Drabble Wednesday: Parallels

Today on Drabble Wednesday I’m shaking it up a bit. I’ve written three drabbles, all with the same setting, the same main character, and the same opening line. However, each story takes a different path, unfolding into three different parallel worlds…

Bad Choices

Phillip Reilly waited at the far end of the park’s foot bridge. He watched the sunset, his nerves jangling, feeling like he wanted to jump out of his skin. He didn’t want to be here, but he couldn’t see another way to fix all his choices and mistakes.

His stomach rolled, anticipation making him ill.

Why doesn’t she get here?

He heard footsteps on the path leading to the bridge. He reached behind his back and closed his fingers on cold steel. His estranged wife walked into view. He pulled his gun and shot her three times in the chest.

Rendezvous

Phillip Reilly waited at the far end of the park’s foot bridge. Under the calming amalgam of sunset colours lighting up the sky, he breathed the fresh air. Phillip shook off the workday and the office, anticipating his first glance of her. He looked forward to this surprise all day, presenting her this special gift.

What’s taking her so long?

He shifted his feet and sighed, then brightened as he heard footsteps along the path. He smiled at his girlfriend as she stepped onto the foot bridge.

Dropping onto one knee, he opened the ring box.

“Will you marry me?”

Crooked Paths

Phillip Reilly waited at the far end of the park’s foot bridge. The shadows cast by the setting sun helped hide him as he crouched in bushes. He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his windbreaker, and kept his breathing even.

Keep calm, keep calm. Be patient.

As he heard the footsteps echo on the bridge, he readied his muscles, tensed as he saw her shadow coming closer. In one swift attack he grabbed her arm, smacking his fist in her face. She fell against the rail, screaming. Phillip hit her again, then he grabbed her purse and ran.

© A. F. Stewart 2015 All Rights Reserved

Celebrate the Villains

Every writer has their favourite characters, the ones they adored creating. For me it is not the heroes to whom I loathe to say farewell, but the villains. Here’s a few of my favourite wicked creations:

Henri Forain: One of the vampires from Chronicles of the Undead, he is an unrepentant killer. He is handsome, charming and sophisticated Frenchman, willing to suck the blood out of your veins until you are dead. He fits easily into 17th century English society, spreading death and corruption where his whims take him.





Balthazar: The rakish and ruthless demon bounty hunter from Victorian Shadows, Balthazar is a centuries old killer with a fierce temper who holds a grudge. He has no problem killing enemies, friends of his enemies or innocent bystanders if it gets him what he wants. He will be back for more adventures, including his brief escapade as a pirate.

Fluffy the Clown: Some sort of demonic spirit (he hasn’t told me what type yet, and I’m not about to ask) that has a penchant for children’s books and toys. A disembodied phantom with a mile long murderous streak, he haunts the Fluffy the Clown storybooks and dolls (hence his name; I’m sure he has another, but again he’s not talking). He uses mind manipulation when possessing the books to corrupt others into doing his killing (as seen in Fluffy the Clown and the Mystery Writer) and seems to possess the dolls directly for hands-on mayhem (as in Dear Mom).

Emily Langley: A nasty killer of children who was executed for being a witch. But she didn’t let a little thing like death stop her from pursuing her hobby of murder and mayhem. Existing across the ages as a ghostly legend, her spirit, accompanied by her ghost dogs, comes back to wreak bloody vengeance. She was last seen in The Legend of the Haunted Tree killing off a bunch of hapless teenagers on Halloween.

Rjsh the Night Wraith: This supernatural creature makes his appearance in Ruined City (although not by name) and is an unrepentant killer. He is a carnivore by nature, and his chosen meat is human. He is a hunter and loves to play with his food before devouring it at his leisure (quite often while the food is still alive).



Stories and Books:

Victorian Shadows can be found in the ebook Killers and Demons

Fluffy the Clown and the Mystery Writer can be found in the ebook, Once Upon a Dark and Eerie...

Dear Mom can be found for free on my Goodreads Profile

The Legend of the Haunted Tree can be found in the ebook, Once Upon a Dark and Eerie...


Chronicles of the Undead is my vampire novella

Ruined City is my dark fantasy book

 
And don't forget to check out the Coffin Hop Web Tour, Monday Oct. 24th.

Storyteller: Guest Author Sheila Deeth

Please welcome author Sheila Deeth to the blog today.  She is currently on a blog tour for her new book, Flower Child, and she's stopping by today to talk about her books and writing.  Take it away Sheila...

I Tell Stories.

I used to tell children’s stories in church and called them children’s sermons. But I tell stories for littler kids too, with pictures; and big kids’ stories, with words; and grown-up stories, short and long and all points in-between; and they’re all stories. One day I tried to call myself a writer and the first question anyone asked me was, of course,

What do you write?

An answer that covers every possible age-group and genre might not be quite what the questioner’s looking for. So I looked at the books I’ve had “properly” published (as opposed to published by myself). I’ve got three ebooks out with Gypsy Shadow, and tried to decide what genre they’d fit into.

It wasn’t easy. My books don’t seem to have an awful lot in common. Refracted’s set in the future, except it’s the past, and the present, and all points in between. Perhaps it’s sci-fi. Time-travel? Something like that. Meanwhile Black Widow’s firmly set in the past—except it’s a slightly altered past where sorceresses can reinvent themselves and Holy Grails can change the world. My new ebook, Flower Child, is set in the present, except… Well, except it’s a present where a mother grieving her miscarriage can develop a relationship with her unborn child. Maybe that word “except” is the common factor.

Actually, my books do have some things in common. They’re all speculative, in that they all tell about things we can’t analyze or hope to understand. They’re all spiritual too, in that they’re linked by Biblical symbols and hints of stories from the Bible. They’re all fiction—well, obviously. And they all involve some element of someone searching for identity.

In fact, I suspect most of my writing, as well as my search for a genre, has identity issues. I’m not quite sure what that says about me. But at least I have an answer to the question now.

What do you write?

I write spiritual speculative fiction and other things too…



You can find the “other things” as well as the Gypsy Shadow books on my websites:

http://sheiladeeth.weebly.com/

http://www.sheiladeeth.com/

Or find links to all my pages at http://about.me/sheiladeeth.

About Flower Child:
When Megan miscarries her first pregnancy it feels like the end of everything; instead it’s the start of a curious relationship between the grieving mother and an unborn child who hovers somewhere between ghost and angel. Angela, Megan’s “little angel,” has character and dreams all her own, friends who may or may not be real angels, and a little brother who brings hope to her mother’s world. But Angela’s dream-world has a secret and one day Angela might learn how to be real.

Where to find Flower Child:

On Gypsy Shadow’s site: http://gypsyshadow.com/SheilaDeeth.html#Flower

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Flower-Child-ebook/dp/B005PGMT4O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317398482&sr=8-1

On Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/91467

About the Author:

Sheila Deeth grew up in the UK and has a Bachelors and Masters in mathematics from Cambridge University, England. Now living in the States with her husband and sons, she enjoys reading, writing, drawing, telling stories, running a local writers' group, and meeting her neighbors’ dogs on the green.

Sheila describes herself as a Mongrel Christian Mathematician. Her short stories, book reviews and articles can be found in VoiceCatcher 4, Murder on the Wind, Poetic Monthly, Nights and Weekends, the Shine Journal and Joyful Online. Besides her Gypsy Shadow ebooks, Sheila has several self-published works available from Amazon and Lulu, and a full-length novel under contract to come out next year.

You can find all the stops on her Flower Child Blour Tour Here:
http://sheiladeeth.blogspot.com/2011/09/flower-child-blog-tour.html

Worlds of Fantasy with Author David Brown

Today we have another guest stopping by, author David M. Brown is visiting as part of his blog tour for his book Fezariu's Epiphany.  He will be discussing the fascinating topic of building a fictional fantasy world. 

And all you lucky commenters get a chance to win a $25 gift certificate from Amazon, as that prize will be given away at the end of his tour (so be sure to check out the rest of his stops and comment for more chances to win).  So now on with the show, and David...

World Builders

One day in 1999 I was a college student who suddenly became a god. As you can imagine this sort of thing does take one by surprise but don’t worry, this wasn’t a visitation from some celestial being, it was the start of my fictitious world – Elenchera. Hours spent immersed in Final Fantasy VII on the Playstation and an introduction to Norse mythology had triggered the god within me and I knew it was time to create a world that would form the background to a series of novels.

Creating a world is no small feat and that’s just me being honest and not showing off! There are no right or wrong answers but, for me, I began by drawing a world map. I have no qualifications from the University of Cartography and my first world map was an undoubted work of naivety. Some squiggles that were mostly green with some yellow bits for deserts, brown pointy bits for mountains and let’s not forget that blue stuff that takes ages to colour in because it’s the ocean! Yes, my first world map was some simple lines coloured in with crayons but it was a start and once I’d started naming the individual lands the history began to take shape. Geographical features alone can dictate the history of your world. Are islands and continents near each other always going to be friends? If you have monarchs hungry for war then where better to start than your nearest neighbours when extending your kingdoms? The placing of towns also depends on your geography. Not many, if any, will be in the desert or mountains: the terrain isn’t the easiest to settle in and don’t forget the need for your locals to have access to water in the form of rivers and lakes. This very basic approach is how I began Elenchera, all seemingly obvious stuff but I knew it had to be right.

Once those maps were done - and over time there have been 500+ - I thought about world creation from a metaphysical point of view. There have been many myths about how our world started so I drew inspiration from them and chose the route of a god that created Elenchera with the assistance of a group of servants. A simple approach but it worked well in shaping the early centuries of Elenchera especially when I threw in a rebellion and war fought between the principal deity and his now former servants, the traditional good versus evil struggle. That war was fought on a huge landmass known as Elenchera but in the aftermath the world was broken up into twenty-three separate lands each with their own unique societies. Moving between each of the lands was time-consuming but essential.

I have a great love of history so being able to create my own from scratch was a privilege rather than an ordeal. I read Cassell’s World History from cover to cover, to understand early settlement and the progress of civilisations that rise to power and suffer inevitable falls from grace. This has happened all over the world at some point. We have the capacity to become powerful but can never hang onto it forever. With that book as reference I took each land in turn and imagined settlers first arriving there and building their first towns, slowly making their way across the terrain and building new settlements as and where geographical constraints would allow. You’ll find once you’ve taken these early steps the rest soon follows. You’ll have times of peace, war between nations, rebellions, journeys of discovery, advances in science and agriculture, maybe even your own Renaissance periods or Golden Ages for architecture or rises in popularity of literature. The possibilities are endless. I’ve spent more than ten years building Elenchera and it stands at 2,000+ pages and more than 47,000 years of history. Some may call me mad but I just smile and say I never knew madness could be so much fun!

Author Bio:

David M. Brown was born in Barnsley in 1982 and first conceived the idea of Elenchera in college. His love of history and English led him to read these subjects at Huddersfield University. David is inspired by medieval history, Norse mythology and Japanese role-playing video games and anime films. He lives in Huddersfield with his wife Donna and their six rescue cats.


You can find more of David and Elenchera over at these websites:

The Elencheran Chronicles: http://elenchera.com/

The World According to Dave: http://blog.elenchera.com/

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/elenchera
http://www.facebook.com/fezariu

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/elenchera

Fezariu's Epiphany

The White Oak, Clarendon’s oldest brothel, lured and destroyed men by the thousands. Fezariu was different. He had never been drawn by the White Oak’s vices but the brothel had still ruined him when he was just a boy.

Salvation came in the form of the Merelax Mercenaries – Elenchera’s most prestigious hired hands. They gave Fezariu the chance to escape from his past. Immersed in the world of dangerous assignments in the colonies Fezariu longed to forget everything about his childhood but only in facing the past would he ever be free of it.

Excerpt:

Prologue-

A sudden lull in the snowfall allowed the overhanging moon to bask the valley in its nocturnal splendour. Fezariu’s gaze fell upon the crystalline glitter on the surface of the snow and he felt a slight ironic smile come to his numb lips as he absorbed this intricate beauty in the midst of countless fading lives. In his arms, Tessera awoke and now seemed oblivious to the mortal wound she had suffered in the battle the mercenaries had so decisively lost.

"Do you remember when we first trained with General Bayard, Fezariu?" Tessera asked, briefly closing her eyes, causing tears to run down her face, their trace briefly alleviating the bitter and enveloping cold.

"My erstwhile teacher with selective hearing," Fezariu replied with a wry smile. "How could I forget?"

When Tessera failed to respond, Fezariu began to feel her edging closer to delirium. Her questions became frequent though she awaited no response or acknowledgement of any kind from Fezariu.

"Do you remember sitting on the wall overlooking Redemption with Vintaro and smoking Mizuansi?" Tessera asked, between painful coughs. "I can still see the luminous stars through the myriad of colours rising from the bowls of our pipes. The seemingly endless conflict throughout the streets was over and with it the rebellion. The city stood subdued and silent save for the foundations of the tallest buildings that still trembled in the aftermath of the devastation. Do you remember the torches that lit up the harbour at Strathmore? Our journey to Clarendon changed everything. We should never have gone there. It was never the same after that. Do you remember, Fezariu?"

 

You can find the complete schedule of dates for David M. Brown's Blog Tour here:  http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2011/06/virtual-book-tour-fezarius-epiphany-by.html



Storytime Wednesday: The Mirror (part 2) by Dee Brown

Welcome back to Storytime Wednesday, where we fire your imagination with the words from writers who share their stories or book excerpts.

Today's guest writer is again Dee Brown, and she brings us part two of her haunting tale, The Mirror.

The Mirror: Part Two

I stood transfixed in front of the mirror. The gray was starting to lighten. I rubbed my eyes, not sure if what I saw was real or imagined. I looked again, and it was dull gray as it was before. Shaking my head I shrugged it off and walked away. When I had reached the doorway I looked back. It was still the same. "I know I saw something", I said to myself.

 

It was getting late and I had things yet to do. So I ended my sleuthing, and headed out. While driving, I kept thinking about the mirror and tried to remember that moment. I even tried to convince myself I hadn't seen anything. But another part of me said otherwise.

That night l drifted off to sleep, and the mirror and that moment played over and over in my dreams. I awoke the next morning and knew then I had to go back to that house. My next day off from work, I planned to take care of a few things, and return to the house once more. Getting an early start would leave me a good part of the afternoon.

I drove up to the house, got out of my old beater and started for the porch. Entering the same way I had before, through a window that had a loose board. Up those rickety stairs I climbed once more. Now in the doorway, I looked to the far part of the room where the mirror stood. Slowly I walked over to it, and stood once more in front of it. For minutes I stared at this non-reflecting glass. Nothing. I must have imagined it, I sighed. As I turned to walk away, the mirror started to lighten again. I stood back, my heart pounding, and frozen to my spot, it continued, till something vague started to appear. It was coming and going. I stayed rooted to my spot. I hadn't imagined anything. This mirror was doing something!

After who knows how much time, still standing in front of the mirror, a fuzzy picture of a woman, was now showing. She appeared to be dressed in clothes fashionable, from perhaps the late twenties or maybe early thirties. Her hair was in a bun and she looked somewhat matronly. Her expression seemed sad and forlorn. Then her lips moved. Her eyes were pleading. It seemed she was saying something. Then the words she seemed to mouth were, Innocent.....innocent!
With that the image disappeared.

I don't know how long it was before I could get my composure, and drink in all I have witnessed. But one thing was certain, a voice from the past was reaching out. But who? Was it the convicted nanny? "Innocent", she had said. It had to be, I thought. Shortly after, I left the house and did some research. I found some old articles on the trial. In one there was a picture of the nanny being lead to courthouse. The picture was the same woman in the mirror.

I took off from work, as I rarely did, and went back to the house. The mirror then told me the rest of the story that day. An image of the the nanny sitting near a bassinet. A man comes in and quickly leans over as if to kiss her. She puts a quivering finger to her lips, as if to say quiet. A moment later the man reaches in the bassinet and begins to shake the baby hard, then drops infant back in bassinet, and stumbles out of the picture. The Nanny rushes to the bassinet, then the image turns to the nanny pointing to something. I follow her gaze, trying to understand where she is pointing to and why. I walk around the room, trying to figure out her message. Then as I step past a part of the floor a piece pops up. I lift it from its spot, and with my flashlight, I point it down where the piece of floor was. I could see what looked like a small book and retrieved it. I carefully open it up. It's old and faded, but the ink legible. After a short spell of reading I realized that what I had was a diary of some kind and it was written by the nanny, whose name was Maggie Doyle

One faded page read, "He forces himself upon me. I try to resist, but he threatens me with ill repercussions. His breath reeks of alcohol. The wife is unknowing, as she sleeps down the hall. It becomes an almost nightly horror. I cry myself to sleep. I am defenseless against this man, and know his wife would never believe my words."

The images became clearer to me. It was another night she tried to resist. He is drunk. Fearful of him awakening the sleeping child she tries to hush him. In his drunken state this angers him. He then picks up the child and shakes him, where the child dies from the trauma. There was no way this poor immigrant woman could prove she was not guilty. Even had the book been revealed, she could not defend herself against his wealth. All she could do was proclaim innocence and take the truth to her grave.

Enough was read to understand the truth, along with the images of the mirror. But even with the truth in hand I could not vindicate this woman, no more than she could have, had she revealed the book herself, I thought. "So why did this image of the past reach out to me?"

I looked up from the book and at the mirror again. The images had vanished. I had the whole story, or at least enough. I went home taking the book with me. As I sat on my bed with the book in my lap, thinking about what I had learned, I began to wonder maybe I could help vindicate her, or try. It would never change what had happened to Maggie, but it would shed new light and present another possibility to the story.

There was a museum in town that had, among other things, a section on the history of our area. The Museum director there, Mrs Hayes, might know what to do with the book. Of course I could never tell her the whole story of how I come to have the book in my possession. But I was sure I could think of something. I then decided that was what I would do, and gently placed the old book in my end table for the time being.

For the next couple of days, it still haunted my thoughts. And for some reason was still drawn to the old house and the mirror." Why?" I asked myself. I knew I was still curious if the mirror would still do anything else, and thought maybe that was it. So as I did before, I made another trip. This time as, I stood in the doorway, I saw the mirror laying face down, and shards of glass were strewn about; I righted it. The mirror was now devoid of glass.

Maybe the mirror had done what it had intended. To let at least one person know the truth of their innocence so their soul could rest in peace, or maybe hope that the one person reached would let the truth be known to others. I knew now it was time to take that book to Mrs Hayes.


Author Bio:

Dee Brown is a Jersey native, who now resides in the South Western part of Kentucky. This mother of two, has always had the passion for writing stories and poetry, and only up to recently has learned to share that love of writing.

Two for One: Sci-fi and Fantasy Stories in Review

The following are reviews of two short ebooks:

My Review of The Manus System by Guy Betar:

The Manus System by Guy Betar is a brief, intriguing science fiction story that tantalises the reader with its premise. It is a substantial bite of tempting science fiction.

The story postulates the scientific advancement of an integrated human/spaceship control system and narrates the inaugural launch of this ship. The story’s point of view is from pilot as he prepares to test the new system and the author does a nice job of mingling the nervousness of the character with the technical aspects of the plot.

One of the best features of The Manus System is the smooth blend of the science into the plot, without becoming so procedural that your eyes glaze over as you read. You get a great sense of tension and dealing with the unfamiliar from the main character that leads to a wonderfully intriguing ending.

The Manus System does favour explanatory passages over dialogue, but given the nature of the plotline it is a logical structure and not a detriment to the overall story. I enjoyed this story and recommend it.
















My Review of When Dragons Sleep by William Fulks:

The story When Dragons Sleep has a nice fantasy premise, the proverbial quest to slay a dragon. The two main characters, Bishop, a magical cleric and the elf Thormir are drawn into this mission by a stranger and find an adventure with surprising results.

I found When Dragons Sleep had a decent, solid plot and I liked the reliable fantasy setting. The portrayal of characters is well realized and their relationships are soundly formed. The ending is the best part, being both atypical and dark.

I thought this story had real potential, but unfortunately When Dragons Sleep leans too much on passive, lengthy, detailed description and protracted, somewhat prosaic, dialogue passages which create a very slow narrative and dull story flow. The plot is imaginative and well realized, but it simply did not engage my attention as it should. It could have been great, instead of just good.

Love and Brains: A Review of Hungry For You

My Book Review of Hungry For You by A. M. Harte:

Any book that starts with a zombie apocalypse love poem is my kind of tome. Hungry For You by A. M. Harte is a well penned, alluring collection of romance stories laced with a satirical edge of zombie madness.

The book is a gentle smorgasbord of dark horror, small portraits of life gone horribly wrong, but still clinging to some redemption. It is a glimpse of love surviving in the zombie apocalypse, and once or twice, of other tales of undead romance. As one might expect, I enjoyed some stories more than others, but they were all well-written, engaging and great fun to read.

Hungry for You has a subtle touch of dark humour, but also has a sweet undercurrent of affection and warmth. It maintains love can survive total catastrophe, that even zombies have a heart.

Hungry for You is an interesting take on your typical zombie story, and will keep you entertained, as well as occasionally queasy.

Interview with A. M. Harte

We're welcoming author A. M. Harte to the blog today, who (much like me) writes dark, speculative fiction.  Come and enjoy this wonderful interview:

Why don’t you begin by sharing a little about yourself and your books.

I’m a London-based chocolate addict and avid reader, with a penchant for dark speculative fiction tales. On top of being an indie author, I’m a strong webfiction (or online fiction) enthusiast, and am writing several ongoing series available for free online: Above Ground, a post-apocalyptic fantasy; and DarkSight, a contemporary horror serial.

How long have you been writing?

I like to say I’ve been writing far longer than anybody’s been paying attention -- although I imagine that’s true for most writers! Ever since my early teens, I’ve been scribbling out stories, although it is only in the last couple of years that I decided to take the next step and approach writing from a more professional point of view.

Can you to tell us about your latest book?

“Hungry For You” is a zombie love speculative fiction anthology which takes a hard look at love and death, because at the end of the day, what else is there to write about? The collection is a study of extremes, from all-enduring love to twisted relationships, from traditional brain-eating zombies to thinking, sentient creatures.

Perhaps my favourite description of the book is from one of my reviewers, Lauren Smith (from Violin in a Void) who said: “Hungry For You makes zombies less scary, more revolting, but also morbidly fascinating. It’s smart and spunky, bringing together horror, tragedy, romance and dark humour.”

Why did you decide to write in the speculative fiction genre?

I don’t think it was a conscious decision -- speculative fiction has simply always fascinated me, and the books that have moved me the most have nearly always fallen into this genre. Perhaps it is a question of escapism, being able to daydream about what my life would be like in an alternate universe where magic exists, or demons are real, or everyone lives in space. It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a daydreamer!

What do you find different about writing short fiction as opposed to longer novels?

I like to think of short stories as the summer flings and novels the long-term relationships. Writing a short story can be very quick and intense, because your space is limited – you need to convey a lot in very few words, which means it’s a constant challenge to tighten your prose and hone your writing. But overall I would say more of my heart and soul goes into writing a novel; the characters are dearer to me because I’ve invested so much more time in them.

What is the hardest part of writing speculative fiction?

Making everything seem plausible. As much as a reader of speculative fiction is looking for something different, your story always needs to be coherent and consistent. You may have werewolves or cabbage-eating fairies or cars that run on toothpaste, but they’ve all got to make sense in the world you’ve built, and you need to remember what the rules are so that you don’t contradict yourself later. For example, you can’t say that cars only run on fluoride toothpaste and then have someone fill up their car with mouthwash (unless the car then breaks down or explodes).

How did you research your books?

I don’t, mostly! Actually, that’s a lie. I generally end up asking unusual questions on twitter, or otherwise Google odd requests like, “What does snake poo smell like?” (Yes, really.) I don’t know how writers in ye olde days managed, but I rely heavily on the wealth of expertise available online. And if worst comes to worst, I’ll invent an answer.

What advice would you give beginning writers?

Read critically. Write furiously. Experiment with ideas and styles; don’t pigeon-hole yourself into one plot, one novel, one genre. And accept all feedback and criticism graciously, no matter how much you may disagree.

Who has inspired you as an author?

One of my favourite novels of all time is “The Golden Compass” by Philip Pullman; I would love to write a novel like that. Other favourites include “The Handmaid’s Tale” (Margaret Atwood), “The Postmistress” (Sarah Blake), “The Bell Jar” (Sylvia Plath), and Dune (Frank Herbert) – very much an eclectic mix, I know!

As for fellow indie authors, I’m very much inspired by fellow 1889 Labs author MCM’s professionalism and dedication. Horror author Zoe E. Whitten deserves recognition for being enviably prolific; I wish I could write as quickly as her! And from the online fiction community, MeiLin Miranda (historical fantasy) and MCA Hogarth (science fiction) are absolute stars, lovely ladies, and great writers.

What’s next for you?

I’m currently editing my first novel, “Above Ground”, which will be released as an ebook and in print in September 2011. It’s a post-apocalyptic dark fantasy where humans live underground and monsters live on the surface. “Above Ground” follows the adventures of Lilith Gray, a human girl who is trapped on the surface, and struggles to survive as she fights to return back home.

After that, who knows? I still have many stories to tell.



A.M. Harte is a speculative fiction enthusiast and a chocolate addict. She’s a writer, editor, practical joker, and the author behind the online dark fantasy publishing project Qazyfiction. She is excellent at missing deadlines, has long forgotten what ‘free time’ means, and enjoys procrastinating over at http://amharte.com.

On Twitter: @am_harte

And for more on her book, Hungry For You, check out this spotlight: http://afstewartpromotion.blogspot.com/2011/03/book-spotlight-hungry-for-you.html

Sharp, Clever Science Fiction: A Review of Ebocloud

My Book Review of Ebocloud by Rick Moss:

I’m not certain whether Ebocloud is science fiction, social commentary, a literary novel or a wonderful amalgamation of all. Some of my favourite things are in the book: art, jazz, subversive, satirical and philosophical thought on science, science fiction and family. Throw in a little society altering technology, a mysterious arsonist and you have a superbly fascinating novel.

The book begins with Ellison Luber, a successful artist and his girlfriend, Charlotte. His life changes radically after an unexplained fire destroys his home and Charlotte goes missing. In his search for answers he finds Charlotte’s secretive family, the enigmatic Radu, (the genius behind the social network revolution, ebocloud), and more questions. Slowly the threads of the mystery unravel and threaten to topple everything.

The author of Ebocloud, Rick Moss, has built multiple layers and delights with each turn of the page, and immerses the reader in world both cerebral and gripping. The characters and the underlying narrative of collective techno-culture are the best parts of this novel, but the style, told with an innovative and juxtaposed form, lends the book an intelligent tone. This author uses several plot devices, including imparting the story of a fictional sci-fi novel, to deftly propel the tale to its conclusion.

There was some minor discontent, as I sometimes found the “novel within the novel” slightly less interesting than the main plotline -although it made an intriguing contrast and parallel- and I’m not certain I agreed with the well-written ending. But on the whole I loved the book and highly recommend it.

For more on the book and author check out my spotlight: http://afstewartpromotion.blogspot.com/2011/01/book-spotlight-ebocloud.html

A Trip Worth Taking: A Review of Gone to Gonega

My book review of Gone to Gonega by Brenda Lee Renwick:

Gone to Gonega by Brenda Lee Renwick is a sci-fi novel with a quirky sense of humour, a buoyant pace and a well-spun narrative. A customary alien abduction/experiment plotline is re-done with a nice fresh take and some interesting religious undertones.

The novel is Lorna’s story, an average woman with a failed marriage and bipolar disorder, who finds out she is part of an alien hybrid experiment and the aliens are back to collect her. She is not entirely thrilled with that plan, but eventually goes with them and finds out that life with aliens might not be so bad after all.

"She gasped and put a perfectly manicured hand to her glossy mouth. Without another word she turned and flounced away, her high-heeled sandals clacking her outrage across the brick walkway. I saw her fling her parcels in a creamy tan Lexus and tear out of the parking lot, no doubt on her way to pour out her adjusted version of the story to her new lover, my Greg."

This is a sci-fi book about themes and characters, with emphasis on emotion, opinion and personality as opposed to high action, although there is some dramatic tension near the end of the book. It is the likeability and real nature of the main character that makes the story work and charmingly draws in the reader. The novel has wit, an interesting plot direction and accomplished character interaction that includes a little romance and sexual heat. The subplots and background are intriguing and I found the matter-of-fact spiritual plot support (a sort of “God exists, deal with it” attitude) especially fascinating.

"I stared out the space portal at the absolute blackness of the first wormhole and shuddered. I understood that it made the trip possible within a single lifetime, but its resemblance to a black hole was chilling—especially after Professor Tamalrankai’s lecture on the subject of hell. Janalla had assured me that we would be coming out of the first wormhole soon, but that the next one was longer and would bring us nearly home. She explained to me that if we didn’t use the wormholes, even the Lazarrolians wouldn’t be able to get us there before the fourth generation from now. The nice thing about it is that we were just past the halfway point of the trip. We now had less ahead than behind."

There were one or two things I found less than stellar, such as the ease at which Lorna went with the aliens, after their full disclosure. The situation wasn’t implausible, but it seemed a bit rushed to me. And while the ending was sufficient and wrapped up the plot lines, I was hoping for more planetary scenes; I guess I have to wish for a sequel. There were also a few minor grammar errors or typos in the copy I read, but nothing too glaring.

Gone to Gonega is an enjoyable book and well worth the time to read.

On Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7902470-gone-to-gonega

A Light Speculative Trip: A Review of Warped and Wired

My Review of Warped and Wired by Joshua Caleb:

Warped and Wired by Joshua Caleb is an enjoyable adventure novel, part sci-fi, part fantasy. You are not going to find any deep meaningful angst or heavy introspective character development, but you will find an amusing, delightful book full of sly humour, action and an intriguing premise.

"She shoved the glittering tangle into her pocket then thrust her fingers into the brick wall. The chill of cold space slid down her spine. Taking a breath of concentration and fortification, she grasped the edges of space and tore an opening in the wall. Her small, faintly lit apartment opened up before her. She stepped through the portal and into her cool living room. The portal whooshed shut behind her just as the footfalls turned into looming shadows. Angry shadows."

The book follows the escapades of two girls: Portia, a magical Sky Wryter, and Mlina, who has a serious computer problem. They are on the hunt for Mlina’s father so he can shed light on the secret of both girls’ past. Complicating matters are Portia’s odd relatives and a malevolent Dark Wryter who wants both Mlina and her father for his own malicious purposes.

"Looking past the creature, Portia noticed a dark figure walking down the tunnel toward them. She’d stake her staff it was Dragwen. A shaft of light struck the figure, revealing her suspicions. How had he followed them? Uncle Vi’son was about as secluded as a person could be. Dragwen stepped fully into the light, the blue glow glinting off his fangs."

The book is breezy and an easy read, giving the reader a fast-pasted plot and engaging characters, nicely realized. The tone blends the conflict and peril with just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek wit and homage. I did think it faltered a bit in the emotional resolution; I found it somewhat rushed and shallow, with all the family threads tied up a bit hastily. Also, there were a few grammar gaffes here and there. Still, overall it is an entertaining book.

This book is available on Smashwords

Also, on Amazon in print and ebook form:

Fantastic Authors, Fantastic Stories: A Review of Ménage à 20: Tales with a hook

My Review of Ménage à 20: Tales with a hook:

Ménage à 20: Tales with a hook is a collection of thirty short stories by twenty authors, who also happen to be members of the Goodreads website.  This collaborative effort has produced an eclectic, but highly enchanting compilation.

The stories vary in subject from the softly romantic, to dark fantasy, science fiction and disturbing horror, all tales ending with a twist. Their narrative tones range from creepy to sweet, everyone satisfying to read.  Captivating characters abound, to charm, enthrall, destroy and weep with you as each page turns and the scintillating prose unfolds.

I delighted in all the stories, enjoying each fresh treat presented, but The Knight and the Demon by Henry Lara, The Fine Print by Renee Miller, String of Pearls by Kate Quinn, and Letting Go by Wendy Swore were the standouts for me.  I’m sure other readers will find their own favourites.  There is certainly enough stellar fiction in this book to please and Ménage à 20 is definitely worth recommending.

As a last note, I have something to say in regards to the darkly amusing story Justice; it was cruel and unusual punishment, even for that author!  I still loved reading it, though.

You can find more information on  Ménage à 20: Tales with a hook at this website:
http://www.menage-a-20.com/

or at Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7261620-m-nage-20-tales-with-a-hook