Arkadia

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Guest Post - Deborah Sheldon

Guest Post – Deborah Sheldon

[email protected] http://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com Guest blog post – Australian fauna in horror Animals and the horror genre are a perfect match. Australia has no end of killer creatures – sharks, crocodiles, snakes, and spiders, just to name a few common ones – but I try to utilise the more obscure species in my stories. My latest release, the novella Thylacines (Severed Press),…

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Guest Post - Gillian Polack 'The Places of My Novels'

Guest Post – Gillian Polack ‘The Places of My Novels’

Today I have a special guest post by Gillian Polack. Gillian is going to be touring us through the wonderful places that her novels are set in. Get ready to travel! The places of my novels Gillian Polack I love novels where place is a character. Where I can walk the street in my mind and see what the other characters are seeing. This means that I try my best to write that kind of novel myself. In…

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Award-winning author Marianne Delacourt has just unveiled the new look for her action-packed crime series Tara Sharp and a rewrite of the gripping second novel Sharp Turn. Under the crime imprint Deadlines, this version of Sharp Turn is published by Twelfth Planet Press, an advocate of women’s voices in science fiction, fantasy, horror and crime genres and a natural home for Delacourt. The re-release offers new and revised material for fans of Tara’s exploits, but retaining the humour, peril and paranormal flavour of the original release.

The latest in her series of ‘funny, sexy, smart crime novels for men and women’, Sharp Turn sees Tara’s unconventional PI business evolving, and she’s attracted some interesting customers.  With her dryly humorous take on the world, Tara is expected to both charm new audiences and delight old fans this winter, as she confronts a shady job in the high octane world of the motor cycle industry. Luckily, Tara is better equipped than most, with the uncanny ability to read people’s auras. Armed with a vanilla slice and backed up by her pet galah, Tara is about to come head-to-head with some very dangerous characters.

Book One in the Tara Sharp series, Sharp Shooter was the 2010 winner of the Davitt Award for Best Crime Novel and nominated for the Ned Kelly Award 2010 Best First Crime Novel. Expect the release of Book Three Too Sharp and Book Four Sharp Edge in early 2017.

Author MARIANNE DELACOURT says, “Tara is a protagonist who really grows with her readers. To begin with, she’s an outgoing Australian girl who’s never really taken responsibility for herself. Her unusual gift puts her in some risky situations and through her tenacity and resourcefulness she comes out on top. The series shows her learning how to find a meaningful way to use her gift, while trying to maintain normal relationships with the people around her. She’s just trying to make a living, stay alive, and keep her sense of humour.”

Praise for the Tara Sharp series:

“Australia’s Marianne Delacourt delivers the laughs and action with her sassy, unorthodox PI Tara Sharp…” The Herald Sun

“Tara Sharp is a gust of fresh air in the local crime fiction scene. While it is wonderful that our more literary crime writers are finally getting the attention they deserve, there’s still plenty of room for fast-paced commercial female-oriented Australian crime fiction. And Marianne Delacourt (aka sci-fi writer Marianne de Pierres) has certainly nailed that brief.” The Australian Bookseller and Publisher

“Delacourt has invented a Stephanie Plum character who is just as ballsy and loveable but this one lives in Perth and has two pet Galahs instead of a hamster. An easy read with multiple story layers, Sharp Turn will keep you guessing till the end, pick it up this summer if you like Janet Evanovich and Val McDermid’s Blue Genes.” She Said

Sharp Turn is available now from Twelfth Planet Press. Book One Sharp Shooter is available from Twelfth Planet Press and from Amazon.

Author MARIANNE DELACOURT is the alter ego of award-winning, internationally published Science Fiction writer Marianne de Pierres. Renowned for dark satire in her Science Fiction, Marianne offers lighter, funnier writing under her Delacourt penname. As Delacourt, Marianne is also the author of Young Adult fiction series Night Creatures (Burn Bright, Angel Arias and Shine Light). She is a co-founder of the Vision Writers Group and ROR – wRiters on the Rise, a critiquing group for professional writers. Marianne lives in Brisbane with her husband and two galahs.

Australian Publisher TWELFTH PLANET PRESS is a Perth-based publisher, seeking to challenge the status quo with books that interrogate, commentate and inspire. While showcasing the depth and breadth of Australian fiction to a wider audience, Twelfth Planet Press aims to and provide opportunities for fiction written by female writers, raising awareness of women’s voices in science fiction, fantasy, horror and crime genres.

New Tara Sharp Novel ‘Sharp Turn’ Released Award-winning author Marianne Delacourt has just unveiled the new look for her action-packed crime series Tara Sharp and a rewrite of the gripping second novel Sharp Turn.

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Guest Post – Deb Sheldon – Devil Dragon

BOOK TITLE: DEVIL DRAGON GENRE: MONSTER-HORROR NOVEL PUBLISHER: SEVERED PRESS RELEASE DATE: LATE NOVEMBER Today on Tales From The Scribe, I have author Deb She…

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BOOK TITLE:           DEVIL DRAGON

       GENRE:      MONSTER-HORROR NOVEL

PUBLISHER:             SEVERED PRESS

RELEASE DATE:     LATE NOVEMBER

Today on Tales From The Scribe, I have author Deb Sheldon as a guest. Deb is dark fiction writer from Melbourne. Her latest book is called Devil Dragon and it looks fantastic! If you are interested in horror, monsters, and of course Australia – then this is the book for you. Give me a message if you would like to review or host an interview with Deb on your blog.

From to inspiration to completion: how I wrote Devil Dragon

Back in late 2014, I was making headway into the horror genre after a few years of publishing crime fiction. I had just learned that Kaaron Warren, guest editor of Midnight Echo magazine, had accepted my short story, Perfect Little Stitches, for publication. That sale boosted my confidence tremendously. Perfect Little Stitches had supernatural elements; for my next story, I wanted to feature a real, flesh-and-blood monster set in Australia. But what kind? The obvious subjects – sharks and crocodiles – didn’t interest me.

So I delved into our natural history and explored the Megafauna age. Prehistoric Australia was occupied by huge beasts like something out of a nightmare. Ducks the size of emus, the precursor of the emu three metres tall and weighing over half a tonne. And then the apex predators, chief among them Varanus priscus: a huge Komodo dragon.

Hooked, I decided to write a short story set in modern-day Australia starring a living Varanus priscus.

Except that the more I researched, the more plot possibilities I found. This was by far the most research-intensive tale I’ve ever written. I jumped from one fascinating piece of information to another. The learning curve was so steep as to be almost vertical: I spent weeks learning the ins and outs of hunting, firearms, Komodo dragon biology and behaviour. I discovered that the Australian bush teems with dangerous, feral animals. How could I resist including wild boars in my story, when they can grow to over 200kg and would kill you as soon as look at you? By December 2014, Devil Dragon had asserted itself as a novel.

The plot centres around Dr Erin Harris, a scientist who has an unscientific obsession: to find a living Varanus priscus. Cryptozoologists call it the Devil dragon. This giant Australian reptile became extinct some 12,000 years ago but like Bigfoot or Nessie, there are occasional sightings. Spurred by a credible witness, Erin cobbles together an expedition party consisting of herself, the witness, and his deer-hunting neighbours. They travel into the unexplored heart of a national park. Erin, believing the Devil dragon to be a larger version of the Komodo, is confident she can outwit a specimen. However, the monster that lumbers out of the bush is a savage and unpredictable predator the size of a campervan. Erin must transform herself from genteel university lecturer to die-hard survivalist.

Though I loved every minute of the writing process, creating the Devil dragon itself was the most fun of all. There is scant information on the actual Varanus priscus, so I created my own monstrous version. However, I wanted it to be as realistic as possible within the novel’s fantasy framework. I turned to various experts, including herpetologists, who checked my manuscript for technical accuracy and offered valuable suggestions.

The novel has suspense, action and gore, but it is Erin’s character arc and her relationships with the three members of her expedition that tie the story together. Thematically, Devil Dragon is about intellect versus physicality, ambition versus humiliation, rationality versus fear, and humanity versus the brute force of nature.

Erin will do anything – risk everything – to find a living specimen of the reptile that has been her enduring fixation. She knows that finding the Devil dragon would be more important than the discovery of Archaeopteryx (a dinosaur with feathers), the missing link that bolstered Darwin’s theory of evolution. New species are found all the time – insects and fish, in particular – and no one but experts gives a damn. But the entire planet would go crazy at the discovery of a living, breathing 10-metre killing machine with a mouthful of teeth like butcher knives. Erin wants fame, immortality, to rewrite a chapter of reptile palaeontology – and to put to rest, finally, the ghost of her dead father, a mean drunk who begrudged her any success and gloated at her failures.

But things don’t turn out the way Erin wants or expects…

***

Deborah Sheldon is a professional writer from Melbourne, Australia. Her short fiction has appeared in well-respected magazines such as Quadrant, Island, Aurealis, Midnight Echo, SQ Mag, and Tincture Journal. Her work is also found in various anthologies. Upcoming titles include the crime-noir novellas, Dark Waters and Ronnie and Rita, the horror collection, Perfect Little Stitches and other stories, and the contemporary crime novel, Garland Cove Heist. Other writing credits include television scripts such as Neighbours, stage plays, magazine articles, award-winning medical writing, and non-fiction books for Reed Books and Random House Australia.

Visit Deb at http://deborahsheldon.wordpress.com Sign up for her monthly newsletter and receive a free ebook of literary short fiction, 300 Degree Days and other stories.

    Guest Post – Deb Sheldon – Devil Dragon BOOK TITLE:           DEVIL DRAGON        GENRE:      MONSTER-HORROR NOVEL PUBLISHER:             SEVERED PRESS RELEASE DATE:     LATE NOVEMBER Today on Tales From The Scribe, I have author Deb Sheldon as a guest.

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Today I am making Gillian Polack's Pumpkin Fruitcake but with a twist. Since Amelia detests sultanas, I chopped up apples and marshmallows. Added a bit of sweet potato to the pumpkin mixture. #cupcakes #pumpkin #sortofhealthy

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Greek Stew - Gigantes Plaki - A must have recipe

Greek Stew – Gigantes Plaki – A must have recipe

I was watching the Food Network last night when a cooking show called Donal in Ikaria. A young Irishman who goes around the world cooking and finding recipes. As the title suggests Donal was in Ikaria, a region in Greece which is known for it’s long lived citizens. One of the recipes that Donal was shown was a Greek stew called Giantes Plaki – A giant bean stew. You can find the original recipe…

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Silk Road Memoir

I am sharing this post with permission from David Farland You may have heard about the Silk Road scandal in Time magazine, Wired magazine, or any of a hundred other places. Curtis Green took a job working for a company called Silk Road, where (unknown to Curtis) his boss, nicknamed “Dread Pirate Roberts,” was trafficking drugs over the internet. When the FBI and the DEA got wind of it, they set…

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Dance of The Gods – Preview

Today I am releasing a preview of one of the stories in my Tales From The Scribe collection. It is from the story called – Dance From the Gods. I hope you enjoy. Meeting Ryukan hurried throug…

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Dance of The Gods – Preview Today I am releasing a preview of one of the stories in my Tales From The Scribe collection.

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(via Guest Post - Gillian Polack - Truth and Lies)

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Guest Post - Gillian Polack - Truth and Lies

Guest Post – Gillian Polack – Truth and Lies

I am hosting Gillian Polack on my blog in the lead up to her new book ‘The Wizardry of  Jewish Women’  Please give her a warm welcome *clap clap clap clap*   Truth and lies Readers have been playing guessing games with my novels for a while. I began by inventing everything. Right from the beginning, the readers of Illuminations assumed that the noel was about me and that events were real. Except…

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(via Book Launch - Gillian Polack - The Wizardry of Jewish Women)

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Book Launch – Gillian Polack – The Wizardry of Jewish Women The fantastic Gillian Polack is releasing her new book 'The Wizardry of Jewish Women' at Readings, Hawthorn on the 5th of September at 6:30pm.

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Tales From The Scribe Goodreads Giveaway

Goodreads Book Giveaway Tales From The Scribe by Tarran Jones Giveaway ends September 15, 2016. See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter Giveaway

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Tales From The Scribe Goodreads Giveaway

Tales From The Scribe Goodreads Giveaway

Goodreads Book Giveaway Tales From The Scribe by Tarran Jones Giveaway ends September 15, 2016. See the giveaway details at Goodreads. Enter Giveaway  

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Satalyte Publishing Brings David Farland For Australian Tour - Satalyte Publishing

BIG NEWS! DAVID FARLAND IS COMING TO AUSTRALIA! David Farland, a multiple-award winning and New York Times bestselling author, will be coming to Australia in September and October. He will Continue Reading →