“ESCAPE” Microfiction vs Poetry Competition

Posted by Chrissey Harrison - 19th September 2012

Click for details of our flash fiiction and poetry competionListen up, writers, we have a competition running!

Are you team Micro Fiction or team Poetry? Join in the battle of the short form literature by entering your work into our competition. The team with the most entries will be declared the winner.

Your theme is “Escape”, what you do with it is up to you. We’re looking for originality, creativity and powerful expression in a short space.

Word limit of 150 words

Deadline: 12th October 2012

 

Find out more about the terms, prizes and how to enter on our Competitions Page.

Web Series Review – Job Hunters Episode 1: Safe House

Posted by Mark - 14th September 2012

Welcome to the first in a new series of blog posts about web series. We know how much time and effort goes into making a web series, and how good it is to get constructive feedback. So now we will be running regular reviews of other web-based series, some old and some new, as they appear. We’re starting with the first episode of a brand new web series that’s currently five episodes into its run, the darkly comic Job Hunters.

Job Hunters

Job Hunters - web series“Job Hunters is a Seattle-based original web series set in the near future, where college graduates must fight (potentially to the death) to be placed by the MAEWIN corporation into careers. With a pass-rate of about 20%, this process is also a form of population control.

During their time at MAEWIN, recruits fight in an arena from 9-5 — while the rest of their time is their own (provided they stay in the MAEWIN-run Safe Houses). Our series follows a particular set of Job Hunters as they deal with adjusting to life in the Safe Houses, dealing with room mate issues, as well as sorting through feelings of their own impending doom.” (Job Hunters official site – About)

Episode 1: Safe House – REVIEW

Job Hunters is an exciting new dystopian web series based in Seattle and set in a near future where graduates are made to fight to the death to earn placements in careers. Following a genre tradition that encompasses Battle Royale and, more recently, The Hunger Games, the series carves out its own identity as somewhat quirky and with a fairly dark sense of humour.

The first episode of a web series is always difficult as it has to introduce the concept and characters, whilst also entertaining the audience and featuring action, if that’s what the genre involves. This uses a time jumping device to perfection, allowing for tense, violent scenes to be cut in amongst the more exposition based sequences. The juxtaposition works well, and helps drive the tension, and keeps the audience engaged. The cast play their roles well, and never feel forced, and we get broadly drawn characters we can straight away identify with, but with potential for greater depth as the series progresses.

There are a few niggles. Whilst the website and behind the scenes information do set out the concept well enough, taken on its own terms, episode one is not entirely clear. The premise is established well, but the way the jobs are allocated and how long they serve before obtaining work is somewhat uncertain. The acting, as stated, is generally excellent, although the woman who introduces them to the household perhaps doesn’t quite the tone right, leaning just slightly too much towards just plain cheese.

However, aside from these small moments of note, there really is nothing to fault in this excellent opening episode. The characters are well established and interesting, the the tension is already being felt. By the end of the episode the viewer is desperate to see what happens next and, in the end, this is the key to a successful web series. Fantastic stuff

Job Hunters logo from watchjobhunters

Gabriel Cushing vs the Zombie Vampires – The count down begins!

Posted by Chrissey Harrison - 8th September 2012

Little Easton, a sleepy little village in southern England is suddenly not so tranquil. Something is preying on the residents. 

Gabriel Cushing, hero of The Great Escape’s Terror of the Killer Carnivorous Coat, will be back to hunt evil in Gabriel Cushing vs the Zombie Vampires on October 13th 2012. The new eight-part web series will be aired over the following months.

You can get a sneak peak and follow all the news on the new Facebook page – facebook.com/gabrielcushingvsthezombievampires

Ben Romanov (Conner McKenzy) and Gabriel Cushing (David Curtis) - Gabriel Cushing vs the Zombie Vampires

An Interview with Creator of Stories Space, Lisa

Posted by Chrissey Harrison - 4th September 2012

This week we have the pleasure of introducing Lisa from Stories Space. Her site is one of the fastest growing fiction sharing sites on the net and she’s here to tell us why we should stop by and take a look…

Chrissey: How would you describe Stories Space to someone new to the site?

Lisa: Stories Space kicked off in July 2010. We’re an online community and social network for readers and writers of fiction, songs and poetry. The supportive, encouraging environment makes for a great place to share your work and learn more about the art of writing.

CH: Stories Space has held a number of writing contests and now has an area specifically for serious writers to get detailed feedback on their work. What other ambitions do you have for the site’s future?

Lisa: I’d like to see more authors becoming involved in our new feedback section, providing support and acting as mentors to our less experienced writers. Contests will occur more frequently in the future, and I’d also like to further develop our forum and encourage more interaction from the writers and readers on site. In general, we’ll continue to add new features and keep looking for ways to improve Stories Space.

***
Stories Space currently has a competition open with the theme “Summer Vacation”, with $350 of prizes! Closing deadline 15th September so there’s still time to enter.
***

CH: Why do you think writers should share their work on Stories Space?

Lisa: The most important reason is that we love to read your stories! All stories also spend time on the home page so they’re seen by more people than submissions on other story sites. In addition, each new submission is posted on the Stories Space Facebook page and a tweet posted on our Twitter account. We’re constantly working on ways to bring in new members and readers for your work.

CH: There are lots of story sharing sites and writing communities out there on the web. What makes Stories Space stand out from the crowd?

Lisa: As well as providing an arena for writers to share their work, Stories Space also offers various other features such as the ability to personalise your profile, add friends or share your favourite music, images and videos. We also have a chat room or the option to private chat with other members. It gives writers and readers the opportunity to get to know other members and develop friendships.

CH: Can you recommend a really good story from the site?

Lisa: For those who like humour, I’d recommend Setting the Record Straight: Little Grey Wolf by Sitting

For readers who prefer something on the darker side, Ride across the River by Mikey1963 is another good one.

CH: Stories Space is a not for profit site. How do you find the time to keep it running so smoothly?

Lisa: We’re lucky enough to have some wonderful staff members who help out with all of the day-to-day running of the site and a tech guru who takes care of all the details behind-the-scenes. The site couldn’t operate as smoothly without them!

 

Well that’s all for now. We’d like to offer a big thank you to Lisa for joining us this week, and hope you’ll all take a quick trip over to Stories Space to see how great it is. You’ll even find me over there as MissAdventure.

Hellbound Media signing at The Comic Guru, Cardiff on Saturday the 1st September

Posted by Rich - 27th August 2012

Hellbound Media editors Mark Adams and Matt Warner will be taking part in a comic signing session at The Comic Guru Comic shop in Cardiff from 11am on Saturday, September 1. Hellbound Media are the creators of ‘The Monster Under The Bed‘ and the ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ taster which feature here on The Great Escape.

Mark Adams, Matt Warner & Tony Emson at Bristol Comic Expo 2012

On sale will be four of Hellbound Media’s horror titles: Kiss Me Deadly, Faith Healers, Shock Value and the latest one shot Mandy and the Monster which is reviewed in this month’s SFX magazine.

Kiss Me Deadly is the first blood-drenched adventure of Dublin’s only vampire hunter, Dawn Keenan. She isn’t the chosen one nor does she have guns and the understanding that a vampire is less effective if it has no kneecaps or half of its face has been blown off. Kiss Me Deadly, the first of the Dawn Keenan Chronicles, is written by Matt Warner with art by US artist Jesse Thomas and covers by acclaimed fantasy artist Gordon Napier.

Created by Mark Adams and Matt Warner, Faith Healers is an action horror comic about a group nurses. But these nurses are the descendants of angels (and in one case demons) and offer help to those conventional medicine cannot. And that help invariably ends up with them fighting demons or other nasties. The début story of Faith Healers, The Company of Angels, is told over two action-packed issues with art by Tony Emson.

Shock Value 1 is the first anthology from Hellbound Media. With contributors from the USA, Denmark, Sweden and the UK it is a truly international affair. The anthology contains a wide range stories including sci-fi with a dark twist, a tale of urban terror and an atmospheric ghost story.

In Mandy and the Monster, Mandy is the hero that children call on when grown ups dismiss their talk of monsters as daydreams and make believe. Hers is the name that is whispered in the playground. She is the thing that make the things you are afraid of tremble. After her début in the Hellbound Media anthology Shock Value, Mandy appears in her first full-length adventure. And this time the threat is bigger that the monster under the bed. Mandy and the Monster is written by Matt Warner with stunning artwork by Swedish artist and sculptor Anna Pennlund.

The Comic Guru is situated at 13 Wood Street, Cardiff.

Illustration Contest Winner Announced

Posted by Chrissey Harrison - 10th June 2012

After a number of extended deadlines, we have finally drawn a close to our Illustration Contest and we’re excited to present Sad Umbrella by Kat (kat-in-the-attic.com) as our winner. We loved the umbrella’s cute sad face and the way just looking at it made us feel soggy.

A weeping, discarded umbrella in the rain

Kat’s illustration, plus lots of new art pieces, many of the stories featured on the site and new fiction will be featuring in The Great Escape’s first print anthology: Great Escape’s Vol 1, which will be officially announced soon.

Hellbound Media at Bristol Comic Expo

Posted by Chrissey Harrison - 11th May 2012

Mandy and the Monster - comic cover artMatt Warner, Mark Adams and Tony Emson from Hellbound Media will be in Bristol this weekend at the Bristol Comic Expo. And, they’re releasing a brand new comic; Mandy and the Monster.

Mandy’s first appearance in The Monster Under the Bed is free to read right here on The Great Escape. Now she’s featuring in a full length comic with gorgeous art by Anna Penlund.

Hellbound Media will be joining the Small Press exhibitors in Brunel’s Old Station, near Bristol Temple Meads Station.

The expo also welcomes a host of famous guests including Marvel and DC Comics artist Lee Garbett, Dungeons and Dragons fantasy artist Anne Stokes,  Judge Dredd artist and Watchmen colourist John Higgins and many more. They’ll be on hand for signings and panels throughout the two day event.

It’s going to be a great event, and we hope to see you there!

An Interview with Author Steve McHugh & Book Giveaway

Posted by Chrissey Harrison - 4th May 2012

Book cover art for Crimes Against Magic by Steve McHughThis week The Great Escape welcomes, Steve McHugh, author of Crimes Against Magic, his debut urban fantasy novel.

Set in modern day London but with a host of historical and fantasy characters, the story creates a world in which the ancient and the modern don’t seem so far removed.

“It’s been almost ten years since Nathan Garrett woke on a cold warehouse floor with nothing but a gun, a sword, and no idea of who he was or how he got there. His only clue … a piece of paper with his name on it. Since then, he’s discovered he’s a powerful sorcerer and has used his abilities to work as a thief for hire. But he’s never stopped hunting for his true identity, and those who erased his memory have never stopped hunting for him.”

Read an extended review and excerpt from the book on Chrissey’s Great Escape.

Fiction editor Chrissey poses the questions and we invite you to get involved for a chance to win a copy of Crimes Against Magic (see below for details), so let’s get to it…

Chrissey: Many say that a writer’s first novel tends to reflect them as a person. Is there a lot of yourself in Nathan, the hero of your story?

Steve McHugh: We’re both about the same height. We’re both protective of our family and friends, and we’re both a little bit too much of a smart-ass for our own good, but that’s probably about it. I probably bite my tongue a lot more than Nate ever would. He’s sat around in my head for years, so he was bound to share a few traits.  Fortunately, none of the less pleasant aspects of his personality transferred back to me. I hope not anyway.

CH: The cast of characters in Crimes Against Magic is very diverse. Which character is your favourite?

SM: Other than Nathan, probably Dani. She’s the sixteen year old daughter of his neighbour and someone who looks up to Nate as a sort of refuge from the crap she deals with at home. She plays a pretty big part in the book and her dynamic with Nathan was a lot of fun to write.

CH: Was it hard to decide what kinds of fantasy creatures and abilities to include in the world you’ve created, and which kinds to leave out?

SM: In some ways, yes. I knew that I wanted werewolves, a few vampires and some sorcerers, but I wasn’t sure which others to put in. I created a few creatures of my own and wanted to use them too, so I kept the over all number of species as small as possible so as not to overwhelm.

I left out a Troll, a few Elementals and werelions. Oh, and originally there were Necromancers in the story too. Most of those will make it into the books after CAM. So, I still get to use them, thankfully. Especially the Necromancer, who was my favourite character that I had to cut.

CH: The main story takes place in present day England, but there is also a side plot set in Medieval France. How did you come up with this format?

SM: Do you remember the Highlander TV show? Every episode it would flashback to some point in Duncan’s life. I always loved that, I loved learning more about this centuries old person and seeing how he acted in those times gone past.

The idea was the same with Nathan. He’s 1600 years old, so I had loads of stuff that he’d seen and lived through and wanted to use some of it in flashbacks. Fifteenth century France was because I’d seen a programme about Agincourt and was interested in the time period. After a little research, I settled on it being around the destruction at Soissons and went from there.

CH: Do you have a favourite scene from the book?

SM: I have loads: The first time you meet Dani. The scene in the pub with Nathan and a woman I won’t spoil. And there’s a flashback part I’m very proud of which takes place next to a lake.

But probably my favourite is the scene near the end. It’s one long fight between Nate and a group of people and ends with a one on one brawl. It’s fast and brutal and ends in an incredibly vicious way.  I love that scene. I love Nate’s line before it starts, and I love how it ends.

CH: Crimes Against Magic pulls together a lot of world mythology and action in different time periods. Did you need to do a lot of research to get everything just right?

SM: For the flashback stuff, I did, yeah. I had to make sure that the language was as close as I could get it as possible. That it didn’t feel modern and that people used words they would have used. I look a few liberties with language here and there, but for the most part it’s fairly accurate.

The mythology thing was a whole different story. I have dozens of books on myths. Finding the right characters to put in was easy, finding the best way to have them interact, and how the myth and reality might differ was much more time consuming. Fun though.

CH: Can we expect to see Nathan return in future books?

SM: Oh yes. Book two: Born Of Hatred will hopefully be out before too long (probably 6 months at the latest) and then I’ve got book three: With Silent Screams. I have about another dozen after that all written plotted.  I just have to write them.

CH: Lots of writers are choosing to self-publish these days. What made you choose the self-publishing route instead of taking your book to a publisher?

SM: I did originally go the traditional route. I sent out queries and synopsis and got back a lot of form rejections, a few ‘thanks but no thanks’ and a few more ‘we like it, but it’s not for us at this moment’.

To cut a very long answer short, I just decided to try it for myself. To have the control over what I did. I figured if I didn’t do it, that I would regret at least not trying. So here we are. One day I may write something that I’ll try with agents, but at the moment I’m happy with Indie-publishing.

CH: What advice would you give to other writers working on their first novel?

SM: Join a crit group. That’s basically the best advice any writer can be given. Learn your craft by critiquing others and having yours critiqued. Accept any constructive criticism with grace and a thank you. These things will hold you in good stead for your writing career.

Oh and it’s also helps to have as many friends in the industry as possible. Their knowledge is invaluable to anyone starting out.

A good crit group will supply these things in spades.

 

We’d like to say a big thank you to Steve for taking the time to share his thoughts with us. We’re super excited about Crimes Against Magic, and we hope you’ll all go and get yourself a copy. And, of course, you can find out more about Steve’s books on his blog.

Crimes Against Magic is available to download from Amazon right now.

Book Giveaway

If you’d like to be in with a chance of winning a free copy of Crimes Against Magic, all you have to do is follow us on Facebook or Google+, or share the following on Twitter:

Win a copy of @SteveJMcHugh’s debut novel ‘Crimes Against Magic’ with @thegreatesc http://t.co/xUeeIRHJ #CrimesAgainstMagic

( Tweet this message! ) ( Find us on Facebook! ) ( Find on Google+! )

Closing date for entries is Sunday 13th May and the winner will be announced on Monday 14th May.

Art Competition deadline extended to 28th May!

Posted by Rich - 2nd May 2012

Good news! Due to a combination of heavy workloads, new jobs and a general failure to properly advertise, the deadline for entries to the Art Competition has been extended to Monday, the 28th of May.

So check out the rules and get entering!

Chrissey’s Writing Tips #5

Posted by Chrissey Harrison - 9th April 2012

AS REAL AS CAN BE – Character Profiling and Development

A girl hides her face behind her hands

Uncovering the hidden face of your characters can be a challenge. Click for image credit.

If asked what makes a good story, a lot of people would answer, good characters. We like to read about people we can empathise with or despise. A good character is one that balances detail and depth with realism and believability. The biggest pitfall to avoid is creating characters that are stereotypes or caricatures.

If you’re lucky, your characters will present themselves to you fully developed, but you may have to work at exploring the depths of their personality and fleshing them out. Either way, the chances are, you’ll want to keep track of all those ideas you have in some kind of character profile.

You might start with the vital statistics of appearance, height, weight, hair and eye colour etc, but what else do you include?

Here are my top five tips on character profiling and development:

1. Relationships

People are strongly defined by their relationships, be it family relationships, friendships or romance. Relationships have a formative effect on how someone’s personality develops, so ask yourself things like; what was my character’s relationship with his mother like? Did he have any siblings? How many girlfriends has he had and did those relationships end badly?

The more you understand about your character’s past relationships, the more you will understand how they will react to people and form new relationships in your story.

2. Habits

Physical and verbal habits can be a really useful way of giving your character an identity on the page. Particular gestures or turns of phrase can create a visual impression for the reader which stays with the character and encourages a sense of familiarity, and it can convey certain personality traits and emotions.

A character with a habit of ending their sentences with tag questions would come across uncertain or alternatively aggressive depending on the context.

Of course you want to avoid over using this, or having a character entirely defined by their habits.

3. Flaws

Nobody is perfect and your characters shouldn’t be either. Make sure you know what their flaws are, be it a propensity towards jealousy, or not trusting in their own abilities. These flaws are going to play a big part in your story as they hamper your character in their pursuit of their goals.

Think also about which flaws you want to address in the course of the story and which will remain static traits.

4. Personality

While it is often hard to put into words, it is worth attempting to write a description of your character’s personality. What are their defining character traits? How do they react to difficult situations? Are they selfish or generous, reckless or sensible, emotional or calculating?

There are some personality type tools/questionnaires on the web which can provide an interesting exercise. Try answering as your character and see what you can learn. Here’s one you can try – Free personality test by iPersonic.

5. First Draft and Editing

Often you may find you need to get to know your character. This is part of the process of drafting your story. You will know your character better by the time you have finished writing than when you started, so make sure to take advantage of this when you go back over the story to edit.

Another tool to use to get to know your character is to write short stories or flash fiction pieces about them. Write about the day they started their job, or the tenth birthday party where they developed their fear of clowns. It all gets you thinking and feeling like your characters and the more you do, the more they will flow onto the page as real and engaging people.

 

There is no limit to how much detail you put into your character profiles, or how much time and effort you spend developing their background and voice with practice pieces. But, don’t make the mistake of thinking all that detail needs to make it into the final story. Doing this extra work is not a way to provide more material for your story, it is a process through which you come to know your characters so well that you can create real, believable, multifaceted people for your readers to meet

The Great Escape