The AtoZ of EOS_International Viridis Summit

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Fear takes us down an unexpected road in EOS, a revolutionary Solarpunk story from author Samantha Redstreake Geary, in collaboration with artist Jenny Vyas, featuring music by Really Slow Motion, and groundbreaking graphics via designer Koke Núñez Gómez

A new dawn is on the horizon, where boundaries are broken, diversity is embraced, and an optimistic, creative vision of our future on Earth takes center stage.

EOS is a powerful solarpunk story narrated by FEAR, who tackles real-world issues concerning terrorism, prejudice, and diversity, to near-future technology surrounding sustainable energy that restores the balance between humanity and nature. This isn’t a defeatist tale. It is a look through the lens of positive futurism that showcases the courage, compassion and capabilities of humanity as equal partners in building a bridge to a better tomorrow.

Welcome to the International Viridis Summit

In the center of the mountain oasis, surrounding a thousand foot waterfall, the world’s greatest minds assemble to meet their mysterious host.

“Welcome amigos, colegas,“ Rafael Soñador smiles warmly. “Many of you know me. We have a past, you and I, yes? We’ve shared dreams over meals, ideas over drinks. Some of you shared the stage with me after too many drinks. You know who you are.” Laughter ripples through the crowd.

Behind the Scenes
– Starring AtoZ rockstars –

Fond memories of channeling her inner-diva tugged at Amy Willoughby-Burle‘s lips, her cheeks blushing a shade darker than the fiery hair flowing down her back. Rafael had taken her out to celebrate A Soft and Thunderous Noise‘s debut on the international bestseller list. Five rounds of mojitos later, Amy had stormed the stage and delivered a memorable rendition of La Bamba with drinking partners, C. Lee McKenzie, Guilie Castillo, and Yolanda Renee, that rivaled the original. 

C. Lee McKenzie, nursing a steaming cup of caffeine and a traveling hangover, winked at Amy from across the aisle. Lee, having recently returned from Cuba, was discussing Hemingway’s Hotel Ambos Mundos museum with Guilie. From the corner of her eye, she caught a flash of black and white in the algae-coated canal that cut through the floor near her feet. She wondered what other creatures lurked in its depths. An alligator perhaps?

Guilie Castillo sipped her coffee and stroked the fur of her four-legged travel companion, whose attention was drawn to the swimming jewels that winked from the water’s edge. He couldn’t believe his luck, really. He had spent the first empty years of his life hungry and heartbroken in a dingy back alley. Now, he had a warm home with regular meals, six siblings, and adoring parents. And as much as he yearned to dip a paw into that tempting pool, he would resist, for his mother’s sake. 

Sitting behind Guilie, in the shade of a massive tree, Yolanda Renee made mental notes of the extraordinary surroundings. She was working feverishly on the sequel to her global smash hit, Murder & Obsession, and found the summit location an appealing setting for a thriller. Yolanda sensed a deeper mystery running through the veins of Viridis, and she would make every effort to uncover it.  


EOS Commenting Contest

RSM

Swing by and leave us a comment for a chance to WIN a digital copy of RSM’s latest public album, Battle Angel!

Each Comment = One Entry 

Battle Angel_RSM

EOS Review Contest

Starting April 1st, I’ll reveal sensory-rich sneak peeks into the world of EOS, a futuristic sci fi solarpunk short story available on AMAZON for $0.99Post a REVIEW of EOS on AMAZON by May 31st and you’ll be entered to WIN a signed copy of RSM’s Battle Angel and signed limited edition print from painter, Jenny Vyas!

Add EOS on Goodreads!

EOS_Amazon Cover

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More Deadlines than Lifelines

InsecureWritersSupportGroupIWSG meets the first Wednesday of every month. A community of brilliant writers led by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Visit the Insecure Writer’s Support Group website and database! You’ll find everything from writing to marketing, along with encouragement and support!

I think every writer, on any given day, wishes they had a clone. I’m entertaining the idea of renovating our master closet into a lab, where I’m free to practice my illegal cloning skills–take that, government drones! There’s rarely enough time to *fill in the blank* and write. With multiple exciting projects vying for attention, I’m struggling with striking a balance between the creative process and my domestic duties.

Laundry is piled high enough to conceal family members. No one’s allowed to run through the kitchen, for fear of toppling the tower of dirty dishes. Our border collie is constantly kicking up dust bunnies the size of small children–the ones normally concealed under the deepest recesses of the furniture. And, I’m pretty sure there’s a few trick-or-treaters lost in the high grass that is our front yard. I’m clearly NOT as passionate about housecleaning as I am about writerly things.

Need I mention the succubus that is social media. I’ve just recently succumbed to Twitter. There’s an amusing story behind my Twitter initiation, one involving mistaken identity and a possible clone in CA, but that’s a tale best told over wine. I understand its usefulness, but there’s a learning curve in the land of tweets, not unlike a visit to a village filled with severe ADD sufferers speaking Pig Latin.

Twitter-funny-cartoon-birds-image

Guess which bird I am.

So, should any lovely writerly folks have a few golden nuggets of time-management knowledge and/ or helpful tweety-bird advice, feel free to deposit them here:)

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Realms FaireIn the meantime, stay tuned for REALMS FAIRE, kicking off November 11th through the 15th! Led by the brilliant, Mary Pax! There will be 9 fun events with chances to WIN awesome prizes, everyday! I’ll be hosting a music-inspired event with bff and critique partner, Amy Willoughby-Burle and audiomachine, for their newest public release, EXISTENCE! I wrote the commercial blurb for this amazing album by composer Kevin Rix, and we’re ridiculously excited to share it next week! There will be multiple contests/ writing challenges on FB, Twitter and our blogs, with several signed EXISTENCE albums up for grabs:)

 

A taste of things to come…

Tree of Life: Branching Out Winners

treeoflife_branchingout_badgeI believe in the power of music to inspire and guide our Muse. Music evokes emotions in their purest form, the seed of every story planted firmly in the soul of the notes. As the tale takes root, it bends and bows to every ear.

What started as an idea, born of music, grew into an epic journey–each branch a different voice, each leaf, a different song. Each of these gifted writers, empowered with imagination and the passion to create, went above and beyond the call of music…for this, I thank you. You took us on a magical journey, one we shall not soon forget…

It is with great enthusiasm that audiomachine and I present the winners of the Tree of Life: Branching Out collaborative writing challenge.

audiomachine‘s Top 3 Favorites:

“Solstice Sun” by Al Diaz

“The Truth” by Ruth Long

“The New World” by KC Hunter

Top 3 Fan Favorites:

Amy Willoughby-Burle – Final Hope

C. Lee McKenzie – Tree of Life

Elise Fallson – Equinox

Winning Fan Commenters:

Jin Chae
Yolanda Renee

* The top two Fan commenters will be sent a signed copy of audiomachine’s Tree of Life album–please send me your home address via “Contact Sam”!

Congratulations to all the winners and to all the incredibly talented writers who contributed to this groundbreaking collaboration!

Inspiration is a powerful force, it calls to the greatness living in all of us–listen closely for the story your soul wants to tell…

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Tree of Life: Branching Out Finale Featuring Amy Willoughby-Burle

treeoflife_branchingout_badgeWelcome to the TREE OF LIFE: Branching Out collaborative writing challenge, where creative minds meet epic movie music. To read the collective story in its entirety and for more details on this groundbreaking collaboration with Audiomachine click HERE.

Watch the incredible Tree of Life Tribute created by Elise Fallson for the Branching Out writers and audiomachine composers!

Bringing us full circle, the lyrical soul of Amy Willoughby-Burle heralds the end of an unforgettable journey…

* Listen to the inspiring track from Audiomachine’s Tree of Life album featured in the sidebar music player

Inspiring Soundtrack: Audiomachine – Final Hope – Tree of Life

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The music of cicadas and birdsong filled Zoe’s ears. She listened closer and somewhere in the far away she could hear the neighing of horses, the calling of pups, and what could be nothing else but the laughter of children. Even the trees sang—rubbing their leaves together in the wind.

At her feet, Adam stirred. His intake of breath the clearest note of all.

Zoe knelt down to Adam and helped him up to his feet. She turned back to speak to Gaia, but she was gone. “Thank you,” Zoe spoke aloud to Gaia’s memory.

Adam breathed in deeply to get his wits about him. He called out in a whinny and there at his side was the steed on which he had first arrived.

“Where are we?” Adam asked Zoe.

“Back where started from,” she said. “Begun again.”

Adam’s horse stamped his hoof against the ground and green spread out around the three of them, running across the earth toward the sapling already branching out, stretching up toward the sun.

Like Adam and Zoe, the very earth was beginning again—just like it was meant to do. Winter’s barren had brought Adam to Zoe and spring to the Tree. Acceptance of the gift of second chance had brought Life to them all.

Zoe took Adam’s hand and placed it on her belly. There was new life budding there as well–born in those moments under the blue sky and palm leaves along the edge of the ocean when she and Adam had found passion and peace in each other’s arms.

All that she and Adam had journeyed together was reflected in nature—both human and earth. Change and choice—destiny and decision. Zoe saw them all for what they were—the serpent, the dragon, the rumble of storm and the shaking of the earth. She remembered her wings and her ability to soar. She remembered the charring of the tree and the tear that brought it back. She understood that each season of life brings with it joys and trials, tests and jubilations, magic and miracles.

Adam wrinkled his brow at his own misunderstanding. “But what is the point of doing it all over again?” he asked. “Aren’t we just repeating the cycle?”

Zoe touched her belly and thought of the baby growing inside. She knelt down at the base of the new born Tree of Life, sure that she could feel the roots shooting beneath the very dirt on which she knelt . Adam joined her and put his arm across her shoulders.

“No,” Zoe said. “Each flower is new, each branch of this tree reaches out in a different direction than before, each leaf that unfolds is as different as each new day that will dawn. And with us, all of us, each birth is a new Adam or a new Eve. A new chance. A new hope to get it right.”

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© 2013 Amy Willoughby-Burle

* Cast YOUR VOTE for favorite chapter in the Tree of Life: Branching Out saga, via private message to Sam’s FB page by August 17th.

ATTENTION FANS: You can WIN an autographed TREE OF LIFE Audiomachine album by LEAVING COMMENTS! On August 17th, two lucky readers will be chosen at random from the comments section of the story excerpts. The more you comment–the better your chances are of winning a piece of cinematic history! We want to hear from YOU!

Tree of Life_Album Cover

TREE OF LIFE is available NOW! Click on the following links:

Purchase a CD from CD Baby
Download it from iTunes
Stream it on Spotify      Download it from Amazon       Purchase a CD from Amazon 

Many Branches, One Tree

InsecureWritersSupportGroupIWSG meets the first Wednesday of every month. A community of brilliant writers led by Alex J. Cavanaugh.

Inspiring Soundtrack: Audiomachine – Tree of Life

For this month’s post, I want to send my heartfelt thanks to the talented group of writers that exceeded the Tree of Life: Branching Out challenge I set out before them in a way I never would have dreamed.

Each of these writers possess a unique gift for the written word. They collectively merged their storytelling skills to create an overwhelmingly beautiful saga, wrought with meaning and woven with the essence of music.

With each new voice, the epic tale grew, branching out in unique ways that reflected the individual while honoring the whole.

I am in awe of their abilities, their strength, their enthusiasm and their support.

I may have planted the seed, but it is you who breathed life into it. Rooted in passion, it thrived on your imagination.

You are the branches of this, the Tree of Life.

It is an honor to have worked with you, and on behalf of audiomachine and myself, I cannot thank you enough for the incredible journey…treeoflife_branchingout_badge

Amy Willoughby-Burle, John Wiswell, M. Pax, Al Diaz, Gary Philip Pennick, DL Hammons, Susan Scott, Ruth Long, Djinnia, Daniel Swensen, KC Hunter, Shannon Kenoyer Lawrence, Tina Downey, Beverly Fox, Michelle Wallace, Mina Lobo, Gwen Gardner, Angela Brown, Lisa Shambrook, Sarah Wesson, Leighton Williams, Elise Fallson, Vidya Sury, Damyanti Biswas and C. Lee McKenzie

Tree of Life Composers:
Paul Dinletir
Kevin Rix
Danail Getz
Jeff Marsh
Steffan Michael Koch
John A. Graves

Special thanks to:

Marc D’Amour of audiomachine, for his continued support of this project!

Jennifer Redstreake Geary who gave our collaboration a visually stunning logo!

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Tree of Life: Branching Out Featuring Amy Willoughby-Burle

treeoflife_branchingout_badgeWelcome to the first installment of the TREE OF LIFE: Branching Out collaborative writing challenge, where creative minds meet epic movie music. To read the collective story in its entirety as it unfolds and for more details on this groundbreaking collaboration with Audiomachine click HERE.

Today’s featured guest writer is the brilliant Amy Willoughby-Burle. Amy is especially amazing considering she started us off on this incredible journey just days before her fourth child is expected to make his debut:) Let’s give Amy a round of virtual applause and shower her with adoring comments for what promises to be an unforgettable story! You can visit Amy at Three Moons Rising and her official website.

Inspiring Soundtrack: Audiomachine – The Great Unknown – Tree of Life

She crossed the dew dampened yard on bare feet as the sun tried to break itself against the gray sky. At the cliff’s edge, she ran her hand around the trunk of a lone scrub-brush tree—barren as the dead fields in the way off. She felt the scratch of tree bark across her back—the thick morning wind bringing the bare tree branches down around her like a mother’s arms.

In the distance, someone approached, walking a horse at his side. She was accustomed to watching people walk away, but it had been a long time since someone had entered this land.

Something lit into her hair and she reached up to pull a green leaf from just above her brow. The wind yanked the leaf from her fingers. When she looked up to follow it, there at the tops of the dead tree grew bright green leaves, unfolding and reaching toward the sun even as she watched them.

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© 2013 Amy Willoughby-Burle

ATTENTION FANS: You can WIN an autographed TREE OF LIFE Audiomachine album by LEAVING COMMENTS! On August 17th, two lucky readers will be chosen at random from the comments section of the story excerpts. The more you comment–the better your chances are of winning a piece of cinematic history! We want to hear from YOU!

Tree of Life_Album Cover