Blog Tour #Willem-of-the-Tafel by @hans_hirschi. A future and a past eerily recognisable

Hi all:

Today I’m really pleased to be taking part in the Blog Tour for the new novel by Hans Hirschi. If you remember I already brought you another one of his books ‘The Fallen Angels of Karnataka‘ and I jumped at the chance of bringing you his newest novel. We have a character profile (a truly enlightened character. If only our politicians were like him) and I’ve had the pleasure of reading it too, so I leave you the review as well. And don’t miss the fabulous giveaway.

And now:

Willem of the Tafel by Hans M. Hirschi

Willem of the Tafel by

Hans M. Hirschi

Published by

Beaten Track Publishing

Genres: Adventure, Fantasy, LGBT, Post-Dystopian, Young Adult

194 pages

Release Date:  May 28, 2015

The world we know is gone, destroyed by greed and ignorance. On a post-apocalyptic Earth, centuries into the future, few have survived the Great War. Some have taken refuge deep inside a mountain. One of them, Willem, is exiled to the surface… Alone and struggling to survive, Willem embarks on an epic journey, making a discovery that could once again alter the future of humanity. Willem of the Tafel is an epic tale of survival, second chances, hope and undying love.

Check out the trailer for Willem of the Tafel

AUTHOR SHOP/BEATEN TRACK SHOP/AMAZON/B&N/KOBO/INDIGO/ALIBRIS/iBOOKS/GOODREADS

Follow the Willem of the Tafel Virtual book tour here

Hans M Hirschi (b. 1967) has been writing stories ever since he was a child. Adulthood and the demands of corporate life efficiently put an end to his fictional writing for over twenty years.
A global executive in training and channel development, Hans has traveled the world and had previously published non-fictional titles.

The birth of his son and the subsequent parental leave provided him with the opportunity to unleash his creative writing once again. With little influence over his brain’s creative workings, he indulges it, going with the flow.

A deeply rooted passion for, faith in a better world, in love, tolerance and diversity are a red thread throughout both his creative and non-fictional work. His novels might best be described as “literary romance, engaging characters and relevant stories that won’t leave you untouched, but hopeful.”

Hans is a proud member of the Swedish Writers’ Union and the Writers’ Center in Sweden.

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

The giveaway for Willem of the Tafel has 11 randomly chosen winners; 10 will receive $15 Gift codes to the author’s shop, but the grand prize winner will receive a free ticket to GayRomLit retreat 2015, in San Diego, CA, happening October 15-18th, 2015. Ticket value is $175, but if you win the grand prize, you’re responsible for travel and accommodations. Please notify the author in advance should you win and be unable to attend, so we can choose another recipient to enjoy the prize! 

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Character Profile from Willem of the Tafel 

Adrianjaka, Chief of Madagascar

Gender: Male

Age: late forties when we first meet him

Occupation: Chief of Madagascar and one of the four leaders of the world

Adrianjaka is an interesting man. Born into a powerful family with royal roots, he is used to being in charge, making decisions. He is the elected leader of the Malagasy people in the 26th century when the story begins. He was mated to a white woman of Kiwi descent, whom he lost to cancer, one of the many diseases plaguing a world that has no modern technology. His daughter, mother to one of the main characters, Hery, dies giving birth to Hery, which leaves Adrianjaka devastated, as he was very close to her, and it strains the relationship to his grandson for years. Hery eventually attends a school in the north of the island, a school dedicated to kids with disabilities (Hery is deaf) and meets the fisherman Stephane on who’s boat he begins to work as a sailor, further alienating him from his grandfather who had different plans for him.

However, the stubbornness and dedication of Hery slowly wear down the old man and when they meet at a crucial point in the story, Adrianjaka realizes that the path Hery has taken has prepared him for the future.

Adrianjaka is a crucial secondary character in the book. He is wise, he is powerful, but he’s not blinded by it, unlike his counterpart in South Africa, Mavuto.

I, personally, love Adrianjaka, because he’s not perfect but has a good heart and is able to recognise his mistakes, move on and accept. And he has the well-being of his people as his main interest. As I said at the beginning, if only…

Here, my review:

Willem of the Tafel is not an easy book to classify. The main protagonist, Willem, is quite young at the beginning of the action, and the novel follows his journey towards independence and adulthood, so it has elements of a Young Adult story. It portrays a future post-nuclear catastrophe, where environment takes its toll and pays humanity back, with most of the population being wiped-out and the few survivors taking some radical decisions. It’s a dystopia/utopia (depending on each person’s viewpoint) whereby whilst some groups of humans have decided to abandon technology to avoid further catastrophes, others depend on it for their basic survival. So it could be a science-fiction novel. It’s a novel with a strong pro-environmental message, and it reflects upon the human condition (fear, power struggles, and race relations). It is also a beautiful love story between two extraordinary young men, as different from each other as they could be, but as compatible and similar in their outlook as would be possible.

The author uses third person alternating point of view to make the reader share in the feelings of those characters that, although initially might appear completely alien to us once we move past their circumstances, they are not that different from all of us. Both of the post-apocalyptic societies that are shown have their problems. The people living on the surface who have renounced technology see their lives shortened but their lack of science and experiment hardship without any relief in sight, although they live a much simpler life and enjoy human contact. The society of the Tafel has developed a model of life where the main goal is survival and nothing that does not increase its likelihood is considered worthy of pursuit. Reproduction has become mechanised, society divided and dying due to lack of new blood and light, and each individual is only a cog in a machine. And there are huge division and differences according to race. Neither model is shown as perfect although the Tafel seems, by far, the sadder of the two (and perhaps the closer to where we are going).

Willem is and extraordinary character. An individual part of a system who is wonderfully unlike anybody else and whose punishment for an accidental death becomes his (and humanity’s) salvation. Willem brought to my mind Herman Melville’s character ‘Billy Budd’, the beautiful and innocent sailor who kills another sailor (unintentionally) and pays dearly for it, not only for his crime, but because he represents what the captain can’t be or have. Thankfully, in the case of Willem, this young man goes on to become the link between the two societies and a symbol of hope.

A joyful and optimistic read that affirms the human spirit. Suitable for all ages. A character and a novel I won’t forget.

Willem of the Tafel Tour brought to you by…

Happy Geek Media

Thanks to Amberr for organising the tour, thanks to Hans Hirschi for another fabulous book, and thanks to you all for reading. And don’t forget to like, share, comment, participate in the giveaway, and of course, CLICK!

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Blog Tour. Come the Dark by Rebecca Hamilton

Hi all:

Today I couldn’t resist taking part in this blog tour. As you know I’m working on a YA/NA series myself and I’m trying to submerge myself in the ins and outs of this world, and the setting of this novel made it irresistible for me. Salem…Yes, that Salem. I include my own review, don’t miss the giveaway, and also the playlist. I was intrigued by having a playlist added so…

Enjoy Happy Geek Media’s debut tour of Come, the Dark, Book 2, in the Forever Girl series.

Come, the Dark, Book 2 of the Forever Girl Series

Come, the Dark by:

Rebecca Hamilton

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical, New Adult, Paranormal, Romance

361 pages

Release Date: January 6, 2015

Rose desperately wants to escape the abuse of the father who impregnated her and the dark spirits that haunt her life. Being thrust from Georgia 1961 into the era of Salem’s infamous witch trials isn’t what she had in mind, and now her daughter is left hopelessly out of reach.

The only way to return to her daughter is by facing certain death to banish the dark spirits that plague Salem. If she doesn’t eliminate these dark spirits in time, they will destroy civilization and trap her in this strange new place, ages away from her daughter.

Even if she can complete the task in time to return home to save her daughter, there’s still one problem: she’s falling in love with a man who can’t return with her. Achieving her goals will force her to choose between the only man who has never betrayed her and a daughter she can’t quite remember but will never forget.

A heart-wrenching tale of a mother’s love for her daughter, this romantic paranormal fantasy underlines the depravity of both historical and modern society while capturing the essence of sacrifice and devotion.

TRIGGER WARNING: This book deals with the sensitive subject of sexual abuse. There is a thread in the Come, the Dark forum at the bottom of this page discussing the issue and how it is handled within the book.

BUY NOW ON AMAZON/KINDLEGRAPH!

FOLLOW THE TOUR SCHEDULE HERE

Author Rebecca Hamilton

Rebecca Hamilton is a USA Today Bestselling Paranormal Fantasy author who also dabbles in Horror and Literary Fiction. She lives in Florida with her husband and four kids. She enjoys dancing with her kids to television show theme songs and would love the beach if it weren’t for the sand. Having a child diagnosed with autism has inspired her to illuminate the world through the eyes of characters who see things differently. She is represented by Rossano Trentin of TZLA and has been published internationally, in three languages.

Website • Blog • Twitter • Facebook • Goodreads

Ready for the Come, the Dark Giveaway? Enter via the Giveaway Tools Form just below…

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Good luck and happy winning!

Tour hosted by…

Happy Geek Media (HGM)

Now my review:

Come, the Dark. (Forever Girl, Book 2)  Rebecca Hamilton. A reluctant heroine that eventually kicks ass

I must confess I haven’t read the first book in the Forever Girl series but decided to take part in the blog tour and review the book because at the moment I’m particularly interested in Young Adult/New Adult Books, I was intrigued by the background to the story (with the setting in Salem at the time of the witch hunts), and the premise of the book sounded intriguing.

The book begins with a bang. Rose’s family situation is terrible and the events that take place in the first chapter show her as a girl who’s suffered greatly and who seems to have some paranormal abilities (she sees things, or rather creatures, that others don’t). When she’s suddenly transported to a different historical period and wakes up as a different person, one of the advantages of the book being narrated in first person is that you experience her confusion and puzzlement with her.

Abigail (the person she is now) lives in Salem in difficult times. I felt the setting of the story could have been used to more advantage as the main character seems to come and go (and at some point is locked up) there, but has very limited interactions with the town and the trials. When she comes into contact with some true horrors, the paranormal background and underlying plot of the story seems to reinterpret the actual events and only a comment at the end puts this to rights. There are situations where reality puts fiction to shame.

Rose/Abigail/Cordovae is one of the most reluctant heroes (heroines) I’ve met. She struggles with her new role and powers/obligations bestowed upon her, insisting she wants to go back to the person she was because her daughter, Anna, needs her. William and Tess, who act as guides and try and bring her up to speed with the universe she lives in (not only the human one, but mostly the paranormal and the variety of creatures and the cosmogony that explains them) try to convince her, but she resists. Although the explanations are a useful way of introducing readers who are new to the series, I felt they slowed the action somewhat and I was not sure I could really grasp the differences between all the supernatural races. (But then, neither does the protagonist, who learns as she goes along.)

It took me a while to connect with the main character and I grew somewhat impatient of her reluctance to engage. Also at times the first person narration meant we spent a long time reading about her doubts, her memories, and her determination to leave. However, although it is somewhat long in the coming, eventually Cord becomes a true heroine, selfless, brave, intuitive, and a great fighter, and you can’t help but root for her. As I mention in the title, she does kick ass indeed. The battle scenes, although not described in gore detail are imaginative and vivid, with some very visual and beautiful touches. They would be very spectacular if adapted to the screen.

The twist at the end is satisfying and to me it is a fairly happy ending, given the circumstances. Although I haven’t mentioned it until now, there’s a love story too (both protagonists try and resist for very good reasons) and all loose ends are tied up for the current story, whilst leaving open the possibility of further explorations into the world of the forever girls.

Overall I felt the book has some ups and downs, but it gains pace in the second half when it becomes a very good read. The premise of the series is intriguing and I suspect there are a few more to come.  If you like YA paranormal series with strong heroines and some very dark elements, you’d do well checking out this novel.

The mini book trailer:

Come the Dark Music Playlist:
Playlist: http://grooveshark.com/widget.swf

Thanks to Rebecca and Happy Geek Media for organising the tour and inviting me, thanks to all of you for reading, watching and listening, and remember to visit other stops of the tour, like, share, comment and CLICK!

New books. Vanessa Wester, the Evolution Trilogy and First Date

Hi all: As you know I’ve decided to bring you guest authors and their books on Fridays. Today I have Vanessa Wester, who kindly visited us in the past and has come back to updates us on her series and also on a new novel.

I leave her to explain it all herself. I couldn’t say it better or with more honesty. Make yourself at home, Vanessa!

 

Thank you for letting me post on your blog again, Olga.

 

My trilogy is finally complete and I can confirm that it is a reflection of a lot of my experiences in a paranormal/ fantasy setting. I think we all take a part of us and impose it on our writing. Our ideals, morals, expectations, dreams… in my case, I had fun. I loved making characters do things I have never had the guts to do (and can’t do since I am petrified of heights!) I did want to write about women in different settings and our attitude towards relationships. If you fall in love then you should both be prepared to make sacrifices for each other and accept the consequences of your actions.

 

I don’t like stories that make it all about the couple and their perfect ending… I have to admit that when I watched the Disney movie Frozen recently I cheered at the end. Not to give a spoiler but it was nice to see the main character, Anna, saved by something other than “true love” in the typical sense.

 

My catch phrase for the Trilogy is ‘In the game of love, destiny is the winner…’

 

I believe this is true. Sometimes things happen in life that you do not expect or want. You fall in love, out of love, lose track of friendships, find out a loved one has passed away, are unable to fulfill a life’s dream or ambition, experience depression or feel lost – nothing is ever candy coated all the time.

 

Writing enabled me to put some of my thoughts and ideas down and get them out of my system via my characters. It allowed me to create a society I would want to live in, whilst appreciating that nothing is ever perfect… and it allowed me to relax!

 

Once you have children your life becomes secondary. My children (followed closely by my husband, who I have been with for over 18 years – he is a patient man…) are very important to me. But, truth, when I became a mum, I also became the cook, child-minder, cleaner, taxi, etc… nothing I did was just for me.

 

Writing was to become my escape, my sanctuary.

 

Honestly, since I learnt to publish my books I have lost some of the passion I initially had for writing. The focus turned too much towards marketing via Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, etc, etc,etc… BUT, social media has allowed me to meet the most amazing people… truly inspirational writers and people, some who overcome personal issues by writing.

 

I also decided to publish books to raise money for charity and have now published three anthologies for all and three for adults.

 

So, to go back to 2013… I completed my Trilogy and published 4 anthologies! My paperbacks are on sales via the Indie Pop Up Bookshop, and most bookstores in Gibraltar and my eBooks are on sale all over the world via Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Sony eBooks, eDiesel, etc, etc…

 

Whatever happens… I tried.

 

Keep reading and writing,

Vanessa

Author Vanessa Wester

 

Bio

 

Vanessa Wester is bilingual in English and Spanish, since she was born and raised in Gibraltar. With a degree in Accountancy and Law, she initially worked for two leading accountancy firms before she changed career and became a secondary school mathematics teacher.

 

Over the past twelve years, she has devoted her time to the upbringing of her children, whilst giving up a lot of her time to help voluntary organisations.

 

Vanessa developed her writing bug in 2010 and has not looked back since. She is currently an author of mainly adult and young adult fiction. HYBRID is her debut novel. You can continue The Evolution Trilogy with COMPLICATIONS and RETURN.

 

In addition, Vanessa has also published anthologies in aid of charity. Three adult collections, via the Short Stories Group, and three children’s collections, via kids4books.

 

She has also released a novelette called FIRST DATE, which is based on her true story.

 

Writing is one of her passions. Reading the other. The day she decided to start writing her ideas down she found another way to lose herself in a book, whilst finding an outlet for her imagination. It is the best way she can think of to escape from everyday life.

 

She now lives on the Isle of Wight, UK.

 

You can find out more about Vanessa here…

 

THE EVOLUTION TRILOGY http://www.theevolutiontrilogy.blogspot.co.uk/

(Links to bookstores on Blog site)

 

BLOG http://vanessawesterwriter.blogspot.co.uk/

 

GOODREADS  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6421055.Vanessa_Wester

 

TWITTER https://twitter.com/vanessa_wester 

 

FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/TheEvolutionSeries?ref=hl

 

LINKEDIN http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/vanessa-wester/67/7bb/699/

 

SMASHWORDS http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/islander8

 

UNIVERSAL AMAZON LINKS

 

Evolution Trilogy by Vanessa Wester

HYBRID #FREE eBook http://bookgoodies.com/a/B0081EV8Z8 

 

COMPLICATIONS http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00ADAXWDY 

 

RETURN http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00GOQA5EU 

First Date by Vanessa Wester

 

FIRST DATE http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00AC1YI0A is a collection of three short stories based on first love. 

Thanks Vanessa for being my guest again, and I could not agree more with your reflections (including the role of true love). I love writing, but sometimes it can get lost in the parafernalia around it. Although it’s true, I’ve also met great people, present company included. Do come back any time.

Thanks for reading, and if you’ve enjoyed it, don’t forget to like, comment, share, and of course, CLICK!

Literary novelties. Phantom Bigfoot Strikes Again By Simon Okill And Big Surprise!

I’ve decided to dedicate a few posts to recent books that you might have missed. It’s good to start the New Year and spring with something brand new to read.

Today I bring you Simon Okill who is an old friend and has visited with some of his other books. Now his well-known and loved bigfoot has returned in a new incarnation for younger adults. Here it is!

Phantom Bigfoot Strikes Again

                        By Simon Okill

Phantom Bigfoot Strikes Again by Simon Okill

Awkward teen prankster, Duane Dexter, would never have guessed how much his humdrum life would change in the space of 1 year. Since his 18th birthday he inherited more money than he could spend, won the hearts of Big Beaver’s women, is hero-worshiped by every kid in town, and all due to The Elders choosing him to be Guardian of the Forest. The alien Elders love their pets – hybrid creatures known as Bigfoot – and genetically alter Duane to take on this massive task as a WereBigfoot.

Life is now perfect. Duane runs free in the forest with his hairy friends, listening to the creatures, understanding nature’s secrets with his altered 6th sense. To his astonishment, he can heal all wounds with a touch. But he can’t resist his prankster side, so he lets off steam by inflicting ludicrous pranks on the local Beaverites as Phantom Bigfoot, leaving curious evidence of Bigfoot in local bathrooms.

Then in the blink of an eye, it all changes for our hero. To his dismay, a teenager with the same prankish ways disappears, rumoured to have been taken by Bigfoot. Can Duane keep the tribe of Bigfoot a secret and protect the forest as the authorities search for the missing teenager? Or will the alien Elders come to regret their choice of Protector and banish Duane from the forest forever without his superpowers?

#Teen Humour #Urban Fantasy #Teen Romance #Action/Adventure

Author Simon Okill

Paranormal author Simon Okill lives in a South Wales coastal town with his wife where he is currently writing about the crazy adventures of Phantom Bigfoot and his tribe of Bigfoot Babes. Phantom Bigfoot Strikes Again is book one of a YA adventure series, Phantom Bigfoot Series, soon to be followed by Phantom Bigfoot & The Vampettes From Venus. Book 3 is a secret, so secret it hasn’t been written yet. Simon has also written several other books, all available on Amazon – Luna Sanguis and Luna Aeturnus, adult paranormal.

WIPs:

Phantom Bigfoot Episode 2 – Phantom Bigfoot & The Vampettes from Venus is due out in Spring and follows more hilarious adventures of the Phantom Bigfoot.

Phantom Bigfoot Episode 3 – Phantom Bigfoot & The Haunted House is due out in Summer.
Synopsis:

Welcome to Big Beaver, home of the Phantom Bigfoot Bather and his many crazy teenage friends. Phantom Bigfoot Strikes Again is a ludicrously different take on Bigfoot and his habits. It quickly dispels the Hollywood b-movie version of a cannibalistic female-ravaging monster. Big Beaver’s tribe of Bigfoot is so peace-loving they sadly make easy targets for hunters.

This is where Duane-o the no-brain-o comes in. At the age of 18, Sam, his father reveals the truth of their hermit-like existence in the woods of the Shasta Cascade surrounding Big Beaver. Sam hands over the task of The Guardian to his son, also genetically altered by The Elders, tall Swedish-looking aliens from the planet Abba.

And now for one whole year, Duane has lived the life he was always meant to live – free of normal drag-me-downs that every other teenager has to endure. He has the ability to see and hear what his close friends are doing, no matter how far away they may be. He can heal with the touch of his hands, and uses this ability many times to save injured animals and the reason for his existence – Bigfoot.

But most of all, Duane loves being a WereBigfoot, to run free in the dark forest at night, play with the animals and have such fun – until that dumbass Beau Bruger, a teenage friend of his, goes missing.

Things get real tricky for our superhero, Duane-o, when Beau, the plumber’s 17 year old son goes missing, apparently abducted by Bigfoot. As if! Beau is always saying he’s been taken by Bigfoot, so no one believes he’s missing, not even his parents. 2 days pass and Duane smells a rat and she is Zola, a naughty 16 year old Bigfoot desperate for a mate. This means his closest friend, MB, local crypto-zoologist and general busybody will be sniffing around with his big nose looking for that elusive evidence – Bigfoot!

To make matters worse, Duane must also reunite two star-crossed lovers – the gorgeous Sheriff Louise Harper and the anal FBI Agent Virgil Tuckerwood. This he has to do on orders of The Elders. But on his arrival in Big Beaver, Agent Tuckerwood is all regulation and spurns Lou’s advances. Lou thinks Virgil is having a fling with his partner, the sexy Agent Merlot as she overhears them getting it on. Poor Duane is at a loss how to get them hitched, but he must succeed or The Elders might take this as a weakness on his part.

Now Duane-o has to keep the FBI and Sheriff Lou from discovering his epic secret. So he must find Beau first and keep him from revealing the truth of Bigfoot. But what Duane does discover deep in the forest is so mind-bogglingly stupid, even he can’t fix the problem.

So Duane must rely on dumb luck and the wisdom of The Elders to keep his secret a secret or he will be stripped of his superpowers and remain in Big Beaver a normal human being like every other Beaverite. Not that there are any normal Beaverites.

Excerpt:

Not long after that it was Duane’s eighteenth birthday, and he had the shock of his life, just after his mother had left. He woke up from a night of weird visions chasing ape-like creatures in the forest. As usual he had to use the toilet. He burst into the bathroom and came to a stop. Before him, stood a Bigfoot as naked as a jaybird, but not naked. The creature was covered head to toe in long blond hair and was at least seven feet tall.

As he stared at the Bigfoot he recognized his father’s facial features.

“Dad … is that you?”

“Hello Duane … I guess it’s time I explained some things.” He laid a hand on Duane’s trembling shoulder. “I’ve been The Guardian of the forest for too long now and it’s time to join my new family.” He smiled big yellow teeth.

“What’s happened to you, Dad?” Duane thought of the film Teenwolf.  “Are you a werewolf?”

Sam laughed. “No Duane … I’m a WereBigfoot … not a true Bigfoot and not exactly human. I was chosen by The Elders, as many before have, to help our tribe stay a secret and to stop their gene pool from drying up.”

“Chosen?”

“Yes, son, chosen by the lights up at The Big X. They took me to the place I can never remember, but that’s not important … what is … is you, my son … you must continue to protect the forest and its secret.”

“What secret, Dad?”

“The Bigfoot! They must never be discovered … don’t ask me why … The Elders have never thought fit to tell me … but it’s real important … but I gotta go now, Duane.” Sam shuddered and trembled. “The forest is calling me.”

Duane heard strange animal sounds echoing through the woods. “Woooo … wooooo … woooooo.”

“Am I going to change too, Dad?”

“Yes son, you are The Guardian now. The lights will tell you what to do … and your sixth sense will come in handy.”

“Sixth sense … like in the movie?”

“Not exactly, Duane …do you remember the lights?”

“You mean that time I was spying on Virgil and Lou at Little Beaver and I saw the lights? Not long after that Virgil left,” he added as an afterthought.

“You got it in one, Duane. They chose you way back then. In the pantry is some weird-tasting stuff … fermented Jooobaaa … drink it all … but not at once … it helps prepare the way. If you like you can water it down with some OJ and limejuice, makes a great cocktail. It won’t diminish its unique qualities.”

“Eh, okay Dad. Will I see you again?”

“Yeah … I’ll be dropping by now and again to see how you’re doing.” Sam kissed Duane’s cheek and dashed from the log cabin howling like a howler monkey.

If you want to know a bit more about Simon and his work here are some links:

http://facebook.com/simondokillwriter

http://twitter.com/simonokill

https://www.amazon.com/author/simondokillwriter

http://goodreads.com/tassyoneill

And if you want to buy his novel:

E-book:

http://amzn.to/IKmss0 uk kindle
http://amzn.to/1ctMZp3 us kindle
Paperback: 
http://amzn.to/1c41xvI uk paperback
http://amzn.to/1c41ksr us paperback

And just out, I have a surprise! The second book in she series is out!

Phantom Bigfoot and the Vampettes from Venus by Simon Okill

 

Phantom Bigfoot & The Vampettes From Venus

Welcome to Big Beaver, home of Duane Dexter aka Phantom Bigfoot. Teen superhero, Duane, must get Sheriff Lou and Agent Virgil hitched on orders of the alien Elders. Simple enough! But not for Phantom Bigfoot and Guardian of the forest, who manages to screw things up just when he least expects it.

And when he least expects it, Duane is rendered helpless as a new menace invades Big Beaver in the shape of a punk band – The Vampettes from Venus. It soon transpires these Vampettes are not your ordinary gals from outa town. Duane and his close friend, MB, know space vampires when they see them.

So Phantom Bigfoot with his trusty sidekick, MB, fight these insidious vampires head on in a free-for-all, no-holds-barred struggle. Will Duane save the day yet again or will these sexy Vampettes drink Big Beaver dry?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IYRXIDC/

Thanks for reading, and you know the drill, if you’ve enjoyed it, like, share, comment and CLICK! You won’t regret it!

Wattpad. Come and visit!

Hi all:

I was wondering about what to write and had a few ideas, but this being (mostly) a blog about writing, books, writers (with other fancies in the mix, like film reviews, comments about family history, fitness regimes, mindfulness…), I thought and invitation to visit Wattpad wouldn’t be amiss. I suspect most of you must know this site by now. According to Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wattpad

‘Wattpad is an online community themed around writing and story-telling.’ The site brings together readers and writers, and it is free for both. Wattpad is based in Toronto, and was born in 2006 of collaboration between Allen Lau and Ivan Yuen.  They have received funding, have included classics from Project Gutenberg, have been accused of turning a blind eye to piracy, have introduced awards, have created Apps…

According to Wikipedia, 5 out of 10 users are in the US although its use is widespread.

I was introduced to it by writer Frank Spoiler, who is quite fond of the site (so it’s evidently used in Spain too) and was intrigued.

How do writers use it?

That varies. As far as I can gather from the site, some people seem to exclusively publish their work in Wattpad. Some people publish snippets of their work, a couple of chapters, or shorter fiction (short stories) to get people interested in their writing. Some authors publish complete works, but in instalments, like Charles Dickens and many other Victorian novelists used to do. They use Wattpad as a way of testing their work, gathering reactions, comments. It also can serve as a prompt to carry on writing, especially if you get many comments and people tell you they’re waiting for the next chapter. Frank, for example, published his latest novel, ‘Soy un asesino…sin serie’ (I’m an assassin…without a series’) by instalments in Wattpad, receiving many positive comments. Now the book has been published in Amazon and as a result is no longer available in Wattpad. (Sorry, at the moment his novel is not available in English.)If you’re a writer you can send messages to all your followers. You can also dedicate a chapter or a whole book to somebody. You can also suggest the cast for your story, the actors who could play the parts, and you can also add pictures and videos (there is plenty of fan-fiction.) There are also contests and groups, but I haven’t had much time to investigate those.

If you are a reader, you can follow people’s work and then you get notified when they publish something new. Apart from leaving comments in people’s work and voting for it if you like it, you can also send direct messages to people there.  As a reader I have discovered very interesting people there, although must admit  I find quite difficult sometimes the reading in instalments, as in many occasions I discover somebody half-way through a book or a story and struggle to find time to go back to the beginning. But hey, I enjoy it nonetheless. And the variety of stuff you can find there is mindboggling. You can join groups to fit your specific reading interests and there are groups for artist who like to create covers and get experience trying new things.

What has my experience been like? Well, not sure. I’m still not very familiar with the site, and realised that if you’re doing a series of a whole book you should add parts rather than publishing them independently (that is what I started doing with a book I wrote many years back. Now I have gone back and republished it linking it all together, but that results in numbers of readers for the individual chapters disappearing. I still don’t know why many more people read chapter 2 than any other chapters). As I was taking quite long translating my latest book (now published) to Spanish, I decided to get people a bit more interested by publishing the first story complete in Wattpad, in Spanish. I started with the idea of publishing only the beginning of the three stories, but people seemed intrigued and felt it was only fair. In case you read Spanish, I leave you the link at the end of the post.  I mostly get comments from people I know, but  I have the odd comment by people I don’t.

Now I’m writing the second book on a series of Young Adult books I’m working on, ‘Angelic Business’. I have started publishing the first book in the series, already finished, called ‘Pink Matters’ (the main protagonist is a girl called Petra but she prefers to be called Pink… and if you want to know anything else, go and read it!), as a way of keeping me going with the writing, and to give me an opportunity to see what the reaction is like. So far, there are some stars and readers, but no comments…We’ll see.  Just in case you fancy having a look, here it is:

Draft cover for Pink Matters (Angelic Business 1)

Link to Angelic Business 1. Pink Matters in Wattpad

http://www.wattpad.com/story/12042085-angelic-business-1-pink-matters

Una vez psiquiatra… Diseño de Ernesto Valdés

And if you read Spanish, enlace a  la primera historia de ‘Una vez psiquiatra…’ ‘Carne de cañón’

http://www.wattpad.com/28235987-una-vez-psiquiatra-carne-de-ca%C3%B1%C3%B3n

Thanks for reading, and you know, if you’ve enjoyed it, please like, share, comment and CLICK!

The image of the draft cover of Pink Matter is  courtesy of farconville / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I leave you a link to a very interesting article I found on serialised writing (it does mention Wattpad):

http://writerunboxed.com/2014/02/24/serial-fiction/

Guest author. Vanessa Wester and her Evolution Trilogy

It’s Friday today and we have an author guest. This time we have a familiar face. Vanessa Wester has been a guest in my blog before, but this time she’s coming to tell us about her now complete Evolution Trilogy and how she came to write it. Without further ado, I leave you with Vanessa Wester!

Ever since I started writing The Evolution Trilogy, I have worked really hard to take my baby to childhood then adulthood… I hope it can now go out into the world with its head held high.

A lot of the Trilogy has been based on some of my experiences when arriving at university in the UK as a foreigner (colonial), from my swimming days as a teen, my experiences as an adult, and my upbringing on the Rock of Gibraltar. BUT, a huge amount has come from my warped imagination…

When I found out I was pregnant again in 2008, on the same week I received my contract to return back to my teaching job after 7 years, I was convinced it would be a nightmare. My first two children were born 18 months apart and I had struggled with weight gain, depression, an under-active thyroid, loneliness, and the rest that comes with becoming a new parent…

My cousin also passed away aged 27 from a brain tumour, and other events happened to close family members that broke my heart. These made me reflect on my own life all the time, and I did not feel I had the right to complain about any hardships I faced. What could be worse than losing your life?

However, we all have the right to “suffer” and obtain sympathy for whatever makes us feel down. The characters in my trilogy encounter many difficulties, and I guess in a fictional setting it is easier to make things happen and talk about things that effect us all. The science fiction idea is complete fantasy, and the use of vampires is all for fun.

What I have learnt is that in life things happen for a reason. I have enjoyed every minute of being a parent for the third time. I was so much more relaxed, had fun with my daughter, and balanced three kids with some grace (most of the time… ha ha ha). It was whilst I sat watching my daughter at home that I started to write on a notepad, then progressed to a laptop, then computer… Once I caught the writing bug nothing stopped me and I became obsessed for a while. Every time my daughter slept, I wrote.

I bought a copy of the Writers & Artists handbook and tried to figure out the submissions process. I joined The Word Cloud, read a lot, and learnt to take critique. Then I saw the posts by David Gaughran, who wrote Let’s Get Digital on the Cloud… and decided to go for it and self publish. It took me months to figure out the process of ebook publishing, using the advice on smashwords. I quickly realised Amazon was where a lot of readers bought books – the dominance of the kindle! So, off to Amazon I went… Don’t even get me started on the paperback formatting!

When I was gifted an iPad by my father in law (thank you) my life changed. Social media became easier to use…

Now, I don’t want to bore you… I should write a book about this!

The point is… had I not got pregnant I would never have started writing books. As a child I dreamed of being a writer, but the fact I was scientifically minded made me abandon the dream as the years went by. Yet, the fusion of my interests and dreams has led me to write this Trilogy.

Like I say on my catch line… In the game of life, destiny is the winner

Anyway, my Trilogy is suitable for mature readers of about 10ish and above (my daughter is a fan – aged 9!). In addition, my books have been enjoyed by both men and women of all ages, to my huge surprise, so I hope some of you decide to give them a go.

My latest reviewer said:

“A great set of books. A must read for all. Imaginative story somehow believable. I would like to visit the community myself.”

Thank you for reading, and thank you, Olga, for hosting me on your site.

Vanessa 🙂 xx

Thanks Vanessa. It was a pleasure to have you as guest again, and I hope you’ll visit us with news soon. I leave you links to Vanessa’s works and blogs:

www.theevolutiontrilogy.blogspot.com

www.vanessawesterwriter.blogspot.com

Here a link to her previous guest post. And of course, as always, thanks for reading and if you’ve enjoyed it, don’t forget to like, comment, share and CLICK!

https://olganm.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/guest-author-vanessa-wester/

Reseña. ‘Entrando’ (‘Entering’) de Martie Preller/Mary Meddlemore

Hoy os traigo la reseña de ‘Entrando’ (‘Entering’ de momento solo disponible en inglés, aunque, quién sabe?) de Martie Preller. Como recordaréis Martie/Mary estuvo de invitada la semana pasada y me pareció apropiado traeros la reseña esta semana para teneros al día.

Otro triunfo de la imaginación en la Serie de la dimensión de las historias

Perros que hablan, puertas que se abren a otra dimensión, un cerdito rojo gruñón, un móvil que anda… ¿En qué otro lugar podríais encontraros tal fantástica combinación de personajes más que en una de las historias de Martie Preller/Mary Meddlemore?

Mary Meddlemore, uno de los personajes de Martie Preller, decidió que ahora le tocaba a ella escribir las historias. Como ella pertenece a la dimensión de las historias a Martie no le quedó más remedio que asentir.

En ‘Entrando’ (Entering), Amy, la protagonista, una chica que está pasando por un momento difícil en casa, mientras está intentando refugiarse en su imaginación, sin darse cuenta abre la puerta a otra dimensión, donde nada es lo que parece. Ella cree que se sabe todas las historias y que se conoce bien, pero sus aventuras visitando cuentos de hada conocidos le enseñan una valiosa lección. Al final de la historia Amy ha aprendido mucho sobre el mundo, y aún más importante, sobre sí misma.

Como el resto de las novelas de la serie, Entrando es un triunfo de la imaginación y de la narración de historias. ¡Atreveos a entrar en la dimensión de las historias! ¡Disfrutaréis la visita y puede que la experiencia os cambie tanto como a Amy!

¡Se lo recomiendo de todo corazón a niños de 0 a 150 años (y más)!

Gracias por leer. Espero que os haya gustado la reseña, y si es así no os olvidéis de darle al me gusta, comentad, compartid, y haced CLIC!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FBO2BM0/

Ah, y por si queries practicar vuestro inglés, su lenguaje es muy asequible!

Y el enlace a mi artículo sobre Martie, por si os lo perdísteis.

https://olganm.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/autora-invitada-martie-prellermary-meddlemore/

Preview of new novel! Blood Family by Mark Knight

My friend and fellow writer, Jodie Pierce (she’s also been a guest in my blog) told me about Mark Knight’s new novel (available since 7th of April) and asked me if I would host him as part of his blog tour. As you know I love to meet and introduce writers so, how could I resist? Also, I don’t think it’s ever a good idea to say no to the Queen of Vampires.

Mark Knight tells us a bit about his influences in writing, the type of characters he loves to write about and leaves us an extract of his new novel.

Mark Knight grew up in Massachusetts, USA. Settling in the UK, Mark continued to write novels of differing genres, including horror and television scripts. Mark has worked on scripts for Hollywood’s Little Slices of Death production company and one for Illusion Studios, for which he has recently signed an Option Acquisition Agreement. He also won several short story competitions, and has had his work featured in published anthologies. Mark concentrates now on Young Adult urban fantasy novels.

Mark Knight:

I fell in love with books and movies very early on. Roald Dahl, Planet of the Apes, Tolkien, Star Wars…they were all part of my journey. From age sixteen I was compelled to write my own.  I have always been fascinated by amazingly ‘out there’ type stories – be it fantasy, horror, or science fiction – that have an element of reality in them. You know, where you can say ‘Oh yeah, I can relate to that’ or ‘I know someone who has that problem’. To me, the more real your characters, their emotions, problems, etc, then the more thrilling it becomes when the fantastic comes knocking at their door.

For instance, Daniel Dark, the seventeen-year-old protagonist of Blood Family, has family problems that have led him to smoke weed and chug beer with his equally indolent friend. But then he discovers that he is a half-vampire with incredible powers. Finally, his dull going-nowhere life is supercharged.

Fifteen-year-old Solomon, hero of Solomon Grimm and the Well of Souls, comes from a broken home and suffers from hypoglycaemic attacks his diabetes. It screws up his life—until a gypsy curse renders him undead. Diabetes is the least of his problems now.

Dealing with the death of a parent was bad enough for Gunner Robinson. He has a sixth-sense, the ability to know when evil is near. Other powers are manifesting themselves as well, and they are getting him into trouble, at home and at school. Which is why he wound up in therapy. Telling the doc that he is a warrior angel reborn would definitely make things worse…

Blood Family: Quest for the Vampire Key

By Mark Knight

 

Publisher: Amazon

Illustrator: David M. Rabbitte

 

Release Date: 4/7/13

 

Genre: Dark Paranormal

Life as part of a debt-free, middle-class family in the New England suburbs should have been heaven.

But when your father is a Man of God and you’re a vampire, it sure can be hell.

Until the age of seventeen, Daniel Dark had no idea of his true origins. Something was ulcerating deep inside him, striving to claw its way free. Pastor Nathan Dark and his wife, Annie, had adopted him and brought him up as their own. But Daniel always felt that there was a secret they feared tell him…

Everything changes the day a mysterious package arrives at his home. It contains blood – human blood. It is a message from his true father – a vampire named Dominus. Daniel’s vampire half awakens and takes its first step out of the shadows. Vampires, Daniel learns, are not like in the movies. They’re worse, much worse, and cannot be killed by sunlight or stakes.

The once lazy, goalless youth transforms into sharp-sensed killer. Now, there is no turning back. On his trail is Pastor Nathan Dark, obsessed with destroying the boy he’d adopted as his own…

Armed with ever-evolving powers, Daniel sets off to find and free his birth mother, imprisoned by Dominus since the day of his birth.

It is a journey that takes Daniel to Mexico and the mysterious Mayan shaman woman, Xochil, guardian of Vampire secrets. From there the trail leads to misty moors of southern England, where he joins forces with Logan DuPris, a vampire hunter as attractive as she is deadly. Together they piece together the weird clues that lead to…

The Vampire Key

And now an excerpt of the book:

                                                                CHAPTER 13

As evening painted the sky a deep purple, Daniel stepped through his front door and looked around. As his life had changed, so too had all that surrounded him. He was sensing something. Daniel had never been one for deep thinking, but now his perceptions stretched themselves out over the landscape, over time, feeling out new possibilities and new horizons. He exhaled a big, purging breath, scratching the back of his head. Was he really going to do it? Leave home?

The ‘incident’ with Daelin had left him confused. Part of him had wanted to take advantage of her in the most gruesome and bloodiest of ways. Part of him wanted to protect her forever. Would it be best for her—and for him—to stay, or to leave? This wasn’t exactly something he could talk over with the town’s youth counselor. For the first time in his life, he had no one to fall back on. Future decisions would be down to him and him alone.

No more of this soul-searching crap. I want my bed.

Entering, he kicked off his sneakers and thudded up the stairs. As he grabbed the door handle to his room he halted. Mom stood there, down the hall, looking…defenseless.

“Daniel…”

“Just a minute, Mom.” He wanted to change his shirt a.s.a.p.—his unbidden hallucination had made him very sweaty, not to mention the sex play with Daelin.

He entered his room.

That was his first mistake.

Dad was waiting for him—he and six other pastors. Not one appeared to be in a forgiving mood.

It was a shock to Daniel—he hadn’t even seen any cars parked out front, not even Dad’s.

He then made his second mistake. He didn’t move quickly enough.

Another pastor, who had been waiting next to the door, kicked it shut. Then, the tallest of the ministers facing him shot him with what looked to be a crossbow. The arrow tore into the boy’s left shoulder, pinning him to his bedroom door. He roared in pain. Before the roar was over, an arrow pierced his other shoulder.

“I know you hate me for this, Daniel,” said Nathan Dark. “But I’m doing this to help you.”

“Help me?” spat Daniel. “You want to kill me!”

“It’s taken me years to put together this Deliverance Team, Daniel,” Pastor Dark told him. “And unlike even my own church denomination, our newly founded division knows about the existence of creatures like you.”

“Creatures like me?”

“Yes,” said Nathan coldly. “Demons—like you.”

The pastors rushed at Daniel as he grasped the arrow shafts, trying to pull himself free. The seven men began shouting out religious passages at him, fear knocking their phrases out of unison. Five of them restrained Daniel while two others (including his father) performed the laying on of hands, placing palms on his head and chest. Enraged, Daniel bellowed back at them, irises turning blood red as his would-be deliverers watched in increasing terror.

And something else was happening: the arrows that impaled Daniel were dissolving, actually turning to ash and smoke before their eyes. Through the tears in his son’s shirt Nathan Dark could see the arrow wounds healing before his eyes—flesh growing and knitting, liberated blood retreating back inside the boy’s body before the holes closed.

Revivified, Daniel flung his arms outward in a mighty push, hurling the men to the floor. The deliverers howled in pain.

Nathan Dark regained his senses. His son was nowhere in sight. Then, hearing a sound like the panting of a wounded wolf, he looked up. Daniel clung there, defying gravity, hugging the ceiling like a bat.  Nathan barked through gritted teeth to the crossbow-wielder, who hastily reloaded his weapon of choice. He was good—very good—and had no trouble in unleashing another duo of deadly carbon shafts into the boy’s body—one in the leg, and the other in his shoulder. The idea was to get so many of them stuck in the youth that he would weaken long enough for the team to overpower him.  In this case, ‘overpower’ would mean one of two things—either to free him of his curse, or to free him of his life.

Detaching from the ceiling, Daniel landed in the center of the pastors, now on their feet in a rough circle. He spun, elongated nails gashing each face in rapid succession. Blood sprayed in all directions. The deliverers reeled back in pain. But Nathan avoided injury, stepping back just long enough to retrieve from his jacket the object that he had secreted there as a last resort.

There had been accounts of wooden stakes actually working against demonics and undead entities, but Nathan had never verified any of these accounts. Sure, maybe it was just movie nonsense. But this, right here, right now, was real. He was going to put right this terrible wrong—this boy’s abominable existence—in God’s name. He would succeed no matter what, even if –

Daniel had locked his gaze on to his father. The stake dropped from his hand. Pastor Nathan Dark grabbed his head as though trying to keep it from falling off. The look of sheer terror in his face was proof enough that the hypnotic assault was working.  The other members of the deliverance team watched, transfixed.

“No!” Nathan was screaming. “Don’t leave me in this place! Get me out! Take me out of here!” He was no longer in this world, not consciously. Daniel had succeeded in making this devout Christian man believe that he was in Hell.

It had not been difficult for Daniel to target his father’s greatest fear. But he didn’t know how long he could keep up the illusion. This ability was new to him, powered by raw instinct.

Sensing the approach of the other ministers, Daniel whirled to confront them.

“Keep back!” he warned. “Unless you want me to invade your little minds as well!” His own words frightened him. Never before had he spoken words like that, nor with such rage. What had he become?

Pastor Nathan Dark screamed even louder. Even Daniel had no idea as to what his Dad was seeing within his mind’s eye.

“Daniel! Stop it, now!”

Mom!

Daniel was shocked to see that she’d entered. He released his father.

Jerking his head toward the window across the room, he barked at it as though giving an order. The windowpane shot up with a bang.

Daniel’s exit was a blur—a dark streak that could have been the boy taking flight. No one in the room would ever know.

He was gone.

Thanks to Jodie and Mark for bringing us this exciting new book and I leave you with links to Mark and his work. Thanks for reading and DON’T FORGET TO CLICK!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C456EJU

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Family-Quest-Vampire-ebook/dp/B00C456EJU/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364730430&sr=1-11

www.markknightbooks.com

www.bloodfamily.co.uk

@markknightbooks (Twitter)

www.amazon.com/author/markknight

Twin Evils? is finally here! Young adult novella. Siblings, paranormal, love…Description and taster.

Hi all:

You’ll remember I posted the beginning of a YA novella that I was getting ready for publication, ‘Twin Evils?’ a couple of weeks ago. Well, it’s finally available in Amazon, and to welcome it and introduce it to everybody I thought I’d leave you the description, another taster, and the book cover. And of course, the link….

I hope you enjoy it and you go and check it out!

Twin Evils?

Once upon a time there was a pair of twins, a girl and boy. Ruth was blonde, blue eyes, very fair and really good. Max was dark haired, grey eyes, broody and bad. Their next door neighbour and pal, Hilda, tried to be friends with both but it was not an easy task. They didn’t like each other and she found herself in the middle trying to keep the peace. Max found his sister impossibly perfect and tiresome, and Ruth could not stand her brother’s bad boy attitude and his horrible behaviour. She was scared of him. Ruth was too perfect and child-like for the real world and Hilda suspected something was wrong but didn’t know what. Was she the angel everybody took her for? Was she ill? Why didn’t she behave her own age?  When both twins started talking about fate and said that “something” would happen she worried. What could she do? Unfortunately they were right and “something” happened.

‘Twin Evils?’ is a Young Adult novella (approx. 40 pages) that begins like a fairy tale, talks about friendship against all odds, tragedy, romance, and has a touch of the paranormal. Fast paced and entertaining with intriguing, mysterious and ultimately lovable characters it will make you feel good but leave you wondering. If you have plenty of imagination and love a compact and fulfilling read, try it out!

And now, if you remember the previous extract, the two families were preparing a party…

At the party Max was wearing black denim trousers and a black T-shirt. He didn’t listen to his mother about wearing something ‘nicer’. With the final details of the cake, Hilda and her family got to the party quite late, when all was well on the way. Max was in the hall, and seemed to be anxiously waiting for Hilda.

“Hi Hilda. It’s ludicrous. You must see Ruth’s dress. It’s so…disgusting…I can’t even talk.”

“That’s something that doesn’t happen to you very often. Happy Birthday Max.” Hilda kissed him on the cheek, but he grabbed her by the arms, hugged her, and planted a kiss on her lips.

“Nice” He said with a smile.

“If it weren’t your birthday I’d slap you. My parents have your present, but I guess you’ll open them later. Where is your sister?”

“Inside, licking the teachers’ bums.”

Hilda pinched his bottom, and when he laughed, she slapped him on his behind too.

“More, more…I love it…Be kinky with me, will you, Hilda?”

Hilda couldn’t avoid blushing, and to cover it up she turned around.

“Shut up, you pervert. I am going to kiss your sister. See you later.”

Ruth was being petted and admired by all the adults. Her dress was somewhat infantile for her age. The pink ribbons and the white lace made her look younger, and her long hair done in locks was excessive. For once Hilda agreed with Max. It was too sweet and syrupy for her own taste. Ruth wasn’t very developed as yet, but she was far too old for that. Most of the other girls in the party were wearing short dresses or tight trousers, but Ruth…Hilda looked at her own flowery dress. Simple, normal…She intruded to kiss Ruth and tell her about the presents. Ruth replied that she’d be out soon. Hilda left her to her admirers and went outside.

“So, what’s your opinion?”

Max was next to her again.

“I agree with you completely. I think your sister is far too old for that kind of dress.”

“You see? I am not always wrong.”

“You’re seldom right, though.”

“I’ll get you a drink. Seldom right. I like it.”

Max returned shortly with a soda.

“No punch?”

“You don’t want to drink that punch.”

“But your father is a real expert at mixing it.”

“Not today. I’ve tried it. It’s too sweet for me, and I know you don’t like drinks that sweet. He used peach instead of lemon. Bad choice.” Max said.

“I don’t like peach. OK, I’ll trust you on this one.”

Max bowed and went back to his corner, to “observe”.

Steph and Patrick were the appointed cooks of the barbecue, some people began to dance, the cake was brought in and the candles blown, mainly by Ruth while Max stayed behind, the twins opened their presents…There were more gifts for Ruth than for Max. Ruth got jewellery, clothes, perfumes…Max got some records, books, computer games…Hilda gave Ruth a pair of earrings she liked and Max an Ouija board. He was thrilled by it.

Ruth gave one of her lovely speeches to thank everybody for their kindness, her family and Hilda’s in particular for making it ‘such a special birthday’. When she finished, Max stood up and said:

“I am not as good with speeches as my most adorable twin sister, but I decided to share something with you. I hope you like it.”

He climbed up on a chair, turned his back on the guests, and pulled his T-shirt up. Most people were simply amazed by it, but Ruth fainted and both sets of parents got very distressed. Hilda heard the comments of a couple of students in their same course:

“What’s all the fuss about? It’s a fantastic tattoo. What’s all the fuss about?”

“Maybe they hate tattoos. It might be against their religion. Or it’s some family thing…I don’t care.”

Patrick and Steph took Ruth inside and laid her on the sofa. She recovered shortly after and asked Hilda, who was looking after her:

“Why did he do that? Why did he choose that drawing? It’s a threat, isn’t it?”

“He did it all for effect. He felt nobody was paying him enough attention. I didn’t realise what he wanted to do with it. He’d showed it to me when he came back from camping and he said that he’d show it to your parents, but not when. I should have imagined…”

“You couldn’t have known. He’s too devious.”

As the night went on, the behaviour among the young people became more and more bizarre. Hilda couldn’t understand what was happening. They became very loud, some began fighting, many were sick…Even Ruth seemed not herself, dancing madly and then becoming sick all over her dress. It wasn’t normal. Something was going on. Hilda looked at Max. What had he done? He was smiling, like the cat that’d eaten the cream, and he was looking at the punch…She had to confirm her suspicions. She went to get a glass of punch. Max pushed her before she could drink it and spilt it all on the floor.

“Sorry.”

Hilda held his arm tight and looked him in the eyes.

“What did you put in the punch, Max? I’m not daft, you know?”

“No…” He opened his mouth to deny it, avoiding her gaze, but she took his chin and made him look at her. He gave up. “OK…only some whisky, vodka, and a few pills.”

“What type of pills?”

“Amphetamines, Es…Nothing too dangerous. They’ll all be fine tomorrow. It’s funny to see the adorable Ruth sick like a parrot. Lovely.”

“You’re nasty, Max. Very nasty.”

Hilda rushed to her parents and explained the situation. With the help of the other adults still at the party, they got rid of the drink and took the worst of the girls and boys home. None of them seemed to require medical attention. Hilda left the house without a word for Max. She was mad at him. He had endangered everybody. OK, he might have been angry because Ruth had dominated the party, but…How could he be so nasty and mindless? And, did she want to be friendly with somebody like him?

Link:

http://viewbook.at/B00BDRA9DM

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it and check the novella out. And please, spread the word!

And on Friday, guest author Eduardo Perellón!

Related articles

• BRAND NEW. New young adult novella ‘Twin Evils?’ Taster (olganm.wordpress.com)

BRAND NEW. New young adult novella ‘Twin Evils?’ Taster

Hi all:

I mentioned that I’m working on a YA series (and I’m in the process of translating it to Spanish) but as an introduction to that I’ve decided to publish (within the next few weeks) a YA novella that I wrote some time ago. It has a touch of the paranormal and a bit of romance although that is not yet evident in the little taster/teaser I enclose.

I hope you enjoy it! I’ll keep you updated on its publication.

And without further ado, here it is:

Twin Evils?

Hilda’s friend, Ruth, was the prettiest and loveliest girl in town. Her blond hair was fine and silky, her eyes blue like sapphires, her mouth red like coral. She would have been chanted by the poets of old if she’d lived in a different time. Ruth was the pride and darling of Yorktown. And she was clever enough, and generous and kind. She had it all.

Ruth had a brother too. Max was her twin, but hardly anybody would have guessed that they were related. He was very tall and thin, his hair was thick, curly and black like coal, his eyes grey like slate, and his mouth had thin lips that hardly ever smiled. He was the black sheep of the family, and Ruth and him were known as ‘the angel and the devil’ by the population.

Hilda had known them both all her life. They were the same age, and, in fact, their families were friendly before they were even born. Their parents used to go out on double dates and they got married on a double wedding. They lived in contiguous houses and it was as if they were all members of the same family. Hilda had always felt that it was her duty to befriend Ruth and Max. The task had been very easy with Ruth, she was friendly with everybody, but Max wasn’t an easy boy. As a child, when they played together, he used to torture animals, insects, fight with other children…Ruth always shied away from him, she couldn’t bear any type of violence, but Hilda wasn’t squeamish, and Max had always assumed that Hilda approved of what he did. She told him many times that she didn’t like his behaviour but he insisted that her words were only a pose. Max was always as nasty as he could be towards his sister. He put dead animals in her bed, maggots in her food, ruined her dresses…Once Hilda stopped him when he was about to set his sleeping sister’s hair on fire. Ruth woke up with the discussion and slapped him when she heard what he was about to do, but he only laughed. No threats from Ruth, no warnings from his parents, no punishment from his teachers made any difference to him.

The summer of the twins’ seventeenth birthday, Max had given everybody a break by deciding to go camping with some other youngsters. They had had two weeks of peace, and the two families had been preparing the twins’ birthday party at ease, in perfect tranquillity.

“Hilda! Hilda!”

“Oh no, he’s back” Hilda’s father, Steph, mumbled under his breath.

“Hilda!”

“Go to see what he wants, before we all end up deaf or mad.” Mandy, Hilda’s mother, ordered.

“All right, all right. I’ll go.”

“Hilda!”

Hilda marched into the garden feeling like a martyr. The sacrifices she had to make to keep the peace! Max was restlessly running up and down his garden. He opened his mouth and began:

“Hi…Oh, you are here.”

“Yes, Max. Here I am. Do you always have to be so noisy?”

“Shut up! I must show you something.” He grabbed Hilda by the arm and dragged her over the fence.

“Be careful, will you?”

“Sorry. Come, quick.”

Hilda and Max entered the house through the back door of the lounge, opening into the garden. Hilda said hello in passing to Max’s mother, Eleanor, and his father, Patrick. Ruth was sitting in her room, with the door open.

“Oh Ruth, how…?”

Max pushed Hilda into his room.

“Don’t talk to her. You aren’t here to talk to her. You’ve come to see something.”

“When will you grow up, Max? I’m your sister’s friend too, and…”

“Stop it, please. Look…”

Max switched the lights on. His room was painted in black, walls and ceiling, with strange cabalistic inscriptions and devilish drawings. It was always dark inside. Once he made light, he took his T-shirt off and showed Hilda his back.

“What do you think?”

Hilda was speechless. It was an incredible tattoo. A black eagle, with spread wings, attacking a white dove. The eagle’s beak was dripping blood, and the red colour of the tattoo was very intense, quasi pulsating. The dove had blue eyes and was carrying a branch of wheat. The eagle’s eyes were grey and the wings looked shiny and iridescent. It was an extremely vivid tattoo. And the meaning was too clear for Hilda to be able to ignore it. Max always called Ruth ‘the white dove’. It was horrible.

“Why did you do that, Max?”

“There was a guy incredibly good with tattoos nearby. It’s my own design.”

“I’ve noticed that.”

“Why don’t you like it? Isn’t it good?”

“It’s good. Real good. But, what does it mean?”

“Mean?…Nothing. It’s only a tattoo.”

Max tried his most innocent expression, but it didn’t come natural to him. Not convincing at all.

“I don’t like the imagery.” Ruth said.

“Imagery. Lovely word. I love how you talk, like a book.”

“Bye Max.”

Ruth turned her back on Max and stepped toward the door.

“Wait, wait! I have another tattoo!”

“If it’s like this one I’d rather not see it, thank you.”

“Oh no, it’s very different. Guess where it is.”

Ruth had stopped and turned to look at Max, but shook her head and carried walking.

“I’m not interested in games, Max. I have things to do.”

Max ran to the door to prevent Hilda from leaving.

“Come on…I’ve been away for two weeks and you haven’t even asked me how it was or how I am, or nothing. I’ve missed you, you know? And you don’t even care enough to ask.” He whined.

“You haven’t asked me either. You only came shouting…”

“OK, I’m sorry. I just had to show it to someone or I would have exploded. I haven’t showed it to anybody.”

“Is it a surprise then?”

“Yes, yes. You won’t tell, will you?”

Max and his secrets. Hilda had been selected as his official confidant many years back and she had never managed to get rid of the privilege. Although, Max never quite confessed everything. He always kept something to himself. That made things slightly easier for Hilda. Sometimes. Sometimes it made them worse.

“You’ll have to show your parents. They’ll find out.”

“I will, soon…But keep it quiet in the meantime, OK?”

“Fine.”

“Now, guess where I have the other tattoo.”

Thank you for reading, and of course…feel free to guess…I might or might not reveal the location of Max’s second tattoo…

Ah, on Friday guest author Judith Priay!