Starting October 1st I will host giveways (besides the goodreads) to promote The Wild Hunt. It will include loot, I either make myself or find on etsy or amazon ect.
Duncan oh Duncan where.......... in the hell are you?
Yes, I realize that is NOT Shakespeare. Half way through I couldn't remember the line, where art thou, wherearthout, is it all the same word or three separate, is it even the right three words? I went in confident lost my bearings and said screw it. It happens, I get potty mouth, its like the flu, only worst because it's constant. I'm rambling. I posted these two pics on my author blog, and thought I'd share them here on the book blog.
Why do I have two blogs you might ask?
Because I obviously have too much damn time on my hands. I'm feeling a bit facetious, hence the uncouth words, and soft profanity. Soft you know like hell and damn, not the really dirty wordies. Heh I crack myself up. So anyways.......the point.....yes I remember!!
I wish I could tell you who this model is, but I
have no clue. All I know is that I found the dude on www.123rf.com, it's my place for stock photos.
Really it's one of the cheapest places out there. It takes a little more digging
to find what you are looking for, but you'll spend less when you do. So here he
is, the closest thing I could find to what's in my head.
His hair is a bit
short in the pics above but he looks so dark and dirty who cares. I think he
looks a little like Matt Bomer (Magic Mike, White Collar). Albeit he's a
scruffier not nearly as pretty Matt Bomer. You can't tell from these pics but
the actual model has a crooked nose which I love because Duncan does. Luckily
there are tons of pictures of him so that I can treat the female
readers pretty often to some Duncan eye candy.
Not long ago I discovered Spotify, and have since been a convert/addict. Before Spotify I used Itunes, Pandora, Playlists, Amazon cloud, any number of separate sites to listen to music in the hopes that I would be inspired.
I think music plays a huge part in creating anything. I listen to music while I cook, when I have a home improvement project, and the rare times when I clean (I HATE cleaning). Music can set a mood, or a tone to the work you are doing. You blare some fun catchy beat and shake your butt, it brings you up, and lightens your mood. You listen to a somber song that makes you remember a lost love, or mistake, or someone that is no longer living, and it knocks you down, makes you able to use those feelings to write a great scene.
In honor of music inspiration and well my own OCD behavior I'm going to give a list of songs I listened to when I wrote The Wild Hunt. Its under a playlist on Spotify named conveniently The Wild Hunt.....so without further ado.......
THE WILD HUNT PLAYLIST
1. "9 Crimes"-Damien Rice
2. "Awake my Soul"-Mumford & Sons
3. "Blood Bank"-Bon Iver
4. "Catch your Breath"-Gus Black
5. "Closer"-Kings of Leon *
6. "Down by the Water"-Pj Harvey *
7. "Endless Melody"-Clarensau*
8. "Goin to the Party"-Alabama Shakes
9. "Green Valley"-Puscifer
10. "Howlin for You"-The Black Keys*
11. "Hurt"-Nine Inch Nails
12. "I would Trade"-Clarensau
13. "Judas"-Julie Feeney
14. "Lies"-The Black Keys
15. "Mad World"-Michael Schulte
16. "My Father's Father"-The Civil Wars
17. "Night Terrors"-Wild Sweet Orange
18. "Passive"-A Perfect Circle
19. "People C'mon"-Delta Spirit
20. "Poison & Wine"-The Civil Wars*
21. "Psycho"-Puddle of Mudd
22. "Pyro"-Kings of Leon
23. "Radioactive"-Kings of Leon
24. "Salt in the Wound"-Delta Spirit
25. "Sheets"-Clarensau
26. "Speaking a Dead Language"-Joy Williams*
27. "Teardrop"-Jose Gonzalez
28. "The End"-Kings of Leon
29. "The Funeral"-Band of Horses
30. "The Hollow"-A Perfect Circle*
31. "The Immortals"-Kings of Leon
32. "The Wolves"-Ben Howard*
33. "Tip of my Tongue"-The Civil Wars
34. "To Bring you my Love"-Pj Harvey
35. "Volcano"-Damien Rice
36. "Whisper"-A Fine Frenzy
37. "You Ain't Alone"-Alabama Shakes
*---Songs that were a HUGE inspiration for the book!
I also have lists for character's and ghosts, but I'll put those up at a different time!
I have noticed that a lot of readers (myself included) always wonder where an author gets their inspiration. For me, aside from folklore and mythology, I use places I know. That means my places like Pinecrest and Grey Lake for instance, are based on real places.
Pinecrest is based on Oakhurst in California, a place where my father and brother still live. I have spent many summers and vacations in Yosemite, and over the years I fall a little farther in love with it. It's beautiful.
Grey Lake is based on Bass Lake. One of the best lakes to swim in because of its cool-warm water. It can get up to 80 degree's in the summer. But no matter what, its a great lake for water play, floating and the like.
And because of my love of places and using real life as inspiration, I also used one of my favorite haunts at Bass Lake as a loosely based model for Lyle's Bar/Restaurant/Store.
The Forks, is kind of a landmark up there. The locals love it, and so do the tourists. The opposite sides of the lake is pretty accurate too, but again I took poetic license with everything. The North is rich and resorty, while the south is old cabins and campgrounds. If you ever make it up to Yosemite, stop by The Forks in Bass Lake, have a Forks burger and eat on the outside porch or the dock, its awesome. I'm too mean to share my favorite beach to swin at, but I will say this, it's southside.
All the pictures can be found on The Forks Resort website. The dock is a great place to rent a boat. My younger brother and step siblings all actually worked at Forks. I never had the honor, but I do eat their burgers whenever I'm up there. Gotta love Bass Lake. Other nods to the area are Half-Dome, a real and very scary hike. Yosemite Valley, the creek, and Sugar Pine Railroad.
Concord is a complete figment of my imagination. No such place exists, sadly. And that about sums of my real-life inspiration.
Except my ghosts aren’t just floating see-through apparitions. They aren’t drifting clouds of mist, or glowing balls of light. My ghosts are the soundless, walking zombies of the dearly departed. They are the rotting corpses of the dead.
I am crazy...........
I have never pretended to be anything else. I know that seeing the dead isn't something sane people do. No. I am fully aware of my own psychosis. Too bad knowing and accepting isn't a cure.
But....... Something else seems to be happening around me. People are dying, people I know. And whats worse the Sheriff thinks I'm doing it. Even my silent rotting friends can't help me, not without a voice.
I am not a murderer.
THE WILD HUNT
Prologue
~Imaginary~
When I was a little girl, I had an
imaginary friend. Jillie was my silent companion when I played dress up and
pretended to sip tea. Every day Jillie walked soundlessly beside me to the
school bus. At the end of the day, she listened while I whispered my secrets.
Jillie was the best friend I had for most of my childhood. After my sixth birthday,
my father decided I was too old for imaginary friends. He told me my friend
wasn’t real, and that no one could see her.
For two years, my father punished
me every time I played with my invisible friend. Through his punishments, I
learned my first lesson in defiance. I grew proud of the welts that lined my skin.
Each one was a snub in my father’s direction. Sure, they hurt, especially when
he used the belt, but every lash was a helpful reminder of my father’s true
face.
One day my mother begged me to
forget about Jillie, and never mention her again. The funny thing is my mother
looked at my imaginary friend. It wasn’t in some small way of pacifying me
either. Her pale green eyes scanned Jillie’s blood splattered dress and dirty
knees, and smiled with understanding. Like she too once had an imaginary
friend. I still see Jillie sometimes. A childhood ailment I never outgrew, but
the little girl who was my imaginary friend, was never really imaginary, Jillie
was…is…a ghost.
