Website Update! Woot, woot!

Good morning, readers!

Just wanted to pop in and let you all know that I have been doing some major updates to my website and now they are available for you to see! I was looking at my website earlier this week and shaking my head. There wasn’t enough information on it, it was kind of boring, and I personally wasn’t happy with it. So, I spent about 5 hours this week fixing things.

There are a few new pages to check out including an Events page, a News Page, and Upcoming Projects. People can now also find links to Cooking Adventures and Inspiration Through Music there. And one of my trailers shows up right on the main page for people to watch.

As we get closer to the release of “Aequitas”, I’ll change things with the page. Starting tomorrow, I’ll have details of a photo contest that extends through the month of July. I’ll also write a post here for those interested!

Now, what was I saying? Oh yeah. Go to the website, check it out, let me know what you think. http://www.voxthebook.com

Stay tuned for a post about the photo contest tomorrow and Inspiration Through Music on Monday!

~KSilva

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The Affair of the Garlic Cloves

COOKING ADVENTURE #26: Bulgogi

Sleep is important. Given enough time to get the required 8 to 10 hours of sleep, our brains can then function the next day without much issue and can perform even the most difficult tasks with a clear head. Well, folks, long story short, I didn’t get enough sleep on Monday night. In fact, I got probably 4-5 hours at best. I even had time to sleep in the next morning. But no. I was determined to get up bright and early and get work done. And then I had to go to my day job until 8. When I got home at roughly 8:30, my eyes were practically rolling up into my head with fatigue. In reflection, I know if wasn’t the best time to try and attempt something simple as broiling already prepared meat and vegetables. But, yes, I did try. Never again.

Inspiration Through Music: Bob Dylan

I’m just putting it out there right now: Bob Dylan has got to be one of the most tremendously talented songwriters of the last 50 years. In my unending journey to discover new and wonderful music, I’ve come across dozens of songs performed by other artists yet written by Dylan that blow me away. And when I searched for the original versions, I found them to be different enough from the covers and yet still possessing that same magic that inspires me in my writing.

For the longest time, I wasn’t a fan of 60’s music. There was even a point when I “disliked” the Beatles. [I love them now! It’s different! Don’t come after me!] But that all changed about four or five years ago. I was introduced to Nina Simone, Simon and Garfunkel, Nick Drake, Joan Baez, and of course, Bob Dylan. A lot of those original 60’s songs are treasures, with lyrics written to make us observe the things in our everyday lives more closely. They are moody, sometimes fiery, sometimes calm jewels that are forever entrenched in our history. And when I throw on my Bob Dylan station on Pandora, I know that I’m apt to come up with great stories, no matter what song pops up. Today, I’d like to share 6 of his songs with you and what I see when I listen to them.

There Be Alligators In Your Alfredo!

COOKING ADVENTURE #25: Creamy Fettuccine Alfredo

Well, that settles it, I guess. I really am a moron when it comes to following directions. I always think I’m doing something the right way until I try to get creative (or I become bored) and I switch them up… and then everything goes to hell. Now, mind you, I have made Fettuccine Alfredo before. Technically, I cheated by using the little packets at the grocery store for the sauce but it was still edible. And I’ve made it numerous times with chicken and shrimp. But I failed here… badly. It pains me because this comes just after last week’s mega success of the bread pudding which I’ve pretty much adopted as the only dish that I can make well. I made it again for Father’s Day. And I had another victory there. My nephew and niece absolutely loved it! And both of them are picky eaters! Sadly, I know if they’d taken even one look at my fettuccine alfredo, they’d have run a city block to get away from it.

June “Vox” Promo and Other Summer Suprises to Come!

Good morning, readers!

I have good news. I have “Aequitas: Book 2 of the Monstrum Chronicles” back in my grasp for the last round of editing. I hope to finish it this week (in reality, it will probably take me 2 weeks). Then I’ll begin the oh so painful process of formatting the book into a PDF file. And so I have concluded that Book 2’s release date will indeed be this fall. In fact, it will be a little sooner than I thought it would be.  The release date has now been scheduled for October 4th, 2012!

In the mean time, I’m running a couple of special promos on “Vox: Book 1 of the Monstrum Chronicles.” The first starts this week and ends on Sunday, June 24th. For a limited time, “Vox” will be available for only $0.99! This special pricing will begin this evening and run until Sunday morning at 7, eastern time. You can find the book by clicking on this link here.

Later this summer, I’ll also be holding a photo contest for the cover of Book 3. I had attempted to take a photograph myself and it turns out my photography skills really aren’t that fantastic. More details will emerge on this in July.

I will also be releasing several short stories this summer with events that pertain to The Monstrum Chronicles series. There are three in the line up and the first will probably be released in August, the next two in September. I’m very excited to get those out and introduce people to a new set of characters that will be integral to the events of “Aequitas.”

With that being said, I will now return to my editing of “Aequitas.” I’m currently on Chapter 8!

Have a wonderful week! And stay tuned for my Cooking Adventures blog tomorrow!

~KSilva

Inspiration Through Music: 90’s Movie Music Part Deux!

About two months ago, I did an ITM blog on music from 90’s films. I tried to focus on some that weren’t as well-known as others. I soon found though that I had a list just overflowing with wonderful music and decided that I would write a follow up blog to the category. Here is that blog post!

This week, I still found myself overwhelmed with how many brilliant soundtrack scores there were during the 90’s. It was just a different era for movies. I’ve noticed that many movies that come out now are much, much darker. The trend has kind of gone that way. Dark television shows, dark literature, dark films, dark video games… it’s all very hot right now. I found myself gravitating toward that type of quiet and chilling music when I went back through some old albums, searching for music to share. And being a dark fiction writer, how could I not? Today, I have 9 songs from different films that are worth a listen. Maybe you, too, will be inspired.

Have A Little Bread Pudding With Your Kahlua?

COOKING ADVENTURE #24: Bread Pudding with Kahlua Sauce

And there we have it folks. I’ve managed to do a Cooking Adventure where I didn’t mess up at all! Surely, you’re holding your head in your hands saying, “Quoi? No mistakes! How is it possible?!” Believe me, folks, having never made bread pudding in my entire life, I was assured that I’d either cut off a finger or use the wrong measurement or the wrong ingredient somewhere along the way. No. I did it all according to the directions and got a pretty magnificent response from it as well when I shared this delectable dessert with my co-workers. Some said it was, and I quote, “the best bread pudding [they’ve] ever had.” And you’re really going to love this: I baked it before going to work… in roughly an hours time. Boom.

Inspiration Through Music: Qntal

We’re going to time-travel all the way back to October of 2009. I was still working on my first book, “Vox”. I didn’t get out much that fall. In fact, I spent most of my time sitting on the couch in my parent’s computer room on my laptop just pouring out word after word, chapter after chapter. This was also a point that I began discovering new music through Pandora. Pandora, for me, holds a bevy of unknown, sometimes undefinable songs which are just waiting to be discovered. Usually, I’ll throw on a station based off of one song I like of a certain genre and let it toss out suggestions from there. When I chose a Loreena McKennitt station while working on my Ireland chapter of “Vox”, I was introduced to the musical stylings of Qntal. And boy was I hooked.

Qntal is a German “electro-medieval” band. You might be saying to yourself “what on earth is that?!” Basically, they incorporate some techno-like stylings into what would otherwise be music you’d hear at a Renaissance fair or in a movie about King Arthur. Often they use the language they would have spoken back in the Middle Ages as well. I’m an absolute sucker for stories about knights. I love the King Arthur legends, really enjoyed watching Game of Thrones, and was completely hooked by the tv adaption of Pillars of the Earth. (I know… I should read these.) The reason I chose to incorporate Qntal into “Vox” is because the Savaric bloodline who are encountered in this chapter, were actually created during that time period. They are an old and noble blood and I felt like I could be better in touch with them by listening to Qntal’s music. Today, I’d like to share 6 of their songs with you and tell you why they are so special to me.

The Chicken, The Whole Chicken, And Nothing But The Chicken

COOKING ADVENTURE #23: Cornish Game Hen With Rosemary and Garlic

 

Don’t tell me. I know what your immediate thought is. The picture above is not a Cornish Game Hen. That is because the place where I saw the Cornish Game Hens at, had an apparent shortage of them. So I grabbed a chicken instead. And it was a relatively small chicken compared to what was there in my opinion, probably a 2-3 pounder. Had it been a CGH, this recipe might have been easier. But instead, it turned violent and quite quickly, I might add. I thought I had everything all worked out when I shoved that stupid bird in the oven. Found out later that the chicken was harboring a secret from me, one which nearly cost me my sanity. [Warning: for those of you with sensitive stomachs, proceed with extreme caution.]

June Updatey-ness

Good evening, folks.

After a week of content writing before and after my day job, I’ve finished one of my short stories, my western short story, “Landed.” I had some pretty ridiculous goals for last week which, had I not had other obligations, I probably could have finished. But truth is, I just don’t have as much time now. But I am proud to get that one project done. It needs some editing as well as a cover design which I’ll begin looking at this week. Also this week, I’m looking to give some love to either is my short story, “Acquolina” which ties in with some of the events in Aequitas or one of my novella projects (one of which is a thromance (thriller/romance). Hopefully this week, I’ll get one of those finished up.