The Walking Dead Season 3 Recap - Episode 5: Say The Word

Say The Word

Oh, looky, the Governor (David Morrissey) has a secret! Turns out he is keeping his undead daughter a secret from the rest of the compound. No wonder he has a research team and he wants Michonne (Danai Gurira) on it.

What a way to kick start Episode 5 of AMC's The Walking Dead!

Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Maggie (Lauren Cohan) go on an expedition to find baby formula to feed the newest Grimes (which turns out to be a little girl). They find a daycare centre - and dinner! Thankfully there are no more undead children for this episode though.

Rick (Andrew Lincoln), meanwhile, is loosing his marbles: big time! He winds up skulking around in the bowels of the prison looking suspiciously like Gollum from The Lord of the Rings looking for his precious. Unfortunately he finds it (her) in the belly of a zombie. Once again, who knew zombies ate ALL their food and not just the brains?!

The Governor decides to throw a party. It's a shame Milton (Dallas Roberts) is more interested in his experiments and not merry-making, but once again, the Governor works his people skills (read: bullies) and Milton relents. This party also gives Michonne the ideal excuse to snoop. She manages to regain her sword and find a secret diary before she's interrupted  Luckily she has a window to escape via and that's when she comes across a  cage full of zombies. It takes barely three shakes of her sword to dispatch them. Of course  she gets busted and has the Governor to answer to.

Not only does she pull her sword on the Governor, she then tries to woo Andrea (Laurie Holden) away from Woodbury. Andrea is nearly swayed too, when Merle (Michael Rooker) makes it difficult for them to leave. Eventually he opens the gates and Andrea decides she prefers it on the (apparently safe) inside and Michonne leaves her behind.

Now, speaking of the Governor, I have been trying to work out who he reminds me of. Well, last night, I FINALLY worked it out! It turns out the good (?) Governor bears a remarkable resemblance to a character in my book Emeline and the Mutants called Milosh. A character who holds together the 'perfect' community of Daisy Hill. Milosh seems too good to be true - and there's a reason for that. Unfortunately, the main character, Emeline Hart only discovers this AFTER she has sex with him. And based on what happens in my book, I am REALLY starting to get scared for Andrea now :-/

Anyway, back to this grand party the Governor is holding. It turns out the good people of Woodbury love to let their hair down - even if this entails street fighting bouts while the 'athletes' are surrounded by chained zombies. Is this the doomsday equivalent of a dog or cock fight? It's sickening to watch, more so for the crowd reaction than for anything else. It's at this point that Andrea realises she should have followed Michonne.

Daryl (Norman Reedus) turns out to be the baby whisperer - then goes ahead and calls the Grimes baby 'arse kicker' instead of the names Carl (Chandler Riggs) suggests. (Yeah we all KNEW he wanted his little sister named after his mum!)

So, how's poor Rick/Gollum coping? Well, we end Episode 5 with this:

 
gif maker

What's your theory on who's on the other end of the line? Personally, I think it's Carol...

(Photo Credits: AMC)

The Walking Dead Season 3 Recap: Episodes 1 & 2

Who else was as excited as I was about the Season 3 premiere of AMC's The Walking Dead? Is it just wrong to love the undead this much? Well, my hubby seems to think so.....

In tribute of this fabulous show, I will be posting my weekly recap on each episode. And because we all can't get enough of the show, the very first recap is a two-for-one deal!

Episode 1: Seed

We start this episode with the discovery that our fave zombie-hunting crew are just a little bit older and quite a bit more wiser! They have established a 'taunt and kill' regime that is proving valuable for the livelihood of the group and (final-time) deadly to the undead. It's disturbing to see young Carl (Chandler Riggs) in the midst of all this killing, but I guess if you were in this situation, morals and general society standards fly out the window pretty quickly. I just hope the poor young actor who plays Carl is not scarred for life.

Speaking of children, a very noticeably pregnant Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) is now beginning to ponder the wisdom of bringing another child into the post-apocalyptic world they now live in. It's too late to go back, but as she voices her concerns with Hershel (Scott Wilson), the group's veterinarian medical consultant, we discover just how sickening it may get. What if that baby dies before being born? Considering everyone is infected with the zombie virus, will the little critter re-animate and attack it's own mother from the inside? Also, consider the fact that the baby may survive childbirth, but Lori may not. What happens then? Lori pleads for Hershel to give her the final death if this happens, before she attacks her own child. Of course, there was no mention of what would happen if Lori dies while she is pregnant and the baby still lives on. Only time will tell, I guess....

So what's happened to poor Andrea (Laurie Holden), I hear you ask? We find her (very briefly) with another woman called Michonne (Danai Gurira). This woman travels with two undead who are chained and have missing limbs and lower jaws. She does this in a bid to keep her living scent masked by that of the undead zombies - what an ingenious idea! Poor Andrea is sick though and Michonne must find aspirin for her.

The group have found a prison  It's a safe haven in a deadly world. They just have to get in and kill all the zombies first! It takes the whole episode to do this. Once they are inside the prison they discover they are not alone. After Hershel is attacked and bitten on the ankle by a zombie, Rick (Andrew Lincoln) takes only a split second to amputate his leg in an effort to save the man's life. I wonder if it will work? And we end this episode with the visuals of living humans peering out at the group from behind a wire window after they hear all the commotion of the amputation. 

Will these people be good or bad, considering the place they are trapped in?

Episode 2: Sick

So who are these new people? It's obvious they're inmates from the go-get. Some of them nastier than others. It's very clear, in this episode, that the writers are trying to show that age old problem that arises in post-apocalyptic worlds: who do you trust? It is portrayed in a very black and white scenario. There is no grey areas, no reason to feel empathy for these inmates who have been trapped in hell for a whole year without any idea of what the outside world is like.  There is simply Rick (Andrew Lincoln) who mistrusts them and Darryl (Norman Reedus) who wants to kill them. To make a long story short, Daryl wins in that battle of wits, but only because the inmate 'leader' Tomas (Nick Gomez) attempts to 'accidently' kill Rick when they are fighting zombies en masse. Rick retaliates by a machete chop to the head and then chases down another inmate who appears overly sympathetic to Tomas. The inmate is trapped in with some zombies and Rick locks him in there and walks away. My haven't times changed! The Ricktatorship is now in full swing!

As a result of this 'battle' for supremacy, only two inmates are left. Rick and Daryl let them have their very own cell block and help themselves to half of the remaining food. They also openly threaten to kill the inmates if they come anywhere near the rest of their group.

It is touch and go for poor Hershel (Scott Wilson) for a while there, but Carl (Chandler Riggs) finds some medical supplies and kills a couple of zombies in a bid to help him. This results in a very unhappy Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) - oh, so she'll let him kill them in a pack, but not alone? Hershel almost dies anyway, but after Lori gives him mouth-to-mouth, he manages to survive - this is lucky for Glenn (Steven Yuen) who was tasked with the possibility of having to kill the zombified remains of his girlfriend's dad!

Now, while they are all assuming that Hershel will become a zombie, Carol (Melissa McBride) prepares herself for becoming the main medical hack guru. This means that her and Glen catch and kill a zombie (hang on, why didn't they just use one of the finally dead ones lying around?) and she practises hacking it open, just in case Lori needs a C-section during delivery. This scene is creepy enough - and then it appears that someone else is watching Carol, while hidden away in the trees surrounding the prison.

It seems they forgot about poor Andrea in this episode.....

So, what did you think of the return of The Walking Dead?

And while you're waiting for episode 3 to hit the screens, why not check out Emeline and the Mutants or Zombie Apocalypse Now!?

(Photo Credits: AMC Inc.)

Booked for the Weekend Promotion!

Do you have anything planned for this weekend? If not, then why not book in a book? As a special promotion to celebrate the Labour Day weekend (and the AFL grand final if you are in Melbourne) in Australia, a group of Aussie author's are getting together and offering their books for 99 cents this weekend.

For those of you who picked up Emeline and the Mutants for only 99 cents last weekend, you can pick up my other book, The Ring of Lost Souls for the discounted price also. While you're there, why not check out the other great authors and their books too!

The details are below:

This Long Weekend eight Australian authors have come together for an exciting promotion...each is offering one or more of their ebooks at 99c.

Azra Alagic 

Not Like My Mother

In Yasna's family, violence is an heirloom passed down from generation to generation along with the richness of tradition, recipes, love and land.

After the German invasion of World War II, supported by Serbian Chetniks, has massacred Bosniaks in the Balkans, leaving damaged homes, bodies and hearts in its wake, Samira’s marriage is arranged for her, and she leaves her childhood home with her new husband, Azis.

Samira struggles to retain her identity and dignity in her marriage with Azis, a bitterly angry man with dark secrets that have consequences for everyone around him. When Samira realises her son, Muhammed, will always be the target of Azis’s anger and aggression, she makes the painful decision to evict him from the house to save his life.

Muhammed joins Anika and her family, who are fleeing the oppression of Tito’s Communist Jugoslavia across the Austrian border. The pair immigrates to Australia where they face a new oppression in the guise of racism. But Anika faces an even greater danger in simply trying to survive her husband’s beatings and emotional torment.

Depressed and desperately needing help, Anika attempts to take her own life on several occasions, trapping her daughter, Yasna, into the premature responsibilities of adulthood.

Unable to shake the emotional and psychological shadow of its past, the family struggles to find new ways to love and respect each other’s differences, but religious conflicts and another Balkan war have devastating consequences on their fragile domestic peace.

Not Like My Mother is a poignant story about the patterns of violence and lost identity passed down through generations. Tracking the pain and anguish of three women and their families over two continents, as well as the divide between three religions that have torn apart a country and its people. The novel exposes and explores the links between cultural and personal histories of conflict.

Purchase for only 99 cents here.

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Karly Blakemore-Mowle

Operation Swift Mercy

She needed help…someone brave…someone tough…someone like a rough and ready Marine.

When Mercy D’Silva, discovered her ex-boyfriend was behind an elaborate people smuggling movement, life as she once knew it, ended abruptly. 
Finding herself on the run with no idea who to turn to for help, her days seemed numbered.

For Chase Maloney, everyone around him seemed to be moving on, while he was simply marking time. When he decided to take a short break from groomsmen duties to go fishing, the last thing he expected to catch was a beautiful woman!

It wasn’t in his nature to turn his back on anyone in distress—especially not a woman… and especially not one who made him want to rethink his entire future. But protecting Mercy would prove somewhat difficult when she fought him every step of the way to keep him from getting mixed up in her problems.

Can they outrun a vicious killer, and hand over the evidence to convict him, in time? Or will he find them first and inflict swift vengeance?

Purchase for only 99 cents here.

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Anna Hackett

Time Thief

Enter the world of the anomalies in the first short story of Anna Hackett’s series, The Anomaly Trilogy.

Hunted for her ability to steal time, Bay North lives a life on the run. All she wants is to make the crime lord who slaughtered her family pay. But now he’s set the ultimate hunter on her trail and Bay will need all her skills to carry out her revenge and survive.

Ex-Navy SEAL Sean Archer saw his team killed by a time thief in Afghanistan and came back a broken man. He’s made a dark deal with a criminal to hunt down all time thieves and now Sean’s tracked the wily Bay North to Denver where he plans to rid the world of one more dangerous mutation.

But during a shootout, hunter and hunted find themselves depending on each other for survival. Joining forces to exact payback by stealing a priceless treasure, their reluctant alliance shatters both their defenses. Can Bay find the courage to trust? And can Sean convince a woman honed in revenge that she can have more than vengeance, blood and killing? 

Time Thief - paranormal/sci fi romance
Short story - 25,500 words

Purchase for only 99 cents here.

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Monique McDonell

Mr Right and Other Mongrels

Blissfully happy in her own universe Allegra (Ally) Johnson is the sweet best friend everyone wants to have. Quietly and independently wealthy she runs a charming second-hand bookshop in beachside Manly. Heck, sometimes she even goes downstairs from her flat to run the shop in her Chinese silk pyjamas. It sounds like bliss. But is it enough? 

When dog-phobic Allegra is rescued from an exuberant canine by the chivalrous Teddy Green, Australia’s hottest TV celebrity and garden make-over guru, her life begins to change. Dramatically! 

Unaware of Teddy’s fame Allegra finds herself falling for him, despite her best attempts to resist his charm. Supported by her eccentric family and her fabulous gay friend Justin, Allegra embarks on an on-again off-again romance with Teddy, complicated by his jealous ex-girlfriend, fashionista Louisa and her own narcissistic hippy mother Moonbeam.

Will Ally be able to overcome her insecurities and find happiness with this possible Mr Right or will Teddy’s celebrity lifestyle prove to be too much? Mr Right and Other Mongrels is a light-hearted story about how one chance encounter can change your life.

Purchase for only 99 cents here.

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Ainslie Paton 

Producing Real

How do you live with yourself when you killed your own mother?

Rielle Mainline is a rock star with a hardcore image and a troubled heart. She's set to embark on a twenty-five city global tour with her band, Ice Queen. She should be ecstatic.
But the tour starts in Sydney and Rielle has spent years trying to wipe out what happened there. 


Roadie, Jake Reed, is excited about being tour manager for the Australian leg of Ice Queen's tour but he knows Rielle's reputation as a prize bitch will make it a challenge.  Jake's  comfortable he can handle whatever she demands, until he meets her and then he's not sure how he's ever going to live without her.


Can the rock star face the tragedy that shaped her life? 


Can the roadie reach the real girl and help her come home?


Producing Real is a story about crippling fears, making music, and learning to be true.

Purchase for only 99 cents here.

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Shelly Pratt

Switch

The disappearance of Matt’s sister stirs old wounds still raw from the death of their parents in a freak accident years before. When police contact Matthew to notify him of the mysterious events surrounding her kidnapping, he can’t help but feel that his introuvable ways hold him partly to blame. 

As Matt tries to track Dree down, he’s plunged in to a world where everything in not quite what it seems, and as he struggles for the truth, it brings him one step closer to the demons of his past, present and future. 
As police move to find the kidnapper of a wealthy heiress, they ultimately stumble upon a killer without compunction. 
With Detective Scott Balen on the case, he finds the deeper he becomes involved with trying to catch the killer everyone is looking for, the closer he comes to finding love with the one woman he should perhaps stay away from. The hardest questions will only be answered after the killer has his day in court. 
From the Australian landscape to the hills of Italy, iconic landmarks provide the backdrop for a family in tatters searching for answers, a psychotic killer you’ll love to hate and an eclectic group of hit-men on a mission. 
As old habits die hard, the game of life will prove there can only be one winner.

Purchase for only 99 cents here.

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Mel Teshco

Identity Shift

This big cat has claws and knows how to use them...

Alexia Leigh is determined to prove big-cat shape-shifters exist. But she never expected Blake Powell, the key to the shifter race, to rescue and seduce her--never expected to want him like he's her last damned breath! She's never experienced such raw pleasure, has forgotten what it is to truly feel alive. And now she is torn between him and the proof she needs to exonerate her dead father's once great name.

Purchase for only 99 cents here.

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Rachel Tsoumbakos

Emeline and the Mutants

What would you do if your whole family mutated into hideous creatures? 

Would you have the courage to do what had to be done when they threatened you life?

Emeline Hart is faced with this horrifying decision when the miraculous Haum vaccine changes into something monstrous. When the mutations start, there is no way to hide the fact that the world is now filled with people who are no longer dying of cancer, heart disease or diabetes. Instead, they become werewolves, vampires and trolls.

In the midst of this, Emeline must search for her missing brother and unravel the conspiracy of events surrounding his disappearance.

The heart pounding action intensifies as medical science goes wrong in EMELINE AND THE MUTANTS. 

Purchase for only 99 cents here.

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The Ring of Lost Souls

What if fairy tales were real?

"The figure was dark with jagged little edges. While it was an image only caught fleetingly out of the corner of her eye, it was possible to make some distinction in regards to its identity, which was not unlike a raven in appearance."

Larundel - A place plagued by lost souls.

A ring that has claimed a few of them.

And a woman who is about to collide with a world she has forgotten about.

When an abandoned mental asylum is set to be redeveloped, sinister events unfold in the community surrounding it.

Isobel moves into the neighbourhood looking for a new future only to find a past she never knew belonged to her. Is she a sane person living in an insane world or a crazy person trapped in reality?

Set in an actual abandoned mental institution on the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia, THE RING OF LOST SOULS is a fast-paced fairy tale weaving together a believable blend of fantasy, urban legend and pure insanity.

Purchase for only 99 cents here.

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"Emeline & the Mutants": only 99 Cents on Amazon!

In celebration of Emeline and the Mutants exciting new makeover, I am offering it at the heavily discounted price of 99 cents until next Monday 24th of September! Available only on Amazon.com

The new content included in the book comes in the form of journals by the characters you love the most, news articles from before the Haum vaccine mutated and turned everyone into zombies, vampires, werewolves and trolls, and propaganda leaflets.

Make sure you get in quick before the sale ends. If you have the old version, you are still able to purchase this new version in addition to the previous one. Why not compare the two and let me know which bits you like the most?

Quick, you can purchase Emeline and the Mutants on Amazon.com here for only 99 cents - but hurry, before time runs out!

As a teaser, here's one of Emeline's journals.....

________________________________________________________________

Emeline Hart’s Journal.

(Found in the roof cavity of the abandoned Hart residence)

January 8

Things I never want the world to forget about Angus:

• He’s smart, but studies for fun
• I met him at Uni. We were both studying ancient cultures
•  His father expected him to follow in his footsteps and become a media tycoon
•  He’s stinking rich, but he’s not pretentious about it, not one little bit
•  When he eats ice cream he always ‘accidently’ gets some on his face - just to shit me
•  His favourite pet was a dog named Minnie
• His hair is brown and curls up over his ears when he needs a hair cut
•  I love him

January 9

I met Angus after work today. I needed a beer something fierce! Right from the moment he walked into the bar, I knew something was up. He looked like crap, that’s for sure and if I didn’t know any better, I would think he’d already started drinking without me. I quizzed him, but other than saying he had a headache, he insisted he was okay.

January 10

I’m hiding in the roof cavity of my house.

I should have known better last night. Angus was sick, not drunk. But not good sick - Haum sick.

This is my first encounter with zombies. Sure I’ve met a whole bunch of vamps and weres - most of them being my family - and I even know a bit about merpeople (well, actually ‘people’ is no longer correct since all the mermales seem to have been eaten by their spouses), but zombies are new to me.

I am peering down through a small hole I punched in the ceiling with my biro. Angus can smell me, but he can’t work out where I am. I wish I didn’t have to do what has to be done. I wish Angus was like me - immune.

I don’t want to shoot him.

I still love him.

_______________________________________________________________

Zombie Apocalypse Now!

You'd better run. If you can't, you need to trip the person next to you in order to save yourself from the zombie apocalypse!

Starting from this week, you will be able to view my new weekly serial entitled 'ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE NOW!' on Wattpad. It is entirely free to read and the whole Wattpad universe is completely addictive! There are so many fabulous stories on there.

You have the chance to meet Rosalyn in my first episode. She seems to have lost someone dear to her during the zombie apocalypse and now she is making the terrifying decision to flee her house in search of food. But will she make it past the zombie at her door?

This series will revolve around four women: Rosalyn, Berta, Pip and Tatiana.

Be warned, one of them will be a crazy cat lady. Another will be pregnant.....

Make sure you add ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE NOW! to your reading list on Wattpad and vote on my first part so you can keep up to date on the lives of these four women.

And if one week is too long to wait, you can check out excerpts from THE RING OF LOST SOULS and EMELINE AND THE MUTANTS. I will also be adding a snippet or two from my upcoming trilogy that I will be writing for National Novel Writing Month in November.

Midgets, Dwarves, Little People and Make Believe Worlds

When I first wrote Emeline and the Mutants I had no idea that I was using politically correct terms in it. While in Australia it is okay to refer to someone who is small in stature as a midget, I was soon to discover that to other countries, this is a BIG no-no.

Now any 'Find and Replace' function can be used to change the offending word to dwarf, but here is where it gets tricky. In Emeline and the Mutants I have several types of mythical creatures. While there are no dwarfs (as in creatures similar to gnomes) in the story, when I described Emeline's friend, Gwennie, as a dwarf, people might automatically assume I am taking about a magical creature and not a human being who is less than regular height. After all, just off the top of my head, the following creatures turned up in my book: humans, vampires, werewolves, trolls, fairies, witches, mermaids and harpies. It was easy to make the mistake with a list like that.

So what is one to do in this sort of situation? I was tempted to just leave in the references to midgets and cop the flack, but since I used those words unintentionally, I didn't really want to inadvertently put people off my books. If I were planning to offend or cause a ruckus (as I am doing now with the title of this blog), then to hell with all the precious souls out there and the word would have stayed, but I wanted a word that was descriptive and not confusing to the reader.

Finally, I settled on little people. Am I happy with the term? No, I'm not. To me, personally, I find this descriptive more offensive than midgets. If I were a dwarf and someone called me a little person, I would be tempted to punch them at waist height. Really, the phrase reminds me of the reference to 'teacup humans' in True Blood.

But, at the end of the day, this is the least offensive and least confusing word to use in the make believe world that Emeline lives in. So why don't you check out what all the fuss is about by downloading the new and improved version of Emeline and the Mutants today - it even has shiny new pictures in it!

Available on now on Amazon.

Win a Kindle FIRE or a Kindle TOUCH!

Hello, everyone!

Want to win a Kindle Fire or a Kindle Touch? How about an autographed book compliments of my publisher Fantasy Island Book Publishing?

Fantasy Island Book Publishing is running this exciting competition from now until Memorial Day (or the end of May for those of you who aren't in the US).

How do you enter, I hear you ask? Well, it's super easy! Just click on the 'Win a Free Kindle FIRE or Kindle TOUCH!' Giveaway promo that is situated above this blog entry (where my Emeline and the Mutants book trailer video used to be), follow the prompts there and voila! you're in with the chance to win these awesome prizes!

The Ring of Lost Souls has Arrived!

Well, the teaser has, anyway. This is my second novel published with Fantasy Island Book Publishers and is still a work in progress. However, the first half has been edited and while I work on all the time frame issues in the second half, you can view the teaser version on Amazon for only 99 cents!

Yep, you heard it right - 99 cents! And if you are an Amazon Prime member, you can read it (or Emeline and the Mutants) for FREE!

Here's the blurb of The Ring of Lost Souls:

Larundel - A place plagued by lost souls.
A Ring that has claimed a few of them.
And a women about to collide with a world she had forgotten about.

When an abandoned mental asylum is set to be redeveloped, sinister events unfold in the community surrounding it.

Isobel moves into the neighborhood looking for a new future only to find a past that she never knew belonged to her. Is she is a sane person living in an insane world or a crazy person floating in reality?

Set in an actual abandoned mental asylum on the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia, THE RING OF LOST SOULS is a fast-paced ghost story that weaves together a blend of fantasy, Celtic mythology, urban legend and pure insanity.

Make sure you check back here and let me know what you think! Alternatively, you can let me know on Twitter (@mrszoomby) or on my Facebook page (Rachel Tsoumbakos).

THE RING OF LOST SOULS is available here.

Something New is on the Way....................

..........but I can't say anything yet.

A couple of hints may be in order though. Think ghosts, Celtic Faery tales and old creepy mental asylums.........

If you want to find out more then you will need to keep checking back here. Alternatively, you can follow me on Twitter (@mrszoomby) or 'Like' my Facebook page: Rachel Tsombakos

Check back soon for more information, while you're waiting, you might like to read my latest book: Emeline and the Mutants. Available exclusively on Amazon for only $2.99 or FREE if you are an Amazon Prime member!

Larundel: Inspiration for my latest novel, The Ring of Lost Souls

After the success of my first novel, Emeline and the Mutants, I decided to try something a little different. A little more folkloric and ghostly, in fact. The idea for my latest manuscript, The Ring of Lost Souls, has come from a real place: Larundel.

Larundel is one small section of the larger mental institution called 'Mont Park.' It now lays abandoned on the outskirts of Melbourne, but once it was a leading facility. Lithium was discovered and developed at Larundel by Dr. John Cade. The institution was considered progressive for its time. It even provided its own food and these buildings (being the oldest ones)are still standing, now forming part of the Latrobe University cluster of buildings.

But along with all the scientific developments and advancements in the care of the mentally ill, there are the expected urban legends. These are what I have used to blend my story with a real place.

While I am still editing 'The Ring of Lost Souls,' why not take a look at the latest YouTube video from one of my fave Larundel explorers 'capitainnuzza.' His commentary and music choices always make me smile :-D

Emeline and the Mutants - Free for 24 Hours ONLY!

Recently, I blogged about my publisher Fantasy Island Book Publishers doing an awesome Christmas freebie promo - well my time has come! For today only, you can download my novel, Emeline and the Mutants, straight to your Kindle for FREE.

Make sure you get in quick, because the clock is ticking, and you don't want to miss out on this fabulous chance to read my book. Here are the list of the other books on offer free for today only, so if zombies aren't your scene, there is plenty of variety to chose from! Clicking on the book covers will take you straight to the Amazon purchase page. Enjoy!

Sons of Roland is a group memoir about the birth, life, death and resurrection of The Visitors, a 1960's rock & roll band hailing from Brooklyn. It follows bass player turned music mogul Edward Houlihan as he recounts The Visitors' meteoric rise to greatness, their wild escapades and their tragic demise. It's a story that must be told, and there is no one better to tell it than the Sons of Roland themselves... Forty years of sex, drugs and rock & roll explode to reveal the secrets and mysteries surrounding the most bizarre chapter in the history of rock & roll music, proving that Elvis is Dead, Paul is Alive and so are the Sons of Roland.

Guardian angels are all around us. They watch us, protect us, guide us and some even fall in love with us. And so begins the story of Nena Moore, the teenage girl beloved by an archangel, as she discovers the true meaning of pure and unconditional love.


Deafness is perceived as a culture and not as a disability in the world of "Terps" and interpreters comprise the subculture that can only exist where Deaf and hearing overlap. That's the backdrop, but the story is about a marriage. An interpreter marries the only hearing member of a famous Deaf family. The interpreter has chosen to build her life around the Deaf world, but her husband was born into it and would rather do just about anything else.


Life as a package courier might not be the most glamorous of lifestyles; but for Sakuri it certainly comes at no shortage of thrills and dealings with the city's underbelly. So when an ex-mob boss requests a delivery through Sakuri's work it appears just to be an average job; right down to the attempt on her life to assure that package isn't delivered. 


Silent No More is the story of Elisabeth Bauer, a modern young woman side-tracked by a freak twist in time to 1942-era Munich, Germany, where she unites with a rag-tag group of medical students bent on bringing Germany back from the brink of Hitler’s insanity. On the desperate journey to find a way back into her own world, she begins to see that life is not all black and white, and that sometimes even the most courageous can falter.

Halloween, NaNoWriMo and a New "Friend"

Here in Australia, Halloween is not so much of a big deal - or it wasn't a few years back. When I was a child, we never celebrated, mainly because my mother was religious and she didn't want to encourage the devil. So, of course, as soon as I was given half a chance, I stuck to Halloween like warts stick to witches.

This year I have been lucky enough to score tickets to possibly the best fun that can be had on Halloween eve - Club Fangtasia. This is a True Blood inspired party. There are plenty of Sookie's (myself included), loads of vampires and enough blood on tap to keep those vampires away from the humans. This event is so popular, that it is now sold out. Make sure you pop back here later on next week for all the photos in their gruesome glory!

Once Halloween is over, it is time for NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month to the uninitiated). This time last year I had absolutely no idea that the 80,000 word novel I was about to churn out in 29 days would be be picked up by publishing co-operative Fantasy Island Book Publishing. And such is the joy of the wild abandonment that is NaNoWriMo - anything is possible.

This year's theme is just as dark as last years, 'Emeline and the Mutants,' but nowhere near as bloody. Or so I hope. You see last year's novel was supposed to be urban fantasy, not fantasy/horror. Who knows which way the winds of creativity will flow once I start. I have tentatively titled this novel, 'The Ring of Lost Souls.' It will be based around an evil entity that has been trapped in an abandoned mental asylum. It's only point of contact with the 'real' world is via a ring. Needless to say my main character will be stupid enough to put this ring on and come in contact (read: possessed) with this entity.

Just like last year, my main character has graciously decided to set herself up with a Facebook account. So if you want to follow her life story as it unfolds during the month of November, then make sure you send a friend request to Isobel Claudette Smith.

Happy Halloween and good luck to all my NaNoWriMo friends - may all your plot bunnies be well behaved this year ;-)

Fantasy Island Book Publishing: Scare Our Pants Off Contest

Fantasy Island Book Publishing: Scare Our Pants Off Contest:

Just in time for Halloween, FIBP announces the Scare Our Pants Off Horror Story Contest Deadline: Submit your stories by October 22nd...Maximum word count is 3,000.

Win a copy of Emeline and the Mutants, Black Numbers by Dean Lappi and Harbinger in the Mist by Anabell Martin. ALSO, there is Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars!

It's Been a Promotional Whirlwind of a Week!

Last week I announced that an excerpt from Emeline and the Mutants had been added to the Indie Book List blog. Well, this week that same excerpt has been added to a new blog called eBooks of Horror. It is run by the same fabulous lady, but it's main focus is the very specific genre of horror.

So you can imagine my excitement when I also got the news that my interview with fellow author, Gary Hoover (also from Fantasy Island Book Publishers), was going to publish my first ever author interview on his blog, The Artist's Studio. Make sure you check out not only my interview, but all the other great author interviews on his blog!

And to finish up my week, I have FINALLY started editing my vampire trilogy. It has been sitting there on the shelf collecting vast amounts of dust while I worry about how much needs to be slashed from it to make it readable. The first in the series, Indiana Meets A vampire, was the very first complete novel that I wrote, so while I know I need to be brutal in this edit, it also holds a dear spot in my heart.

Indie Book List Blog

So I got my first official mention on a blog today.

Make sure you check out my Emeline and the Mutants excerpt on the Indie Book List. For those of you who don't know much about my book, the excerpt involves Emeline, her vertically challenged friend, Gwennie, a troll and a riddle. Emeline is finding the riddle rather challenging and decides to deal with the troll in a different manner.

Don't forget to share the link to Indie Book List if you feel inclined :-D

Emeline and the Mutants Book Excerpt On Indie Book List

It's True Blood Time!

So I am a Trubie through and through. I have the blood spattered t shirt a la Sookie in episode 2 of Season 1 to prove it! Which means that as I write this, I am doing so with trembling fingers and a blood pulse that could quite frankly be dangerous. When blog goes live, True Blood will be screening in the States: Season 4, Episode 1. Unfortunately, being here in Australia, I will have to wait quite a bit longer to view this episode. Or watch it illegally and then suffer the guilt of robbing HBO and the actors of their royalties.

But, for a True Blood inspired blog, I thought I would bring up the subject of vampires. Being a writer for True Blood Net, I have had a while to ponder this very matter, and in particular, why True Blood works so well. Is it because of the current infatuation with all things fang related? Or is it the fact that most things HBO touches turns to gold? It's probably a bit of both. But I think it has more has to do with the fact that True Blood is glorfied porn. Blood-spattered vampire porn, to be exact. So many of my friends what this show in secret. They never bring the topic up unless someone else mentions the show first. It's all a bit naughty - even for grown ups. It's completely childish of us, watching it in the dark and behind closed doors. Possibly with a bottle of wine and a whip (or is that just me...) However, that is the one thing that seems to make us love the show even more than the books by Charlaine Harris that the show was based on.

As an author of a book that contains vampires (but not hotties of the Eric Northman persuasion) and *hopefully* enough gore to make HBO and Alan Ball proud, I would like to think that, as adults, we are more mature that that.

But I don't think so ;-P

Happy True Blood Day Fangers! V""V

Social Media for Authors Part 3: Facebook for Beginning Authors

Social Media for Authors Part 3: Facebook for Beginning Authors

Part One: A New Star in the Twitterverse
Part Two: Facebook Fan Page Fanatic

As an author, Facebook can be an important tool. So many people use this social network now that people just as often ask if you have a Facebook page as they ask for your website or blog address. And there is now so many ways in which as author can promote their books with this tool.

So what can you do with your Facebook account?

Facebook under your author name

This may be different to your actual name, and sometimes this is better. While, at first, it may be pretty awesome to have people friend requesting you because you are an author, sometimes you may not want to share everything with strangers. There is an option to categorize everyone into different groups and then prioritize what these groups can and can't see on your Facebook page. Now that you have a Facebook account, it will be invaluable to announce to all your friends when and where books can be purchased, links to blogs and news, as well as little snippets of what is in the pipe works.

Facebook Pages

These are pages that are designed so that people can 'like' them, and therefore follow them. Pages can be set up under your author name, your books name and even your character names. This is another valuable tool where book launches etc. can be announced. These pages can also link into the roleplaying aspect mentioned further on. Take Maggie Stiefvater, fabulous auther of the 'Shiver' series, for example. Her Maggie Stiefvater (It's really me) fan page has a fabulous photo of her characters having a chat on Facebook. It can be viewed here.

Groups

Groups is a function that is not as often used by authors to promote their product. It has a little more functionality than a Facebook page and it can be set to 'secret' if required. It's a great place where your fans can ask you questions and start up topics of discussion about your books.

Roleplaying

This aspect of Facebook is not used a lot by authors. Personally, I have one set up for my current main character, Emeline Hart. It is also against Facebook policy. Why? Because, basically, you are setting up an account for a character, not a real person. It is a fun way to promote your book though. There is a very active roleplaying world on Facebook. It is a great way for fans to follow yet to be written story lines. Also, it is a valuable tool that can be used for character development. By the time you have set up a character account, put a list of their favorite pastimes, movies and books, you as an author, have a much better understanding of your character. Just be prepared for regular culls of roleplaying accounts though. While it is great fun while it lasts, it is heartbreaking when you go to log into your account and it has been disabled.

If you are interested in following some other character pages, try these (just be aware that some are not run by the authors, so their storylines may diverge from the story you are familiar with:

• Indiana Shamira
• Camilla Le Fanu
• Sookie Stackhouse
• Eric Northman

So there are some ideas to get you started in the world of Facebook!



Rachel’s book Emeline and the Mutants is available now on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, coming soon to print!