Monday, August 24, 2015

Guest Post: Blue Spirit Blog Tour with E. Chris Garrison


Since it is the first date of the tour, I'd do something introductory in nature about the book and the Tipsy Fairy Tales, kind of an intro thing.


Once upon a time, a drunk gamer girl named Skye was possessed by a demon. She got better. But something amazing happened to Skye: she became two people. You see, when the demon took possession, it left a little hole where her soul leaked out, just a little bit. When the hole was healed, that little bit became its own person. Because there's no such thing as half a soul. Cut it in two, and you've got two souls, not two halves.


This new soul formed a tiny being that lives entirely in the spirit world that opened up to Skye after her possession. The new being looked like a miniature Skye, except squat and sort of Gothic, since Skye's gaming alter ego is a Vampire Baroness, it must have influenced her form. Skye, being a whimsical sort of girl, called the new being “Minnie”, as in her “mini-me”. Minnie took this with good grace, and is Skye's constant companion, like a twin sister or her own Jiminy Cricket. Because Skye's awfully prone to getting into trouble.


The only thing about this arrangement is that Skye, having been drunk when it all started, can only properly perceive and interact with Minnie and the world she lives in when she's in a similar state.


And it can be vitally important that Skye keep in touch with Minnie and her world, because many things in her own world are not what they seem. Passengers on the bus who seem like shabby homeless teenagers show their true colors in the spirit world as wolf-people, satrys, and other strange fairy creatures.


Oops. Don't use the F-word. No, that one. As Minnie would tell you, “fairy” is a bad word to the creatures in the spirit world. Humans have told far too many ridiculous stories for that word to mean anything close to reality. Call them what you will, these are powerful and dangerous interdimensional entities, not something cute and musical from Never Never Land or Fern Gully. No, the Grimm brothers got some of their stories right; their so-called fairy tales contained bits of truth among the fables. The visitors from the fairy-- I mean spirit world, haven't got the same kind of morals we have, they're all about keeping bargains (like an evil genie) and telling the truth (just not ALL of the truth) and amassing power. And there's power in belief, whether in an ugly truth or a pretty lie.


The Tipsy Fairy Tales are set in Skye's home, modern day Indianapolis. She gets around on the bus system, which is ruled by a (mostly) benevolent spirit called the Transit King, a sort of Fairy Godfather who gives generous favors to those in need, with the expectation of calling those favors in one day.


So join Skye as her worlds collide and she's set down some dark paths to protect her friends, Minnie, and herself, from the machinations of a very unscrupulous Fairy Queen. Oops, there's that word again.

Book Synopsis for Blue Spirit: Gamer girl Skye MacLeod can see fairies, but only when she's tipsy. More Grimm than enchanting, some of these fairies are out to ruin her life, wreaking havoc with her job, her home, and her relationships.

With the help of her tiny fairy friend Minnie, Skye has to protect her vampire wannabe gamer friends from all-too-real supernatural threats only she can see. Can she keep it together and hold fast against a wicked fairy Queen's plot?

Blue Spirit is the first book of A Tipsy Fairy Tale series!

Print:

Kindle:

Barnes and Noble Link:


About the Author: E. Chris Garrison (who also writes as Eric Garrison) is active in the writing community in Indianapolis, Indiana. He lives in the Circle City with his wife, step-daughter and a cabal of cats. He also enjoys gaming, home brewing beer, and finding innovative uses for duct tape.

Chris’ novel, Reality Check, is a science fiction adventure released by Hydra Publications. Reality Check reached #1 in Science Fiction on Amazon.com during a promotion in July 2013.

Seventh Star Press is the home of Chris’ supernatural fantasy series, Road Ghosts, including Four ‘til Late, Sinking Down, and Me and the Devil.


Author Links:
website:
Facebook page:

Twitter:
@ecgarrison

Tour Schedule and Activities
8/24 Obsessive Book Nerd Review
8/24 
Darkling Delights Guest Post
8/24 
Reading Away the Days Author Interview
8/24 
Shells Interviews Guest Post
8/25 
Marian Allen, Author Lady Guest Post
8/25 
Deal Sharing Aunt Author Interview
8/27 
The Southern Belle from Hell Author Interview
8/28 
Jorie Loves a Story Review
8/29 
Coffintree Hill Guest Post
8/29 
Bee’s Knees Reviews Review
8/30 
A Work in Progress Guest Post
8/30 
Armand Rosamilia, Author Guest Post






Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Fiends: Ten Tales of Demons Guest Author: Douglas Kolacki

Cover Art by Jamie Chapman
Author Douglas Kolacki is my guest today . He's talking about his demon story "The Devil Never Takes a Vacation and Neither Do I." Please welcome him to Darkling Delights. 

Thanks for hosting me.

My short story, "The Devil Never Takes a Vacation and Neither Do I," appears in Rayne Hall's upcoming anthology Fiends: Ten Tales of Demons.

After getting serious about writing a long time ago (1988) and far away (Naples, Italy), I placed stories in Christian publications like Dreams & Visions, Dragons Knights & Angels, and The Sword Review. These ranged from end times science fantasy to steampunk. I've also appeared in a number of Sunday School papers, digest-sized publications featuring 1200 to 1500-word stories about various aspects of the Christian life.

I've rarely written stories about supernatural evils. There are "demonstorms" in my novel Elijah's Chariot, but other than that I can recall only one yarn starring real, honest-to-goodness demons.

So, why a demon story now?

I'm a believer. If anyone asks if I'm religious, I always say I try to be. But I seem to be the rare Christian who loves weird tales: reading them, watching them and, most of all, writing them. I'm thrilled to be living in H.P. Lovecraft's hometown of Providence, Rhode Island. My apartment, in fact, is only a few suburban blocks from his birthplace. So I guess it was inevitable I'd arrive at this subject sooner or later.

The few Christian stories I've seen about demons, generally involve tackling them with "spiritual warfare," like The Exorcist with a happier ending. Christ banished a whole legion of them at once.

But folks, we're not Christ. We're human, and we have our weaknesses. Our faults, our errors in the system.

And if the minions of hell know them, they're bound to try to exploit them. They're said to be clever, like, really clever; they could clever us under the table. The serpent tricked Eve pretty quickly into eating the forbidden fruit--maybe she was hungry at the time? Could the devil have known, somehow, that she wanted something to eat, and waited till then to make his move?

When Rayne told us she was seeking stories for a demon anthology, I could have followed the standard Out-in-the-name-of-Jesus format. I'd read it in novels, and in a comic book. But something nagged at me, an issue I wanted to address.

During my San Diego days, I met a young pastor who worked for the local megachurch. This guy was a fiery Type A, a regular pinball always ricocheting from his church work, to riding with the police as their chaplain, to leading our Tuesday night Bible study, to studying for his Master's degree, to participating in a retreat, to jetting off--always, it seemed, he was jetting off on a missionary trip somewhere. I knew him about a year, and he was like that the whole time.

I was astonished. I mean, how much can any person have in the tank? I didn't fault his achievements, but I thought someone should caution him that there is such a thing as spiritual burnout. It's happened enough times, to enough fiery Type A's, for someone to coin that term and for that term to stick.

When I told him, he looked astonished. Flabbergasted, almost. As if he couldn't believe I would say such a thing.

So when brainstorming for a demon story, I pictured someone along those lines, the most well-intentioned, dedicated, and most of all, hard-working man there is. Someone with a sense of mission, of wanting to make a difference. And there's certainly nothing wrong with that.

But be on your toes. For as the pastor in the story himself notes, the devil really does prowl about like a roaring lion, seeking human dinner. And as someone once told me, "That's how Satan works--subtle."

Perhaps more subtle than we know...as the character finds out.

Fiends: Ten Tales of Demons is available on Amazon:  myBook.to/Fiends


Thursday, August 13, 2015

Fandom Fest 2015 Recap

Author & filmmaker Amy McCorkle manning her table.
I have to admit to being nervous about Fandom Fest this year. It would be the first time I drove up to the loading dock, and while getting in proved fairly easy, getting out was a different story entirely. (Yes, I admit, I needed help. And no, I will never qualify as a semi driver.)

This was the first year of the concurrent Fantasmagorical Film Festival, and my screenplay adaptation of my short angel paranormal novel Death Sword was a finalist. Alas, it didn't win.

However, I scored with parking this year, finding a lot a short walk away. Only cost $5.00/day.

Everything seemed to run smoothly from what I can tell. Glad to hear some of the literary panels were full. I was only on  the manga/anime panel, which went well.

Book sales also went well. I brought a few copies of The Ripper's Daughter and Malice and Mayhem: Tales of the Macabre. Sold them all.

Next convention is the Indie Gathering Film Festival at the end of this month, then Imaginarium in September.