Fables of the Reconstruction - a novel of zombie apocalypse, sex and magick

I am proud to host guest blogger Hunter S. Jones who has just released her first book in a very appropriate month - October. I say this because it's a mix of supernatural, zombie apocalypse and magick. It seems Hunter's Southern upbringing has influenced her greatly. Enjoy her blog and kindly post comments!

Fables of the Reconstruction

By: Hunter S. Jones

Pomba Gira Mysticism. Creole Voodoo. The zombie apocalypse. Sex, drugs, magick. Paranormal erotica.

Meet Pierre von Minzle and Mary Moore. They are the Adam and Lilith, definitely not Adam and Eve, of today's zombie apocalypse. Fables of the Reconstruction is a playful yet graphic sexual adventure consisting of what might have been, combined with what possibly might be happening now. It contains Pomba Gira mysticism, Creole voodoo and the seeds of the zombie apocalypse set in Victorian London's notorious Whitechapel District. Sex, magick , zombies. This ain't your daddy's shotgun zombie story. Mature content warning.

Available only on Amazon via ebook.

ASIN: B009SCXVMK  Please  see link below.

Prologue

Pomba Gira is a wonderful Goddess. Treat her with respect and reverence and she will bestow her blessings upon you. A beguiling spirit, Pomba Gira gives comfort to the broken hearted, vengeance for the wronged, and a fierce path for those that will take her as muse.

Pomba Gira is the Goddess of the Night. She is the Goddess of guitars, cemeteries, tombs, streets, crossroads, the soul, and the oceans. There are various manifestations of the Goddess, such as Maria Padilha, Compass Rose, Queen of the Seven Crossroads, Pombagira of Calunga, Pombagira of Souls, Gypsy Pombagira, Pombagira Maria Mulambo, Red Rose, Miss Rosie Skull.

Pomba Gira has origins in the witchcraft of Portugal, the Basque Country, Spain, Africa and the native influences of Brazil. She influenced African and Afro-derived cults in the New World of the Americas and the Caribbean Islands because of her cult of divine possession among the slave camps of Brazil.

The offerings to Pomba Gira are numerous. Always make an offering accompanied by good quality champagne or fine wines. Give her gin, bourbon, or brandy. Offer Pomba Gira cigarillos, cigarettes with a white filter, red roses-- (always in odd numbers), honey, anise liqueur-- (which is one of her and favorite drinks), mirrors, jewelry, lipsticks, and perfumes.

Pomba Gira gets to the heart of the matter. It is wise to be very sure of what you want. She asks for payment in advance. As with any seductive or beguiling spirit, there are attractions and dangers to be associated with Pomba Gira.

“Move air, transform fire, move air, water becomes earth. Earth heals; it turns. The wheels turn, it turns the wheels, turns it. It will bring my beloved back to me as soon as possible, next to me…I know the groups of Pomba Gira are already blowing my name into the ears of my beloved day and night; he will not eat, sleep or do anything unless he is with me, I trust the power of the Seven Crossroads and I will continue spreading this powerful prayer, like this it is, it will be.”

About the author

What is your favorite horror movie?

The Omen

What is your favorite horror book?

Salem’s Lot by Stephen King, The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice, Dracula by Bram Stoker…how can you have just one favorite? Short stories would be The Rise of the House of Usher, The Tell Tale Heart, and The Raven all by Edgar Allan Poe, A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner still makes my skin crawl.

What fantasy/horror character do you wish really existed?

Lestat de Lioncourt and my own creation--who you will meet very soon. His name is Pierre von Minzle.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Oh yes, I believe in ghosts-- I was raised with them. When your family has a family cemetery that is 200 hundred years old, you know that the dead still walk among the living and you understand that the dead never truly die. It’s that whole Southern Gothic thing—the love of the macabre and the mystical.

Explain your writing style. 

I call my writing style supernatural gonzo. The best way to explain that is by saying most of my concepts, characters and scenes are revealed to me in dreams, with lots of rock & roll imagery.

HUNTER S. JONES - BIO

Hunter S. Jones is a lifelong writer. Hunter regularly contributes articles to fashion and rock and roll publications, both in print and online. However, you will often find her writing articles for newspapers and quarterly professional publications. Her interests are varied… travel, wines, history, the occult, and psychology. Her passions are rock and roll and history, especially the history of sex.

She has a reading range which varies from  ’Beowulf’ to ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ to all points in between. Her favorite authors are Edgar Allan Poe, Anne Rice and Alison Weir. William S. Burroughs, Erica Jong, Dan Brown. The list is ever changing and ever growing. Ask tomorrow and you will get a different answer.

Hunter has wanted to write a book her entire life. A recent change in fortune has made this dream a reality. Her first book, Fables of the Reconstruction is paranormal erotica, scheduled for publication November 2, 2012, Dia de los Muertos or the Day of the Dead in Mexico, Central and South America, and many Caribbean nations.

You can find her online:

Blog:                       www.thehuntersjones.blogspot.com

Facebook Page:      www.facebook.com/Fablesofthe Reconstruction.com

Twitter:                   @huntersjones101

Get her book here:

  http://www.amazon.com/Fables-of-the-Reconstruction-ebook/dp/B009SCXVMK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1350909318&sr=1-1&keywords=Fables+of+the+Reconstruction&fb_source=message

Romance Author Charmaine Pauls: Fire & Ice

Author Charmaine Pauls writes romance and has firsthand experience to draw from in her novel Fire & Ice...

I was born in Bloemfontein, central South Africa. A hopeless romantic and dreamer, I have always lived beyond the geographical boundaries of reality. Growing up with plenty of stories given birth to by my mind, and a love for writing, it was the natural course of my life to ensue a communications degree from the University of Potchefstroom. I followed a diverse career in all the facets of my degree, including advertising, brand marketing and public relations. Besides handling publicity for opera stars and ballet dancers, developing an international brand of pet food, raising funds for the South African National Council for the Deaf and managing internal communications for a large banking group, some of the more colorful duties I performed as part of my professional path included photographing vegetables, running a graphic design one-woman show, and manufacturing my own range of herbal tinctures. Writing has always been on the top of my preference list, and I am happiest dedicating my time exclusively to creating stories.
As much as my body thrives on food, my soul needs words. I live for the way they weave together in that magical moment of symphonic harmony to become stories. I love opposites (spot them in my book titles!), feathers, jasmine, lavender, music, cats, chocolate and coffee. My motto is to live life to the limits of its six senses. My goal is to achieve that perfect place on life's intricate scale – a place I like to call Balance. And adding a pinch of magic to goal and motto, results in romance. This is what pours from my being through my thoughts, finding its way to my keyboard.
Having previously lived in the ancient and romantic south of France, I currently reside in the majestically volatile nature of Chile with my French husband and world-citizen children. Our household of Babel is a fusion of imagination, make-belief, magic, animals and travel adventure, vividly and enthusiastically expressed in the four languages we respectively speak – Afrikaans, French, English and Spanish.
I hope that you will bless me by enjoying some of my work. Happy reading and living!

http://www.charmainepauls.com/about-charmaine-pauls.html

Between Fire and Ice

Ciro Augusto Dominguez (Cy) is heir to a powerful Chilean copper mine empire. The survival of his future inheritance, Dominguez Enterprise, depends on his ability to produce an heir.
The task is not simple. Infertility has crippled the world population, and fertile females are few and far between. But Cy's mother, Francisca, a brilliant, cold-hearted scientist, has left nothing to chance when she headed the medical team who artificially inseminated and surrogated a fertile woman for her son on his tenth birthday. Now, at thirty years of age, Cy is ordered to fulfill his duty.
Elena, the result of Francisca's secret, successful experiment, was hidden in an icy Patagonian cloister. Her cruel education ensured that Elena submit to her destiny – to give Cy a child –, but it also taught her the secrets of an ancient, magical art of healing that the nuns guard. When Elena is brought to Cy's Atacama Desert estate for the wedding, Cy realizes that, despite his unwillingness to give up his freedom, he cannot escape his duty.
Elena and Cy battle through the emotions and desires that shape their new life together. As their unwanted marriage is thrown into a web of secrets, deceit, abductions and strange magic, their prophesized fate becomes impossible to escape.
The onslaught from a world, desperate for fertile females, and Cy's power-hungry family, can only be stopped by the child that Elena and Cy are supposed to conceive. But can Elena bear to take Cy's freedom in order to save herself? And can Cy give the one woman who can save him her freedom, even if it means destroying his empire?
Playing off against the backdrop of the powerfully diverse Chile, between the magical Elqui Valley that oysters the earth's magnetic center like a pearl; mysterious Easter Island framed by its moai; the majestic, snow-capped Andes mountains; haloed volcanoes; the all-consuming heat of the Atacama Desert; and the frozen, eerie glaciers of Patagonia, unfolds a story of unrivalled desire and love.

Dramatic Suspense - Margaret Sarah Bechtel

I'd like to welcome Margaret Sarah Bechtel to the Writers' Blog who writes compelling dramatic fiction. I will let her tell you about her latest in her own words...


I currently have two novels out now, In the Land of Winter, which is about two suvivors of a plane crash that are stranded on a Scottish isle. The problem is, only one of them wants to be rescued.  My second novel Learning In The Dark, was a labor of love and it took over a year to complete.  It's about a young woman who was blinded in a childhood accident.  The theme of the story is about forgiveness; and is it okay to forgive someone who hurt you severely?

I'm working on my third novel, Confessions Of Lillian Maverick.  It's about a teenaged girl with her mother's mental illness.  I'm hoping to a draft ready for my editor in a couple of months.  

 

I currently live in VA where I love to write and spend time with my family.

 

 

The following is a synopsis and excerpt of Land of Winter which is being described by readers as full of twists and turns...

 

Kate wants to forget her past. Lex wants to begin his future. The strangers meet on an ill-fated flight to Scotland, their lives and secrets collide when the plane crashes into the North Sea. Only known survivors Kate and Lex are stranded on an island with an old lighthouse they are forced to use for shelter. Lex is desperate to get them both rescued. Kate is desperate to stop him.

 

            The female attendant from earlier rushed over from her seat. "Is everything all right?"

            Kate was dazed and embarrassed, and it took her more than a minute to speak. That nightmare always drained her. "I just had a bad dream. I guess I'm a little freaked about flying." She added a smile to prove she was all right and not insane.

            "Well…all right. If you need anything, let me know," the attendant said, already heading back to her seat.

            Lex was staring at her.

            "Sorry about that."

            He was still staring.

            "I said I was sorry," Kate said hoarsely. She wondered how long she had been asleep and how long she had been yelling.

            "You weren't dreaming about flying." His tone was accusing.

 "And you live inside my head?" Kate asked hotly.

 

            "No, but you were screaming your head off. I caught a few things." Lex leaned in. "Tell me. Are you all right? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

            "I'm sorry I bothered you, but it was just a nightmare, nothing more." Kate felt lightheaded and knew she was pale.

            Lex felt unnerved. He knew something was very wrong, but she was a stranger and he could mind his own business. So Lex turned off his reading light and closed his eyes.

            Kate sighed and looked out into the night sky at the stars.

 

Again, Kate was jolted awake, unaware that she had fallen asleep. Something was very wrong. The emergency lights in the cabin were on, and there was an oxygen mask dangling in front of her. She looked around, confused and finding it difficult to breathe.

            Everyone on the plane was screaming, praying, or frantic. Kate was oddly calm, feeling almost drugged. It was just a different kind of nightmare. It wasn't until Lex shoved her mask over her face that she actually considered this might really be happening. He was yelling something at her, but the words weren't making any sense.

            This was real.

            The plane was going down.

            They were all going to die.

            Those thoughts kept running through her mind. There was a part of her that was happy to see that Lex put his own mask on, and she smiled to herself. This was a good way to go; her last sight would be his green eyes.

            Lex grabbed her hand, and that was the last thing she remembered before hearing the sound of tearing metal.

 

For more...

  http://www.amazon.com/In-The-Land-Of-Winter/dp/1449560571/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347895425&sr=8-1&keywords=in+the+land+of+winter

 

also check out Margaret's second novel here...

 

http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Dark-Margaret-Sarah-Bechtel/dp/1449982727/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347895460&sr=1-1&keywords=learning+in+the+dark 

 

 

Reverse Engineering a Hit Novel or How to Write a Best Seller

I open the forum to all writers of all genres. 

How do you go about planning to write the next mega hit novel?

As writers, we all strive to create the best-selling novel. What is a major component of the best-seller?  I believe it is the initial idea which will eventually become the plot. There are a number of reasons people pick up books: the cover art or the familiarity of the author. But I surmise it is the idea which is the ultimate hook. It is the concept which allows the novel to endure because reviewers and readers will criticize or applaud the book’s ideas. It is the substance which will bring about additional readers once marketing campaigns, cover art or the catchy title becomes dissected further.

Using this premise, how does one create the hit idea? This is an elusive endeavor because there is no formula. Possibly, an author could borrow on the idea of the latest best seller. This is probably least commendable but has certainly been done.

So, without ‘borrowing’ how do we find the hook which will entice the literary agent to pitch the book to the publisher? This question, if answered, would be an author’s goldmine.

As indie authors we go about the process without much of a clue. We must write our entire manuscript and edit it over the course of months or maybe years to find if it has marketable acceptance. It is not a very efficient way to create art if your intention is to market it on a mass scale. We cannot get inside the heads of literary agents who often send us rejection letters saying ‘this idea doesn’t excite me enough to offer representation’ or some equivalent phrasing that I’m sure we’ve all had the fortune to receive in our inboxes at least one (or possibly hundreds…thousands?) time or another.

It is suggested we test our ideas out on other writers in workshops. This would provide a litmus test but would it be effective? How many different opinions might we receive on our idea? And, if the idea is a sound and marketable one, might we be afraid of having our idea stolen?

I do not have an answer to this dilemma. So I birth a novel through its inception and send out a query microencapsulating it in a paragraph or two, hoping I got my idea through to the literary gatekeeper. Maybe I did – or didn’t. Regardless, more often or not, the agent will respond enigmatically. It’s not the premise they want or can get behind. But we still do not know what it is ‘they can get behind’ do we?

The dilemma continues. Without borrowing an idea or two from the current best seller, what else could we do to find what the publisher and reader wants without resorting to complete guesswork or reverse engineering the best-selling novel?

I open the forum and welcome your ideas on this never ending quest!

Visit me: https://www.facebook.com/twitter/index.php#!/GaryStartaSciFiFanPage

January Bain Launches 'Forever' Series

I'd like to welcome January Bain to the Writers' Blog, a published author with Champagne Books. She is among some other great fiction writers from Canada who have appeared on this blog recently.

July 1, 2012 THE BIG DAY AKA The scariest day of my life…

My name is January Bain and I love to write. There, I’ve confessed my addiction! And now my first book has just been released and I would dearly love to share my storytelling journey with you.

Where did the idea come from? I remember it as clear as if the moment had just happened: I was watching The Green Mile, and was mesmerized by the idea that the gentle giant, imprisoned unfairly in jail for a crime committed by an another, could heal others by taking on their illness and then just letting the evil flow back into obscurity by exhaling through his lungs. I coveted that gift with every fiber of my being. I had just lost two beloved brothers to cancer and had to stand by and watch it happen. My heroine, Ellie Hightower, was going to have it so much better than me! She was going to have the gift of healing and save those she loved. I know why I write romantic stories—the happy, guaranteed ending.

It’s been an interesting journey, this getting a book polished and ready to be published. Though the learning curve has been pretty steep, I have had the blessing of working with great people who have made the journey a whole lot easier. A special thanks to my wonderful editor, Judy Griffith Gill and her expertise. She has made me a far better writer.

And to all my wonderful friends at The Writers Vineyard, your support and friendship has meant more to me than you can know!

I would also like to thank J. Ellen Smith, my esteemed publisher for her invaluable guidance in getting my first novel to the public.

And most of all, my very own “Forever Man”, my wonderful husband, Don, who has made the journey of life the best it can be!

Excerpt from FOREVER MAN:

Prologue

Pure evil waited, hushed and cold in the perfect darkness. The steady drip, drip on the coffin lid above was soundless next to the crashing waves of the sea. But the creature within was aware and knew what the substance was: life-giving nourishment.

The blood was pooling, seeking a way into any tiny fissure that it could search out with thin hungry fingers. The resurrection was painstaking. Each life-giving drop dripped onto the needy beast which absorbed each molecule like a monstrous sponge as it built up, layer by layer. The vampire waited patiently—certain of its imminent resurrection.

After all, it had already waited centuries, what were a few more hours to recover what had been lost…

Excerpt Two:

Please God, let this beautiful creature be okay.

A surge of pure power seemed to drive through my hands into the dog as I concentrated my thoughts on it and then all I could see and feel was hot, white light surrounding me for a few brief incredibly thrilling seconds. The light blinded me, its power as strong as the noonday sun. A sense of pure aliveness electrified me, as if I was at the pinnacle of my strength and could rise up and fill the world with goodness and healing. Then, just as suddenly, the floodgates in my mind closed and the white hot energy retreated back into my hands that began to shake violently with the excess energy.

The sensation left as abruptly as it had come and I fell back exhausted from the effort. The dog whimpered, shook itself and sat up. It looked at the two of us as if nothing had happened, its brown eyes shining and its tail wagging as if it didn’t even remember the last few minutes of its life.

The woman, her eyes huge in her round face, looked at me with complete wonder. “How could this be? One minute I thought it was dying, then you came along and now it’s up and fine? It doesn’t make any sense.” The woman shook her head, unwilling to believe her own eyes.

Best regards,

January Bain

Storyteller

www.januarybain.ca

The Forever Series

Forever Man

Forever Woman

Forever Clan

Short Bio:

January Bain hails from Manitoba, Canada. Married to the love of her life, her husband Don, she has combined her love of romance with her interest in the paranormal and vampires to produce the FOREVER SERIES of books. She teaches English and Computer courses during the day, and writes at night. She hopes to touch your heart with this third book in the series, Forever Clan and would very much enjoy hearing from her readers. www.januarybain.ca

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