Hi, my name is Laura.
After 15 years of touring the world as a writer and filmmaker I became interested in creating fast paced novels that were mysterious, spooky, sexy and extremely fun to read.
My latest novel, Rider, is a chilling urban fantasy that wraps lusty romance, nightmare creatures, beguiling mysteries and backstabbing betrayal into a spellbinding story. Add a unique paranormal protagonist and an equally compelling heroine and you’ve got a book that’s been described as a deep, intense read that vividly springs to life with memorable characters, and fantastic worlds.
Many scenes in my stories are based on experiences I have had as a filmmaker. I am happy to be able to incorporate these compelling and often scary people, places and things into a rich tapestry that draws my readers into another world and lets them forget about life, even if it’s just for a little while. Enjoy!
Laura
My Experience in Thailand, Ritual Dart Piercing
As a writer, filmmaker and artist I rely heavily on my personal experience to provide backdrops and energy to the characters and scenes I create. Some experiences are simply observations of how people react in common situations while other experiences are more educational, like the week I spent learning to race Hummers in the desert outside Reno. Then every once in a while life throws something at you that is so unique and visually stunning it deserves to be shared with the world. This raw clip I shot of a boy preparing for a Buddhist initiation ritual is one of them.
Book Review; Tim Lebbon; The Thief of Broken Toys and 30 Days Of Night
Book Review; Tim Lebbon; The Broken Toy Thief and 30 days of night
I don’t often write reviews as I am busy marketing my own books, but occasionally I read a novel that is so engaging I just have to say something. “The Thief of Broken Toys”, by English author Tim Lebbon, is one such novel. A beautifully written, crisp read, the words lyrically leap from the page in a chilling ensemble of introspection and doom as our hero tries to piece together his life after losing his son and becoming estranged from his wife. Trapped in a small town, which is as much a self imposed prison as a reminder of his past life; things are looking bad until our hero meets the Thief of Broken Toys. From there he is jettisoned on a rollercoaster of experience and self examination that will both chill and haunt you. And at novella length, it’s a quick and immensely satisfying read. My next Tim Lebbon book, 30 Days Of Night, in which an Alaskan town is set upon by monstrous forces when the sun sets and night settles in for 30 days. Read with the nightline on, kiddies!
Laura
I don’t often write reviews as I am busy marketing my own books, but occasionally I read a novel that is so engaging I just have to say something. “The Thief of Broken Toys”, by English author Tim Lebbon, is one such novel. A beautifully written, crisp read, the words lyrically leap from the page in a chilling ensemble of introspection and doom as our hero tries to piece together his life after losing his son and becoming estranged from his wife. Trapped in a small town, which is as much a self imposed prison as a reminder of his past life; things are looking bad until our hero meets the Thief of Broken Toys. From there he is jettisoned on a rollercoaster of experience and self examination that will both chill and haunt you. And at novella length, it’s a quick and immensely satisfying read. My next Tim Lebbon book, 30 Days Of Night, in which an Alaskan town is set upon by monstrous forces when the sun sets and night settles in for 30 days. Read with the nightline on, kiddies!
Laura
The Origins Of Coffee, A Morning Kicker
The Origins Of Coffee, A Morning Kicker
This morning as I sniffed the aromatic scent of fresh ground being brewed in the single serve I began to wonder about the origins of coffee. Who invented this beloved daily staple and where did it originate? As I sipped the steaming brew I decided to do some research.
One legend places the first coffee kicker in Ethiopia, circa 800 AD. It seems a goat herder named Kaldi was not minding his flock. When he saw his goats begin to prance erratically around a dark green bush laden with red berries the young boy decided to try some himself. He ate the berries and soon was frolicking about as well. A sharp-eyed monk noticed his alert state and plucked the berries for the brothers at his monastery.
Fast forward to Arabia two hundred year later where bean broth was brewed to keep worshipers awake. It seeped into everyday life where it’s popularity spread throughout North Africa, India and eastern Mediterranean. Arabians made the beans infertile for export by boiling them and no coffee sprouted outside Arabia or Africa until the 1600s when Baba Budan, an Indian smuggler, brought the beans to Europe, strapped on his belly.
By 1616 Europeans were racing to own their own coffee crops and in 1969 the Dutch established the first coffee estate on colonial Java in Indonesia. The Dutch began bestowing coffee trees as gifts to the aristocracy of Europe and in 1714 a tree was planted in the Royal Garden of Louie XIV. Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu, was in Paris on leave from Martinique at the time, and requested a branch of the tree to take back to the French Colony. When his request was denied he stole a sprout and set sail across the Atlantic where he planted his crop in Martinique. Coffee soon bloomed in Brazil and later spread to America where it experienced it’s greatest boon with the invention of freeze drying the beans.
You can read more about coffee at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/coffee.
Enjoy,
Laura
This morning as I sniffed the aromatic scent of fresh ground being brewed in the single serve I began to wonder about the origins of coffee. Who invented this beloved daily staple and where did it originate? As I sipped the steaming brew I decided to do some research.
One legend places the first coffee kicker in Ethiopia, circa 800 AD. It seems a goat herder named Kaldi was not minding his flock. When he saw his goats begin to prance erratically around a dark green bush laden with red berries the young boy decided to try some himself. He ate the berries and soon was frolicking about as well. A sharp-eyed monk noticed his alert state and plucked the berries for the brothers at his monastery.
Fast forward to Arabia two hundred year later where bean broth was brewed to keep worshipers awake. It seeped into everyday life where it’s popularity spread throughout North Africa, India and eastern Mediterranean. Arabians made the beans infertile for export by boiling them and no coffee sprouted outside Arabia or Africa until the 1600s when Baba Budan, an Indian smuggler, brought the beans to Europe, strapped on his belly.
By 1616 Europeans were racing to own their own coffee crops and in 1969 the Dutch established the first coffee estate on colonial Java in Indonesia. The Dutch began bestowing coffee trees as gifts to the aristocracy of Europe and in 1714 a tree was planted in the Royal Garden of Louie XIV. Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu, was in Paris on leave from Martinique at the time, and requested a branch of the tree to take back to the French Colony. When his request was denied he stole a sprout and set sail across the Atlantic where he planted his crop in Martinique. Coffee soon bloomed in Brazil and later spread to America where it experienced it’s greatest boon with the invention of freeze drying the beans.
You can read more about coffee at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/coffee.
Enjoy,
Laura
Vooks, Really, Do We Have Too?
An article by Laura Hill
Today, Min Online reports that Amazon and Kindle are producing new audio video enhanced books poised to compete with the like offered on Apple IPads. These vooks are designed to provide complimentary audio and video imbedded in the text in order to enhance the reader’s experience. This is not the first or (I am sure) the last I will hear of multimedia books. In fact, some of them look down right tantalizing. But each time I see a vook advertised that includes sizzling video that tells the next chapter in a mystery or a multimedia packed audio version of the Three Little Pigs, I feel as if I must cock my head and say, “Really, do we have too?”
I don’t want to sound snobbish, I thrive on creating video snippets for mass media, but except in rare cases such as a the culinary book that reveals a startling new cooking technique incomprehensible without embedded video accompaniment, I cannot understand the purpose of vooks. When I want to watch TV, I watch TV, and I accept the images that are feed to me with passive content. But when I read I do so not only to exercise my eyes and the cells that connect them to my brain, but to let the words surround me with my own mental interpretation of the text, be it accurate or not. In doing so the text is enriched and customized in exciting and empowering ways the author never could have intended. That is because the author doesn’t know me, or you, or any of the thousands of people who may at this moment be taking up his latest tome. How can he write the perfect book for me? The answer is he cannot. But my mind can subtly fill in the blanks of time and perception adding texture to a character’s appearance, manipulating the subtle nuance of his gestures while creating the perfect environment for a romance or a murder.
Once video and audio are added to the mix, that magic melding of the mind with text evaporates like wisps into thin air. I would liken it to a child who upon entering kindergarten is told that the grass is green and the sky is blue and who therefore never again paints a purple sunset or an orange meadow. While I am not naïve enough to misunderstand the desire of the burgeoning e-book industry to compete in an online world chock full of overstimulation, or the huge profit potential of vooks; I may be naïve enough to think that there are others, such as myself, who still prefer a book to be a book regardless of whether it is viewed on a screen or thumbed through tactilely. Perhaps only time will tell as the publishing industry grows and changes in ways that were unimaginable a few short years ago where the line between a book, vook and TV is drawn. Until that is determined, I prefer my books to just be books.
Laura
55% Higher CTRs With Social Media Option
I found this article interesting, maybe you will too, Laura.
A study conducted by e-mail marketing provider GetResponse showed that email messages including social media enjoy up to 55% higher click through rates to URLs than those without. Some statistics are listed below. You can read he entire article posted by Posted by Neil Glassman on June 24th, 2010 at http://www.socialtimes.com/2010/06/email-click-through-with-social-sharing-links/
- 60 percent of all social e-mails included only one sharing icon. Only 11.2 percent of social e-mails included 3 icons or more.
- E-mails with a Twitter sharing option returned over 40 percent higher CTR than messages without any social media links.
- Twitter was the most popular social sharing option, included in 67.2 percent of all social e-mails; Facebook came in a close second at 62.7 percent.
Joe's Luck, a literary remix
Dear Friends,
I'm proud to announce that the editors at Media Bistro and Galley Cat Reviews have published the remixed edition of Joe's Luck by Horatio Alger. They've added a few classic illustrations to the remixed text and the final product is a hilarious read. Follow this link to download a copy http://mbist.ro/cNFcTi My contribution is the Wizard of Oz mash up found on page 67, which can be read below.
Best,
Laura
Page 67, Joe’s Luck, remixed by Laura Hill
"Yes; it satisfies me.""Are you alone? Have you no partner?” asked Hogan.
“What need do I have of partners when I have a fleet of flying monkeys to serve me?” Joe replied staunchly.
“Why flying monkeys may be fine for terrorizing munchkins and small girls with dogs, but what I’m talking about is far grander than that!”
“Grander than forcibly ruling the Emerald City?”
“Grander than holding sway over all of Munchkin Land. What I propose is bigger than even the great Oz’s head!”
“Well then, spit it out, Hogan, what do you propose?”
Hogan leaned toward Joe and whispered, “I propose we turn the castle into a sports bar.”
“A sports bar, that’s it? I would hope you might come up with something better than that!” sneered Joe in disgust.
“Imagine the possibilities,” said Hogan draping an arm over Joe’s shoulders and sweeping his other hand in a grand gesture, “Flat screens on the tower, the Tin Man and the Scarecrow tending bar, monkeys in Dallas Cowgirl outfits.”
“And what about me?” They both turned toward the trembling voice of the Cowardly Lion who stood wringing his tail as he waited for Hogan’s reply.
Hogan peered at the lion momentarily annoyed at the interruption, then seeing his opportunity to win an ally he replied with enthusiasm, “You will be the Mascot who bravely guards the door. “
"I don't want any partner, Mr. Hogan," replied Joe staring unkindly at the diminutive man, "And I may as well tell you, I think your foolish for coming here.”
“Foolish perhaps but I have something that may convince you otherwise.” Upon speaking Hogan grasped his trouser legs and hoisted them up to his knees.
“The ruby sneakers!” Joe exclaimed, “Give them to me.”
"Do you mean to insult me?" asked Hogan, scowling. “You know as well as I do that they cannot be taken off once they’re put on.”
“I mean to try!” Joe replied lunging at the intruder. Sparks flew from the sneakers.
“Very well then you leave me no choice,” replied Hogan. “I will sleep here the night until we can figure out a way to get them off.
"Sleep here?"
Laura Hill Bio: Laura Hill has enjoyed an illustrious career writing anything and everything from cheesy ads to historic documentaries aired in such illustrious places as the History Channel. My current work involves tracking a paranormal biker named Rider as he and a horde of flying Things wreck havoc on Hollywood. You can read the novel at ridersstory.blogspot.com.
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