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The Art of Lying

5/9/2013

 
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Credit: Flickr
There are two truths we take for granted -
1. All our life we are told not to lie.
2. Most books of fiction are believably fabricated lies with a dash of truth thrown in to hold the story together.

Why does that matter to you? Writers of fiction make a living as being resourceful liars. Good examples of this are things that go bump in the night like zombies and witches. They are real, really! I'll try to explain these two twisted truths to the best of my ability so it all becomes clear. We'll start with an obvious choice: witches.Witches are dotted throughout history as an important pillar of authority as a sort of spiritual guide and a medicine man. High priest, shaman, and voodoo priests are all varying titles for the same job, which is typically referred to as a tribal healer: a lofty position held primarily by both women and men. Most often, herbs were used to heal the sick in a very elaborate way to make tribal members think magic was the root cause for their miraculous recoveries. Because of flashy dances and rudimentary slight of hand, the practice of shamanic ways lost traction as Christianity gained momentum. Shamans and their ilk became feared and their ceremonial practices were looked at as barbaric.

This way of thinking sprouted inaccurate tales of people summoning demons and placing curses of unsuspecting folk. Here is were witches and their less talked about counterpart, warlocks, find a comfy home buried beneath the rubble of lies that created their myth. Truth is something others see to fit a particular problem, an ugly truth no one wishes to admit to. Nowadays, writers toy with the built-up mythology surrounding witches to fulfill mystical enchantments other creature cannot do or brew concoctions to fill a need like a love potion.

Did someone say zombie apocalypse? Yes, it is time to move on to an undead subject. Zombie have found a way into the hearts and (clearing throat) minds of people. Where did it all being? It all started in the African and Haitian nations by a little religion called Voodoo. I can't find the video clip I'd seen years ago explaining this phenomenon of zombie making, but I do remember the news anchor talking about an indigenous plant as the main ingredient to create a zombie. Witch doctors would use this plant to drug clients and essentially make them appear dead. Afterwords, when professional doctors proclaimed them dead, those under the drugs influence would rise up again and unconsciously do the witch doctor's bidding. Again, over time we deformed the myth of zombies into what we now know of them.

Getting back to what I originally started with, writers take something true and spins it until only a fraction of the original tale exists to keep his or her story based in reality. Some of what I told you above are loose interpretations of how each creature got its start to emphasize how truth begets a lie. Fibbing makes a writer money, rooting a story of fiction with real situations creates a good book. Its all in how you look at things. When Americans first created their flag did they keep the same colors as the United Kingdom's Union Jack as a slap in the face when proclaimed independence? I don't know, but it sounds good.

Last - But Never Done

3/23/2013

 
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Welcome back again! Our featured author, Adam Santo, has finished up his blog series about creating the perfect book. It's not an end to his writing, just a beginning. Help him along by liking, following, or visiting Adam on his fan page to show how much you appreciate him.
He has done a fantastic job of condensing considerable knowledge down to a brief introduction to writing. Find books written by Adam Santo on our author page here and read some of the excerpts there, too.
We wish him the best of luck in his writing career. May our partnership in printing continue as long as the written word is being read.


Design By Humans

Another Year of Splendor Gone

12/28/2012

 
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What a year it has been for all of us. The world almost came to an end (again), our faith in Wall Street sits on a fiscal cliff like lemmings waiting to take that final step over the edge, an outcry over SOPA went out to the masses, and Facebook tried the stockmarket.  We had a run for our money in 2012. Now that the Mayan calendar has run out, what will 2013 bring us?
On a personal note I accomplished a few goals. Two more books went out with my name on them - Ocean's Fury (a tale from your own view of events about a cruise ship in peril) and Temperature: Bitter Cold. They are available at any online bookstore along with Temperature: Dead and Rising.
I also had a small book signing locally to kick off the release of Temperature: Bitter Cold with some of the proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (It's never too late to donate. Contribute directly or purchase a book to help out). I also made time to print out fanfare for the coming novel - Get quality work at VistaPrint http://vistaprint.tellapal.com/a/clk/34Bhzd .
The holidays would not be the same without family there to support you. I had a great support team this year, which allowed me to spend way too much time in my office to finish writing instead of partaking in routine events around the house. So, to make up for it I stopped blogging, making notes for the next manuscript, and killed off the majority of time I spend on social networks promoting my work to spend quality time here in my home. Time management isn't my friend and Santa forgot to gift wrap me some. I hope to fix that in the coming year by spreading my time evenly between family, a paying job, and my passion to write. To that end, I want to wish everyone Happy Holidays and good tidings for the coming year.

Microsoft Store

The Sweet Sounds of a Click

10/14/2012

 
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Having problems swimming with the big sharks through the cedar trees?? Find a niche in self-publishing. Recently, our author, Adam Santo, posted a few blogs about getting published. Please show him some support by commenting on either blog. One is found on his personal website, while the other is on our WordPress account. He will send you down the publishing path based on his own experiences. Follow him down his short path of creating art out of words, breathing life into print. A manuscript is only the beginning. Read on to see where Adam's footwork took him.

MX iTunes, App Store, iBookstore, and Mac App Store

What's in a Sequel?

9/21/2012

 
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Guest Blogger today is Adam Santo. Please give him a warm welcome.

I had a great time throwing this second novel together with the  scraps of thought I'd haphazardly scrawled on anything I could find - now littering my desk - to piece it all into one word document. My final book in this trilogy will be just as amazing as the first two with one exception, It will be final.
Soon, the picture above will have a baby sister (fingers crossed for an October release). This one gestated a tiny bit too long and ended up coming out much larger for it. Wasn't one enough? No! No, it wasn't. I wanted to squeeze as much of the story I could into three books. I've got five more manuscripts on the table to be typed and printed.  I spent almost a year for marketing the first book by myself when time should have been put into writing. It will be the one greatest thing I do this year - not bombarding the masses with endless plugs for Temperature: Bitter Cold. Selling my first novel taught me that.
One other thing I neglected to research was a small guarantee to bookstores if they picked up my book and it didn't fly off shelves (not included with my first novel). Lacking this one service might have been my downfall. Every store out there carries a copy online. Physical selves, not so such.
When a final date comes my way for the book release, I will share it while the ink is still fresh. After that? I'm off o write more novels. A few short stories might pop-up here or there. Keep an eye out for those, too. Until I post again, and I do plan to post more, please check out my current fundraiser for curing Parkinson's.  

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Cover of new novel.
Microsoft Store
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