New Release from Scott Harper

Quintana Roo, Yucatan

Rikki Breitenberg is an archaeologist in charge of the first team of American documenters allowed by the Mexican government to explore newly discovered Mayan ruins in the Yucatan. However, shortly after their arrival in Mexico, things go awry. Treacherous jungle, inclement weather and dangerous wildlife are only the beginning.

When Rikki and her team run afoul of members of an ancient cult devoted to the worship of a bloodthirsty god, things take a terrifying turn for the worse. During their struggle for survival, the team makes a startling discovery that may rewrite the whole of human history. Will they survive to bring their amazing find back to civilization?



Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Quintana-Roo-Yucatan-ebook/dp/B00A5WKT40

Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Quintana-Roo-Yucatan-Scott-Harper/dp/193937801X
www.scottharper.net

Teaser Tuesday with Scott Harper!!

Please welcome back Author Scott Harper for another great Teaser Tuesday! 

Enjoy & Comment

Con artists Wendy Markland and Jacob Iverson have spent the past several years making a living by pretending to be vampire hunters. They fleece people with tall tales, folkloric trivia and low-budget props. Neither believe that the undead, demon-possessed corpses they pretend to hunt are truly real. But now, while working their latest job, they learn the staggering truth - vampires are real. They find their worldview turned upside-down and their lives forever shattered as they go on the run, fighting for survival against the unspeakable evil that pursues them.

Excerpt:

Wendy cursed loudly. In her terror at seeing the vampire that had first revealed itself to them, she had completely forgotten about the dark, swift shape she had seen duck behind the gravestone. They had never been facing a single vampire, but a pack of them.

The five creatures came forward. One ripped the crossbow from Jacob's hands before he had a chance to reload it. Another tore the belt, with its stakes and mallet, from his waist. Others did the same to Wendy, relieving her of her own paltry weapons.

Unarmed, each was grabbed from behind by a vampire and led away. The remaining three formed a guard, one in the lead and two following behind.

Wendy and Jacob were marched through the graveyard until they came to the wrought iron perimeter fence at the rear of the cemetery. On the other side of the fence was what looked to be an old cow pasture, long since abandoned and gone to seed. The tall grasses and weeds stirred in the soft breeze and pale illumination of the moon. In the distance, nearly invisible, was a ramshackle farmhouse. Judging by its silhouette, it looked ready to collapse under its own weight.

Wendy shrieked as the creature holding her from behind pitched her over the fence. She landed in a heap, most of the wind knocked from her lungs. Jacob landed hard beside her. In the same instant, their captors landed beside them, quiet and nimble. Wendy realized with a start that they had simply leapt over the five-foot-tall fence.

She was hauled back to her feet. Her legs were weak. If not for the vampire once more holding her arms from behind, she would have fallen. Again, she and Jacob were marched forward, toward the old farmhouse.

Abruptly, Jacob twisted hard, cursing the creature that held him. Its grip was too strong; he was unable to free himself. Still, the vampire cuffed him hard on the back of the head, knocking him to the ground. It instantly yanked him back to his feet. The vampire acting as point spun around, backhanding Jacob, whipping his head to the side, splitting his lips. Blood flew through the air. Wendy shuddered upon hearing the five creatures' combined hiss of desire. The creature holding Jacob grabbed his short, dark brown hair, drawing back his head offering his throat to the vampire on point.

"The leader of our cultus wants you both alive," it said, "lucky for you." It turned and began walking once more.

The others followed, forcing Wendy and Jacob along with them.

"Are you okay?" Wendy asked.

The vampire holding her tightened its grip painfully on her arms, causing her to wince. "No talking."

In answer to her question, Jacob nodded, glaring at the back of the lead vampire. Blood dripped from his split lips.

The dilapidated farmhouse grew steadily closer. Even in the pale light, Wendy saw that it was leaning badly, ready to cave in on itself. She wondered how it managed to stay upright at all. She and Jacob were taken up the creaking, wooden front steps and forced over the warped, broken planks of the porch. The front doorframe was crooked, the door wide open. She and Jacob were marched through the portal and into the rotting structure.

Gagging at the stench of decomposition and putrefaction, Wendy tried to hold her breath. The smell of the vampires was bad out in the open. In the confines of the house, coupled with the musty odor of the building itself, the combined reek nearly made her pass out. Bad as it was just inside the front door, the oppressive stink grew exponentially the further in they were taken. Unable to take any more, her legs buckled. The vampire holding her arms released her. Wendy collapsed to the floor, the planks squalling beneath her, and was sick. Before her stomach had even been emptied, she was grabbed and dragged along, leaving a trail of vomit on the already filthy floor. When she was reduced to nothing more than painful dry heaves, she was pulled fully back to her feet, forced to walk again.

Upon entering the kitchen area, Wendy saw another door set into the back wall, half-rotten, hanging slackly on its hinges. Wan moonlight filtered through panes of cracked, dirty glass to partially illuminate the upper portion of a rickety set of stairs that led down into darkness. The odor which rose from the crepuscular depths was so abominable, so rancid, that it forced Wendy back to her knees. Her stomach clenched painfully, spasms wracking her body, as it tried to empty itself again. She went cold, as if her blood had turned to freshly melted ice in her veins. She began to sob.

Beside her, Jacob collapsed. He vomited, the dinner he had eaten at the Holdridge house splattered down the front of his bodysuit, as the vampire holding him shoved him toward the waiting darkness.


Bio: Scott Harper is the author of more than 30 published short stories and several novels. There has been talk, from several fronts, about turning his fourth novel, "Predators or Prey?", the first book in his Wendy Markland series, into a live-action project.

Harper graduated from Marysville High School in 1993 and began screenwriting in 2007, after the publication of several short stories and novels, and has worked on projects for James Tucker Productions and 11th Dimension Films. He is currently involved with several projects, covering literature, film and comic books.


Buy Links:Amazon.com (print): http://www.amazon.com/Predators-Prey-Scott-Harper/dp/0984626751/ref=la_B004MAHXNG_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1350937913&sr=1-1

Fictionwise (e-book): http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b70310/Predators-or-Prey/Scott-Harper/?si=0

All Romance e-Books (e-book): https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-predatorsorprey-9783-140.html

Barnes & Noble (e-book): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/predators-or-prey-scott-harper/1112400989?ean=9781921347603

Barnes & Noble (print): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/predators-or-prey-scott-harper/1017477303?ean=9780984626755


Author Links:
Official website: www.scottharper.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Scott_Harper
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScottHarperAuthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/824777.Scott_Harper

Teaser Tuesday with Scott Harper

Today's Teaser Tuesday is with Author Scott Harper!

Enjoy & Comment

It has been two years since Wendy Markland learned the horrible truth that vampires and other supernatural predators are indeed real. She has spent that time alone, hunting, desperate to avenge the loss of her brother. Now, a news report draws her to the small town of Pinewick, New Jersey, located in the small state's infamous pine barrens. Upon arrival, the local Sheriff tries to end Wendy's investigation before it can even begin. When she ignores him, Wendy finds out that what's going on isn't what she thought, though the dead are walking in Pinewick. Wendy's investigation leads her to new friends, new love and new terrors in the pine barrens as she deals with not only a human necromancer, but an ancient death demon and hordes of zombies.

Excerpt:

A figure shambled in front of the car and Wendy's words gave way to an inarticulate scream as she slammed on the brakes and tried to swerve at the same time. The car fishtailed but it was too late. She felt a sickening crunch as her front bumper impacted with the person. The car bucked as one of the front tires rolled over something.

Scarcely taking time to slam the car into the parking gear, she threw open the door and leapt out. She saw nothing at first, then she spotted the arm protruding from beneath her car. The limb wasn't moving. Her stomach clenched as cold fear wormed around in her belly. Something new caught her attention, bringing her focus to it. The sight of the severed leg, lying a few feet away, made her stomach churn with nausea. She turned away and vomited. As it had been awhile since she'd last eaten, she was quickly wracked with painful dry heaves as tears flowed down her cheeks.

After a couple of minutes she turned, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Wincing at the feel of the sticky fluid now on her hand, she brushed it off on her sweatshirt. To her amazement, the arm beneath the car was now moving. She watched in awe as the fingers twitched, the hand clawing at the asphalt in slow motion, as if trying to gain a grip on it.

She turned back to the open car door and practically dove inside, snatching up her cell phone. Part of her thought that she should speak to the person who was lying broken beneath her car. But she had no words for them; nothing she could say would comfort them or make their pain lessen. As she fumbled with the phone, a niggling little thought tugged at her mind. She flipped the phone open and tried to dial. Her hands were shaking so badly that it was all she could do just to hold onto the phone. She pressed the 9 button then managed to press the 1. As she was trying to press it a second time the niggling little thought forced itself to the fore of her mind.

No blood!

She felt her eyes widen. Slowly, she turned to look again. The leg still rested a short distance away. The arm still reached out from beneath the car, scrabbling weakly at the pavement. She could hear faint scratching sounds a the fingernails scrapped over the rough surface. She looked again at the leg. It was clad in what appeared to be the tattered remains of the leg of a pair of dress pants. The foot was clothed in a dark sock and brown leather shoe, caked with clods of dirt. The leg had been severed just above the knee. A shard of bone, almost washed out by the glare of the headlights, stuck out of a mangled mess of ragged, pale flesh. But there was no blood anywhere in sight.

Then the smell hit her, the sick, putrid stench of rot and decay. Her stomach tightened and she thought she would be sick again. The shock she felt at the thought of having accidentally killed somebody was replaced in an instant by a new fear. It was a dread so deep that she felt tears begin to roll down her cheeks the moment it settled on her. She mouth went dry and her throat was tight. Only half aware of what she was doing, she folded her cell phone closed and held it tightly as she stared at the pallid shreds of flesh visible among the torn fiber of the suit leg.

The soft scraping sound drew her eyes back to the hand as it slowly clawed at the asphalt. More of the arm could be seen now. She saw the cuff of a black sleeve and the white cuff of the shirt beneath it. She watched as more of the arm came into view until, finally, she could see the shoulder and a thatch of dirty, unkempt hair falling forward to hide the face. The body stopped moving.

A small popping sound made her realize that she was gripping her cell phone tightly enough to have cracked the plastic casing. Still, she kept her hand tightened on it.

The mangy head lifted, the neck it was attached to bending at an unnatural angle. Upon seeing the face, Wendy nearly choked and had to put both hands over her mouth to keep from screaming. It was broken and pale, an ashen, bloodless color. Tangles of dirty hair hung over eyes that were blind with rheumy cataracts. The mouth was opening and closing slowly, the pallid lips gummed with a thick, sticky substance that Wendy refused to even think about. She watched in horror as the corpse pulled itself the rest of the way out from beneath her car. The right leg was missing and the left was crushed and mangled, bone shards clearly visible. The thing twisted its head once more, turning its hideous face toward Wendy. The death-white features pinched into an expression of gleeful malice and a grotesque smile pulled at its mouth, the lips sticking to each other for moment before parting fully. A large, shining black beetle scuttled from the corpse's mouth, tumbled to the ground and scurried away. The corpse began to crawl toward her, pulling itself along with its arms, ruined legs dragging behind it.

Not vampires! Keely was right when he'd called them zombies!


Bio: Scott Harper is the author of more than 30 published short stories and several novels. There has been talk, from several fronts, about turning his fourth novel, "Predators or Prey?", the first book in his Wendy Markland series, into a live-action project.

Harper graduated from Marysville High School in 1993 and began screenwriting in 2007, after the publication of several short stories and novels, and has worked on projects for James Tucker Productions and 11th Dimension Films. He is currently involved with several projects, covering literature, film and comic books.


Buy Links:
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Necromancer-ebook/dp/B005CQ0NOA/ref=la_B004MAHXNG_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1350940973&sr=1-5

Fictionwise (e-book): http://www.fictionwise.com/ebooks/b94089/Necromancer/Scott-Harper/?si=0

All Romance e-Books (e-book): https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-necromancer-78955-139.html

Barnes & Noble (e-book): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/necromancer-scott-harper/1104968853?ean=9780982361054


Author Links:
Official website: www.scottharper.net
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Scott_HarperFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ScottHarperAuthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/824777.Scott_Harper

Q&A Thursday with Scott Harper

Today's Q&A is with Author Scott Harper!

Enjoy & Comment!

What is the worst thing you’ve written, how did you learn or know it was bad, and what did you learn from it?

The worst thing I’ve ever written would have to be my first-ever attempt at writing a novel. I began work on it as a child of 10-years-old. I had just seen the Disney film “The Black Cauldron” after badgering my parents into taking me to see it. I was lucky enough to be able to see it in theaters during its VERY short theatrical run. After watching the film, I was hooked on fantasy.

Being a writer is the only thing I ever wanted to do. So, at the age of 10, I started work on my first “novel”. As it turned out, I had NO idea what I was doing. Between half and three quarters of what I tried to do I didn’t know the words for or how to describe. Due to that, I ended up drawing most of the story and telling it through illustrations. Now, at 36, I don’t even remember what the title of that mess was. But it WAS a mess! I don’t think I ever even finished it. What I did write of it was a conglomeration of drawings and text—a badly-done illustrated novel.

That “project” taught me that an author can never stop learning and stop making themselves better. It taught me that, if you’re going to write something, you need to be prepared for what that entails—knowing your subject matter and being able to put it into words. I’m an avid reader. When I read, I’m not just reading, I’m studying and learning so that I can continue the progress of becoming better at what I do.

Why did you start writing and when did you decide to go professional?

Writing is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do for a living. Anyone who has known me for my entire life may well remember the time when I was 5- or 6-years-old and announced that I was going to go get a job at the local library. I wanted to work there because I wanted to work with books. When my parents pointed out to me that I was “a bit too young” to get a job there, my response was, “Fine! I’ll open my own library!” When asked where I planned to get the books, I firmly stated that I would write them myself. I then began stapling papers together to form pages and starting writing what amounted to short stories on them. Writing is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do.

In 1993 I graduated high school. Luckily, I was able to partake in my school’s early graduation program and be freed from the horrors of high school after only half of my Senior year. Hating school with a burning passion, I leapt on that opportunity with both feet when it was offered to me! When my Senior Semester, as I refer to it, ended I started writing more. It was then that I started submitting work to magazines, trying to get published.

Do you write in more than one genre? Which ones and which do you like the best?

I’m very multi-genre, yes. As of January 2012, I have over 30 short stories and seven  novels published. I’ve been hired to write a comic book miniseries, website content and screenplays. A large chunk of that body of work, especially in the short story area, has been fantasy. Due to that, people used to label me as a “fantasy author”. More recently, most of my work has been in the horror genre since my fourth novel, “Predators or Prey?”, the first installment of my Wendy Markland series, was published by Dark Castle Lords Publications.

“Predators or Prey?” has sparked a lot of interest. Within two weeks of the books initial e-book release, I was contacted by someone who wanted to turn the book into a film. Sadly, that’s since fallen through after that project morphed from a film into a TV series. But, there is continued interest from other parties in turning “Predators or Prey?” into a movie. Actually, at the moment, two of those parties are trying to pull together a $3 million budget for the making of the film. There is also a comic book series in the works—written and lettered by me—called “Wendy Markland: Chronicles Nocturnum”. The first story arc of that series will be a comic book adaptation of “Predators or Prey?”.

Due to the response I’m getting from my horror work, I’m continuing to explore that genre. Still, despite working in horror, action/adventure, science fiction and doing some non-fiction work in the form of website content, my first literature love is fantasy. I actually have an idea for a new fantasy project that’s been bouncing around in my mind for some time now that I really, really want to write. But, to do what I have in mind, it’s going to have to be big—a series of lengthy novels, an on-going comic book series or a TV series. Anything smaller wouldn’t match the scale of what I have in mind for this and would force me to leave out huge chunks of the story.

Do you read other author’s books when you’re writing? If so, do you read the same genre or something different?

Always.

As for whether or not they’re the same genre, that happens sometimes as pure coincidence. At the moment, I’m working on my forthcoming novel. It’s an action/adventure called “Quintana Roo, Yucatan”. It’s set in the jungles of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula and is the longest thing I’ve written to date. It’s undergoing editing at the moment. I’m also working on Issue #1 of “Wendy Markland: Chronicles Nocturnum”. The Issue #1 script is written, but I’m coordinating with the producer who’s picked the project up and the artist to get Issue #1 complete. Anyway, throughout this, I’d actually been going back and rereading my collection of “Doctor Who” novels. For Christmas, I was given the first three books in Jim Butcher’s series “The Codex Alera”. So, I’ve put the “Doctor Who” books aside for the moment and just finished the second of those three fantasy novels. I tend to be very eclectic, if you’ve not guessed that already!

What is the most difficult part of the entire writing process for you? Queries, pitches, editing..etc.

For me, really, the most difficult part is finding funding for the TV/film projects I’m involved with. Take “MoonWraith” for example. “MoonWraith” is a character-driven action/horror series set in medieval Europe against the backdrop of a war between humans and werewolves. The on-going conflict between the two sides isn’t the basis for the series; it’s really the excuse for it. The stories I have planned revolve around the characters on both sides of the conflict. At present, I have a list of 42 people who want to be involved in the pilot episode as cast or crew. A couple of those are fairly well-known names. Yet I’ve been unable to find anyone to produce/distribute the pilot.

TV/film aside, and speaking strictly as a novelist, the queries tend to be the most difficult part of the process for me.

If you could have the same type of career as any author currently publishing who would it be and why?

I would have to opt for Jim Butcher on this one. Mr. Butcher has had a string of over a dozen New York Times Bestsellers in a row with his “Dresden Files” series—of which I’m a huge fan, by the way—in addition to his “Codex Alera” series and other work. “The Dresden Files” was even translated into a short-lived TV series. Sadly, the producers opted for a lot of changes between the books and the TV series and it didn’t survive that mauling. Mr. Butcher has also written original comic book projects. For me, being able to mimic the career that Jim Butcher has as an author would be a dream come true. Just being able to meet Mr. Butcher and sit and talk with him would be a dream come true!

Book blurb:

“Shadow Castes: Book 1 – Aspects”

Felix Hollerman is a werewolf, struggling with what he unexpectedly became nearly two years ago. The stress and pressure of dealing with his lycanthropy has pushed him to the edge. When Nephele Kolb arrives unexpectedly, also claiming to be a lycanthrope and offering to help Felix change his life, he is shocked and thrilled. However, when his training under her tutelage blossoms into romance and a werewolf hunter and a rival pack arrive in the area, Felix’s life becomes a lot more complicated.

Meanwhile, superstar author and psychic vampire Eugen Zahn is finding his own life made more complex and dangerous by another of his own kind as well as a new reporter with a grudge. Events in Eugen’s life, unbeknownst to him, are putting him on a collision course with Felix Hollerman and the mess his own life has become.

Author Bio: Scott Harper is the author of more than 30 published short stories and several novels. There has been talk, from several fronts, about turning his fourth novel, "Predators or Prey?", the first book in his Wendy Markland series, into a live-action project.

Harper graduated from Marysville High School in 1993 and began screenwriting in 2007, after the publication of several short stories and novels, and has worked on projects for James Tucker Productions and 11th Dimension Films. He is currently involved with several projects, covering literature, film and comic books.

My website: http://www.wix.com/scott_harper/scott-harper 

Twitter: @Scott_Harper 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorScottHarper 

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/scott_harper_author 

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottharperauthor