The Soul of the World by @jg_silverman #Fantasy #AmReading #ReviewShare

The Soul of the World by Joshua Silverman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The writing definitely deserves applause. This is definitely better than the first book in the series. All of the characters are complex. The fantasy elements are richly developed. From start to finish, the pace is fast and does not lag. There were no unnecessary dialogue or scenes, especially ones that did not connect to the key focus of the book. In the end, everything was connected.

The protagonist has a driven goal which by 30% of the book has the reader rooting in his favour. Good or bad, his reactions were strong and clear in a way that made me like him even more. Despite the need to do what others wanted him to do, he was intent on finding his way.

An easy story to read and even better story to love. Four stars from me.

Disclosure - As a Quality Reads UK Book Club member, I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation for my book review. This book review is based on my thoughts, opinion and understanding of the book. This book review does not reflect the opinion of other book club members.

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Lights Over Emerald Creek by @ShelleyDavidow #AmReading #SciFi #YA

Three of the true life mysteries behind Lights Over Emerald Creek – 524

When Lucy investigates strange lights over the creek at the bottom of the property, she discovers a mystery that links the lights to the science of cymatics, Scotland’s ancient Rosslyn Chapel, and Saturn’s mysterious hexagonal storm. But just what are the real life mysteries behind Lights Over Emerald Creek.

The Hexagonal Storm on Saturn’s North Pole

For the past 29 years, the planet Saturn has had its north pole in darkness, as it moved through its very long night. Then, as the polar region emerged into day light, the Cassini craft flew by and, in 2007, took stunning photographs of a bizarre hexagonal storm above Saturn’s north pole. The storm is about 29,000 kilometers in diameter, and although no one knows the cause of this storm, NASA says this:

The six-sided shape remains a mystery. Scientists think the hexagon is a meandering jet stream at 77 degrees north latitude, but they don’t know what controls the path the stream takes. These images also show new phenomena for scientists to decipher…

For more information about the Cassini-Huygens mission, or to see images, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov.

The Cassini imaging team homepage is at http://ciclops.org.

Article quote from: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/cassini/multimedia/cassini20091209.html

Cymatics. Music creates Geometric Shapes

Cymatics is the name used to describe the intricate geometric forms that arise when salt is sprinkled on a copper plate and exposed to sound vibrations. Each musical note is a frequency that results in varying geometric forms. Galileo Galilei apparently first wrote about it in 1632. In 1680 Robert Hook ran a violin bow along the edge of a glass plate covered with flour and noticed amazing geometric patterns. In 1787 Ernst Chladni was the person who exposed this knowledge to the public when he published ‘Discoveries in the Theories of Sound.’ The word ‘Cymatics’ comes from the Greek ta kymatika meaning ‘matters pertaining to waves. Each musical note has a representative geometric form.

For more information on Cymatics, look at: Hans Jenny Cymatics http://www.rexresearch.com/cymatics/cymatics.htm

A Real Secret Code in Scotland’s Rosslyn Chapel

In 2007, in Scotland, musicologists Stuart Mitchell and his father David, cracked a weird ‘code’ that was embedded in the relief carvings inside Scotland’s Rosslyn Chapel. Strange cubes with geometric patterns carved into the structure of the chapel, combined with a stave angel with its fingers pointing to musical notes finally made sense to the father and son who had been working on this puzzle for years: the geometric patterns were musical notes, ‘frozen music’, or images of Cymatics patterns carved into the walls of the chapel hundreds of years ago. When the musicologists established which notes were portrayed, they played them. Out of that came a piece of music they’ve called the ‘Rosslyn Motet’. It can be heard on: http://www.tjmitchell.com/stuart/saturnvideo/rossmotet.mp3

And … Stuart Mitchell believes that the pattern on Saturn is a actually a giant version of Cymatics, and that the planet is generating the equivalent of a musical score. Radio waves recorded from Saturn and translated into sound can be heard here: http://www-pw.physics.uiowa.edu/space-audio/cassini/SKR2/casskrtrig04207a.wav

And though this may be a co-incidence, if you play the Rosslyn motet together with the radio-waves from Saturn, you hear something really interesting: http://www.tjmitchell.com/stuart/saturnvideo/signalross.mp3

Lucy Wright, sixteen and a paraplegic after a recent car accident that took her mother's life, lives in Queensland on a 10,000 acre farm with her father. When Lucy investigates strange lights over the creek at the bottom of the property, she discovers a mystery that links the lights to the science of cymatics and Scotland’s ancient Rosslyn Chapel.

But beyond the chapel is an even larger mystery. One that links the music the chapel contains to Norway’s mysterious Hessdalen lights, and beyond that to Saturn and to the stars. Lucy’s discoveries catapult her into a parallel universe connected to our own by means of resonance and sound, where a newly emerging world trembles on the edge of disaster. As realities divide, her mission in this new world is revealed and she finds herself part of a love story that will span the galaxy.

Sample & Purchase Links 

Genre - Young Adult SF

Rating - PG

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@ScottMoonWriter Dissects Pseudonyms & Writing #SciFi #AmWriting #WriteTip

Three reasons authors use pen names:

1)      To avoid embarrassment

2)      To try something new

3)      To avoid genre confusion

Points two and three are related, and in this case, using a pen name is probably a good idea. The readers of your bestselling spy thriller might not be interested in your young adult novel. And it might be hard to promote a story book for kids and the next 50 Shades of Gray on the same web site. Establishing a pen name for each genre you choose to write could be a good idea.

Danger:

Facebook and Google have strong prohibitions against multiple identities, and frankly, it isn’t easy to create multiple profiles. I looked into it, and found the process beyond my moderate computer skills and the warning flags scared the daylight out of me. Could an independent author succeed after being banned from both Facebook and Google?

Not likely.

Goodbye social media. Goodbye author platform.

But if you must:

Kindle Direct Publishing allows the use of pen names. I researched this option because I write Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Crime Thrillers. Like many writers, I mix and match with pretentions to try about anything that can be made with words, including Romance, Steampunk, Historical Fiction, and various hybrid genres no one is likely to ever read.

Call me a daydreamer who writes, and you wouldn’t be wrong.

It is easy to create Twitter profiles and blogs, but I always worry that an internet user with more skill than I’ll ever have will immediately see that all the profiles are the same person. My decision not to use a pen name comes down to time management. I’d rather write than decipher Facebook.

A good argument against pen names:

One of the keys to selling books on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords is the ever-popular backlist. Simply put, the more books you publish, the more they promote each other. Search engines find your name and your work more frequently. Loyal readers try other things you have written.

It’s a veritable paradise of indie-publishing glory.

Okay, it’s a lot harder than the Instantly Sell Millions of Books in your Spare Time and Never Work Again books make it seem. Developing an author platform is hard work. It takes time to write the books, fiction or nonfiction, and more time to market them.

Why diffuse your efforts using multiple pen names?

I believe using pen names in a smart, responsible way is a viable strategy for both indie and traditional authors. My advice is to proceed with caution.

What’s your advice?

I read more blogs than I write. If you have thoughts on pen names, or recommended articles, please let me know. This is a topic I’ve considered deeply and researched to the best of my knowledge, which is to say, I’m a student a welcome your advice.

Lost Hero

Changed by captivity and torture, hunted by the Reapers of Hellsbreach and wanted by Earth Fleet, Kin Roland hides on a lost planet near an unstable wormhole.

When a distant space battle propels a ravaged Earth Fleet Armada through the same wormhole, a Reaper follows, hunting for the man who burned his home world. Kin fights to save a mysterious native of Crashdown from the Reaper and learns there are worse things in the galaxy than the nightmare hunting him. The end is coming and he is about to pay for a sin that will change the galaxy forever. 

Books

Enemy of Man: Book One in the Chronicles of Kin Roland was written for fans of military science fiction and science fiction adventure. Readers who enjoyed Starship Troopers or Space Marines will appreciate this genre variation. Powered armor only gets a soldier so far. Battlefield experience, guts, and loyal friends make Armageddon fun. 

Movies

If you love movies like Aliens, Predator, The Chronicles of Riddick, or Serenity, then you might find the heroes and creatures in Enemy of Man dangerous, determined, and ready to risk it all. It’s all about action and suspense, with a dash of romance—or perhaps flash romance. 

From the Author

Thanks for your interest in my novel, Enemy of Man. I hope you chose to read the book and enjoy every page. 

If you have already read Enemy of Man, how was it? Reviews are appreciated! 

Have a great day and be safe.

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Genre – Science Fiction

Rating – R

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 Connect with Scott Moon on Facebook & Twitter

Brandon Overall on His Favourite Books & Authors - #SciFi #BookClub #AmReading

What books did you love growing up?

-I didn’t read a whole lot growing up, but I did love the Harry Potter series (who doesn’t?) and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  I also really like the book Watchers by Dean Koontz.

Who is your favorite author?

-I would definitely have to say J.K. Rowling

What book genre of books do you adore?

-Most types of fantasy and sci-fi

What book should everybody read at least once?

Starship Troopers.  It’s got a lot of really thought provoking commentary.

Is there any books you really don’t enjoy?

-Just can’t get into Romance.  I don’t think I’m part of the demographic that’s supposed to enjoy it, though.

What do you hope your obituary will say about you?

-That I was survived by my children who received my massive fortune.

Location and life experiences can really influence writing, tell us where you grew up and where you now live?

-I grew up in Novi, Michigan and lived there my entire life.  After I graduated college and started my career in the Army I’ve been moving around a lot.  I went from Ft. Lewis, Washington to Ft. Gordon, Georgia.  Right now I’m in Afghanistan, but I will be returning to Georgia soon!

How did you develop your writing?

-I wrote.  That’s all there is to it.  Most of it came from writing in school.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

-I write best in the mornings for some reason.  When other people are normally still sleeping (6-8 AM) I am sipping on coffee and writing.  In the evenings, sometimes music will inspire me.  Once I get a good thought train going, I can pump out 3000-4000 words in a single sitting, but then I usually have writers block for a day or two afterwards.

What is hardest – getting published, writing or marketing?

-I wouldn’t know, since I haven’t ever gotten published other than self-published!  Writing is probably the hardest, the others are just time consuming.

What marketing works for you?

-Dumb luck is the only thing I have used so far.

Superhuman Nature is Brandon Overall’s first novel. It was written and published during his first deployment to Afghanistan as a 2nd Lieutenant in late 2013.

Neil Hitchens was a senior ROTC Cadet in college. He was just weeks away from graduating and becoming an Officer in the United States Army, until a strange dream set off a chain of events that would twist his life into something he could have never prepared for.

In the days following his dream, several strange happenings occurred that he began to suspect were the result of his own actions. Before long, he discovered that he had the ability to control the world around him with his mind.

What started out as an unpredictable ability quickly evolved into an extraordinary power that had the capacity to change the world. It didn’t take long for the government to find out what Neil could do.

They knew having such limitless potential on the side of the US Military could give them limitless political influence, and they would stop at nothing to get Neil to do their bidding. They would find out what happens when you back a dangerous animal into a corner.

Neil spent his whole life believing he would amount to greatness, but he never expected how greatness could corrupt even the most innocent of minds.

Buy @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Science Fiction

Rating – PG-13

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Connect with Brandon Overall on Facebook

Chatting with Leah Rhyne, Author of #Zombie Days, Campfire Nights @Leah_Beth #Horror #SciFi #AmReading

How did you develop your writing?

Honestly? I just started writing, and figured it out as I went. I’ve written four (almost five) books now, and I know there’s something new and exciting that I’ve learned in each one.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Everywhere. It started with the horror movies I grew up watching with my dad. Then it turned to the sci-fi flicks I preferred as a teenager. Now it’s everything. Everywhere. I draw a lot from history, from historical situations like the Holocaust and World War II. There’s so much material there to explore, I can’t imagine ever running out of stories to tell.

What is hardest – getting published, writing or marketing?

Marketing! Oh GOD I’m terrible at marketing. It’s like…I wrote this book, and I know I love it, and I want you to love it too…but to talk about it? No, that just makes me blush and get all weird and tongue-tied. I’m the worst!

What marketing works for you?

Ask me that again in about six months and I’ll tell you. :P

Do you find it hard to share your work?

No. I like to share it. Why write if you’re not going to share it? But just don’t ask me to TALK about it!!!

Is your family supportive? Do your friends support you?

Ohmigosh yes. They’re all amazing! My husband reads and edits my stuff; my parents tell all their friends about their crazy author daughter; my daughter writes her own books now; and my friends are so great about buying my books and telling their friends about it. I couldn’t ask for a more supportive group around me.

Do you plan to publish more books?

I surely hope so! Book 3 of the Undead America series will be out in the fall of 2014. That’ll finish the trilogy out. Beyond that…I’ve written two unrelated books, and hope to find them homes this year.

What else do you do to make money, other than write? It is rare today for writers to be full time…

I used to have a day job as a computer software tester, but these days I actually am a full time writer. I freelance to help pay bills, writing for literary sites and a local paper, and I work on my books. Also, I’m a full time soccer mom. So there’s that.

What other jobs have you had in your life?

Ha! I’ve been working since I was about 12, starting out with a pretty robust babysitting business (I adored the Babysitters Club books!), moving on to lifeguarding, vet tech, legal secretary, computer software analyst, web administrator…should I go on?

If you could study any subject at university what would you pick?

I would LOVE to go back in time and major in history, get my masters, a PhD and perhaps teach at a university. I think history has so much to teach us about the future (does that sound cheesy? Possibly, I guess, but it’s true.). There’s no story that’s not already been told, no personality that we haven’t already seen. If we don’t learn from the past, we’ll repeat its mistakes, and we’ve made some pretty big mistakes in this world. You know? So I’d love to study that.

If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?

I’d love a house in the mountains of the south (perhaps Asheville, NC) and an apartment in New York City. Plus also London. I love London.

 

Millions died when the zombie plague swept the country. For the survivors, the journey has just begun. Jenna, Sam, and Lola are still alive. Jenna avoids human contact, traveling East Coast backroads with her boyfriend, a dog named Chicken, and a Louisville Slugger. Sam escapes to the mountains, where he's conscripted into a zombie-slaying militia sent on nightly raids to kill the undead...and innocent civilians. 

Lola's imprisoned in the "safety" of a zombie-free New Orleans hotel, but life grows more dangerous when her brother gets bitten by a zombie. Jenna arrives in the French Quarter, lured by the false promises of New Orleans' drunken leader. There, she's ripped away from her boyfriend, drugged, and dumped in a death camp after refusing Franklin's sexual advances. 

Jenna and Lola's lives collide there, where the dead live and the dying are victims of gruesome medical experiments. Escape isn't easy: release the genetically-enhanced zombies from the lab to create a diversion, slip away, and don't get eaten. When Sam arrives, will he join the right side of the battle?

Buy Now @ Amazon

Genre – NA-Horror, Sci-fi

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

Connect with Leah Rhyne on Facebook & Twitter

Website http://www.leahrhyne.com/

Superhuman Nature by Brandon Overall #scifi #amreading #mustread

Neil stood for a moment in awe of what he had just done.  If it was possible for him to move his own body the same way he controlled the objects outside of himself, was there any limit to what he could do?  Neil let both of his arms go limp at his sides and thought back to how he felt as the tree was coming down.  He had to separate the sensation of moving his arm by contracting his muscles, and moving his arm with the raw energy of his mind.

Without contracting the muscles in his arms, Neil commanded them to raise up and stretch out to his sides.  The feeling was bizarre.  He felt weightless.  He could rotate all of his joints in ways that he couldn’t through the use of his nervous system.  He could apply force in any direction he wanted with any part of his body.

Neil crouched down into a ball, as if he were about to jump.  Instead of pushing off the ground with his thighs, Neil pushed his bone structure with his mind with a greater force than his legs would have been capable of.  He leaped almost ten feet into the air.

While falling back towards the ground, he realized that the impact from such a height could break a bone or dislocate an ankle.  He lifted up on his body and slowed his descent to a soft cushioned landing. He felt almost no force as he touched back down onto the soft earth.  He considered that if he could apply force to make himself jump that high, could he simply lift himself off the ground?  Could Neil actually make himself fly?

The thought of this idea was incredible.  His heart started pounding at the mere possibility of it.  There was only one way to find out.  Neil stood straight up and glanced up towards the sky.  He put his entire body under the influence of his mind all at once.  He slowly commanded it to lift off the ground just like the dumbbell, and Neil felt himself getting lighter as the force holding him to the earth slowly dissipated.

Neil felt the sensation that his feet were dangling.  He looked down, and was astonished by what he saw.  He was almost six inches off the ground with absolutely nothing supporting his weight other than the power of his mind.

Neil started laughing again.  He was living everyone’s childhood dream.  He was actually flying.

Superhuman Nature is Brandon Overall's first novel. It was written and published during his first deployment to Afghanistan as a 2nd Lieutenant in late 2013.

Neil Hitchens was a senior ROTC Cadet in college. He was just weeks away from graduating and becoming an Officer in the United States Army, until a strange dream set off a chain of events that would twist his life into something he could have never prepared for.

In the days following his dream, several strange happenings occurred that he began to suspect were the result of his own actions. Before long, he discovered that he had the ability to control the world around him with his mind.

What started out as an unpredictable ability quickly evolved into an extraordinary power that had the capacity to change the world. It didn't take long for the government to find out what Neil could do.

They knew having such limitless potential on the side of the US Military could give them limitless political influence, and they would stop at nothing to get Neil to do their bidding. They would find out what happens when you back a dangerous animal into a corner.

Neil spent his whole life believing he would amount to greatness, but he never expected how greatness could corrupt even the most innocent of minds.

Buy @ Amazon & Smashwords

Genre – Science Fiction

Rating – PG-13

More details about the author

Connect with Brandon Overall on Facebook

Making Your Characters Belivable - #WriteTip from Joshua Silverman @jg_silverman #SciFi

How to Make Your Characters Believable 

Many people commend me on writing complex, three-dimensional, believable characters. It’s something I do work on, diligently. I think most writers want to place their characters into predetermined categories (i.e. this is the hero/heroine, this is the villain, this is the side-kick, and this is the extra girl/guy for a love triangle to give me some drama). I try my best to avoid all of these stereotypes.

When creating a character, the first thing I ask myself is: “What do they want?” or “What is their purpose?” For the most part, every character has a driving force, something pushing them towards something. Writing about someone who doesn’t know what they want and who constantly flip-flops back and forth on decisions (or the alternative, makes no decisions), really isn’t that interesting to read about.

Once you have the purpose of the character then you can build around that. I keep this rule in my head: No one is any one thing. Which is why typecasting your characters as the “hero” or “villain” can get you into a lot of trouble. Look at your real life as an example. We all have people we don’t like but who can surprise us with very thoughtful and sentimental gestures. And we all know someone who we thought was the nicest person in the world yet they say something completely rude or insensitive and it makes us pause. I try to write characters as people are. That’s what makes them relatable. So when you’re crafting your characters, whether they’re heroes or villains, side-kicks or lovers, remember that in real life people make mistakes. They regret their actions. They have triumphs and failures. They are hypocritical (do what I say not what I do?). Sometimes they’re fiercely loyal to the relationship. Other times they stab you in the back.

The old cliché is that art imitates life. So write characters as people are. Sometimes good, sometimes bad, but never all one or the other.

The ancient powers lost to Potara have returned. The Brotherhood of the Black Rose rises to bring Thoth into disorder. And, while the Brotherhood reclaims their power, chaos reigns among the survivors. Six individuals have emerged from the aftermath struggling for control over their lives and a divided land. Kem and Shirin, who abolished the five thousand year reign of the Amun Priests, rule from the golden throne of the Oracle’s Chair in the Hall of the Nine. Dio and Axios struggle to piece together a resistance worthy to challenge the ancient magic which resides in the Great Temple of Amun, and Leoros and Atlantia try to remain true to their hearts and their cause despite tragedy.

But when the Book of Breathings is discovered, the path to immortality is revealed. Leoros and Kem race to capture the Soul of the World unaware of the challenges awaiting them. This time, the gods themselves will intervene.

In a tale where boys become men and girls become women, where treachery and deception are around every corner, and where primeval mysticism finds its way back from the grave, victory is reserved for neither the good nor the evil, but the powerful.

Buy Here

Genre – Science fiction, Fantasy

Rating – PG-13+

More details about the author

Connect with Joshua Silverman on Facebook & Twitter

Website www.legendsofamunra.com; www.joshuagsilverman.com

#SciFi #Free The Alpha Choice (The Te'an #Trilogy) by MD Hall

Three thousand years ago, the Vespoid Khitine are about to learn they must live with the disappointment of trade negotiations collapsing - or at least most of them will have to live with it - Chindara has other things to occupy her mind.

Their erstwhile partners to be, the Te, have their own plans. This is merely one more conquest, hardly different to scores that have gone before, Well, that isn't quite right; it's the first time they have had their actions halted by the appearance of a tiny electric blue light, a Custodian. Never have they watched, helplessly, as two of their battle cruisers blinked out of existence, before receiving a polite, but firm warning: attempts to circumvent the, hitherto unheard of, Accords will result in their complete destruction.

Twenty-one years ago, in the Gallsor system, the warning all but forgotten, Commander Jaron makes a choice that will have unimaginable consequences, the least of which follows his return to Te'ath, when the Supreme Council are prompted - on the urging of the most dangerous of the three heads of the covert Agency, Garnoth - to sanction a plan circumventing the Accords. The target? Telluria (Earth).

Garnoth's most able protégé, Tala, is tasked with leading the expedition, the success of which is dependent upon the Tellurian, Hugo Black (a Boston corporate attorney) heading up a multinational corporation, TeCorp.

Only two people can disrupt Garnoth's plan: Gorn, a twenty-one year old Te'an prodigy, whose brilliance is matched by his self-doubt and social ineptitude. He is recruited, when particularly vulnerable, to the cause of the Te'an rebellion by the single minded Narol. Gorn will betray his best, his only friend and, if he succeeds in his 'mission,' condemn his people to almost certain destruction. While taxing his mind over the choices to be made, he is completely unaware he has been marked for assassination.

The second potential fly in the Te'an ointment is history lecturer, Jonathon (Jon) Tyler and his recently acquired, rebellious young companion, Emily. Spirited from his bed, in the dead of night, he meets the physical embodiment of the electric blue light; a woman, whose beauty reminds him of a classical statue, an impression heightened by a cold and humourless aspect enhanced, in turn, by her inhuman electric blue eyes, completely electric blue eyes. Jon is told that an Artefact exists - a sentient, artificial life form, which may, or may not choose to help - and his job is to bring it to the attention of those who speak for Earth. How difficult could that be?

He is allowed to glimpse the consequences of converging forces, far beyond the danger posed by the Te'an threat, and guesses this to be the real reason for Custodian interest in his planet. For now, he has no choice but to act as a Custodian pawn in an opening gambit, on a board only just beginning to take shape, and where all the pieces have yet to arrive.

Amazon Kindle US | Amazon Kindle UK

Rating – PG13

Genre – Sci-Fi

5.0 (8 reviews)

Free until 16 January 2014