Read and Recharge

This post will be my ode to KISS,  Keep It Simple Stupid.  Of course when I say stupid, I mean me.  I was in a bit of a dry spell. No fresh ideas, no willingness to peck away at anything, just a whole lotta nothing. So, I  decided to take some time and take a break. I had been busy with work, school, family and life so that was not helping my situation either. One afternoon, I came home took a relaxing shower, fixed a quick dinner and picked up a book. I have read here and there and completed some interesting tales, but I needed to recharge and this book did it. The title is Hell Whore and it is an anthology that is the brain child of Nathan Rowark. What intrigued me was that I realized that I had not really crossed some boundaries in my writing. After reading this book, I knew I had to stretch more. There have always been topics for me that I consider off limits. Some things, in my opinion, go too far. Then I realized that if I am going to write a great story, that I need to push myself, not to cross certain boundaries, but to open myself up to other creepy, exciting and even funny avenues. I laughed and was so grossed out that I surprised myself. The writers had no boundaries, which in some cases, shocked me to no end. However, I realized that I needed that shock and immediately started working on a new short story piece and have at least two more ideas brewing in my cauldron.

Taking the time out to read, laugh, be grossed out and reread the gross was just what I needed. I have often heard that writers must read and that is very true. We need to see the other worlds and how they are being portrayed to open ourselves up to new possibilities that are tucked away in our own minds. So the next time you hit a brick wall, pick up a book and not just any book. Pick up a book that takes you down the unknown road and see where that journey ends.

For those of you interested in the gross detail, here is the link for Hell Whore:

http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Undead-Hell-Whore-Anthology/dp/1291336397/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1380755397&sr=1-3&keywords=hell+whore

Holy Buckets of Blood, I Can Finally Write!

Halloween is just around the corner, and my family is really into the spirit of things…no pun intended. This year we’re decorating the porch with a seven foot hanging skeleton made of milk jugs, massive amounts of cobwebs, some freakishly large spiders, and, of course, the motion-sensitive laughing skull, which startles anyone who comes to the door. The pizza guy is not a fan of our house.

We like a little horror in our house, especially those scary movies. Slasher movies rock because they clear my cluttered head so I can think and then later write. It’s like breathing fresh air to watch one. Perhaps it scrubs my brain of all those romance books I read and write? Yes, it’s strange, but I go with what works.

I made a list of my top five, which tend to be the older flicks. They seem less on special effects and more on character and plot. Enjoy.

1.   Carrie. Holy buckets of blood. Prom night gone awry and one psychic girl who gets her revenge.
2. Jaws. What’s not to love: long teeth and blood and gore and a boat out in the middle of nowhere. And the half-eaten guy…and the girl…and the other guy. I actually sat on the front row for this one. I was seven. What on earth were my parents thinking? Sigh. It was the seventies.
3.  The Shining. Empty hotel. Crazy dad. Long butcher knife. Good stuff.
4. The Birds. Suspenseful with a touch of romance, and of course the super-creepy birds that want to KILL you. Hitchcock is a master at keeping me on the edge of my seat.
5. The Bell Witch. This one is the newest, 2007, but I had to add because it’s based on a true story: about a witch who lived in Adams, Tennessee, not far from my home. After watching this, I never looked at the woods the same again.

Why do you watch horror? Is it for the nerve-racking moments, like when the girl hides in a closet, but you know the bad guy is going to find her? Yes, my friend, Michael Meyers will find you.

What are some of your favs? Does it help you write? Probably not. Most normal people go for walks to clear their head.

Oh, and here's a pic of a milk jug skeleton if the scary talk frightened you. He'll make you smile.

Blood and Bone Tour!!

The stakes are high in the second installment of The Iron World Series as Avery Quinn decides which path her life will take. Become a vampire and be with Jack forever, or pledge herself to the Fey and help save Faerie from the horrible Queen Mabry? The more she thinks about it the more she wants to remain human. But as she sinks further into the magical world she has come to love, Avery realizes that remaining human is next to impossible, especially when a dark king sets his sights on her. To make matters worse, a secret society of shape shifters have sworn themselves as Avery’s enemy all because of a certain classmate with a caustic temperament. With a mythical war brewing and Evaine close on her heels, Avery must decide who to give her humanity to before it’s too late.

 

Candace Osmond

Authors Bio: Born in 1985 as Candace Osmond in North York Ontario, I began to travel with my parents at the very young age of four years old. I had lived all over Canada and seen everything my country has to offer, from the enchanting shores of Fogo Island, Newfoundland to the gigantic snow-capped mountains of Port Alberni, British Columbia all by the time I was ten. I did, however, spend most of my life in Eastern Canada where I was surrounded by folklore and legends, not knowing how they would shape my personality and imagination for the rest of my life.

Being the only girl of my age in a small group of kids, in an even smaller town, left me spending most of my time by myself and, in result, letting my imagination take over. I would sit by the shore and dream up stories of mermaids and other fantastic creatures to pass the time. Coming from a family with writers and artists dispersed throughout, it was only natural that I spend my time writing, drawing and reading. I dreamed of becoming nothing more than an artist, a creator of any kind. By the age of eleven, I spent most of my waking hours scribbling down short stories, poems and anything else I could think of, while adding my own personal illustrations. By the age of fourteen, I had won numerous minor arts and writing competitions. I excelled at anything art and literature related so, naturally, I planned to attend university for nothing more or less than that. In 2003 I planned to attend university for Creative Writing and Literary Studies. But, with the fear that I would spend all my time and money on an education and end up in a field that I may very well struggle to succeed in, I backed out and attended school for Design instead. Now, a successful Designer living happily in sunny Medicine Hat, Alberta, I met a man and fell in love. His passion and talent for art far exceeds my own, but he motivated me to awaken my old habits of staying up late or waking up early to scribble down dreams and ideas before I had forgotten them and they disappeared forever.

Award Winning Designer and Author of The Iron World Series

website address: http://www.ironworldseries.com/index.html

Other links

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Iron-World-Series/457807120906947

Twitter - https://twitter.com/candaceosmond (or @candaceosmond)

Buy Links:

Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/blood-bone

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Blood-Bone-Iron-World-ebook/dp/B00ED406KI/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376072826&sr=1-1&keywords=blood+and+bone+candace+osmond

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/342041

Excerpt

Change has an irrevocable impact on the mind, body and soul. To the fearful it’s threatening—it means there’s a possibility that things could get worse. To the hopeful, however, it’s encouraging because it means things could get better.

Was I fearful or was I hopeful?

I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling in my sunlit bedroom and pondered about that. To most people this wouldn’t be so stressful. To most people change meant a new hair color or a new job.

But I realized a while ago—I am not most people.

I had been left to make a choice that was so life changing that it would alter me completely, forever. I could choose to become a vampire and gain the strength I desperately needed to protect myself. With this choice I could spend an eternity of nights in the arms of the most perfect creature because I too, would be a perfect creature.

Or, I could choose to pledge myself to a monarch, a leader of the fey. Become a child of magic, wonder and beauty and still possess the strength I need for my defense.

Or door number three, choose not to choose. I could remain human, as I’d lived comfortably for the past eighteen years now. But, to choose nothing would still be a choice, and would determine the path my life would take. None of my options guaranteed a smooth path. But I had a lingering a feeling that, no matter what I chose, the path that was unwinding in front of me was going to be very, very rocky.

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