Creatura Book Trailer

This is a new book trailer for "Creatura" that I created with the help of Patrick Salinas, Krystle Mendiola (featured in the video) and Juan M. Mendiola, Jr. Don't forget to comment and rate.

 Thanks for watching! 

Birthday Giveaway!!

Happy Birthday to me! 

Today I'm a year older, a year wiser, and LOTS of pounds heavier! LOL! To celebrate with YOU, I'm giving away 3 e-book copies of "Creatura" on Twitter! 

TO ENTER:

1. FOLLOW @NelyCab on Twitter 

2. Retweet: "I want to win @NelyCab's #Creaturabirthdaygiveaway"

* Ends Dec.9, 12am CST

GOOD LUCK!! 

Creatura Basket of Goodies hosted by Paranormal Book Club

This Creatura Basket of goodies giveaway is being hosted by Paranormal Book Club on Facebook. Like their page and enter the contest at this link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paranormal-Book-Club/109922569062884?sk=app_208195102528120&app_data=dlt

Good Luck! 

Christmas Kindle Giveaway!

Recent Review

Hello, beautiful creatures! I've been absent from your lives for quite sometime writing and creating a world for Isis and David for my upcoming novel "Vivus," the second in the "Creatura" Series. My apologies and sincere gratitude to those of you that are reading this right now. 


Today, I want to share a review that lifts my spirits and pushes me to continue to write. When I read it I was delirious, to say the least. And since it seems like such a drag to have to go find the reviews for a book on another website,  I decided to post it here. I'll continue to post a few reviews - only once in a while - for you to read.  This review is one of many of my favorites:


*Find this review on Goodreads


Fathima Amiruddin's review 

Read from November 18 to 20, 2011

"I was contemplating whether this story deserved a 4 star or a five star .. But man oh man , once i was done reading it i knew it deserved nothing less than a 5 star !!! So many questions , so many thrilling moments , this story definitely took me by surprise !! 

Cover-speak : Awwwwwwesome cover !! At first i was like , ' How is the name " Creatura " connected to what's being shown on the cover of the book . I was completely clueless . But once i was through the story , i think i have sort of realised the meaning behind this cover ! Ofcourse i cant give it away now because i think its highly connected to the story and giving it away would just ruin it for everyone plannin on reading it ;) 

Creatura basically tells the story of 17 yr old Isis Martin , who has turned into an insomniac due to her recurring nightmares . Every night Isis dreams of the same Poppy field and the same 'beast' who waits for her in that poppy field . Every night Isis wakes up from her nightmares scared and petrified to fall asleep again . Who is this creature ? What does he want ? Why is a part of Isis's dreams ? Is he an enemy or a friend ? Answer to those questions and many more is what awaits readers in this mythological extravaganza !!

Things i loved about this book : 

1) Fresh and exciting : Okay i'm gonna be honest here , i have not read anything like what is mentioned in this story before ! To explain it in better terms , i can say that the 'paranormal' Or the 'supernatural' element of this story is 'out worldly;' . I loved every aspect of it . Every angle , every twist just added to the prevailing tension . 
Honestly , there was a time when i was beginning to lose interest in the story and felt that it had become too slow and drag-ish . But a new twist added in by the author at the right time and right place zapped me back in place and i was devouring the pages like my life hung on it ! Definitely new definitely exciting !! The mythological connection of the story was also very new and something unheard of . I would so wanna meet some of the characters mentioned in this book for real !

2) Relationship matter's : Another lovely aspect of this book was the various characters and the relationship they shared with each other . One of my favourite was the relationship shared between Isis and her mother Claire . Never ever have i read a book that emphazised so much on a mother - daughter relationship . They were like two best friends because they were everything to each other . I laughed at their goofiness and had tears in my eyes when things got intense . Brownie pionts to the author for such an amazing display of affection between the two . 
And another favourite relationship being Isis and David's . Oh boy talk about crazy and sweet at the same time . I couldnt help but wear a grin on my face all the time reading the various interactions between them . Isis the stubborn kind , who would never let David know her real feelings for him and David , the uberly greek god-like handsome but possessive guy who would do anything to make sure he wins Isis's heart !!! Loved them ;) . Ofcourse the book has many other interesting characters as well . 

3) Twists, turns and the end !!!! : If i'm giving 5 on 5 to the story , then i'm giving 10 on 10 to the author , her imagination and her creativity ! I mean come on she clearly deserves it for a story like this especially the end ! It was sooooo unexpected and unthought of . For a split second i was like ' wait , what did just happen !! ' .. I sooo cannot wait to read what happens next in this series . The end just made way for an exciting beginning . Totally recommended for readers looking for a story of a different kind . Its a must check out from me !"

Creatura Giveaway

THE HOUSE ON ELDA DRIVE

How about a personal scary story about me, just in time for Halloween? Check out Books with BITE's blog! Read my story, 

and then ENTER to WIN one of two copies of Creatura!

CLICK HERE:

http://www.bookswithbite.net/2011/10/hallowen-booktacular-with-author-nely.html

Read an interview conducted on me by the founder of  Great Minds Think Alike Reading Community, Kitty Bullard.

CLICK HERE TO BE REDIRECTED: 

http://www.greatmindsthinkaloud.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=interviews&thread=739#ixzz1bSP17jIo

***********************************************************

Creatura Necklace Giveaway!

Would you like to win this "Creatura" Heart Pendant Necklace? Like the "Creatura" Fan Page on Facebook

& click on the "Contest" tab to enter! 

*Contest ends October 28, 2011, 12:00AM (CST)

Teens Talk About "Creatura"

Thank you to Gabriel Moreno (Director/ Producer/ Editor), as well as to Alejandra Gonzalez, Ernesto Martinez, Melissa Guerra and Jerry Silguero who participated in the making of the video. 

Word of "Creatura" Spreads

After exactly three months to the date of its realease, Creatura is slowly becoming known by local schools. I have been asked for my contact information by three different schools via their students. Some of my family members' children and friends' children spoke their teachers about the novel and about me without being told by their parents to do so. I was surprised that they are taking the initiative to make the novel known, and that they are just as excited as I am about this new venture. 

By word of mouth, resulted an invitation by yet another school to speak at an assembly comprised of nearly 200 students. On September 28th, I will be addressing kids between the ages of 12-14 (grades 6th-8th) at Harmony Science Academy in Brownsville, Texas. I am curious about how these junior high kids' questions will differ from the questions of the high school kids I visited a few weeks ago who, by the way, were a great bunch. 

Before I go speak to a group, I like to send them a few chapters of Creatura so that they know a little about the story and my writing style. Opening up their inquisitiveness with reading is great because they are more inclined to listen when you speak and are more involved in the question and answer session. 

The kids at Lopez High School were interested in hearing about me, the process of writing, the self-publishing process, and the time it takes to wrap it all up. They were so excited to have me there that their high school news made a small clip of the students' reactions to the book and to my visit. I feel so honored to be part of their required reading! 

* Side note: I love those kids! 

And so, as I visit each school, not only do the kids learn about writing a book and publishing, but I too learn how try to inspire them to read for pleasure, rather to see it as a chore. 

TO COME: 
Hopefully, I'll have the video the high school students filmed in my possession soon so that I can share it with all of you. 

Thank you for reading my blog!

Recommended Read:

 Blood of Eden by Ken Policard

www.bloodofedenmovie.com

"If I win" Lucifer said, "You will uncreate Man"

"If you lose," God warned him, 

"then you will become a man."

"No matter how this ends" Lucifer vowed, 

"I will always love you"

"And I will always love you, Lucifer."

And So it began... - Blood of Eden, by Ken Policard


CLICK TO PREVIEW BLOOD OF EDEN

******************** On Sale NOW *********************

"Creatura" goes to High School

Bookplates! 

A few weeks ago I was completely taken by surprise when I was asked by www.readforyourfuture.org to donate a couple of copies of "Creatura" to the Middletown High School library in Middletown, Ohio. That brought me such enthusiasm that I think I practically jumped. The thought of how many students will get to read the novel puts a smile on my face every time.

*GO MIDDIES!*

Then something equally as exciting happened:

I was contacted by an English teacher at Lopez High School in Brownsville, Texas, to be a guest in her five English classes. Immediately and without hesitation, I agreed. I was so excited to receive the invitation and flattered that a high school teacher would even consider "Creatura" in the classroom.

I offered the first chapter of the novel to the teacher by email and posted it on my website for easier accessibility to the students ... and to the rest of the world, of course. Some of them have already purchased the book through Amazon.com (it's also available through other online retailers)

     *If you're a goodreads member you'll find Chapter 1 under the "read excerpt" tab of the novel. 

A fair amount of students from Lopez High School have befriended me on Facebook, and after chatting with them, I've found they are just as excited as I am to be able to meet in person. It seems the first chapter has had a good reception by the majority. Let's see how the rest of the book is liked. I supposed I'll find out next week when they've had a chance to read further. Until then, I'll be looking forward to August 31st with eager and excited anticipation. I can already hear that Lobo Pride!

*SEE YOU SOON, LOBOS!*

Oh, by the way, the sandpaper I mentioned in the prior post was to sand down my "golden boy" before we applied the gold makeup. He was a real trooper! Thanks, Tristan!

A few pics from the Book Launch

Launch Party: T-minus 24 hours

Tomorrow is the big day for the "Creatura" book launch party, and I'm very excited and nervous. I'm trying to write out a schedule to see when it is that I'm going to have time for myself to get ready, but I haven't quite figured it out. There's so much I have to do starting from noon and on. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Today, I received a call from the owners of the Los Ebanos Preserve and Casa Los Ebanos. This is the residence that I used as the setting for the hero's (David's)  home. I'm so happy that they'll be attending. Casa Los Ebanos used to be their home until a few years ago. The historical southern style home is now available to book for weddings and parties of the sort. I would've loved to have the launch there, but I had to consider the costs to be incurred. *sigh* Maybe next time.

Something that has been creating a little humor in my mind today is that I don't consider this my party, but the book's party. Isn't that strange? It's like the novel isn't an inanimate object, but more of a personality. I suppose books do have personalities if you stop to think about it: Romantic, adventurous, horrifying, witty, humorous... etc. In a way, they're much like people. I believe that's why we can easily fall in love or easily dislike them.

Did you know that the author has to go through personality changes as she writes? I mean, how else would she write so many lines that only that certain character would say? It's very impressive to me how books have to dominate a personality that isn't really the writer's.

Anyhow, I'm supposed to be making dinner for my in-laws that are coming in from out of town to attend the shindig, and I'm typing my little fingers away instead. lol! Oh, and one more thing before I go: the oddest thing I have ever needed for a party is sandpaper. I have yet to acquire some. I'll tell you guys about it later when I post the pictures.

Toodles, beautiful creatures!

The Soirée is on the Way

The cake's been ordered, the place reserved. It's roughly two weeks until the official release party for "Creatura". Invitations have been mailed and some will be hand delivered. In all honesty, party planning is something I very much enjoy. However, this one takes precedence over the rest of the parties I've ever had to coordinate. It's absolutely nerve wracking! 


I'm a planner - not a party planner, but a planner in general. Often, I tend to think of every detail that would please me if I were an attendee. That's not so bad is it? Okay, yes it is! Call me obsessive or compulsive...or both. I'm a female, for goodness sake!  


The release party will be held in the City of Los Fresnos, Texas, also the setting of my book. Why Los Fresnos? Because at the age of 13 I moved there and hated it,  BUT then something extraordinary happened - I fell in love. Not with a guy, with the town! It's small, it's friendly, it's simple. Yes, it may only have a population of 4, 512, but it's home, and home is where the heart is. I consider it my hometown even though I didn't move there until my teenybopper years.


Everyone says, "write what you know", but I wrote what I imagined. My imagination ran amok in that town and the surrounding areas as I wrote "Creatura". That's where David Chios came to life in The Ebony Estate (AKA Casa Los Ebanos at Los Ebanos Preserve). It's where Isis Martin attended Los Fresnos High School, and where Claire Martin, Isis' mother, worked for the County, as a paralegal in the courthouse. It's where Krystle, Sheila and Patrick - Isis' friends- graduated high school, before Isis. My characters have a life in Los Fresnos! They're very real to me. Holding the book launch within my town was the only feasible choice. 


*I should mention that Krystle, Sheila and Patrick are real people and not just cameo characters in the book:
        Krystle - my sister
        Sheila - my sister's BFF
        Patrick - my sister's BF
     **They will be making an appearance at the launch. Who knows, maybe they'll be asked for their autographs. 


So, what am I doing to prepare? I'm hot gluing my fingers to the bone - making centerpieces and detailing the event. I'm thinking of a speech and a paradigm. I'm thinking of great treats to serve and of how to set up the room. Plan, plan, plan! Yes, I am obsessive, but if I didn't obsess, how would I have ever detailed all those character personalities in "Creatura"?


*By the way, my apologies for not posting any new short stories or blogs recently, but writing chapter two of the book series has been keeping me quite busy. 


Anyhow, I do believe I'm due for a well-deserved break. I'm off to relax with a good book that I'm eager to finish, and then I'll nestle myself into bed, where Morpheus, with a grin, will lure me away. Therefore, I must bid you adieu. I have a long day tomorrow: appointments, post office, burned fingers and crossing off other items on my "to do" list. Wish me luck! 

Toodles, beautiful creatures!

Eternal Dreams

**Per special request, here is another short story.

Eternal Dreams

by Nely Cab

He came to me in a dream. He wasn't a handsome fellow, but there was something about his personality that drew me to him. Surely, I must be crazy to have fallen in love with this, a figment of my imagination. I was obsessed -- fixated on the idea of him. His name was Daniel.

"But he's only a dream, Claudia," I told myself, trying to reason.

I had dreamt of this boy, now a man, for the major part of my thirty years of life. I never knew another male in the way I knew him. He was my life and my everything. I rejected every suitor that ever showed the least bit of interest in me, but things would be changing and soon.

I was, against my will, betrothed to a gentleman of the age of fourty some odd years, previously widowed. His name was Pascual Leumas. He owned a debauchery store in the upper west side of Manhattan. He was a man of good wit, pleasant, and handsome. Pascual had but one child, already a young woman; I would become her mother.

But what was I to do with the man in my dreams? I was in love with him. I had the hope that one day Daniel would come into my life, that we would marry, and have a family -- be a normal couple.

Tonight, as I dressed for a chaperoned dinner with Father and my new fiancée, I could think of nothing more, but how heart broken Daniel would feel if he knew I was to be wed in three day's time.

As I viewed myself in the full-length mirror, I could swear that I saw Daniel standing behind me, observing me as I pinned up my hair. I instinctively drew my neck back to view him, but there was no one there. Oh, how I wished that he would come for me at haste before the wedding.

In the dinning room, my father was present with Pascual and his daughter, Sophia, awaiting me to begin the dinner. I was nervous and slightly shook as Pascual kissed my hand. Sophia's smile was wide with enthusiasm.

This was the first time I had met Sofia. She was blonde and had brown eyes, like myself. There would be no misinterpretation that I was not her mother. That set my nerves at ease, somewhat.

Through the dining room window, I saw a tall figure standing, looking in at me. I gasped in surprised fright and held my hands to my mouth. My father asked what had taken my breath. I told him it was nothing, but indeed it was something.

Daniel was standing there in a suit with a wool coat on his arm. He pointed to the front door. I quickly excused myself and scurried to foyer. He gave two knocks to the door before I could reach it. I ran across the anteroom and swung the door open. Finally he was here! My love had arrived!

"Daniel," I said to him. "How I've longed for you! Take me from here. Let us be as we are in my dreams."

"Yes, my dear, Claudia," he replied, taking me by the waist and laying his cold lips on mine. "Let us go, now."

As I looked back to close the door behind me, I saw my lifeless body on the ground. My father, Pascual and one of the servants huddled over it.

"What has happened?" I asked Daniel.

"We are eternal lovers, now, my Claudia. Nothing shall keep us apart -- not even death."

We walked hand in hand, into the night and into that eternity of love.

www.nelycab.com

Crazy in Love

**Occasionally, I write short stories. This particular one is not for the faint at heart. For those of you wondering, the book is nothing like this.

Crazy in Love 

by Nely Cab

"I loved her," I said. "She was the one I was meant to be with forever." That was the only plea I could think of.

April was a brunette with a wonderful sense of humor. She was a fine cook and a beautiful woman. She held the greatest attributes that a man could ask.

One summer day, she said she was leaving me. I knew we had our ups and downs, but this didn't mean it had to end. I could change. I could be whatever she wanted me to be. She said I hadn't failed her, that she was just not in love with me anymore. 

I had never cried in front of her, but this time, I couldn’t contain myself. I felt torn, frantic, and lost.

Holding her by the arms, I pled with her to stay.

"No," she said that single syllable word that crushed me.

I hugged her and pled with her some more.

"Please, April!" I was desperate to find a way to keep her, but she was intransigent.

There I sat, on the kitchen table, staring into the nothingness that my life had become in but one moment.

"Have you thought about the children, April? Have you given thought to what you're doing to them?" I wondered.

"I'm not taking the children, Ed. I don't have any means to support them," she replied.

Could she be seeing another man? I stood from my seat and shook her. "Who is he?!" I demanded.

"It's not a he…" she pushed me away, “it’s a she.”

I was in disbelief. What on earth had this woman, who I had been married to for seven years, turned into? I felt belittled. The pain of betrayal consumed me.

"You're insane!" I turned her around and slapped her. "You're not leaving me or the children. Do you understand?"

April tightened her fist and took a right hook at my face. I stopped her fist before it struck me. I tensed my grip on her small hand with such force that she fell to her knees. I grabbed her by the face and kissed her against her will. She bit my lip so deep, that I felt her teeth cut into the skin. The bitter taste of blood spread through my mouth.

I grabbed her by the hair and pulled her away from me. She slapped me, repeatedly, with all her might.

"Bastard!" She wept as she wiped my blood off her chin. "I detest you for making me into a wife and a mother. I detest you for making me cook and clean. I curse you for being a man."

April stood in the middle of the room, her loathing stare burning through me. 

My ego was in shreds. I had never heard her voice such wicked and hurtful things about the life I had prided myself to give her.

I walked to her slowly. I extended one arm and clenched her by the neck. She gasped and tried eagerly to pry my fingers from her throat. I saw her eyes redden and glisten with moisture. Her face turned red; then, slowly, it became pallid.

She fought hard to escape my grip, but I couldn't make myself release her. Her body slightly jerked, before her eyes rolled back into her sockets. Finally, she stopped breathing. Her body was limp. I let it fall onto the kitchen floor, next to the table.

I heard laughter coming from the backyard. Our two children had been playing outside the whole time.

My eyes glanced between the backdoor and April’s body.

What had I done? I had murdered the love of my life and mother of my children.

Nervously, I took April’s body to our bedroom and lay her on the bed. She looked as if she were fast asleep, aside from the discoloration in her face.

I went downstairs and prepared some chocolate milk for the children, along with a very strong dose of sleeping medication.

“Kids!” I called them into the house.

I handed them each a glass to drink, making sure they consumed every drop. Then, I sent them to play in their rooms.    

 Tormented and drowning in guilt, I wept in the bathroom awaiting silence to take the place of my children's innocent voices.

Within fifteen minutes they were both asleep on the floor of their bedrooms. I placed them beside their mother on our matrimonial bed and rummaged through the night table drawer. There,I found my gun.

Loading the handgun,I stood before my three little angels knowing exactly what I had to do to be together forever.

My hand trembled each time I pulled the trigger, shooting each of us in the head.

Suddenly, I felt myself rising and hovering over our four dead bodies.

They came for me quickly. 

I was taken to a place of darkness and despair. A place where there was only cold and gloom. It was a place where no one looked into the other’s eyes, and no one spoke.

I was taken to trial and asked only one question:

"What have you to say on your behalf, man?"

"I loved her,” I said. “She was the one I was meant to be with forever." That was the only plea I could think of.

www.nelycab.com

"It was not for Hunger of Worship or Conceit..."

It's only been three days since "Creatura" was officially released for sale, and I'm ready to have an anxiety attack awaiting the first review from non-bias readers (no offense friends and family).

The people I know have begun to purchase the novel on Amazon from the very day it became available on the website. The sales rating at which it has fluctuated has surprised me.

• A big "THANK YOU" goes out to all of you for promoting the book on your Facebook walls and through word of mouth. I appreciate your support more than you realize. 

It's very scary to put one's own writing out there for people to judge. I knew I was going to have to brave the world when I decided to publish, but I didn't know it would be my own written words that would mock and intimidate me, making me doubt myself. 

Being only human, I have come to realize that it's okay to fear. What isn't okay is to fear not. It's when we don't fear that we walk overly confident and ignorant of the hidden crevices and cliffs on the roads we, ourselves, pave. That's when we tend to fall the hardest. I can only hope that I haven't walked blindly.

Today, I started tiding up my dining room table which is where I can write without being distracted. I had unconsciously created a fort around my laptop surrounding it with boxes, floral wire-cutters, copies of manuscripts, make-up -- you name it, it was there. As I picked up the final copy of the manuscript, I decided to glance at the first chapter, and that's when the nerves began to stir.

I decided I didn't like Chapter One, so I went on to Chapter Two. Chapters Two through Seven were okay. Chapter Eight made me wonder why I didn't write more in Chapters Two through Six. I skipped back to Chapter One and hated it. I jumped to Chapter Nine and fell in love with it again. I skipped to Chapter Eleven, where I found some very enticing details, but  I worried it wouldn't fit in with Chapter Seventeen, which then prompted me to look over Chapters Fifteen and Sixteen, which gave the story some flare. Finally, I read the last chapter of the novel, closed it, and set it aside. 

For seven hours, I criticized my writing. I was on the verge of tears by that point because I just didn't know what to think of it anymore. What if my audience found it ridiculous and boring? What if it was terrible?

Usually, I'm very proud to create something, and I'm a positive person as far as the reaction I expect from others. Today, however, I wasn't that person. 

I sent my sister a text telling her the book sucked, and that I was ready to confess my sins and die. She said, "It's done, and you did it all by yourself. You should be proud." That didn't help this time. 

I stared at the book cover wondering what had made me think I could write and publish a novel. I pulled the binder that contained the manuscript toward me and opened it to a random page to continue my silent self-pity rant. Upset at myself, I glanced at the page I had opened it to, and I found something to which I didn't pay attention while I was obsessing:

“It was not for hunger of worship or conceit from which he placed this..."

I'm hand painting these butterflies for the book launch

After reading those words, I remembered this:

I didn't write my book for vanity. I wrote it to entertain two people -- my sister and me. I didn't even want to put my picture on the back cover, now that I think about it. 

I admit that having it sell and go up in the sales rating list does feel good, but it doesn't mean anyone will be impressed once they're done reading. That's okay though, because you know what?  Both of the people it was meant for do like it, and that's worth the two years it took to write. 

So, if you read it, and like it,  I'm happy; and, if you read it, and don't like it, I'm happy too. 

From now it's nothing but happy thoughts of colorful rainbows and glittery unicorns. And, in the famous words of Forest Gump: "That's all I have to say about that," because, "my momma thinks I'm special," and that's good enough for me.

 I thank you, I thank you, and I thank you for visiting and reading my blog.

 Ciao, bellas creaturas!