Showcase: Quintana Roo, Yucatan by Scott Harper

Check out the books below!!!

	Book Description Publication Date: May 26, 2007 After stopping a robbery in progress, Elliott Cronholm is approached by someone wishing help him become a costumed vigilante crime-fighter. After refusing, his fiancée is attacked in their home by a stalker. In the wake of the attack, Elliott accepts the role he had been asked to play. While still learning the use of the costume and weapons he has been given, Elliott must track down and stop the first man put on the streets of the city by the same woman - a man with his own warped moral code who relishes killing the criminals he fights, a man who wishes to kill Elliott Cronholm as well, upon learning of Elliott's new role. Book Description Publication Date: July 16, 2009 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.
	Book Description Publication Date: October 6, 2010 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.
	Book Description Publication Date: January 11, 2013 Bog skulks are small, mysterious creatures with vicious teeth and claws. They turned up in Quagmire Fen some time ago. No one seems to know what they are or where they came from. Spencer Foster is a young man who has lived his entire life in the poor backwater of Quagmire Fen. He despises the swamp, and wants only to leave and start a new life in the city with his girlfriend. But his callous drunkard of a father has other ideas. Very soon, Spencer's life is irrevocably changed. His destiny is now linked to the bog skulks and Quagmire Fen. What are the bog skulks? Where did they come from? What is the connection between Spencer Foster and the odd beings he's given so little thought to?
	Book Description Publication Date: November 10, 2012 Rikki Breitenberg is an archeologist 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?
	Book Description Publication Date: November 30, 2011 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.
	Book Description Publication Date: August 3, 2011 Fleeing the painful, horrific events that she’s just endured in Pinewick, New Jersey, monster hunter Wendy Markland heads south for Florida. Upon arrival in the Sunshine State, however, Wendy realizes that she’s being followed. Her tail turns out to be Colm Pryce, a slightly older, more experienced hunter. Why has Colm been following her? Because he has a message for her – a warning. According to Colm, Wendy is being pursued by a group of vampires calling themselves the Kindred of Malignity. Whereas the first cultus Wendy encountered was concerned mostly with feeding and the spread of their kind, the Kindred of Malignity, led by an ancient and powerful vampire named Adolph Larson, are more focused and far more dangerous – they hunt hunters. And their current target is Wendy Markland…
	Book Description Publication Date: September 2, 2006 When the Princess of the Elven kingdom is taken by a Well Spirit, the Elven king enlists the aid of Avari, the heroic Water Nix who was instrumental in the fall of Veemox the Ur'hunglav only months before. After his attempt to free the Princess results in Fyrnn being taken by the same Spirit, along with the Princess's best friend, Avari is off on an ocean voyage to a distant, near-mythical island with a reputation from which it earned its name - the Island of Death. Once there, he must confront the terrible creatures which haunt the island in order to bargain with the most powerful Well Spirit of them all to gain the freedom of the captive Elf women. But time is running out for the enslaved Elves. Will Avari make it in time?
	Book Description Publication Date: December 20, 2005 In a world where humans do not exist, dark magick has been used to bring an early winter down upon the land. It falls to a young Water Nix named Avari to seek out the source of this magick and put a stop to it. As his journey progresses, he encounters a myriad of other beings, some friends, some not.

Q.  What inspires your writing?

A. Anything and everything. Ideas and inspiration can come from anywhere - conversation, music, books, TV, movies, dreams...anywhere.

Q.  What is your favorite thing about being an author?

A. My favorite thing about being an author is the creative aspect of it. I've always been creative. If I go too long without writing, that creativity begins manifesting as odd dreams. If I don't start writing again to burn off that creativity, those odd dreams will quickly morph into full-blown nightmares. Even if I wasn't writing as a career, I'd still have to do it simply to maintain what sanity I have left to me!

Q.  What is the toughest part of being an author?

A. By far, the most difficult part about being an author is the business side of it. Once a book is written, the real work begins - promotion. No one can buy a book if they don't know it exists. This is such a highly-competitive business, too, that the slightest break in promotion means that a given author's work will almost certainly fall out of the direct line of sight of fans and potential readers, replaced by work from another author. Promotion is a full-time job, with overtime, in and of itself.

Having an agent is supposed to help with that. However, finding an agent at all is extremely difficult. Finding a good agent is all but impossible. Over the years, I've been represented by four different agents. Sorry to have to say, not one of them did a thing to help my career. I'd love to find another agent, but a good one this time.

Q.  If you could not be author, what would you do/be?
A. I honestly don't know how to answer this one. Writing is the only thing I've wanted to do for a living since I was a small child.

Q.  What would the story of your life be entitled?
A. "One Writer's Insanity: A Cautionary Tale" might be a good title.

Q.  What is your favorite book of all time?A. Wow. That's another tough one to answer. I'm an avid reader and always have been. I seriously don't know that I could ever pick just ONE book as my favorite. If I started listing titles, you'd end up with a very long list.

Q.  Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A. In a lot of ways, I'm like Harry Copperfield Blackstone Dresden - the main character of Jim Butcher's series "The Dresden Files" - every book of which I'd have ended up listing in the above answer, among others, if I tried to list favorite books, by the way. When I say that, I mean personality-wise. Sadly, I doubt I'll ever be able to match Harry Dresden's magickal abilities and I know I'll never be as cool as Harry!

Q.  What character from all of your book are you most like?
A. On this one, I'd probably have to say that I'm the most like Elliott Cronholm. He's the main character from my third book, "Gauntlet". Elliott is even a writer. I wonder where that part of the character came from...

Q.  What is your favorite season?
 
A. Autumn, without a doubt! I've always loved the cool weather and the changing leaves. My favorite holiday - Halloween - is during that time of year, too.

Q.  What inspired your book cover(s)?  Or what is your favorite
book cover and why?

A. I've had eight novels published now. Of those, I've designed four of the covers. Those being the original self-published editions of my first three books - "Winter's Rite", "Well Wishes" and "Gauntlet"; those were later picked up and released under the label of a publishing company with new covers designed by someone working for that publisher - and I designed the cover of my new release, "Quintana Roo, Yucatan". "Quintana Roo, Yucatan" was published by Umbral Press. Of all of those covers I think the newest one, the one for "Quintana Roo, Yucatan", is my favorite. Looking at the cover brings to mind so many elements from the book - the dense Mexican jungle, the Mayan ruins, the wildlife, etc. There's even a waterfall on the cover, which is something that has a part to play in the story.

Q.  Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or
while promoting your book.
A. Actually, the funniest thing that's ever happened to me while promoting a book occurred at the very first book signing I ever did. I was at a Walden Books - I still can't believe that company is gone! - doing a signing to promote the self-published edition of "Winter's Rite". A tiny, elderly woman kept browsing the shelves around the table where I was seated. She kept glancing at me. After a few minutes, she started to pile books that she planned to buy on the table right next to copies of "Winter's Rite". It was getting very awkward, but I was trying to be polite and not say anything to her. Then, out of nowhere, she looked at me again, looked at the copies of "Winter's Rite" stacked on the table and gasped, asking, "Are you an AUTHOR?!?" I told her yes. She promptly snatched up the books she had placed on the signing table and apologized several times, verbally tripping over herself. She told me a few times during that apology that she'd never met an AUTHOR before.

Every time she said the word "author" she emphasized it in pure awe, which is why I keep capitalizing that word here.

Anyway, she then started asking about "Winter's Rite". She carefully picked up a copy - after asking for permission to do so - and read the blurb. When it sank in that the book was fantasy, she put it down, frowned, and asked, "Is this like those Harry Potter books?" She said the words "Harry Potter" with mild disgust. I told her that, though "Winter's Rite" is fantasy, it's very much unlike the Harry Potter novels. The woman backed slowly away from the table with the books she planned to buy, shaking her head, saying she'd never read anything like Harry Potter. I simply replied that the fantasy genre isn't for everyone.

The woman paid for her books and left the store. As she left, she looked over at me again, shook her head some more, and walked out of the store. Not two minutes later she hurried back in, picked up a copy of "Winter's Rite" and told me, "My grandson might like this" and paid for the book and had me to autograph it. Not the ending I'd been expecting after all the fuss she'd made about the book's genre!

Q.  Are you working on something new?

A. I have a novella coming out soon called "Quagmire Fen". I know - "Quintana Roo, Yucatan" followed up by "Quagmire Fen". I've been asked if I'm in my "Q"-period. The back-to-back "Q"-titles weren't planned that way; it just happened. Anyway, "Quagmire Fen" will likely be out by the time this Q&A is posted. It's also being published by Umbral Press - www.UmbralPress.com. I have outlines for a few other projects and a lot of ideas bouncing around in my head.

Also, my Wendy Markland novels - "Predators or Prey?" "Necromancer" and "Vindicated" to date - are the basis of an up-coming, on-going comic book series called "Wendy Markland: Chronicles Nocturnum". That series is to be the flagship title of a new comic book publisher called Timeless Comics. I'm writing and lettering the series. Issue #1 is drawn, inked and is nearly colored. I have the script for Issue #2 waiting in the wings. The publisher plans to release the series bi-monthly. Keep watching for news of it!

I have another on-going comic book series that Timeless Comics also wants. It's an urban fantasy called "Ravenesque". An art team is being sought for that project. Again, the plan is for me to write the series and letter the issues.

Another current project is called "MoonWraith". It's actually a TV series I've created. I had the idea when my first agent was representing my work. He loved the idea and planned to pitch it to the Starz Movie Network. However, he shut down while I was working on the first draft of the pilot script. The subsequent agents have never done a thing for me, so I've tried to sell the series/script on my own a few times. At the moment, I have around 40 people interested in being cast or crew on "MoonWraith", but have not yet managed to find a producer/distributor for the project. So, my fiancee - best-selling, critically-acclaimed paranormal author Desiree Lee - www.desireelee.com - and myself have adapted "MoonWraith" as a web-comic. Our hope is that the web-comic will build up a fan base and that we can use that fan base to help attract the needed producer/distributor for "MoonWraith" as a TV series. A new page of "MoonWraith" is posted each Monday at www.MoonWraith.com.

I'm also involved with three direct-to-DVD independent films at the moment. Two of those are being held up due to lack of funding. The third is being held up due to lack of two of the film's primary filming locations. The scripts for all three of those film projects were written by me, based on ideas from myself and the person who will be directing those films.Q.  Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that

are just stopping by?
A. Thank you, Emily, for taking the time to conduct this Q&A with me and for the forthcoming review of the "Quintana Roo, Yucatan" and for devoting part of your blog to posting those things. On a related note, 11/30/2012 the first review for "Quintana Roo, Yucatan" - that I'm aware of - went live. The reviewer gave the book a glowing 5-star rating.

About the Author: (Via: www.scottharper.net)

I was born in 1975, raised in Ohio and moved to New Port Richey, Florida in the summer of 1998. In the summer of 2012, I moved to northern California.

Though I've been writing since I was a child, I didn't become serious about turning my writing into a career until high school. When I graduated in 1993 I finally began submitting work to publishers. I received my first acceptance letter on June 7th, 2002 after nearly 200 rejection letters. That first acceptance was for a fantasy short story titled "Faerie Bloom". It was published in an issue of an e-zine called "Morbid Outlook". That was the first of 30+ short stories I have now had published. The 21st, an original Wendy Markland short story called "Remnants", was included in the paperback edition of "Predators or Prey?".

In addition to the short stories, I have also written several novels. My first three were self-published. In order, those are "Winter's Rite" (2005), "Well Wishes" (2006) and "Gauntlet" (2007). The first two are young adult fantasy. The third is action/adventure for a more adult audience. "Gauntlet" is basically a comic book written as a novel.

My fourth novel, "Predators or Prey?", the first Wendy Markland novel, was originally meant to be self-published as well. That changed when the opportunity to submit the project to Dark Castle Lords Publications came about. DCL not only picked up "Predators or Prey?". but the entire series it kicked off. The book had originally been meant as a stand-alone work, but that changed long before the project was ever submitted for publication. By the time the first book was published, it had gone from a stand-alone book to the first in what will be at least a 5-book-long series. "Predators or Prey?" was published as an e-book by Dark Castle Lords Publications in 2008 and as a paperback in 2010. Book 2, "Necromancer", was published by Dark Castle Lords Publications in 2009 as an e-book. Book 3 in the series, "Vindicated", was published in e-book format in 2011. Dark Castle Lords Publications has also picked up my three self-published novels. All three have been released as e-books under their label.

The published short stories and novels have led to film work for me, too. In 2007 I was contacted by California-based independent film director/producer James Tucker of James Tucker Productions, after he read one of my short stories, "Black-Eyed". At that time, the only screenwriting I had done was a 3-page-long short film titled "Grave Revelry". Based on those two projects, Mr. Tucker hired me to write two direct-to-DVD horror films for his company. Sadly, neither film has yet been made due to lack of funding and the current state of the economy. However, Mr. Tucker and I are working together on a film called "Most Likely Too", which I have written and will co-produce and which Mr. Tucker will direct and co-produce. The film will be shot locally.

I have also created a TV series called "MoonWraith" and am seeking a producer/distributor for that project.

Comic books, which are a long-time hobby of mine, is another area into which I've ventured. In 2011, I was hired to write a 3-issue superhero comic book miniseries called "Ultimate Boy". I am also in the process of getting four on-going comic book series of my own started up. The first is called "Wendy Markland: Chronicles Nocturnum", and is based on my Wendy Markland novels. Look for that project to launch soon from Timeless Comics. The second is called "Warder" and is a sword-and-sorcery style fantasy. The third is called "Ravenesque" and is urban fantasy, which Timeless Comics also plans to publish. The fourth is planned as a web-comic. It will be a comic book adaptation of "MoonWraith". The hope is that the web-comic will build interest in the TV series and help to attract a producer. If you're interested in more details on these comic book projects, please take a peek at the comic book page of this site.