STEVE BENTON

RAGNAR LOTHBROK IS DEAD ALL HAIL KING RAGNAR So, if you are a true fan of VIKINGS, you will notice that Ragnar died in a pit of snakes, much like how he died (supposedly) in real life. But seriously, he needed to die. It was time. Besides, he was just too fucking weird. Maybe too much time in the wilderness? And what writer's bullshit is this? We never find out where the Hell he was? Bad writers. Bad! Maybe some other woman will show up with a slew of Ragnar-bred pups and claim he was the king of yet another location? Or maybe he was a smelly old vagrant over in Norway? Who knows. In any case, this character was only supposed to last one season. Well done, Travis. Well done. SB P.S. Aslaug is dead. Good. I always hated that character. Lagertha rocks.

I have been taking a break, mostly due to the quantities of family that have been in town for the holidays. However, I have been editing and polishing a bit here and there, so when I jump back into LILI G MUST DIE it will be, flat-out the best YA scifi/fantasy novel of the year (if not ever). So be patient, friends. It is coming. Soon

VIKINGS Season 4, part 2 premieres tonight on THE HISTORY CHANNEL In case you weren't aware, Steve is a HUGE Vikings fan, being of Scandinavian descent himself.

Have you ever wanted to create an alien language for your novel, but weren't sure how? Well, here's a primer to get you started  at OMNI Magazine

Terry's beautiful, colorful, utopic world is perfect; until it is not. https://omni.media/colorful

Many of my characters speak languages other than English. While I try to keep their non-English phrases to a minimum, foreign script can sometimes help to enhance the depth of a character, or even add a bit of humor. The problem is, however, that the reader might not understand what is being said. The phrase needs to be translated. Now, of the many ways to handle a foreign language phrase or comment, here are two examples. "¡Qué tonto! [What a fool!]" This works, but it is stale. It also leads to the writer using this method throughout the book wherever there is a foreign phrase. The question is: Can the bracket method be used to great effect? Absolutely! This method could work well with a detailed conversation between two people, especially where there are other characters who might not understand what is being said, or where the two conversing want to keep their discussion private. Just leave out the foreign words. "[Please forgive me. I have not yet ...

Ronald Simmons struggles to understand why bits 'n pieces of his life are disappearing in front of his eyes. https://omni.media/bits-n-pieces

After experiencing an explosion and witnessing the death of a neighbor, Glenn finds his present rewritten. https://omni.media/present-rewritten

An Iraqi child and a marine team up against insurgents in the fiction piece 'Nothing But Stars in the Sky'. https://omni.media/nothing-but-stars-in-the-sky

OMNI was kind enough to republish NOTHING BUT STARS IN THE SKY Yesterday I posted that they had accepted yet another short story, but this isn't the one. It's called "Colorful" Terry Livingston awaits a birthing license in her beautiful, colorful city. But one day everything turns grayscale, and she learns the true nature of where she lives. I'll let you all know when it hits the net. Steve

OMNI has accepted another short story. Details to be released soon. Steve

Thousands of children each year are being diagnosed with autism, and no one can figure out why - until Dr. Mil Brady discovers it's not a neurodevelopmental disorder at all: It's forced evolution

Well Max, good old Max, is no longer the main cat in the universe, so I decided to rename the series/world The Prīmulī Prophecies. That's all Thanks!

I signed up for the James Patterson MASTERCLASS online. I find it to be a helpful course, and highly recommend it to any aspiring writers out there. For more info, go to www.masterclass.com SK

Almost there! I think I nailed the prologue, and already completed the synopsis for LILIG & THE SECRET VAMPIRES. Just some minor tweaks and we'll be there. It's going to take a lot of luck to get picked up by a major publisher. Think lucky! While my submission is being considered, I'll get back to work on HOW TO NOT DIE IN POST-APOCALYPTIC HOLLYWOOD. It's a great continuation in the COMG Universe, but with a new character. This was actually started via a suggestion by a reviewer at SMASHWORDS, named READROVER. You can see his profile here -  https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/readrover Thanks, Rover! I have also started LILI G #2, as of yet unnamed. While there are some inactive vampires in the book, they are not the antagonists. Lili continues in school and makes a startling discovery. She then proceed to get into trouble because, well, she's Lili.

I decided to get unlazy (is that really a word?) and add some of my other works. These are either being written, contracted, or waiting on acceptance. 5) THE SHELL Bo, son of Detlof, is a farmer in a Norse village who unearths a magic-enabled sword in his fields during a spring planting. Using the powerful weapon, he commandeers a long ship and sails across the Dark Sea to find what lies on the other side. Using rudimentary navigational equipment, he discovers he doesn't live on a flat world, or even on a globe - he lives inside a massive Dyson Sphere, - a techno-organic shell, created by an ancient species as old as the Universe itself. Bo's world is no mistake - it functions as a living historical document. Bo must survive encounters with various cultures, extracted from different periods in time, some savage and some advanced, as well as battle mythical beasts on the land and in the air, in his quest to discover why he even exists. 6) BITS 'N PIECES Ronald Si...

Happy Friday to all: Here is a listing of my current projects. 1) LILI G & THE SECRET VAMPIRES Eleven year-old Lili Gatto is a new student at the esteemed St. Mary's Academy. She has the same problems as any other girl her age - lots of homework, antagonistic popular kids, and a teacher she doesn't care for. But things really get out of hand when Lili discovers there are vampires in her school. You see, Lili is a lycan, and vampires are her mortal enemies. Forbidden by her aunt and uncle from confronting these sociopathic schemers (or from joining the school soccer team, for fear her enhanced abilities would be exposed), Lili embarks on a mission to take on the vampires anyway. Her best friends, fraternal lycan twins Tommy and Janie Williams assist her, and they’re in for the ride of their lives, because Lili is not only a lycan, she is also an incredibly powerful mage - the only one of her kind in the world. Lili knows her uncle put a power cap on her abilities,...

I've had the domain name stevebenton.com since to 20th century. In fact, my father and my daughters have their own Benton domain names too. While I have maxgunnarsson.com, it pertains to THE CHRONICLES OF MAX GUNNARSSON series, and as I am writing spinoffs with new characters I felt it necessary to revamp my own, personal site to reflect the depth of my writings. So, when you have a chance, why not go to stevebenton.com and learn a bit more about me, and also see what my latest works are. Oh, and you can jump to downloading the VROL TRILOGY, for free, of course.

Click HERE for Steve's latest piece on OMNI Magazine

Well, I've started on my fifth full-length novel, beta-titled "How to NOT Die in Post-Apocalyptic Hollywood. In this book we introduce a new character, Azulian archaeologist Kam Andreesen, who is working on a dig in Machu Picchu. He is accidentally transported to the always-fun PAH. Fortunately he meets our friend Dons, as well as the others who live and work at Seven Sins. He just needs to survive until Max or one of his relatives drops by, as he has absolutely no way of contacting home. Kam starts a journal and documents some of his adventures during the course of this novel. He's not a lycan or a vampire - he's something else, but doesn't know it - yet (sound familiar?). However, someone else figures it out, and they don't want him anywhere near Seven Sins. I imagine I'll have this novel done around the beginning of summer. It's a companion book to the Chronicles of Max Gunnarsson, and is being written at the suggestion of a fan. OMNI Magazine...

Here is a link to our first short story published by OMNI magazine. https://omnireboot.com/2016/stars-sky/