Eli Constant is my woman In Horror today! Her unlikely start to writing involved a pink umbrella and alien ducks. When she became a stay at home mom, her writing career had an opportunity to get off the ground. I would like to read about the alien ducks, though. Eli wrote Dead Trees , which is a dystopian post-apocalyptic novel with some horror elements. I love that sub-genre. Everything can be so Dark. In Mastic, she combined urban fantasy with crime thriller elements. And then Claire C. Riley, one of my Women In Horror, talked Eli into submitting for the great anthology Lets Scare Cancer To Death. Her great story Z Children leads off the anthology. That says something, doesnt it? All the proceeds from this anthology go to cancer research. Eli is like me in that she writes real life situations and people into her stories. I feel this makes for a more genuine story, and so does Eli. I have to laugh at some people who told Eli, in so many words, that writing un-pure things is bad for her as a person because shes allowing her readers to read themselves into Hell. Tsk, tsk. The horror of it all. Elis ideas about marketing herself are remarkably similar to mine. Friendly social media is the way to go. We should all support each other and spread the word about other authors books, and tell about our friends personalities as well. She says we are a community, and we are. The more good things we say about others, the more it comes back to us. She loves to read Science Fiction, classics, and historical fictions. Also, Orson Scott Card and Libba Bray. A quote from Elis Facebook page: If every writer wrote for fame and fortune alone, then books would have well-placed advertisements interwoven with commercial storylines and characters already designated for stars of the silver screen. I must admit fortune would be nice, but I rue the hot spotlight of fame; so I suppose Ill content myself with living a simply novel life, advertisement-free. This is a book description and review for Dead Trees, Elis super novel! Book Description Publication Date: December 15, 2012 Subterranean humanoids, existing since the dawn of man, arose from the belly of the planet. Humanity was unprepared. The undergrounders came with nails and claws and speed to kill people in the night, dragging bodies downward into dark tunnels teeming with rabid life. Civilization is now a ghost of yesterday and the remaining humans fight for survival. One thing’s for sure- a scientist mommy battling beasties better be handy with a scalpel. Elise Swanson is a widow and mother. She fights and prays that she can keep her little, broken family safe. She drives and drives, day after day, trying to escape a threat that seems… inescapable. Her hope fades, food is scarce and she watches her eldest daughter’s attempts to soothe the younger babe. Then she meets Jason- a father mourning the loss of his son, masking his pain with bravado and charm. He’s strong, despite his sadness, and love re-grows within him. Weeks pass and Jason’s singular desire becomes the continued safety of Elise and her daughters. Bloody fights with beasties define the survival-road the companions travel. Even a few moments of safety and relaxation elude the group; time and time again, Elise must kiss her children goodbye, just in case tomorrow never arrives. Against all odds, they reach a government safe zone. Even there, Elise finds that there’s no rest for the weary. Doctors O’Toole and Peters have been studying the beasties under lock and key, trying to find an answer, but the doctors aren’t interested in saving humanity. Forced to lead two lives, Elise assists the good doctors in their pursuits while working secretly in sublevel lab 8 with her own team, Nick and Jamie. Their combined knowledge may be the key- the only hope humanity has of reclaiming the planet from the beasties. As long as they can keep their research secret, safe from O’Toole and Peters, they might discover the way home, the formula to click Dorothy’s sparkling red shoes three times and begin to recreate Earth as it was… before the humanoids came out to play on the surface. What will happen when Elise, a neural engineer, Jamie, a medical researcher, and Nick, a computer wizard, are humanity’s best hope? The answer might be surprising. Wrapped up in all the uncertainty, violence, science lingo and beasties, they will find a strange solution to a new Earth. And her name is Margaret. ------------------------------- Reader Comments: Creepy, horrifying, and gut-wrenching at times. You will not be able to put Dead Trees down. Claire C. Riley ~ Author of Limerence and the upcoming Odium I must congratulate you on what looks to be a well crafted story. Well written, too. You have obviously put a lot of thought and effort into your writing and it shows. -John P. What a nice change from zombies, vampires, trolls, aliens and giant earthworms. Quadruped humanoids who eat their dead are certainly monstrous enough to qualify for the role of abomination bent on killing off humankind. Your protagonist, Elise, using the first person POV makes the narrative introspective and immediate- a sympathetic character worth cheering on from one impossible situtation to the next. The dialogue is to the point, even raw at times, but always true to character. Thank you so much for the intriguing read. -Ken E.L. Book Description Publication Date: December 15, 2012 Subterranean humanoids, existing since the dawn of man, arose from the belly of the planet. Humanity was unprepared. The undergrounders came with nails and claws and speed to kill people in the night, dragging bodies downward into dark tunnels teeming with rabid life. Civilization is now a ghost of yesterday and the remaining humans fight for survival. One thing’s for sure- a scientist mommy battling beasties better be handy with a scalpel. Elise Swanson is a widow and mother. She fights and prays that she can keep her little, broken family safe. She drives and drives, day after day, trying to escape a threat that seems… inescapable. Her hope fades, food is scarce and she watches her eldest daughter’s attempts to soothe the younger babe. Then she meets Jason- a father mourning the loss of his son, masking his pain with bravado and charm. He’s strong, despite his sadness, and love re-grows within him. Weeks pass and Jason’s singular desire becomes the continued safety of Elise and her daughters. Bloody fights with beasties define the survival-road the companions travel. Even a few moments of safety and relaxation elude the group; time and time again, Elise must kiss her children goodbye, just in case tomorrow never arrives. Against all odds, they reach a government safe zone. Even there, Elise finds that there’s no rest for the weary. Doctors O’Toole and Peters have been studying the beasties under lock and key, trying to find an answer, but the doctors aren’t interested in saving humanity. Forced to lead two lives, Elise assists the good doctors in their pursuits while working secretly in sublevel lab 8 with her own team, Nick and Jamie. Their combined knowledge may be the key- the only hope humanity has of reclaiming the planet from the beasties. As long as they can keep their research secret, safe from O’Toole and Peters, they might discover the way home, the formula to click Dorothy’s sparkling red shoes three times and begin to recreate Earth as it was… before the humanoids came out to play on the surface. What will happen when Elise, a neural engineer, Jamie, a medical researcher, and Nick, a computer wizard, are humanity’s best hope? The answer might be surprising. Wrapped up in all the uncertainty, violence, science lingo and beasties, they will find a strange solution to a new Earth. And her name is Margaret. ------------------------------- Reader Comments: Creepy, horrifying, and gut-wrenching at times. You will not be able to put Dead Trees down. Claire C. Riley ~ Author of Limerence and the upcoming Odium I must congratulate you on what looks to be a well crafted story. Well written, too. You have obviously put a lot of thought and effort into your writing and it shows. -John P. What a nice change from zombies, vampires, trolls, aliens and giant earthworms. Quadruped humanoids who eat their dead are certainly monstrous enough to qualify for the role of abomination bent on killing off humankind. Your protagonist, Elise, using the first person POV makes the narrative introspective and immediate- a sympathetic character worth cheering on from one impossible situtation to the next. The dialogue is to the point, even raw at times, but always true to character. Thank you so much for the intriguing read. -Ken E.L. 5.0 out of 5 stars Twisting the post-apocalypse story in a GOOD way! April 24, 2014 By TW Brown, Author, Editor, and Reviewer Format:Kindle Edition DEAD TREES is a morlock-esque take on the apocalypse. This reads much different than what you will find in the zombie genre (NO, this is NOT a zombie book, but rather a post-apocalyptic tale with Beasties as they are dubbed by the narrator hat have emerged from underground a la H.G. Wells.) First, know that there is some exceptional attention to detail here that is often lacking in the genre. One thing that makes this book stand out is a strong female protagonist. SO often this genre is dominated by uber-military MacGyver types that have all the answers and can get out of every scrape. Elise is a mother simply trying her best to keep her daughters alive, and while she does hook up with Jason, you get the impression that she can do with or without him just fine. What you need to know is that this book is a page turner. It has plenty of action and strong character development. There are time when it gets sciencey but those times flow within the scope of the story and are not cumbersome. There are some editing flaws, but nothing that will make you pause or detract from the flow of the story (and the author has worked to make improvements in that area for those wondering). This is a strong book and you WILL be pestering her Ms. Constant about the sequel. I did not rate this book 5 stars because it was perfect. Truly, nothing really is. I rated it 5 stars because it took chances (that paid off) and it kept me wanting to read more. *********************************************************************************** I think its pretty obvious that this is one fantastic novel! *********************************************************************************** Amazon bio: Eli Constant is a genre-jumping detail junkie, obsessed with the nature of humanity. She believes that theres beauty at the core of most everything, but that truly unredeemable characters create the best stories. Eli is the author of Dead Trees, Mastic, DRAG.N and is a contributor to the charity anthology Lets Scare Cancer to Death, benefitting the V Foundation. *** Eli lives in Virginia with her husband and two daughters. She is surrounded by battlefield country, farmland and lakes. Currently, she spends her days being a devoted mother and, of course, writing. Eli feels fortunate that her marriage is one of real love and she thinks her children are the coolest people in the world. She also feels so lucky to have an extended family that is ever present with encouragement and kind words. Eli completed coursework at USC-L, Columbia College, TAMU-CC, and George Mason University. She enjoyed a varied course load, but finally settled on Biology and focused on a career in lab research. She spent time in Texas volunteering at Flour Bluff Shrimp Mariculture Lab [and being paid in Pink Hawaiian Shrimp- which was, in a word, delicious.] and also spent time at NIH participating in an Animal Research Program in the Infectious Disease Dept. It took two years working in Histology/Pathology in Sterling, VA for Eli to realize she wanted to be a writer. She is still very interested in the sciences and hopes to use her background knowledge effectively within her writing. When it comes to her writing, Eli has one ultimate goal: to become better with each word written. She is obsessed with the nature of humanity- the innocent, the corrupted and the confused. Shes always been a great lover of Science Fiction, but has also grown to truly appreciate other genres, especially Horror and Fantasy. Looking back on her debut novel Dead Trees, Eli wouldnt change a thing. She feels like she learned from the experience and has grown exponentially as an author since its publication. Her most recent work, Mastic, is best described as an urban paranormal thriller with a softer side- touches of romance, hidden feelings and bridled lust. The charity anthology Lets Scare Cancer to Death, organized by the fabulous TW Brown was a very dear-to-her-heart 2013/2014 project for Eli. She is thrilled to note that 100% of sale proceeds will go to benefit the V Foundation, a leader in cancer research for the past twenty years. Elis works in progress include the much anticipated sequel to Dead Trees, a 3-author anthology exploring the psychosis of serial killers, a 6-author anthology exploring humanity in the face of hopelessness and a zombie origins novel (this last work in progress comes as a huge surprise to Eli; she honestly thought shed never write about zombies, but somehow, she fell down the zombie hole and couldnt crawl out, or rather, didnt want to crawl out). Her other interests include art with a focus on charcoal medium, walking her American Foxhound Dottie, eating egg-drop, wonton soup from the local delivery place and watching low-budget Sci-Fi movies with her awesome family. eliconstant | Twitter @Author_EliC Facebook: https://facebook/authorEliConstant Books on Amazon: amzn.to/1leEDEo Goodreads: https://goodreads/author/show/6901568.Eli_Constant Wordpress: authoreliconstant.wordpress/ Eli Constant is an author on the rise, writing fantastic horror. Eli Constant is a Woman In Horror! Blaze McRob
Posted on: Sat, 24 May 2014 21:36:00 +0000
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