Friday, May 17, 2019

OWS CyCon 2019 #Sci World Building with SE Zbasnik



Welcome to another fantastic stop in our World-building Showcase blog hop! On this stop, were highlighting a story where the world changes or ends as we know it, but you can find a full list of authors and topics on the OWS Cycon website. Let’s dive in!

Find out More About the World of POWER by Science Fiction Writer 
SE Zbasnik During OWS CyCon 2019

Welcome SE Zbasnik!

 

1.    Before we dive in to the nitty gritty, what is POWER’s story about?

Jaya Foster creates portals from across the globe. It sounds impressive, but in a world where mailmen spit fire and secretaries cover their bodies in granite it’s not. With a yellow jewel embedded in her forehead, Jaya’s stranded on her people’s side of the city. Across the scar are the Blues, a division of completely different powers. For that reason, society cut in half. Most go their whole lives without meeting a different gem, but Jaya’s job keeps her in contact with the others.

When a bizarre murder lands in her lap, Jaya teams up with Riktuo Fujita, a dashing Blue. Terrorist bombings, assassination attempts, and more threatens their every step. Yet, even with every brush with death, Jaya can’t stop flirting with Rikuto nor can he seem to stop brushing his hand against hers. If the murderer doesn’t get to her first, the Council of 100 will.

2.    Did you invent any new slang or terminology during your world-building process?

As I wanted to establish that this is a world that takes place far into the future after a major disaster created rampant superhero powers, I used my own slang to help. Police are called Collars as in the early days they were required to wear collars that regulated their powers, treating them like bulldogs. People refer to the glowing red gaps in the earth’s crust scattered across the world as “scars” without a second thought. Powers themselves have their own official nomenclature while also getting given slang as well to show how humans have had them for a long time.

3.    What kinds of climates do your characters experience? Do they see a lot of change or is it always the same? Has your world always had this kind of climate, or has it changed over time?

It’s only hinted at in the first book, but the world’s been upended. There’s a glowing sea so hot only a handful of people with powers can visit it. The north is stripped clean of nearly all topsoil, rendering the forests destitute and ash regularly falls like snow. About the only truly livable spots left are a utopian meadowland in the middle of the continent that few ever see.

4.    Is there any kind of faith system in your world? Did you draw inspiration from any real cultures, living or dead?

My main character isn’t religious, but there’s a hint to people worshipping a man who united the warring tribes that humanity fractured into after the great cataclysmic event. That’s the predominant religion, but some of the original traces of old faiths still remain even if their way of worshipping has changed.

5.    Without giving away too much, what can you tell us about your world-ending event and how it led to the world of your story? Was it a distant event or does it happen as part of your tale?

My setting is so far removed from what rocked the earth to its core that no one remembers it to the point some honestly believe that humans were always gifted superpowers. Whatever happened obliterated nearly all records, and as humanity picked back up the pieces, it was lost to time. Some people are finally beginning to explore the scars, but they’re so dangerous most researchers wind up suffering from tumors and other cancers.

Your Process:

6.    When you build a world, what is your process like? Do you do a lot of research upfront, wing it completely, or something in between?

I’m a little of both. I’ll try and do some research before writing, sometimes I just make things up while in the moment and check it later. Others I’ll rely on my own historical studies and swipe a things from that. Human nature is best studied by looking at history, and humans guide society’s direction and the world at large.

7.    How central is the setting of your story to the story itself? Is it more of an interesting backdrop, or is it integral to the events of the story?

It begins as a backdrop, but as the story unfurls it drives home the deep division between not only the city itself but humanity as a whole. Due to whatever caused this new world, humans are dividing themselves down jewel color lines and across the scar itself. It’s also used to show the eternal division between the haves and have nots, as many of the poor must live near the scar regardless of its dangers.

8.    When helping the reader get to know the world you built, what techniques do you use? Do you tend to be upfront about things, or keep the reader in the dark and feed them only bits at a time?

I’m very much a crumb here and there writer. Often, I’ll keep ideas of the world entirely to myself and never show much less explain. Such as the fact humanity has no idea why people have powers. Not once do I mention that to keep the mystery of nature alive.

9.    How much of a role does realism and hard scientific fact play in your world-building? Do you strive for 100% accuracy, or do you leave room for the fantastical and unexplainable in your world?

Well, since this one involves people being able to control rocks with their mind and open portals across the world there’s not much science involved. Though, I do have fun in setting limitations upon the powers. Everyone one has some drawbacks, an outside force that can seriously drain their skill, and something they must consume to power their skill as well. Such as those who create portals use their own body heat, so they must stay warm or risk hypothermia. Or ones that control earth and rocks, if they don’t eat a lot of minerals, their skill will leech the minerals from their bones. That level of detail is both fun and highly important as it gives clear rules to what can and cannot be done by the super powered.

10.  Do you have any specialized training or background from your real lifethat has informed your world-building?

My background is genetics, which is why I try to avoid ‘we gave them an extra chromosome’ excuses as much as possible. If anything, I prefer to fall back on the Frankenstein explanation as much as possible. How did he reanimate a corpse? He’d rather not talk about it thanks, there’s more important plot to get to.

Where can people find you on the web? 


 My OWS CyCon Booth — stop by to take a fun quiz to figure out which Power you’d get.


You can also find me here on social media:
              Author Website -          Dwarves in Space Website
              Facebook -            Twitter  -          Mailing List



For more stops on our End of the World World-building Showcase, visit the tour page on the OWS CyCon website. You can also find more great Sci Fi authors and books on our main Sci Fi event page.




Tuesday, May 14, 2019

May Reading List: #Apocalypse, #Horror & #Mystery!

Where has May gone already? I'm sharing a short Reading List this month, 
but with LOTS of great deals!


Apocalyptic - Dystopian - Zombie

Armageddon Book Bonanza! Get a wealth of books for 99 cents, special priced box sets, books in KU/Kindle Unlimited and more! Sale from May 14 to June 4. 
  ** Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter is on sale for 99 cents! See Promo here &  99 cents Book Bonanza.

Dystopian:



End of the World OWSCyCon Blog Tour: Begins May 17. See posts here. (See blog post of Sci Fi Author SE Zbasnik here.)

Horror-Thriller



Just for fun! Find some new authors! Pick your favorite cover in the OWSCyCon Horror/Thriller Cover Wars - Begins May 16 (9:30 a.m. Central/10:30 a.m. Eastern), ends May 19! (Voting goes live on Friday, May 17.)

And.... please vote for my book, Lizzie Borden, Zombie Hunter! 


Mystery


Summer Snoops Unleashed - Assorted Authors. 
Love dogs? Help support several animal charities. Stories from 14 award-winning authors. Now on Amazon (and a #1 New Release!) Pre-order 99 cents, also on Apple, Nook, Kobo; Releases July 23

Freebies - Horror & Other

Author Robert W. Walker is on a Kindle giveaway bonanza during May! Check all his books and links on his website. 

Here are a few that may interest you and the free dates:


   

May 12-16  - Party of 8 - Short stories based on Walker's eight series characters.

11-15 Dead On: A Noir Mystery Private Eye Novel
Just when disgraced Atlanta cop-turned-private eye Marcus Rydell prepares to eat his gun, a kid in trouble, a call to duty, and a dirty blonde named Kat Holley stop him cold. They seek to destroy a local legend, a cave-dwelling ex-marine and murderer, a monster whose instincts and military training have allowed him to survive in the wilderness for four years, eluding the Feds as well as Atlanta PD. When the hunters become the hunted, they must duel with this psychotic deviant.

12-16 Vampire Dreams - Archaeology vs. Supernatural (Bloodscreams Book 1.) - Bones of the dead are taken from their graves ... and then the residents begin to disappear.


 

12-16 Darkness Chasing Light, Tales of Science Fiction, Horror, Suspense & Beyond - Ten stories with incubi to hit men, assorted monsters and more. 

13-17 Killer Instinct, (Instinct Series, Dr. Jessica Moran, ME, FBI Book 1) - Dr. Jessica Moran thought she could face anything. That was before Wisconsin; before she saw one of his victims. 

Other horror titles coming up free include: (See his website link above for all titles)
May 16-20 Floaters
17-21 Flesh Wars 
22-26 Brain Stem
22-26 Front Burners
25-29 Dying Breath26-30 The Serpentine Fire
26-30 Satan’s Edge
27-31 Final Edge






Friday, May 3, 2019

Update: Lizzie Borden Movie Filming at Maplecroft!




Filming for the new movie, Tea With Lizzie Borden, is now underway at Lizzie Borden's former home, Maplecroft. in Fall River, Mass.

This is the Victorian mansion she and her sister, Emma, bought after Lizzie was acquitted of the 1892 murders of their father and stepmother.

Check out the story and more details in Lizzie's hometown newspaper, The Herald News.  (See photos of the filming here.)

Here are the details on the Indiegogo fundraiser to help raise $500 for editing expenses.  The film is expected to be completed in May and will be shown on YouTube sometime this summer.