particular version is also carefully selected via the process of working through the Oxford English Dictionary, plus utilizing the process of synonyms by right clicking on a word, which offers you a choice of alternatives. As an example of which form is correct for a given circumstance within any sentence, I give you  earth as opposed to Earth. Both forms are correct according to the OED, but earth is the usually accepted form.

I finally decided to adopt the technique last year while writing my last eBook novella The Forgotten Age. I’m glad I did. Apart from reducing the errors to an absolute minimum, bearing in mind that no book is ever totally error free, it also ensures that the darned Goodreads and Amazon trolls, plus the odd one or two individuals who just love to find fault, tend to refrain from voicing their opinion in the form of a one star review on either site.

But no matter how meticulous your approach may be, you have to be prepared for those people who absolutely hate your work.Face it folks, you cannot please everyone, no matter how hard you try.

Returning to the main thrust of this post about adopting the constant editing technique, It would not suit most writers as it drastically slows down the whole writing process, particularly the prolific in our ranks. By using it you can forget about any form of daily word count target, something that many new and seasoned writers think is the be all and end all to get that next book out there into book land.

These days since adopting the technique, I’m lucky if I write a paragraph each day before editing. Back in 1995, I would have been thoroughly disappointed. No longer…

Jack's latest book The Next Age is a new pure science fiction eBook novella set in the thirty-second century.

 

Download to your Kindle

Prepare yourselves for a wild ride as you read about an apocalyptic possible alternative future for mankind. The Next Age follows our fight for survival in the thirty-second century. It's not too late. We still have time to change our ways. This story need not become a reality... 

For countless millennia we swallowed the myth perpetrated by the world’s many religions that we were the only sentient species in the cosmos made by an all-powerful God. As it turned out it was an arrogant belief. In the twentieth century, during the period known as the Cold War, between America and its allies versus the former Soviet Union and its acolytes, we revealed our existence to the universe by launching two probes into deep space. The whole event passed into history and was completely forgotten until the thirty-second century, when mankind got a wake-up call that none of us were prepared for...  

 

About the author

Jack Eason lived in New Zealand for forty-two years until 2000 when he returned to his birthplace in England. As far as he is concerned he will always consider himself to be a Kiwi. After military service in the 1960′s, he travelled the world, visiting exotic lands and making many friends. Now in his mid-sixties he is content to write and travel via the Internet. Besides writing novels and short stories, he contributes to his own blog “Have We Had Help?” Some of his short stories and numerous articles appear in the No: 1 online E-zine Angie’s Diary 

His literary interests include science fiction, history, both ancient and modern, and humorous tales like those written by his fellow writer Derek Haines, such as HAL. Now retired, he lives in his home town surrounded by his favourite books, ranging from historical fact to science fiction. His literary icons are J.R.R Tolkien, George Orwell, Arthur C Clarke and John Wyndham. 

In the US you can find his books here

If you live in the UK, you can find his books here

3 - a trio of Short Stories

Maria Savva's, new release, 3 is a trio of short stories following the theme of how memories from the past can haunt the present. 

3 - a trio of short stories

The stories are as follows:

1. Never To Be Told - Tom and Amber are on a romantic date... but the past is always present.

2. The Bride - In this paranormal short, Olivia makes a chilling discovery.

3. What The Girl Heard - Victoria revisits a place that holds a dark reminder of an incident from her childhood. She had vowed she would never return.

About Maria Savva:

A writer of short stories and novels, Maria has always been a storyteller, and an avid reader, and is now having a lot of fun in her adventure with the creative art of writing. She has published 5 novels, including a psychological thriller, a family saga, and a fantasy/paranormal/time travel book. She also has 5 collections of short stories, the latest “3” has been described as an “Innovative showcase” of her short stories. If you like stories that will take you deep inside the characters’ hearts and minds, and you like twists in the tale, you will probably want to try these stories.

As well as writing, Maria is a lawyer (not currently practising law). During her career, she worked in family law, criminal law, immigration, residential property law, and wills & probate, among other things. Many of her stories are inspired from her own experiences and the experiences of those she knows or has known. Chances are, if you get to know this author it won’t be long before you are changed forever into a fictional character and appear in one of her books. If she likes you, you may become a romantic hero/heroine; if she doesn’t... well, she writes a good thriller I hear.

Maria currently divides her time between working as an administrator in a university, and writing/reading/editing/blogging. She maintains the BestsellerBound Recommends blog helping to promote fellow indie authors. She’s also a music blogger for UK Arts Directory where she helps promote independent musicians.

3 Book Trailer:

Connect:

Official website: http:www.mariasavva.com

Goodreads Blog: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1418272.Maria_Savva/blog

BestsellerBound Recommends: http://quietfurybooks.com/bestsellerboundrecommends/

UK Arts Directory Blog: http://ukartsdirectory.com/category/blog/maria-savva/

Twitter: http://Twitter.com/Maria_Savva

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Maria-Savva/171466979781

Buy links:

“3” is Currently available in Kindle format (Can be read on a Mac, PC, iPad, Smartphone etc., with the free downloadable apps from Amazon). Look out for the paperback coming soon.
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/3-ebook/dp/B00EUM59XM/

Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/3-ebook/dp/B00EUM59XM/

Delusions and Dreams

Maria Savva is one of those amazing Indie authors, who just keeps going. She is already the author of nine books and a lawyer by profession who followed her dream to become an author.I met her last year when I was promoting my first book. Here Maria talks a little more about her new release, Delusion and Dreams, a short story collection.

Delusions and Dreams by Maria Savva

1. Who will like (or need) this book? Why?

Anyone who likes short stories will like Delusion and Dreams, and those who thought they didn't like short stories will also like it! Or so I have been told. At least two people have told me that after reading my short stories they have been seeking out more short stories to read, when in the past they may have avoided reading them. That makes me very happy because I've always loved the short story form and it is often neglected in favour of longer works.

2. What have readers most enjoyed in your book so far?

From the feedback, many readers have enjoyed the fact that two of the stories have more than one part. Delusions and Dreams, the short story, is told in four parts; and Friends and Neighbours is told in two parts. The different parts of the stories examine different characters' perspectives. This helps to show that sometimes people have reasons/motives for doing things that other people may be unaware of or judge incorrectly.

3. What do you hope your readers will get out of this book?

I hope they'll be entertained by the stories, but I also hope the stories will make them stop and think a bit about the reasons why people may behave in a certain way.

4. Are any of the characters like you or someone you know?

The characters in my stories are always inspired by people I have known, or by my own life experiences, whether consciously or subconsciously. Some of the characters are like me, some are like people I have met or heard about. Most are a combination of those elements

5. How can we find out more about you and your books?

I have a website that lists all my books; there are also excerpts, book trailers, and links to my social networking sites and blog. http://www.mariasavva.com

Maria Savva lives and works in London. She is a lawyer, although not currently practising law. She writes novels and short stories in different genres, including drama, psychological thriller, and family saga. Her books and stories are inspired by life and the people she meets. 

Laxmi Hariharan is a content branding strateguist and a writer of epic fantasy. More at LAXMIwrites

When Indie met the establishment!

Cut to twelve months ago—as a just born Indie, I listened to Kate Mosse (author Labyrinth) talk about how she was not on Facebook, Twitter or any of those necessary evils, which help Indie authors like myself build a platform. On a panel discussion she made it very clear that she preferred not to have her peace of mind destroyed by social media chatter, in order to really focus inwards and write. Then, a fellow author confessed how she was beyond the point of being a social media junkie—she stayed connected even when she took her dog for a walk.
 It dawned on me then, that as a writer and a marketer I needed to find the sweet spot somewhere between the two. I needed to become a spider—a black widow?— An arachnid who sat square in the centre of a 720 degree social network web, and controlled everything that went around me, not the other way around. It was about choice. I absolutely had the right to decide when I wanted to dip in and went I wanted to unplug. After-all wasn't that what being an Indie author was all about. Exercising your right to be read, to be seen and heard unadulterated by veils?

 Just one of the many insights I gained from attending the writing in a digital age conference, held by TLC. I will be back at the 2013 installment of the same, as part of the audience storytime sessions, talking about where I am twelve months on—wiser, more confident, and in the throes of completing Return to 7 Islands (#2 Bombay Chronicles.)
If you are wondering whether to go Indie or if you are Indie and pondering what next, then this is where you want to be. You will get the chance to meet fellow Indie’s as well as published authors, publishers, and agents too (some of them are really nice too I promise.)

Writing in a Digital Age, tickets on sale till June 6^th. 

Laxmi Hariharan is a content branding strategist and award winning author of epic fantasy. Find her at LAXMIwrites

If you really want the fast path slow down

I spend a lot of time planning for the future, five, ten, fifteen years down the line—how to finish the next book, how to pay off the mortgage, how to write the next blog post, where to go on holiday for the summer, what to wear the next day, what will I say in the meeting later today, what to buy at the supermarket to cook for dinner tonight? Yep sounds about right, for I am trying to live a version of life in the fast path; the sort, I am told successful people lead. 

In fact I am getting to the space where I cannot differentiate between where I end and my fast path begins.  So here I am trying to survive amidst the waves of mind chatter, which threaten to engulf me, leaving me a seething mass of insecurities.

All this despite just knowing that what I must do is stop. Stop and be still and let it all wash over me, through me till I find a space where it is quiet, where I am quiet, I become one with the stillness. And while I am there just be. The space where I can create, where I can follow my heart and write without worrying about the tomorrow or the day after or about the rest of my life.

Its tough to do this with the demands, which pull at me through my channels of connection to the every day life. Yet, if I can carve out a few minutes, a half hour every day perhaps, from within this meddlesome existence, to just write—for then I am grounded, here and now, in the present, and the closest I get to that feeling of utter stillness, for that is my connection with the divine, perhaps that would be a good start?

Here’s the original post written by Daisy Nokes, which inspired this piece. For more go to LAXMIwrites

The muse is a fickle mistress

So there is a muse. That much has become clear to me. She is a fussy lady, a temperamental one too, of no fixed address, who changes her mind at the last minute.

She visits me at the turns of the season only, during the liminal time.

I first heard about the concept of liminality from Becky Walsh and then everything fell into place.

As a writer, I create better when there is a feeling of suspension of formlessness all around me. ie. when it is neither day nor night, when I am neither indoors nor outdoors, neither at home or in office.

I've done some of my best writing waiting for trains & planes and when I have nodded off into the twilight zone in the back of cars, taxis, even autorickshaws bouncing around the streets of Bombay.

And so as winter bursts into full blown spring in London here I am up in the morning with the sun at 5am and it feels glorious as the words gush out like a thawn out stream after an epic winter.

So next time, when you feel really creative be aware of the what, when and where of the moment. Be completely present as you take in your surroundings outside and how you feel inside?

That tickle in your throat, the adrenaline pumping through your veins, your heart beating in excitement for she is here finally and you can feel yourself submerge into the loving lustfullness of the moment (Ha!  whoever said writing was a sedentary business was obviously no writer themself!)

Make the most of it though for the muse is a wicked mistress, she graces you with her presence for just a few times in the year, how long will you be able to tie her down this time?

For more go to LAXMIwrites