Ancient Aliens

All right, I'll admit, I'm kinda hooked on this History Channel show. While watching I noticed a lot of it was pieced together from other shows they've done on the same topic, but have gone back in and expanded to make longer and more episodes. That's fine. It still stimulates the imagination. (Yeah, as if my imagination needs any more stimulation!)




On one episode (the series opener) they took these artifacts they found in the tombs of Egyptian Pharohs that look kind of like the space shuttle and enlarged them to scale to see if they would fly. How cool, to see these scientists out in a field flying these reproduction (made of a light weight wood) and flying them like model airplanes.

Is my inner geek showing?


Good, I don't mind a bit. It's rather fun. It all brings back points I've been pondering for months while watching other programs like, Life After People and reading books by Jack McDavitt (Eternity Road). It makes me think of how a distant civilization comes to earth long after we're gone and finds our ruins. How they sift through our garbage to discover the meaning of our world. What do you think they would say? How would they interpret our belongings and assign meaning to them? Much the way we do when we sift through monuments left behind by the Incas and the Mayans? We think we know the meaning or their pictograms, but do we really? Would the answers they extrapolate from the refuse be correct? Or would they filter it through a lens of their own understanding and get the entire thing wrong? Would we even be able to answer the question of the meaning of our civilization? - I know, it's deep thinking, but these are the thoughts that run through my head when I see programs of this nature. I can't seem to help myself.



And while I'm on the topic these very same concepts were explored on SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis and now Stargate: Universe. I have to admit for having a soft spot forming for Universe. I didn't know if I'd like it at first, it seemed too Battlestar Galactica rehash for my liking, but I've stuck with the show and am glad I did. It seems in this second season to be coming into its own a bit. I like it because it starts to pose--even if subconsciously--these same questions of ancient aliens and fallen civilizations on other planets.




The soil is fertile for storylines of this type. Where you go and what you do with them is totally up to you.

-Kat

www.mystickat.com

31 Days of Halloween

Yes, I realize it's only one night a year, but from Oct. 1 -31 has always been a spookfest for me. I remember being in elementary school and sitting at my desk and drawing pictures of witches and ghosts and goblins while the teacher played a 12-inch vinyal recording of Pit and the Pendulum, Tell-Tale Heart, or the Raven. I was in my glory.

I remember setting up a haunted house in my friend's old house (her parents owned two of them and one was undergoing renovations while they lived in the one next door)- We'd give tours to the neighbhorhood kids and jump out of closets and grab ankles from under beds. It was Hitchcockian in it's suspense and simplicity. No blood or gore, just plain straight up fright.

Something happens to me when that first leaf turns yellow and the scent of fires drift on the air. I just love it. I can't think of any other time of year when I come as alive as I do in the fall. It breaks my heart that it lasts only a few weeks here in NJ. Not long at all. It really is the shortest season. (Though honestly nothing could be as short as our one week of summer we had this year.)

Is it any wonder that I'd end up writing paranormal romances? As Halloween draws closer, my books become increasingly more about those elements from my childhood that were poised to scare. But it wasn't just the ghost and goblins, but the love of those old black and white Universal Monster Movies - Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, the Mummy. OMG. Loved them. Ate them up. I mean....who doesn't love the creature from the black lagoon? Or how about the modern Mummy remakes. I'll take two, please.

So, going over my own list of work for this article, I made an interesting discovery,
I've written a total of 3 ghost stories in my career. Not many considering my love of the paranormal. I have 1.5 "Vampire" books. .25 of a shifter story, but alas not to wolf form. I have no mummies, no creatures from the deep. I'm thinking my supply is sadly lacking. Why, o' why is this? And when am I going to find the time to correct it? Let's be honest, some of these characters would make some pretty sexy heroes.

Who here has read The Mummy: Ramses the Damned by Anne Rice? OMG! Can I just say as far as mummys are concerned the guy was very sexy. Hot. Yummlicious. (I'm going to have to find that book again, and read it before Halloween.) With this new push for zombie books, why not a mummy....oh damn, I just stepped on a plot bunny. (Lifts up foot and looks at shoe.)

What are your plans to get ready for the bestest holiday of the year for a paranormal author? Are you going to read scary books, watch scary movies, or write about your own form of terror-inducing, sexy, bad boy hero?

-Kat

New Release - Scythe by MK Mancos

What started out as a short intro for a creative writing class I took back in 2003 ended up being the jumping-off point for a novel. This happens to me quite often. I'll sit down and start riffing on something that's just so eager o pound its way out of my head and the next thing I know it's a fully realized book with a contract and kick-ass cover.

The original short story was done in first person narrative and titled, My New Career. What a cleary suckworthy titled, and first person? What was up with that? But I loved the idea and knew somewhere in the character's future was a love interest rife with complications. Because I mean, let's face it - it ain't easy dating someone so directly related to the Agent of Death. And where else but a dark paranormal comedy could I introduce two of New Jersey's biggest sci-fi geeks in a hot romance and have it make complete sense?

In all honesty, I have to say this book was a kick to write, because I did pour my love for sci-fi, comic books and wisecracks onto the page with relatively few filters.

*sigh* Sometimes ya just gotta love being a writer.

Here's some blurbage for your reading pleasure.

A hot chick. A golden blade. Dead bodies. It’s enough to make a cop crazy.

Keely Montgomery doesn’t spend much time thinking about death. She’s too busy working toward a Ph.D. in social work—her ticket out of a low-rent apartment in a New Jersey urban center. Until an angelic courier delivers a scroll from the Office of Death and Dismemberment that could take her career down a new path—as one of Heaven’s Holy Assassins.

Her? Become a Scythe? No thanks, not interested. But she underestimates how persistent Heaven can be.

Detective Josiah Adler has seen a lot of weird things during his time on the force. A hot blonde wielding a golden blade, standing over a string of dead bodies? That’s a new one. So is the fact that her grisly deeds leave no blood or marks on the bodies.

The woman’s effect on his libido is another new development. One that leaves him no choice but to nail her before she kills again. And before his heart no longer stands a chance…

Warning: Contains wise-cracking heavenly bodies, sci-fi geekery and a bulldog named Pugsly.

Scythe by MK Mancos available now from Samhain Publishing.

-Kat

How Do You Feel About....

reincarntion?

Personally, I love the idea of coming back and doing it all over again. Though I have to say, I won't be too happy to do high school all over again - let alone puberty. Of course by the time I come back again they might have pills that shoot you through the process like a Growing-Up Skipper. (Remember that doll? You twisted her arm clockwise and she grew breasts and a waistline.)

I also love to read books about lost loves finding each other again in this lifetime. All right, so call me a mush. I know I'm a sappy, sentimental fool in a tough-chick's clothing, but really I just can't help myself. There is just something so touching and beautiful about getting a second chance to get it right. Or a third, or fourth chance even.

Over the years I've studied many and various topics of parapsychology and one of them is the subject of reincarnation. I've read books by Brian Weiss and Micheal Newton, Raymond Moody and Bruce Goldberg for both research purposes and just because I find the subject so fascinating. Reading detailed accounts from the files of respected researchers only confirms my beliefs that such a fantastic thing is possible. Let's face it, energy is never destroyed, it only takes on a new form. So, why not return to the fold and wait until there is an acceptable vessel that we can inhabit? Do we learn everything we need to in one life-time? I doubt it. There is just too much information out there to make that possible.

I've had a plot and a really awful, horrible, dreck of a manuscript based on reincarnation that I've been meaning to pull out of my to-never-be-seen file and dust off and revamp. I've learned so much about not only the topic but the writing craft since I first wrote the very first draft of that book - long hand!!! The second version was actually done on a computer, but it's bad...so freaking bad I can sometimes smell it stinking up the house. A few years ago, I actually sat down with a notebook in hand and started on page one, word one and started to reoutline the novel. I changed the past from Scotland to the New Jersey Highlands. (Similar topography if you stand at the scenic overlook at the rocky cliffs down into the Delaware River which is really what I require in one scene, the rest could happen anywhere.) - I keep saying, I'll work on that one _______ (fill in the blank). However, so many other projects crop up and take importance over that one.

So, I really do hope reincarntion is real. It's going to be the only way I finish all the story ideas I have tucked away.

-Kat

A Kringle in the System by MK Mancos

When Samhain asked their authors to write special holiday themed stories to show their appreciation to the readers, I thought it was a hellova good idea. What better way to spread the love and good cheer of the holiday season than to give a little something extra. But what to write about? I was completely stuck - until an unemployed Christmas elf tapped me on the shoulder and told me her story of whoa. Problem was, did I have time to write something and have one of my writer friends give it the once over before the Nov. 28th deadline?

Lord only knows my plate is full enough as it is, what with writing about five or six books at once, tweaking and editing others and working a full-time job in the medical field. But I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to give my thanks to those who have bought and read my books over the past two years. I appreciate their support so much, that it really wasn't a question of doing it...but finding the time.

But sometimes a character just captures your attention so fully that the story tends to write itself. The author merely a conduit to put the details on paper - or in this case a computer program. Thus it was with A Kringle in the System. Emery Elfsbane and Zachariah Kringle shared a couple of mint martinis and their story with me. It's a light-hearted and rather tongue-in-cheek look at Santa's corporate workshop.

I invite everyone to come and join the fun on Dec. 11th at the Samhellion website when my holiday offering will be the new feature.

Here's a teaser for your reading fun:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“It’s a cruel day when Emery Elfsbane needs the service of a matchmaker to find her a
date,” came the deep masculine voice in her ear.

With her head bowed down to see what she wrote in the dim light, she hadn’t noticed
Zachariah Kringle enter the bar, much less park his finely toned ass on the next barstool. But then he had a talent for moving like a silent night through the world.

Emery raised a brow and glared at him. “I don’t need assistance in finding a date. I am, however, in want of a job, thanks to your dear uncle.”

Zachariah frowned. “What?”

It took all her patience not to yell at him. As if he didn’t know what happened. She closed her eyes and counted to ten.

“Em, come on. What happened?”

She felt his knuckle graze her cheek. Her eyes popped open. There was something
about him. The man was hot enough to melt the entire Arctic zone. He was also the Pole’s biggest player.

Worse for her since she’d had a major crush on him for years.

Annoyance surged up to her mouth, loosening her tongue. “I got canned, all right?”

“Canned?”

“Like a tin of peppermints.”


Happy Holidays!!!

-Kat

Interesting Detours

Ok, I originally wrote this post at about six this morning. When I hit publish it said, "Danger Will Robinson - Blog cannot be posted!" - Actully it was more like, "An Error Occurred" but that's not really as fun or exciting as my take, so go with me on this. Still, I lost the entire blog, and became very upset, cursing the air blue and shaking my fist to the internet Gods who have morbid senses of humor at inopportune times. And since the autosave feature seemed to not work either, I'm trying to recreate the post. My brain is a sieve - I don't think this will work.

Anyhoo, I wrote a humorous post about the little detours I seem to take while doing research. I don't know if I can recapture the levity of the original, but perhaps I can bring you over to the darkside of detours.

Yesterday, I was thumbing through a book of demons and other subversive spirits, looking for a name I could use in my hot erotic paranormal romance (which just so happens is beginning to read like a hot erotic paranormal romantic comedy thanks to my characters putting their two cents in at every turn). But as I'm looking through my reference book, I stumbled across a little tidbit of folklore that was so inviting, I stopped to read it and watched as my imagination took off like a intercontinental ballistic missle. Now, I do not lack for ideas by any stretch. I have enough story files on deck to keep me in plot lines until at least 2020. So, you can imagine how being hit with another flash of creativity wasn't so much a "Voila" as an "Oh no."

Quite honestly, I have a hard time concentrating on the current WIPs when other ideas are swimming around like hungry sharks. I need to get an outline written, explore where the story goes or it will bug the pure shit out of me until I do, clogging up my brain pan and making it impossible to make any headway on the projects I'm supposed to be working on. (Breath). However, I do like the folklore and idea and can see where I can take it to the backdrop of one of my favorite eerie places on earth already rich in folklore: the New Jersey Pine Barrens.

So, when am I going to get to this idea that is tapping me on the shoulder and jumping up and down in place? I haven't the foggiest. All I know is, it's tucked away for future use, or if a special project comes along that attracts my attention and fits the idea.

Take the detours. Let your imagination run wild. You might just find yourself sitting on your next big best-seller.

-Kat

A Case for Cryptozoology

Very few things torque me as much as a skeptic. Especially ones who point a finger at cryptozoologists and shout, "Crackpot."

"Show me the proof," they scream. "If you can't provide a carcass, then *insert cryptid here* doesn't exist."

To borrow a line from Wayne's World: "A sphincter says what?"

In the years between 1994-2004, over 361 new species of animals were discovered and classified in Borneo alone. Quite an impressive statistic for one place on the map. Last summer I read an article which discussed a heretofore unknown species of crab that looks like it wears fur pants somewhere in the South Pacific.

The point I'm trying to make is that in 2007 don't you think all animals and plant life should have been discovered and cataloged by now? And yet, scientists are still making new and exciting discoveries in the animal kingdom. Why then is it soooo impossible for some people to believe that mythological or fabled creatures could exist. I'm not saying for every skeptic to get up on a table top, grab a bullhorn and start pointing the way to the Loch Ness Monster. I just want them to admit that we haven't fully realized all the members of the animal kingdom so there is a possibility that Ogo-Pogo or Bigfoot could be out there waiting to be found.

Given the numbers I quoted above, don't you think it's possible there are still some thing we don't know about our world? I do! Want you know something else? I don't want us to know everything. I love the idea of imagining, speculating and dreaming of the existance of mythological creatures. Where would fantasy and paranormal romances be without them?

Writing romances about the lesser known members of the cryptid world is a lot of fun. I've written books based on the Jersey Devil. I mention the Moth Man in another. Wouldn't a shifter story about a Gryphon be interesting? And not just any Gryphon, but one who dresses in battle armor and fights for his lady love. Or a Gargolye with the heart of a poet.

How creative can you get with cryptids? Let's see whatcha' got.

-Kat

Thirteen Things about KAT MANCOS

Thirteen Things about KAT MANCOS 1 - Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your life? I live with my hubby, Dave, who is an independant comics artist and writer. So in addition to living with my own characters, I share the house with the Intergalatic Samaurai Clowns, Jet-Pak Penguin and two-ton Rhino who wears tropical shirts and is bent on world domination. What can I say, it's a crazy house. 2 - Do you write everyday? Any routines or rituals? Are you a plot or seat-of-your-pants writer? I try to write something everyday, even if it's a grocery list or character sketches. I also work on several stories at once and I'm constantly plotting. I also tend to think in terms of series, so I have started delving into the world of timelines in addition to my character sketches and plotting. However, that being said, I'm all for abandoning the outline if the characters suddenly take me in an unexpected direction. So, I consider myself a kind of hybrid: a plotser. 3 - How would you describe the genre in which you do most of your writing? I'm all about hybrids - I love fantasy worlds based on science, or the science of fantasy. I love to blend those two genres and come up with twists and turns that no one expects. I'm kind of like that with my paranormals as well. I might come up with a totally rational and biological reason for my immortals, while explaining their existence in the framework of folklore. To me it's perfectly natural to have a gargoyle with the heart of a poet, or a harpie with a bad-hair day. I also love to write dark...with some comedic moments. I can't seem to tow the line in one particular direction. Never have been able to...but then I think that works for me and keeps life interesting. 4 - Star Wars or Star Trek? I love them both. I have to admit if given the chance, I'd leave to live on Deep Space Nine right this minute. Of all the Star Trek franchise that's the one that gripped me the most. 5 - What would you say has been your most significant achievement as a writer? So far, getting that first sale...that first contract. Certainly winning the 2005 TARA Contest was a big feather in my cap. It was the first contest I'd ever entered, and with opening chapters I'd written on the fly. The book just came together so easily for me. I felt blessed writing it. (I wish they'd all come to me so easily..hehehehehee) 6 - What advice would you give to aspiring writers? Keep going. Keep learning. Keep working. Do not give up. I'm proof that if you have a goal and determination you can see your work published. 7 - What web sites or reader groups / author groups do you frequent and recommend? Definately the Romance Divas. Wonderful bunch of writers over there who are supportive and very knowledge about all facets of the business. Samhain Cafe is a good one. Romance Junkies. If you write or read ebooks, EPIC is a good group to join. I am also a member of NJRW and am very active in that chapter. 8 - What kinds of books do you like to read? Who is your favorite author? I read all kinds. Right now I'm reading the Mordant's Need series by Stephen R. Donaldson. Usually I read to mood. I'll go for a while and devour sci-fi then all of a sudden I want some action/adventure, then I'll be crying for a nice Regency romance. My list of favorite authors is very long. Let's see.... these are in no particular order. Judith Merkle-Riley, Kate Elliot, Melanie Rawn, Mercedes Lackey, John Jakes, Michael Crichton, C.S. Friedman, Jane Ann Krentz, the Nora, Susan Anderson, Linda Howard, Tami Hoag, Elizabeth Lowell, Sharon Kay Penman, Christina Skye, Robin D. Owens, Susan Grant...the list goes on and on. 9 - What is your latest book about? I was lucky enough to secure a spot in the Samhain Publishing's I Dream of Dragons anthology. My story is titled, Dragon Tamer and is best described as CSI meets Pern. 10 - What will your next book be about? I have so many ideas I work on at a time it's hard to tell what's next, or what needs to be next. I have a list taped to my monitor of 17 books I've started and need to finish. But damn it if I don't keep getting new ideas that I can't wait to write that kind of bump into the queue and demand to be written first. So, I will start on a new project and leave the list hanging, knowing I'll get to them eventually. I'm really into writing sci-fi/fantasy these days. Plus I've taken on a contemporary pen name and am trying to branch out in that direction as well. 11 - What are the goals you are still working toward? A NY contract. Bestsellers lists. Faithful fans ala Dead-Heads. I want to be the author at conferences and book signings who the fans flock to. I want fan girls and guys to treat me like a rock star.... All right...I'm dreaming now, but why not? If you're going to dream, make it a good one. 12 - When people look back at your life, how do you want to be remembered? As one hell of a broad! 13 - Now for the most important question - what do you believe makes a book sexy? Chemistry and a sense of humor. You can read about characters having sex, and the scene not be sexy at all. It's all in the attitude. A sense of humor...well, I just think that's the sexiest thing a guy can have. And my husband is the funniest guy I know...I'm extremely lucky. Visit Kat Mancos at her website - http://www.mystickat.com/ Check out her new release, DRAGON TAMER - available now from Samhain Publishing Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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Dragon Tamer Release...

The dragons are coming! The dragons are coming!





When Samhain sent the call for the "I Dream of Dragons Anthology" I knew I wanted to do something different. The idea of marrying a world filled with dragons with a high-tech society intrigued me. My most awesome critique partner, Jen, said that it read like Pern meets CSI. I loved that descripton. Especially since I'm a fan of both.

Here's a blurb to entice you.

On the tropical island of Cambry, a ghastly, flesh-eating blight is killing the dragons and threatening prime hatching grounds. It's up to hatching ground director, Darion Archer and IFM agent, Serrah Gayle to stop the disease before it's too late.

Go here to read an excerpt.

Hope you enjoy.

-Kat

Coming to An Imagination Near You!!!

It's happened to us all—we get that awesome, kick-ass idea for our break out novel...only to find that Hollywood is about to come out with a similar story on small or large screen. Usually this happens to me when I have a dream that is soooo out there and cool and just ultra ME that I have to write down the story idea and start plotting immediately, only to discover once story and plot are cast that "coming this fall on SciFi" or another such network will be my idea raped to the nth degree and displayed for all to see. Usually my mouth will be left hanging open at this point and I'm in front of the television slapping my forehead... "Ahhhh, they did it to me again!" Which brings me to my actual topic...the collective unconscious.

Without getting too Jungian here, is it any wonder my stories get hi-jacked if there is some unconscious mind-soup out there that might be syphoning off my ideas and selling them to someone with better more powerful connections! I don't ask for much in life...just enough time to write and develope my ideas before they become next week's new blockbuster with someone else's name on the credits. Am I going to have to resort to the tin foil headgear before bedtime to keep my mind blocked from those out to catch my brainwaves? (Oh man...as I wrote that line did I ever get hit with an inspirational thunderbolt!) I know whatever idea I get I'll take it and make it my own without it resembling something on television, because my own thoughts and experiences will be in it. However, that doesn't stop the groan that builds in my throat when I see a coming attraction and find my way-out-there concept about to line someone else's pockets.

If the collective unconscious is indeed a true concept (which I believe it is) then we are all tied together through the power of our minds and what they can conceive on a purely instinctual level. Joseph Campbell (who cut his teeth on the Jungian tradition) believed this same collective unconscious is why we find common concepts in myths and folklore that really had no way of having cross-pollenation. My husband explains this as "ideas that whirl around in space until they find the proper outlet." That's as clear of an explanation as I've ever heard.

It's kind of funny that the series I'm working on right now has all the makings of a good solid triology with potential for more books, but it has to do with dimensional travel. Not exactly an unheard of idea. Now, I've read books and seen shows on this before, and I'm not about to slit my wrists because I'm not the first out of the gate with it. I think I've done something with mine that is so different from the other stories it will be unique. Why then do I feel betrayed by the universe if someone writes a television show about a man moving backward and forward in time because it's like a dream I had a few months ago? (Of course Jason Stratham starred in my dream so it was HOT!!) The guy in the new series I refer doesn't look like sexy Jason. Too bad on that really, but the concept looks sooo incredibly close to the dream I had that I'm still wondering how, where and when the writers got into my head and plucked the idea out. It's just not possible. There has to be something more to where ideas come from that just sudden and inexplicable inspiration. For me, I'm going with the theory of the collective unconscious...but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

-Kat