Happy Halloween!!!

Here's a picture I did in pencil crayon of Spawn (quite) a few years back. Hope it puts you in the mood for trick or treating (or partying).


Have a happy and safe Halloween!

Free Small Press E-Books on Halloween

Thanks to SF Signal for posting about the e-book giveaway by Gryphonwood Press and Blade Red Press. Here's the press release:

Publishers Provide Halloween Treat!

October 29, 2009 — Ebook lovers will be getting a special treat this Halloween. On October 31, Gryphonwood Press, along with Australian-based Blade Red Press, will be giving away their entire catalog of electronic books for free. The giveaway includes popular speculative fiction titles in a variety of sub-genres, as well as thrillers and an anthology of short fiction. “There is something here for every reader,” says Blade Red’s Alan Baxter.

Books will be available through ebook distributor Smashwords in multiple electronic formats, including Kindle-compatible. Thriller author David Wood sees this as an opportunity for authors from both publishing houses to broaden their readerships. “Ebooks are an integral part of the future of publishing, and I’m excited to be a part of this promotion.” Visit the websites at Gryphonwood Press and Blade Red Press for details.

# # #

http://gryphonwoodpress.com
http://www.blade-red.com

Here are the codes you need to download the books:

Cibola by David Wood- SJ79G
Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman by Jim Bernheimer- MK29P
Death Dealt the Hand by John E. Bailor- CT72U
Dourado by David Wood- QX73J
Flank Hawk by Terry W. Ervin II- DM58A
The Silver Serpent by David Debord- MG27T
Street: Empathy by Ryan A. Span- KK37T
You Don't Know What You've Got... anthology- RD33A
Seabird- An Invitation by Sherry Thompson- QW23Y

RealmShift by Alan Baxter – DK99C
MageSign by Alan Baxter – HH65A
Ghost Of The Black by Alan Baxter – Already free at Smashwords.

Maggots Of Heresy by Michael Fridman – Already free at Smashwords.

I must say, Dead Eye: Pennies for the Ferryman by Jim Bernheimer at Gryphonwood looks very interesting.

Vampire Reunion - College Humor

All the great vampires get together to inaugurate a great battle...

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Infinite Flikr: The Movie

This isn't sci-fi or fantasy related but it is pretty cool so I'm posting it here.

A couple years ago my husband (known as "Monkiineko" on Flickr) put together all the photos posted (at the time) to the Flickr group, Infinite Flickr, and set up animated transitions from one to the next to make a continuous video from the images entitled "Infinite Flickr: The Movie".

The music is "Tribute" by Eric Hamilton - check out his royalty free music at www.dilvie.com and click on the "Music Archive" link in his right hand navigation column.

If you wish to download a high quality version of this video, you can use the following link:

105 image version (H.264 codec, 640x480, 30fps) 167 seconds, 19.5 MB
(right click the link and use "Save Link As..." or "Download Linked File")

R. A. Salvatore video clips

My husband showed me how I could upload the videos faster, so here are two more clips from R. A. Salvatore's book signing at the World's Biggest Bookstore. Once again, sorry for the quality of the videos (which will probably be worse than the one I posted yesterday).

In the first video he's explaining why he started writing and why he chose to write fantasy over other genres.


In the second video he's answering the question of how he disciplines himself to write and how he handles writer's block. It's a great response. If you find yourself constantly procrastinating when it comes to your own writing, I'd highly recommend listening to his advice.

R. A. Salvatore in Toronto

As promised, here is a video clip from the R. A. Salvatore signing last night at the World's Biggest Bookstore. In the picture he's being introduced to the audience by the marketing director of Random House Canada, Mike Fuhr.

Mr. Salvatore spoke of the 4 projects he's currently working on, his influences when it comes to writing and several other topics. I took these video clips with my camera so I apologize for their less than professional quality. :)


In this video Mr. Salvatore is asked why the heroes in his books are all highly moral characters and what sources he got those ideals from.



I have two more videos to post but uploading time is such that I can't add them today anymore. Look for them tomorrow.

R. A. Salvatore Author Interview

Books: Again, too many to list. Check out his website.

Most recent books: Orc King
Pirate King
Ghost King

The Dame

website: www.rasalvatore.com

If you could, would you change places with any of your characters?

Sure, until I had to take a shower with cold water.

Seriously, there is a certain purity in fantasy worlds that I wish existed in our world. The idea that one person can be the hero, can slay the dragon and save the town, is very appealing to me, as is the idea of having a very clear reason to go to battle. I’d love to visit the unspoiled lands of Icewind Dale, or the great monastery of St. Mere Abelle in DemonWars. I’d love to be the Highwayman, robbing the lairds to help the ordinary folk get by. Of course I would.

Isn’t that why we read fantasy, after all?

What was the hardest scene for you to write?

The hardest scene for me to write, ever, was the last part of Brother Francis’s tale in the book Mortalis. I wrote that book while watching my best friend, my brother Gary, wither away from cancer, and Francis came to symbolize Gary’s struggle for me, a struggle I knew he could not win, as much as I wanted to deny it.

Any time you kill a character, or send some of your favorites off on a different road, it’s difficult. I remember way back when writing The Halfling’s Gem, when I thought I had killed Catti-brie. I had to take a break and go for a walk. It really hits hard.

What's the best/worst thing about writing?

The best thing is that I get to escape from our world as a matter of course. When I get going, it’s like I’m there in the story; I get the same thrill from writing that most people get from reading, and I’m constantly surprised by the twists and turns in the stories I write.

The worst thing is that, like every writer, I’m cursed. I can’t escape a book. It won’t leave me alone, won’t get out of my head. It’s with me when I’m driving. It’s with me when I go to bed and when I wake up.

Do you have any advice for hopeful authors?

If you can quit, then quit. If you can’t quit, you’re a writer. I mean that, and not at all facetiously. You write because you have to write, because if you’re not writing, you’re miserable. You write because you have all these stories inside of you, clawing at your skin and demanding to be told. One thing I want to make very clear here: writing and publishing are two different things. I write because I’ve got the curse, because I have to write, because I won’t be happy unless I’m telling my stories. I publish because, since I’m writing anyway, I might as well share the stories.

So, as far as advice on publishing goes, I’d say, go to the library and look in The Writer’s Market. Learn the business end of the business, and send the publishers exactly what they want, content and format. And as soon as you mail out your work, forget about it and get back to writing, and never, ever forget that you are a writer if you’re writing. Publishing is just the icing on that very tasty cake.

How do you discipline yourself to write?

I’m a professional writer. I’m my own boss. Without discipline, I fail, period. There are many days where I’d rather be out in the sunshine, or watching a ball game, or getting an ice cream, but I have deadlines and I have responsibilities.

You don’t need to have that sense of responsibility to be a writer, but you need it to be a professional writer. And here’s the most important thing I’ve learned: once you start typing, you’ll fall back into the work and very quickly forget anything else you thought you’d rather be doing.


Remember R. A. Salvatore's blog tour continues tonight on Suvudu (www.suvudu.com) 7-8 EST,
and tomorrow at Fantasy Book Critic (www.fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com).