Màiri Campbell ~ Seanachaidh
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Sneak Peak at the latest story...

25/5/2014

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A Midnight Meeting a Forever Fey Story

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Meet Ashleigh and Varruka two of a number of characters that will be in my Forever Fey Series.                                                                                     ~Màiri
                                       ~~~~~

    Ashleigh felt the walls closing in on her. She had to get away from everything and everyone... at least for a while. She pulled on black leggings, a snug black tank top and her thigh-high black leather boots, as she had countless times before. An outfit perfect for blending into the shadows. She took her cloak from the closet and walked out the door.
     Ashleigh gathered her long chestnut locks forward over her shoulder, settling her cloak around herself and pulled the hood up. The fur trim tickled her face. That small reminder of days gone by only served to depress her more. She stepped off the porch and into the night.
     Her mind wandered back in time to when she lived with her friends, Malcolm and Kaitlin, people she cared about, and who cared about her. She stroked the soft pelt of the badger and thought of the farmer who had gotten angry after a badger almost killed his hound. He had poisoned the female and her kits, leaving them to rot.
     Malcolm had skinned and tanned the badger hides. Doing what he could to make their deaths more meaningful than just letting them decay. He had given the pelt of the female to Kaitlin to use on the cloak she was making for Ashleigh. Her friends were part of a local lycan pack. The pack was not happy about the badgers being poisoned. They did a few things to drive the farmer from the area. No one told her exactly what they had done to make him leave, no matter how many times she asked.
     Thoughts of Malcolm, Kaitlin and their children brought tears to her eyes. She missed her dear friends. They were the closest thing to family she’d had since being turned. Sadly, the kids became ill one day after ingesting tainted meat and did not survive. They had been out playing, slipping the watchful eye of the mother, and found what appeared to be a recently shot deer. In truth, it was a tainted carcass that had been placed out to decrease the local wolf and coyote population. Malcolm and Kaitlin were never the same after that, and had moved away to start over. They had asked Ashleigh to go with them, but she had insisted it was time for her to head home.
     And now here she was, in Chicago, where it had all started for her so long ago. She had been walking aimlessly, when she paused to get her bearings. She noticed she was just outside what is now Burnham Park. Many things had changed in the eighty-seven years she’d been gone. She remembered when single dwelling hovels covered the area—the park was a great improvement.
     Casting about, she spied an alley and slipped into its shadows. It didn’t take long to find one of the city’s many homeless people. She fed quickly, taking just enough blood to stave off the cravings. She left the man lying as comfortably as she could; he would be a bit weak, but he would live.
     Straightening her cloak, Ashleigh glanced around to make sure no one was watching before heading into the park across the street. Choosing a bench under a burnt out lamp post, she sat down, letting her mind wander through old memories.
     There were many things and people that she missed from her past. Now there were others, new friends, new things, that she would miss just as much when they too were gone. So deeply lost in thought, Ashleigh did not sense, or hear, the person approaching her until she spoke.
     Varruka stomped down the hill with the ferocity of one wronged, mumbling to herself incoherently. She was in the mood for the park’s serene solitude tonight, so she'd taken a taxi from the library to the park—only to be ripped off by the taxi driver. She was certain his meter was rigged. She should have just run. It would have been faster, but she missed doing mundane human things. Hell, she missed being human.
     But she was here now and made her way down to the lake's edge when she froze, sniffing the air. It was definitely not human, not musky enough to be any sort of were-creature; it was sweet and sour at the same time and impossibly familiar... vampire. Varruka paused long enough to focus on where the scent was coming from. A moment later she saw it, a female, sitting on a bench right by the lake. Annoyed that someone was sitting where she wanted to be, Varruka started walking again, stopping just beside the bench. She stood there glaring at the girl, taking in the perfect porcelain face. Her irritation spiked.
     Shifting her weight so she stood with one hip cocked and her arms folded across her chest, she growled, “Do I know you?”
     The question was meant as a conversation starter, but the girl really did look vaguely familiar to her. Where had she seen her before? Chicago? Surely not. She would remember a face so annoyingly perfect. A picture somewhere? The newspaper? Nothing seemed to match up, but it didn't matter. Varruka refused to let down her guard until she knew beyond all certainty that the vampire she was looking at was not a threat to her.
     Ashleigh blinked as she brought herself back to the here and now. She turned her head slightly to look at the woman standing near the end of the bench. As she considered the slightly acidic question she noted the torn jeans, over-sized t-shirt under a denim jacket, the sneakers that had seen better days. Shifting her body sideways, she draped a slender arm over the back of the bench and laced her fingers together, looking directly at the woman. The stranger appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen years of age, but Ashleigh knew that was false, since the stranger was a vampire like herself.
     With a slight look of annoyance, Ashleigh raised her perfectly groomed brow.
     “I don’t believe so. I at least would remember the sound of your voice, if that is how you always speak to others.” Ashleigh sniffed and wondered what it was with the female vamps here? She had never met any as rude as the ones here in Chicago. They all seemed to be snotty little wenches that didn’t know how to get along with others. While Ashleigh preferred not to make a habit of associating with other vampires, she didn’t mind the occasional social interaction.
     Turning back to the water, she inquired, “Have you been having a bad night or did someone have garlic in their veins?” She didn’t want to deal with someone else’s drama, especially someone that she didn’t know. The girl was here and did not seem about to leave any time soon. She shifted her gaze back to the girl.
     “Neither. Not that it's any of your business.” Varruka tightened her arms around herself, raising her own eyebrow in response. She didn’t know exactly how old, but she could sense the other woman was at least twice her own age from the power that pulsed around her. This meant she was also twice as strong and fast. Perhaps treating this vamp the way she normally treated others would not be her wisest move.


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Who's Working For Self-Publishing Authors?

18/5/2014

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PictureImage is from original post click to go there.
The following post is from a friend of mine. I know the company that she is referring to. I personally talked with them to try and determine if they could do something different for me that what I myself am capable of doing. The answer was no. They could not and it would cost me a few hundred dollars to have them do what would only cost me time if I did it myself. 

I know that not everyone would be able to do all of it themselves. They do need help with some of new ways of self-publishing. I truly hope that if anyone seeks help with their self-publishing that they really do the research and don't just go with the first person or company that makes everything sound easy and wonderful. In the mean time to all my author friends... keep writing my darlings, keep writing. ~ Màiri

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Who’s Working For Authors? by Armchair-epublishing

The battle between Amazon and the Publishing industry continues to heat up. Thanks to the exploding self-publishing Indie market, there is plenty of conflict in this story. Only this isn’t fiction - it’s real.

Navigating through the myriad of publishing choices available for authors today can be complicated and confusing. For the first time in history, with the help of new innovations and more accessibility, there are a variety of options for new and experienced writers. But, with some of those options, comes a price. If an author doesn’t take the time to understand their options or research them they might pay the price later.

Everyone wants a piece of the Indie publishing pie; Amazon, publishers, small presses, vanity presses, ebooks and even bookstores. Yet, in this scenario, who is working for the authors? The only real answer to this is - the author. Authors must be more diligent then ever to protect themselves and their work. 

This blog post is the result of the Amazon vs Publishers and bookstores battle. During my research for a book client, I couldn’t locate any evidence of who was really working for the authors? For example, a certain bookstore, which is now offering self-publishing services, was convincing my client, and other writers, to be anti-Amazon. They would tell them that they should use their program with Ingram, a nationwide book distributor. 

Yet, I felt that they weren’t telling their clients the entire story. The information the bookstore provided was limited and one-sided. I couldn’t get a clear picture of what was really being offered? Nor, could I understand what the benefits were for the author? What the authors would hear is use them and Ingram and your book will be in bookstores. Only, they left out some really important information: just because you use Ingram doesn’t mean that your book will be picked up by bookstores. In fact, probably just the opposite.

And, where did Amazon fit into this equation? Were the books going to be available on Amazon? It was a bit confusing since they were anti-Amazon. After all, Amazon sells the majority of books and ebooks all over the world. 

Regardless of how any of us feel about Amazon, they are a necessary tool for today’s Indie authors. My goal was to make sure that my client had full advantage of all avenues that would help her book be successful, this included Amazon. It should be about how could we make them, the author, successful, not who is the bad guy in this story. 

I, for one, am grateful to Amazon. Because of Amazon and the Kindle, there are more readers today than ever before. Amazon and Createspace have opened up doors and opportunities that were never available before. Not just for writers, but also for readers. 

They have allowed writers to explore and expand. They put no limit on creativity. 

As an author, I am more willing to go with a publisher who can solve my problems and makes it easy for me. One who understands the importance of writers, as well as readers. 

I think bookstores and publishers shouldn’t focus on anti-Amazon campaigns. This won’t gain them market share. Instead, they should take note of what Amazon is doing right and focus on that. Amazon makes it easy for writers. They don’t limit writers. Authors should have the options to diversify their work; to self-publish on the sites that make it easy for readers and writers to connect.

As an author, it should be all about your bottom line, not theirs. Do what is best for you. All of these options should be working for you, not the other way around. After all, it is your writing that is making them money.

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Mother's Day 2014

11/5/2014

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Mother’s come in all shapes, sizes and types but their love comes in just one size—it is all encompassing. Most people think of someone with human children as being a mother but there are many other forms of this amazing being as well. Their names can range from the human version to dam, jenny, doe, bitch, queen, sow… on and on you get the picture.

The children can come in all shapes and sizes as well as species. The children can have two legs or four, skin, fur, feathers or hair to a mother their look does not matter. Sometimes the offspring are called children, kits, pups, foals, fawns, kittens… on and on you get the picture.

Sometimes the mother is human but her children are not instead they have four feet and fur, two feet and feathers, or four feet and hair. Sometimes this is by choice and other times it is just a matter of health reasons. To the mother it doesn’t matter what her children are, all she sees is a little one that needs love, care and nurturing and those are the things that a mother does best.

So, to all the mother’s out there no matter what type of children you have wishing you a blessed Mother’s Day may it be filled with joy and love.


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Meet the authors that will be working on Forever Fey stories with me.

4/5/2014

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PictureCassandra Riddle
Cassandra was born in Ponca City but raised in Oklahoma City, OK. She has one sister and numerous nieces and nephews. She also has many younger cousins that she helped raise—so her life has never been boring. She can be found with a book in hand more often than not. On spring days when it isn't raining she loves to sit on the porch and read.

She started writing when she was 15—staying up all night to finish a poem for a writing contest. Three months later she found herself in Washington D.C. reading it to a roomful of other poets. While she did not win that contest it did push her to keep writing. She found an outlet in writing for her creative side that could not be expressed in other ways. Her writing outlets have been poetry, role-playing sites, and has even tried her hand at fan fiction—quickly filling many journals with story ideas. She is currently working on a couple of novels, one young adult and one sci-fi. She continues to write poetry and short stories.

Cassandra now lives in Texas where she loves going to the lake to write or take pictures. Her home is shared with her mother who is also her best friend and their cat. She enjoys going to Sci-Fi conventions with her mom, watching sports (go OU!), and working a normal job (until this writing thing takes off). While she is happy being single; she hasn't stopped looking for the right girl to share her life with. She loves baking and cooking and thinks there is no better feeling then working hard on something and having people revel in eating her creations. She can also be found on her patio trying to capture the sunrise or sunset with oil paints.  


PictureT.A. Campbell
T.A. was born and raised on a small sheep farm in Oregon's beautiful Willamette Valley. At the age of 16 she found herself on her own but is now part of a wonderful loving family. She has been obsessed with books from a very young age and has read hundreds in her short life. Writing has been a creative outlet for many years; she currently has no published work, but is working on her first novel. 

She considers herself a true geek as she is obsessed with many different science fiction shows including, but not limited to: Firefly, Star Wars, Doctor Who and Star Trek. She also loves RPG video games, and has a Nintendo DS solely for the purpose of playing her Pokémon games. Recently she started her collection of Star Wars comics.

T.A. works and attends college full time and is learning more about her Scottish heritage. She loves nature, animals, and is currently sharing a home with her boyfriend and their 40 lb year and a half old Labrabull named KC. She also fosters two lionhead rabbits; named Salt and Pepper. She hopes one day own a small hobby farm in Oregon or Washington.

Websites and Facebook pages are currently under construction for both of these ladies. Information will be shared out as soon as it is available. Stay tuned for more updates.
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    Màiri Campbell lives in WA with her husband and their three dogs

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