Tag Archives: horror

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Get ready for Phoenix Fire

Two years ago, a fire was kindled and it promised to grow. But life has a funny way of taking turns and making it difficult to find your way. We all started wondering whether the fire was going out and we would watch another dream being snuffed out before it could fly.

I am writing this post to tell you that from ashes a phoenix shall rise!

Yes, you read right! Phoenix Fire is in the making. My South African writer friends are putting on their writer hats and we’re putting together an anthology to follow up The Flight of the Phoenix. This time around, the target audience is narrowed down to YA (young adult) only, though the genres will stay fantasy, science fiction and horror.

Keep your eyes open for more posts as we fight the dying of the light!

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The Flight of the Phoenix – podcast

This is your chance to hear me displaying all kinds of bravado on Release the Geek, the official GeekXP.co.za podcast!

GeekXPbadge

Les (from Release the Geek) actually podcast ambushed me one sunny day while I was at home with my son (who was almost 3 months old at the time)…so, you might get to hear a little baby voice here and there. *blush*

All in all, I think it went quite well. And I put my foot in my mouth less often than usual.

Click here to listen to the podcast!

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The Flight of the Phoenix – Links

It’s time to get your hands on The Flight of the Phoenix!!! Pre-orders are open! Now, since we are not in charge of how our platforms work, we’ve had to get creative with how we’re doing pre-orders.

CreateSpace (print-on-demand via Amazon – so, worldwide distribution) and Amazon (eBook). To get your pre-order discount, please contact us via our Facebook page and I will personally send you a coupon code.

For our local South African print run pre-orders, contact all authors directly. We are all reachable on Facebook.

Elmien Grove ♦ Ryhen E Knight ♦ HJ Kruger ♦ Caldon Mull
Natalie Rivener ♦ Andrea Vermaak ♦ Richard T Wheeler

Please note: The pre-orders are limited to the period before 16 July 2015. From there on, they will be available only at the full price, so, don’t wait! Get your discount now!

FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX COVER FINAL copyThe Flight of the Phoenix on Amazon, CreateSpace
and in South Africa!

Leave us a review on Goodreads if you like it!

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The Flight of the Phoenix – RSA print run pre-orders open!

The South African print run The Flight of the Phoenix  is finally open for pre-orders! This fantastic anthology has been long in the making, but it has been worth the wait! You will be hard pressed to find another anthology with such a good selection of fantasy, science fiction and horror stories.
If you order before the end of June, you will receive a 25% discount on the normal price of R150*! This means you will be paying only R112.50* per copy you order.
*Please note that the price does not include shipping!
When will I get my book(s)?
Our official release date will be on the 16th or 25th of July this year. As soon as the date has been set, we will let you know. Alternatively, you can specifically request to fetch them from us at the book launch on 25 July, 14:00 at the Rooihuiskraal Public Library. (You can get your copy signed and photo taken with one of the authors!)
Thank you for your support and encouragement. You’re making our dreams a reality!
If you do not live in Gauteng or anywhere near South Africa, do not despair! We will be doing print-on-demand and ebooks on Amazon! However, the pre-orders will only open in June.
Place your pre-order for the RSA local print run now:

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The Flight of the Phoenix – Book launch in the making

Wow! What a lovely feeling when everyone is pulling together! My authors are super excited about this project.

In July this year, we will be releasing The Flight of the Phoenix on Amazon (both ebook and print on demand) and we will hold a local book launch!

Mark the 25th of July on your calender if you live in (or around) Gauteng and we’ll see you there!

Please note that pre-order prices will be cheapest (25% less than the normal price). At the book launch itself, it will be 20% less than the normal price. The final pricing is still being calculated.

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Flight of the Phoenix – it’s happening!

I’ve been keeping this under wraps but, despite my many misgivings, it looks like Flight of the Phoenix will be making its appearance in the next two months!

What is this now?
Flight of the Phoenix is an anthology of fantasy, sci-fi and horror short stories written by seven different South African authors.

Though anthology is aimed at teens to young adults, I have tried hard to get all my writers to provide stories that was wide-audience compatible (i.e. if you are not a teen or young adult, the stories are still enjoyable – like Harry Potter). It has been long in the making but it’s finally looking like we’re moving ahead!

Where did I find all these authors?
I actually started off with 15 writers last year when I decided to jump in head first and compile an anthology. They all seemed keen…but, as time passed, about half of them fell out claiming life interfered, they didn’t have any ideas at the moment, work was eating their time, they weren’t willing to adapt according to feedback received… You know, the standard stuff. At least, one of the writers said “No” because she was busy writing on another story that was taking a lot of time.

Sooo, when’s it out?
Depending on whether my fellow writers are keen on doing hard copy as well, the release date will be either beginning of April (if it’s to be an ebook only) or June (if we’re doing print too) this year. Why the hold-up if we do print? Well, I’d prefer bringing out all the formats at once, rather than it appearing in drips and drabs. And…I happen to be expecting the arrival of my second child midway through April…I can promise you: Nothing will be happening in my life other than keeping my family alive for a month after his arrival.

Updates on progress to follow soon!

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To my SAfrican fans: Pre-orders are open!

It’s time! The Pretoria Writers Group anthology, STORM, is coming out in June 2014 and the pre-launch sale is on! This is your chance to get your hands on a print version of STORM (Volume I and/or II)!

If you’d like to pre-order a copy, use the contact form below. 

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Dreams – Hell is in the mall

When I was somewhere between fifteen and seventeen, I had a lot of dreams about responsibility. This one was admittedly after playing Diablo I for probably every weekend for two months.

I’m walking around in Menlyn Park (before it was rebuilt) with my mother when I notice a strangely blank hallway. Its walls are grey and there are no shop windows. I walk around the corner to peer down the hall when I see a small girl sitting next to an unfinished section of the hallway. There is a construction sign to ward off curious shoppers and the hallway terminates in construction site with exposed bricks, wires and scaffolding.

I walk over to the girl to ask her where her parents are when I notice what she’s doing. She’s scratching occult runes into the powdery cement of the unpainted wall. My blood runs cold and I pick her up. After some frantic searching, I find her mother and feel relief flooding me.

Just wanting to check that all is well, I return to the spot where I found her. And there she is. As if I hadn’t taken her away just moments before. She scratches the last mark into the wall and I feel my stomach dropping away. She smiles a creepy little-girl smile at me and looks horrifically satisfied with what she has done.

In that moment I know that she has opened the gates of Hell and I am the only one who knows. With that comes a sudden all-encompassing fear of God. A phrase I had never quite understood before. But, in that moment, I know that God has put the blame squarely on my shoulders and it is I that will have to venture into the depths of Hell to close the gate. Flames lick up the uneven, cavern-like walls beyond the Gate. I feel very small and weak. But I know that I am far more afraid of the wrath of God than anything I will find down there. I venture in.

…

That is all I remember…except for vaguely Diablo-esque fighting as I attempt to somehow gain control of the dream and it becomes me clicking away on a mouse, closing the gates of Hell by removing my consciousness from my body and doing it through a computer screen. I don’t actually successfully close those gates before I wake up.

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A Dark Encounter

Her feet plunk-plunk-plunked sullenly on the metal stairs to the basement. They always sent her. Every time. She stood on the step in front of the door for five breaths and then flicked on the light switch. Not that it would help. She heard the tink-tink of the light warming up inside. Not that it really mattered if the light was on, though. It was always the same in there.

She counted another five breaths.

Her skin started crawling in earnest as she pushed the door open and the fluorescent light spilled out. Though the basement was really just a small, dusty study with stacks of boxes along the walls, it exuded a level of menace that is generally reserved for childhood nightmares.

Just get the photo album, Millicent Antoine, she thought to herself. Just–

Something cold and wet slithered up her leg. She felt a shriek building up in her throat before she could get herself to look down. It was already just over her knee. She forced her eyes open. The whole floor was a churning mess of eyes, teeth and slimy brown tentacles, one of which was wrapped around her leg. The scream tore loose and then the light flickered and died.

When she opened her eyes again, she was curled into a foetal position. The light was flickering on and off, still tink-tinking. There was a patch of warm wetness spreading from her crotch.

I need to see my shrink, the flashbacks have started again.