Short Fantasy Tale of Forbidden Love

This fantasy tale was originally published in Sorcerous Signals. I was particularly pleased to get an original illustration from the fantastic Marge Simon. Check out her art and writing on her web page.

The story is included in my collection Mixed Bag 2: Supersized. You can get the ebook or print on Amazon or non-Kindle ebook formats at Smashwords.

Storytime: Invasion!

Another story from my sort of bottomless pit of various short stories in a variety of genres. Remember, boys and girls, you can have a copy of all my stories in a single volume: Mixed Bag 2: Supersized on Amazon or Smashwords and other on-line estores. It's also available in paperback at Amazon.

On to this chilling tale of an invasion of monstrous creatures lurking everywhere, but only seen when the conditions are right and the battleground is in their favor.

Weirdly - Vol 2: First Review Out

Weirdly is an anthology of speculative fiction by a motley crew of writers. It tends to the spooky, weird (hence the title), and somewhat icky.

Read the complete text at Cocktail Reviews.

Summary

What a great selection of weird and wonderful tales. Weirdly Volume 2: Eldritch is perfect for readers who like a bit of strange. The authors have explored many aspects of our world that could be possible—just that society tells us that it isn’t so. Who really knows if vampires don’t exist? Who can really prove that ghosts and parallel lives aren’t there right under our noses?

I prefer to keep an open mind, and on more than one occasion while reading I believed that there is more to this world where we live…we just don’t see it—or have lost the ability to perceive such things for ourselves.

Bravo!

Now on SALE! Weirdly, Volume II

Ebook NOW on sale at Wild Child Publishing. $5.95

From paranormal to weird, from chilling to odd to scary, Weirdly Volume 2: Eldritch will sate your lust for strangeness in bite-sized pieces. Each tale weaves its own spell. Vampires, beasts, ghosts, evil creatures and, of course, every day people inhabit Weirdly’s pages.

Soldiers must reach their destination before the undead get to them first... What does the picture on the wall mean to Jen? Fate holds something in store for Lewis—but is it what he wants? Lillie embarks on another quest... Is the young man who sees and hears fluffy beings insane? An old letter urges a young woman to the train station—but is the train that puffs into view real? All these tales and more. Dare you read them?

Weirdly Gets Its First Review

The first review of the horror anthology Weirdly is on Cocktail Reviews.

Buy the ebook at Wild Child Publishing.

Being an egotistical writer, here's a quote from the review on one of my stories:

The Country Faire

Oh! Much delight with this one. Gritty, to the point, the voice in this story is punchy and spot on for the subject matter. MC has an unfortunate incident happen at the country faire. One that she insists on correcting year after year…

Payback is a bitch.

This tale got my evil side going. Yeah, now where’s my knife…?

Review written by White Russian of Cocktail Reviews.

Review by Ed Cox - A Time To...

A TIME TO… Volume 1 Edited by Carol Hightshoe
Reviewed by Edward Cox
Click here for the rest of the Review

The Lorelei Signal is a fantasy webzine dedicated to strong female characters. With three issues now under her belt, editor Carol Hightshoe has commemorated the first year of publication with the release of A Time To… Volume 1. This anthology brings together the best short stories and poems of The Lorelei Signal 2006, and it stands as testament to what a success that inaugural year was.

The best of issue 1 kicks off with Lee Martindale’s Act of War. This piece of flash fiction uses stark descriptions to build a tense and creepy atmosphere, as a group of villagers take refuge inside a warehouse. Outside, soldiers are preparing for battle against something that approaches. The story is tidy and complete, and there’s a great twist at the end, but its briefness has the feel of a prologue, and that makes it perfect for the first story of the anthology.

Blood and Ashes by Michele Acker plumps us straight onto a blood-soaked battlefield during the height of a war. Our protagonist, Sorea, is a woman posing as a man in the army, and facing the complications that brings. And as the day on the battlefield grows long, she soon realises that it sometimes takes a woman to know a woman, and it’s a lesson learned too late. The sense that everything may not be as it seems is carried through this tale from start to finish. Acker packs a lot of character information into a relatively short piece, but it doesn’t detract from an otherwise enjoyable story.

Next up comes Kayelle Allen’s The Last Vhalgenn, which is also the longest story in the anthology. Raik is the king’s concubine, recalled to the kingdom from her duties with the army. The king’s wife is pregnant, and the unification of two lands depends on the birth. Here, with a clash of cultures, Raik is assigned a covert mission, where she walks a precarious line between the greater good and an act of treachery. Although Allen’s prose is easy to read, and the story is both engrossing and poignant, I felt that as a whole The Last Vhalgenn could’ve been developed a little further. The story is 10,000 words long, and with a few thousand more it could go from being a decent yarn to a great tale.

Click here to read the rest of the review