Tag Archives: Fantasy

Twas the night before Christmas . . .

A Tiff and Royal Christmas.

Click to continue reading “Twas the night before Christmas . . .”

So I finished this book today

When you find and like something new, you want to share your discovery with your friends. Right? I do. So, today I’m pointing you at a particular book because I really enjoyed it: Stories on the Go, 101 Very Short Stories by 101 Authors. The description says, ” You should be able to read each story in under five minutes — on your desktop computer, laptop, or tablet at home or in the office, but also on your smartphone, on the go, while you are commuting or waiting at a coffee shop for your significant other to arrive.” Great, I thought. A book I won’t mind picking up, putting down, because I can get to the end of a story in seconds.

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But I had a hard time putting it down. I found it addictive. No story is over 1,00 words so a very quick read, tiny samples of one-hundred-and-one authors’ unique styles of story telling. Each time I finished one, I told myself I’d squeeze in just one more, or two, or three, before I headed for bed. I ended up reading into the early hours of the morning.

Not every little tale rocked my world, but many grabbed me by the heart and twisted, or tickled my funny bone, or made me really think. When I reached the end of the book, I wanted more. There are stories by authors already well known to me, such as Hugh Howey’s A Father’s Fist and John L. Monk’s delightfully slutty parody Trixy Chestity goes to England (Chapter 7). Dee Gabbledon’s Outlandisher was a delicious surprise. You’ve never heard of Dee Gabbledon? If you’re an Outlander fan, you’re in for a treat. <winks>

And I discovered many authors new to me and will definitely be checking out their books: Sheryl Fawcett (The Man Across the Room,) Bob Summer (Words) and Carol Kean (The Tipper)  to name only a few.

The book is free for Kindle and Nook so if you’re looking for an effortless reading experience, download Stories on the Go. See if you can put it down or, like me, become an addict.

 

A Holiday gift for fans of Whisperings Paranormal Mystery

http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photography-holiday-lights-fog-image1627372My holiday gift for Whisperings fans, The Midnight Choir, a Whisperings short story, is free on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Scribd and Inktera. Hopefully, it will soon also be free on International Amazon sites. This little story was first published here on my web site, but the new version includes additional material. I hope you enjoy it.

(Disclaimer: Although I have set the price as zero, Amazon can and often does charge for “free” books on some of their international sites. I have no control over this.)

Time has rushed by so quickly. The end of another year, when people look back and reflect on what the year brought into their lives. As  for me, the body is getting old and has forced me to acknowledge it has limitations, but the brain still works. I have family. I have friends who have stuck by me for years and new friends I’ve met online and in person. I can picture events which still make me smile when I remember them. As for the writing – as always it’s been fun, exasperating, stressful, tiring, and exhilarating.

On the writing side, Baelfleur, the sequel to Downside Rain was published in November. Tiff Takes on Halloween, a Whisperings short story, was published in October. I tried it on Amazon’s Kindle Select/Kindle Unlimited as an experiment. All the KU borrows were nice but at the end of the day, being exclusive to one publishing platform doesn’t sit well with me, so the little story will also appear on Barnes and Noble, iTunes, Kobo, Scribd and Inktera when the Kindle Select period expires in January. And while I’m thinking of it, a shout out to Kindle Select staff who have always responded to my questions/problems promptly. Believe me, if you had to work with support staff at some of the other publishing platforms, you’d appreciate the guys and gals who staff Kindle Select.

I almost forgot to say – last week I reached a personal milestone with the sale of my 75,000 e-book.

In January I found out my Scottie dog Duncan has cancer. The discovery resulted in me rushing to England in April and deciding to write a seventh Whisperings Paranormal Mystery.

Why did my dog having cancer make me rush to England? And why did it prompt me to write another Whisperings book?

Well, I wanted to go to England to see my 91 year-old mum. Husband and I planned to go later in the year, but I didn’t know how long Duncan had with us. His excellent vet estimated six months to a year. I decided on chemotherapy treatment for him, but chemo destroys the immune system which meant he couldn’t be put at risk for infection by having him in a kennel while husband and I took a trip. In fact, he can’t be with other dogs at all, or have his annual immunizations and rabies shots, and we watch him carefully during walks to make sure he doesn’t get into anything he shouldn’t.

I didn’t want husband to have to deal with Duncan getting sick, and of course I wanted to be with Duncan when the time came,  so I whipped off to England earlier than planned and husband cared for Duncan while I was gone.

As for Whisperings. I said in my post To Be Or Not To Be that I didn’t know whether or not I’d write another Whisperings after A Conspiracy of Demons, and I didn’t have any plans to. But an odd thing happened when I learned Duncan has incurable cancer. I love my little dog and the news devastated me. I sat down at my computer and piled the whole thing on Tiff’s shoulders. I wrote about her discovering her Scottie Mac had cancer, her grief, and how she imagined the time to come when she would have to help him on his way.

At the end of the little piece, a bullet came out of nowhere.

I was pretty surprised. That wasn’t supposed to happen! I thought about it and before I knew it, I had an outline for Whisperings Paranormal Mystery book seven: Dark Demon Rising. I put it aside while I finished writing Baelfleur and the short stories but I’ll jump back on it after Christmas.

If you’re wondering about Duncan, he’s still with us and still going strong almost a year after the diagnosis.

So although 2014 began unhappily, it turned out to be a pretty good year. I hope 2015 brings good things, to me and to you. Happy Christmas, may the day be merry and bright, filled with love and good cheer.

 

 

Apocalypse, Trolls and Bounty Hunters

Interviews can be such fun!

Click to continue reading “Apocalypse, Trolls and Bounty Hunters”

Now Available – Downside Rain, an urban fantasy novel.

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Downside Rain is now available as an e-book from online retailers Apple iTunes, Amazon US, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble Nook.

Another place lies palm to palm with the world we know. Downside, Earth’s backdoor, where magic, madness and monstrosities abide; where rain falls from a cloudless red sky and neon pulses day and night.

A fallen angel in a derelict tower weeps crystal tears.

A powerful man hides a dark secret.

Wraiths skim through the streets, hunting monsters.

Rain and her partner Castle are wraiths. They will take almost any assignment, providing it’s legal and pays well. They specialize in ridding Gettaholt City of monsters, be they mischievous but relatively benign sprites, or ghouls which don’t limit their feasting to the already dead. The partners are also ears and eyes for Alain Sauvageau; unnoticed, the pair glean useful information for the crime lord. Rain would be happier working for Alain if he didn’t try to get into her pants, but she refuses to be the reigning lothario’s latest in a long line of affairs and jilted lovers.

Rain goes Upside on a mission for Alain and while there discovers River, a wraith who knows nothing of Downside. She is duty bound to introduce him to Downside society, an obligation she resents. When she’s marked for death, she must survive attacks by demons and Gettaholt citizens compelled by powerful magic. Who is trying to kill her, and why? Is River friend or foe? Can a wraith die twice?