Tuesday Snippets #12-- Anthony Maxwell

Wow, I can't believe it's been twelve weeks since I started Tuesday Snippets! I'm even more surprised that I actually got one up each week :P The only sad thing is that Tuesday Snippets featuring Anthony Maxwell is almost over. Next week will be the last one because A Case of Poisons will be out the next Monday! But once I get through the first draft of my next novel (which I will be talking about after Anthony's release) I will start doing Tuesday Snippets again =)

Since I won't be doing Tuesday Snippets again for a while, I am going to start another weekly serial, because I find I rather enjoy it, and have decided to do Friday Duos, during which I will feature a favorite fictional duo with a short piece on why I love them and likely a little bit of fan art ;) So I'm pretty excited about that.

BUT!! Now it's is time for the Snippet, and this Snippet just happens to be from my favorite part in the book, and I really couldn't resist featuring it as a snippet and drawing the picture to go along with it was really fun too ;)

Without further ado, I present the snippet from chapter 17. (Oh yes, and there are a few extracted parts and bleeps so as not to give away spoilers ;)

         I was never sure what exactly started the next few events in motion, but here was my best guess. It is possible that when Tobias and I were rushing to find a hiding spot, we had marginally upset the sarcophagus in the corner we were hiding in, and Tobias was plastered between it and myself, so it’s also possible he shifted slightly and started it moving. The cause didn’t really matter, after all was said and done anyway; only that it happened and set off a whole chain of events that would soon have us running for our lives.

         (The Unnamed Gentleman) was still prattling on about (things that don't concern the Reader at this point) and all that, when a slight scraping sounded in Tobias’ direction. I looked over at him with a frown, but saw him doing the same as I but with his eyes locked on the sarcophagus in the corner. And then I realized with sudden horror that it was moving, sliding down the wall slowly toward us. Tobias realized this at the same time I did and put a hand out to stop it, taking a risk by exposing the appendage to the room should they happen to look over, which seemed more and more likely by the minute. One hand proved to be too little for the heavy artefact and Tobias hurriedly flung both hands up as the thing fell with more speed, panic suddenly in his eyes, and I turned just as he was losing it to help prop it up, finally succeeding it stopping its downward motion. We froze in that position, not even breathing, but -------- was still talking and as I peeped out my moth hole again, it seemed, miraculously, that no one had noticed the mummy falling. It was lucky that the room was so dimly lit that the corner we were in was in deep shadow...

         The sarcophagus was now behind the drape with us, so even if it continued to move and someone happened to look over, no one would see it. Tobias and I let out a breath of relief at the same time, and perhaps that extremely slight shift in position caused the next event, for very suddenly the sarcophagus opened and the mummy inside fell out on top of us. Tobs barely bit back a yelp as it fell onto his face. He let go of the sarcophagus in an attempt to hold the mummy and keep it from falling, and I was left with the full weight of the case in my awkward position of reaching over Tobs, and now the mummy’s, heads. I knew this arrangement was not going to last long and I also knew that we had only seconds before someone noticed what was going on despite the dimly lit room and the riveting speech. I hissed into Tobias’ ear, ‘Put the mummy back in the box.’

            He didn’t answer and I suddenly realized he was frozen, his eyes clamped shut. 




So, if you want to find out how Anthony and Tobias ended up in this very strange circumstance, make sure to save your spangle to buy the book when it comes out June 3rd! Or you can pledge money to my Indiegogo campaign (see below) and get a SIGNED copy =)

If you missed Anthony's interview at my friend Mara's blog last week, go check it out! http://667bakerstreet.blogspot.com/2013/05/character-interview-with-anthony-maxwell.html

And if you enjoyed this snippet, don't forget to help my Indiegogo campaign suceed by pledging money for the release of A Case of Poisons. You can get a signed copy of A Case of Poisons for doing so as well as other awesome perks =)  http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/new-action-packed-steampunk-mystery-series/x/3259500

I'll be back again next week with the final Snippet if not before =) 

Slainte, Hazel

Tuesday Snippets #11-- Anthony Maxwell

The 11th Tuesday Snippet! This one comes from chapter 12 because the previous two chapters didn't have an interesting snippet that wouldn't be a spoiler =) This one is very cliff-hangery though, (which all the snippets will be until the release of the book--that's my plan for getting people to buy it when it comes out *evil laugh*). So hope you like it and the picture of the cute little urchin boys =)

I was woken that morning earlier than expected, hearing first the pounding on my door and then Mrs Hutchings hurrying toward it. I wanted nothing more than to stay curled on my sofa and die, but knew I could not ignore the commotion. I was just hauling myself off the sofa, thankfully still wearing my dressing gown, when a flurry of voices could be heard, along with Mrs Hutchings sounding exasperated and flighty.

         ‘Mr Maxwell, come make sense of this!’ she cried.

         I did just that, or at least, that was my intention, but as soon as I stepped out the door of the parlour, I was accosted by two small, filthy figures that were trying with every ounce of being to drag me out the door.

         ‘What is going on?’ I demanded, trying to shake the muzzy sleep from my head, and that at least stopped them for a minute.

         One of the boys, Dods, I realized now that he was no longer yanking my arm from its socket, spoke first, looking pale and frightened. ‘Tony, you have to come now! Those kidsmen have blagged Archie! We was just out hustlin’ and they came out of nowhere!’


         ‘Who?’ I asked, trying to make sense of it all.

         ‘Some toff and two bruisers,’ said the second boy, Mumbles. ‘Archie fought them, and tol’ us to run.’

         ‘We didn’t wanna!’ Dods put in sternly.

         ‘But we did, ‘cause Archie said so, but we stayed by and watched, and he held his own for a while, but then the bruisers grabbed ‘im and the toff put a billy over his face and ‘e seemed to pass right out.’

         It took me a moment to put their hectic story together, but when I did, I sped off to my room, calling for Mrs Hutchings to quickly send a message to Tobs to tell him to meet me here. I roughly threw on my clothes, ignoring the smarting in my wounded arm and then went to open the door to my room again. But I stopped, leaning against it as I finally realized just what had happened. Archie…

Also, if you missed the cover reveal, go check it out here and see the lovely cover art by Jessica Gilliland!

Also, another fun thing for the day: my Friend Mara interviewed Anthony Maxwell on her blog, so do check that out too so you can find out more about the hero of A Case of Poisons.

And don't forget, if you liked this and want to help me out with promotion for the release of A Case of Poisons check out my Indiegogo campaign. Remember, there's lots of awesome perks for incentive! 

Slainte, Hazel

My Campaign for "A Case of Poisons" Finally Up!

Well, if you've been following my blog posts, you'll probably know that I was planning to do a Kickstarter campaign to help support the launch of A Case of Poisons my first Anthony Maxwell book. You might also know that it gave me a lot of trouble. SO I finally ended up ditching Kickstarter and went with Indigogo instead (stupid name, but hey, their site is awesome). In fact, I am almost tempted to tell authors from now on to go with them, but I'm going to write a post about that later. Right now, I want to talk about my own campaign!

You'll be able to learn about all the reasons for my campaign by reading about it on the Indigogo page and watching my video, but in the long and short of it, I'm your typical starving artist, and I have no money in which to promote the way I want to. So, that's where (hopefully) you will all come in to pledge a little money and help me out, so I can make the launch of A Case of Poisons more thorough than I would be able to on my budget which is about as much as your average collage student.

But you're also getting something back for pledging money! Every pledge has a thank you gift (which you'll also be able to read about on the campaign page) these are some of them:

There's also a really fun perk where you get to name a character in the next book. Which is really generous of me, because I'm usually very particular about that ;-) But really, there's a slew of unnamed characters for the next book, so I'm going to need some help.

And now here is a video where I explain about the campaign. I was going to upload it to the Indigogo page, but I made it for Kickstarter and I call it a Kickstarter in the video, so I didn't think that was the best idea, and since I am too lazy to re-edit it because my computer takes forever to render videos, I've decided just to put it here. Mainly I talk about the same things I wrote on the campaign page, but I also read from the first chapter of A Case of Poisons so that means you get to hear my English accent and also my annoying parakeet in the background because that's what I get for filming outside.

(Okay, the video will be up soon, I have to make a smaller file)

Thanks for reading this, and if you watched the video, Kudos to you! I hate self-promotion, so I don't know if I'm doing this right, but I hope you might all consider pledging something. You can check out the link to my campaign page below if you are so inclined to give me some spangle, or if you want to pass on the word, which is great too. Oh, and ignore the part in the video where I talk about the part where you get no money if the goal isn't met, because Indigogo doesn't do that, that was all Kickstarter. I'm also going to apologize to everyone who follows me on my various social media because I'll likely be spamming this everywhere, but that's what they said to do. 

Campaign Link: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/new-action-pakced-steampunk-mystery-series/x/3259500

Anyway, thanks for your time!

Slainte, Hazel

Happy Mother's Day! "Ballad of the Highwayman" Sale

In honor of mums everywhere, I am running a sale this week until next Sunday for my novel Ballad of the Highwayman on e-book. It's only $2.99 (normal 4.99), and you can find it on both Amazon Kindle and Smashwords if you don't have a Kindle. It's a nice romantic adventure, with an awesome heroine, handsome heroes, and all that good stuff. Admittedly, it's the only one of my books that I could possibly class as anywhere close to "chick-lit" but even then it's not. However, it's still a fun adventure novel and will appeal to mums. And if you're not sure if you like it, you can read the first couple chapters on Smashwords preview as well!

Kindle

Smashwords

And if you're looking for something shorter, you can also check out Lynnann Richards' historical romantic short story "Aunt's Story" (a companion to her novel Cherished Preserver) Only $0.99 on Smashwords and Amazon Kindle

Kindle

Smashwords

COVER REVEAL!!! Anthony Maxwell Book One: A Case of Poisons

Well, it's finally here! The cover reveal for "A Case of Poisons" and without further ado, here it is!

A huge shout out to Jessica Gilliland, a fellow indie author, for doing the lovely cover art! Go check out her website and books! You can also find her on Goodreads

So I was hoping to announce the beginning of my Kicktarter campaign at the same time as the cover reveal, but stupid Amazon account is taking FOREVER to verify, so I still don't have the Kickstarter set up, which means my book tour is just going to get bumped back even more. The release date is still June 3rd though! And there's other things to look forward too this month!

First of all, Mara at 667B Baker Street is going to be interviewing Anthony on her blog

And then on the 28th, A Case of Poisons is going to be featured on Aside from Writing for Indie Author Month.

And then of course today's giveaway! Anyone who comments from now until saturday at 12 AM will receive a signed bookmark if they so wish. Just leave me your email address, so I can then email you for your mailing address and I will send off a bookmark to you. (US only this time, I'm afraid, but for the Kickstarter, I'm shipping international, so you will still have the chance to get one, you'll just have to pledge money first!)

Here's a picture of the bookmarks:

Of course I will keep up with the Tuesday Snippets as well, and don't forget to follow Anthony Maxwell on Facebook which you can do by clicking his picture on the left of the blog, so that you can get updates on all the stuff that is going on with the Anthony Maxwell series. I'm very excited about the release of the first book. I hope you will all enjoy it!

I'm also going to get up a giveaway for the actual novel soon too, and I'll let you know when I get that done. I'm hoping to have several fun things going this month in preparation for the release date. Just got my proof copy Wednesday and it looks awesome! A little more editing, and everything will be a go.

If you haven't already, don't forget to add A Case of Poisons to your Goodreads shelf!

Come back on Tuesday for the next snippet!

Slainte, Hazel

Tour stop and Character Interview for Daniel Ottalini's New Novel!

Hi everyone! I'm excited to be hosting a tour stop today for Daniel Ottalini introducing his brand new novel in the Steam Empire Chronicles, Copper Centurion, which was just released on the 1st.

Rome Seeks Vengeance 

In his Award Winning Debut Novel Brass Legionnaire, author Daniel Ottalini introduced us to the world of Roman Steampunk as Julius Brutus Caesar and his royal commanding officer Constantine Appius fought to save the city of Brittenburg from total devastation. Now, Rome looks to avenge the actions of the Nortlanders and invades the north. But saddled with political oversight, inept leadership and a resourcefully cunning enemy, the expedition walks a fine line between glory and destruction. With their technology failing, it will be down to swords and shields in the next novel of the Steam Empire Chronicles, Copper Centurion.


I've also conducted an interview with one of the characters from the books, Constantine, who is not only next in line for the throne, but a commander in the imperial army.

Salve, Constantine! Glad to have you on my blog today. Tell the readers who might not know you a little about yourself.

Well by day I’m your average Roman Tribune, commanding officer of the 13^th cohort, XIII Germania Legion. By night I’m a supremely dashing heir to the throne, but cool in a mysterious way… Hah, I figured that would get you. (Chuckles) Yes to both the tribune part and the heir to the throne part, but I suppose you could get rid of the dashing part.

What has life been like for you since the Battle of Brittenburg?

Well after recovering from my wounds, I was able to rejoin my men. It’s good to be back with them. Lots of new faces coming in though, the cohort really took a beating in Brittenburg. Holding down the governor’s palace for a whole night against a Nortlander backed mob was a pretty bloody affair. And now we’re headed north to give those barbarian scum a lesson they won’t soon forget. (pauses a moment)

That reminds me, I’ll have to pack my cold weather gear. It’s winter time up there eight months of the year, I’ve heard.

What is it like being an heir to the throne and commanding an army at the same time?

By the gods, do you have any clue how many fricking expectations are dumped upon me? Especially since my brother managed to get himself killed last year. Now I get two jobs with just the pay of one. Not that I want that other job yet, mind you. Thank goodness I’m not in charge of the army, managing my cohort is tricky enough. And as far as I’m concerned, I really don’t like to use my imperial authority out here. If I can’t be respected for what I’ve done, then I surely won’t gain respect for shoving an imperial seal in their face

What are your thoughts on airships? Have you gotten to ride in one?

As always, I love riding in airships. Of course, our airships are more like our ‘wet’ navy ships, in that they look similar, just missing the giant balloon! I’ve learned a lot about airships, mostly how to fight on them. And believe me, those things are not as sturdy as they may appear…

Are you more inclined to have faith in powerful machines on the battlefield or the common soldiers?

A machine is just a machine. Without a human behind it, it cannot do anything. The greatest problems to our world come from the mind of man, not the arm of machines. A smart soldier can always outwit a powerful machine.

Can you share a little with readers about what they can expect in Copper Centurion?

Well, as the expedition is currently classified by my superiors, I suppose I can’t really say much, other than to hint that a certain assassin makes an appearance, an unexpected person reappears, and we all freeze our behinds off in the cold lands of Nortland. Then there’s the usual – airship boarding battles, mechaniphants and mechwolves, ambushes, espionage, a traitorous leader and more.

Now for a little gossip. Anything readers should know about you and Senatora Pelia?

No. (Icy stare) My…private…life… is none of your concern. She would be outraged to hear you asking me about it. She is a senator after all. And a shoe-in for the leadership of the new Army Medical Corps, and….

I’ve said too much (blushes).

What do you think the future will bring for you and the others?

Well with the northern front dealt with for the time being, I’m hopeful that we can get some R&R time. We need to refit and retrain some of the new men, and perhaps I can sneak in a trip to the capital. It’s been a while since I’ve been back.

Thanks so much for letting me interview you, Constantine!

The pleasure was all mine, domina.

Purchase Links:

Copper Centurion

Brass Legionnaire (Book One)

Smashwords

Daniel Ottalini is a teacher, author, amateur historian who was raised by both the History & Discovery Channel. His parents are very proud of decision to write about alternate history, in hopes that he will stop bothering them about it. His second novel, Copper Centurion, is available in both ebook and print versions. You can learn more about him at www.danielottalini.com or follow him on twitter @dottalini.

Tuesday Snippet (On Wednesday Again) #10-- Anthony Maxwell

Wow, I can't believe there has been 10 Tuesday Snippets! And only a little over three weeks left before the release of "A Case of Poisons"!

Today's snippet is from chapter nine, and reveals what happens to Anthony after the fight he had in the alley with the bruiser and took a wound in the arm from the man's knife.

         I woke sometime in the early hours of the morning. These hours were not at all strange to me, as I might sometimes work until dawn on a case or one of my personal pursuits, but I always took my eight hours of sleep religiously unless utterly impossible, and rarely woke before they were finished once I did trouble myself to sleep. That night, however, I grew restless and uncomfortably hot where earlier I had remembered being cold. My whole body hurt and yet it was my wound that hurt most of all. I was rather out of my head, but I was lucid enough to realize that I had a fever and knew it must be from my wound. I sat up, fumbling with the gas lamp on my bedside table, and unwrapped the bandage from around my arm. It was bloody from where I had distressed it in my fevered thrashing. Some of the blood had dried, making the wrappings painful to peel off, and when I did I quite wished I had not.

         As an investigator I frequently saw dead bodies with horrible wounds, and the ones I had seen several days ago in the morgue at Scotland Yard had had the worst to date, but seeing something that ugly in my own flesh, while I was suffering from a high fever was nearly too much for me.

         Mine, to my best recollection and judging from ones I had seen with a clear head later, looked like decaying flesh. It had turned black where it had once been red, and the cut itself was a horrendous, gaping crimson slash through the blackness, blistering at the edges. I could tell at once, despite my somewhat delirious state, that this was not the normal bruising that can occur around an abrasion; no, this was something else. I felt sick with the thought of what that could be. 

I personally think the shading turned out better on this picture than the last one (though I'm still trying to get it perfect), and I found out that a que tip makes a better blender than the normal paper things they give you in drawing sets (I lost mine).

Consider it a cliff hanger =) 

Also don't forget to stop by the blog on the 10th (this Friday!) for a cover reveal! I'll be doing a giveaway for signed bookmarks with the cover art too, which I should be getting from the printer soon =) I'm very excited to see what you all think of the cover, I think it's lovely and I can't wait to share it with you.

As for the Kickstarter, I've run into unforeseen difficulties, but it's getting there!

Slainte, Hazel