EPICon 2010

Last week was EPICon 2010 - a convention that's held in a different city each year by EPIC - the Electronically Published Internet Connection.

Unlike the rest of the conventions I attend, Epic's is strictly for e-book publishers and authors. No fans. (Well, writers are always fans too so I'm not exactly telling the truth, but you know what I mean.) :P So it can be a great venue for picking up new tips on marketing, making connections, networking, doing pitches, etc.

This year's convention was held in New Orleans!



I got to walk around the French Quarter for a couple of hours and we also had a boat ride set up through the convention aboard the converted Mississippi River Boat Natchez.



While you would think that only a few ours out in the outside world I would not be able to take a lot of pics, I'd have to point out you'd be dead wrong. I have shutter finger big time! If you're interested in taking a peek at the photos, you can see them here.

While a lot of the topics discussed were a lot of the same ones we've had before, many of the guests themselves were vibrant and new and gave us new insights, which was fab. Some personal favorites were: Deidre Knight, visiting as ebook author more than agency owner (she does some nice off the beaten path romances - I very much enjoyed the Butterfly Tattoo, which she won an EPIC E-book Award for that weekend! Congrats!); Deborah LeBlanc, paranormal author and Cajun to the core (she was a giant bundle of concentrated energy! Very inspiring! She will catch up to James Patterson yet!) and also heads up www.literacyinc.com; Holly Jacobs, enthusiastic, fun and made the mistake of sitting near me for the banquet (we had a blast talking about Wii Fit agonies, heh heh), and several others.

Totally top on my list, however, was Forensic Anthropologist Maria Allaire. I'd been weeping to myself as I would not be in Dallas for a lecture on forensic anthropology as I would be out of town yet got one anyway! YES! *pumps fist* Dr Allaire belongs to the Louisiana Repository for Unidentified and Missing People, which supplies services for the state to try to identify the identities of remains for which the police are not able to get a name for through usual investigation. Her passion for her work shone through the entire double panel. I had my geek on so bad! We learned the most interesting stuff about maggots, their habits and life cycles. High speed velocity impacts vs blunt force trauma vs sharp trauma, differences between antemortem, perimortem, and postmortem and how they can tell that's what injuries are. She brought props, she brought slides, I was bouncing in my seat and writing like mad. SQUEEEEEE!!!!

Of course I got to see many old friends and made some new ones, which is always great! A lot of sickness was going around, which was somewhat of a bummer, but I mostly came out unscathed on that front. *knock on wood* Was totally jealous of some of the other peeps who got there a few days early and did tours like mad. Scums! Heh heh.

Hope next year is even better! (Yeah, no pressure, guys. Hee!)

Read an E-book Week and Free E-books!

Hi,all!


The time has come around once more for Read and E-book Week. E-book awareness has been rising in the last few years. And you all can cash in big time with some free books!

Don't know what an e-book is? Would like some info? EbookWeek.com has set up a page to discuss what they are, the numerous ways they can be read, free computer program readers, resources and more.

Zumaya Publications has also jumped into the act by offering several of their titles for FREE for the week! One of them is my first book In the Service of Samurai . So if you've not given in to temptation before to check it out, this might be the time!

Here are all the free books Zumaya has place for the week so far:

In the Service of Samurai by Gloria Oliver (YA Fantasy)

Synergy by M D Benoit (Science Fiction)

Kingdom of Dreams and Shadows by David Lynn Anderson (Fantasy)

Milky Way Marmalade by Michael DiCerto (Science Fiction Comedy ala Hitchhiker's)

The Dream Ender by Dorien Grey (Thriller)



So how about checking out what e-books are all about and getting some free reads too! Should be a blast!

Tell your friends!

Have a good one!

Gloria Oliver
Unveiling the Fantastic
www.gloriaoliver.com

Dark Lullaby - Guest Blog Entry - Mayra Calvani

At a trendy Turkish tavern one Friday night, astrophysicist Gabriel Diaz meets a mysterious young woman. Captivated by her beauty as well as her views on good and evil, he spends the next several days with her. Soon, however, he begins to notice a strangeness in her--her skin's abnormally high temperature, her obsession with milk products, her child-like and bizarre behavior as she seems to take pleasure in toying with his conscience. The young woman, Kamilah, invites him to Rize, Turkey, where she claims her family owns a cottage in the woods. In spite of his heavy workload and the disturbing visions and nightmares about his sister's baby that is due to be born soon, Gabriel agrees to go with her.

But nothing, not even the stunning splendour of the Black Sea, can disguise the horror of her nature. In a place where death dwells and illusion and reality seem as one, Gabriel must now come to terms with his own demons in order to save his sister's unborn child, and ultimately, his own soul…

Excerpt:

"Who's that woman?" Gabriel demanded.
"I don't know."
"Don't tell me you don't know. I saw the way she looked at you--the way you looked at her."
"She's just an old woman, a silly superstitious old woman."
Gabriel was sure Kamilah lied. He grasped her by the shoulders and turned her to him. "Why was she afraid of you?"
Kamilah laughed, her cheeks flushed. "Listen to what you're saying. Why would she be afraid of me?"
"I don't know. But it's a fact that she gasped when she saw you, that she was afraid."
She shrugged. "She must have mistaken me for somebody else."
"But why did you look at her like that? I saw your face."
She scowled. "I don't know what you're talking about. Obviously you misread my face." She wrestled away from his grip. "I want to go home."
"Home?"
"Yes, home. To the forest. To the cottage." She stomped her foot and kept going, leaving him behind.
Craning his neck, Gabriel looked back toward the scarf stand but the old woman was gone. "Damn!" he muttered. He trotted after Kamilah.
Kamilah started running, her shrill, childish laugh defying him. Never stopping, she ran all the way to the mountain trail. With the heavy backpack and his sore leg muscles, Gabriel had a hard time keeping up with her. People turned to stare at them. Desperate to catch up with Kamilah, Gabriel clashed into a man as he crossed the street. Gabriel muttered a curse. He felt like strangling Kamilah. Her erratic behavior was wearing thin.
"Wait!" he shouted when he saw her going up the trail.
She glanced back over her shoulder and flashed him a feral grin, her flushed cheeks contrasting deeply with her brilliant eyes. "You cannot catch me, you cannot catch me!" She sang loudly in monotone, between gasps. "You cannot catch me, you cannot catch me!"
As Gabriel ran after her the dull pain on the right side of his ribcage came back. He halted, panting. He leaned forward with his hands on his slightly bent knees and his eyes shut to concentrate on the ache. Massaging the painful area, he made an effort to regain his breath. When he looked again to the trail Kamilah had vanished into the woods. The hell with her. If she thought he would run after her and play her little hunting games, she was mistaken. He would very calmly find his own way back to the cottage. He reached into his backpack for the bottle of water and took a big gulp. After resting for several minutes the pain lessened and he felt better. In the deep chambers of his brain an alarm went off--for the first time the pain in his torso began to seriously worry him. He didn't think it had anything to do with indigestion or any exotic virus or bacteria. Words like tumor and cancer flashed through his mind but he tried to shove them away. He couldn't think about this now. Once back in Baltimore he would go to a doctor and have a complete examination.
He'd been hiking for about an hour when a sound came from deep within the woods. Gabriel stopped, his head turning to the source. The sound was familiar… the distant shrill murmur of children playing. As suddenly as the sound had appeared, it vanished. Goose bumps rose on his arms. Had he imagined it? He massaged the sides of his head while drops of sweat trickled down his back. The burning sun and the humidity didn't help clear his mind. After taking a few deep breaths, he continued his way up the trail.
About a quarter of an hour later he heard the sound again. This time it appeared closer. Gabriel stopped and peered into the woods. He closed his eyes and concentrated on identifying the sound. Yes… the shrill murmur of small children playing. Ridiculous but true. Gabriel decided to investigate. Once under the canopy of the trees, moist coolness and shadows enveloped him. He welcomed the feeling and continued deeper into the woods, the ground soft and mushy under his boots. After a few minutes it struck him the sound wasn't getting closer or farther. Even though it was distant, it seemed to be everywhere, all around him. Tilting back his head, he stared at the dense canopy of trees. Soft beams of light filtered down. He turned around slowly, light-headed and somewhat dizzy. For an instant he felt himself floating as the distant murmur of children caressed his mind.
"Kamilah!" he shouted. "Kamilah!" He stopped turning and stood immobile, listening to his own heavy breathing, to his thudding heart. "Kamilah, I know you're here somewhere! Stop playing games!" He scanned the surroundings. Something about the tree trunks caught his eye. Their surface wasn't smooth as normal tree trunks. Lines marred the surface, natural lines which seemed to come from within the bark itself.
The lines, as if carved by a human hand, appeared to be forming something. As realization dawned on Gabriel he gasped and stumbled back, nearly falling on the ground. He looked around him, terrified. Each tree trunk portrayed a different face… a baby face, crying, the mouth wide open in anguished misery. The shrill murmur of children became louder than ever. And then Gabriel understood it, heard it clearly. This wasn't the murmur of children playing. This was the sorrowful crying of infants. He ran back toward the trail as fast as his legs would allow him.

Links:

For more on Dark Lullaby, readers may go to my website, www.MayraCalvani.com. My blog is www.mcalvani.livejournal.com

For the book trailer, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZgbg5wk5Ug

I also have a book review blog and a newsletter:

The Dark phantom Review, www.thedarkphantom.wordpress.com .

The Fountain Pen, www.thefountainpennewsletter.blogspot.com.

For my children’s books, the links are:

www.mayrassecretbookcase.com

www.mayrassecretbookcase.blogspot.com

E-book Week March 4th through 10th

As my books are both in print and e-book, I figured I should help out with Read an E-Book Week!
The Madten Authors group will be having a contest during this week where visitors can read excerpts and by answering a question for each one in the comments section, will be elligle to win a that E-book for free!

For those not in the know, E-Books come in a variety of formats and can be easily read on your PC, Laptop, PDA, and even dedicated E-Book hand held devices.

My main publisher, Zumaya Publications will also be doing a buy 1 get 1 free promotion on the E-book version of their available titles and I will post that when I get the info here as well.

Here's the Zumaya Press Release on this:

More than 30 talented authors have joined forces with their publisher, Zumaya Publications, to double your ebook fun during Read an eBook Week, March 4-10.

Between March 4 and March 12, buy one ebook from any of those authors and get another absolutely free. You can choose another book by the same author or mix and match, and have your pick of science fiction mysteries, thrillers, fantasy, paranormal romance, non-fiction and even books for kids.

"This is an opportunity for us," author M. D. Benoit says, "to show that we believe that ebooks are a fun way to read and that readers have the choice of more than one medium when they buy our books."

Take advantage of this special sale, during Read an ebook week only, by visiting http://www.zumayapublications.com/bookstore.html anytime after midnight March 4 and purchasing any of the superb Zumaya titles listed. Then, send a quick note to readanebook@zumayapublications.com from the email you used to make your purchase with your free ebook choice, and we’ll send it to you—simple as that. There’s no limit to how many times you can make a purchase, or how many titles you can buy at one time. Get one. Get them all. Enjoy.

“Zumaya Publications has a book for just about everyone’s taste. We’re delighted to give readers the chance to sample the work of these fine writers,” noted Zumaya Executive Editor Elizabeth K. Burton.

Zumaya Publications LLC is a trade publisher of fine, award-winning fiction and select nonfiction headquartered in Austin, Texas. Zumaya books are published in trade paperback and ebook formats. For the complete catalog of Zumaya titles, visit the website at http://www.zumayapublications.com.

Good Luck All!

Book Review - Embraced by the Shadows

Embraced by the Shadows
by Mayra Calvani


Premise: Alana has always had a fascination for the supernatural and macabre. Then she lands what seems to be a dream job, manager of a new restaurant/club called La Cueva del Vampiro (The Cave of the Vampire), with all the supernatural trappings she could ever desire. It is there, while juggling the new job, the usual clashes with her roommate, and a few issues that haunt her from her past, that Alana spies a man that appears like something from one of her recent and very vivid dark dreams.

Review: I think the setting is one of the most innovative and entrancing things about this book. Imagine - Vampires in a sunny, tropical island! Though unfortunately there is not as much description of the unusual location of San Juan, Puerto Rico as I might have liked (I have my fingers crossed this will be fixed for the print version! :P) there's still enough to give the reader a feel of a different place for these dark encounters. Alana's fall into darkness, and her eventual realization that it was never to be truly of her own choice are nicely done. Add in the extra mystery of her mother's veiled death years ago, the interesting cast of characters, and bids for immortality and you're in for an interesting ride. ***1/4! (This title is currently only available as an E-book)