Fairies - Fractured and Uncut - Excerpt

Not only is it a release day - it's a double release day!

In preparation for the Fractured Fairies collection, I revised and expanded Immortal Woes. And it's now available as a single ebook for FREE! You can snag your free copy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play, and Smashwords. Or for a full retailer list, take a look at Books2Read.

And then of course, I have the collection of all my current Fractured Fairies stories in Fairies - Fractured and Uncut: 7 Humorous Fantasy Tales. All of the stories have been tweaked a bit since they were originally released. The collection includes: Immortal Woes, Ode to Buses and Libraries, S.O.L. Air, Monster in the Room, A Very Grinka Christmas, Bytes Bite, And So Do Fairies, and Nymphs Need Love Too.

You can buy the ebook for Fairies - Fractured and Uncut from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play, and Smashwords. And the full retailer list is at Books2Read. Current price is $3.99 USD.

A paperback version will be available next week from Amazon for $10.95 USD. I had a lot of fun splattering the cover art for the print version! ;)

If you read either title, please leave an honest review on your retailer of choice or at Goodreads (links: Immortal Woes and Fairies - Fractured and Uncut). Reviews help more than you can imagine!

I do have an excerpt for you, as always. This is from that new expanded version of Immortal Woes. Happy reading!

❦

Syndago staggers around the living room, a huge hole where his face used to be. It’s not supposed to do so much damage, at least not according to all the crime shows I’ve watched. But that whole not human thing tends to come into play. Weapons wreak more havoc on immortals.

The shiny, silver handgun lies discarded on the floor. I’m not sure where he got it, and I wonder how hard it’ll be to get rid of. Maybe I’ll toss it into the Immortal World. Let the dwarves, elves, and goblins play with it.

He stumbles into an end table, and the lamp teeters. It succumbs to gravity and shatters on the ground – the true victim of this incident.

I sigh. Typically I only need to replace broken furniture after the fairies visit.

Syndago’s knees buckle, and he thuds onto his ass. His burly, thundering form shakes the entire apartment, and the windows rattle. If he still had a mouth, he’d surely be blubbering.

Poor, big lug. I miss his face, even if it has a frown affixed to it most of the time.

The crater shrinks slightly, flesh and bone regenerating. Who knows how immortals survive fatal injuries. At least half his brain is gone, if he had a whole one to begin with. Humans would kill for our secret, and Syndago would happily give himself over for experimentation if it meant finding him a cure.

Not that I’m about to give him that idea. The last thing I want is for him to succeed at his suicide attempts. And it’s best humans remain oblivious of our existence.

Maybe the wound will cause him memory loss, and he’ll forget he wants to kill himself.

Wait, no. He tried a guillotine once – it sheared his head right off. It thumped into the basket whole, thankfully no longer animated. A human-sized giant with one mouth is enough to deal with. Can you imagine a second tucked under his arm bemoaning life? I shudder at the thought.

Well, when he chopped his head off, I actually dreaded that he’d succeeded for a moment. Then the regeneration kicked in, and he grew a new head, spiky black hair and all. He remembered everything then, so he will now.

The bullet worms its way out of Syndago’s flesh and tings on the hardwood, then his face completes knitting itself back together. He struggles to his feet and slumps onto the couch, tears dripping from his reconstructed brown eyes. "Nothing works, Grinka. What am I going to do?"

❦

Take one grouchy sea nymph, add a woeful human-sized giant, and mix in two lewd, drunken fairies.

What do you get?

An unsavory blend of immortals attempting to live together in the real world.

7 Humorous Fantasy Tales in the Fractured Fairies series, including:

Immortal Woes

Nothing like having a suicidal not-so-giant giant as a best friend. Unless you also have a couple of drunken fairy pests tormenting him about his small stature.

Grinka's the lucky sea nymph who has both. Between comforting her friend and stopping the lewd fairies from taunting him with a death powder, her temper gets the best of her.

And when it does, things explode.

Ode To Buses And Libraries

A maddening itch on the back of Grinka’s neck drives her to seek answers. Unfortunately, the information about her skin condition can only be found at the Immortal Library.

Getting to the library proves difficult, especially when riding the Immortal Express bus line. Between a lackadaisical centaur and the drunken fairy siblings, it's a wonder Grinka hasn't exploded them all.

Oh wait, she has.

S.O.L. Air

That whole “life’s a journey, not a destination” nonsense doesn’t hold water with Grinka. Especially when she books a flight to Vegas to get away from the two fairy nitwits.

She fails to consider the aquatic ramifications of a sea nymph in the air. And a chance encounter with her goblin ex-boyfriend, Hrelm, threatens to delay her even further.

Seriously, what’s it going to take for Grinka to get to Vegas and gamble away her meager savings?

Monster In The Room

What does a sea nymph do when she comes home to find a monster filling her entire living room? Find out in this bite-sized gulp of Grinka.

A Very Grinka Christmas

Grinka's main goal for Christmas: survive without celebrating a damned thing. Between playing an elf to her mopey human-sized giant friend’s Santa and contending with the fairy siblings’ holiday revelries, she’s got her work cut out for her.

When uninvited guests appear on her doorstep, she’s forced to face a party of all the people she ran from when she left the Immortal World. No thanks to that torture!

Grinka plots to avoid the party, until she meets a handsome tree nymph who agrees to attend. Maybe, just maybe, this year Grinka will have a Merry Christmas.

Bytes Bite, And So Do Fairies

As usual, Grinka the sea nymph can’t catch a break. She simply wants to publish her novel. Unfortunately, the two fairy thorns in her side mess with her computer. Too bad they’re immortal and can’t meet the same demise as the innumerable fairies in her book.

If that isn’t enough of a plague, Grinka’s sister Raina pops in from the Immortal World, bringing the first immortal virus with her. And now, Grinka is quarantined in her room with the two fairy nitwits.

Will she survive to hit publish, or will the rainbows and fairies win?

Nymphs Need Love Too

What do you prescribe a depressed sea nymph? A handsome tree nymph, of course.

Grinka can’t stop dreaming of Bello, the hunky tree nymph she met a couple years ago. Unfortunately, sharing her bed with her drama llama teen nymph sister has put a damper on her love life.

Who’s she kidding? Her love life was nonexistent even before she took in her runaway sister. Well, aside from the incident with her goblin ex-boyfriend and his dwarven girlfriend – an event that continues to haunt her in the form of the stalker dwarf.

But Grinka’s not-so-giant giant best friend brings her the gift of Bello’s phone number. Can she summon the courage to call him for a date? And if so, what will her sister and the fairy brats do to ruin it for her this time?

Read? Read. Read!

OK, yes, silly post title. Forgive me, but I've acquired my youngest's cold and I am miserable. Anything to make me laugh right now and encourage me to write this post. It'll be a short one at least. ;)

If you're looking to fill up your e-reader in preparation for spring and summer reading, now is the time to do it! Two of my Fortunes of Fate stories are part of promotions running this week, and you'll find a lot of good fantasy and science fiction to add to your To Be Read pile.

Both of these promotions go through March 19, 2017. So don't wait too long if you're curious what's available!

First, a word everyone likes. FREE! You can find over 100 SF/F books in the Mega Promo for March. Take a look and see if any covers grab you, then click for more information and download it from Instafreebie! Dreams in Shadow (Fortunes of Fate, 1) is part of this giveaway. You'd be silly to not at least take a look at all the titles available.

Second, there's a SF/F 99 cent Sale going on as well! Heck, there are even some boxed sets in this sale, so a lot of bang for your buck. You can find Love Fades (Fortunes of Fate, 2) among these titles.

So, yes... Read? Read. Read!

Edge of Sorrow Excerpt

It's time for the next Fortunes of Fate story! Edge of Sorrow is the 6th title in the series, and the release date is March 14. Not just at Amazon, either. I'm immediately releasing this one to all the major online retailers. And when I say all, I also mean Google Play! As a matter of fact, in the next couple of days all of the Fortunes of Fate stories will be available on Google Play (in the next week for my other titles).

For now, you can preorder Edge of Sorrow on Amazon, Kobo, and iBooks. The 14th isn't that far away, right? The Google Play preorder should be up soon, and I'll add the link to the post when it is. No preorder at Barnes & Noble, but Edge of Sorrow will be available there some time on the 14th.

I actually have some other exciting news. The first story in the Fortunes of Fate series, Dreams in Shadow is FREE at all retailers right now (and on Instafreebie - it will be part of a group promo, but more on that next week). So, if you haven't grabbed a copy yet, your budget won't stop you from snagging your free copy at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, Google Play, and Smashwords. Grab it while you can. Not sure how long I'll keep it free.

Free stuff is good, but I'm hoping you're looking forward to the Edge of Sorrow excerpt. I have to say, this short story is my favorite of all the ones I've written so far to date. Happy reading!

❦

Jasp draped his arms over the gargoyle and rested his chin on his interlaced fingers. The stone bench was as chilly on his backside as the gargoyle was on his wrinkled hands, but he’d suffer through any temperature for his daily vigil, which had lasted going on two decades.

A plum tree rattled in the breeze as if it spoke to him. No other tree or bush in the garden stirred.

If only Yetta could still speak. Her voice had been that of a songbird. Sweet as honey. And all those other wretched clichés.

No one’s fault but his own, though. He’d been lucky he’d had enough magic to turn her spirit into a plum tree before she’d completely faded from Fate.

Although Jasp didn’t think she was too happy with her current status. Twenty years was a long time. “Sorry, Yetta. Can’t let you go.”

Can't let go? The external thought burrowed into his brain, clear as the sky if he hadn’t intentionally kept it cloudy and gray.

Jasp slapped the gargoyle on the head, and it woke up. It flapped away and offered a vexed look over its shoulder.

“Yetta?” Stupid question. The voice wasn’t hers -- he’d know it anywhere. A soprano. This one was an alto, saturated with accusation.

A calico cat with shimmering red eyes slunk out from behind the plum tree. No Yetta here. Name's Amber.

“Cat.” Jasp stood and stalked toward the creature, but it held its ground. He waggled a finger. “You’re the one who ruined my fun then with that Darney boy?”

Oh, no. I love some tormenting fun, Mage Jasp. Maybe more than you. That was probably my meddling sister Joslyn. And feel free to kick that Darney fellow for me next time you see him, if you’d like.

“Humph. Makes no difference to me. Punishing one cat is as good as the other.”

The cat sauntered closer and rubbed up against his old, ratty purple robe. Little minx. You don't want to punish me. A purr vibrated through his mind.

“No?” He squatted down and stared into her mischievous red eyes. “Why’s that?”

You need me to show you.

He wanted to kick her and her bothersome riddling. She’d destroyed his peace, gazing upon his dear Yetta in tree form. The only time his aging body quieted. “What do you want from me, you mangy critter?”

Mangy? Amber yowled. I'll forgive the insult, for now. I need you to... meddle.

"But you just..." Vexing, contradictory creature.

Meddling has its advantages. Just don't tell Joslyn I said so.

❦

The woman’s skin blends into the gray of the bark, her body melded with the tree. And she weeps.

The mage Jasp spent the last two decades shuttered away in his crumbling mansion, mourning the loss of his wife, Yetta – his guilt and a couple of stone-brained gargoyles his only companions. He intends to continue his self-inflicted solitude, until the calico cat Amber appears. A malicious mage is imprisoning women and draining their life force. Amber insists the great and powerful Jasp must save them.

Jasp’s memory of Yetta spurs him to act. Making no promises, he follows Amber to the weeping women in the woods. But it’s not as simple as freeing them. It never is.

Science Fiction & Fantasy Giveaway - Nov 14-20, 2016

Who wants to grab some awesome fantasy and science fiction ebooks while they're available FREE for a limited time?

Better yet, if you've been interested in seeing what my Fractured Fairies series is like, you can get the first title, Fractured Fairies: Immortal Woes & Ode to Buses and Libraries, as well!

All you need to do is pop on over to the Science Fiction & Fantasy FREE BOOKS Promotion page, then you'll see covers for all the books available. Click on any titles that interest you and the links will take you to Instafreebie, where you can download each title for free! Keep in mind, some authors may require you to sign up for their newsletters. But if you like their work, that's a great way of finding out more about what they've written!

And if you're having trouble finding the Fractured Fairies title, here's a direct link to the Instafreebie Giveaway for it.

Grab these book while you can!

Halloween 2016 & Monster Maelstrom

It's that time of year! Yes, the time of year where I get way too into Halloween. It's my favorite holiday, after all.

Before I get into some pics of this year's costume and decorations, though, I'd also like to announce the release of a Fractured Fairies story. Last week, "Monster in the Room" released in the anthology Monster Maelstrom. It's a Halloween themed flash fiction anthology, of course! This Grinka-centric story can be found among a lot of other great stories. If you're in the mood for some Halloween reading, please pick up a copy. Oh, did I forget to mention the anthology is FREE?

You can snag a free copy of Monster Maelstrom from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books, iBooks, Google Play, and Smashwords. Please visit the Monster Maelstrom page if you'd like further information before you grab it.

Now, onto more good stuff! My yearly Halloween party was this past Saturday. No posts on the blog last week meant I was intensely cleaning the house that never gets cleaned except once a year for the party - lol. (I already have #11 for 1001 Reasons Not to Clean.)

This year I had a hard time getting excited about a costume. I just couldn't think of anything I wanted to be. Thankfully, the brainstorm finally unleashed itself when I was browsing Hot Topic online one day. I saw a unicorn horn and tail set. I figured I could always be simple. I mean, I love unicorns - that's no secret. Then I saw it... A blood splattered dress! Why be a plain old unicorn when you can be a Rabid Unicorn?

If any of you have visited my blog throughout the years, you know that I started a rabid unicorn story a couple years ago. It was a fun, humorous romp that I had to put on the back burner (like so many other shinies because there's only so much time in the day to write when you have an infant/toddler demanding your undivided attention). Of course, now I really want to continue it, but I have Thorns Entwine the Blade to focus on right now. If you want to read an excerpt of the rough draft I was working on, you can visit this old post from May 2014.

What? You want to see the costume? I rarely post pictures of myself, as you know. So, please be kind. Here it is! Note: I wear the heads of my fallen foes on my feet.

And I'll also leave you with a some pictures of the decorations from this year. Happy Halloween, everyone!