Wednesday 9 November 2011

Siouxsie and the Banshees


Siouxsie Sioux 


My story is inspired by the music and lyrics of Siouxsie and the Banshees, and features a female character who’s a young banshee. I've been playing the Siouxsie and the Banshees CD ‘Once Upon a Time’ over and over again, it has all their singles from 1978 to 1981. It’s really great and I especially like the tracks ‘Hong Kong Garden’, ‘Happy House’, ‘Christine’, and ‘Spellbound,’ but most of all ‘Love in a Void.’ 
Here is a Youtube vid of Siouxsie and the Banshees performing "Love in a Void" in 1979 - maybe not everyone's cup of tea but I just love it! 

 

Tuesday 8 November 2011

The Hero Always Wins - Robert Eaton



There’s plenty of talent out there in the indie writing community. For the proof look no further than Robert Eaton’s fantasy novel The Hero Always Wins. The book has a great cover image and from the very first page you can tell the story is really well written by an author with a firm handle on the fantasy genre. Another thing about Robert is he doesn’t look like a writer, he’s a rocker who pumps iron, and if you ask me that can only be a good thing! Anyway he’s a better writer than me, but here’s what other people are saying:

“The knight's oath is barely off Darcy's tongue, and already the world is collapsing around him. As the demon hordes of Angra-Jyn slaughter their way toward the city, betrayal amongst the knights' own ranks threatens to destroy them before they can even make their stand.
But the blood of a hero flows in Darcy's veins. He will not be discouraged by the war he is losing. He will not be dissuaded by the traitorous assassin who continues to strike in the night. He will not give up, even as friends start to doubt him and sanity begins to slip beyond his grasp. Why? Because victory is his destiny.
Because he is the hero, and the hero always wins.”

"A new take on high fantasy that will have you gasping with horror and surprise at every turn." - Wendy Callahan, Fantasy Author

"Eaton takes the reader on a wild ride...the combat scenes stood out in particular for me because they reminded me of R.A. Salvatore." - The Pocket Geek

"A must read for any Fantasy fan... I laughed out loud, and even read a few parts peering out from between my fingers." - Ender, Book Reviewer

Back to me again, The Hero Always Wins is DEFINITELY worth a look – you’ll find it on Amazon at $8.99 (paperback) and $1.38 (Kindle), (or that’s how the Kindle price comes up in the UK but it might be lower in the US), anyway here’s the link.

http://www.amazon.com/Hero-Always-Wins-Robert-Eaton/dp/1449969259/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1309061222&sr=8-1
And here’s Robert’s site, complete with six-pack pic!

http://www.roberteaton.net 

The Great Yellow Doom Bird - Jon A Hunt


Just to demonstrate that this blog isn't entirely a self-promotion exercise [you can write your own joke here] I'm going to feature someone else's work, namely the novel THE GREAT YELLOW DOOM BIRD by Jon A Hunt. Without further ado, here is the product description:

"No one in drowsy East Palmetto Grove expects the arrival of one freckle-faced orphan to generate much excitement. There's a war going on, after all. But Patrick Nicholas Digby is no ordinary boy and that rubber duck he clutches.…well, the rubber duck isn't at ALL what it seems.

When invaders in government-issue blue suits and stolen sun-bonnets overrun his uncle's house, Patrick escapes in a lighter-than-air sailboat with a bug-eyed ornithologist named Stultus. Their quest: restore mythical Great Yellow Doom Birds to their ancestral nesting grounds on far-off Mount Gundibar before Stultus's barbaric rivals ensure every last Doom Bird has been roasted and eaten.

Along the way the peculiar pair encounter a tiger-striped sea-monster who loves flowers and detests nets, charging islands, arctic wildernesses and tangled jungles, a loathsome band of incredibly persistent pirates with a special grudge against Stultus, swarms of near-sighted supersonic beetles, frantic twirling passages between worlds--and always waiting impatiently to erupt upon their arrival, fiery Mount Gundibar itself.

Patrick's most astonishing discovery in their race to rescue the legendary Doom Birds, however, may just be the truth about whether he's really an orphan at all..."

And here's what reviewer Jay Wilson made of it:

"You ever met someone and then find out they are a writer? Yeaah, how often does that turn out well?

Well, THIS time it turned out very well!I stumbled across the novel by way of meeting the author via the web thru his photography. I have always loved SF and fantasy and when he mentioned that he had a novel published I bought it just because.

Holy cow! It was actually pretty darn good!!!!

It has a Willy Wonka vibe to it and that of Neil Gaiman or of A Series of Unfortunate Events to a certain extent. I had bought the paperback version and do not regret it in the least. Do yourself and your kids a favor and get this. It is young adult book, but I had a wonderful time reading it myself. Heck, go for the 2.99 eBook if you are the least bit unsure--and THEN come back for the paperback for the kids!

But don't start reading until you got an open block of time, say 4 hours minimum. 300 some odd pages of good stuff--and you may want to get some reading glasses. I have seen larger fonts or maybe I am just getting old.

The book also says "Volume 1". I can honestly say I am waiting somewhat impatiently for that second volume,(that is a hint Mr. Author, hint hint hint)."
UNQUOTE

So there you have it. If you love Roald Dahl, Neil Gaiman and Lemony Snicket then you'd better go out and buy THE GREAT YELLOW DOOM BIRD right now. Here's the Amazon link!

The Great Yellow Doom Bird