Children of Ymir Free Promo!!

Just a quick update: Sept 18- Sept 22 Children of Ymir is free on the Kindle. I've never tried an Amazon promotion before so it'll be interesting to see how it goes. In the meantime, I'm still typing away on Book II, but I'm also considering the release of another SF story through Amazon. It's a little flash fiction piece I did and since it's so short I've never considered releasing it until now. It's not really part of the Valkyrie Trilogy, but there are some similarities in the versions of Earth. I suppose if I wanted to tie them together I could say this new piece is a precursor to the Earth we seen in the Valkyrie books. It's called "Alley Cat". I'm still not sure if I'll release the story or not, but I'll post an update about it here and on my Facebook and Twitter. For now, here's the link to the Children of Ymir page: http://www.amazon.com/Children-Ymir-Valkyrie-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00D3W1GMI

Hope you're week is full of awesomesauce!!

K. S.

Finally back to writing.

This house hunting/relocation processes has been killing my creativity for like two months now. Today is a new day though! We made an offer on a house and found out this morning it was accepted. So, I can cross that off the bazillion things I still have to do. However, that one item was a big one. Sure, we still have to sell our current house, hire inspectors, sign papers, move stuff, and completely renovate the new house, but just taking that one thing off my stress-out list has got me writing again. Look! I'm doing it right now!

I worked on book two this morning, and after I am done here, I'm gonna work on it a little more. Then it will be back to the reality of cooking dinner, folding laundry, and painting the rest of the trim and doors so it's nice and purdy for prospective buyers. Life is good, the coffee is strong, and the keys are smooth...

Prequel Short Story for The Valkyrie Trilogy

The prequel story for the Valkyrie Trilogy is almost ready for release and may be out as soon as next week! To celebrate, here's a sneak peak!

* * * * *

     “We have to destroy him.”

    “And then what? Destroy the other hundred or more Gen F models to be safe? I’ll not do that, Job.”
     “Keeping it here any longer is too dangerous,” the man pleaded. “Please. The government will get wind of this and the whole facility will be shut down. We’ll all be jailed, or worse, and all your robots, not just the Gen Fs, will be taken.”
     “Fine,” Robespierre said, pushing past him.
     “What?”
     “I said fine.”
     “So…you’ll be putting in the decommission order then?” Radfield asked cautiously.
     “No. I’m changing its status to domestic. Have it transferred to my home immediately, and I’ll resume the inquiry on my own time and at my own risk.”
     “You can’t do that, Maria!” he shouted as he ran after her.
     The woman abruptly turned to face him. Radfield skidded to a halt just inches from colliding into her.
     “My resources. My research. My facility. I can do whatever the hell I want.” Robespierre was a full foot shorter and a decade younger than he, but the venom in her voice combined with the sudden closeness of their proximity made him flinch and take a step back.
     Robespierre resumed her departure.
     Radfield couldn’t stop her. She had always been an eccentric woman, treating these robots as if they were almost human. But now, he was quite convinced she’d gone mad.

* * * * *

Valkyrie Tunes to Jam Out to

I've always been inspired by music. I hear a song on the radio and it reminds me of a character or situation from a book I'm working and it gets me pumped up to write. So with that in mind, I've decided to work on playlists for a few of my Valkyrie characters. Yes, it's me procrastinating, but it also gets me back into the writing mood, which has been very elusive because of real world stresses these past few weeks. The playlist will allow me to in some fashion be productive while I work through other things that stifle the writing process (such as relocating and house selling and buying, etc) It's also a way for fans to contribute to the Valkyrie world, because I want your input. So, what do you think Vladia would list to in her down time? What do you think Rehel is jamming out to while logging repairs? What's Tolen humming as he conspires? You tell me and I'll add it to the list!

Here's what I have so far, created via Spotify. Just click on the character name to go to their playlist if you want to rock out:


Rehel

01 Animal I Have Become - Three Days Grace
02 The Kill - 30 Seconds to Mars
03 Man Down - Walk Off the Earth
04 Monster - Skillet
05 Rose - A Perfect Circle

Vladia

01 I Don't Care - Apocalyptica
02 Metal Heart - Garbage
03 Limp - Fiona Apple
04 Untouchable - Garbage
05 Mouth - [The Stingray Mix] - Bush

06 Supremacy - Muse
07 Mudshovel - Staind
08 I'm Not Calling You A Liar - Florence + The Machine

Abel

01 Riot - Three Days Grace
02 Dark Paradise - Lana Del Rey
03 Loser - Beck
04 Wonderwall - Oasis
05 Shimmer - Fuel

Tolen Malthus

01 12 Études, Op. 10: No. 12 in C Minor, "Revolutionary": Allegro con fuoco - Chopin
02 Uprising - Muse
03 Fantaisie Impromptu in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 66 - Chopin
04 Finale: Presto, Non Tanto - Chopin
05 Country Song - Seether

Isobel Falis

01 #1 Crush - Garbage
02 Living Dead Girl - Rob Zombie
03 Howl - Florence + The Machine

Valkyrie Flightsuit

  I never cosplay anymore because all the cons I go to now requirement me to be in author mode, not fan mode. Trust me, it's a bit hard to sell books, meet fans, and be taken seriously while dressed up as my favorite Final Fantasy character. So, I needed a work around. How can I be in author mode and still play dress up? Solution: commission a Vladia cosplay from The Valkyrie Profiles! The only problem with that is, unlike a movie, anime, or video game, there are no visual references.

I'm not the best artist, but I did my best (meaning a I traced a body form then added on the details I imagined) and here is the first attempt. I'm actually pretty happy with it, but what do you folks think?

 This is Vladia's Valkyrie flightsuit. All the pilots have this standard design; the only variations are by position and rank. Vladia is in a Defender unit, so her colors are black and maroon. The Gunslinger units are black and emerald. Last, the Captain of the squad, Tolen Malthus, has a uniform of black and blue. Rehel, of course, doesn't get a flightsuit, so he is in all black with an off-centered red stripe down the front to denote his status as the Valkyrie squad's robot.

I've got a girl in New Orleans all set to create whatever I send her way. So, perhaps the next con you see me at, I'll be sporting this baby! You my address me as Lt. Robespierre. =D

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award: Round 1 has been pwned!!!!

So excited that I have made it through the next round of Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award. I beat out 1,500 other entries to get this far! Next round will take us down to only 25 entries. I honestly never expected to make it this far. I am competing not just against other SF novels, but fantasy and horror as well. I feel a SF novel in this market really has no change against the current popularity of the other two genres. Two of the biggest franchises of the last 10 years came from fantasy and horror (Harry Potter and Twilight). Sure, The Hunger Games was sort of SF, but let's be honest, no one is really willing to label it as SF.

Despite my pessimism, I am super excited and honored to make it this far. You can check out my ABNA entry page HERE to read the sample that got me to the next round. You can also leave a review for the excerpt as well (do that, you will).

Though the quarter-finalists were announced on the 12th, it wasn't until a few minutes ago that I noticed the judges actually put two editorial reviews for the excerpt on the ABNA page. And guess what: They are awesome!!!! I'll post them below, though you can also find them by clicking the link to the entry page. Wish me luck guys! I'm gonna need it!


Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com Review
The author has imagined an intriguing scenario, and adeptly placed the reader into it. A changing culture of robots is interesting and piques curiosity. Vladia is a sympathetic protagonist, one is cheering for her already, and in these opening pages, the writer has placed her in a precarious situation after the death of her mother. With a title hinting at Vladia’s future as a strong participant in coming war, opening pages that introduce a character worthy of rooting for, and very good writing skills, this author has created a world the reader wants to enter. This excerpt has a strong hook and is a great start to an absorbing read.

Amazon.com Review
Overall, the excerpt gives us a plucky and resourceful heroine who is brave but still understandably childish in her response to her plight. The robot plot sounds familiar, but with such a short beginning, it remains to be seen what twists the author comes up with.

Science Fiction Convention Time!!!!!!

Hey Guys!

 So this weekend is Con Nooga in Chattanooga, TN. and I'll be there doing my thing. Con Nooga is Chattanooga's Only Multiple Genre Convention spanning: Sci-Fi, Horror, Anime, Paranormal, Fantasy, Literature, Comics, Gaming, Bands (music), Movies, etc. They've got me on six panels this year. In between panels, I'll be at my booth selling copies of The Valkyrie Profiles. Also, when you buy a copy of the book at Con Nooga (or if you buy an ebook copy and bring in the email receipt), you'll be entered in a raffle for a super awesome Geek Basket (see what I did there??) that is chock full of cool merchandise from Star Trek: TNG, Star Wars, Super Mario Bros, World of Warcraft, Dr. Who, and more. Just talking about it kinda makes me not want to give it to one of you guys... Anyway, here's my schedule so if you are in the area come see me!


Friday
5:00PM Author Meet and Greet

Saturday
10:00AM Building and Breaking Classic Story Structure

NOON Plotter or Pantser? Using Outlines - Pros and Cons

2:00PM Writing Scenes - The Building Blocks of Story - workshop/discussion

8:00 PM What's My Plot? A No Holds-Barrd Plot off! Challenge our authors with an idea and see who comes up with the best plot!

Sunday
12:00 PM Writing Believable Dialogue