Super Sunday

"All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath."

~ F. Scott Fitzgerald

Here are some shots caught 'at the right time'.

Have a great week.

~yia~

Stunning Saturday

This week we go back to viewing some book covers.

A couple of different looking scenes of young women in forest or gardens. 

 

Urban Fantasy look. Tough looking woman - check, pose - check, midriff exposed 

(or partly exposed) - check, weapons - check. Still with all that the same, they do have different looks to them by using different colours and contrasts. 

Both of these have a dark feeling to them. I love the left one with the black and greys,

 and the red eye. Very striking. 

 

Steampunk looks. So much detail of the world is conveyed in both of these great covers.

  

All stunning covers, of course, but my favourite will have to be 'Passion of the Soul: Piper's Fury'.

Do you have a favourite?

~yia~

Replicators are near!

Okay, this totally blew me away. A 3D printer.

Huh? What? Yep, a 3D printer. One step closer to the replicator from Star Trek.

Check it out.



Youtube link

~yia~

Introducing Writing Buddy Wednesday

On of the things I loved when I had done Eleni-fest almost two years ago, was featuring my writing buddies and their wonderful books.

Being a part of Romance Writers of Australia, I know a wonderful amount of fantastic writers.

So in that tradition, I will start up a new column called Writing Buddy Wednesday where I will feature work by my writing buddies. It's in the middle of the week, away from my weekend posts.


So first cab off the rank, is Mel Teshco, fellow DarkSider and Claytons Team member. Mel writes novellas with a paranormal and erotic twists. In her work you will find hot vampires, gargoyles, and werewolves.

Her latest release is Galactic Burn. It's a deviation as it is her first science fiction erotic romance.

The Blurb:

Humans have been almost wiped out. All the males are gone and only a few hundred females worldwide survived the devastation. The same deadly virus annihilated the female population of a mighty alien nation, and their three kings—Dar, Ezra and Maddox—are looking for one special female, Lillian, to capture and seduce.

Though Lillian survived, she has no memory and struggles with the fact that three alien men have become her lovers. One by one, they take her, make her burn for release and satisfy her every sexual need. She craves their touches, their kisses, their comforting embraces while forming strong emotional bonds with each. Lillian is falling for her sexy aliens and agrees to become their life mate in a special ceremony—her three males will make love to Lillian as all the surviving alien males watch.

But, as the ceremony nears, Lillian begins to remember. The aliens lied and covered up the horrible truth. Their happy, new life together might not be possible after all.

You can read an excerpt, here (for over 18s)

You can also get a free read, Discovering Sofia, from here, but you have to log in.

You can find more information on Mel and her books at her website and her blog.

 

How It Should Have Ended

I've been clearing out my emails (don't get me started how my box is always jammed packed) and came across a couple of fun clips from the 'how should have ended' crew.

Hope you laugh out loud like I did.






~yia~

Super Sunday

"I am the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and Fries."

~ Stephen King

And now a word from Mr Nathan Fillion about a very serious issue.

Youtube link

Have a great week!

~yia~

Stunning Saturday

Artist: Chris McGrath

Artist: Alex Popescu

Artist: Annie Stegg

The following I saved under a folder called Arthousing a long time ago, 

but I can't now find the relevant site.

Disclaimer: No claim is made on copyright for any artworks in the Stunning Saturday posts. I stumble across art works and save them for inspiration but can not always find the artist's name.

Stunning!

~yia~

Winner of Rogue Gadda

Thanks to a random generator, the winner of Rogue Gadda by the fabulous Nicole Murphy is:

Christina Phillips

Congrats Christina!!! Please contact Nicole at nicole@ nicolemurphy.com (no spaces).

Thank you to everyone who commented and made Nicole welcome on my blog, and thank you so much Nicole for being a wonderful guest.

~yia~

Super Sunday

You fail only if you stop writing.

~Ray Bradbury

Have a great week everyone!

~yia~

Special Guest: Nicole Murphy ~ Rogue Gadda

With a blog title of Eleni’s Taverna, there was only one thing I could write for you all about – food and drink in the Dream of Asarlai trilogy.

I love reading about food and drink. I love seeing characters interacting in real social environments, or celebrating or commiserating in a way that seems real to me.

Food is something that’s really important in every culture. Even here in Australia, where at times it can be hard to see what is our culture, the one thing that shines through is food.

Major holidays. Celebrations. Australia Day has now become one of the major food moments of our year, with picnics and barbecues. Anzac Day has become synonymous with the biscuit. And at Christmas, we’ve moved from the traditional meals that came with us from England – roast and pudding – and we’re into barbecues and salads. Prawn consumption is higher on Christmas day than any other.

Drinking, of course, has been part of Australia’s culture from the moment the first fleet came into the cove. At one point, our entire economy ran on rum. Watching a sporting event doesn’t seem RIGHT without a beer on hand – at least for me.

So when it came time to write about the gadda, to write about people and relationships, food and drink automatically become an important part of it all.

At the very beginning of Secret Ones, we see Maggie shopping for sparkling wine and nibbles to celebrate receiving her master’s degree. I purposely mirrored this in the first time we meet Lucas – he’s also celebrating a career achievement. It didn’t seem right to be having these celebrations without food.

As the story goes on, we learn that Lucas doesn’t drink much – he’s not comfortable with losing control. Stephen as well, in Power Unbound, states that he only drinks occasionally – his focus has been on reaching sixth order, and he doesn’t want anything to interact with that.

On the other side, both Maggie and Ione are quite comfortable drinking. It showcases the easy attitude both these women have to life – an attitude that their respective partners come to need and appreciate.

Then there’s the famous Hammond Stew – the family secret that only marriage to a Hammond can reveal. I’ve always loved the idea of a family recipe. My family has one – all seven of us Dunkley kids cook our spaghetti bolognaise in pretty much the same way – Mum’s way. We’ve all got variations (I for example add canned tomatoes to mine) but the basis is the same.

So when I realised that Ione was a bit of a gourmet, it made sense to have her be the owner of the secret recipe. It also made sense that Maggie would forever be after her for it. But Ione will remain firm, because family and tradition is important.

And when Hampton and Charlotte are getting to know each other in Rogue Gadda, food is an important part of the courtship – it’s incredible how in the act of sharing a meal, you often end up sharing yourself as well.

I like food – a little too much, my waistline would say. I also like drink – again, much to my waistline’s dismay. But my favourite food and drink nearly always corresponds with people – sharing beers with my brothers, cracking a bottle of champagne with my friends, the first meal I cooked for my husband.

Magical moments, for me and for the gadda.

To win a copy of Rogue Gadda, tell me – what is your favourite meal memory?

Rogue Gadda cookie:

“I can’t cook, I’m afraid,” Hampton said as he brought two dishes out. “I got this from a restaurant in town. I hope it’s suitable.”

 He put the dishes down and the aroma of coq au vin rose to Charlotte’s nose. “Perfect. Although I would have been more impressed if you said you’d cooked it yourself.”

 He sat down and for a moment his eyes were so clear she thought he was looking deep into her soul. “No lies between us, Charlotte.”

~~~

Thanks Nicole for joining me on my blog, and for the giveaway.

So what are you waiting for everyone? 

Comment for you chance to win a copy of Rogue Gadda.

~yia~

Harpies and writing update

I'm talking harpies today over at the Dark Side DownUnder blog.

This was an interesting topic to research. I knew some but it's amazing how much more there is behind the myths, and the changes too. I have to consider what the next mythical creature will be on the next free Magic Thursday. 

I had a really productive week last week - managed to get my goal of 2.5K words. This week hasn't been productive in the writing, but I have been catching up (very slowly) on other projects. The tiredness is still there, and I'm adjusting to it slowly.

I've submitted short stories, and in some cases, resubmitted to another market. That has kept me busy.

Claytons planning is taking its time - I'm Games Master (hee hee) and organising with my sidekick, Mel Teshco,  the fun and games which is turning out really well, so I think. We shall see on the actual weekend. I am also running two of the writing challenges, and will be doing a blogging workshop. So there's still more work to go through.

The SARA girls had a special meeting last night, with special guest speaker, David Griggs. David gave a talk on presenting oneself, which will come in handy in pitching and presentations. A great evening.

Also coming up on my blog on Saturday is Special Guest Nicole Murphy, author of the Dream of the Asarlai series. Yay.

So busy, busy, busy.

How have you all been?

~yia~

Super Sunday

Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission 

~ Eleanor Roosevelt

And now something that was on SF Signal this week. A brilliant look at stop motion.






Have a great week!


~yia~

Stunning Saturday

I came across this link this week, to 20 great inspirational matte paintings of cities with a sci-fi bent.

Definitely worth having a look for Stunning Saturday.


And here is some more stunning artwork.

Characters from DC Comics

Artist: Andreas Roscha

Artist: Anne Stokes

cghub.com - Artist: Jezebel

Artist: Chen Wei

From Fantasy Art Design

Disclaimer: No claim is made on copyright for any artworks in the Stunning Saturday posts. I stumble across art works and save them for inspiration but can not always find the artist's name.

Don't they all just take you away?

~yia~

Magic Thursday

Today over at the Dark Side DownUnder blog, I have the results of the feedback I received from regarding which paranormal creatures people were interested in being featured.

You can go to the blog post here.

And while you're at it, why don't you Follow Us.  We don't bite - much. :)

~yia~

DarkSiders

Thanks to Mel Teshco, who featured on this her blog, for the reminder that I should have put it up on my own blog.

On Saturday, I posted this to the Dark Side DownUnder blog. It's a tribute to our members and their work.

This is the first time I have ever made a 'movie' and I had fun. Hope you enjoy!




YouTube link


~yia~

Super Sunday

"Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers." 

~Isaac Asimov

Wondered what they really are doing when you are checking in?

Dark Side DownUnder: Darklight On...the DarkSiders

Dark Side DownUnder: Darklight On...the DarkSiders

I've done a tribute to the DarkSiders. Come and have a look.

~yia~

Stunning Saturday

More book covers this week....

I don't think I have featured any category images before. This on imparticurlar is striking. Alas these is not the cover we see here downunder. A great fun cover for my friend, Nikki Logan.

I'm loving these steampunky covers. And not because of the good looking guys on the cover. It seems to suit the genre, with the browns/oranges. 

Urban Fantasy covers - they are simple but really striking. 

I just love these two - nice balance of colours, subject matter, and the fantasy feel.

I really love the black and white treatment of Cleopatra. It makes the cover more effective.

The mermaid colouring is good (especially the hair), as is the nice swirls near the lettering.

Love how these work. There isn't much colour to them, but it works so well. 

The red, black, greys, and yellow work so well in both of these, in different ways.

Gotta love the tatts. This is such a classic image now with paranormal romance and even historical romance - the man with the naked torso, with or without tattoos. 

Love the eye of Griffin. It just seems to look right into you.

I saw the White Trash Zombie one ages ago. I think it's clever - the title, the concept, and the cover. What makes it work I think is the grossness of the blood is juxtaposed with the girly pink.

As for the graphic novel cover - I think this is quite cool - the simplicity of only having the character against the black background, just works. 

~yia~