Hey readers and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Distorted, a fantasy anthology edited by Anthony S. Buoni and Alisha Costanzo! Today's stop will include a guest post by one of the authors and a giveaway! Before we get to all that, check out some info about the book and our authors:
Fantasy Anothology
Date Published: November 7, 2014
Tantalizingly bloody tales featuring human pitted against beast and gods, with the true majesty and horrors of the afterlife, with love and death and desire...
Eight writers modernize ancient mythologies in DISTORTED, proving that not every story has been told.
About the editors:
Having relocated from Northwest Florida's lonesome roads and haunted swamps, Anthony S. Buoni now prowls the gas lamp lit streets of New Orleans, playing moonlight hide and seek in the Crescent City's above ground cemeteries. Anthony is the author of Conversation Party, Bad Apple Bolero, as well as the editor to the Between There anthologies. His stories and articles have been featured in North Florida Noir and Waterfront Living. When not prowling, Anthony keeps it scary, writing dark fiction, editing, and watching horror movies. In his spare time, he DJs, plays music, and conjures other worldly creatures with tarot cards and dreams.
Alisha Costanzo is from a Syracuse suburb. She earned her MFA in creative writing from the University of Central Oklahoma, where she currently teaches English. She’s the author of BLOOD PHOENIX: REBIRTH and BLOOD PHOENIX: CLAIMED, and co-editor of DISTORTED. LOVING RED, a Broken World novel, is undergoing serious edits for its 2015 release. In the meantime, she will continue to corrupt young minds, rant about the government, and daydream about her all around nasty creatures.
Website: http://transmundanepress.weebly.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TransmundanePress?ref=bookmarks
Twitter: @TransmundnePres @AlishaCostanzo
GUEST POST
Apotheosis literally popped into my head one day while I was in the
shower. I’m not normally one to actually get my ideas past the brainstorming
sessions. mostly because I don’t have the patience for applying the details to
paper. The compulsion I felt with this idea, however, was strong enough for me
to take the time to write it out.
A large part of my drive to
write this story revolved around two factors that I hold to be true in the
world around me, and the universe at large: namely, a cyclic nature and natural
paradox. Cyclic nature is represented in Apotheosis by the cycle between the
characters, and the flow from fiction to truth as each character’s life is
revealed. Dom writes fiction about Tessa, who sculpts the fictitious Tristan,
who dreams of the long dead Aurelia. There is a bit more to it than that, but
in the interest of anticipation and avoiding spoilers, I’ll leave it at that.
Natural cycles are found all around us: the food chain, the change in seasons,
the change between night and day, the spinning of the planets and solar
systems. I could wax rhetoric about cycles all day long, but I’m sure you’d be
bored to tears before my next paragraph, so I’ll move on. I felt the need to
express my fascination with cycles and symbiotic relationships through the
connection of creator and created. That’s how the story wound up with fiction
and fact being married. This leads me to my next drive.
The second pressing urge to
write Apotheosis is founded, for me, in natural paradox. Many of the examples I
could give are the same as those for cyclic nature. Night and day, winter and
summer, etc. But I find so much truth in paradox. You can’t appreciate beauty
if nothing is ugly. All sunshine makes a desert. Life without death is
meaningless. These form the cornerstones upon which my story is built. I chose
to symbolize paradox not just among the characters themselves, but through
historical and geographical fact and the fiction. Dom and his wife, Tessa and
Olivia, Tristan and Drustan, Aurelia and the twins are all fictional characters
of my own design. The layout of Manhattan, however, along with Treasure Island
in Austin (my favorite bar), the MacDougall clan and their castle, the
Vercovicium, Hadrian’s wall, the last Roman emperor and his family, the desertion
of the Wall by the Roman Legion, all of these are fact and as accurate as I
could make them to suit the story. I absolutely love fictional with strong
roots in fact because it makes the story far richer than when the places,
dates, and people are all creations of the writer and his or her imagination.
My hope was to bring that richness to my readers, and hey, y’all just might
learn something. Happy reading!
GIVEAWAY
a Rafflecopter giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Alright readers, that's all I have for you on the subject of Distorted! What do you guys think? Sound like the anthology for you? I don't know about you guys but I do LOVE that cover! I am a sucker for fantasy, so I cannot wait to devour this read! And that guest post sounded awesome! I can't wait to finish reading this one and share my thoughts! Special shout out to all the authors and the team at MyReadingAddiction for allowing me to participate! Until next time, Happy Reading!
-Ethan
Thanks, Ethan, for hosting us and the wonderful post!
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