Guest post - Anne Elizabeth and a giveaway

THE PENDULUM: From Dream to Reality

by Anne Elizabeth

“Every project begins with a dream and a desire to succeed.” This is one of my father’s favorite sayings. When I was a child he’d sit me on his knee and we’d read the Sunday comics from the newspaper. We’d laugh together, and I can still hear his distinct laughter echoing in my head and see his broad grin. As the years passed, the meaning of these words has grown in value. He was right; an individual’s determination to reach a goal depends on their will to achieve. Thus, I filled my heart with courage and went for my goal over five years ago, and the PULSE graphic novel and comic world was born.

High school was the vetting ground and birthing place for my brain child. Beginning when my high school English teacher asked the class to write a creative short story, I created a brand new supernatural world. (Of course, this was before Harry Potter, Twilight, and many of the now-popular paranormal series.) I was so intrigued by my creatures – ones that came out of imagination, frustration, and a fondness for justice and romance – that I found myself compelled to keep writing. Pretty soon, I had completed a full-length novel and many, many short stories. Plastic purple binders held my treasured manuscripts. Though there was interest in the storylines and characters, none of the publishing houses could figure out how to market it or fit it into their current collections. That is, until Dabel Brothers LLC read the first manuscript – PULSE OF POWER – and offered a contract for my first graphic novel.

After publication, my email was suddenly flooded with letters from reviewers and fans who liked this brand new superhero – someone who spoke of empowerment, decision-making, and standing up for the little guy. There was something special about Tia that connected with readers and so I opened the treasure box further to release the rest of her stories as well as those of her friends. Suddenly, I was editing the stories and my notes, indentifying the overall arc and themes and crafting them into script form. FYI, you need scripts for each participant in the process: One for the editor, one for the artist, one for the colorist, and another for the letterer.

Working with award-winning writer and former DC Editor Alisa Kwitney, who also edited Neil Gaiman for his Sandman series, is the ‘Experience of a Lifetime!’ Alisa is BRILLIANT! I look forward to each interaction, and she has gifted me with an amazing education in comic form, structure, and Haiku snappiness.

After the writing process is complete, the art critique begins. This is where the images and panels are honed into the sharpest and most compelling visual presentation. I worked with Artist Siya Oum, whose creations are intensely beautiful! She’s AMAZING in terms of her knowledge, ability to create captivating nuances, and depict the heart of an emotional climax. When the pages are complete, they are sent to Colorist Mauro Salgado who changes the black and white into complex layers of colors and detail. Lastly, the pages are lettered by Bill Tortolini, who is fantastically gifted at complementing the art and coloring with captions, speech balloons, exclamations and so much more!

The completed high resolution files are then approved by the publishers. Keep in mind, oftentimes both the author and/or the editor are guiding the steps in the pre-production art process. When everything is final, then the book goes to print. Diamond Distributors works with independent bookstores, Amazon and many others to make sure the comic or graphic novel arrives on time and is forwarded to customers.

Please note, this process is not just one person’s work. It is a collaboration of dedication, harmonious agreement, and perseverance. This is a “we” process and it is not an industry for the weak of heart or those with mediocre resolutions. Critiques can be tough. Roadblocks such as illness, change of artistic talent, or delays in production – as well as a multitude of other traumas and dramas – can test the resolve to continue on. But, the outcome is worth it!

Holding a book that you were a part of can bring a wellspring of emotion. The smell of the ink and sleek pages as they slide – silky smooth – along your fingertips. Very memorable!

As you guessed, I admit again that my father was right – that it takes ‘a dream and a desire to succeed’ – and as my mother would add, “Holding your ground and then climbing the next great hill matters, too. So, keeping going and keep challenging yourself.”

My words of wisdom are: If you have a story swimming around in your brain, teasing your spirit, then it is important to write it, speak it, or share it in some way. “Lively boldly, my friends! Live your greatest wish as if it were your last moment on earth.”

Power up with Anne Elizabeth’s graphic novels: PULSE OF POWER and THE PENDULUM available now; or catch her next short comic – ZOMBIE LOVE – releasing Spring 2012 and her full length graphic – POWER PLAY – the third book in the PULSE series releasing early at the New York Comic Con in October 2012. For more information, check her Website.

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Pantheons blog tour - Author interview and giveaway

1. Tell me a little bit about yourself?


-My name is Ernst J. Dabel, and not only am I the author of PANTHEONS, but I’m also the President and co-owner of Dabel Brothers Productions. I’ve been in the publishing business for over 10 years and my company has adapted numerous novels into graphic novels. I’ve worked with authors such as Dean Koontz, Laurell K. Hamilton, Jim Butcher, George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, Orson Scott Card, Raymond E. Feist, and many others. Many of our graphic novels have been on the NY Times Bestseller’s list, Jim Butcher’s Welcome to the Jungle, and Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time. Mercy Thompson: Homecoming graphic novel by Patricia Briggs was actually on the Bestseller list for well over 6 weeks.

Also, about a month and a half ago, I had the pleasure of becoming the proud father of my firstborn son Nathan Ernst Dabel, and he is amazing!!! He can smile now! When I act silly and goofy with him he actually laughs at me, I must admit, it is one of the most wonderful feeling in the world to be a father. Now, I can understand what my father Ernst Dabel Sr. must have felt for all of us when we were born. I made up this little story for Nathan about this frog who wanted to fly and whenever I put on my storyteller hat for the occasion, he stops crying, and actually stares at me intently. I think he likes that story . I do a lot of daddy-things now, bottle-feedings, diaper-changes, etc. There’s nothing quite like it! I can’t imagine life without him. My first book Pantheons is dedicated to my son Nathan, because I love him with all my heart :)

2. When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer?

-It was Chritmas day and I was twelve years old at the time. I remember the excitement I felt as I waited for my turn to come to open gifts, then it finally came, my younger brother Les handed me a wrapped gift. Curious as to what it was, I tore into it with a vengeance. What could it be? It had to be something good and then my heart sunk in disappointment as I held up a book. I gave a half-hearted smile, hugged him, and thanked him for the present. For the next several weeks, Les proceeded to bother me constantly about when I was going to read the book. It was annoying! I guess he didn’t know that at the time I did not like to read, but I have to say that he was a persistent little fellow as I recall. Eventually I picked up the book, to his delight, and decided to ‘pretend’ to read the book so I could get him off of my back. The cover showed a chubby guy with a sword and some kind of creature next to him, and the title read The Hobbit. So under the watchful eye of my brother I started reading. “In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.” I was like, ‘what’s a Hobbit?’ and ‘Why would it live in a hole in the ground?’

I was hooked, and Les had a big grin on his face as I devoured that book, then went on to read the Lord of the Rings, and finally the Silmarillion all before my thirteenth birthday. When I finished the Silmarillion, a passion for writing stirred within me I never knew existed and I knew then that I wanted to be a writer.

3. If you had to choose, which writer made the biggest impact in your decision to write?

-I’d have to say that a lot of authors made an impact in some way or other. J.R.R. Tolkien was the first writer who made the first big impact in my decision to write. His novels were the first to keep me up all hours of the night when I was twelve. My biggest regret, however, was the fact that he died in 1973 and I was born in 1975. I would have liked the opportunity to have met him. I could say that he was the only author that I read and enjoyed as a kid, but unfortunately died before I had a chance to publish his work, and that is one of my biggest regret in my life. Aside from Tolkien, every other author that kept me up at night and made an impact in my decision to write, I’ve had the honor of publishing them all.

4. What book are you reading now?

-Right now, I’m reading a book by C.S. Marks called ‘Ravenshade’. I finished the first two books in the series ‘Elfhunter’ and ‘Fire-heart’. C.S. Marks is brilliant! I’m happy that my brother David is publishing her series at his company Sea Lion Books.

5. How did you come up with the idea for Pantheons?

-Actually, I didn’t. My brother Les, the same one who first got me the Hobbit back when I was twelve, said to me ‘Ernst, why don’t you write a book about all the gods of the ancient world as teenagers in the same school. You can have the Greeks, Norse, Egyptian, Celts and all of the others. Can you imagine Zeus fighting Odin?’ Before he even finished talking, my pen was already flying across my notebook, that very same night I started my research and the idea evolved from there. The next day, I had papers all over the place filled with notes.

6. The characters you created for Pantheons take a life of their own. Like they leap off the pages. Do you find it hard to remember each character’s personality?

-Yes, they do take a life of their own. Sometimes, I’m surprised at the turn they take. One such character which leapt off the pages was the Celtic god Lugh. There are some of the main characters whose personalities I’m used to by now, but for the vast majority it is very hard to remember. With the amount of characters I have to deal with I have to keep good notes on them all. My wife, Aba, she helps me a lot by filing all of my characters.

7. We hear that you are in the process of writing Pantheon’s sequel. Will this be a trilogy or a series?? Do you have any other books in the works?

-Yes, I’m hard at work with Pantheons Book #2, and it will be a series. My first reviewer, Katy Sozaeva, had asked me about The Morrigan and Cerridwen, and I told her that both will make their appearance in book two, as well as Cerridwen’s sons Morfran and Taliesin.

The first book in my other series, ALBINO book #1 is about woodland creatures in a fantasy setting. The story is finished and will be edited soon to be released sometime next year. The hero is Albino, a mouse as big as a rat with fur as white as snow and eyes as red as cherries. I’ve sent a picture of Albino so you can get a sneak peek, I hope you enjoy it.

My third book series, which I’m still very early into, unlike Pantheons and Albino I can’t talk about yet, but I’m having lots of fun with it :)

8. Will there be a graphic novel of Pantheon’s in the near future???

-It will depend on the fans. If they ask for it, I’ll have to give it to them ;)

-1st prize: 1 e-book of “Pantheons” and a Signed Glossy Print of the “Pantheons” Cover;

-2nd and 3rd prize: one Ebook each of “Pantheons”;

-4th and 5th prize: A Signed Glossy Print of the “Pantheons” Cover.

Deets

-Giveaway is International

-Closes 9th Jan 2012

-Fill in the form :)



A chat with Ernst Dabel, author of 'Pantheons' - and giveaway



Ernst Dabel

 A chat with Ernst Dabel, author of 'Pantheons'

It was the first day of my eighth grade in Junior High School. I had just entered the building and was walking hurriedly through the hallways, trying very hard not to bump into anyone. I remember my heart was beating really fast in excitement and my hands were all sweaty as I walked into the library. The librarian was surprised to see me as I walked up to the front desk. She remembered me from last year, knew me by my first name. She asked me why was I in the library, and I asked her ‘in the nicest voice possible of course’ if I could check out a few books. The librarian looked at me as if I had grown another head, and she kindly reminded me that this was the first day of school and that I hadn’t even checked into my homeroom yet, it just wouldn’t be possible since I had not even received a library card yet for the school year. I pleaded with her to allow me to check out some books. But she was adamant that without a library card I couldn’t take out any books. So I asked her what if I stayed inside the library and read it here. She told me that was okay. I had a few minutes and quickly took a mountain of books to one of the tables and began to read voraciously. I read ten pages of a Greek myth here, put it aside, then read several pages of a Norse mythology book, looked up at the clock to see how much time I had left before I delved into Egyptian myths and so on. A few minutes later, I placed all the books back with a breaking heart and thanked the librarian for allowing me to read a little, but I promised her I’d be back again for more. She smiled, told me she knew I’d be back, and explained that I wouldn’t be allowed to check out thirty books once I had my library card. I stepped out of the library with a deep sadness in my heart. Then I hurriedly fished through my book-bag and chose one of the five fantasy books I was currently reading and began to devour the pages with my eyes hungrily as I walked to my homeroom…fast-forward to current day: Now, I’m thirty-six, and still hungry for books. As a new YA author, I find that my burning desire for hunting down stories from ancient myths, folklore, and legends are very helpful for my research on gods and monsters.

My wish for Pantheons is that it makes its way to every reader, those who are always looking for something new, challenging, and always open to new ideas.

There are many books on vampires, wizards, and werewolves out there in the YA Market. In my opinion, they are fantastic stories. Harry Potter, Twilight, Hush, Hush, and so many others have brought so many positive things into our lives. These authors are a blessing to us book readers and I applaud them. Now, meaning no disrespect, but there’s only so much you can do with vampires, wizards, and werewolves. Of course there are very talented authors who can give new perspectives on a story, but basically the rules for those three categories can only be bent so far. For Pantheons however, the story is about all the gods (Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Celt, Asian, Aztec, Finnish, Babylonian, Hindu, Native American Indian, and many others) in modern day, and the variety of powers and abilities I have to deal with for these teenaged gods are so vast and varied it’s mind-boggling, but as I mentioned early on about my first day of eighth grade I was always the first to the library and I never stopped begging the librarian to let me check out a mountain of books, so I’m the man for the job. The amount of research, which will go into this series will test the strength of my eyes in a way that I’ve never been challenged before, but the thought of it is thrilling. Think about it Zeus, Odin, Seth, Spider Grandmother, Lugh, Marduk, Quetzalcoatl, Xuan Wu, Vainamoinen, Kali, the wealth of characters teen readers can delve into are endless…

Pantheons by E.J. Dabel
Available from 14th December 2011
 On the streets, they call fifteen year old orphan Isaiah Marshall the “Indestructible Diamond”. Isaiah is the leader of the “Redrovers”, a group of teenage misfits consisting of his friends Jeremy, Monty, and Pipsqueak, but when they trespass into “Kaliber Academy” to get even with the arrogant Jason Ollopa, they are in way over their heads. Principal Webb enrolls them into the High School and Isaiah soon learns about the existence of the gods of the Ancient World.
Because the gods have refused to fight the last War for fear of the Mysterious Dark, the Powers-that-Be have stripped them of their spiritual bodies and given them mortal, teenage forms. Isaiah discovers he's not only a god, but that he's the child of the Greek goddess Metis, the son destined to overthrow his cruel and sadistic father Zeus, the Darkener of the Sky, and become the greatest god in all the Pantheons. Isaiah is thrown into a world where the democratic Olympians, war-mongering Norse, Gothic Celts, firstborn Egyptians, the enlightened Hindu, the animal-like Aztecs, the martial artist Asians, the intelligent Babylonians, the great spirits of the Native American Indians, and the fierce Finnish will war against one another for the greatest of all prizes: the Dominion.

Author bio:

Ernst J. Dabel is the author of “Pantheons”, and is also the President and co-owner of Dabel Brothers Productions, a publishing company specializing in comics and graphic novels. Ernst’s company has adapted novels by major authors such as Dean Koontz, Laurell K. Hamilton, Jim Butcher, George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Orson Scott Card, Raymond E. Feist, R.A. Salvatore, Patricia Briggs, Robert Silverberg, Tad Williams, and others.

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Want to win yourself an ecopy of Pantheons?

Deets

-Giveaway is international.

-Ends 15th December.

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-Just fill in the form.

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