2016 HHAC Pete Chown

When I was young, my passion was for technology. That became my job, and I ended up running a technology company during the first dot-com boom. I also helped start a charity, got an interesting and—I think—important change made to the Fraud Act 2006, and so on.

It was an exciting time, but sometimes I wished the world was different: more exciting, more meaningful. I've always had the gift or the curse of being able to daydream, and having it feel almost real to me. I wondered if other people would be interested in reading the stories I experienced, because they were stories, even though I didn't always write them down.

Telling the stories in a compelling way wasn't easy. It took a long time acquiring the skills needed to write them, but here they are. I'm proud of them and many people have enjoyed them. I hope you do too. 

Click on cover for more info or to order!

Synopsis:

Abby’s last ever robbery seemed to go perfectly. She got a wallet full of cash, and she wasn’t followed by any have-a-go types who might let the police know where she was.

Someone, though, had seen the whole thing. He wasn’t likely to talk to the police, but he hadn’t fed for quite a while, and he was very hungry. He was also quite sweet for a monster, and ordinarily Abby would have enjoyed meeting him.

The murder squad want to know who is stealing people’s blood, then dumping the bodies around London. But there are other people hunting the monsters too, who know more about monsters than the monsters do themselves. A monster could start feeling unloved.

HHAC 2016 F.D. Gross

A prolific writer of fantasy, supernatural, and horror, Frank has been writing for years, ever since the age of twelve. Having written numerous short stories and novels, his meanderings in the literary world has finally led him to present his debut novel, Wolfgang, a tale of dark mystery and human struggle. It touches on the capabilities of humanity and how far love will push one's soul, even to the brink of self-destruction.
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Frank studied at Florida Atlantic University where he received his bachelors degree in English and is currently working on book two of the Wolfgang Chronicles - Inquisition.

Website: www.wolfgangchronicles.com

Click on cover for more info or to order!

Synopsis:

Sixteen years have passed since the death of Lord Egleaseon, the vampire lord who sought to be human again, defeated by the famous noble lord, Wolfgang. One day after cleansing the surrounding countryside of vampires, Wolfgang returns from his latest expedition only to be faced with the horrible reality that everything he held dear to his heart has been taken from him. His wife is dead, his home is burned, and his son is nowhere to be found. Only the smallest inclination leads him to believe his orphaned servant is somehow responsible.

He is desperate and provoked, and will do anything to get his son back, even if it means journeying the path of darkness. Thus begins the story of Wolfgang.

Fridays 5 with Renee Lake

I am a plus size woman from Utah who loves bats, cats, Halloween, things that go bump in the night, mythology and reading. I am a mother, a wife, a pagan and very liberal. I love reading and writing above all things.

1.) When did you first get serious about writing?

A.) About five years ago



2.) What is the hardest part for you about writing?

A.)  Getting published and having people actually read your books.

Click on the cover for more info or to order!

Synopsis: Princess Cneajna of Transylvania didn’t expect to be brought back from death’s door by an ancient Pagan Goddess. She certainly never asked to be made into an immortal witch. All she wanted was to live out her life the wife of Vlad the Impaler and mother of his two sons. However, now she has a new life, and with it comes the impossible task of breaking a centuries old curse placed on the women of her family. A curse that drives each one insane. To make matters even more complicated this is a family she didn’t even know she was related to: The Bathory’s.

3.) How did you feel upon publication of your first completed project?

A.) Success, like "Finally! I finished a book, I wrote a whole book!" Oh, and tired.

4.) What is more important to you, story, or character? Why?

A.) Oooh, both are SO important, but character. I find that if you write a likeable enough, interesting enough character and the plot line lacks a bit the reader will still enjoy being with that character.

5.) What is a typical day like in your world?

A.)  Wake up, take care of my son, write, watch Dr Who, clean. Three days a week I go to work, but the rest I do homework with two little girls, make dinner and spend the evening writing or with my husband. Sometimes there is pie or vodka....I like those times.

Links to Buy
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/583225
http://www.amazon.com/The-Bathory-Curse-Renee-Lake/dp/1517706955


Links to me
www.facebook.com/authorreneetravis
http://hauntedgravebooks.blogspot.com/
https://www.goodreads.com/thehauntedgravebooks

They're awake, and very, very, hungry

They have lived among us for centuries, blending in as we go about our daily lives, feeding only when necessary so as not to draw undue attention to themselves. Existing along the blurred edges of society, relegated to the shadowy corners of our well lit world. We know them as the creatures that inhabit our nightmares. Vampires, ghosts, and ghouls that feed upon the unsuspecting, with names as varied as the regions they inhabit.

As long as man continued to survive they would remain in their shadowy place. But when a virus decimates the living, turning them into shambling flesh eating monsters, the creatures of the night saw their food source vanish as the society that had kept them under control crumbled. Released from the restraints that once bound them they flourished. Some take over entire cities while others become gods to small groups of survivors.

Welcome to the Dreadlands.
 
I'm pleased to announce that the second book in the Dreadland Chronicles series, The Reaping, is now available for pre-order, due for release on June 24, 2016.

Reserve your copy HERE!

Synopsis: The horrors of the past meet the brutality of the present.

Fourteen years ago the dead walked and society crumbled. Pushed to the brink of extinction mankind struggles to survive in an increasingly dangerous world. The threat comes not only from the few remaining walking dead, but other survivors as they scramble to locate an ever dwindling source of supplies.

In this new reality the creatures that once roamed the night, once relegated to the shadowy corners of a well lit world, have awakened, and they are very, very, hungry

During a routine scavenging trip Window is bitten by a vampire.

To save their friend the boys must travel to Washington DC to track down the master in order to kill him and release Window from his curse. In the Nations capitol they discover a nest of vampires that threatens to finish mankind once and for all.

They are the only ones who stand between mankind and the reaping.

To celebrate the pre-order release of The Reaping, I'm running a kindle countdown deal for book one, All Roads Lead to Terror. For a limited time you can grab a copy for only $0.99.

Grab a copy HERE!

Synopsis:  Stand By Me meets The Road.

On the day of his birth the dead walked and society crumbled. His mother took one look at him and pronounced him Meat. He survived, she didn't.

Fourteen years have passed and obscurity means survival in an increasingly dangerous world. For the survivors compound at Bremo Bluff that obscurity is threatened when a savage band abducts a group of children from the compound.

Accompanied by his three friends Window, Einstein, and Billie-Bob, Meat embarks on a quest to rescue the children. A journey that will lead them into adulthood, with a brief detour through the Dreadlands, as they confront the harsh reality of a brutal world beyond the barriers that had served to protect them.

In the dead city of Richmond they will confront that savage cult of children who worship a creature of the night. These creatures, once considered the nightmare imaginings of a fevered mind, are now awake in a world where the population that once served as their food source has been reduced.

Awake and very, very, hungry. 

About the author:

Richard believes the act of reading is the most intimate form of communication possible. It's like the writer and reader are sitting at a small table, sharing a bottle of their favorite beverage, while the writer spins a tall tale.

Born in Frostburg, Maryland, in the winter of '58' he currently lives eight miles away. A five-year stint with the military allowed him to see what he wanted of the world. Married with four grown children and eight grandchildren, he and his wife provide a home to two pets that are spoiled beyond rotten.

In addition to writing daily he works a full time job in retail, and piddles around in his wood-shop where he makes one mess after another.

Richard can be found online at:

Facebook: http://www.facebook/RichardSchiver

Follow Richard on Twitter: @RichardSchiver  

He can be contacted directly at rschiver@gmail.com and would be delighted to hear from you.

Sign up to be notified of new releases when they become available. He promises to never share your contact info, nor will he swamp your inbox with unnecessary crap. http://www.eepurl.com/2bYSf  

Fridays 5 with Bryan Romer

I was trained as a Charted Accountant. I've been a CFO, General Manager, and Project Director for a multi-national corporation. Now I am a full time writer, living in Bangkok, Thailand. I'm single, never married. I love reading, especially classical SF and Military SF, as well as Historical Warfare.

I've always loved science fiction. From H.G. Well's "First Men In The Moon", to David Drake's "Hammer's Slammers" and Keith Laumer's "Bolo", with a particular emphasis on military SF. But I enjoy a good hard boiled thriller too, in the vein of Donald Hamilton's "Matt Helm" and Larry Correia's "Monster Hunter". So you can guess where my books will be headed.

As the GM and CFO of a private military contractor, I've walked in war zones armed with nothing but a camera and calculator. I'm multi lingual, I've worked on tiny Pacific Islands that were being ripped apart by hurricanes, and prowled the crowded streets and nightspots of the Far East. But during all of that, I've always written stories. Sometimes for free and for the heck of it, other times for money.

While I have over 30 novels published and on sale, "Vampire-Tech" is my first Science Fiction book.

Want to talk to me? mr.bryan.romer@gmail.com
My website is www.vwsinger.com 

1.) When did you first get serious about writing?

A.) I've been experimenting with writing fiction for a very long time, but I never wanted to be

an author for a major publisher and be required to write according to house rules and be under the control of their editors. It was only with the Internet that I began to write short stories and posting on the Net to gauge public response. I set up my first website of stories around the 1990s, and my first book was a compilation and expansion of one of these stories. This was published under a different pen name. I published my first SF/Horror novel, Vampire-Tech in 2014 followed by a sequel in 2015. Both reached the Amazon Top 100 for Vampire novels and stayed there for about three months.

2.) What is the hardest part for you about writing?

A.) I'm a natural story teller. I really enjoy writing and creating fictional worlds. Being an accountant, research and detail isn't a problem. I have done a lot of photography and CDI art, so visualisation and world creation isn't a problem either. I never get "writer's block" and because I write to satisfy my own muse, I never doubt what I am doing either. That isn't arrogance or a surfeit of self confidence. When I write, I do my best to create a worthy piece of work, but I don't much care what others thing if it. I know what I have to say, and I know how to say it. Anyway, you can't hope to please everyone.

Click on cover for more info or to order!

Synopsis: The accidental discovery of alien artifacts have brought werewolves back to modern day Britain. But through that same accident, test pilot Tara Harker was turned into a vampire. Even more incredibly, she discovers that Dracula is very real and is her only ally against her enemy and newly turned werewolf, Viktor Tiranul.

Now in the second book of the series, Tara is forced to embrace her vampire status as the existence of werewolves becomes a plague, spreading out of control and into the streets of a terrified Britain, drawing the Government and its agencies into the struggle. But powerful human interests who desire to control the technology that created both werewolves and vampires present just as much of a threat to herself and everyone she loves, including her father the brilliant scientist Rowland Harker. Can she battle and survive these multiple threats while still remaining human? And will her most powerful ally, Dracula himself, prove to be a blessing or a curse?

The gripping science-fiction horror adventure that started in the novel Vampire-Tech brings ancient legends into the present and right into the future. No magic, no curses, just technology – vampire technology.

3.) How did you feel upon publication of your first completed project?

A.) It was amazing, as if I suddenly was able to fly. Income was secondary to me at that point. I just wanted to see if anyone shared my world view and would like the tale I had to tell.

4.) What is more important to you, story, or character? Why?

A.) The story definitely comes first. It defines the world and situations in which my characters will have to operate. I write plot heavy stories, so it never works to allow the characters backgrounds, skills (or lack of them), and personalities to drive the progress of the book since the actions of both heroes and villains have to bring them into conflict at the right time and under the right circumstances for each plot point.

5.) What is a typical day like in your world?

A.) Most of my time apart from the necessities of life are spent on my computer, writing, researching, participating on forums and groups, not just for publicity but often to share and help other authors.

Friday's 5 with Lily Luchesi

Lily Luchesi is a young author/poet born in Chicago, Illinois, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Ever since she was a toddler her mother noticed her tendency for being interested in all things “dark”. At two she became infatuated with vampires and ghosts, and that infatuation turned into a lifestyle by the time she was twelve, and, as her family has always been what they now call “Gothic”, she doesn’t believe she shall ever change. She is also a hopeless romantic and avid music-lover, and will always associate vampires with love, blood and rock and roll. Her interest in poetry came around the same time as when she was given a book of Edgar Allan Poe’s complete work. She then realized that she had been writing her own poetry since she could hold a pen, and just had not known the correct terms. She finished her first manuscript at the age of fourteen, and now, at twenty-one, has two contributing credits in anthologies and a debut novel, Stake-Out,

1.) When did you first get serious about writing?

A.) I have always, since birth, made up stories in my head. It started with Sailor Moon fan fiction, actually. But in second grade, I had this amazing teacher and she really encouraged me to write down my ideas, even when I hated writing and cried because my hand cramped easily. Because of her making me enjoy writing, and my mother encouraging me, I started working on books at eight-years-old. I actually wrote a novel at twelve. I will never not be serious about writing. It is my passion, my first love and my lifeline.

2.) What is the hardest part for you about writing?

A.) When I know in my head how I want it to come out, but it is nothing like I envisioned on paper. It's frustrating. I found a post online that said, "I'd rather read the story I'm writing than actually write it." It's true. Writing is a selfish act, and we all write the books we want to read. My mind just moves faster than my laptop keyboard, and they always seem to have communication issues haha.

Amazon

3.) How did you feel upon publication of your first completed project?

A.) My first publications were in anthologies, The Struggle (the poem "Aftermath") and Wishful Thinking (the short story "Kill 'Em With Kindness"), from Fireside Press. It was pretty surreal when I received Wishful Thinking in the mail, because I was actually holding a piece of my work in my hands. The day I received that book, I was contacted by Vamptasy Publishing, telling me that they had accepted my submission for my paranormal novel. Stake-Out (Paranormal Detectives Book One). It will be published on May 19th, 2015, and it will be my first REAL publication, ever. I am in shock, and I am not ashamed to say I cried when I found out they were publishing my novel. Being an author has always been my dream, and now it's coming true. I'm so blessed!

4.) What is more important to you, story, or character? Why?

A.) They go hand in hand, really. They depend on each other. You could write a great story, but if the characters are one-dimensional, no one will like it. On the other hand, you could have kick-ass characters, but a dull plot. When I write, I usually have neither story nor characters fully formed. It usually starts with a scene, or an unformed idea. With Stake-Out, I was watching a crime show on TV and said, "What would happen if a cop's perp turned out to be a vampire?" And the story came as I typed, and characters introduced themselves to me. It's almost like I didn't do any work at all.

5.) What is a typical day like in your world?

A.) Well, I live an unconventional life. I'm only twenty-one, unmarried, and deal with crippling anxiety and PTSD. Going to a grocery store makes me physically ill. So I never have a schedule for real life or writing. I keep my laptop and tablet nearby at all times, but usually I don't write till late at night. I come alive in the moonlight, and my mind seems to clear once the sun sets. I usually try to write two thousand words a day, but don't always make it. But I always, ALWAYS, make sure I do promotion and something creative daily. My mind is my treasure, and I treat it as such. When not writing, I'm reading or watching Supernatural.

Links
Purchase the Wishful Thinking anthology, featuring my short horror/sci-fi story, "Kill 'Em With Kindness": http://www.amazon.com/Wishful-Thinking-Wishes-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00P0L0JCI/ref=asap_B00GBFAE0E_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1417128797&sr=1-1

I'm a published poet in the anthology The Struggle with my poem "Aftermath": http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G95Y0A6

Read my FREE debut short story "The Ghost's Guitar" on: http://peoplewritethings.wordpress.com/2014/09/03/the-ghosts-guitar/

Links:

www.twitter.com/LilyLuchesi

www.facebook.com/LilyLuchesi (page)

www.facebook.com/lilyluchesibooks (friend)

www.instagram.com/lilyluchesi