Interview with Alex McGilvery, one of the authors of BEYOND THE WAIL

Beyond the Wail: 12 Grave Tales of Love and Loss

What is it about fear and the unknown that pulls so passionately at the human heart? Perhaps we are drawn not to the darkness itself, but to the resolution, the overcoming of what we most deeply dread. After all, the more terrible the struggle, the greater the victory when it comes at last. Presented in this anthology are twelve remarkable stories of the darkness that overshadows us, and the resolution that may be found beyond them. They are stories of fear and oppression, but ultimately stories of hope, stories that will take you BEYOND THE WAIL.

 

Beyond the Wail is available at

Amazon (Kindle)

Amazon (Paperback)

Goodreads

Xchyler Publishing

OF MICE AND MONSTERS by Tirzah Duncan: Troubled by ghosts within and without, Benjamin struggles to become the man his girlfriend needs instead of the monster he is.

GO GENTLE by Julie Barnson: After the death of her boyfriend, a young musician uses her talents and a fabled violin to stop the fatal accidents at a dead man’s curve.

DEAD WATER by Amanda Banker: A stalled truck, an abandoned graveyard, and a town not found on any map take two brothers on a detour they’ll never forget. 

COLD SPOT by Jay Barnson: When a laptop is stolen from their computer security company, two high school buddies go to extremes to investigate. But, will they manage to return?

THE WEEPING LADY by A. F. Stewart: Eva Douglas must face her mother issues, past and present, when the disappearance of her sister forces a confrontation with a terrifying ghost.

THE POLTERGEIST AND AUNT BETTY by Ginger C. Mann: Aunt Betty is eccentric, but how much is ghost, how much is medication, and how much is just plain crazy?

THE ‘GRIM’ REAPER by L. K. McIntosh: When a soul reaper loses the source of their power,

they must either find the witch who stole it or a new purpose for living.

SHRINE OF MIRRORS by F. M. Longo: A spy on a mission becomes a believer in the supernatural when the theft of three ancient relics threaten to bring down the empire.

DEAD MAN HOCKING by T.N. Payne: A world-weary zombie learns to beware what you wish for, and not all sure bets are worth the gamble.

ST. PETER’S FISH by Alex McGilvery: Sam is a walking disaster of biblical proportions, but how much is he willing to sacrifice to escape, and will the Powers That Be allow it?

THE DIORAMA by Sebastian Bendix: A play set turns life around for Martin Taper, but things take a turn for the worse when he neglects it and the lonely child obsessed with it.

DATE DUE by Danielle E. Shipley: A magic library’s guardian determines to protect her treasured books, whether their authors elect to do things the easy way … or the fatal one.

 

 

Interview with one of the authors from BEYOND THE WAIL... Alex McGilvery!

How did you come up with the concept of your story? This one started as a challenge. I was responding to a blog stating never start a story with the weather. I posted the first couple of paragraphs and got a good response. When the contest came up I knew it was time to finish the story.

How did you come up with the title?The fish in the story burps up gold coins. It is a direct reference to a fish Peter caught to pay taxes. 

Please provide some insight into or a secret or two about your story.In the first iteration of the story the climax is a bar fight in Toledo and God is a biker. That either needed a full novel to deal with, or a switch to a heavy comedic tone. I shifted it around to match better with the contest.
What was the most surprising part of writing this book?The fork. I had no idea that blasted fork was going to show up and confuse everyone. In the end I like the concept. 

What was the hardest part of writing your book, and how did you overcome it?The biggest challenge was not to overdo the voice of the story. It would have been so easy to fall into writing the lilt instead of the story. I kept being reminded the story came first and making the words serve the tale, not the voice.

What are some of your other published works? In order of publication, The Unenchanted Princess, Playing on Yggdrasil, Sarcasm is my Superpower, By the Book, and Sparkles and Blood.

What is your advice to writers?Write. Really. You aren’t a writer if you don’t write. Then find someone to help you deconstruct your writing to help you make it better. Then write some more.

What's up next for you? I’m bringing out another collection of novellas in November called The Heronmaster and a middle grade book for Christmas called Unboring the Princess. I’m also resubmitting a fantasy novel which is the first in a trilogy. I’m in the initial planning stages of a collection of my romance stories called ‘Romantic Shorts’.


About the Author: ALEX MCGILVERY
Alex McGilvery is an author living in Flin Flon, Manitoba with his wife, Alex, and three dogs. He has been an avid reader all his life and wrote novels in his early teens. He has been writing short stories and poetry ever since. In addition to his first twenty-year work, he writes a novel every year through NaNoWriMo and another with the 3-Day Novel contest. He also writes reviews, specializing in indie authors, and works on short stories for contests.

He has now published five books, most recently Sparkles and Blood, a collection of horror novellas, edited an anthology along with the Flin Flon Writers Guild, and continues to be active in the Guild. In order to pay for his writing habit, Alex works full time as a minister in the United Church of Canada. Some of his parishioners wonder at the occasionally dark and twisted nature of his writing.

http://alexmcgilvery.com
http://celticfrogreviews.com
https://twitter.com/AlexMcGilvery
https://www.facebook.com/Author.AlexMcGilvery
https://www.facebook.com/alex.mcgilvery
https://plus.google.com/u/0/114087438435065925650/posts
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6900023.Alex_McGilvery
https://www.pinterest.com/alexmcgilvery/
https://plus.google.com/107831724901800759460/posts
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/celticfrog
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00GTQYDJS

AF Stewart: Colours of Poetry #NewRelease

Anita Stewart is celebrating the release of her newest book of poetry: Colors of Poetry

 

 

Light through a prism, and we see colour.

Colour is all around, enveloping our lives and feelings. Through tinted shades we see the world, with emotional ties that bind.

Within the book, Colours of Poetry, you will find eleven sections, all representations of different hues, each featuring seven poems that explore the intricacies and fallacies of our world. Come and sail the Sapphire Sea and Sky, cringe at the Crimson Bloodstains, wonder at the Emerald Creation, dazzle in the Lemon Daybreak, linger in the Tangerine Sunset, sniff the Violet Petals, feel Umber the Earth, let the Black as Night and Death surround you, shiver as you pass by White Winter Bones, lose yourself in the Grey Haze, and stare up at the Silver Stars…

 

 

To celebrate, she's hosting a poetry slam on Facebook. Visit us here on Tuesday, April 7.

 

She also has a giveaway going on. You can find the Rafflecopter here.

 

If you appreciate poetry, I hope you'll stop by!

 

About AF Stewart:

A. F. Stewart was born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada, and still calls it home. She has always had an overly creative mind, and an active imagination. She is fond of good books (especially science fiction/fantasy), action movies, and oil painting as a hobby.

Ms. Stewart has been writing for several years, her main focus being in the fantasy genre. She also has a great interest in history and mythology, often working those themes into her books and stories. She has authored and published several books, including Fairy Tale Fusion, Gothic Cavalcade, Ruined City, Killers and Demons, Chronicles of the Undead, and Reflections of Poetry.
Her stories have been published in the charity anthologies, Coffin Hop: Death by Drive-In, Christmas Lites III, and the upcoming Christmas Lites IV, as well as in Mechanized Masterpieces: A Steampunk Anthology published by Xchyler Publishing. Another story, Grail Days, appears in the Xchyler Publishing anthology, Legends and Lore.

 



 

 

Bloody Valentine Horror Hop: Dark Poetry and the Downside of Love





 

Available for Amazon pre-order now:
The Scent of His Feathers by Ash Krafton

In between novels, my writing strays to more poetic endeavors.

As a writer, I see words everywhere--images and events aren't just creations of light or sound or scent. They are words waiting to be written. I'm inspired by the music I hear and the places I visit. That's why I'm never without a camera or a notebook (or, these days, my Windows phone, which serves as both). Sometimes I get struck by an object, a vista, or a misheard lyric and I JUST HAVE to write something down.

Otherwise, I'm haunted by those words that missed their chance.

A lot of my poetry focuses on the conception (or misconception) of death. See, I don't see death as an end to be feared--I imagine it's a doorway to something new.

Everyday life is full of tiny deaths: endings, losses, changes. Those deaths aren't final. They are just the beginning to something different.

The goddess Kali is often called the goddess of death, but that's only part of the truth. She is also the goddess of rebirth. She is the goddess of liberation in that she liberates us from the physical body and conquers the concept of ego.

And aren't those wonderful things?

My spec fic heart romanticizes the shadows and the darkness and the tiny deaths we endure, leading me to those poetic endeavors. My books are urban fantasy and paranormal romance, often with dark twists. Poetry is a way for me to overcome writer's block--I can sometimes better express an aspect I'm trying to write for a novel by exploring it in a poetic manner. Once the lines are out of my head, I can get back to work on my book. Sometimes, a poem is left behind, much like a pearl, pretty irritations as they may be.

THE SCENT OF HIS FEATHERS will be released February 20, 2015 on Amazon Kindle.

 

No better time to join a poetry hop, right?

 

Happy Bloody Valentine Horror Hop Day!

 

AF Stewart has put out a call for all the bad love we can muster today... so a bunch of us are getting together to share the stuff you'll never get on a Hallmark card. :)

 

In the spirit of good love gone bad, I'd like to share one of the poems from The Scent of His Feathers. It was originally published by Niteblade Fantasy and Horror and has always been a favorite of mine.

 

What’s for Dinner?

by Ash Krafton

 

She only ever smiles

and says, “Your favorite.”

 

And he beams at her, obviously thinking how lucky he is

to have such a doting wife

even though he plays around with the waitresses at the truck stop

and thinks his wife never finds out

and who cares, right? because those girls

never stay in town long enough to cause problems.

So lucky, lucky, lucky to have the best of both worlds.

 

She, on the other hand, is only too happy to

peel baby onions and carrots and pig potatoes

to put around the large, sumptuous roast

of questionable origins and morals

(roast beast, she said once, and laughed at her own joke,

earning a chuckle from the pandering bastard

as he cracked open his second beer. He hadn’t

even finished his salad yet, for chrissakes.)

 

This could never pass as a dish served coldly,

not when procured by such hot passions.

And she smiles—

she may not be his favorite,

but at least she's not left-overs. 

 

 

In honor of the Valentine's hop, I will give away copies of my new poetry volume to anyone who would agree to read and review it on Amazon. Then (because there is always a surprise) everyone whose review is live on Amazon by midnight Sunday following the release (that would be Sunday February 22) will be entered into a drawing for an Amazon gift card, and the winner picked Monday February 23.

Are you in?

THE GIVEAWAY...

Enter the giveaway by filling out this form. Everyone who enters on this form will receive an electronic copy of THE SCENT OF HIS FEATHERS. You'll also receive periodic updates about upcoming releases, giveaways, and advanced reader copy opportunities.

On the Monday following the release, we'll pool all the readers who posted their review on Amazon and pick our lucky gift card winner!

 

WANT MORE BAD LOVE?

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 to visit other stops, including host AF Stewart.