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2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

Featured image

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 6,500 times in 2010. That’s about 16 full 747s.

 

In 2010, there were 36 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 200 posts. There were 22 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 2mb. That’s about 2 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was April 20th with 61 views. The most popular post that day was POEMS WITHOUT RHYME .

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were digg.com, healthfitnesstherapy.com, facebook.com, iphone5g.net, and en.wordpress.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for bitch slap, quantum apocalypse review, quantum apocalypse, necrosis movie, and quantum apocalypse movie review.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

POEMS WITHOUT RHYME April 2010
1 comment

2

Bitch Slap – Movie Review January 2010

3

….Welcome To Where Imagination Ends and Insanity Begins…. November 2008
252 comments

4

Quantum Apocalypse – Movie Review January 2010

5

The Beacon – Movie Review February 2010
1 comment

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No Ordinary Girl – “Not like the others”

No Ordinary Girl – “Not like the others”

A short film by C.A.Milson

Website: www.no-ordinary-girl.info
Starring: Ekaterina Netkacheva & Ivan Maleykin

Official Release Date: 2011
Premiere: November 2010
Genre: Romance/Short Film
Shooting: SAMARA RUSSIA
Film Length: Approx 40 minutes.

CAST:
Alena: Catherine Netkacheva
Michael: Ivan Maleykin

Cameo:
Barman – Sashka Zhiganov
Kate – Polina Ermalyuk
Aleksey – Aleksey Kazakov
Peter – Peter Petrov
Arthur-Arthur Iskakov
Nadezhda – Tatiana Zyuzina
Anya – Anna Lepeshkina
Valerya – Valerya Temirbulatova
Katerina – Bashkirova Katerina

CREW:
CREATED BY: C.A.Milson
WRITERS: C.A. Milson & Alexandr
DIRECTORS: C.A.Milson & Alexandr
CREATIVE CONSULTANT: Victor Evgrafov
CO ORDINATORS: Anna Jackson, Ekaterina Netkacheva
PRODUCERS:
CAMERA OPERATOR/VIDEOGRAPHY:
PHOTOGRAPHER: Svetlana Kireeva
HAIR STYLIST / MAKEUP ARTIST: Irina Sergeeva
MUSIC / SOUND EDITOR: Ken Maxon
PROMOTIONAL: Tanya Zyuzina, Dmitry Chekanov
PUBLIC RELATIONS / MEDIA: Ksenia Halitova
MUSICAL SCORE:

PLOT:
“A group of co-workers are celebrating the promotion of one of the managers who is being transferred to the Moscow Office. Being considered for the role of Manager are the two main characters, Alena and Michael.

Michael wants to be Manager, but so does Alena, but she has a crush on Michael, which leads to a series of events, starting with her spilling her drink on him at the cafe.

Michael sees his opportunity, and along with his friend, Paul (the Bartender), they agree to play with her emotions so that she gives up her promotion for him.

Michael flirts with Alena, and convinces her that he likes her, when he really does not. It is not until the end when he invites her for a drink after work one day that she discovers the shocking truth that Michael has a fiancée, and has been playing with her emotions the whole time.

Alena is heartbroken, and runs out of the cafe. Distraught and not aware of what she is doing, she goes to walk across the street and is almost hit by a passing car when she is pulled back by Peter, who also works at the same company. They exchange looks, and in that moment her eyes are opened that Peter was the one who was always there but she never realized it.”

To be filmed in Russian with English Subtitles

2010 Limited Engagement Events!

Schedule of personal appearances for 2010:

RUSSIA

April – S.K.A.T. T.V Vashe Utro (Your Morning TV Show)
Location: TV
About: C.A.Milson get to chat with the hosts of the show and talk about his new book, Rise of The Darkness, and his debut short film, No Ordinary Girl.

April – Meet The Author & Book Reading (2 events)
Location: Samara University & Lingui Center
About: Two events where C.A.Milson will be talking about book writing, being published, film directing and more.

May – Dinner & Book Reading with C.A.Milson
Location: TBA
About: Dinner with an Author experience. Enjoy a three course dinner with C.A.Milson, where he will also speak about his book.

May/June – C.A.Milson & Victor Evgrafov Celebrity Dinner
Location: Samara
About: Dinner experience with C.A.Milson & legendary Russian actor, Victor Evgrafov.

July – Meet The Cast & Crew of No Ordinary Girl – Celebrity Fundraiser
Location: Moscow & Samara
About: Meet C.A.Milson, Victor Evgrafov, Liliya May and others at these two events, and be in the raffle to win movie memorabilia.

For information on the events in Russia, contact C.A.Milson’s assistants by SMS:
Anna: +7-905-303-3857
Tanya: +7-927-726-4055

Interview with Lilian from AMWC

Virtual Book Tour #12-Rise of the Darkness by C. A. Milson
November 17, 2009
Tell us a little about yourself as a writer.
As a writer, nothing is as satisfying as being able to sit down and write a great story. Now I am not going to say that writing is easy, as it is not. There are many times when we have to sacrifice what we want in order for our dream to be fulfilled. Not only is there outside influences that give you all the reasons why you cant, but you have your own inner demons that give you all the excuses why you shouldn’t. I’m sure we’ve all heard these ones we tell ourselves; “You need to work to reach your goal.”, “Can’t today, got too many other things to do, but I will get to it later.”
I love to write. In fact if I had my way that is all I would do. Unfortunately real life gets in the way, and in order to support my dream I balance life as a writer and marketing consultant.
My life as a writer is something that I enjoy as I love being able to create new characters, scenarios and the like, but, there is also the life I have outside of writing which is equally as important. So balancing my life as a writer, a parent, and marketer is something that is not always easy to do. But I do not think I would do things any other way
Describe your novel in a short paragraph.
Rise Of The Darkness. Alex Manning is The One. Born of a heritage that was once a powerful civilization before it was destroyed by the Giants that once walked among men. Now tonight, in a small town, after thousands of years of being bound in the Dark Realm, the Ancient Darkness has been unleashed, and they set about to finish what was begun. Only Alex can stop the Dark Forces from destroying this town, but will he fulfill his own tests and sacrifice his life for those would seek to betray him?
Where did you get your inspiration for your novel?
The original idea came to me in 1989 when I was living in Melbourne. The story for the original story came from a hobbytex picture my mother had on her wall. The picture was of a yellow moon behind a rustic shack. I remember that I was sat at the table staring at the picture and got the whole idea for Shack of Evil from that picture. That first short story was a 9 page story based on the character Jamiesonn. Even though it was my first “real” story, I still thought that I could do better. What can I say? I’m a perfectionist! Shack of Evil had always been the basis for Rise Of The Darkness.
Why did you choose self-publishing for your book? Is it, in your opinion, a better option for writers everywhere?
This time around I went with Lulu.com as the publisher. Primarily the choice was based on the creative freedom I had with the publication of the book. With that said, there is the downside to self-publishing. Such as lack of exposure, improper distribution by the provider and many other issues.
Now while there are advantages, in as much as being noticed at the right time by the right people, it is not always the right choice. Especially if you need a ghost writer or editor to smooth out the storyline. I will not say that the choice I made was a bad one, but it does have limitations that I should have explored more indepth before jumping in where angels fear to tread
I would advise writers to research the options more carefully before jumping in at the first good thing that comes along. Some may not agree with me here, but in my experience it is best to check all options.
What advice would you give someone who wants to publish a book but have no idea how to go about doing it?
There are probably a lot of new writers out there who have no idea where to start, but, if you are an aspiring writer looking to get your first work out there, start with a good letter to an agent or publisher. That is your starting point. A good letter with the synopsis of your novel will get the attention of the agent or publisher, even if the response is a “No thank you”.
Learn by my example. It took 14 years from the main draft of Rise Of The Darkness to now to get published, which shows that it is worth the wait. That is not to say that it will take 14 years for you to get published! I am saying this as I left mine sitting on the back-burner until I was ready. Yes, you will get rejection letters, or even worse yet, no reply at all. Don’t worry about that as it will happen.
Those rejection slips only tell you that you are on the right (write) track! Okay, now that you have your email draft ready to go out to agents/publishers, make sure you do your homework, by checking out what genres they represent. If it is unclear on their web if they are accepting new clients, don’t be afraid to ask! Make a mental note on some of the authors they represent.
What I will say in concluding is this: If you have the ability to write, you have a gift. Like any skill, it is a talent that should be nurtured and polished. Find your niche, and keep on writing, no matter what wanna-be’s may tell you.
C. A. Milson’s book can be purchased at his website in various formats. It’s also available in Russian so go check it out.

Want to be featured as an author/mangaka on the AMWC Virtual Book Tour? Check out our simple guidelines and we look forward to hearing from you! =3


20 Years… A reflection…

As this title suggests, “20 Years, A Reflection”.

This is an opportunity for you to share with me in this journey that has brought me this far, and as you read further, I will be giving readers the opportunity to purchase a Commemorative Autographed E-Copy of Rise Of The Darkness.

Although I tend not to blog much these days, there is good reason for that, which I will go into later.

It was 20 years ago when I first started writing. It was July 1989, and I was in Winchelsea Victoria at the time, living on a small piggery, located 5 or so miles out of town.

Winchelsea was – and still is – a small town in rural Victoria, Australia. More or less the type of town where there was 1 bank, 1 pub, about half a dozen shops, and a post office which doubled as the local grocery/convenience store. Back then, the population boasted in the hundreds, and life was very quiet, which seemed to suit me just fine.

I remember I was living with my sister, her partner (Scott), and another guy (Leroy, who we called LaRoy for some bizarre reason), in a 3 bedroom cottage farm house, which was situated some 100 yards or so off the main road. If you stood on the front porch, you could barely make out the highway past the 5 foot high grass 🙂

That old weatherboard house, the town, and the surroundings, fueled my creativity. In many scenes of Rise Of The Darkness, there is a definate parrallel between Winch and Winmont… After all, Alex’s adventure had to have some element of truth. Even if that truth was based on a small town 🙂

Our mornings were usually met with the overwhelming stench of pig waste, as the piggery was pretty much situated right behind the cottage.

I found that the quiet country life quickly became a starting point for my writing. Apart from the definate comparisons to several scenes in Rise Of The Darkness – Such as the clearing, the hospital, and alot of other locations – I did write several other short stories in the old house.

If I wasn’t going to Geelong or Torquay, I would often sit at the kitchen table with a notepad and pen and write, write and write some more. My days were often like that. I would start my day with coffee and cigarette, sit at the table and pen away like there was no tomorrow. There were times when I would be writing away, and my sister would be in the kitchen making Coconut Ice or baking bread, which was cool as I got to try the food first 🙂

At that table, in that house, outside of that town, in the middle of nowhere, Shack of Evil was born. A 9 page story which eventually became Rise Of The Darkness.

But, writing stories did not stop with Shack of Evil. I wanted to branch into other genres also, such as Sci-fi, drama, and childrens stories. After SOE came – I believe – a short story titled Fangs.

Fangs was the story about a Yeti that is brought into captivity by hunters, and how they sadistically experimented on the animal. Although it was written in a sense of “horror”, there was also a side of the creature that I tried to make feel human compassion. The ending scene of Fangs was touching, as the beast was killed. The story left a tear in my eye, so I soon followed up with the sequel, Fangs Lives.

Unfortunately – or fortunately – Fangs Lives never got past the first 5 pages. The idea may have been good, but the idea was scraped.

Then along came the sci-fi short stories. The Battle For Time, Time Master, and some others that are less then memorable. Pretty much those stories were stories that are best left in the crypt – for eternity 🙂

During that time, I also wrote a children’s story titled Fun In Tailytown. I wont go into details about the storyline,  as that is just one of the stories which will be re-written in time to come.

In the mass of stories, was also a christian horror, titled Revelation, taken from my understanding of the Book Of Revelation. That story ended up being about 15 pages. Yet another that would stay in the crypt of my mind – for now.

There was also another title in development – Infestation – which was the story of a paranormal investigator, who for some reason is sent to investigate the infestation of 25 foot long cockroaches in New York City underground. Cockroaches that have a hunger for human flesh and give birth to live young. Now, just why I had a paranormal investigator as the main hero, I will never know. But in 1989, I thought I had a great idea. But after the wave of Hollywood films of similar scripts, I think I will leave that in the crypt also, unless I re-work the entire plot.

There was also a story about love gone wrong. Well, not exactly, but it was the story of forbidden love; As one man fell in love with a girl, and he knew that the love he had for her could never be reciprocated. The idea was taboo and will probably remain just another that will remain in the dark.

In that time of my life, for the months I lived in Winch, I managed to write 26 short stories. Now, although some will be re-written (majorly) and released either as novels or as part of my Short Story Anthology, there will obviously be some that will remain dead and never will resurface. The basis of some of those stories may have merit in their own way, but for me, I feel that it is best that they lay where they are. In the crypt of my mind.

I first started seeking representation for a publisher in 1989 also. I remember I saw an ad for a publishing firm in NYC. They were called Vantage Press. A definate vanity publisher, which, in 1989, agreed that they would publish my anthology for the nice sum of $10,000USD. Quite a price to pay just to be published! And I must say, that I am grateful that I did not have $10,000USD at that time, as it would have been a huge mistake on my part to have published stories that were very VERY amatuer.

Yes, I admit it. My writing style was very amatuer and even I did not like my own work. Why? Because I knew I could do better. I knew that those stories were nothing what they could and should have been. So it was a good thing that I never went ahead with Vantage Press.

But, in 1989, I was 20 years old, and knew narda about the writing world. I was nieve and an “easy target” for vanity publishers. All I had was a dream and delusions of grandier. 🙂

After I left Winch, I went back to Brisbane, and for the next 5 years my writing sat in a dark vault of my mind, waiting to be released.

In 1994, I found a reason to write again.  I was sharing a house with some college kids, and one person I shared the house with – J.B. – I found I had a connection to. She had a creative mind also, and although her passion was singing, we did bounce around many ideas for stories in the wee hours of the night. I had only known her for about 16 days, but for some bizarre reason it seemed that we knew each other for so much longer. Maybe she was a kindred spirit at the time.

She inspired me to write again. So I wrote the basis for what will be soon Bloodline Of Darkness.

But soon after the series of events in that house, I found myself living with my father again, and again I threw myself into writing. As I did 5 years before, I would start my day with coffee and cigarettes and write as fast as I could, while listening to music that was being played on Brisbane radio station Triple M or B105.

1994 I rewrote Shack Of Evil into what was back then The Chosen One. Of course, I did have so many titles in mind, which I have mentioned in previous posts.

After I had finished what was a 2 part, 300 page book, I decided to ask for a review and critique from family members. Of course, the reception I received less than favorable.

I remember my father said, “Oh you want to be a writer so you can big-note yourself!”

My aunt said, “Your writing is repetative and is that of a child. I could write better.”

Okay, that was crushing, and was enough for me to stop living in a fairytale for a time.

So began a new journey. That in marketing. That journey has spanned the last 15 years, but I am not here to talk about that 🙂

Many years passed. 13 to be exact. 13 long years of not wanting to write, but always, the niggling feeling – the biting – still haunted me. Taunted me. Niggling me to start writing again. But I chose not to. Partly because I didn’t want to, and partly because I never found the time.

But I am glad I did make time.

In 1997 I was living in Auckland, New Zealand when I started a search for a publisher. I sent out a mass of email enquiries, and 50-odd rejection slips later I got an offer from a POD publisher in Baltimore MD. That day changed my life.

Which brings me to today.

Although The Chosen was first published in 2008, it was since reworked and was re-released in 2009, which includes the some of the original characters that were chopped from the first release. The title was also revamped to Rise Of The Darkness; The first book in a trilogy.

For those who may not know the Synopsis:

From the time that the Darkness ruled the ancient tribes, The Elders prophesied of a time when a descendant of The Gods would arise. Tonight, in the town of Winmont, an Ancient Legion has been awoken to finish what they started many millennia ago. Now, the fate of humanity is in the hands of One, but can he overcome the forces that dare to challenge the bloodline of the Gods?Alex Manning is The One. Born of a heritage that was once a powerful civilization before it was destroyed by the Giants that once walked among men. Now tonight, in a small town, after thousands of years of being bound in the Dark Realm, the Ancient Darkness has been unleashed, and they set about to finish what was begun. Only Alex can stop the Dark Forces from destroying this town, but will he fulfil his own tests and sacrifice his life for those would seek to betray him?

I recount the years that have passed from the time I began writing. The journey has been a long and often difficult road. Especially from the time I started in 1989 to 1997. A period of 18 years it took for me to become a published author. Which is a milestone in itself.

Once I became published, the world seemed to change. Or the way I see it has changed. Not that I am going to “big-note” myself as one would claim as that is not who I am. Truth be told I rather sit infront of my PC and write the next novel than doing book-signings and all the rest of the public spotlight stuff. But, being a writer, one has to deal with that.

Along this journey, I have made some friends, and lost some friends, but that’s life. Some things I have written have been blasted and that is okay too. I express my opinion and sometimes those opinions do not meet favorable feedback.

One thing though, I am thankful for the readers and those who have supported me during this journey.

Which brings me to today. And the reason why I have not blogged much.

As some will have noticed, this site has been modified a little, and comment moderation has been changed so that a person needs to register in order to leave feedback. This was done because in recent weeks there had been a flood of messages on this site, to the point where I had to delete all several hundred “pending messages” several times a day. I am not joking. I had 200 to 300 spam messages a day waiting moderation. So to combat the spam I changed the settings where if you want to leave feedback on a post, you have to register.

Now to explain what is happening. I have not been on here as much as I would want to. mainly because of other projects that are in the pipeline.

If you have been following me on Twitter, Facebook or Tagged, you will notice that these last few weeks I have been busy filming on location in Samara, Russia.

There are 2 projects in development right now here. One is the video titled, “C. A. Milson’s World – Samara.”  The video we are producing right now is a tour of Samara. From the Metallurg to the Embankment, and some interviews with local celebrities. Everything that you could want to know about travelling in Samara, taken from a tourists’ POV.

The video, when complete, will be available for distribution online and will hopefully be on the likes of Travel Channel Network.

Although there has been a short posted online titled “Out-takes“, that is exactly what that clip is. Out takes and goofs while filming, and is not a representation of what the finished version will look like. The finished version will run between 45 to 60 minutes when complete, and will give any traveller an insight into Samara; From the customs of Russian people, the architecture, local shopping, places to see, how to get around, and some local legends, some of which are listed on my blogsite.

We have discovered that filming is not as easy as we would hope, so this video will take some time to complete. But we hope to wrap up production by August.

After the travel video is a wrap, we will be moving on to our new projects:

No Ordinary Girl – Set the the music of Caribbean Blue, the film is about a young woman who lives an ordinary life, but at the same time she has a creative world going on inside her. The film mixes documentary-like images with creative imagery, as the film reflects on an ordinary day in the life of a not so ordinary girl. This will be available for viewing on YouTube and AtomFilms.

Darkness Unearthed – What if the world you knew was nothing more than a shadow of realism? Based on The Chosen Series, the new screenplay by C.A. Milson will be released in 2010.

There are also other stories and books in the pipeline, which you can read about here.

As part of my 20 year journey, I am giving readers the opportunity to purchase the Commemorative Autographed E-Copy of Rise Of The Darkness. Rise Of The Darkness is a 302 page supernatural/horror novel that will appeal to anyone who likes the works of Stephen King or H.P.Lovecraft.

The Commemorative Autographed E-Copy of Rise Of The Darkness is available in PDF format for the special discount price of $3.00USD.

To order the Commemorative E-Book, you can make payment using Paypal to: leadsnz@yahoo.com, and dont forget to add your Email address.

I wanted to thank you all for taking the time to reading this long entry.

Stay Scared!

C.A.Milson

TopForAll.com, free web site submission, free promotion, free webmaster tools and resources

Russian Winter by Tanya Z

On May 16th, I had the pleasure of giving a seminar in Samara, Russia to a group of students who currently attend Samara State University.

The event took place at Art Propaganda which is in the downtown district of Samara and was organized by Irina Sh and Olga T.

I wanted to take this moment to thank Irina, Olga and everyone who attended the seminar.

One of the students I meet is Tanya Z, who is a freshman at Samara State University.

As I previously mentioned, it is not easy being a writer. Writing takes talent and inspiration. So when I do meet someone who has a passion for writing, I will always encourage that person to continue writing. Writing is a gift, and a very long road for more people than you realize. Just think where the world would be today if Greek Poet, Sappho gave in to the barrage of negative criticism.

So without further adu, I would like to present a poem titled Russian Winter by Tanya Zyuzina.

RUSSIAN WINTER

I was looking for solitude,
But the loneliness came to me.
I’m in a crowd; I’m with my friend,
But with my own heart outside me.

I’m not sitting alone,
I’m walking up by the street with my man.
Russian winter, I’m afraid to drown
Through the snow to the Hell.

Who is thinking of me in this World?
I don’t care, because I’ve got something better,
There is no stillness in my own soul-
I’m with my ambition that keeps me alive to get my lucky Way.

Interview over at Promotional-101 For Authors

Saturday, May 2, 2009

You have been invited to share your promotional experience with others.

Your Name: C.A.Milson

1. Where you are from and where are you now? I grew up in Brisbane Australia. I now reside primarily in Samara Russia although I travel internationally a great deal.

2. How did you get started writing? I first discovered writing when I was in grade 9, when I attended Kedron State High School. Instead of reading a book and writing a report on what I thought about the topic, I decided to pen a short story. In about 2 hours I penned a short sci-fi story, which was my first attempt at the world of writing. The story received top marks from my English professor, who also encouraged me to continue writing. That was the first and seemingly last time I put pen to paper.. That was until the summer of 1989….

3. What do you do when you are not writing? When I am not writing I spent a lot of time working as a Recruiter and spend a lot of time blogging about The Chosen, as well as about my upcoming novel, Bloodline of Darkness.

4. What would readers like to know about you? I am pretty much the same as everyone else. I have hopes and dreams, triumphs and tragedies.

5. What inspired your first book? The inspiration for the first novel came from a hobbytex picture my mother had on the wall in her apartment. In 1989, I was living in Melbourne at the time, and once again I found myself writing. My first short story was titled “Shack of Evil”, a 9 page story based on the character Jamiesonn. The story idea came from a Hobbytex picture my mother had on the wall of her apartment.

6. How many books have you written? The Chosen was my first full length publication. The Chosen was written after I laid the foundation for the short story titled “Shack of Evil”. After I wrote Shack Of Evil, I went on to write an additional 25 short stories, all of different genres, including a childrens story. That original story later become the base for what is now the trilogy of The Chosen, Bloodline of Darkness, and Prophecy’s End.

7. What are the titles of your books and what genres are they? My debut novel is titled The Chosen. I am working on Bloodline of Darkness currently. Both are Supernatural Horror.

8. How do you decide on that topic or genre? Why are you specially qualified to write about this topic? I was not automatically drawn into horror, but after reading stories by H.P. Lovecraft and Misery by Stephen King, I knew that I wanted to write novels that would entertain and scare the audience. But like some beginning writers, I had no idea how to get storyline past the seemingly impossible short-phase and also written in the third person context. I have studied different theologies about the supernatural throughout my life and I have always been fascinated of what possibilities would lay in other spiritual worlds, so my writing maintains a basis of the cliched “good versus evil” and the “what-if” scenarios without coming across to heavy.

9. How do you manage to keep yourself focused and on track when you’re writing a book? When I actually get focused on writing, different scenarios pop into my mind, and where I want to take a scene, so I write it exactly as I see it. Like, at the moment, I am writing the third chapter of Bloodline, and so far the main character has had a series of dayvisions, where he thinks that the world around him is real, then he wakes up, to later find out that he is in another nightmare..

10. Do you write to make money, for the love of writing or both? I write because that is my first passion in life. It may sound cliched, but I was born to write. Sure, to have an international best seller would be a bonus, but that is not my motivation. Never was. I am the first to admit that back in the 90’s when I fantisized about the lifestyle, the famousosity, the big wads of cash, the hollywood parties, and all the rest that goes with mega-celebrityism that did seem like a fun thought… I guess maybe at one time or another all of us have entertained those thoughts, but that is not what writing is about. Writing for the sole purpose of “I’m getting paid a million to write this” would not be as fun as writing for the pleasure of creating alternate worlds where anything you dream can exist

11. What are some traditional methods of marketing you have used? Which were the most successful? Being one who has been in marketing for 14 years, I have seen nearly every form of marketing known to man. In my time I have done sub campaigns and promoted everything from concerts to land investments, and I have to say that this, promoting a novel, is something I was so unprepared for. I took it for granted initially that when a book comes out, it would get on the NYT list, and so forth, but that is not how it is. Apart from the PR’s that I have sent out to various newspapers (which don’t seem to work), the only things that have gotten attention are the posts I put on Social Networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook.

12. What are some unique methods of marketing you have used? Which were the most successful? I once had some ads on free classified sites like Gumtree but that didn’t attract much attention. The most successful is when I blast bulletins on Netowrk sites or am on other blog sites. On days like that I see the number of hits soar, expecially in December. I just hope that those hits have also turned into book sales 🙂

13. Do you sell through a website? If so, what’s the address? If not, why not? My works are available through most online retailers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Amira Press, just to name a few. Best way to see what list of retailers stock The Chosen, just google my name “C.A.Milson.” I think at the moment I am on some 4,000 websites.

My personal websites are:
www.authorcamilson.com and http://authorcamilson.info

14. Where can people order your books? The Chosen can be purchased from Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Chosen-C-Milson/dp/1934475815

15. What format are your books – e-book, print, audio etc? E-book and paperback

16. Will you write more books? Absolutely! My intention is to complete Bloodline of Darkness by February, and then Prophey’s End sometime in 2010.

17. What do you have in the works now? Bloodline of Darkness.

18. What does the future hold for you and your books? Next for me is writing Bloodline of Darkness, which is the second in the trilogy in the life of Alex Manning – A man who is put in the middle of a spiritual conflict he otherwise wants no part of. Bloodline of Darkness is set seven years after The Chosen. Alex has forsaken his powers to live a “normal” life, and the forces of Tartarus have arisen to harvest the souls of humans and plunge the world into darkness. Alex once again must stand and save humanity but can he overcome the ever present darkness that also reigns in his own heart?

19. What was the most successful thing you did to promote your books? Blogsites

20. What was the least successful thing you did to promote your books? Newspapers

21. Tell us about your most recent book. My first novel is called The Chosen. It is a Supernatural Horror, set in modern times. It is the story of Alex Manning who is “The One”, well actually Alex Manning is a nice guy, with anxiety attacks who has visions. He doesnt know he is “The One” until he gets wrapped up in the investigation of the Jamiesonn house. Then he is drawn neck deep into betrayal, battling demons, freaky scary ghosts, and falling in love again tossed in for good measure.

22. What makes this book special to you? This book is the first one that I have seen to be published. From the orginaly concept in 1989 til now has been close to 20 years. That is an externity, and a life-long dream come true. So naturally this first one will always be something to tell my children when they get older.

23. What sort of comments have you gotten about the content of the book? I have had many comments from people, mostly congrulatory, but naturally there have been the odd one who has slammed what I write.

24. What makes this a book that other people MUST read and WHY? This book defines a new era in horror, dare I say? I explore the boundries of horror and bring a new change to the world of supernatual fiction. Imagine a world beyond our own where Dark Forces reign, and only one mortal stands in the way of their enslavement of humanity. The Chosen, Bloodline of Darkness, and Prophecy’s End follow the life of Alex Manning. A hero called to stand for humanity and face a destiny that he wants no part of.

25. What people NEED to read this book and WHY? Anyone who loves horror, the supernatual and action should read this book. Do you like ghost stories? What about horror? Gothicism? Mysticism? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to read this book. J

26. What sparks your creativity? Any tips to help others spark their own creativity? Music usually gets me going. But my advise to any aspirign writer is find something that sparks that creative grey matter in your brain and go from there. Start with an idea, build life into a character to make them appear as real as anyone else. Build on their character with real thoughts, dreams, hopes, failures, fears, delusions. When I am writing a character, I “put myself in their shoes” and think, “Now what would I do if I was..” Visualization helps. I find that when I am listening to my music collection on the laptop, I just write for hours at a time.

27. What do you think motivates people to become authors? What motivated you to get into this unusual industry? I would like to believe that people become writers for the love of writing. My motivation was simple. I am a creative person and I write based on what inspires me.
28. Tell me about the most unusual things you have done to promote any books? “Win a date with me!” Of course, in the history of bad ideas, that was about the lamest 🙂

29. If a potential reader thinks that your book wouldn’t interest them, what would you say to convince them to buy? I’m thinking something better than “Its the greatest book ever.” Give me something more specific 🙂 I would say something along the lines of “Have you seen Hellraiser? Or works by Clive Barker? Stephen King? Seen LOTR? Ever seen any of M. Night Shymalan’s work? Okay, if you have then you will like this.”

30. Why does the topic of your book interest you? Why would it interest potential readers? Give us a hook to reel in new readers. I have always had a fascination with the Supernatural, and if anyone likes to watch the true ghost stories, then this will be right up your alley. Now, for those who have watched docos on Ghost hauntings, about a ghost terrorizing a house or a person, The Chosen can be compared to that, except, imagine a Supernatual Force that does it on a much larger scale!

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Избранный (The Chosen) – Paperback Out Now

We are pleased to officially announce that The Russian version of The Chosen in NOW available in paperback through Lulu.com and PublishingRoom.com!

ISBN: 978-1-4092-7884-9

Support independent publishing: buy this e-book on Lulu.

In addition to the Paperback, The Russian Language version is also available in these formats: HTML, MSWord, RTF, PDF

You can order the Digital Russian Version of The Chosen HERE by using Paypal, or chose one of the options listed below:

Libex: купля-продажа книг, букинистических и современных. Купить книги. Продать книги logo1 Support independent publishing: buy this e-book on Lulu.

Residents of Former USSR can also pay using Yandex Money to make payment for the E-Book.

(Номер счета: 41001342943029. Or email: authorcamilson@yandex.ru. Сумма к получению: 110 рублей)

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