Aequitas Goodreads Giveaway!

During the lovely month of April, there is a giveaway happening over at Goodreads for “Aequitas: Book 2 of the Monstrum Chronicles”! Not sure what happens in the book? Here’s a brief synopsis from my website:

Reid Ainsley is demoted from the Council of Thema following his actions taken during the Vox case.  On his latest mission, he discovers a plot so heinous, its consequences could destroy mankind and lilitu alike. In order to unravel the subterfuge within his own Council, he must dive into his past to find the answers he seeks as he sinks deeper into the Monstrum he’s become…
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Meanwhile, Torrent finds himself in Austria investigating a series of gruesome murders. Blamed for murdering his sire in cold blood, he’s pursued by a renowned tracker with whom he has a history. Together with a hesitant sidekick, Vinh, they hunt an elusive lilitu, Leach, a creature whose thirst for the macabre is never satisfied. 

​As they hurtle through snow-capped Montreal, seductive Paris, Istanbul’s dark cisterns, and the twisted bowels of the Council’s Bion Fortress, Reid and Torrent will have to come to terms with their pasts in order to confront the most dangerous monstrum either has ever encountered…

Want to enter the giveaway? Of course you do! Click on “Giveaway” below and sign up by hitting the “Enter to Win” button on the Goodreads page! Good luck!

Giveaway

Haven’t read “Vox” Book 1 yet? No worries. As of tomorrow, it’ll be available on Amazon Kindle for only 99 cents…for the whole month. You’re welcome!

Want to hear the book’s unofficial soundtrack? You can find it here on the website. (You’ll need Spotify to be able to listen to it.)

Anything else you want to know about the book? Send me an email! I’d love to hear from you!

~KSilva

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Aequitas is now on Kindle!!

Dear readers,

Two years ago, I started writing my second novel, one that I knew was going to be a challenge for a couple of reasons. I’d committed myself to writing a series of books. I, therefore, had to keep the characters, plot, and locations engaging. I also had to show that I’d learned more about the writing craft and was actually using this knowledge to better my own writing. I wanted my second book to be more jaw-dropping than the first, more edge of your seat, and bring more into the fan circle associated with The Monstrum Chronicles.

Two years later, and that book is now out on Kindle. In certain ways, it’s a relief as well as it is stressful. I worry about getting bad reviews, I worry about it not being purchased at all! There are so many different books out there that are wonderfully written and yet, haven’t been read by anyone, and so many of them are paranormal or horror fiction. That being said, I’m doing my utmost to make sure that this doesn’t happen with “Aequitas”.

Today, both my first novel, “Vox” as well as a companion short story, “Acquolina” are free on Amazon Kindle! I’m hoping that I can get some people hooked on the series or bring back people who have purchased and read Book 1 so that they realize Book 2 is now available. It is still early but already, Vox has gone from 500,000th place up to 31,000th. And that’s only with 8 copies being sold. Having created ads for Facebook and Goodreads as well as contacting several Kindle free e-book websites ahead of time, I’m hoping that all of my hard work pays off over the next two days.

For those of you who are fans of my Inspiration Through Music blogs and Cooking Adventures, please take a moment to go and look at my other works. If you have a Kindle, feel free to download copies of Vox and Acquolina if you are curious about the other writing that I do. If you don’t have Kindle but still want to help, please spread the word via twitter, facebook or your wordpress blog about my book. I would be most grateful for anything that you could do to help me get this book out there.

Here you can find “Vox”.

Here you can find “Acquolina”.

And here, you can find my newest book, “Aequitas”.

Thanks, all!

~KSilva

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

Slacking like a BOSS!

Good afternoon, readers!

Ugh. Last week was a long one. Because I had to work a day I don’t normally work, my schedule has been off. I haven’t had time to get much done it seems like. And I realize that I didn’t post my “Saturday Shout-out” this week. I was actually on a photo-shoot adventure with a couple of friends in which I did find a photo for my third book. So, technically, I was doing work yesterday…

This week, I should have some time to get back into my usual groove and get some things done. As always, I’ll have my Inspiration Through Music post tomorrow and my Cooking Adventures Blog on Thursday. I’m also going to try and swing a special Cooking Co-op Adventure with a friend which should be quite interesting. And, I will have a Shout-Out for next Saturday.

At present, I’m working on content for book 3. I’m in chapter 3 and steadily moving forward. Hopefully, I’ll power through most of the book within the next couple weeks. (I say that… we’ll see how I stick to it.)

Also, in May, “Vox” will be entering Amazon’s KDP program. That means that it will be available exclusively on Amazon and not on any other e-book format. I’m also going to be running a special spring promotion for the series! I haven’t sat down to work out the details for it yet, but, just know it’s in the plans! I also intend to meet with a couple of the libraries in the area to coordinate something for Halloween. These kinds of things have to be worked out months ahead in order to ensure the space is available.

And in other newsy news… My work schedule will be changing soon to include Thursdays. This will undoubtedly affect when I post certain blog categories, namely “Cooking Adventures”. I’d like to figure out someway of keeping them on Thursdays because that seems to be the highest traffic day for people to view them. I’ll keep thinking on it.

Book 2 is still being edited. I forget how much of a timely process this is so my plans to have it ready by spring might not be accurate. At this point, I’m going to retract my release date for it and when I have a better idea of when it will be ready, I’ll post it. In the mean time, I’m looking to get a few short stories published on Kindle this summer that have to do with the Monstrum Chronicles. The characters in each short story feature in Book 2 and are part of the continuity for it. I’ll of course keep you all informed on that!

Well, I suppose I’d better get back to writing. Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and an even better week!

~KSilva

Uppity Updates!

Good morning, readers!

I wanted to take a brief moment this morning to update you on a few of my projects!

1st: I am over 1/3 of the way through editing and revising “Aequitas.” There’s allot of rewriting going on but I’m pleased to say it’s shaping itself into the book I want. Give me at least another month with it and we’ll be ready to publish!

2nd: I’ve chosen the official book cover for “Aequitas.” However, I won’t unveil it until just before the book’s release. It needs a bit of tweaking before then.

3rd: I’ve been asked to do another wonderful reading in Portland in March! Details will soon emerge about that event.

4th: I’m making progress on “Night Time, Dotted Line.” For those of you unfamiliar with this work, it is my indie-travel novella that I’ve been working on for nine months. People who went to Slainte Wine Bar and Lounge in November last year got a chance to hear me read a piece of it. I spent a couple days last week writing crazily on it.

And that is all I have for you so far! Stay tuned for more information about my progress on “Aequitas.”

Tomorrow will be my weekly Inspiration Through Music blog post. I’ll be focusing on Javier Navarrette’s score of “Pan’s Labyrinth.”

Until then,

KSilva

Aequitas: Inspiration Through Music

Good evening, readers!

As promised, I’ll be talking about a few of the songs I’ve listened to that have inspired key scenes in “Aequitas”, the upcoming sequel to “Vox”. I’ve also decided to make a permanent “Inspiration Through Music” weekly post in order to focus on one song and/or musical artist that has inspired my writing in some way. I will be creating a page where all of the links will be posted. It will be located on the blog roll in the right hand column. I have also placed my “Food Adventures” page there for you to find the links to those. [I’ve decided to try making a cheesecake for this week’s project! Hopefully it goes better than the pastitsio…]

I will be discussing five songs which I listened to in order to help inspire certain scenes in “Aequitas.” All of them are very different from one another, but are incredibly expressive and always drop me into the scene with ease while I listen to them. I don’t want to give too much away as to what happens in these scenes so I’ll be doing something that my favorite writer, Anthony Bourdain, did for a chapter in his book “Medium Raw.” The best way to do this is to open the link in a separate tab and listen to it as you read the vignettes below. Once you’ve read them, feel free to check out the corresponding youtube videos (especially the one for #3).

Aequitas! A sneak peek at what’s ahead!

Good Morning!

The last two days, I’ve been able to do get out of bed. Migraine, head cold, sore throat… it’s been a miserable time. Even today, I’m still not back on my feet completely. I’ve successfully used up two boxes of kleenex, drained a pot of chicken soup, and was successful in making my cat sympathetically sick as well. He left little presents for me on my carpet yesterday.

Dreadful as I feel, I have returned to the blog to do what I said I was going to do, update you on what you can expect to see in “Aequitas”.

I don’t want to give too much away but I do want to give you a brief synopsis of who will be returning, the new characters you’ll meet and some of the bloodlines that feature prominently in book 2.

MAIN CHARACTERS RETURNING!

A few times, I’ve mentioned that Reid and Torrent will both be back in the sequel. Unlike “Vox” where we went back and forth between three pov (Torrent’s, Eileen’s, and Sean’s), “Aequitas” will slingshot between Reid and Torrent, whose stories will come together eventually. Torrent was the major protagonist in “Vox” and it was his story that we got to know the most. In “Aequitas”, it will be Reid who we learn the most about.

Aside from Reid and Torrent returning, we will see the return of Eileen (though not as a principal protagonist), Vinh (Akane’s childe), and the Councilmen. Sean and Jill will both return for a short period.

NEW CHARACTERS!

An old ex-Council friend of Reid’s will join him in his adventures. Sassy, charming, and dangerous, Cardea is a Nephythys not to be trifled with. Will she and Reid be able to trust one another after the terrible events that shattered their friendship years ago?

Harper is Torrent’s first fledgling and the one who reported him to the Council of Thema after he destroyed Seraphim City. Harper has been elected as the replacement Citius judge on the Council. But does he have more sinister intentions with his new post?

We’ll also meet Reid’s sire, The Artigiani di Alta, a group of Kume artisans with connections to both Reid and Torrent, and the mysterious Leach, a figure with connections to a series of macabre murders occurring all over the globe.

LOCATIONS!

For fans of “Vox”, you already know how I love to send my characters globe-trotting in my books. In “Aequitas,” the characters will travel to several exotic and dark locations including but not limited to:

Linz, Austria

 

 Montreal, Canada

 

Istanbul, Turkey

and finally,

MAINE!!

(P.S. Epic stuff happens here.)

BLOODLINES!

In “Vox,” we learned allot about the Citius, Amalric, Savaric, and Haru bloodlines because the characters spent a bunch of time in their home territories.

In “Aequitas,” we will learn more about:

The Elias (Reid’s bloodline)

The Kume

The Nephythys

and The Rain!

AND THAT’S JUST THE BEGINNING…

A dangerous monstrum unlike anything Torrent and Reid have faced before, zombies (or as Torrent would say “Aegruses”), giant man-eating fish, an underground red market, big guns, more blood, lots of water, and plenty of fire…

Oh yes. It’ll be one thrill-ride of a book.

Next week, I will reveal a few songs from the Aequitas Soundtrack! I’ll also treat you to the “If The Monstrum Chronicles were to be a movie, who would play the main characters?” post. And I’ll be sure to keep you updated on tips, tricks, and other writing-related blog posts as I see fit!

Now, off to revise (and then probably nap!) Hopefully this cold will mostly gone by the end of the week!

KSilva

[EDIT: There was apparently an issue with the source of some of the pictures that I posted. Everything should be fixed now.]

Pretty Much Still Half-Asleep

Good morning, folks.

As you may have guessed, I’m not fully awake this morning. I feel as though I went to sleep early enough last night but this morning, my head is telling me I didn’t get enough z’s. I spent the day zooming all of the Midcoast at break-neck pace. But it was all for a purpose.

I found the elusive Caleb Carr book, “The Angel of Darkness.” I call it “elusive” because I’d looked in at least three different places before happening upon it in a tiny used bookstore in Camden. Even better: it was only $4. I’m so excited to dive into it but first I must finish Anthony Bourdain’s “Medium Raw.” I haven’t had much time to read this week considering the holidays and being at work. Hopefully on my next day off, I’ll be able to sit down and read quite a bit of it.

Yesterday, I also had the pleasure of watching “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” with my friend for her birthday. Wow. What an awesome movie! I was surprised by the amount of action that this movie included. There was alot more deduction and dialogue in the first movie. The addition of so much action did help to keep me on the edge of my seat for the entire movie though. And I was pleased to see that they included the legendary Riechenbach Falls into the story as well.

Work on “Aequitas” is still underway. I’m anxious for the holidays to pass so that I will have more time to put to editing the book. It seems the last few weeks have been absolutely crazy. I’m longing for a day that I can stay in at home. I want heaps of snow to pour from the clouds as I sip at a hot cup of peppermint tea, curl into a blanket on the red leather sofa, and write to my heart’s content. That, folks, is my idea of a perfect winter day.

But I’m not entirely sure when we are supposed to get snow… and when we do, how long it will stay. We had a pretty hefty snow storm on Christmas. Then, two days later, it was 50 degrees outside and it all melted with a wash of rain. Hopefully soon, Midcoast Maine will begin to resemble white Decembers/Januarys in past years. Keeping my fingers crossed!

That’s all that I have time for this morning, I’m afraid. I must start getting ready for work.

Tomorrow: New Years Resolutions and an ode to 2011!

KSilva

Inspiration for “Home”

Good morning, folks!

Hoping everyone had a wonderful and safe Christmas! It actually snowed here… quite a bit. I ended up staying at my parent’s house and was without my computer for a full 24 hours… (which almost never happens!) Still, it was a pleasant day unwrapping gifts and spending time with my family. Among many fantastic gifts, I received some new video editing software for my laptop. Hopefully now, I’ll be able to experiment more with making some more professional looking book trailers! I’ll take a look at everything this Thursday when I have more time!

Since I am once again pressed for time this morning, I would just quickly like to thank those people who read “Home” and enjoyed it. The idea for the story had been trapped in my head for several days and that morning I literally dumped it from my noggin onto the blog. I wrote it in an hour, so any mistakes I made I apologize for. I was trying to get ready for work, too!

If any of you wondered what my inspiration was behind this story, I’ll say right now that it was a combination of a couple things. One is a unique book trailer that someone posted for the novel, “Going West” by Maurice Gee. The trailer is a stop-motion animated piece which runs for about one and a half to two minutes. The narrator brings life to Gee’s stunning imagery through the course of the video. You can find that video here.

The second inspiration is a new song released by Puscifer this year (fueling my James Maynard Keenan obsession), which is called “Tumbleweed.” I listened to that song while I wrote “Home”. You can find that song here.

This week, I’ll be posting some interesting factoids about “Vox” and “Aequitas”, specifically where I get my inspiration from while writing those books. I’ll also be posting more writing tips in general!

Til then, enjoy the day!

KSilva

Aequitas Cover Photo… Help Me Decide!

Good morning, readers!

I woke up late and I need to start getting ready for work! This post will be kind of short… hope you can forgive me! I realized last night that I still had not quite decided on the cover photo. I’ve been going back and forth between a couple of them. Your input would be fantastic, readers!

Option #1

The Basilica Cistern, an important location in the book.

This was my number one choice in the beginning. I’d had it in my head that I wanted the covers of all the books to include photos of important locations in the books and not necessarily characters. Everyone has a different image of Torrent and Reid in their heads… so I’d rather not force feed you an image of two guys that don’t fit your expectations for the characters. This photo is a public domain photo. I altered it slightly by increasing the contrast and tinging the colors.

 

Option #2

A dark statue, appearing on the headquarters of The Council of Thema

This is the more dramatic option of the two in my opinion. This statue, while actually being on Westminster Abbey, would theoretically, in book 2, exist on The Bion Fortress, the home of the Council of Thema. Because “Vox” used a photo of a Paris Opera House (The Primavera) which included statues, I thought this one might fit the bill for “Aequitas”. However, I don’t intend on using statue portraits for the remainder of the series… so it might be odd choosing this one now. This photo is also public domain. I photoshopped it, increasing the contrast to darken the shadows and changed the color to a sort of bluish-pink taint.

As for the font, I’d hoped that my dad would draw the title word but I’ve found a neat new font called Daemonesque, which should look very spiffy against either one of these cover images.

Now, its your turn! Please give a vote and tell me which one you prefer more! If you have another suggestion, please tell me about it! I’d love to hear it.

Thanks!

~KSilva