Broken and Black Lace: the makings of

In order to complete the work begun with Bloodmaiden: a fantasy anthology, I've decided to create a trilogy of anthologies. The others will be called Broken and Black Lace. Filled with fantasy--some dark, some light--suspense, romance, horror, and adventure, these last two collections will be published with Rebecca J. Vickery, the publisher who published the Bloodmaiden anthology with her Victory Tales Press.

Here you'll find a collection of pictures, including coverart for the books, followed by my recent photo shoot to create the cover of Black Lace, the latest and last to be written into the three-book collection.

In some of the photos, you will notice artwork depicting ravens. Though I did not use any of the artwork depicted in the photos for my cover, I would still like to give credit to the inspiration of the artists, Karen Bondarchuk, Josh Rowan and Teresa Wang, and their collection entitled Evermore. Special thanks to Southwestern Illinois College's Schmidt Art Center for allowing us to shoot photos, especially around that darling little piano. Also, thanks to SWIC's theatre...even though they didn't know we were in there, filming away. ^_^

Thanks also to the lovely, red-headed Kayla, whom I like to call my "posing director and consultant"; my curly-headed sweetheart and photographer, Jonathan; and the most wonderfully cynical Phil, who seems to be in denial in his photo about his involvement with anything (perhaps because his sole purpose was to distract me and make me laugh while being photographed).

All that said, do enjoy the photos, and look for the books' release, hopefully in the next several months or so!

~ Christine E. Schulze

Silent Hero: a second go

Well, I re-read Silent Hero, and while I did find it to be not quite as awful as some made it out to be, it did need a read-through. As before, I didn't do as thorough a read-through as I would have for my original works, noting every comma, syllable, and vowel; however, I did need to make changes of things that didn't make sense. For example, the scene where Link and Midna meet Nayru and Midna mentions meeting Farore and Din earlier...yeah, only, that never happened...

Sigh. Just goes to show that if you're a serious author in other aspects, you can't just throw a fanfic out there like the rest of the world. Well, it at least makes sense now, even if people don't like it.

Re-reading was good for me too because it helped me figure out that there was more romance in it than I thought. While not a romance book, it does contain a romance story of sorts between Link and Midna. Probably another reason some readers were turned off; though, as ever with fan fiction, people will get very defensive, and what one loves, another will hate. Still, folks, it's just a story.

Well, there you have it. I am either brave or stupid, as only time will tell. For now, I bid readers enjoy "Silent Hero" as they may, and especially my other works as well.

Silent Hero: All Good Things Must Come to an End

Well, I've decided to remove Silent Hero from Smashwords for now. the book has already received more hype than I would have expected, and many fans seem upset that:

1. Someone would have the nerve to "officially" publish a Zelda fanfic

2. Someone would have the nerve to do this without really editing the work

That said, some think it's great while others think it's blah. But that's beside the point. I'm removing for these two reasons:

1. Don't want to get myself in trouble if there's too much negative hype

2. Being a regular, fanfic work, it really is unedited; I don't want readers thinking that's the quality of all my other, original, and very-much-edited books.

I may choose to re-release it once I've had time to sit down and edit. Or, I may not. For now though, you can still read it on sites like fanfiction, North Castle, webook, and evolitera; just don't expect to see it on Barnes & Noble again real soon, but...

Maybe someday. It was a nice challenge and experiment, at the least. And it DOES have that nifty new cover. ^_^

Bloodnmaiden and Tears Now Available as Ebooks!

Exciting news! Bloodmaiden and Tears of a Vampire Prince are now available as not only paperback, but as ebooks for the Kindle as well! To find out how you can purchase, go here: http://www.oldlinepublishingllc.com/index_files/OldLinePublishingFictionBloodmaiden.html

This is a great way to sample the books without paying as much, especially for my new readers out there.

Just a tip: Tears can totally be read independently; however, many of my readers have found they best enjoy reading it alongside its companion, Golden Healer, Dark Enchantress, also available at Amazon as well as Smashwords.

Tears and Bloodmaiden Give-away!

First off, much thanks to Jessica at "A Fanatic's Book Blog" for hosting me on her site not once but thrice--for two reviews and an interview!

Secondly, she is being kind enough to host a give-away of the two books she's reviewed:

Bloodmaiden and Tears of a Vampire Prince: the First Krystine

The latter has just released from Old Line Publishing as my second publication with them, so this is really great!

To enter the give-away, go here:

http://afanaticbookblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/christine-schulze-x-2-giveaway.html

God bless, and best to all who enter!

~Christine E. Schulze

"Cast" of Bloodmaiden

So, I recently was asked who I would have play the various characters of Bloodmaiden if it was made into a movie. I always adored Elijah Wood and might choose him for Chalom--but I don't know if he'd look good painted blue, and despite his eternal youth, even he might be a little too old now. He might fare better as Brydon, with his ability to look deep, sorrowful, and portray a wide range of emotions.

I have lined up a few young ladies for Crislin though, of varying ages. The book doesn't specify how old she is, though in my mind, her and Chalom were always thirteen. The actress would have to contain a blend of child and young lady, on the verge of growing up but not quite yet, someone still sweet, innocent, naive, and well-capable of portraying these traits. Below are my actress choices, from fave to least:





1. Elle Fanning




















2. Saoirse Ronan

















3. Chloe Moretz


























4. Emma Watson (WITH hair!!! and also if going for an older Crisilin)


5. Myself! Nevermind I have no acting skills to speak of; I AM still on the cover...

First Book-Signing at Strange Folk Festival

My first signing at the Strange Folk Festival in O'Fallon, IL. Enjoy the experience with me!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgscY_OvnO4

Music from: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time