How’s that apocalypse coming along?

Phew. I’ve survived yet another End of the World.

They’re coming around pretty often these days. The latest one is not the Mayan’s fault; it’s the fault of the people who misinterpreted it. The world should have ended in 1975, but we survived that one too. And last year we survived two raptures. You do remember the rapture, don’t you?

Apocalypse fatigue has set in and I’ve become a total cynic. Because in real life, people predicting the end of the world (through unnatural disasters, raptures or rogue meteors) end up looking very un-sage-like and almightily silly.

In real life, threats/prophecies/predictions of the world ending are either a total joke or a horrible way to scare people. Of course, when truly horrible things happen, Nostradamus is credited with predicting it all. After the event, of course.

The first global media ‘End of the World’, wasn't so much a prediction as a catastrophe. The Cuban Missile Crisis came after so many other terrible events, but this one became television fodder and went viral. (Viral for the 1960s at any rate). The western world collectively cacked its pants and thought we’d all blow ourselves up by tea-time.

This was one of those events (before my time, obviously!!!) that captured the world’s attention and scared us all witless. It could have gone so very badly, but we’re still here because common sense ruled the day. And I guess, with hindsight, nobody wanted to press that red button.

The most recent ‘Mayan prophecy’, which, by the way, has seriously insulted the Mayans who were horridly misinterpreted, brought out the jokers on twitter and facebook. “Another end of the world? What am I going to wear?” and “The world can’t end in 2012, Marty McFly has been to 2015 and rode on a hoverboard” along with the usual, “The world didn’t end? Now I have to buy everyone Christmas presents after all”.

Who can forget Harold Camping’s Rapture from May (and then revised to October) 2011? Was it only a year ago? How time flies!

Even though Harold said ‘The bible guarantees it’, the rapture didn’t come – twice – which led to #rapturefail hilarity on social media. As each time zone around the world ticked over to 6pm, when the rapture was due to start, the sky was meant to go dark. Owing to daylight savings in the southern hemisphere, not even that happened.

People reported they were ‘still here’ or lamented they’d been left behind. The first to be left behind was New Zealand. Poor lambs.

After the jokes came the do-gooders, who castigated the jokers for making fun of an old man’s beliefs. A confused old man wondering why he and the rest of the planet were still here.

Want a trip down annihilation memory lane? Here’s a whole page of predicted events that, um... well, didn’t happen.

Apart from the Year 2000 problem. That was real.

On the other hand, end of the world prophecies work brilliantly in fiction. It’s fabulous foreshadowing: the metaphorical ticking clock as everyone races towards the end of the book. Will they make it or won’t they? It’s classic storytelling to have the characters hurtling towards a momentous event that will change their world forever.

Prophecies work because they show us where the story is heading . It gives us a direction. Fantasy novels are famous for their prophecies of a chosen one who will unite the tribes. The legends of King Arthur are interwoven with prophecy – the one who can take the sword from the stone will unite the tribes of Britain and become their king. The Belgariad series was all about prophecy. Even the Christmas story is steeped in prophecy.

But these are prophecies about uniting people and bringing people together, leading them towards a better world. Not wiping everyone out. Which again, works brilliantly in fiction (I had a go at this myself when I wrote one of those magnificent space operas, currently hibernating in the bottom drawer.)

Raptures, apocalypses and predictions are a fascinating study into human behaviour and how a person’s deep-seated beliefs shape their actions. It can make the foundation of great fiction. Which is where all these predictions belong. The real world is crazy enough without people predicting it’s all going to end.

On that note, I hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year and a wonderful 2013.

~Ebony McKenna

I'm the author of ONDINE series. Book one is THE SUMMER OF SHAMBLES and book two is THE AUTUMN PALACE.

To Resolve, Or Not To Resolve

As we put Christmas to bed, and look forward to the coming of the New Year... It's time to think about our resolutions.

Tonight, over a glass of wine in Amsterdam, this discussion came up... resolutions or not. My two guests said that they did not believe in them. They asked me what it was about making rules for resolutions you don't intend on keeping, and yet if you wanted to do them, then why wait until the New Year? Just do it now.

For me, New Years is a time to reflect on the year prior and make changes in my life. Despite who we are, we can always have room for improvement. I like to evaluate what worked last year, and what didn't. I enjoy setting goals and planning for the future. My resolutions are not rules made to be broken, but goals to be achieved. It's quite the accomplishment to make it through a year and say, "I did it!"

For the second part of the question... Why wait? Why not now? The answer, "Chocolate." I have have to get rid of it before I go for the no sugar thing. Yes, no sugar. Exercise every day, cardio and yoga. Study an hour each day. Write two hours each day. Paint two paintings for auctions.

So, what are your resolutions going to be? Write them out here, and then come back in a year and tell us if you made it.

Enjoy the Journey!
~XOX Karlene

Karlene Petitt is an author and a pilot. Her debut thriller novel, Flight For Control is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. 

From All of Us to All of You

"We wish you a merry Christmas (or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, or other), we wish you a merry Christmas, we wish you a merry Christmas, and a happy new year."

"Good tidings we bring, to you and your king (or president, emperor, monarch, or other), good tidings for Christmas (or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Boxing Day, Kwanzaa, or other) and a happy new year!"

No matter what you celebrate or how, we hope you have a wonderful holiday filled with loved ones and great books.

~From the Indie Elite authors.

Holiday Fun and Wishes~Author Style

‘Twas the night before Christmas
And all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
Except for the writer desperately trying to meet her deadline.

Her chapters were typed
On the screen with care,
In hopes that her editor
Wouldn’t kill her if she was a day or two late.

The characters were talking
All noisily in her head,
While visions of destruction and torture
Danced in the writer’s mind as she hammered out the best climax scene ever.

And her with her coffee nearby
And chocolate in her cap,
She settled in for a night
Of writing that would likely go until daylight, rivaling any college finals all-nighter.

When out in the living room
Rose such a clatter,
She sprang from her chair
Knocking over her laptop, spilling said coffee and stepping on the cat.

Away from her desk
She flew like a flash,
Threw open the door,
And found two kids out of bed, fighting over the presents she forgot to wrap.

The lights on the tree
That still wasn’t trimmed
Gave a pretty glow
On the children’s dirty faces because she also forgot to give them baths before bed.

When, what to her caffeine-induced
Brain did appear
But a little old woman
Shaking her head in disapproval at the messy house, dishes in the sink and piles of laundry scattered about.

With the bun on her head
And the wand in her hand,
The writer knew in a moment
It must be her fairy-godmother come to save the day.

More rapid than children
On cookie, candy and pie sugar highs,
She whistled and shouted,
And called out, “You are a basket case and need my help!”

“Now! Laundry, now! Dishes, now!
“Bathrooms and kitchen
“On! Wrapping, on! Decorating, on!
“And bathing those poor kids and reading them a proper story and putting them to bed.

“To the shower for yourself!
“To the bed at a decent time!
“Now dash away! Dash away!
“Dash away from that computer, it’s Christmas Eve, after all, you can take a break every once in a while, you know!”

She waved her wand
Casting a spell
And the writer watched
As her house magically came together just like she envisioned Christmas should be but deadlines and release dates and kids’ concerts and ballgames never gave her the time to get it all done.

A wink of her eye
And another flick of her wand,
Soon gave the writer to know
That her deadline could wait, she’d figure it out later, this is the time to spend with her family and count her blessings.

The fairy-godmother bowed
Her head to the writer
“Enjoy this day, my dear,
“For tomorrow you have to get your butt back in that chair and finish this book because your editor and cover designer and readers and fans are all waiting to see what brilliant story you give them next."

And the writer gave
Her fairy-godmother a big hug,
They said in each other’s ears,
“You are wonderful and beautiful and so much appreciated. Merry Christmas to you and to everyone who’s reading this.”

Wishing you all safe and happy holidays! (And if you see that fairy-godmother, please send her my way!)

~Kristie Cook

Author Website - KristieCook.com

Soul Savers Series

Resolving To Break The Pattern

Over the past few years, I’ve noticed a writerly pattern forming.

It starts in the fall, when after a summer of binge writing at my family cabin, I’ve got various projects in various states of completion. I declare October “finish them!” month, whereby I try to ignore the voices that whisper in my head of new ideas. Sometimes I succeed.

Then comes November, where I sell my writing soul to NaNoWriMo, promising myself I will complete 50,000 words, that I will write every day, that I will allow myself to write crap if it means getting those pages done. True to pattern, I start out strong, and burn out just over the halfway mark.

But it’s the Christmas season and so this post isn’t to beat myself up over never meeting the NaNo goal. The object is to write. I did that, all of November.

Except, here’s where the pattern really gets noticeable.

December 1 – Lament over not completing NaNo goal and eat ice cream. (Well, I always eat ice cream, but on December 1, I eat more ice cream.)

December 2 – Reread NaNo project and determine it worthy of completion. Celebrate with a glass of wine.

December 3 – 5 – Give myself a break. Because hey, I wrote all of November. Catch up on TV shows I missed in November. (My guilty pleasure this year? Sons of Anarchy…hello Jax Teller!)

December 6 – 10 – Write! Attempt to regain NaNo momentum, but it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and there are so many shiny things…



December 11 – 15 – Begin planning writing schedule that will happen over the holidays. Determine that somehow magically the NaNo project, plus two other projects must be finished. Print off these documents and stuff them in my bag so they’re “handy” if I have some time between shopping/attending Christmas functions to do a quick “edit” in preparation of the binge writing I hope to squeeze in between unwrapping gifts and cooking, or even Boxing Day shopping with my MIL.

December 16 – 17 – Read Stephen King’s memoir On Writing.

December 18 – Realize that for the month of December I have done NO actual writing and according to Stephen King, that pretty much makes me a failure. Because, you know, he writes TEN pages a day, even on his birthday.

December 19 – Resolve to break the pattern.

And that’s where we’re at, friends. The resolutions. The promises that I will write 10 pages every day in 2013. I’ll read 100 books. I’ll lose 50 pounds. I’ll submit at least one short story a month. Blah, blah, blah.

Yeah, like that’s going to happen.

While each of those resolutions is admirable (or stupid), they aren’t realistic. At least not all at once. Sure, Stephen King writes 10 pages a day…but that’s his job. And yeah, 100 books might be feasible if I allowed picture books to count. The 50 pounds? We’ll see.

The point is, my resolutions are always big.

HUGE.

So this year – *deep breath* – I am resolving to change the pattern. And instead of focusing on tangible numbers that loom over me like a black cloud of failure, I’m going to aim for daily targets. In other words, I’m going to set myself up for success. (Novel concept, right?)

In 2013, I resolve:

- to eat healthy and drink more water (and less Diet Coke)
- to write every day, except on my birthday, and maybe Christmas. Oh, and Easter.
- to read every day, even on my birthday. (Can you think of a better way to spend your birthday?)

But more importantly, I resolve to strive for a less stressful, more calming work/life balance.

Unless, of course, the world ends on Friday.

So, how about you? What are your resolutions this year – and do you keep them?

Wishing you and your families a wonderful Christmas and a productive 2013.

- Dawn

Dawn has a short story in the Spirited anthology published by Leap Books.

Team Procrastination

That’s right! You’ve procrastinated and have come to the realization you have less than a week to prepare for the end of the world.

Never fear. Even the procrastinator can put together last minute preparations on how to deal with this behemoth of an event.

Become part of Team Morbid and select your preferred way to die. This will depend upon the ELE (extinction level event – watch Deep Impact to get better reference of this term) that occurs. It could be the big rock finally DOESN’T miss Earth and takes a swan dive into the ocean. A jaunt to the beach would give you front row seats to the end as tsunamis ensue. 

Maybe you’d prefer to bite the big one by camping in the direct line of fire as Woody Harrelson did in 2012. He went down in disintegrating glory from the volcanic pyroclastic flow as Yellowstone put on the display of the millennia.

A pair of hormone crazed scientists might sneak into an off limits room and, in the midst of their hot and heavy petting, panting and horizontal limbo dancing, hit the wrong series of buttons that release a virulent strain in the air turning anemic and iron-deficient folks into blood-thirsty cannibals. What’s that you say? You haven’t taken your iron pills in a while because they interfered with your social drinking schedule. Welcome to Team Zombie! You don’t have to prepare for this. Just don’t take the whole “live people running away from you in screaming terror” personally.

But if those two teams aren’t you cup of tea, Team Survive requires some prep work. If you haven’t joined up with a militia commune in Montana, Minnesota or Texas, then gathering a cache of weapons is a must. Don’t forget to stock ammunition by dates so you don’t use old ammo that could backfire on you. Memorization of Zombieland is a MUST! 

(There’s Woody Harrelson again. Is that a coincidence or a pattern. Hmmm…)

Anyhow, remember that the end of the world may bring the end of all niceties. Most folks will shoot first, question later…if you’re still alive. Get that cardio in order so you stay faster than the slowest person in a group.  And for heaven’s sake, practice the art of NOT turning around to see if the zombies are still behind you. Run like the wind! Period. If the moans and groans of “Braaaaaaaiiiiiiinsssss” change to sounds of wet, lip smacking satisfaction, you may be in the clear. But I digress. The end has yet to come.

So Team Procrastination, which team shall you wait until the last minute to join? The end is near…not yet here. There’s still time to delay J

~Angela Brown, author of Neverlove, which is available on Amazon and you can find it on Goodreads. 

Have You Heard of the Hullabaloo?

Have you heard? It's not too late to join in the fun!!
It's day five, so you have seven days left to enter and win-books and swag and a $200.00 gift card!

Twelve days of Christmas giveaways by a fabulous group of authors brought together by the bestselling Denise Grover Swank.  Each day this week you can win a different prize from each participating author.

PLUS, you can enter to win a 200.00 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card!!

 

All you have to do is fill out the rafflecopter forms on each author's site to enter the books or gifts they're giving away. But you have to enter each day for each separate prize, so don't forget to go back each day!

Head over to my blog to get started, www.ellestraussbooks.com

Have Fun and Happy Hullabaloo!

~Elle Strauss writes fun, lower Young Adult (teen) and middle grade fiction. She is fond of sea salt dark chocolate and hiking in good weather. She also writes upper/mature YA (historical and science fiction) as LEE STRAUSS.