Tara Maya's Tales

Rayne Hall   has published more than forty books under different pen names with different publishers in different genres, mostly fantasy, horror and non-fiction. Recent books include   Storm Dancer  (dark epic fantasy novel),  Six Historical Tales Vol 1, Six Scary Tales Vol 1, 2 and 3   (mild horror stories),   Six Historical Tales   (short stories),   Six Quirky Tales   (humorous fantasy stories),   Writing Fight Scenes   and   Writing Scary Scenes   (instructions for authors). She holds a college degree in publishing management and a masters degree in creative writing. Currently, she edits the  Ten Tales  series of multi-author short story anthologies:  Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Scared: Ten Tales of Horror, Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates, Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft, Spells: Ten Tales of Magic  and more.   Her short  online classes for writers ...

Today, Paul D. Dail, author of The Imaginings, joins us to answer questions about his fiction. 1. Describe the flavour of your fiction in six words. Thought-provoking, unpredictable, spiritually ambiguous, darkly humorous. 2. What do you enjoy most about writing horror fiction? Absolutely everything. I've loved horror movies and books since I was little, so while these days I enjoy reading almost any genre, when it comes to writing, I'm happiest when I'm writing horror. Oh, and I love the opportunity to give someone the creeps. I recently read a story of mine to my classes that I thought was fairly innocuous, but was pleasantly surprised when many of my students said it was "freaky." 3. Many people enjoy reading stories about undead creatures - ghosts, vampires, zombies. What do you think is the appeal? I think these three examples appeal on different levels. If I were to oversimplify, I would say people like ghosts because it gives them a sense of ...

Douglas Kolacki writes exciting fantasy stories, often with a Christian flavour, about zombies, pirates and almost normal people. Today he tells us about his writing pleasures and inspirations. 1. What do you enjoy most about writing fantasy fiction?  Remaking this world into a place more to my liking, where all the rules change and fantastic things come to life.  2. Many people enjoy reading stories about undead creatures - ghosts, vampires, zombies. What do you think is the appeal?  I think that in the case of ghosts and vampires, it's the mystery of it all--who hasn't been intrigued by ghosts and the undead? In the case of zombies, there's a sense of adventure in combating all these people-turned-monsters that can't be parleyed with, bribed or placated; you have to use your wits and whatever you can scrounge, do or die. 3. The story selected by editor Rayne Hall s for the anthology Undead: Ten Tales of Zombies features a human who adjusts to...

Today's guest is fantasy author Tracie McBride, renowned for her reality-twisting stories.     1. Describe the flavour of your fiction in six words. Dark speculative fiction launching from reality. 2. What do you enjoy most about writing fantasy fiction? The license to make stuff up! 3. Many people enjoy reading stories about undead creatures - ghosts, vampires, zombies. What do you think is the appeal? I think the appeal differs from reader to reader. Some are fascinated by the possibility of a continued existence after death; some find the idea terrifying or abhorrent, yet feel compelled to explore or that terror. 4. Have any of your stories been inspired by mythology?  I have a story coming out in Dagan Books’ FISH anthology in January 2013 which was inspired by a Maori mythological creature, the taniwha. I use the term “mythological” loosely; some Maori believe that taniwha exist. 5. In “Last Chance to See” published in Undead: Ten Tale...

Rayne Hall  has published more than forty books under different pen names with different publishers in different genres, mostly fantasy, horror and non-fiction. Recent books include  Storm Dancer  (dark epic fantasy novel),  Six Historical Tales Vol 1, Six Scary Tales Vol 1, 2 and 3  (mild horror stories),  Six Historical Tales  (short stories),  Six Quirky Tales  (humorous fantasy stories),  Writing Fight Scenes  and  Writing Scary Scenes  (instructions for authors). She holds a college degree in publishing management and a masters degree in creative writing. Currently, she edits the  Ten Tales  series of multi-author short story anthologies:  Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Scared: Ten Tales of Horror, Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates, Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft, Spells: Ten Tales of Magic  and more.   Her short  online classes for writers  ...

"The low, undulating Danish landscape was silent and serene, mysteriously wide-awake in the hour before sunrise. There was not a cloud in the pale sky, not a shadow along the dim, pearly fields, hills and woods. The mist was lifting from the valleys and hollows, the air was cool, the grass and the foliage dripping wet with morning dew. Unwatched by the eyes of man, undisturbed by his activity, the country breathed a timeless life, to which language was inadequate. All the same, a human race had lived on this land for a thousand years, had been formed by its soil and weather, and had marked it with its thoughts, so that now no one could tell where the existence of the one ceased and the other began. The thin gray line of road, winding across the plain and up and down the hills, was the fixed materialization of human longing, and of the notion that it is better to be in one place than another." -- Isak Dinesen, Winter's Tales

Rayne Hall   has published more than forty books under different pen names with different publishers in different genres, mostly fantasy, horror and non-fiction. Recent books include   Storm Dancer  (dark epic fantasy novel),  Six Historical Tales Vol 1, Six Scary Tales Vol 1, 2 and 3   (mild horror stories),   Six Historical Tales   (short stories),   Six Quirky Tales   (humorous fantasy stories),   Writing Fight Scenes   and   Writing Scary Scenes   (instructions for authors). She holds a college degree in publishing management and a masters degree in creative writing. Currently, she edits the  Ten Tales  series of multi-author short story anthologies:  Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Scared: Ten Tales of Horror, Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates, Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft, Spells: Ten Tales of Magic  and more.   Her short  online classes for writer...

Rayne Hall   has published more than forty books under different pen names with different publishers in different genres, mostly fantasy, horror and non-fiction. Recent books include   Storm Dancer  (dark epic fantasy novel),  Six Historical Tales Vol 1, Six Scary Tales Vol 1, 2 and 3   (mild horror stories),   Six Historical Tales   (short stories),   Six Quirky Tales   (humorous fantasy stories),   Writing Fight Scenes   and   Writing Scary Scenes   (instructions for authors). She holds a college degree in publishing management and a masters degree in creative writing. Currently, she edits the  Ten Tales  series of multi-author short story anthologies:  Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Scared: Ten Tales of Horror, Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates, Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft, Spells: Ten Tales of Magic  and more.   Her short  online classes for writer...

Rayne Hall   has published more than forty books under different pen names with different publishers in different genres, mostly fantasy, horror and non-fiction. Recent books include   Storm Dancer  (dark epic fantasy novel),  Six Historical Tales Vol 1, Six Scary Tales Vol 1, 2 and 3   (mild horror stories),   Six Historical Tales   (short stories),   Six Quirky Tales   (humorous fantasy stories),   Writing Fight Scenes   and   Writing Scary Scenes   (instructions for authors). She holds a college degree in publishing management and a masters degree in creative writing. Currently, she edits the  Ten Tales  series of multi-author short story anthologies:  Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Scared: Ten Tales of Horror, Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates, Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft, Spells: Ten Tales of Magic  and more.   Her short  online classes for writers ...

Rayne Hall  has published more than forty books under different pen names with different publishers in different genres, mostly fantasy, horror and non-fiction. Recent books include  Storm Dancer  (dark epic fantasy novel),  Six Historical Tales Vol 1, Six Scary Tales Vol 1, 2 and 3  (mild horror stories),  Six Historical Tales  (short stories),  Six Quirky Tales  (humorous fantasy stories),  Writing Fight Scenes  and  Writing Scary Scenes  (instructions for authors). She holds a college degree in publishing management and a masters degree in creative writing. Currently, she edits the  Ten Tales  series of multi-author short story anthologies:  Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Scared: Ten Tales of Horror, Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates, Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft, Spells: Ten Tales of Magic  and more.   Her short  online classes for writers  i...

Not Another Romance Blog: Caught in a Snowstorm...with Valerie Bowman (+Give... : Caught in a Snowstorm   on Christmas Eve  by  Valerie Bowman Caught in a Snowstorm on Christmas Eve by Valerie Bowman The music room was on the first floor at the end of a long hallway. James made his way toward it, each step making him more sure that he didn’t know what he would say once he saw her. But Kate was here. Kate. Surely, he’d think of something—the right thing—when he came face-to-face with her. He stopped several paces from the door. The strains of Moonlight Sonata floated out of the room. She was playing the pianoforte again. She loved that piece. Taking a deep breath, James opened the door without knocking. He stepped inside the darkened room. The music stopped. Only a single candelabra burned on top of the instrument. Kate glanced up at him, her blue eyes wide. “James.” He expelled his breath. He’d thought it might be a dream, her being here, some cruel joke Lily had pl...

Remember, the world ends tomorrow! We, personally, are bugging out to our secret nuke-proof shelter under the Rocky Mountains!

(Huffington Post) WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department announced Tuesday it has reached a settlement with Penguin Group (USA) Inc. in its lawsuit accusing the nation's largest book publishers of colluding with Apple Inc. to raise e-book prices on customers. The settlement, if approved by a federal judge, leaves Apple and Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC, which does business as Macmillan, as the only defendants standing against the federal government's charges that Apple, the multimedia and computer giant, conspired with several publishers in the fall of 2009 to force e-book prices several dollars above the $9.99 charged by Amazon.com on its popular Kindle device. The Justice Department, which sued in April, settled with Hachette Book Group, Inc., HarperCollins Publishers LLC and Simon & Schuster Inc. earlier this year. The trial is scheduled to begin in June. "The proposed settlement with Penguin will be an important step toward undoing the harm caused by the publish...

FREE right now on Amazon and Kobo . A Vampire Carol The last thing Alex wanted was to become a vampire for Christmas... Excerpt: Alex stayed in the dumpster until nightfall. He crept out and stood in the alley, trying to understand, trying to believe, and failing. He recognized the back of his office building. His car was still parked in the parking garage, on the fifth floor. The keys were in his jacket pocket. Dazed, he opened the car, but for a long while, he sat in the driver’s seat, with his key in the ignition and his foot on the pedal, without turning on the engine. His mind refused to work. He knew he should go home because Lynn would be worried, alone with baby Bradley. Lynn would have questions though and a long list of ways this was his fault. He couldn’t fight with her right now. He needed support. He needed a friend. Justin lived with his brother, two years younger, who attended school part-time and worked part time, in a pale blue house at the e...

I know from personal experience that fans get grouchy if they have to wait for the next installment of an epic fantasy. Granted no one has made me a YouTube video yet... or an HBO show. *grin* I like the part where they go over how long various authors took to write various projects. Also, the dueling drumsticks. And, yes, I am working on Blood!

Rice in North Korea was distributed by the government. Despite the official Communist ideology of “equality,” everything, even the daily ration of rice, was regulated by a strict caste system. During the 1990s, rampant corruption and government mismanagement of the country’s resources resulted in a terrible famine. Rice rations were cut across the nation, but especially for the less “desirable” castes. The Kwons were one such couple. Every day, while her husband watched carefully, Mrs. Kwon distributed their rice into equal amounts….equal amounts of less and less. Mrs. Kwon stared at the small amount of food and despaired. I can survive on less because I am a woman , thought Mrs. Kwon. But my husband cannot. Better that at least one of us survive . As soon as her husband left the room, Mrs. Kwon took one measure of rice from her bowl and added it to her husband’s bowl. Then she went outside to fetch water. As soon as she was gone, Mr. Kwon, unawar...