So
I've been editing The Vampire of Rome, and I'm wondering about the
ending. Should I have everything wrap up all happy, or at least as
happy as one can get while fighting the forces of evil? Or should I
end it with another cliff hanger? I'm not sure, which way makes for a
better story. Of course, I could go full- George RR Martin and kill
everything. Options abound and I have to admit, I'm still conflicted.
How about a nice book trailer while I think about this?
I'll
work it out, and you'll be able to read The Vampire of Rome on/about
the 15th of October. I should be setting up a pre-order
option on Smashwords shortly, as well as on Amazon. I'll be sure to
tweet and FB about it once that is all set up.
Speaking
of monsters both internal and external, let me introduce you to
Phillip Stevens and his latest Novella Reality Seed. Take it away
Phillip -
 |
| Reality Seed |
Blurb:
With
the discovery of alternate dimensions, a new perspective of the
universe has allowed incredible technological innovation and amazing
philosophical advances. But a monster is lurking within the human
psyche, threatening consciousness itself, and the future of
everything will hinge on a soldier lost in reality, a woman fighting
for love, and an expedition trying to survive at the edges of the
universe. Reality Seed: Where the truth lies.
 |
| Reality Seed |
Excerpt:
The
Closed Gate
She
walked into a large oval room with smooth metal walls and a curved
ceiling. Crates of various sizes were piled neatly around the sides,
and a wide, black metal case, almost a metre long with a flashing
lock-mechanism in its side, hung from the ceiling to the left of her.
Then her eyes
fastened on an object at the centre of the room — a steel
sarcophagus encrusted with circuits and extruding cables, with an
opaque glass screen in its front. A nano-tank. Two marines were busy
disconnecting the various cables coupling the tank to the Vector,
when a third entered, saluting Keeves. “The
sled is prepped, Sergeant.”
His voice
was a coarse drone through his helmet comm. “I
can route power when the tank is in position.”
“Why
isn’t it already?” Keeves said, spinning to confront the two men
still disconnecting the last of the N-tank. “The enemy is at the
gate, you dogs! Hurry the fuck up!”
They
lifted the tank from its berth
with mechanically enhanced arms, and hauled it onto the pad at the
room’s centre. Arelis admired the tank’s intricate controls and
sleek curves. The activation grid was right in front of her. A simple
procedure and Avril Sonota would be on the irreversible path to
consciousness, but if Arelis did nothing… what would happen then?
A
low moan sounded as the stern wall of the cargo module folded apart
to reveal a long silver tunnel stretching off along the length of the
Vector.
“Get away
from that tank, Exo-Tech,” Keeves snapped, startling her. “I
presume you’d rather not be crushed.”
Panels
in the floor slid aside and a flat cargo-sled ascended on a pulse of
hoptocrons. It rotated ninety degrees until it was facing the tunnel.
“Get both
items loaded!” Keeves barked. “I want them secure and ready for
transport in twenty segs!”
“Who’s
in there?” Arelis asked, keeping her voice as neutral as possible.
“I
have no idea,” Keeves said, as a pair of heavy mechanical arms
descended from the ceiling, gripping the N-tank and hauling it up
onto the sled.
A
marine lowered the black metal case from the ceiling and clamped it
to the back, next to the tank, then climbed aboard with the other
two. Keeves pointed at a seat, his eyes narrow. “Sit,
Exo-Tech.”
Arelis
climbed up alongside the three marines and rested the back of her
head against the hard metal of the nano-tank. Where it went, Lexi
Sonota would follow, bringing a terrible vengeance with her. Arelis
shivered. Thinking about it made her uncomfortable, like Lexi was
there, watching her, examining her.
“Power’s
fluctuating,” Keeves said, reaching past Arelis to manipulate the
control panel. “The level’s good, all the diagrams check out.”
He glanced at something over her shoulder and his eyes grew wide.
“It’s here!”
The
marines opened fire as one. Arelis felt the flash of heat, saw plasma
burn white trails across her vision, and ducked down in her seat,
covering her head with her arms. After several segs, the firing
stopped, and she leaned forward to see around the bulk of the N-tank.
The metal floor of the hold was glowing red beneath flickering
puddles of residual plasma, and within the flames a charred form lay
curled up on the floor. Then Arelis saw a darkness growing in the
fire —
specks of black that blossomed like inkblots on paper.
“Start
the sled!” Keeves shouted, slamming his visor down.
A
great surge of darkness broke over the flames, dousing them and
hitting Keeves head on. The marine Sergeant barely kept his balance
as it poured over him, wrenching the weapon from his hand with
snaking tendrils of black. Keeves roar of rage gurgled to an end as
the substance slid through the ventilator in his visor and into his
suit. He fell to the ground with a crash, his body shaking as
darkness advanced over his helmet and down his chest. It rippled
gently, Keeves’ body tensed, then lay still. Arelis gripped the
sled with her hands, trying to focus on the cool metal —
the solid, logical reality amongst all this — but she couldn’t
avoid the sight before her.
A
blackened skeletal figure stood at the centre of the room, wreathed
in smoke and dripping molten flesh onto the sizzling metal at its
feet. It was nothing more than bone and roasting muscle, white teeth
and empty eyes, but she knew it had once been Slev.
Lights
flashed on along the length of the tunnel, and Arelis felt the sled
rise on a swell of hoptocrons. The marines resumed firing on the
Hive, but the darkness was soaking up the plasma while slithering
forms raced out from Slev’s
feet, gliding across the floor like the serpents she’d seen
recorded in the historical index.
The
sled seemed to
move in slow motion as a snake of darkness reached them, writhing up
a marine’s leg and encircling his body. A squawk of pain sounded
over his helmet comm as the darkness constricted, crushing the armour
plate like it was aluminium foil and compressing the man’s body
into a grotesque shape. The marine nearest to her got to his feet,
only to be pierced through the chest by a blade of pure darkness, and
then Slev was next to Arelis, grasping her forearm tightly with
blistering fingers as it climbed onto the accelerating sled. The last
marine hesitated, and a loop of ebony streaked from beneath the sled,
encircled his neck and violently yanked him from his seat, where he
careened off the wall and disappeared behind them in a shower of
sparks.
Arelis
felt sick, and looking at Slev made the feeling worse. His ribs were
shining yellow through the cooked flesh of his torso, and his face
was a bloody mess, with lips burned away to reveal a cadaverous grin.
Black threads were leaking from his eye sockets and weaving over his
frail body, connecting and strengthening the scorched muscle and
bone. “You
should be dead,” she said, her voice sounding distant to her own
ears.
|
| Reality Seed |
Author Links:
|
| Reality Seed |
Additional Purchase Links:
|
| Reality Seed |
Reality Seed Q & A
Main
Character's motivations
Reality
Seed is a trilogy of novellas with three primary characters, so there
are varied motivations, but they do share a desire for truth and a
need to find something that’s been lost. Skedic Vom, the
protagonist of ‘Glyphein’, is seeking forgotten memories,
specifically those concerning a family he no longer remembers. In
‘The Closed Gate’, Lexi Sonota searches for the answer to a
mystery at the edge of the solar system while her sick wife lies
dying back on Earth. And in ‘Infinitesimus’, Arelis Flim is
thrown into a situation which demands she find a solution to a
seemingly unstoppable evil. Basically they’re all clinging to life
and sanity in an impermanent world. Yeah, just like you and me.
What
is MC's secret strengths/ weaknesses
Skedic
is a strong, capable fighter who has lost everything but won’t give
up, and this stubborn streak could save or damn him. Lexi is a highly
trained cyborg with a keen mind and a strong sense of duty, but her
love for her wife could compromise everything. Arelis is clever and
resourceful, but, as a noncombatant, she is ill prepared for the
horrifying events in her future and will need a little help.
Any
philosophical issues in this story? If so how do you address them,
how does MC live and over come them?
The
main philosophical drive of the story involves the concept of reality
— an ultimately real and solid plane we can stand upon and know to
be true. I think it’s natural to build a narrative as we grow older
so as to make the world intelligible and provide purpose, whether
it’s religion, philosophy, or some artistic or poetic
interpretation. There is a difference, however, between the universe
we are perceiving and the definitions which we use to understand it.
In Reality Seed, I’ve presented these different perspectives with a
multidimensional universe that exists within the mind, meaning that
the world acts differently according to the individuals understanding
of it. If this sounds heavy, be assured I’ve veiled these deep
concepts in violence and adventure!
Any
offbeat obscure or 80s references?
Nah.
When
did you start to write this one and why?
I graduated with a BA
in English Philosophy and decided I should do something a bit
serious. I had an idea for a SciFi story set in the blasted remains
of Africa, so I began ‘Glyphein’ as a serial and released it on a
web magazine. By the time I’d finished it, I realized it was
connected to my main project, ‘Captain Wizzlebeaks’, so I wrote a
sequel, ‘The Closed Gate’, and published them both independently
on eBook while I finished the final part. ‘Infinitesimus’ was a
nightmare to write. It took me over two years to finish, but I think
it ties the trilogy together well.
What's
next in this series or in your next book?
The
Reality Seed Compendium is a prequel to my next series, ‘Captain
Wizzlebeaks’. I’ve been working on Wizzlebeaks for ten years and
have completed three drafts. The next one will be the last.
Preview
of your next book?
My
next series, ‘Captain Wizzlebeaks’, continues the ‘Reality
Seed’ story centuries later. The last survivors of a distant
reality are travelling through the dimensions aboard their ship, the
TCS Crow, as they search for an end to the Hive — a parasitic evil
that brings damnation to all it touches. Julius Wizzlebeaks, Captain
of the Crow, has other priorities, however. His wife and children
were killed when the Hive destroyed his world, and now he seeks for
them in other dimensions, other realities, all the while knowing
that, according to the Laws of Dimensional Relativity, they cannot
exist. With the fate of all realities at stake, Wizzlebeaks must
wager the future of everything against the losses of his past.
Fortunately, he’ll have help…
When
will it be available?
Reality
Seed is available now on paperback and eBook. Captain Wizzlebeaks
will be a year or so, so no date as of yet.
A
year? Heck by then I should have number 5 of the Inquisitor Series
done, or typed up, or maybe just a rough outline....SIGH
In
any event Phillip's books are out and you should buy them, not only
for yourself, but your friends and family.
Speaking
of books you can use to turn enemies into friends and you should buy
to had out on street corners to the less fortunate, how about
checking out The Inquisitor Series
Junior Inquisitor Book One
 |
Amazon - http://goo.gl/D6KrbX
Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/mJtTf8
|
Soulless Monk Book Two
 |
Smashwords - https://goo.gl/NXw3Gr
Amazon - http://goo.gl/p9fBn0
Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/5lCyaX
|
The Witch’s Lair Book Three
 |
Amazon - http://goo.gl/ZRO6Jw
Inquisitor Series - http://goo.gl/mJtTf8
|
The Vampire of Rome Book Four
 |
| Coming in October When Chased by a Werewolf |
1 comment:
First of all, if I ask you to do one thing to the characters, you'll probably do the exact opposite. Even though I risk that possible scenario, I wish to let you know DO NOT KILL EVERYBODY, DAMMIT! GAH!! It doesn't have to be a happy ending, like riding off into the sunset and all evil being banished, but it should at least give us fans some kind of hope to hang on to! As for the cliffhanger, you did that last book!!! I think there is a law against multiple cliffhangers In a series. If there isn't, there should be! Also, I know you enjoy torturing poor Sebastian, (insert footnotes of several scenes in every single Inquisitor book) but come on, already... The poor guy does deserve a break - he's doing the best he can with the little he has to work with.
Now, for the threat - if things end poorly for Sebastian, I can clue you in that your hot bodied female fans will be chanting evil incantations that may turn your children into little Lincoln Farishs as he was when he was a little boy.
Post a Comment