Tag: Myrddin Publishing

SUNRISE (Book II in the Stefan Szekely Trilogy)

For Stefan Székely it is a fate worse than death: To be dead yet stuck with his dead parents. After 13 years Stefan can endure it no longer. He wants a castle of his own.

First he must visit his family’s bank in Budapest. But with endless strife across Europe, Stefan hardly recognizes Budapest, capital of the new Hungarian Federation. Nevertheless, he embarks on his reign as a vampire playboy – until he gets a stern warning from the local vampire gang.

Will Stefan fight for his right to party like it’s 2027? Or will an encounter with a stranger change everything? As clashes between vampire gangs and State Security escalate, Stefan discovers he might be the key to changing the fate of Europe forever. If he can survive three bloody nights in Budapest.

The sequel to A DRY PATCH of SKIN (2014) continues the trials and tribulations of Stefan Székely, Vampire.

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Sunrise, sequel to A Dry Patch of Skin, launches!

SUNRISE …the end of the workday for vampires…

For Stefan Székely it is a fate worse than death: To be a vampire yet stuck with his vampire parents. After 13 years Stefan can endure it no more. He wants a castle of his own. But first he must visit his family’s bank in Budapest.
With endless strife rumbling across Europe, Stefan hardly recognizes Budapest, now capital of the Hungarian Federation. The world has changed.  Nevertheless, he embarks on the reign of terror he always denied himself, living the vampire playboy lifestyle.  Until he gets a stern warning from the local vampire gang. He is not welcome – unless he plays by their rules.
Should Stefan fight for his right to party like it’s 2027? Or will an unexpected encounter with a stranger change everything? As clashes between vampire gangs and State Security escalate, Stefan realizes he just might be the key to changing the fate of Europe forever!  . . . If he can survive three bloody nights in Budapest.
Budapest at sunrise

In 2014 my medically accurate vampire novel A DRY PATCH OF SKIN came out to a couple rave reviews. My main purpose then was to counter the hysteria of the Twilight experience with some medical research crossed with an understanding of established legends. I wanted to tell a realistic vampire tale. I even set the story in my own city and the action in the story followed the actual days and months I was writing the story. The story and my writing of the story ended the same week. Of course, I revised and edited after that.

Then I thought . . . what might possibly happen next? So I chose a gap of, say, 13 years (the number seems significant in horror stories). Now, where did I leave my protagonist? How is he doing? What could have happened since the end of the first book? What has changed in the world during these 13 years? How would what’s different in the world affect his own corner of the world? How would he cope with these changes?

As I started on another vampire story I quickly realized that I had to also write essentially a science-fiction story. A futuristic story. If I were setting the story 13 years after the end of the previous novel, then this sequel would be set in 2027. And it would be somewhere in Europe, which is where our hero was at the end of the first book.

What do I know of 2027? Not much. Like many science fictioneers writing about the future, I took the present circumstances, the way things are now (good and bad), and extrapolated how they might progress. Remember that novel by George Orwell, 1984? It was published in 1948 just as fears of a Communist takeover gripped Europe. It was supposed to be a warning. Orwell imagined how the concerns of his present might play out in the future.

With the current strife in Europe, mass immigration, refugees coming to Europe from the Middle East and Africa, the increase in crime, warfare between left and right political groups, I could see all these happenings extending, continuing and growing through the following decade. The moral question that arises is whether an author should follow his/her own beliefs; that is, how the world should be, a Utopian view – or choose a path of development which would be the best setting for the story, however the society might become – or try to take an honest look at current events and let things fall where they might, for good or ill.

I chose both. If I have to make a choice, I will lean toward what makes a good story over what my own beliefs might be. For the sake of this story and for the way I think society will continue to progress/digress or develop or evolve over the next 10 years, I’m letting the European conflicts play out in the sequel: my now less-medically accurate vampire novel, titled SUNRISE.

In this sequel, the new Hungarian Federation is a strictly run Euro-centrist society. The State Security apparatus runs a tidy ship and getting in is very problematic. Staying in if you are a “diseased” resident such as a vampire is dangerous. However, our hero, Stefan Székely, is already within the boundaries of the Hungarian Federation at his family’s estate in the former Croatia; therefore, I, the author, must deal with the vagaries of that location. It was not an unpleasant effort. I love to travel vicariously.

Needless to say, our hero has difficulties – or there wouldn’t be a story. Yet as I charged through the final chapters and then undertook the revision stage, the look and feel, the horrors, and the dystopian ambiance seemed right. Will Stefan escape from the repressive Hungarian Federation? Or will powers greater than himself and the vampire gangs of Budapest have the final say? 
In SUNRISE the world gets darker before the light shines again. Book 3, to be titled SUNSET, picks up the story even further into the future. By then, we are in full-fledged Dystopia territory. But, hey! I’m sure everything will work out just fine…if you transform into a vampire in time.
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Cool off with “Cover of Snow”

Every summer I search for the perfect beach read that has certain qualities:  not too long, not too mushy, and with a plot that will keep my mind from drifting lazily back to the hypnosis of the surf.  The funny thing is, I generally don’t read mysteries.  They are the literary equivalent of math puzzles to my brain, and who wants to sit in a beach chair and do those?

For inexplicable reasons, I decided to read Jenny Milchman’s “Cover of Snow,” hoping it wouldn’t bring about the aversion I felt while trying to read Gillian Flynn’s “Gone Girl” (loved the movie, hated the book).   I needn’t have worried.

The story is set in New York state’s Adirondack mountains where Nora Hamilton lives with her husband, Brendan.  She wakes one morning, sleepily recalling their lovemaking from the night before.  The warm reveries don’t last long as Nora discovers that Brendan has committed suicide, hanging himself inside their farmhouse.  From that shocking beginning, Milchman takes her readers on a wild ride through the frozen rural community.

 

cover of snow

Milchman’s descriptive prowess telegraphed the bitter cold straight to my bones, and wove an artful suspense that kept me engaged to the very last page.  This is her debut novel, which has won the Mary Higgins Clark Award.  I can’t wait to read more from this talented writer.

 

Kathleen Barker was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, but spent much of her life as the traveling wife of a Navy pilot. While working for a Fortune 500 insurance company in New Orleans, she wrote feature and human interest articles. After Hurricane Katrina, she returned to her beloved state of Maryland where she started work on “The Charm City Chronicles”. All four volumes, “Ednor Scardens”, “The Body War”, “The Hurting Year”, and “On Gabriel’s Wings” are available in Amazon’s Kindle store.

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Shaun Allan comes to Canada!

Shaun Allan, one of Myrddin’s masters of dark fantasy, and who is also a Wattpad Featured Author, is being flown to Toronto, to  tour Wattpad HQ as part of the Wattpad Stars program. Once he arrives in Toronto, Shaun will be wined and dined as he deserves! We couldn’t be more proud of his accomplishments.

To follow Shaun on Wattpad, and to read his amazing, scary work go to
https://www.wattpad.com/user/ShaunAllan

If you love horror, we recommend you check put his new Wattpad serial, “Red Queen,” an exploration of the darker side of Alice in Wonderland. We will soon see “Red Queen” published in book form as part of the Myrddin line-up.

red queen, shaun allan wattpad

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The lighter shade of Darkness

A lighter shade of dark
I’m down to the last few proof reading tweaks of my epic fantasy series, Darkness Rising, and it seemed an appropriate time to reflect upon whether I’ve succeeded in what I set out to do with it six years ago.
For those who haven’t read it (yes, I’m sure there are some of you out there…) it’s a six book series which follows the adventures of Emelia, a young girl liberated from ‘servitude’ by two thieves, Hunor and Jem. Emelia, in classic fantasy fashion, discovers she has an ability in Wild-magic, an unregulated branch of sorcery despised by the rigid Orders of elemental magic, and ‘psychic’ in style (emphasis on telekinesis, pyrokinesis, telepathy etc). The trio embark upon a quest to pull together the pieces of a magical prism before the bad guy, Vildor, an undead sorcerer can enact his nefarious plan.

So what were my goals when I began the epic journey of writing six books totalling over half a million words? It’s a really good question, and I suppose I could boil to down to:
1. To finally finish a literary project
2. Creation of a new world with an in-depth history, with enough variety of culture and race to provide a good backdrop to the quest
3. A fantasy yarn that would draw on traditional elements of the genre, without becoming too stereotypical, and that would avoid the current trend towards dark-fantasy
4. To try and throw some fresh elements into the genre, and synergise my love of comics and role-playing games with the work

Dr6

Well, number one is a tick. Woot! The Darkness Rising series represents my first attempt at anything beyond a short story. It was odd how it began and then grew. Initially I planned a chunky single volume, which then transformed into a two book project. Before I knew it I’d introduced a second key plot-line, that of Aldred and his own mission to cure his father of a curse, and finally a third, with the everyman character of Torm (a friend of Emelia’s from book one) and his curious relationship with the disgraced Arch-mage of Air. The three plot-streams remain fairly independent until books four and five when they all collide and then go bonkers. Was it padding, or did it add to the story? I suppose the reader is the best judge, but to my mind the idea of having two key characters (Hunor and Ekris) who are enemies was great fun, and having Torm progress from a minor character to one in whom the reader can empathise with (especially his raw heroism in the face of terrible odds at the Siege of Keresh) felt a good choice too.

So what about goal two? What I needed when created the world was an empire that had fallen apart (by civil war), magic that had had its hey day, events that would lead to Wild-magic arriving and what the reaction of the established Orders would be, and some suitable spats between adjacent nations. I also needed a rationale behind a ‘common’ tongue, given the rather cosmopolitan nature of my characters –and one of the former Empires provided that (the only legacy of the Eerian Empire was good roads and an Imperial tongue). Much as the characters and plotlines evolved, so did the political and cultural milieu of the world. The areas I’m most proud of are the Goldorians (with their pseudo-Puritan rejection of magic) and the Artorians, cleft into north and south, with opposing world views and religions. I had great fun with the Pyrians also—a nation who had learned their Imperial from works of Eerian literature and were thus intrinsically verbose and long-winded (as exemplified by Ygris the Fire-mage).
So did the series draw on traditional epic fantasy and steer clear of darkness, the book title excepted? I recall when I began the series being paranoid about stereotypes in fantasy—poring over websites that mocked the typical content of pseudo-Tolkien and Eddings. I lamented that I had a heroine rescued from ‘captivity’ who in a short period of time becomes a skilled warrior and sorceress; that I had an ancient evil threatening all; an artefact that would save the day; a quest, with a fine bunch of fellows, one of whom is a wise mentor; a ‘common’ tongue; magic used like superpowers; dark knights; adventurers…

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Then I got over myself. Who cares if any of that is in there? Those things are raw material, components to mix up and throw around and try and do something a little bit cheeky with. So, yes, Emelia is a skilled warrior after tutorage by Hunor and Jem. But given that she combines intelligent use of magic with sword play, why wouldn’t she be? And she’s bested on a number of occasions. She’s hardly unbeatable—her Wild-magic comes at a price, that of bipolar disorder, and a terrifying link with the main antagonist, Vildor. She does daft things, makes mistakes and poor choices. Ultimately, we come to love her more for it as we see her wade through the doldrums of depression and self-loathing. The ancient evil is not quite so clear cut either. From a very sadistic beginning we see Vildor in increasingly sympathetic light, always knowing he is despicable and evil, yet having some concept of his background and evolution. We see the twisted obsession of Xirik, his lieutenant and lover, and ultimately the real driver behind the ambitious plot. Sure there’s a quest, in fact there are several, but it doesn’t run as smoothly or as linearly as we’d expect as we head into the latter third of the series. New players come into the arena, the sinister creator of the crystals, Vaarn, throws an unexpected spanner in the works.

My concept for the magic is unashamedly RPG-based: elemental magic focused through gems of power, fragments of the great crystal that shattered in the myth of creation. And the Orders of magic are constrained by regulations, a Codex, that came into place after the Era of Magic ended rather badly. They rake in the cash from cynical use of sorcery to manipulate nature, from the weather alteration of the Air-mages, to the tidal influences of the Water-mages. And up against this ‘establishment’ with its snobbery and manipulation, comes the Wild-magic. A sorcery that springs up in an individual during adolescence with no consideration of social class or wealth or education. Hence it is persecuted by the traditional Orders, as something anarchic, not least as it affects the mind or neurological system of the wielder (Emelia, Jem, and Lemonbite being our first encounters with that). And through this I tried to make allusions towards society, and persecution, and happily drew from sources such as the X-men comics (itself drawing from themes of the Holocaust and genocide).

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The tone of the series is deliberately light. Sure you can dig deeper into themes of religious persecution, fear of death, existential dread, mid-life crisis, mental illness and self-harm, class war, vengeance and betrayal, but on the other hand you could happily read the series and hardly consider any of those themes. I’m a big fan of George RR Martin, Joe Abbercrombie, and Steven Erikson yet the darker end of fantasy can become quite fatiguing. Repeated negativity, violence, horror and gloom results in desensitisation and, especially for the TV adaptation of Game of Thrones, escalation. GoT is like a fantasy drug—we crave more and more, eager to ramp up the gore and gloom, hoping each shock is more grisly than the last. As a lad I grew up reading traditional fantasy of Tolkien, Eddings, Brooks, Moorcock (agreeably very cynical) and Hickman-Weis’s Dragonlance. In later years, when I began reading around the genre to prepare for the Darkness Rising series I read Hobb, Vance, Zelazny, and Poul Anderson, mixed in with Lynch, Erikson and Martin, and loved the gentler approach to characterisation and plot they had. So that was where I wanted my tone: exciting, adventurous, but nothing that would pull in an 18 certificate when Zack Snyder decides to adapt it for HBO…

So, an epic journey for me as well as the characters—and one in which I’ve met my own bunch of companions: Myrddin Publishing , and the sorcerous talents of Connie, Ceri and Alison and their influence on my books. Some of my old DnD pals (Giles and Nik) acted as excellent sounding boards, and in Nik’s case, an editor for book four. And my restless brain moves onto further projects—the slightly neglected YA sci-fi series, the Nu-knights, will be getting a new book by end-2016, and a secret alternate history project is in its infancy…

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#ReadMe: Into the Woods, a fantasy anthology

MyrddinAnthologyECover
Here we are at the end of the year. We’ve had a great year here at Myrddin Publishing, with several new books and new authors.

And now we are beginning a new year with the launch of our new anthology, Into the Woods. This collection of amazing tales came about almost by accident.

One day last summer I was looking through stock images I’d found for a cover I was designing for another author. I came across a wonderful image of a lonely house set in the woods. I’m not sure why, but suddenly, like the proverbial dog after a squirrel, I was off looking at images of houses in the woods.

Of course, my brain being wired to write stories, I found myself imagining all sorts of scenarios and plots to go with these amazing images. Then, it occurred to me that if I was inspired to write by these images, my fellow authors here at Myrddin Publishing would also be.

I threw out a challenge to the group: Write a short story about a house in the woods. The only caveat was the tale had to fall under the genre of fantasy, and the theme was “a house in the woods.”

And wow! What a response– I received nine wildly different tales, ranging from humor to ghostly, to romantic, to horror. These ten tales are some of the best I have read.

In the first tale, “A Peculiar Symbiosis,” Alison DeLuca gives us the story of a man who discovers he loves his wife–but only after she is dead.

“The Forest House” is my own take on the Tam Lin tale. Tam Lin is a character in a legendary ballad originating from the Scottish Borders as collected by Francis Child in the 19th century, but there are many tales from all over northern Europe featuring variations on his name, and the story will have slight variations. It is also associated with a reel of the same name, also known as Glasgow Reel. I had always wondered if Tam Lin and the Faerie Queen had a child, and if they had, what would have happened to it when Janet rescued Tam?

In “A House in the Woods,” Stephen Swartz takes us back to the 1960s with this dark fantasy. Two boys playing in the woods come across an abandoned house, and discover a true ghost story.

Irene Roth Luvaul takes us deep into the forest in “The Guardian.” A woman discovers her family’s history, and the terrible secret a cabinet once held.

Ross M. Kitson offers up a “A Matter of Faith.” In this dark prequel to Kitson’s epic Prism series, an uptight paladin must find a way to work with a free-thinking druid, if he is to be successful in finding and killing a demon.

In “If I Have to Spell it Out” Marilyn Rucker lightens things up with her hilarious take on two cousins quarreling over the tenancy of their family home, via letters.

“A Haunted Castle” by Lisa Zhang Wharton shows us that a house can can also be a haunted castle in the Bavarian Forest, in her hilarious, hallucinogenic tale of ghosts, rottweilers, and a costume party.

Our own master of horror, Shaun Allan, swings us back to the dark side with a horrifying twist on the Hansel and Gretel tale, with “Rose.” Told with his usual flair for words and style, this is a chilling story of demonic magic. It is definitely not you mam’s Hansel and Gretel!

In “Hidden,” Carlie Cullen takes us deep into the woods, where two young women take shelter from a storm in an abandoned house, with terrible consequences.

For the final tale in this treasury, Lee French presents us with a post-Civil War tale of star-crossed love, in her magical tale, “Forever.” Tara and Marcus share a forbidden love–and only one place is safe for them.

We’re celebrating the launch of this fantastic collection of tales with a launch party on Facebook. You can join us there until January 2nd, 2016. Myrddin Authors will be dropping in and out of the party, offering gifts and prizes, and also sharing their own brand of craziness to help you kick off your New Year with a bang. To join us, click on this link, which will take you to the 2016 Myrddin Facebook New Years Party.

I am continually amazed and awed by the talent of the wonderful authors I am privileged to work with here at Myrddin Publishing. You can purchase this wonderful collection of short stories at Amazon by clicking on the buy button below:

Into the Woods: a fantasy anthology Amazon Buy Button PNG

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Connie J. Jasperson is an editor and a co-founding member of Myrddin Publishing Group. She is the author of the epic fantasy Tower of Bones series, and also the medieval fantasy, Huw the Bard.

A Dry Patch of Skin by Stephen Swartz

A Dry Patch of Skin Kindle Edition
A Dry Patch of Skin Kindle Edition

A DRY PATCH OF SKIN – The only medically accurate vampire story available today!

The truth about being a vampire: It is not cool, not sexy. It’s a painful, miserable existence.

Good reason to avoid that situation, thinks Stefan Székely. He’s too busy falling in love with TV reporter Penny Park, anyway. Until one day she notices a dry patch of skin on his face.

At first it’s annoying, nothing to worry about, some weird skin disease he can treat with lotions. However, as his affliction worsens, Stefan fears that his unsightly problem will ruin his relationship with Penny.

If only that was all Stefan has to worry about! He soon realizes there is a lot more at stake than his handsome face. To save himself, Stefan must go in search of a cure for the disease which is literally destroying him inch by inch. If only his parents had told him of his family’s legacy.

Other books by Stephen Swartz

Aiko by Stephen Swartz

Aiko (2015)
Aiko (2015)

AIKO (Paperback) (Kindle)

When the handwritten letter from Japan arrives, Benjamin cannot help but flash back five years. He was in Hawaii when he met Hanako, a Japanese stewardess. But Addy, Benjamin’s wife of three years, knows what the letter really means: a love child was born.

Now Benjamin must save a child he has never met, learn the truth behind Hanako’s death, and risk his marriage and his career to do the right thing. But venturing into the lonely woods of northern Ishikawa throws him into an ancient world of strict customs and tight-lipped villagers.

AIKO is a romance and a mystery, spun as a modern version of Madame Butterfly.

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The Rules of Write Club

There are a lot of people in the world who write. Some of them publish what they write. Good for them, I say. I’ve managed to do that, too.

However, there are plenty of people who write who stop writing. Sometimes they run out of ideas. Sometimes they get distracted by other business. Sometimes they give up, unsure of themselves. Or they doubt anyone would want to read what they write.

I’d like to remind those people, the ones who worry about readers, exactly what the rules of Write Club are.

The first rule of Write Club is always write for yourself.

It’s your idea, after all. Please yourself first. Explore the interesting aspects of the story that has intrigued you enough to want to write it. A famous person whose name I can no longer recall once said “Write the story you want to read.” I follow that advice religiously–without actually writing anything religious. My entry into writing came from my reading; I soon believed I could come up with a better story, so I tried.

Now I’m stuck with it. Stories come into my head, kick off their shoes, prop up their feet on my nice upholstered brain and dare me to write them. Sometimes I do, sometimes I let them stew a bit hoping they will write themselves. My current work-in-progress stewed for a year before it reached a boiling point and had to be written just to get it out of my head and make room for something else.

So go ahead and write the story the way you think is best, the way it suits you. Make it the story you want to read. You’re a decent human being, a fair reader, a nice person, right? So why wouldn’t someone else want to read something that YOU want to read? If you put your heart and soul into it and you’ve gone through all the checklists of revision and editing, who can say it won’t be suitable for others to read? Then you can entertain thoughts of whether others would enjoy reading it.

And if you decide nobody else would like reading it, then…well, then you have some free time to start writing another story. Because…

The second rule of Write Club is never stop writing.

STEPHEN SWARTZ is the author of several Myrddin novels: AFTER ILIUM, THE DREAM LAND (Trilogy) (Book I, Book II, Book III), A BEAUTIFUL CHILL, A DRY PATCH OF SKIN, and AIKO.
More of his twisted sarcasm may be encountered on his “other” blog: DeConstruction of the Sekuatean Empire and follow him on Facebook (Author Stephen Swartz) and Twitter (@StephenSwartz1).

Heart Search 3: Betrayal | Love and Vampires…

One bite started it all . . .

Joshua, Remy, and the twins are settled in their new life. However, life doesn’t always run smoothly. An argument between Becky and her twin causes unforeseen circumstances, an admission by Samir almost costs him his life, and the traitor provides critical information to Liam. But who is it?

As Jakki’s visions begin to focus on the turncoat’s activities, a member of the coven disappears, and others find themselves endangered.

And when Liam’s coven attacks, who will endure?

Fate continues to toy with mortals and immortals alike, and as more hearts descend into darkness, can they overcome the dangers they face and survive?

 

Now available on Amazon for Kindle!

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Myrddin Gives Back : Christmas O’Clock

Christmas FairyMyrddin Publishing announces the successful campaign to raise funds for the international charity, Water is Life, via sales of their Christmas anthology, Christmas O’Clock.  In 2014 the publishing group donated all the revenue generated from sales of this book, totaling over $200.00 in royalties. This purchased three bucket systems and eight drinking straws, providing fresh water to three families, and eight individuals. Their goal is to double that in 2015.

Christmas O’Clock is a collection of holiday-themed stories including magic, space travel, and Rudolph. With two complete chapter books, lots of stories, and plenty of spirit, this anthology is great for kids of all ages.

All proceeds from this wonderful book go to Water Is Life to help children and families in an international effort.

Christmas O’Clock  can be purchased at www.amazon.com

Paperback  $9.51

And for the Kindle  $2.99

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Myrddin Supports Water is Life: Call for Submissions

This year, Myrddin is delighted to announce that the Christmas O’Clock anthology raised sixty dollars for the Water is Life charity. The organization works to create potable drinking water for families and children in the third world.

A special thank you goes out to Sherrie DeGraw, who donated the cover, and Rachel Tsoumbakos, who did the formatting of the manuscript. Nicole Carson did the layout of the cover.

The authors included in the book are: Shaun Allan, Connie Jasperson, Nicole Antonia Carson, Mary K. Mitchell, and Alison DeLuca.

Sales of the book topped last year’s efforts, and we hope to continue the charity drive in 2013.

If you are an author and would like to submit a story for the 2013 anthology, you may contact us here.

Submission requirements:

All submissions to be sent as word docs in attachments. No print submissions, please.

We accept short stories, poems, and novellas. Please keep the length under 30,000 words.

The anthology is for children, so feel free to include the following in your story: excitement, humor, holiday magic (Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Eid themes are very welcome!)

We will not accept entries that include gore, violence, sexual themes or language, adult language, mature themes.

Writers retain all rights to their work, as stated specifically in the copyright page and author contract. All royalties from the anthology will be donated to charity.

Christmas O’Clock will be published on Amazon under the Kindle Select program.

All submissions are due by midnight EST July 31, 2013.

Stories will be judged on creativity, interest for children, and compatibility with the existing anthology. You may take a look at this year’s Christmas O’Clock here.

If you have further questions, please use the contact link found on the home page.