Tara Maya's Tales

A guest post from Rayne Hall.  If you're writing a novel, consider a Black Moment about two thirds into the book. At this stage, everything and everyone has turned against the hero (who can, of course, be a heroine). The hero is under pressure and close to giving up. Internal and external conflicts have increased to the degree that your hero can't bear it any more. His girlfriend has broken up with him, his allies have deserted the cause, he has been fired from his job and evicted from his home, the villain's henchmen are closing in, and his big secret has been exposed in the press. Under pressure, he is close to giving up. To make matters worse, his girl has been abducted and will die unless the hero surrenders the proof of the villain's machinations... and he can neither rescue her nor deliver the documents because he's locked up in a prison cell. All seems lost. If you can think of another way to make it still more difficult for your hero, pile it on. ...

A guest post from Rayne Hall.  Body language can add another dimension to your dialogue scene, because it reveals a person's intentions, feelings or mood. The five main types of body language are gesture, posture, movement, facial expression and tone of voice. Gesture Examples She pointed to the orchard. “I saw him there.” He slammed his fist on the table. “I've had enough.” She scratched her chin. “Are you sure this will work?” “Welcome.” He pointed to the couch. “Why don't you make yourself comfortable?” Posture Examples She raised her chin. “You can't make me do this.” He locked his arms across his chest. “No way.” She leant away from him. “This isn't working between us.” “I consider this an insult.” He stood with his shoulders squared and his legs braced. “Take it back.” Movement Examples “Maybe another time.” He turned to leave. She walked faster. “I told you I don't want a date.” “All right.” He shuffled forward. “Follow me!” She ...

Is clairvoyance a gift or a curse? Imagine getting a glimpse of what the future holds, and ask yourself how you would deal with the burden of this foresight. Is it right to interfere with the pre-ordained? Is it your duty to avert the doom, or will your meddling make matters worse? Is it even possible to change the future? What if those with the power to prevent a disaster disdain your warnings? What if you see what will happen, but have no idea when it will come to pass? Is your vision to be trusted? What if your interpretation of what you see is wrong? In this book, ten authors share their visions of what it means to be clairvoyant, each with their individual way of telling a story and their own writing style. They seek to entertain you and at the same time to make you think. Some yarns take place in the distant past, some in fantasy lands, and others in our familiar modern world. Each seer in this book is different. They interpret dreams, read the tarot, consult the sta...

A guest post from Rayne Hall “Where do you find your ideas?” people often ask me. The truth is, I don't find ideas. Ideas find me. Like ghosts, they seek me out, haunt me, and don't let go until the story is written. My mind is like a revolving drum filled with hundreds of jigsaw pieces, each representing a story idea. Sometimes two or more pieces click together, and that's when a story takes shape. The location is often among the first jigsaw pieces to click. The setting lends atmosphere and determines the flavour of the story. Some of the places in my stories are real, others exist only in my imagination, while yet others are a blend of the real and the imagined. The tales in 13 British Horror Stories are inspired by the places where I have lived and travelled in Britain. I live in a small dilapidated town of former Victorian grandeur on the south coast of England, and if you know the region, you may recognise the landscapes that inspired some of the tale...

About Rayne Hall 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),  13 British Horror Stories ,  Six Scary Tales Vol 1, 2, 3, 4  (creepy horror stories),  Six Historical Tales  (short stories),  Six Quirky Tales  (humorous fantasy stories),  Writing Fight Scenes ,  The World-Loss Diet ,  Writing About Villains ,  Writing About Magic  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 Witchc...

Buy Writing Scary Scenes A guest post by Rayne Hall Have you written a horror story, or are you working on a frightening scene? Here's a professional technique for making it even scarier. Solitary adventures are more dangerous than group adventures. In nature, an animal which becomes separated from the herd is vulnerable to predators. To make your scene scary, let your heroine face the danger alone. The more you isolate your protagonist, the more frightening the scene becomes. Think of as many ways as possible to make her even more cut off from rescue and moral support. I'm using “she” in this article, but of course everything also applies to male characters. SEND THE ALLIES AWAY Give your protagonist a reason why she faces this danger on her own. Perhaps she has no choice: the little girl is alone in the house because her parents have gone to the theatre. The hero's guide and friends have been killed leaving him as the only survivor. The explorer's...

A guest post by Rayne Hall. Here are some techniques for creating powerful, exciting, realistic battle scenes. The biggest challenge in writing a battle scene is the point of view. To make the experience exciting and moving, it's best to stick to the perspective of a single fighter. However, the individual soldier can't see what goes on a few feet from him, let alone what's happening at the other end of the battlefield or how the sun dyes the horizon bloody red. Here's a possible solution: Show the terrain before the fight begins, and have the general give a pep talk explaining the overall strategy. Once the fighting is over, show the battlefield and have your point of view character talk with his comrades about the implications. Do you want to involve the reader's emotions? Stack the odds against your heroes. The readers' natural sympathies lie with the smaller army. The greater you can make the numerical difference, the better. The evil overlord...

A guest post by Rayne Hall Several words close together starting with the same sound can either empower your writing or spoil it, so use this technique with thought. Here are some examples of skilfully applied alliterations from famous books: ...the foam-flakes flew over her bulwarks.... (Moby-Dick by Herman Melville) … the baked red ruts of the road.... (The Beaver Road by Dave Duncan) A sliver of soft sunlight pierced a crack in the silk drapes (Panic by Jeff Abbot) … tokens of the mitred, martyred St Thomas (Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin) ….the all-over tan, the tailored teeth... (How to Kill Your Husband and other Handy Household Hints by Kathy Lette) Fires were a common occurrence, leaving more and more buildings blackened and boarded, and discarded drug paraphernalia clogged garbage-filled gutters. ( Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich) Alliteration is an effective technique for creating impact. If you want to emphasise a sentence, perhaps f...

My friend Rayne Hall's dark epic fantasy, Storm Dancer, is currently on sale for only 99 cents! Definitely worth checking out, especially if you're a fan of The Unfinished Song! Demon-possessed siege commander, Dahoud, atones for his atrocities by hiding his identity and protecting women from war's violence - but can he shield the woman he loves from the evil inside him? Principled weather magician, Merida, brings rain to a parched desert land. When her magical dance rouses more than storms, she needs to overcome her scruples to escape from danger. Thrust together, Dahoud and Merida must fight for freedom and survival. But how can they trust each other, when hatred and betrayal burn in their hearts? 'Storm Dancer' is a dark epic fantasy. Caution: this book contains some violence and disturbing situations, and is not suitable for young readers. British spellings. Storm Dancer is available to download on Amazon (US),  Amazon  (UK and other countries), B...

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 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  ...

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...