Hop on over to Goodreads and enter the giveaway for Dating on the Dork Side, an autographed copy from both me and Darcy.
Giveaway ends December 13, 2015.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
So, if you’ve been following along, you know we had our cover reveal this week for Dating on the Dork Side.
We are pleased and excited and getting ready for the release on November 30th.
I also had a nice surprise this week when my contributor copy of Dragons, Droids and Doom, Year One arrived. Links below. It is full of speculative fiction: 370 pages of it from 49 writers. I’m thinking it would make a pretty awesome holiday gift for anyone who loves short speculative fiction.
And somehow despite the cover reveal flurry, I managed to write +7,000 words this week on The Ghost That Got Away. I’m so close to the end. So. Close. I’m hoping this next week to finish it up.
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My story Incriminating Evidence is part of Dragons, Droids and Doom, Year One, the very first anthology from Fantasy Scroll Magazine.
It’s in print and e-book, available in all sorts of formats from all kinds of retailers. Check out Dragons, Droids and Doom for more information.
Frozen Fairy Tales from World Weaver Press is now available, and it includes my story Simon the Cold.
I wrote this story during the very long, very cold winter of 2013/14. After that, I tucked it away. I wasn’t sure what it was, exactly, wasn’t sure where to send it.
When I saw the call for submissions for the Frozen Fairy Tale anthology, it clicked. I had a fairy tale about winter, albeit a modern/urban one.
As unique and beautifully formed as a snowflake, each of these fifteen stories spins a brand new tale or offers a fresh take on an old favorite like Jack Frost, The Snow Queen, or The Frog King.
From a drafty castle to a blustery Japanese village, from a snow-packed road to the cozy hearth of a farmhouse, from an empty coffee house in Buffalo, New York, to a cold night outside a university library, these stories fully explore the perils and possibilities of the snow, wind, ice, and bone-chilling cold that traditional fairy tale characters seldom encounter.
In the bleak midwinter, heed the irresistible call of fairy tales.
Just open these pages, snuggle down, and wait for an icy blast of fantasy to carry you away. With all new stories of love, adventure, sorrow, and triumph by Tina Anton, Amanda Bergloff, Gavin Bradley, L.A. Christensen, Steven Grimm, Christina Ruth Johnson, Rowan Lindstrom, Alison McBain, Aimee Ogden, J. Patrick Pazdziora, Lissa Redmond, Anna Salonen, Lissa Sloan, Charity Tahmaseb, and David Turnbull to help you dream through the cold days and nights of this most dreaded season.
On 3 November 2015, 52 Science Fiction and Fantasy books that are first in series are all FREE! See here to check them out here.
Looking for the next fantasy or science fiction series to dive into? Need something to read over the upcoming holidays? Look no further. You can try before you buy for free–on November 3rd. But hurry. Not all books will remain free after that date.
Happy reading!
I completed the print layout for Dating on the Dork Side, mostly yesterday. I always think that I’ll do a little at a time, pace myself, not go all crazy and try to do the entire novel all at once.
Seriously, I think the InDesign interface has some sort of subliminal messaging, or crack, or something. I’m always telling myself: Okay, after this chapter, I’ll get up and do the laundry/eat/let the dog out.
Then it’s all: Okay, after this chapter, I’ll go be a human being again and do what other human beings do.
Yeah. Not exactly. On the upside, the print layout is (mostly) done.
I ended up with ~7,600 words on episode one for season two of Coffee & Ghosts. I did not finish it this week (so … close), but this coming week for certain. Or mostly certain. I probably shouldn’t jinx myself. But we have clearly moved into novella territory.
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So, a little fun with graphics this morning, a really good writing week, and more fun with print layout in InDesign.
I ended up with ~7,000 words on episode one for season two of Coffee & Ghosts, and I’m closing in on 12,000 words for the episode so far. I’m thinking I can finish it off this week (!).
After turning around that rejection this week, I ended up with a milestone of fifty story submissions for the year. So there’s that.
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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.
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.
Look! Some new writing this week on season two for Coffee & Ghosts. Writing a second season? It’s challenging. If nothing else, I’ll learn something from this. Learning = good.
Finished up revision work/copy edits for another project (more on that later) and started in on the doc clean up and formatting.
And I have a Goodreads giveaway running this week (until the 15th) for a signed copy of the paperback. So, if you like your reading in paper form, head on over to enter.
Writing Work:
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None, but the print version of the Coffee & Ghosts series bundle has a Goodreads giveaway. Enter to win a signed paperback.
Giveaway ends October 15, 2015.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
So, lots of coffee and ghosts this week. Final, final tweaks to get it ready to launch yesterday. If you like all your ghost (and coffee) stories in one place, this is the format for you.
Did some revision work this week and some brainstorming on a possible season two for Coffee & Ghosts and … I think I may have a season two. I’m thinking three stories this time, novella length (or so I hope). We will see.
And we did it. All four of my Girl Scouts are first aid qualified–and so am I (again). Minus a few bruises on my wrist from practicing chest compressions, all went well.
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The Coffee & Ghosts series bundle is out in the world.
You can read more about that in my post here. But it’s available in one volume, or read each episode for free if you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription. It’s even in print.
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.
Writing Wrongs 