A is for Alien and Insecure Writers Support Group

I keep abreast on what people believe regarding aliens. The thoughts are as diverse as the human mind can imagine. Keeping this in the context my A to Z theme of The Supernatural, there are many groups who believe the whole alien agenda is really demonic in nature. There are no aliens. The universe exists for the Earth and its inhabitants. 

It’s really demons, fallen angels, who manifest themselves throughout history as aliens visiting ancient humans. They helped civilizations of antiquity build the great pyramids of Giza, the magnificent Mayan ziggurats of Mesoamerica, the Nazca lines in Peru, and dozens others too numerous to list. 

But let’s not stop there. Meticulous and precise astronomical meanings are also associated with these amazing structures, built seemingly by ancient people with technology and tools they should not possess. Add in the incredible mathematics and the possible numerology these numbers and angles might represent ... whew! Mind blown!

According to these groups, the demonic agenda is to confuse humans into thinking we are here by reason other than a Divine design. 

IWSG: Oh, before I forget, my concern for the Insecure Writers Support Group, as it always is this time of year, keeping up on everything A to Z. As a co-host there is much to do. 

So I need to plan my days so I can get proper sleep, eat right, exercise, and be cool with the vino. Gotta be smart about this and be prepared for the long haul. Onward A to Z!

Question: What are your thoughts on aliens? Do they exist? If so, what the heck are they? 

Honorable Mention: Angel, Arch-angel, Apparition, Amulet

Tomorrow: B is for Blessing.

The Great City of Teotihuacán

Great Pyramids of Giza

Nazca Lines of Peru

My 26 Topics for A to Z

Okay folks, A to Z starts this Wednesday. Below are the 26 sub-topics of my theme The Supernatural and Paranormal. These are really fun subjects and I hope you stop by often as there is something here for everyone. 

My favorites are H is for Haunted Houses and M is for Movies and I hope you mark these two days and visit. 

Remember, the A to Z Challenge is meant to be a blessing and not a burden. Just have fun with it, pre-post as many days as you can, keep them short and simple, visit people, and hook up with them on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. Any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments. And don’t forget, Wednesday is also IWSG so don’t forget to add a little something to you A post. And good luck to you! 

A- Aliens 

B- Blessings 

C- Curses 

D- Dream Communications 

E- Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) 

F- Footsteps 

G- Ghosts 

H- Haunted Houses 

I- Illuminism 

J- Jamais vu 

K- Karma 

L- Levitation 

M- Movies 

N- Numerology 

O- Out of Body Experience 

P- Poltergeist 

Q- Quantum Physics 

R- Reincarnation 

S- Signs and Symbols 

T- Telepathy 

U- UFOs 

V- Vortex 

W- White Noise 

X- Xenoglossy 

Y- Yeti 

Z- Zombies

The Great and Powerful Theme Reveal A to Z, A to Z Tips, Nick Wilford, And More!

The Great and Powerful Theme Reveal A to Z: In light of my new supernatural thriller coming out titled Salem’s Daughters, my theme will be The Supernatural. Lots of things go bump in the night that can be explained outside the realm of our traditionally accepted five senses, and I will be taking a brief look at 26 of them. I hope you’ll join me as I have some really cool topics to cover. 

A to Z; Alien to Zombie. Thanks Jeremy Hawkins

Tremp’s Troops: I’ll take a moment to introduce my team of awesome and amazing people who will be helping with the A to Z Challenge. Thanks ladies! Let’s give it for (in alphabetical order): 

Barbara at Barbara in Caneyhead 

Betty at Views From Benches 

Chrys Fey at Write With Fey 

Corina Carrasco at Wasted Days and Wasted Nights 

Holly Jahangiri at Writer, Wife, Mom, and Tree Climber 

Jennifer Garcia at Italian Brat’s Obsession 

Samantha Dunaway Bryant at Balancing Act 

Susan Sapsed at Daily Waffling 

A to Z Tips: Alex Cavanaugh has a list of great tips to make your blogging challenge easier. We want this to be a blessing and not a burden. I do want to highlight two: 

1. If you have multiple blogs and there are some that you haven’t used in a while, take the links down until the challenge is over. One of the goals is to visit a lot of bloggers, and if you have a handful of blog links visitors have to click through to get to the right one, they will probably move on to someone else. 

2. Also, move your social network badges to the top of your sidebar for the event. I will. Another goal is to meet new bloggers and connect on Facebok, Twitter, Goodreads, etc. So make it easy for people to connect with your other social network sites. 

What I’m Reading: I finished The Martian (awesome book) and am now on Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. I downloaded it from my local public library. The library is to the point now they have lots of books available for download. Loving that! 

Nick Wilford: Congrats! To Nick on his upcoming release: Title: A Change of Mind and Other Stories 

Author: Nick Wilford 

Genre: Contemporary speculative fiction 

Cover Design: Rebekah Romani 

Release Date: May 25th 2015 

A Change of Mind and Other Stories consists of a novella, four short stories and one flash fiction piece. This collection puts the extremes of human behaviour under the microscope with the help of lashings of dark humour, and includes four pieces previously published in Writer’s Muse magazine. 

Finally: I’m looking for a few people who would like to read an Advanced Review Copy (ARC) of Salem’s Daughters. To check out the synopsis Click Here 

Question: What’s your Theme Reveal? Have you downloaded a book from your local library yet?

Weekend Follies

As the week grinds down, it's time to take a few moments for a chuckle or two. This is a Pixar clip many of you have probably seen at the movies a few years ago. Enjoy! 

Oh, and don;t forget I'm over at the A to Z Blog today with my Getting To Know Me post. I've answered your questions from earlier this week. Click Here

Ask Me Anything

Hey everyone, short post today as I’m getting ready for my “Meet You’re a to Z Co-Host.” So feel free to ask me any question about me. You can ask such questions as: 

* Am I carbon based? 

* Do I have a time travelling wormhole parked in my garage? 

* Do I really have webbed feet? 

So fire away. Then check back this Thursday at the A to Z Challenge blog this Thursday. Thanks and I look forward to your questions!

3.14, National Wormhole Week, Hello Kitty Book Marks, and More!

2014 National Wormhole Week

3.14: This week we celebrate Dr. Albert Einstein’s birthday. It’s March 14. Einstein was born in 1879 in Ulm, Germany 136 years ago. He died April 18, 1955 in Princeton, New Jersey. 

Also, pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. People often approximate pi. For many purposes you can use 3.141592653 (see T-shirts below). There's some nerd humor here.

Normally, I do a National Wormhole Blog Hop the week of Einstein's birthday. I’ve even filed to make March 14 National Wormhole Day. The point here is simply to bring attention and awareness to the youth of today and help inspire kids to get excited about science, astronomy, and math. Enough of Kim Kardashian’s photoshoped butt. 

2013 National Wormhole Week 

Everyone is so busy this year with this and that I’m skipping the Blog Hop. But you can still have fun with National Wormhole Week. Check out these awesome men and women’s T-shirts and hoodies in all shapes and sizes and colors commemorating this day Click Here. 

And next year, I promise we’ll have an epic National Wormhole Week for the ages! Hmmmm .... maybe you can help me with a theme for 2016. No time like the present to start planning. Unless of course you have a time traveling wormhole parked in the garage like I do. Then you can do it any time you damn well please.

Stupid Querying

It’s Query Time: Yep, I’m sending out my query letter to a gazillion agents and the New York Big Six imprint publishers. We’ll see what happens. I’ve had offers from smaller publishers with the Breakthrough series, but I respectfully declined as I just didn’t see the benefit. So it's all or nothing with a publisher. 

Salem’s Daughters ARCS: If you are interested in reading an Advanced Review Copy of Salem’s Daughters, email me at stephen.tremp@yahoo.com or leave a comment. You can read the synopsis Here or simply click the Salem’s Daughters tab above. 

And a very big thanks to everyone who commented on the cover designs and gave their feedback on last Wednesday’s post. You’re all the absolute bestest! 

Hello Kitty Book Mark

Bookmarks: Still my favorite, cheapest, and most effective bookmark ever. I never lose my page. 

Question: Do you have a favorite book marker? What's your take on querying? Any suggestions on what to do for 2016 National Wormhole week? Interested in reading an ARC for Salem's Daughters?

Weekend Follies

Salem’s Daughters Cover Art: If you haven’t already, please take a moment to scroll back to my previous post and give your opinion on the three concepts for my latest book Salem’s Daughters. You can read the synopsis HERE or click the Salem’s Daughters Tab at the top. Thanks in advance. 

Steve’s Science and Other Fun Stuff: Click on Einstein’s smiling face toward the top left side bar for my article at the A to Z Blog site regarding Black Holes. Never a dull moment when it comes to these celestial behemoths. 

Weekend Follies: Many of us have heard the “Yeah Toast” song from Hayward Banks that really took off on the Bob and Tom Radio Show in Indianapolis, Indiana. Leave it to Team Fortress 2 to put graphics to the song. It’s worth a watch. Enjoy your weekend. 

IWSG, Salem's Daughters

IWSG: For this week’s Insecure Writers Support Group, I’m working on three concepts for the Covert Art for my upcoming book Salem’s Daughters. Below are three ideas I have. I’m asking for honest feedback and input. Do you like any of the three ideas, or would you say no to them. And if you don’t like them, do you have any ideas I could use. Take a moment and look at the SALEM’S DAUGHTERS tab at the top for a synopsis. This will help steer you in the right direction. 

Okay, I know I need to purchase this image and I will. Take a moment to envision thirteen cats spread around the living room of Murcat Manor. They're all staring into your eyes as you look at the picture.

This image may work better for the cover of a paperback book rather than an ebook. Something to take into consideration.

Or do you prefer an image like this? Imagine elongated cat shadows creeping into the picture.

How about a simple large house burning in the background?

I appreciate your feedback. Take a moment if you would and read the synposis on the Salem's Daughters' Tab above and tell me what you think would be a good idea for the cover art.

Team Tremp A to Z Badge: Check out the Team Tremp Badge for the 2015 Blogging A to Z Challenge. The alien (A) and zombie (Z) cover it all. If you have not signed up for the event, simply click the badge and follow the instructions.

Dwarf Planet Ceres, The Martian, Jessica Chastain, New Projects, and IWSG Website

NASA Spacecraft Arrives at Dwarf Planet Ceres This Week: NASA's Dawn spacecraft will begin orbiting the mysterious dwarf planet Ceres this week, ending a deep-space chase that lasted 2 1/2 years. Dawn is scheduled to reach Ceres — the largest body in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter — on Thursday night (March 5). The probe has been headed for Ceres since September 2012, when it departed Vesta, the asteroid belt's second-biggest denizen. 

Dawn's observations of these planetary building blocks should shed light on the planet-formation process and the conditions prevalent during the solar system's early days, NASA officials have said. Reference 

What I’m Reading: The Martian by Andy Weir. Think Tom hanks in the movie Castaway. But no Wilson, at least not yet. I’m only thirty pages into the book, but am enjoying it immensely. 

This is a book I can read in a few days if I had the time. But since I’m going over the final final final edits of Salem’s Daughters, It’ll take a couple weeks to finish. 

The book, with 8,000 reviews averaging 4.75 stars, will be released as a movie this year. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon is slated for release November 2015. 

Jessica Chastain Also Stars in The Martian

Synopsis: During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. 

Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring "the Martian" home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney's safe return. Based on a best-selling novel. Kindle Link Click Here 

What I’m Writing: Outside of finishing the final edits for Salem’s Daughters, I’m outlining a MG series. More on this later but it’s going to be very cool IMHO. Oh yeah, and another Chase Manahttan book too. 

IWSG: That’s this Wednesday. Time to give s shout out for what’s ailing you or to give support to other writers. Click Here to check out the IWSG Web site, chocked full of useful articles and posts from an array of talented writers.