MAGNA'S PLEA

 I'm very excited today to have  

Cherie Reich 

as my guest. 

She's answered a few questions in regards to her  release of  

Magna's Plea 

a free download

and her upcoming debut novel Reborn book one of the Fate Challenges

You're an editor, writer, Vice President of Valley Writer's and a member of several writing groups, was this always your goal? Please tell us a little about your writing journey and current goals.

I never thought I would do anything with books beyond read them. In high school and my first two years of college, my goal was to be an opera singer until I changed majors to Classics (Ancient Greeks/Romans). When I got my library job, I considered getting a Masters in Library Science, but then I started writing (beyond online roleplaying and fanfiction) because I had ideas and time at the new full-time day job. I'd love to eventually make enough money with my writing to supplement my library pay or even be a full-time writer, but that could take awhile.

What is speculative fiction, what made you choose it, and what are your goals for this or other genre's. 

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term for fantastical genres such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, and alternate history. Speculative fiction focuses on the question: what if. I have a tendency to jump between writing horror, fantasy, and science fiction, so it made sense that I was more of a speculative fiction author than just a fantasy author, etc. I have quite a few stories planned that involve speculative fiction, although I'd eventually like to branch out and write a few contemporaries and even mysteries.

You're offering your short story, Magna's Plea, as a free download. Is this part of a marketing plan for your book coming out in 2014 – Reborn, book one of the Fate Challenges. Is there a plan behind your 'madness'?

Yes, having Magna's Plea for free is part of my marketing plan for Reborn. In Magna's Plea, the reader will get a sense for the world in The Fate Challenges as well as be able to read a sneak peek of Reborn, which is the prologue. If the reader likes what she sees, then she'll be more likely to add Reborn on Goodreads or sign up for my newsletter. At least that's the plan. Plus, Magna's Plea is only 5500 words, so I feel a bit weird making people pay $0.99 for it, so free is an additional bonus. Right now, it's all about spreading the word, making connections, and gaining a few new fans here and there.


Tell us about Reborn and The Fate Challenges.

To save a kingdom, a prophetess must challenge Fate.

On the day of Yssa's death and rebirth, the god Apenth selected her as the Phoenix Prophetess.

Sea serpents and gods endanger the seventeen-year-old prophetess's journey and sour the omens. Yssa is cursed instead of blessed, and her duties at the Temple of Apenth prove it. She spends her days reading dusty scrolls, which does nothing to help her forget the boy she left at home. The ferryman's son won't leave Yssa alone for two grains of sand either and is a distraction she can't predict.

When visions of her parents' murders consume her, Yssa races across an ocean to stop the future. If she can't change Fate, then she'll refuse to be the Phoenix Prophetess any longer. Fate, however, has other plans for her and the kingdom.

Reborn is a 90,000+ word YA Epic Fantasy novel and the first book in The Fate Challenges. It was also my first novel I wrote back in 2009. The idea for Reborn came from a roleplaying character I had in a Harry Potter RPG. She was stillborn, but her father revived her. From then on, she had the gift of prophecy. I liked the idea, but I wanted to take a character with that premise and create my own world; thus, Yssa and the Kingdom of Amora was born. I knew from day one that The Fate Challenges would be a trilogy because of Yssa's character growth evolves well to fit three novels, and it's my goal to have at least the first drafts completed of Reforged (Book Two) and Redestined (Book Three) finished by May when Reborn releases.

MAGNA'S PLEA by CHERIE REICH

An Excerpt:

Amora

12-13 Days of Luquiry

Year 1717 AUC

Tendrils of smoke swirled heavenward. The smoldering stench reached Princess Magna at the top of the palace’s northern tower. She wrinkled her nose at the unpleasant odor, yet it still smelled better than the filth plaguing the besieged seven-hilled city.

She’d vowed to protect Amora. Her heart shattered a little more each day at the devastation afflicting her kingdom.

The once grassy and flower-filled plain sprouted dust plumes from the trampling feet. As the sun neared the western horizon, a bloody hue washed over the battlefield. Tiny, metallic dins and men’s shouts rang out. Magical bursts flashed in the sky like Thean’s lightning, beautiful and deadly. A wooden catapult hurled a human-sized stone slab into the city’s wall. Magna jerked away from the opened window she stood before, as if the object had struck her instead. Rock crumbled from the impact, but the barrier held.

When the reddish orb sank lower, the fighting ceased. War’s chaos parted into two orderly sides, and soldiers crossed the field to gather their dead.

She brushed a shaky hand over her cheeks. Tears dampened her face, and she struggled to turn away from the battle before her. Almost two months had passed since the Apenthans had begun their attack Amora. How much longer could the Amorans—she—stay safe behind their impenetrable wall?

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To download this short story for free: Amazon / Nook / iTunes / Kobo / Smashwords / Goodreads

Read online at Wattpad

Add to Goodreads

 

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About the Author: A self-proclaimed bookworm, Cherie Reich is a speculative fiction writer, freelance editor, book blogger, and library assistant living in Virginia. Her short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies, and her books include the horror series Nightmare, a space fantasy novella trilogy titled Gravity, and the fantasy series The Foxwick Chronicles. She is Vice President of Valley Writers and a member of the Virginia Writers Club and Untethered Realms.

Her debut YA Epic Fantasy novel Reborn, book one in The Fate Challenges, will be released on May 23, 2014.

Website / Blog / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Wattpad

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This Friday, the first day of November 

I am thankful for early Christmas presents,

for the NANO challenge that is all about focus and WRITING!

and for the beginning of a holiday season that's all about family!

Wishing you all a great, great beginning to the 

WRITING SEASON!

A SPLATTERED HORROR

TRICK OR TREAT!

 My final victim
Mike Lombardo 
Mike is a writer, independent filmmaker, and FX artist.
His film company is
Reel Splatter Productions.
Mike appeared several times as a guest on my 

Blog Talk Radio Show 

back in the day, and was always a favorite of the listeners.

Therefore he was given the prime slot for his 
Bwahahaha Halloween Interview
Halloween.

Oh, and just in case you're looking for
a little humor and a lot of fun
check out Penny and Patches
over on Gary Pennick's Blog
Klahanie! 
Gary promises something special around 9 EST!

Enjoy!

You're the last person to die in your favorite horror movie, what's the name of the movie and how do you die?

I am Bronson, a crazed Vietnam vet who rules a clan of sadistic homeless people who live in a junkyard. My head is knocked clean off my body by a large co2 tank that has its valve busted off by a young homeless kid I am trying to kill for no apparent reason. The movie is Street Trash.

In a remake of one of the Friday the 13th movies– you play Jason – what would be your method of execution for all your victims?

I would force them to sit through the horrid 2009 remake of Friday The 13th and let them realize that everything they loved as a child is being raped and rehashed again and again ad nauseum until they finally give in and stab out their own eyes with a screwdriver (which I may or may not provide).

In a remake of Halloween, you are one of the victims – describe the scene and your grizzly death.

Since it’s the remake, it would be a Rob Zombie movie so…We open with a series of flashy, annoyingly hyperactive cuts of old Halloween costumes in a shop. An ironic pop song is blaring as I am stalked through the dark aisles of the store by an ex WWF wrestler turned Michael Myers, utilizing famous and overused shots from every classic horror film in the last 30 years. I hide behind a row of costumes, thinking I’m safe. I listen and hear nothing, as I step out of my hiding place, the audience groans as Michael Myers appears behind me and they turn off the movie grumbling about how all horror flicks are the same.

In the Walking Dead, you and another character have survived the zombies, so far. You're on the move, but the individual with you is a wimpy scaredy cat, but oh so hot, still they keep drawing attention to you and your position and it's almost certain they will get you killed. What do you do - leave them for the zombies and save yourself? Or take pity on them, because their hotness makes up for their stupidity, and teach them not to be a wimp? Or do you have another solution.

I would flay them. What is left of their corpse can be used to distract the zombies, and their pelt can not only keep me warm but also help me satisfy any carnal urges this terrible new post apocalyptic world gives me.

You're headed to a Masquerade party as your favorite horror character and at midnight, you are transformed into your character until sunrise. Who is this character and how many victims would you claim by sunrise?

I am Henry, a sociopathic serial killer. I would only kill a few people, chosen entirely at random and utilizing completely different methods of execution and disposal to trick the authorities into believing the deaths were at the hands of several different people. Just before sunrise I would kill my pseudo love interest who also happens to be the one thing left that could possibly redeem my wretched soul. She confesses her love to me. I respond by leaving her dismembered carcass in a suitcase on the side of the interstate.

Share with us your scariest ghost story – or nightmare – or tell us what scares you the most and why.

I have a fear of murky water that is higher than knee deep. The idea of something lurking just beneath the surface of the water and not being able to see it is absolutely terrifying to me. Sea monsters are the coolest monsters.

Share with us your favorite Halloween experience, costume, and candy.

My favorite Halloween experience was in 2006. I did a huge Christmas set up outside of my house complete with stockings filled with still dripping severed legs and human skin ornaments dangling from barbed wire strands strung with Christmas lights. I sat in front of the house dressed as zombie Santa and sang Christmas songs to the children as they approached and asked them what they wanted for Christmas. The parents did not find this nearly as entertaining as I did and I got more than one irate family complaining about it. I also had several parents later tell me that their child is now afraid of Santa. This pleased me greatly as the idea of an omnipotent, voyeuristic being that breaks into your house one night a year to give children candy and toys scares the hell out of me. For some reason there is a strange recurrent theme of home invasion in modern holiday tradition.

The best candy is of course eyeball gum, let’s be serious here, everyone knows that.

Mike Lombardo is an independent filmmaker/FX artist. He also hates everything, except for stuff that rules of course. His film company, Reel Splatter Productions, aims to “put the laughter back in slaughter” and specializes in splatter/comedy. You should check them out at www.ReelSplatter.com and buy a copy of their DVD compilation of short films, “Suburban Holocaust: Reel Splatter volume 1” seriously, that would be awesome! 


His newest short, “The Stall” is scheduled for release this Halloween and is the tale of a young pizza shop employee who finds himself trapped in a bathroom stall during the Lovecraftian apocalypse.

When he is not splattering things with fake blood or making people’s pizzas at his day job, he occasionally writes short stories. You can find his absolutely disgusting horror/erotica story “Appetites” in Strange Sex published by StrangeHouse Books (www.StrangeHouseBooks.com) and his snarky and very nihilistic McDonald’s zombie apocalypse story, “Play Place” in Zombie! Zombie! Brain Bang! Also by Strangehouse Books. His latest story, “I’m Dreaming of a White Doomsday” will be appearing in the Christmas anthology, A Very StrangeHouse Christmas, published by you guessed it, StrangeHouse Books.  

REEL SPLATTER PRODUCTIONS

MIKE LOMBARDO FACEBOOK

The STALL is now up and live! http://youtu.be/sZDu8m4mUk

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Mike is offering a CD of Suburban Holocaust and a copy of the poster art for The Stall in a giveaway. All you have to do is leave a comment and you'll be entered in the drawing, just be sure to leave contact information, like an email address!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!