Sites and Social Media

Hello everyone!

It’s been a really long time since my last update but it’s hard enough keeping up with my projects in my home language (portuguese), let alone in English (wich I love but find hard to get the time to make everything I want to do). “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound” is on stand-by at the moment and, to be true, I have no idea when I’ll be able to finish its english version but it is not forgotten. In the meantime I’ve been publishing a webcomic which is available in both languages, so enjoy: WOLF & DRAGON.

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But today let’s go in a different direction. So this article talks about how publishers have, for the longest time, put more effort into static sites and less into social media. Is this still true?
The article is focusing on YA books but my question is: For those who write for adults are the rules the same. Wich do you think is easiest and more effective with adults: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ or blogs and static websites?
Which ones do you prefer to use? Where do you find most of your new athors and how do you keep up with your favourite authors?

Please let me know what you think on the comments bellow. See you all soon!

Top 10 at Amazon!

Hello everyone! It’s been a while and some explanations are way overdue, but I’ll leave that to another day. Today I bring good news!

“The Last Supper” is on Top 10 at Amazon.com.BR, in 7th place. This refers to the portuguese version, but if you’d like to read it in english, please follow this link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ATG11Q2

Note: This story is free on other retailers ( Smashwords, Kobo, Barnes and Nobles, iTunes, etc.).

If you’ve read “The Last Supper“, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment here and consider leaving a review at your favourite retailer.

2013 and 2014

2013 came to an end and now is time to look back on what was done, and set objectives for the new year.

2013 was a bad year for my writing. I had intended, as you all know, to publish “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound“, and I never managed to do that in english. To my shame!
For that I can only apologize.

So, in 2014, my main objective is to finish “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound” and publish it, both in ebook and book format. And this, I hope, will come very soon. I’m aiming for the first trimester, but make no promisses on that date.

Another thing I hope to do during 2014 is translate at least two stories of “Heroine”, a fantasy satire I’m publishing in portuguese.

This might not sound like much, but I hope to make even more.

And what about you? What are your objectives for 2014?

Merry Christmas and Great New Year

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it) and a Great New Year that is fast approaching.

I know I’ve been absent for too long but in 2014 I will finish the translation of “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound” and I’ll also publish Heroine’s adventures in english. Look forward to it.

::Characters:: Amilda L’Agrande

Amilda

Amilda L’Agrande is Angel’s adoptive sister and best friend.  They’re both character in my novel “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound”.
When the story starts off, Amilda is nearing her 18th birthday and she’s already a Level B sorceress (learn more about Magic), and she’s also engaged to Luigi Monteva.
Amilda and Luigi are the only survivors of a massacre that took place when several families tried relocating from an unsafe refuge. That night, Amilda and Luigi, who were only three years old at the time, lost everyone they’d ever known.

Adopted by Jane Thompson, Amidla grew up in Kirovohrad’s refuge, and there she learned magic from her adoptive mother. All that time she kept close the only picture she has of her family: her biological mother and her eleven siblings, amongst which is Davet, the brother she was closest to.

All throughout the story, Amilda will be a friend and companion for Angel, in their tuff journey. Young, impetuous and innocent, Amilda will make mistakes, and yet she’ll be one of the pillar stones for this story.

Curious? Is there anything els you’d like to know about Amilda? What about Luigi or Davet?
Please leave your comments.

And before finishing this post, I have to apologize. The book is not yet ready for release: I got a new job and afterwards I just haven’t got the energy to sit down and concentrate on finishing “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound”. But I promise I’ll get my life organized and I’ll get back to it very soon. I don’t want to delay the release much longer.
Thank you all for your patience. Please come back for more news soon.

Map “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound”

You probably didn’t know this, but, during the many pages of my novel “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound“, the characters travel across Europe, and this map shows the most meaningful places on that journey:

– Kirovohrad, Ukraine
– Orhei, Moldava
– Nagykáta, Hungary
– Bad Colberg-Heldburg, Germany
– Donostia – San Sebastián, Spain
– Navarra, Spain

There’s also Freixo-de-Espada-à-Cinta, in Portugal, but all the scenes that take place there, are in the past, so I didn’t include it here.

In other news, the novel is going slow, mostly because I got a new job and time is really, really short. I’m trying to organize things, so as to be able to fully dedicate my time to finishing “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound“, and hopefully that will be soon. It’s been too long since I released the Portuguese version, and I don’t want to keep the English-speakers readers waiting much longer. Forgive me for this delay, but there’s nothing much I can do. I have to make a living, after all. And writing doesn’t pay my bills, unfortunately.

 

So, are you curious as to what scenes take pleace in which locations? Can you guess where the story starts off from? (You can know that by reading the excerpt, HERE).

::Characters:: Cornivar

Cornivar

Cornivar is the father of all Primordials and he’s said to be a true Immortal. Very little is known about this man. His age is unknown, his origin is a mystery, and when he’s the topic of a conversation, more questions rise than answers.

It was Cornivar who turned twlve humans into twelve Primordials (find out more here). The first to be turned was Aaralyn, the only woman he loves, and the one he wanted to share immortality with. Their relationship is very open and Aaralyn has many lovers, whom she shares with Cornivar, on occasion.
As for the rest of the Primordials, Cornivar is fond of them, but not nearly as much as of Aaralyn.

On the other hand, Cornivar is ruthless to Sekhmets, vampires and humans. He is a relentless sadist and takes immense pleasure in the suffering of others. This is something you’ll see in my novel “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound”.

Cornivar has Brown hair and eyes, he looks to be about fourty years-old and has medium height. Cornivar can walk in the sun and doesn’t need to eat or drink, food or blood, though he occasionally indulges in some blood-drinking.

What characters do you want to meet next? Another villain, or a hero/heroine?

Magic in AG-BB

After telling you a bit about the Vampires, it’s now time to mention the Magic which fills the many pages of “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound”. For without magic, this story’s world would not be complete.

Before the Sekhmets were created, magic didn’t exist, or should we say it had been long forgotten. It was only after the vampires started to spread, that the first Sorcerers appeared, who were no more than Humans with an aptitude for the use of Magic.

Magic, in order to be efficient, requires the Human/Sorcerer to know how to manipulate his/hers Astral Essence, and know the words of the Scriptura ab Magia.
The Astral Essence is a sort of coloured and shiny aura which surrounds the body of sorcerers when they invoke spells.
There are five known types of Astral Essence:
– Defensive (green);
– Offensive (blue);
– Combatant (greenish blue);
– Healing (white);
– Communicational (yellow);
Red coloured magic was recently discovered,  and although its true purpose is yet unknown, it seems to have the same characteristics as the Combatant type.

The Scriptura ab Magia, which can be translated to The Book of Magic, is a sort of sorcery manual and it dates from A.D. 3, which was, only much later spread across the world by the survivors of the first wave of vampires (January 1st, 2010).

Spells are enchantments pronounced in Latin, conjured through the use of key-words from the Sciptura ab Magia, and the invokers’s Astral Essence. Its primary use is on Vampires, although occasionally it falls on humans as well. It can only be conjured by humans.
Within the Spells we have the Curses, which are a sort of long-term spells, with reactive capabilities. The cursed ones are easily identified because somewhere in their bodies will be an inscription (in burned skin) which will indicate the level of magic used, according to the number of half-moons it draws.
Example: The image on the left represents a Level 4 source, for it has 4 solitary half-moons.

Spells are divided in Levels that go from 1(most basic) to 6 (most powerful). However, any sorcerer which uses Level 6 spells, has a limit of 10 to use. Should he/she try to conjure up the eleventh, he/she’ll die before completing it.

There is a pyramid of power amongst sorcerers, who start as Class C wizards, and climb up to Class A.
– Class C (spells of Level 1 and 2);
– Class B (spells of Level 3 and 4);
– Class A (spells of Level 5 and 6);

For each Class there corresponds a symbol, which you can see in the images of this post.
Theses symbols were created by the Pioneers, the first Sorcerers, amongst whom was Tiago, brother of Sekhmet Júlio.

There one thing about Magic usage that is very true: it is stronger at night, and its intensity and accuracy vary according to the moon’s cycle. It may come as no surprise that the strongest is the Crescent Moon Cycle.

And this is about all I can tell you about the Magic inside “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound”, without stepping into some spoilers. Hope you enjoyed this and please come back soon for more curious tidbits and news about the launch of the ebook.

Until tomorrow (April 30th), I’ll be hosting a contest in which anyone can win a free copy of my ebook in portuguese. If you want, you can join in. Go here!)

Vampires in AG-BB

For a while now, I’ve thought about writing a post about the Vampires in my novel, considering they’re such a big part of it. From the synopsis, you can guess there are vampires and wizards, but that’s not all and, most important, not all vampires are alike.

So I’ll start with a little introduction: In “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound” the story kicks off in the year 2175, but throughout the novel there’s one date I mention often: January 1^st of 2010, the day the vampires revealed themselves to the world. But even before that, there were other beings that, later on, would turn humans into vampires.

The first one is Cornivar, the Immortal. His age is unknown, he physically resembles a normal human-being and he has the same strength as one. The only difference is he can’t be killed. Cornivar is the only one of his kind and he was the one who created the Primordials, although he is usually referred to as one of the Primordials, considering how little humans know about him. Humans are only sure of one thing: he’s the leader of the vampires.

Primordials, are twelve humans who were transformed by the Immortal. They possess super-strength, are very resilient and have unparalleled healing abilities. They do not need blood to survive, although they like to drink it and have sharp fangs to facilitate that. Primordials eject a paralyzing venom when they bite a victim.
They can withstand the sunlight, though they are essentially nocturnal creatures. They can only be killed if their heart is destroyed.

Sekhmets, are humans that were transformed into vampires by the Primordials. All, without exception, were turned on the night of January 1^st of 2010. Sekhmets need human blood to survive, and they can be killed in one of three ways: Destroying their hearts, which belong to their respective Primordials (this is further explained in the novel); prolonged exposure to sunlight; blood deprivation.
They possess super-strength, are super-fast and are capable of accelerated regeneration. They also eject venom, like the Primordials. Usually they prefer to kill with their hands, so they let their nails grow until they turn into almost claws. Their power varies according to which Primordial turned them.

Side-note: The name comes from Egyptian mythology, where Sekhmet is the Goddess of war and disease. Legend says that Ra (Sun God) created Sekhmet to punish humans for their sins. Sekhmet killed so many of them that she became addicted to their blood, and when Ra tried to stop the massacre, it was too late. So he made a beverage that was the colour of blood and inebriated the goddess, which was then sated and stopped the carnage.

Vampires are humans whose blood was drained and who were then revived by either another Vampire or a Sekhmet. Their strength is much more inferior then that of Sekhmets, and the lower in the creation-chain they are to Sekhmets, the weaker they become. Some have just about the same strength as a human-being, with the added bonus of having fangs.
They need blood constantly and can’t stand the light of day, so they can be killed with relative ease, either by sun, decapitation, the destruction of their hearts or blood loss.
If a Wizard turns into a Vampire, it is possible for him to bring along some of the remaining magic and therefore be granted a special ability.

These are the three species of blood-suckers that roam the many pages of my novel “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound”. In many things they are different from the usual vampires, especially if you’re used to Dracula & Co.

So, does this sound interesting?
Do you have any questions?
Do you like the idea?

Don’t be afraid to ask. I don’t bite, promise!

So leave your comments because next week I’ll be talking about the Magic in “Angel Gabriel – Blood Bound”. Another interesting topic, don’t you agree?