STEVE BENTON

Mythos : LILI G MUST DIE's Prīmulī Universe derives many of its concepts from classical mythology/religion. Lili's Uncle Michael (really her grandfather) was once known as St. Michael the Archangel, as well as Thor, Osiris and Apollo due to his infrequent interactions with humans throughout the ages. These days, Michael works as a curator of ancient Earth arts, while preventing Lili from melting everything she sees into slag. Lili also has another uncle: Gabriel (a.k.a. Ares, God of War). After her parents, he's her favorite relative. 29th century Azul differs completely from what the reader would believe, based on today's popular offerings. There is no social media. No one has a smart phone. The DataNet is highly regulated. Biotech implants, which had turned Earthlings into virtual zombies, were outlawed before the Exodus' arrival. Movie stars were long ago replaced by CGI and artificial intelligence created for the entertainment industry. In fact, celebrity sta...

A complimentary, sample chapter from LILI G MUST DIE FIRST KILL W    here am I? I move through the pitch black,   feeling my way along an icky, stone wall of sorts.   It is slimy and gross,   like snot,   yet for some reason I am unable to smell the moisture's composition.   The clanging of cold steel rings in my brain like a hammer against a bell of iron,   and to make everything worse, I feel sick to my stomach.   I truly fear I will vomit again.   But I must not,   for the enemy shall detect the scent of my discharge,   and thus easily track my location.   Then they will eat my face—and my eyeballs. Vampires enjoy eating eyeballs. I find it difficult to move.   The boots I pilfered last week are ill fitting,   and have filled with mud.   They make an unsettling sloshing sound with each delicate step I take in this unfamiliar passage.   Worse yet,   I fear I will be heard...

Finally, after years of struggling with uninterested literary agents and publishers, and having received butt-loads of AMAZING reviews from BETA readers, I decided to pull the trigger and publish LILI G MUST DIE, the first YA installment in The Prīmulī Prophecies. Readers of the series already know Liliana. Born and raised in a restored, feudal Earth of the 43rd century, she experienced her first years in opulence and luxury, being the only child of Lord Kenneth and Lady Marcella Engel, of the Rhönen Dominion. After her parents, both borne lycans, tragically killed each other during a full moon, Lili was kidnapped by the callous minor mage Siegfreid, who performed illegal and nearly-lethal magical experiments on her, having somehow learned she is not only a borne lycan, but also a mage - a rare and extremely dangerous combination of enhanced subspecies. But Liliana survived. Castle life was hard. Having no land nor title, she was forced to work as a servant in the castle of...

It's a new term. It's stylized, and perhaps vaguely familiar. But what does it mean? Well, take out the gmen and you have the word "AUTISM".  Okay, that was obvious. But what isn't obvious is what the term is intended to represent. I guess the best way to describe it, without actually describing it, is to post up the hook for my manuscript of the same name: Bakersfield, California : Eleven year-old William Johnson, a special needs student with Asperger Syndrome, a mild autism spectrum disorder, breaks his arm after being pushed off his school playground's jungle gym. When Bobby Littleton, who caused William's fall, climbs down and punches the defenseless boy, William merely looks directly at the bully, who then inexplicably starts bleeding out of his mouth, nose, eyes and ears, and nearly dies in the process. Baltimore, Maryland : ADHD and autism researching psychiatrist, Dr. Jax Brady, learns of the Bakersfield incident and flies out to Califo...

We've been utilizing beta readers for LILI G MUST DIE, and the results have been no less than outstanding.  Here are some responses back from the readers: "Y our Primulus universe is, to me, the ultimate cross over." "I must say, I am very disappointed!  VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN FOR ONE FREAKING MINUTE UNTIL I HAD READ, AND IN SOME CASES RE-READ EVERY SINGLE PAGE!!!" "M y head is still spinning. It's the kind of book you can't wait to re-read!" "A  wonderful gripping story, I can see as many adults as YA reading this and loving it." "... you weave  all these various genres together more effectively than any modern author I know" "... the end was SPECTACULAR." " WOW! Just wow!"

It was my final night in Moscow. The World Cup so far had been nothing short of amazing. I had met people from all over the world, but what affected me most was the warmth and kindness of the Russian people. From English-fluent hotel employees, to not-so-English-fluent cabbies, I was astounded. Everything I had been taught throughout my life was that Russians were alien, cold and quick to take advantage of foreigners. I couldn’t have been proven more wrong. On this one last night, after strolling through Saint Nicholas Street with my wife, Marielena, (and eating the most amazing hamburger ever) we decided to go back to our hotel, situated in a Soviet-era apartment apartment block fairly close to the Domodedovo Airport. And that’s where it all began. We boarded the Green line (#2) southbound. It was packed. Like sardines. I stood up in the back after I managed to secure a seat for my wife. Looking around, it seemed Marilena and I were the only non-Russians on the car. Now, let me...

I don't usually write tutorials or critiques (although I did write a post called Creating an Alien Language for your Manuscript) , but the other day I was fighting with someone on a web forum (I like fighting. It's fun!), and someone corrected a poster, stating that the person had incorrectly said "their" when it should have been "they're". In essence, the line read "they already have their tickets." Possessive - tickets that belong to "them." However, the responder said it should have been written, "they already have they're tickets." Ooof. My pet peeve. The three "theres" Look, it's all very simple. There are three words that sound exactly the same but are used differently. "There" has many forms (data from dictionary.com). adverb 1. in or at that place (opposed to here ): She is there now. 2. at that point in an action, speech, etc.: He stopped there ...

Revisiting the fantastic, yet decimated world of Alternative Earth from LIVES OF LOST ANGELS, we again meet up with clean leader Dons, Adam the fake mage, neko sisters Minnie and Cassandra, and Lennie and Jelly, the vampire musician couple. We are also introduced to a new protagonist in The Prīmulī Prophecies - Kam Andreessen - just a normal, everyman who never quite gets the girl. But that's all about to change. If he doesn't get killed first, that is... https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/810674

THE COMPENDIUM OF IMAGINARY STARS is now available at SMASHWORDS, and will soon be distributed by iBooks, Barnes and Noble and more. A small collection of short stories by yours truly, these were originally published by OMNI Magazine (before they became a penny-blog and then changed their name). Check this short read out. Best of all, it's free! SB

Well, I recently finished the first draft of LILI G #2, a.k.a. LILI G : YGGDRASIL. Why YGGDRASIL? That's the name of the mythical tree from Norse cosmology that connects the nine realms. In Lili's universe, Yggdrasil is the name given to an object, usually in the form of a tree, that exists on every world. Its purpose is to enable an injured Primulus to escape and return to THE HUB. Another feature also enables a Primulus to go to any point in space/time without their ghanlo. The blurb goes as follows: Lili Gatto starts her second year at Saint Mary's, but in her very first class she sees someone who shouldn't even be on her planet, let alone first period English. Later, she gets a very special pet, reluctantly joins the soccer team and vacations in the land of her birth. However, she learns about Yggdrasil, the tree found on every planet in the universe. It allows a stranded Primulus to travel through space/time without the aid of their ghanlo. Lili uses t...

Sorry. I'll post something tomorrow

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