This Is Halloween...

Okay, it's not Halloween yet, BUT it is the month of Halloween.

Hey, if Christmas gets to take over Thanksgiving, Halloween gets its own month!

I'm going to be posting on Twitter the rest of this month until Halloween with three different flash fiction stories from David Rex Bonnewell (@WickedlyWritten), John H Howard (@JHHoward) and Midge Cline (@ClineMidge).

I have a flash fiction piece up as well, but it was something I wrote a few years ago on Writing Dot Com for a contest. So it may be familiar to you. But I am also taking pictures and artwork that I feel relates to The BREED, and writing flash fiction for that as well.

If you'd like to follow me on Twitter, I'm @MLChesley and I am currently posting on the Midian Entertainment @MidianEntertain. I'm still kind of geeking out about all of this. It's amazing to have a great group of people all working together, writing, and creating this world.

I hope you all drop by and see what's going on and get to know us if it is your kind of thing. If not, pass it on to people you know who might like it.

Have a great rest of your week!

Cover Reveal: Shadow Blades by Midge Cline...

Hey gang!

I have yet another cover reveal for another book coming out from Midian Entertainment as part of The BREED.

Before I get into the cover reveal, though, I want to let you all know that starting today, there will be some flash fiction tweets on Twitter. John H. Howard, Midge Cline and David Rex Bonnewell have all written some short pieces to be sent over the Twitter feed from today until Halloween!

If you'd like to follow the stories, follow @MidianEntertain on Twitter!

I will also be posting pictures that I feel represent The BREED with bits of flash fiction as well, so you can begin to get to know the world. I'm so very excited we can start telling people about what's happening!

Okay, so on to the cover reveal!

This is Shadow Blades, by Midge Cline, cover art by Noie.

Tada!

All right, hope you all have a great rest of your week and I will see you soon!

Cover Reveal: Deadeye...

Hey all!

Well, as promised, here is the cover reveal for David Rex Bonnewell's book, Deadeye! Artwork was done by Carlos Villas. You can find more of his art here.

To follow all things Deadeye and get to know Dave's character, you can find the page for it here, on Facebook.

So the coolest thing about this is, Dave has written a three part series. Each cover will go together and become a panoramic scene! But this one right here, with the Razorback, I think he wants to jump off the cover and kill me. Lol!

Tell me what you think about the cover in the comments below! And don't forget to check out more artwork by Carlos Villas!

More Life...

My intentions to get back to blogging were solid. But then, I learned how difficult it is to get internet to my house! My goodness. I love my house and won't give it up for anything... except maybe internet!

Just kidding. But I am doing what I can with what I have between now and then. I hope you all enjoyed my guest post yesterday from Andrea Dean Van Scoyoc. (I love her name! LOL!)

Things are moving along around here where Midian Entertainment is concerned. I have one novel that won't make it for the January release, but lucky for me, I had another waiting in the wings.

I did a cover reveal on Twitter for my fellow author, David Rex Bonnewell, and I will be sharing that cover here on Friday! So watch this space! I have a couple more covers that will be coming out soon.

We'll be setting up pre-orders for all books in December. It's getting so close and we're all getting so excited. There's been very few details we've been allowed to share due to our NDA. But soon... Soon we'll be able to share with the world!

Have a great rest of your week, and I'll see you tomorrow with Dave's cover!

Interview With Edward McKeown...

Hey everyone! I'd like you all to give a hearty hello to Edward McKeown, author of 'Was Once A Hero', which I reviewed last week. You can find that review here.

Edward is a fellow author over at Hellfire Publishing and it was a great pleasure to read his book, review it and now interview him. So without further ado:

Mel: What is your favorite genre? Is it also the genre you write in?


Edward: Yes SF is my favorite genre and in it I like the broad star-spanning far future stories of Andre Norton, CJ Cherryh, and Larry Niven. I am less fond of cyberpunk or near future or dystiopia stories. I want starships and aliens

Mel:How much research goes into writing a Sci-Fi story?
 
Edward: As you would imagine it is highly variable. I tend to take as few liberties with the laws of pyshics as I can. My stories are character centric and less concerned with the technology. While I do not want to be busted by “mythbusters” I have an educated layman’s version of the sciences and do the best I can. Sometime I get lucky when I got bonked with the difference between the rotation interval of a pulsar and my story needs of my work, the great Catherine Asaro (scientist and SF writer married to a rocket scientist) told me to use a Preon Star because as she put it, “No one knows how those things work.”

(I wouldn't want to get busted by 'mythbusters' either!)


Mel: How long have you been writing? 

Edward: On a serious basis about 10 years.

Mel: What made you start writing? 

Edward: I was finding it hard to find the sort of book that I liked and one day I was reading a work by a major author (and torture will not get the name out of me) who I normally like and I felt it was a bit of a dog. I thought maybe I could do as well. Fortunately I did not know how hard it would actually be….

(I hear you. But it is a labor of love.)

Mel: Do you read in the same genre you write? 

Edward: Yes, though less now as I am afraid of being overly influenced which is kind of silly as there is nothing new under the sun. I draw most of my influence from anime, and actual history books I read.

(No, that's not silly. I'm afraid to read fantasy sometimes as I dread finding a story too similar to my own.)

Mel: What part of the writing process is your favorite? (Plot development, character creation, etc.) 

Edward: My process is a spontaneously creative one. I preplan nothing, I sit down and I write, it pours out of me like wine from a bottle. So I don’t section my work or think of that way. My characters tell me what happens and I write it down.

Mel: Do you have a routine you do after completing a book?
 
Edward: Yeah I work like heck trying to promote the book and get the word around. 

Mel: And now for something totally random: What would you ask for as a last meal if you were on death row?

Edward: Something that would take a really long time to eat, maybe a Scottish dish as they take a long time to choke down and digest…

Well maybe a Hawiian Pizza? 

Thanks for all you do Mel.


Mel: You are most welcome, Edward! And all I can think of now is Haggis... lol! Have a great week everyone.

Book Review: 'Was Once A Hero' by Edward McKeown...

Title: Was Once A Hero

Author: Edward McKeown

Publisher: Hellfire Publishing, Inc.

Pages: 356 (Print), File size: 431 kb

ASIN: B006UMTBY8

Purchase: Amazon

Summary from Amazon:

Reluctant privateer Robert Fenaday searches the stars for his lost love, Lisa, a naval intelligence officer whose ship disappeared near the end of the Conchirri War . He’s joined by the genetically engineered assassin, Shasti Rainhell, whose cold perfection masks her dark past. Both are blackmailed by government spymaster, Mandela, into a suicidal mission to the doomed planet Enshar. Leading a team of scientists and soldiers, they must unravel the mystery of that planet’s death before an ancient force reaches out to claim their lives.

My Thoughts:

Sometimes it is difficult for me to get into a science fiction story. Some of the terminology used can be quite confusing. Not this time around, though. It was an easy read for someone like me who isn't a hard core sci-fi fan.
Robert Fenaday's loss of his wife is heartbreaking and his search for her seems fruitless. Now, with the Conchirri War over, funding his search becomes a bit of a problem. Enter the little Enshari who is about to change all of that. Granted, the government wants to see Fenaday go on this mission ... and not come back, but this isn't why Fenaday chooses to accept.
Shasti Rainhell is definitely not a woman you want to mess with. She lives up to her surname in lots of ways. Always by Fenaday's side, she isn't about to let him go to the Enshar planet without her.
This book contains a myriad of aliens and robots, cyborgs and intrigue. Enshar was attacked by an unseen force and McKeown keeps you guessing until the end as to what exactly wiped out almost an entire species and then some. Very well written, great plot and strong characters. I would definitely read more from this author.

My Rating:

5 out of 5 skull and crossbones

2011 Chesley Award Winners...

I'm fore going my usual Friday post to bring you this:

2011 Chesley Award Winners

Now... I must really be out of the loop or something must be seriously wrong with my head to have never heard of these before. I feel so ashamed.

Not just because of the name, but because of the beautiful artwork!! I wish I were rich enough to commission one of these artists for my books.

Le sigh.

Oh well. Enjoy the artwork!

Hi, My Name Is Mel...

Hi everyone, my name is Mel and I'm a fantasy author.

{Hi Mel!!}

I've been writing fantasy since I was about nineteen years old.

{Awww}

I took a break from writing when I was married to my first husband. Yes, I've been married three times.

{Oh.}

In my spare time, when I'm not writing, I dress up like an Elf from Lord of the Rings, gather the family to act out scenes from movies like Willow or even Star Wars. If we feel really rowdy, we act out Harry Potter.

{Weirdo.}

I also play online role playing games like World of Warcraft, text based games like Legends of Cosrin and sometimes Oblivion. I also play paper Dungeons and Dragons as well as Magic the Gathering.

There are times when we'll make foil hats and stare up at the sky looking for UFO's or scan the sky through our telescope.

See, I have no life and have entered the 12 step program for fantasy authors and I'm really not looking for your pity, just your support.

*******

Hehe! On a serious note, this is just me being sarcastic and snotty because I am getting tired of the pity I receive from people when I tell them that I write High Fantasy.

Why has this genre been the black sheep of the family? Why... why do I get the "Aww, I'm sorry" head-tilt? Why can't I be given the same courtesy and respect another author gets when they say they write ... well anything other than fantasy?

I feel like they're looking at me as if I have grown a second head. (No, that's sci-fi.)

If you write YA, you're cool. If you write Horror, you're bad ass. If you write Romance, you must be good in bed.

Fantasy or sci-fi? Psshhh.... forget it. They practically grab you by your collar and your jeans and chuck you out into the mud. Then slam the door in your face.

Am I the only one who feels this genre prejudice? Is it just me, as a person? Didn't know my deodorant wasn't working, my bad.

Tell me some of your experiences when you tell people what you write. I'd like to know!