Tag Archives: Science Fiction and Fantasy

My Birthday Gift to You: A Spacey Adventure With Ren Garcia

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The devilishly handsome Ren Garcia

The devilishly handsome Ren Garcia

It’s my birthday, of that I’m certain. Of everything else, well, who’s to say? All I know is that Ren Garcia said he wanted to take me out for an adventure I’d never forget. He says we’re aboard the Seeker. A “Straylight-class warbird hailing from the old glory days of the League/Xaphan conflict, when fighting the Xaphans was honorable and romantic.” Sands of the Solar Empire.

Oh my.

I just hope those glory days are long gone and we’re in a peaceful time now, but with Ren and his League of Elder novels, you just never know!

Banner_Medium-notvampireYou see, Ren writes episodic science fiction, with gorgeous worlds, intriguing class systems, and beguiling characters. Not one to shy away from danger, Ren takes the reader to dizzying heights and tormenting lows. I’ve fallen in love with more than one character and have been known to yell at a few others. I won’t mention any names, but his initials are Captain Davage. :)

Captain D, as Ren refers to him, is piloting the Seeker as we flit from planet to planet on our whirlwind birthday adventure. In his dashing Gothic attire and tri-cornered hat, I dare anyone not to fall in love with him. When pressed, Ren confides in me that if he could be any of his characters, he’d be Captain Davage. Well, duh! Who wouldn’t. I wonder if that means Ren is in love with the sinister Black Hat named Sygillis? Probably. I know I am. You’d never guess where Syg got her origins…

According to Ren, “The League of Elder originally was … get ready for this … a Star Trek teleplay. I found myself quite obsessed with Captain Janeway — I really don’t know why. I wanted to create a character I thought she would like, so I came up with Captain Davage. I make him gothic and old-fashioned and I constructed the world around him in a similar way. As I wrote, I developed a love affair between Captain D and Janeway and how she felt as she left his side to continue home. Eventually she made use of an arcane Machine to return to his side. That was the original incarnation of the “Machine” that would show up later in Book Four. I realized I didn’t need any of the Star Trek stuff when I came up with the Black Hats and the foul Sygillis of Metatron. Originally Syg was a Black Hat who got killed in a duel with a Sister.  I wrote her back in and deleted all the Star Trek stuff.”

Star Trek? Seriously? That’s 100% pure awesome! I love how writer’s minds work. Ren’s books take myths from  Zoroastrian stories and odd bits from Arabian Nights, mixed with arcane magic systems and mind powers, to create HP Lovecraft type mythos. Fascinating stuff, really. I know I called it episodic sci-fi, but it’s so much more than that! You’ll just have to read them for yourself.

CatGodPub_final_largeBefore our journey with Ren comes to an end, we need to play some party games. Specifically, my speed round of questions. Here goes:

What’s your opinion of garden gnomes? Pesky Buggers.

Beer, wine, or whiskey? Soda Pop.

What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not writing? I love playing Ice Hockey.

What’s your favorite word? “Cesspool”

Least favorite word? “Look” I use it way too often sometimes.

Favorite curse word? I really don’t cuss all that often.

What made you want to write sci-fi? I am a world builder and I don’t like having to confine myself to a pre-defined structure. I like building from nothing, and sci-fi/fantasy is perfect for that.

What’s your favorite part of this writing journey? Exploring new places.

Do you like writing heroes or villains more? Villains are so much more interesting than heroes.

What’s something your readers might find surprising about you? My friends once signed me up to participate in the “Houston 500”. What’s the Houston 500?? It’s not PG-Rated, let’s put it like that. **um, for those of you curious about this, I googled it and YIKES! Be warned, it’s NOT safe for work. ~T

If you could have a super power, what would it be? Flight. I’d love to be able to fly.

What’s the geekiest thing about you? I still know all my State Capitals.

Ren, thanks for taking me on a fascinating adventure for my birthday! Champagne and soda pop for everyone!

Ren Garcia is a strange old hermit who lives in the Mountains of the Whispering Winds. His hobbies include sharpening his teeth to a shark-like point and waylaying passersby with his assortment of home-grown Tree-Monsters (Willie Willow and Peter Pine being his favorites). Ren has an accute weakness for toy Choo-Choo trains.

carhilmabslight-finaklargeAbout the Artist: Carol Phillips was born in Hawaii but spent most of her formative years nestled near a rich riverside forest in picturesque Oregon. Carol has a love for the figure, portaiture, and landscapes. Her work is both figurative and fantasy-oriented.

You can Contact Ren with your questions & comments at : LoE.com

Be sure to check out his website by clicking here to read more about his books and see the gorgeous artwork by Carol Phillips, including some incredible prints of Davage and Sygilis.

A Lucky Little Snippet of the WIP

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Books let our minds soar…

You all remember my gal pal Gayle, right? Last month she hung out with us here on the blog, giving us great advice on self pubbing and being a multi-genre author.

Well, that crazy lady tagged me in the Lucky Seven Meme. I know! What is she thinking? I’m in the very beginning stages of this book and I already posted a little something from my fantasy, The Temple of Ardyn back in March. What’s a girl to do? Not one to take a challenge lightly, I decided to go ahead and put up something from Because of You, my fiction piece I’ve been writing while Ardyn is on hiatus.

In case you forgot, here are the rules:

1. Go to page 7 or 77 in your current manuscript (fiction or non-fiction)
2. Go to line 7
3. Post on your blog the next 7 lines, or sentences, as they are – no cheating
4. Tag 7 other authors to do the same

Right, so here’s from page 77, line 7. Fair warning ~ it’s adult fiction with sex and swear words!

Later that night, after she showered the salt water from her hair and applied lotion to her chapped skin, she made a list of all the things Andrea said she needed to work on. She tapped her pencil on the paper trying to recall the details of their pact when her phone chimed. Thinking it would be Andrea texting her with another thing to add to the list, Elizabeth grinned with amusement as she picked up the phone. The laughter died in her throat when she read the text. It wasn’t from Andrea, but a blocked number.

*Bitch. You fuck with me, I’ll fuck you up.”

A picture accompanied the message. It was of a white rabbit covered in blood, the throat cut.

Now is the fun part! I get to tag seven of my writing friends to share a little something of their work. Since I love getting a peak into other writer’s worlds, I would love to know what these ladies and gentlemen are working on!

If you’ll recall from Gayle’s interview she’d rather wear a tiara instead of a baseball cap, but she didn’t have a tiara. Well, she does now! It looks great on her, too.

Please hop on over to Gayle’s blog to read her excerpt. Some of her chosen authors put their seven lines in the comments, so please read those as well. Also, our friend Indy Quillen participated in the Lucky Seven Meme on her blog. She doesn’t usually participate in these games, but had an interesting reason for taking on the challenge.

If you’d like to participate, please feel free to leave your seven lines in the comments, or better yet, post on your blog! Make sure you link back here so I know to tell everyone how fabulous you are and to check out your post.

What do you think of these internet games? Do you like them? Loathe them? Wish you could have more of them?

Special Guest Post ~ Angela Wallace: Finding Freedom In Fantasy

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Continuing our week-long love affair with Fantasy, today I have the spectacular Angela Wallace on my blog! If you missed the interview I had with Angela on Monday, you can find it here. Also, if you missed my guest blog over at her place on Wednesday, you can check it out here.

Before you go all bouncing around the blogosphere, read on my friends and find out how Angela found freedom in fantasy…

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If I had to choose one word to describe myself, it would be “dreamer.”  I’m always imagining fantastical worlds, adventurous escapades, magical encounters.  My love of fantasy has evolved as I’ve grown, but it started out as an escape.  As a child, illness kept me from enjoying the common pursuits of my peers.  Fantasy provided me a much-needed way out, not just from my physical pain, but also from the helplessness and lack of control that pressed upon my spirit.  I devoured books, losing myself in their fantasy worlds where disease was nonexistent and children were capable of great things.  Within their pages, I could escape the confines of my body and find freedom in imagination.

Soon, it wasn’t enough just to read as a way to give my oppressed spirit a chance to fly.  I took to writing.  Writers inevitably pour pieces of themselves into their characters, and so I poured myself into heroines, vicariously living another life where I was stronger, braver—free.

Now that I’m an adult, I’ve made the move to the urban fantasy genre, a world a little closer to my own.  Rather than using it as a means of escape, though, fantasy has become a place where I can dream of being better.  I read of characters doing the right thing, of standing up for justice and goodness, of fighting for their beliefs and loved ones.  And then I can believe that heroes do exist, that I never have to settle for less than nobility and honor—in others and in myself.

I also read about people with flaws, with emotional issues, and I watch them overcome incredible odds, triumphing over supernatural forces.  I may never fight vampires, or face the things that lurk in the night, but if the heroines I read and write about can fight real demons, then I can face personal ones.  No longer am I stuck in this weakened form, finding solace in fictional others; I choose my destiny.  It is not a dream.  I am strong.  Fantasy does not allow me to escape my troubles; it continues to bolster and encourage me as I face them.  There is freedom in inspiration.

***

Thank you so much for sharing such a raw and personal story with us, Angela. There is power in your words and even though your body isn’t of superhero caliber, I think what’s inside of you is. Like you said, ‘There is freedom in inspiration’ and you are quite an inspiration to all of us!

All you fabulous readers, don’t forget! Angela is giving away a copy of her book, Elemental Magic. Comment, tweet, post to Facebook, do what you gotta do to get your name in the hat! A huge thank you to everyone who tweeted Monday’s post. You all are amazing.

So, share with us, what do you find freedom in? Does your writing give you wings? Have you ever used the arts as a means of escape?

Charlie Goes to Candy Mountain!

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Keeping with the fantasy theme this week, I’ve got a wicked cool video of Charlie the Unicorn. He goes on an epic adventure to Candy Mountain. Join Charlie and his friends, you wouldn’t want to be shunnnnnnned, would you?

After you watch Charlie, hop on over to Angela Wallace’s blog where I’m guest blogging today on how I got started on my fantasy adventure. It’s my first time ever guest blogging, so I hope I don’t suck.

Here’s Charlie!