Category: Books

Goodreads giveaway: Selfies from the End of the World: Historical Accounts of the Apocalypse

It’s Goodreads Giveaway time again! Head on over to the giveaway for a chance to win one of five copies of Selfies from the End of the World. The print layout is seriously gorgeous.
SelfiesAntho

No one understands an apocalypse like the people who have experienced it. Mad Scientist Journal has brought together twenty-three tales of people who have seen the world end. These accounts range from irreverent to surreal to heartbreaking. Zombies share space with global wars, super-viruses, canned peaches, and the death of the sun.

Want to know more about the anthology? Garrett Croker has completed a comprehensive review of all the stories–in four parts! Included in part three is the review of my story:

In a Manner of Speaking by Charity Tahmaseb is another real favorite of mine. As far as Soshi Patel knows, she is the last person on Earth, surviving by candlelight in a shelter she can never leave. Then, one day, she begins to receive a transmission on a makeshift radio. Jatar, the voice on the other end, knows things he should not be able to know. The connection the two grow to have builds slowly and is truly lovely in its execution, and the ultimate explanation for how Jatar knows the things he does is guaranteed to break your heart. This is a story I could go back to again and again, and again and again.

Coffee & Ghosts: series bundle now available!

 

It’s here! The series bundle.

Get all your coffee and ghosts in one volume.

Just in time for Halloween!

Coffee & Ghosts

Coffee & Ghosts is a cozy paranormal mystery/romance serial told over five episodes.

Katy and her grandmother have always used coffee to catch ghosts. It pays the bills and keeps them in high-end beans. But after her grandmother dies and a rival ghost hunter moves to town, Katy fears things will never be the same.

She’s right.

From a beguiling and charismatic ghost whisperer to her new partner’s ghost swallowing brother and even a (short) stint behind bars, Katy navigates her new reality, uncertain her skills are equal to the tasks at hand. But are these things mere distractions—or do they hide something darker, far more sinister, something that has a long-held vendetta against Katy?

To survive, Katy must uncover an ancient secret. She must brew her very best Kona blend. She will need to rely on unexpected and unpredictable allies.

To survive, she will need to trust what’s in her heart.

Read the episodes for free with Kindle Unlimited! Or grab the series bundle and save 30%!

Episode 1: Ghost in the Coffee Machine
Episode 2: Giving Up the Ghosts
Episode 3: The Ghost Whisperer
Episode 4: Gone Ghost
Episode 5: Must Love Ghosts

Also available in print.

Now Available! Selfies from the End of the World: Historical Accounts of the Apocalypse

It’s here! The end of the world! Or at least twenty three stories about the end of the world, including one by me, In a Manner of Speaking.

What is it about? Well, there is a clue in the anthology description below (mine’s the story with the canned peaches).
SelfiesAntho

“It would be our duty, as citizens on this earth to document its end the best way we know and if that means a second by second update of the world going up in flames, or down in rain, or crushed under the feet of invading monsters so be it.”— Shivangi Narain

No one understands an apocalypse like the people who have experienced it. Mad Scientist Journal has brought together twenty-three tales of people who have seen the world end. These accounts range from irreverent to surreal to heartbreaking. Zombies share space with global wars, super-viruses, canned peaches, and the death of the sun.

Included in this collection are Rhoads Brazos, Samantha Bryant, Garrett Croker, Nathan Crowder, Matthew R. Davis, Kate Elizabeth, Mathew Allan Garcia, Sylvia Heike, B. T. Joy, Herb N. Legend, Samuel Marzioli, Mary Mascari, Nick Nafpliotis, Shivangi Narain, Brandon Nolta, Alexis J. Reed, Natalie Satakovski, J. C. Stearns, Charity Tahmaseb, Nicole Tanquary, Kristopher Triana, Dusty Wallace, MJ Wesolowski, and Caroline M. Yoachim. Includes art by Errow Collins, Amanda Jones, Shannon Legler, and Luke Spooner.

Available in print and e-book: Kindle, Nook, Print, Kobo, iTunes

 

New release: Must Love Ghosts!

And … it’s here! The fifth and final episode in the Coffee & Ghosts series.

Must Love Ghosts

Katy Lindstrom knows not all problems–supernatural or otherwise–can be solved with a good cup of coffee. But it never hurts.

When the Ghost B Gone web show arrives in town, prepared to live-stream a ghost eviction on Halloween, Katy and Malcolm are on hand–just in case.

But the quirky, seemingly harmless show and its crew are a cover for something darker, something with a vendetta against Katy, something that demands a sacrifice.

This time, Katy must uncover an ancient secret. This time, coffee alone won’t work. She will need to rely on unexpected and unpredictable allies.

This time, she will need to trust what’s in her heart.

Just 99 cents or read for free with Kindle Unlimited!

 

New release: Gone Ghost!

And … it’s here! The fourth episode in the Coffee & Ghosts series is live.

Gone Ghost

 

Katy Lindstrom is pretty handy at capturing ghosts with nothing more than coffee and some Tupperware. She’s an expert at catch and release as well. She’s never once returned a ghost to a client.

Until now.

After rival ghost hunters roll through town, exorcising haunted objects, and roll out again with some of those very objects, suspicion falls on Katy. Clients stop calling. The police chief thinks she’s guilty. And a dear friend’s Purple Heart—and its ghost—goes missing.

Katy and Malcolm devise a plan to retrieve the Purple Heart—and clear Katy’s name. A plan that defies the police chief’s orders, and one that includes a whirlwind tour of Malcolm’s alma mater and haunted frat house.

But the big city offers more than bright lights and adventure. Something has lured Katy here, something dark and sinister with an agenda of its own.

This time, Katy has stepped into a trap. This time, everything she thought she knew—about ghosts, Malcolm, and herself—will change forever.

Just 99 cents or read for free with Kindle Unlimited!

 

New release: The Ghost Whisperer!

And … it’s here! The third episode in the Coffee & Ghosts series is live.

Ghost Whisperer

When it comes to the supernatural, Katy Lindstrom–ghost hunter and expert coffee brewer–always knows what to do. Give her five minutes and some excellent Kona blend, and she’ll trap your ghost.

Katy is completely unequipped when a mysterious and beguiling ghost whisperer floats into town. The so-called Mistress Armand charms away Katy’s clients and accuses her of ghost cruelty. At the town-wide séance, nearly everyone falls under the ghost whisperer’s spell–including Katy’s business partner, Malcolm.

But Mistress Armand isn’t the benevolent, new-age medium she pretends to be. She craves something dark and shameful from the citizens of Springside Township. This time, Katy is going in blind. This time, coffee won’t work. And this time, she may need to give up something shameful of her own.

Just 99 cents or read for free with Kindle Unlimited!

 

New release and a free read!

And … it’s here! The second episode in the Coffee & Ghosts series is live. Even better, the first episode is free.

Ghost in the Coffee Machine

Ghost in the Coffee Machine_series cover

Katy and her grandmother have always used coffee to catch ghosts. It pays the bills and keeps them in high-end beans. But after Katy’s grandmother dies, it’s as if she’s taken all the ghosts with her.

Until Katy discovers there’s a rival ghost hunter in town, one who uses tea–of all things–and one who has stolen all her clients. But when an epic infestation threatens, Katy can’t help but get involved. It will take all her wits–and some excellent Kona blend–to fight the ghost in the coffee machine.

Read for free!

Giving up the Ghosts

Giving up the Ghosts

Katy Lindstrom has used coffee to catch ghosts since she was five years old–a handy skill in a town with an overabundance of spirits. Now Katy wants to make her newly-minted ghost-hunting business thrive. Never mind that her partner, Malcolm Armand, is her former rival, not to mention a bit … distracting.

When a routine ghost eradication ends in disaster, clues point to someone close to Malcolm. But something sinister lurks in Springside Township, something Katy’s never encountered in all her years of ghost hunting, and something that has her doubting all her skills.

It will take more than high-end beans and the perfect cup of coffee this time around. It will take trust and teamwork and possibly a sacrifice Katy’s not ready to make.

Read for free with Kindle Unlimited–or 99 cents!

Weekly writing check-in: the one with the Memorial Day Challenge

alphacatI started this blog post with the cat on my lap. Then she moved to my desk. I made the mistake of standing up and she stole my chair. Now she’s sleeping in the dog bed.

Clearly, there’s no winning this game if you happen to human and/or a dog.

It’s kind of like the submission game this week. Three rejections! Boom, boom … BOOM. That’s the way it works sometimes. But I sent two right back out again, so there’s that. I also kept up in class, started a new one (because I’m crazy), and ended up with 4,000 words on a new Coffee & Ghosts story.

So, I’m pleased.

Writing Work:

  • Narrative Design class
  • Calvino Class
  • Writing ~ 4,000 words

Submissions:

  • Gretel and Hansel
  • Knight in the Royal Arms

Rejections:

  • March Madness
  • Gretel and Hansel
  • Knight in the Royal Arms

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

Memorial Day 2015 Charity Challenge: Gone, but Not Forgotten!

Memorial Day 2015 Charity Challenge: Gone, but Not Forgotten!

During Memorial Day week, from the 22nd to 29th of May, more than 70 veteran authors will pledge 100% of their book royalties to their favorite charities.

Once again, I will be participating in the Vets Give Back charity challenge, this time for Memorial Day. My organization of choice is Helping Paws, a local organization that has a pilot program to provide veterans with service dogs. I am pledging $100 as a baseline PLUS all royalties I earn for the week.

While I will donate all royalties, my pledge book is The Fine Art of Holding Your Breath because of its military theme.

Fine Art_blue

MacKenna’s mother died when she was a baby, a casualty of the first Gulf War. Now seventeen, MacKenna has spent her life navigating the minefield of her dad’s moods, certain of one thing: she is destined to follow in her mother’s combat boots. But when she pursues an ROTC scholarship, she finds herself at war before even enlisting.

Her father forbids her from joining the military, inexplicable considering he’d raised her to be a “warrior princess.” MacKenna turns to her grandmother—who arms her with an ammo crate containing her mother’s personal effects from the war. Hidden in the crate’s false bottom is a journal, one her mom stashed there hours before her death.

While MacKenna untangles the secrets of her parents’ tragic love story, her own life unravels. Dad’s behavior becomes erratic, her best friend grows distant and even hostile, and a boy from her past returns—with a life-threatening secret of his own.

If ever a girl needed her mother, it’s now.

The pen might be mightier than the sword, but are a mother’s words strong enough to slice through years of hidden pain? Can those words reach through the battlefields of the past to change MacKenna’s future?

Kindle, Nook, iBooks, Kobo, Print

Be sure to check out all the books on the challenge site. There is something for everyone. And if you’re a subscriber to Kindle Unlimited, you can even give for free by borrowing many of the authors’ books. So you can donate and grow your to-be-read pile all at once!

Happy reading and thank you!

Weekly writing check-in: the one with spring break

fortSpring break this week, so there were trips to the mall and the bookstore and a sleepover.

It looked a lot like the photo to the left there. Because if you can’t go to the beach, you should build yourself a fort in the living room and employ giant, stuffed hippos to guard it.

And hey, if you’re in your fort, you’re certainly not going to get sunburned.

This week, I did classwork, some more ghost research, and a fair amount of reading (I even stayed up way past my bedtime to finish a book–hey, it must really be spring break). I also sent out another brand new submission.

Writing Work:

  • Description class
  • Narrative Design class

Submissions:

  • Gretel and Hansel

Rejections:

  • None

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • None