Announcing the Release of THE QUEEN OF CROWS

The Queen of Crows by Monica ValentinelliCentered around a short story entitled “The Queen Of Crows,” I designed a unique, digital product that I think you’ll really enjoy. At a retail price of $4.99, you will receive a magazine-style layout of THE QUEEN OF CROWS, a professional illustration of a character named Mahochepi and more!

This product is the first digital release set in the world of the Violet War and is also the first fiction product published through Flames Rising Press. The short story, which is entitled “The Queen of Crows,” takes place during the 1860s and focuses on the tough decisions that a Navajo elder named “Tse” must make to save his people. Will he summon Mahochepi, the Queen of Crows, without knowing who–or what–she is? Read the story and find out!

Here’s what you can expect to receive when you purchase THE QUEEN OF CROWS:

    * The Queen of Crows: A Short Story
    * Inspiration
    * Original Character Portrait: Mahochepi
    * Who Is Mahochepi?
    * What Is the Violet War?
    * Letter to the Reader
    * The Queen of Crows: First Draft
    * Printer-friendly black-and-white version and full color version

The product will be initially released in digital format through http://www.drivethruhorror.com, but other formats will be made available. To keep up-to-date with news about his product set in the Violet War, be sure to visit VioletWar.com.

What are you waiting for? Visit THE QUEEN OF CROWS at DriveThruHorror.com today! There, you can preview this unique product before you buy and then download it for yourself!

About the Contributors

    MONICA VALENTINELLI is a professional author and game designer. Described as a “force of nature” by her peers, Monica is best known for her work in the horror, dark fantasy and dark science fiction genres and has been published through Abstract Nova Press, Eden Studios, White Wolf Publishing, Apex Magazine and others. Her credits include: a short story titled “Pie” in the award-winning Buried Tales of Pinebox, Texas anthology through 12 to Midnight, an original flash fiction piece entitled “Prey,” which placed an honorable mention in a Mirrormask writing competition and “Twin Designs,” a science fiction novella for the Tales of the Seven Dogs Society collection through Abstract Nova Press.

    LEANNE BUCKLEY is a professional illustrator with over ten years of experience under her belt and has worked for both the comics and gaming industries. Her clients have included: Image Comics, Mattel, White Wolf, Paizo, Wizards of the Coast and several others. In addition to her freelance illustrations, she was a Senior Artist for four years at Humanhead Studios, a video game design studio. Her work includes: Put the Book Back on the Shelf: A Belle and Sebastian Anthology through Image Comics, Cthulhutech through Catalyst Game Labs, the Exalted line for White Wolf Publishing, and layout as well as concept work for Mattel. For more information about Leanne and her contact information, visit http://leannebuckley.com/.

    SHARI HILL is a professional editor, layout artist and writer with over 15 years of experience in non-fiction, gaming, and academic publishing and communications. She is currently a communications coordinator at a private university. As a freelance editor, she contributed to the All Flesh Must Be Eaten line by Eden Studios, and her credits include the Worlds of the Dead setting collection, the Book of Archetypes series and the Eden Studios Presents series. The Queen of Crows features her first credit as a cover artist.

    March 1, 2010
    Permalink ∞

    New Guest Post on Apex: Discussing Rape, Incest and Abuse in Horror

    This week, I offered the folks over at Apex Book Company a blog post entitled, “Why Do Some Horror Authors Write about Rape, Incest and Abuse?“ This was a sensitive topic to write about, and I found out after the article was published that I made a slight oversight in the post.

    My goal for this article, was not to provide a definitive “answer” on this subject, but to facilitate discussion and to get people really thinking about writing for “shock” value or how they might address serious issues like rape, incest and abuse.

    Let’s take a look at a quote:

    Good horror stories can cause a reader to react in a number of different ways. They can jump out of their chair, groan in disgust or feel their skin crawl. Fear, however, isn’t the only emotion a reader can feel. They can also feel empathy for a character, anger because the villain got away, or sadness because a victim died. These reactions occur as a result of the story’s pacing or description; an author’s goal is to help guide the reader through a broad range of reactions so that the reader won’t put their book down.–SOURCE: “Why Do Some Horror Authors Write about Rape, Incest and Abuse?“

    If this topic interests you, there’s a lot of comments and interesting discussion on the post that you might want to check out. As I mentioned earlier, I firmly believe that there aren’t definitive answers to my question. I just feel it’s a question worth exploring.

    January 22, 2010
    Permalink ∞

    The Misconception of Writers like Dan Brown and Stephen King

    As a horror author, I often delve into all things dark and creepy with the intent to entertain. Some writers, like myself, dig deep, researching human history to explore “real-life” events, (like this short story I wrote, a “Queen of Crows” zombie fiction piece inspired by the tragic events of Bosque Redondo in the 1800s. For some of us, it may not be crystal clear “when” we were attracted to the genre. For others, like myself, I can say that “it feels right” to me. My first horror fiction piece was at the age of 9 winning a community contest; and both Poe and Hitchcock were early influences that left a long-lasting impression.

    Never, in all my years researching and reading horror did I stop to think whether or not Stephen King was “Christian”-enough as a person to offer tales like “The Dark Tower” series or my favorite, the unabridged version of “The Stand.” Whether it’s because the spotlight has turned on Christianity or not, however, myself and others have been scrutinized under this lens so much so that for some, it has interfered with project completion.

    The thing that I don’t understand is: Why would you ask this question in the first place? Some writers offer their personal beliefs through their work; others, like myself, do not. Our primary goal as authors is to sell our work to the largest audience possible; in order to that, we sometimes write within certain tropes or horror stereotypes in order to provide an entertaining story that readers can relate to.

    Read More…

    February 18, 2008
    Permalink ∞




    Monica Valentinelli > writing horror

    Looking for Monica’s books and games that are still in print? Visit Monica Valentinelli on Amazon’s Author Central or a bookstore near you.

    Archives

    Back to Top