Tag: red plague series

NaNoWriMo Update

NaNoWriMo Update

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, How I Found My Groove

NaNoWriMo pic

After a tough writing week, I feel like I’ve finally hit my stride. By tonight I’ll have between 24 and 25K words written, right on target. I know I can not only hit the 50K word goal by November 30, but I’m confident I have enough plot to finish. Believe me, there have been years when I reached the 20 or 30K word mark and thought, “I’m done. The story is finished. There’s nothing else to write.” But not this year. I have story to spare, which is a great feeling.

I’m writing a new Red Plague novel this month. It’s a YA zombie paranormal, and I’m loving writing it! I’m so excited to share it with you. Hopefully, it’ll be available for purchase in early 2016.

How is your writing journey going this week?

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Enjoy this Free Red Plague Sneak Peek PDF full of excerpts and extras!

<3 Anna

5-Star Review for Elixir

5-Star Review for Elixir

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, A Very Flattering Review of Elixir

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Click here for the original post on The Book Landers.

Review (5 out of 5 stars):
I completely devoured this novel in one sitting (I think I read Elixir in a about 2 and a half hours.) The suspense was taut between the pages from start to finish–kudos to Abner for penning such a gripping book! I literally sat in front of the computer, glued to the monitor as I scrolled through the pages as fast as possible.
The set up isn’t drastically different from your typical zombie apocalypse set up: a virus has spread like the plague, making victims to become flesh craving monsters with bloodshot eyes. However, there seems to be a tiny, teensy, weensy fraction of the population that seems immune to this disease.
Maya, the main character of the book, is a 17 year old girl whose father works at a lab searching for the cure to the “zombie” disease. As many cities become over run by zombies, Maya’s father begin making preparations should it happen to their town. One day, while her father is at work, Maya gets attacked by a zombie and escapes by hiding in the bunker her father had installed for such scenario. After 14 days of hiding underground and no signs of her father ever coming back, Maya ventures into a very different world.
Remembering her father had mentioned something about completing the cure the day he disappeared, Maya embarks on a journey to his lab in the city to find this cure. On the way, she (unwillingly) picks up ab 8 year old girl. They soon get pursues by a pack of zombies and is saved by other fellow survivor–including a wannabe soldier named Pollard.
I really think Abner did an incredible job with building Maya’s character. She’s very unique, especially when compared to other heroines of zombie books. First of all, she’s not exactly what you would call bad-ass; she’s terrified of guns (not good in a zombie infested world) ever since her twin brother committed matricide. However, although no expert wilderness survivalist, Maya does keep her cool and use logic and reasoning to navigate through the dangerous new world. Also, Maya loves music and the author does an excellent job depicting this through descriptions (told from Maya’s POV) that make musical reference (ie. footsteps pounded to a staccato beat or something like that.) Also, I am so glad there was no insta-love and that Maya wouldn’t take any of that “I’ll die for love” kind of crap; no, she’s all about learning how to survive.
Even though there was no insta-love, there were some attempts of Pollard trying to strike up a relationship between him and Maya. I personally found those scenes awkward; I’m not sure if the author did that on purpose or not (since Pollard being an awkward sort of guy is pretty plausible.)
Anyways, final thoughts: Awesome read! You’ll fly right through it, especially if you love music and zombies. The book is an on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of read 🙂
<3 Anna
Enjoy this Free Red Plague Sneak Peek PDF full of excerpts and extras!
Mid-Month NaNoWriMo Update

Mid-Month NaNoWriMo Update

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, My 1st 2 Weeks Of NaNo 2014

Current word count => 18,265.

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I love November more than any other month. It’s the one month I get to wildly obsess about writing and be cheered for it. (I love my job!)

If you’ve ever thought of writing a novel, I encourage you to sketch out an idea next year and then take the NaNoWriMo challenge in 2015. You won’t regret it. Because even if you don’t meet the 50,000 words in 30 days goal, you will write much more than you would in a normal month.

Last year I wrote the final book in the Red Plague trilogy–Panacea.

PanaceaFin

This year I’m writing the final book in the Dark Caster series. (Title to be determined.) The cover below is from the first book in the series.

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I work during the day and then am a mom and wife in the evenings. On top of that I write. What I learned right away is that I can’t procrastinate this month. Sometimes I wait to write until the time just “appears.” But that isn’t working right now. Not when I need a solid hour to complete 2000 words (my daily goal). With work, school, theater practice, violin lessons, dinner, etc., etc. I can’t squeeze in the time and go to sleep at a reasonable hour. So, I’m going to have to force myself to get up an hour early starting tomorrow morning, even though I’m not a morning person at all. But if I don’t get my word count in before I go to work I spend the entire day worrying about how to finish everything.

So, think of me bleary-eyed and pounding away on the keyboard tomorrow morning, slurping coffee by the quart as I try to do justice to Derek and Jessa’s story.

Thank goodness there’s December and National Editing Your Manuscript Month (If it doesn’t officially exist, it should!).

<3 Anna

NaNoWriMo Is Almost Here!

NaNoWriMo Is Almost Here!

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, Are You Prepared To Write?

nanowrimo

My favorite time of the year is upon us. November is National Novel Writing Month, and if you’ve ever had an inkling to write a book, this is your chance. You’ll benefit from tons of support from the online site as well as participants in your community.

Last year I wrote Panacea (Red Plague Trilogy #3) during NaNoWriMo. This year I’ll be writing the fourth and final installment of my Dark Caster Series.

If you’re participating, please let me know. We’ll keep each other sane during the next thirty days or so. 🙂

<3 Anna

My Top 4 Favorite Zombies

My Top 4 Favorite Zombies

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, Which Zombies Influenced The Red Plague Trilogy

The stories of risen dead originated in the voodoo religion, but they definitely got more fun when Hollywood took over. From the first zombie monster in 1932’s White Zombie to the decomposing walkers on The Walking Dead, zombies have always been my favorite movie monsters.

 

#4: Kyle from American Horror Story: Coven (2013-2014)

AHSKyle and Zoe had an instant attraction, but when he was killed the same night they met, what was a witch to do except piece him back together and raise him from the dead? He had a bumpy readjustment period, but with time Kyle learned to be (mostly) human again.

 

#3: Sophia from The Walking Dead (Current)

sophiaTechnically, all my favorite characters on the show are zombies since they have the zombie virus inside them. But of all the turned walkers poor Sophia broke my heart the worst. I really wanted her to be okay and when she re-appeared I cried for her, Carol, and all of them.

 

#2: Freddie from Return of the Living Dead (1985)

freddieThis movie gave me nightmares, and it will always be my favorite horror film. The wiggling dog corpse. The tar monster in the basement. The cemetery literally coming to life. Not only is this movie crazy scary, but I was emotionally invested in Freddie being the good guy who would get a happy ending. Nope. Zombie.

 

#1: R from Warm Bodies (2013)

warm bodiesIf all zombies were as adorable as Nicholas Hoult’s R, horror movies would be very different. First, the book was an amazing story I could not put down, but then the film was even better.

 

These characters, and countless others, inspired me to write my own zombie YA adventure, Elixir.

<3 Anna

Red Plague Photos

Red Plague Photos

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, Things That Inspired Elixir, Maya & Ben

I live in North Carolina and everything around me inspired locations and characters in the Red Plague Trilogy, but here are some things that made me stop and imagine the series in a new way.

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A helicopter flying over a NC highway. In the zombie apocalypse, this would be one of the first signs of trouble.
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Another helicopter searching for the infected.
RP smoke
I was driving on I-40 near Raleigh when I spotted smoke in the distance which made me imagine all kinds of apocalypse scenarios.
RP forest road
An empty highway in NC surrounded by thick forest, just like in the book. Can you picture Maya and her companions traipsing down the center line?
RP forest road 2
Another NC highway flanked by pine trees.
RP 40
The I-40 near Raleigh, NC.
RP McDonalds
The McDonald’s (near Raleigh, NC) that catches Hunny’s attention.
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Maya, Pollard & Hunny take over an RV similar to this one at the end of Elixir.
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Finally, the adorable, real life inspiration for Hunny Green.

<3 Anna

Meet Maya Solomon of the Red Plague Trilogy

Meet Maya Solomon of the Red Plague Trilogy

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, An Interview With A Fictional Character

Want to know more about the heroine of the Red Plague Trilogy? I put together a faux interview between Maya and her school newspaper. Enjoy!

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Interviewer: This month’s Palmetto High School’s student spotlight is on Maya Solomon, 17, recent 1st place winner in the thousand meters sprint at the state track finals. Here are your five questions.

Q1: What is one thing most people don’t know about you?

Maya: I have a twin brother named Mason. But nobody at Palmetto has ever met him. He doesn’t live with us anymore.

Q2: Who is your favorite teacher?

Maya: Mr. Reynolds the music teacher. He taught me a lot about songwriting and composing.

Q3: What is one thing you can’t live without?

Maya: My iPad. It has all my recordings on it, my favorite music, and pictures and videos of my family. I would be really upset if I lost it.

Q4: Who is the one person you can’t live without?

Maya: My dad. He’s a single parent now. Without him I’d be an orphan.

Q5: What are your plans for after high school?

Maya: I’m going to Meredith College where my mom used to teach (before she passed away) to study music and creative writing.

<3 Anna

Last 3 Days to Pick up Elixir for Free

Last 3 Days to Pick up Elixir for Free

Posted on by Anna Abner
Or, Like Free Ebooks? Me, too!

My YA paranormal, Elixir, is only free on Amazon until Sunday, March 16th! Hop on over by clicking HERE and check it out. If you read it, please let me know what you think.

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Blurb:

The red plague has devastated the human race, turning billions of people into zombies with red eyes and an insatiable hunger for human flesh.

The 212R virus sweeps through the population so quickly a possible cure is left to rot. Seventeen-year-old Maya Solomon may be the only survivor who knows where it is. But to reach the lab in Raleigh, North Carolina she will have to outrun the infected boy tracking her every step and cross into a city swarming with monsters.

<3 Anna

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