Genre: Short story collection (includes sci-fi, fantasy, and contemporary)
Release Date: February 7, 2020
(1st edition: February 7, 2018)
Length: 100 pages
Paperback: $8.99
Ebook: $1.99
When I published the first edition of this book in February of 2018, I rushed myself and wasn’t proud of the end result. So I decided to overhaul the collection for its two-year anniversary and give it a complete makeover, which involved
- Removing “The Paladins” (a cringey attempt at a prequel to one of my fantasy WIPs)
- Removing “Lost Girl” (so that story could flourish on its own)
- Editing “Silence” again
- Editing “Escape Room” again
- Editing “Caithan” (which was already in the works)
- Writing and editing “Carnival Hearts” (which was pretty much brand-new)
- Redesigning the cover
- And reformatting the book’s interior
While I still don’t think the collection is perfect (no book ever truly is), I’m proud of the results and happy to share this book with readers.
Silence:
Fiona Wildman was born with powers she doesn’t understand. Powers a scientific mega-corporation will stop at nothing to exploit.
Carnival Hearts:
Ethan is amazed when his withdrawn friend Jasmine invites him to the abandoned amusement park for fun, but instead of the slightly-wacky tour he expects, he finds the opportunity to see a different side of Jas.
Escape Room:
Four teens wake in a dark room. Faced with puzzles they must solve to escape, they uncover a sinister secret.
Caithan:
Caithan is tired of her mother’s strict traditionalism, but when she runs away from her own coming-of-age party, she runs into someone who teaches her to appreciate what she’s been given.
Laena Elderwood – Secondary protagonist of Escape Room
Caithan Zahra – Protagonist of Caithan
Joint character interview of Caithan and Rahim Levon by Rae Graham
Silence:
Fiona’s eyes flashed open to stare at her dark ceiling. The drone of her fan filled the room, but she barely caught the sound of someone carefully closing the front door. Fiona glanced at the glowing blue digits on the clock by her bed. Why was someone coming into the house at three in the morning?
After a moment of listening for the intruder and determining they were heading into the kitchen, Fiona slipped out of bed, stocking feet soft on a carefully maintained and creak-free floor. She padded over to the closet, keeping her breathing even to be lost under the fan’s hum, and slipped on a pair of sneakers. She’d do well to be ready to run if the need arose.
Carnival Hearts:
Denton Park has a gate, but no one ever uses it. Most people think the half-faded clown on top is creepy, and I have to agree—especially in the dark—but it’s also just sad. It’s been grinning down for nearly five years, unappreciated and slowly fading.
“Psst!”
Jasmine is already inside the park, with her head and one arm poked back through a hole in the chain-link fence. She waves me on.
I follow her through the hole and the fence pokes me in the back, as if in a half-hearted attempt to keep us out.
Escape Room:
Adrian opened his eyes to near-darkness, a single candle in the middle of the room allowing him to see vague forms in the shadows. From what he could tell, there were three others with him, also lying on the ground.
The floor Adrian lay on was hard and cold even through his… wool sweater and jeans? The fact that he’d been changed out of his t-shirt and cargo shorts wasn’t one he wanted to contemplate. Adrian stood slowly, squeezing his eyes closed against a wave of vertigo.
Caithan:
Meuma adjusted Caithan’s sleeves and turned her daughter around. Caithan met her eyes, dark like her own. “Are you ready?”
Caithan nodded. From here she could see down the stairs at the crowd of relatives milling in the foyer, all dressed up in their traditional best. All waiting for her.
“As ready as I will be.”
Meuma beamed. “Excellent. I’ll tell the guests.”
As Meuma headed for the door, Caithan called after her. “I’ll be down in a moment.” It wasn’t strictly a lie.
For more on Concordia (from Silence and Escape Room), check out this World Anvil page. For more on Teraco and Virilia (from Caithan), check out this one.
Short Story Collection vol. 1 – 2nd Edition Blog Tour Schedule (this includes almost all of the blog posts on this collection or its individual stories, including those written by me and those written by others.)