Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Welcome to the February 2020 issue of my newsletter, “News from the Crypt,” and please visit Carter’s Crypt, devoted to my horror, fantasy, and paranormal romance work, especially focusing on vampires and shapeshifting beasties. If you have a particular fondness for vampires, check out the chronology of my series in the link labeled “Vanishing Breed Vampire Universe.” For my recommendations of “must read” classic and modern vampire fiction, explore the Realm of the Vampires:
Realm of the Vampires
Also, check out the multi-author Alien Romances Blog
The long-time distributor of THE VAMPIRE’S CRYPT has closed its website. If you would like to read any issue of this fanzine, which contains fiction, interviews, and a detailed book review column, e-mail me to request the desired issue, and I’ll send you a free PDF of it. My e-mail address is at the end of this newsletter. Find information about the contents of each issue on this page of my website:
A complete list of my available works, arranged roughly by genre, with purchase links (gradually being updated as the Amber Quill and Ellora’s Cave works are being republished):
For anyone who would like to read previous issues of this newsletter, now that the Yahoo group is useless for that purpose, they’re posted on my website here (starting from January 2018):
This is my Facebook author page. Please visit!
Facebook
Here’s my page in Barnes and Noble’s Nook store. These items include some of the short stories that used to be on Fictionwise:
Barnes and Noble
Go here and scroll down to “Available Short Fiction” for a list of those stories with their Amazon links:
Kindle Works
Here’s the list of my Kindle books on Amazon. (The final page, however, includes some Ellora’s Cave anthologies in which I don’t have stories):
Carter Kindle Books
Here’s a shortcut URL to my author page on Amazon:
Amazon
My Goodreads page:
Goodreads
Below is an excerpt from “Harvest Maidens,” my unicorn story, which appears in my collection HARVEST OF MAGIC:
This month’s interviewee is thriller author C. J. Zahner.
*****
Interview with C. J. Zahner:
What inspired you to begin writing?
My only sibling was eleven years older than me, and my parents were hard workers who often held multiple jobs. Frequently alone in the summer months when school let out, I began writing on rainy days when I couldn’t get outside to play with the neighborhood kids.
What genres do you work in?
While I’m comfortable writing any type of thriller, I recently wrote a women’s fiction novel on friendship. I am also writing a historical romance about the underground railroad. But psychological, crime, and paranormal thrillers are my passion.
Do you outline, “wing it,” or something in between?
I’ve winged four and outlined one. A fellow author recently recommended a book Save the Cat Writes a Novel. With the suggestions from this, I outlined my soon-to-be-published Friends Who Move Couches. I found Save the Cat invaluable.
What have been the major influences on your writing (favorite authors, life experiences, or whatever)?
My wild imagination drives my storylines. For detail, I write what I know in locations I’m familiar with.
I never read a Sydney Sheldon book I could put down, and l love Gillian Flynn, Liane Moriarty, and of course, Margaret Michell. (See the familiarity? Thrillers, women’s fiction, and historical romance.)
My life experiences also drive my writing. Readers learn much about my hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania. Other similar features in my novels are characters who run, suffer from epilepsy, or have family members with Alzheimer’s, all of which I know a little about.
My grandfather was the inspiration for my psychological thriller, The Suicide Gene. He was a genius who suffered from depression and attempted suicide. The hero in that story is an attorney, Giff Johnson. I based this character after my son Zak who is an attorney.
The tagline for my current book, Friends Who Move Couches, is Almost a Memoir. I explain this novel “could have been my life” if I hadn’t married my wonderful husband. The book tells the story of a gangly-charming, suburban housewife/mother who is frivolously addicted to friendship and experiences a devastating friendship loss—which, sadly, has happened in my own life.
What my readers most inquire about, however, are my premonitions. My dream-series novels, Dream Wide Awake and Project Dream, center around teenagers who were placed into a government program in Area 51 to develop their sixth sense. They grow up to help protect America through remote viewing. Lots of readers have asked if Project Dream is a real government program.
What kind of research do you do for your fiction?
Mostly, I write what I know. For example, my dream series explores people who have a sixth sense. I, myself, have had several premonitions in my life, including one major vision of 9/11.
For the historical romance, I researched the 1830 American era and the Pennsylvania underground railroads.
For my psychological thriller, The Suicide Gene, I read books on heredity and genes.
Your website mentions real-life paranormal experiences that have influenced your writing. Please tell us a bit about that.
There’s no better way to say this. I have premonitions that come to me as movies in my head. I’ve had several throughout my lifetime, but the one most people are interested in is my 9/11 premonition.
Beginning in July of 2001 and continuing until September, I had two visions (movies in my head). They occurred a few days a week and always between 10 o’clock and 10:30 in the morning while I was sitting at my desk at work. They came suddenly and without warning. In the first vision, I was in a building that was collapsing. I could see the gray floor boulders buckling beneath me. The second was from a plane’s eye view where I approached a city with tall buildings in Northeastern America.
Readers may read about that vision on my website (Website), watch an interview on AfterBuzz TV (AfterBuzz), hear an interview on Beyond Reality Radio (Beyond Reality), or listen to a book discussion about it on Writer’s Block (Writer’s Block). That 9/11 premonition is the basis of my series about Project Dream—the school set in Area 51 where teenagers develop their clairvoyant abilities.
What is your latest or soon-forthcoming work?
Friends Who Move Couches, Almost a Memoir, is the story of suburban wife and mother, Nikki Grey, whose addiction to friendship leads her through various comical situations. Nikki never learns. She is her own nemesis. She also suffers from epilepsy. When she experiences a seizure then shortly afterward realizes her husband has been cheating on her, she’s forced to dig deep inside herself and muster the courage to stand on her own.
What are you working on now?
Friends Who Move Couches is in the hands of my proofreader, and I am preparing for publication. I’m also editing my historical romance, Within the Setting Sun, and hoping to submit to a publisher soon. Finally, I’m debating whether to write the sequel to my friend or dream series, or begin a new thriller. All this as I plan a major life move from Pennsylvania to North Carolina.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Read, read, and read more. Listen to your editors, take as many free writing classes as you can fit into your schedule, and don’t turn your nose up to criticism. People encouraged me to write when I was young, but I was hesitant to take the suggestions of editors for fear I’d lose my voice. When I finally heeded their words, my writing took a turn for the better. I promise, young writers, you won’t lose your voice. You’ll simply clean it up.
What’s the URL of your website? Your blog? Where else can we find you on the web?
Readers may find me as follows:
Website/blog:
Social Media links:
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cjzahner/
Twitter https://twitter.com/TweetyZ
Facebook http://bit.ly/FBcjzahner
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/cyndiezahner/
Goodreads http://bit.ly/gProjectDream
BookBub http://bit.ly/BBProjectDream
Book Gorilla http://bit.ly/CJZahnerBookGorilla
Book Circle Online interview: http://bit.ly/CJZinterview
Beyond Reality Radio 9/11 Interview: http://bit.ly/BRRCJZinterview
Buy Link:
Amazon Amazon
*****
Some Books I’ve Read Lately:
COME TUMBLING DOWN, by Seanan McGuire. This new installment in the Wayward Children series reveals the fate of twins Jack and Jill after the climax of EVERY HEART A DOORWAY. Spoiler: Jack slew her serial-killer sister and took Jill’s body through the doorway to the home of their hearts, the Moors—a Gothic landscape reminiscent of a Hammer horror film—to be resurrected. A person once dead and revived can’t become a vampire, so even if restored to her status as the adopted daughter of the undead Master, Jill couldn’t attain her ambition of becoming a vampire princess. As COME TUMBLING DOWN begins, it’s immediately obvious that Jack’s hope of resuming her contented life as assistant to her beloved mentor, mad scientist Dr. Bleak (who maintains the balance of power on the Moors in opposition to the Master) while regaining her sister’s love didn’t come to pass. A supernatural bolt of lightning opens a dimensional rift in the cellar of Eleanor West’s School for Wayward Children, and Jack’s girlfriend, Alexis, emerges carrying an unconscious body. It’s Jill’s body but inhabited by the mind of Jack, forced to magically exchange bodies with Jill, who desperately wants to be transformed into a vampire, as the Master has promised, at the next full moon. In a physical form that has never been killed and resurrected, she can fulfill her dream. Recognizing Jill as an irredeemable psychopath, Jack realizes she must not only reclaim her own body but then kill her twin permanently. She embarks on this quest by crossing over to the Moors with Alexis (rendered mute by her second death and revival), Kade (Miss Eleanor’s nephew and designated heir to take over the school when she eventually returns to her Nonsense world), Cora (who visited an ocean world to which she longs to return as a mermaid), Christopher (who communicates with skeletons by means of his bone flute), and Sumi (formerly dead heroine of the realm of Confectionary). With Dr. Bleak slain (at least for the present), Jack expects to assume his role as mad scientist of the Moors. On the way to confronting Jill and the Master, she and her allies also have to deal with the Drowned Gods of that world’s sea. After dire peril and near-tragedy, the novel comes to a satisfying conclusion. I hope it won’t be the last in the series. With a theoretically infinite number of doorways and worlds, there are surely more stories to tell.
THE POWER OF BABEL, by John McWhorter. Subtitled “A Natural History of Language,” this nonfiction work shouldn’t be missed by anyone interested in linguistics and the development of languages. Although I don’t know much about the technicalities of linguistics, I had no trouble following most of the author’s explanations; he has a lucid, highly readable prose style with lots of humorous touches. He explores how the hypothetical original language morphed into the six thousand or so on Earth today. He explains at length why it’s less accurate to speak of “languages” than of dialects, which we conventionally group into larger entities we call languages, often for political, ethnic, and geographical reasons rather than strictly scientific ones. He gives extensive examples of the different ways languages change and why, while devoting a chapter to the plight of languages that have become extinct or are moving toward that fate. In conclusion, he discusses why it’s almost certainly impossible to retrieve any words from the first language that evolved into all the others. I’ve also recently read one of his later books, OUR MAGNIFICENT BASTARD TONGUE, which focuses on how and why the grammar of English has changed over the centuries. There he devotes special attention to what he calls the “meaningless do” (i.e,, the fact that we have to say “Did you finish your homework?” or “I didn’t finish my homework,” yet we don’t say “I did finish my homework” unless for special emphasis) and the present participle ending in -ing (many languages get along with a single verb form for both habitual action and ongoing action). Anyone who enjoys reading about the way languages work would love this author’s books.
LOUISA MAY ALCOTT, by Harriet Reisen. I seldom read biographies, but with the release of the new movie adaptation of LITTLE WOMEN, one of my favorite books in my teens, I became curious about the life of its author. I chose the most recent biography I noticed on Amazon (published in 2010), on the grounds that the latest account would build on earlier books and explore her life and times in the greatest depth. I also read a few Amazon reviews and found Reisen’s book highly recommended. As everyone knows, Alcott based the main characters in the March family novels (LITTLE WOMEN, first published as two separate books, LITTLE MEN, and JO’S BOYS) on her own family. The trouble with biographies of authors, often, is that most writers’ lives contain little excitement outside the pages of their works. Therefore, biographers tend to hunt for connections to the works throughout the events of the subjects’ lives (e.g., Bram Stoker’s biographers trying to identify a real-life model, such as Sir Henry Irving, for Count Dracula). Alcott, however, had a fascinating life in its own right, even though not one of action-packed adventure. The biographer has the advantage of copious documentation, since Louisa kept journals throughout her life, almost from the time she first learned to write. Many of her letters are also preserved, as well as reminiscences by people who knew her. Her father, Bronson Alcott, was a leading figure in the Transcendentalist movement, so that Louisa grew up surrounded by venerable intellectuals such as Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne. Bronson, however, consistently failed in worldly terms, especially after he decided his principles didn’t permit him to work for wages. He tried to support his family by lecturing, teaching, and writing, with little success until late in life. His utopian experiment in communal living, Fruitlands, also ended in failure. Unlike the fictional March family’s genteel “poverty” (with a large house, abundant food, and a faithful housekeeper), the Alcott family often fell into real poverty. During Louisa’s first decade or so of life, they moved approximately every year, sometimes more than once in a year. Her mother was pregnant more or less annually for over a decade, on at least one occasion twice in a year. Aside from the births of the four daughters immortalized in LITTLE WOMEN, all her pregnancies ended in miscarriage or stillbirth, to the obvious detriment of her health—an exemplary case study for the importance of reliable contraception! When Louisa finally achieved fame and prosperity after the release of LITTLE WOMEN, she was able to give her family financial security and essentially supported them until she died. Unlike Jo, her literary counterpart, Louisa remained an independent spinster, although because of her family obligations she never achieved the kind of free life she really wanted. Reisen’s book told me much I hadn’t known about Louisa, such as her stint as a hospital nurse during the Civil War, her travels in Europe, and the fact that she wrote other things besides children’s books and (under a pen name) lurid Gothic thrillers. Fans of Alcott’s work should enjoy this detail-packed, lively account of her career and relationships.
*****
Excerpt from “Harvest Maidens”:
The second bell rang just as Mali finished washing up and scrambling into her shapeless, sand-colored smock. She glanced out her room’s narrow window at the rose-tinted sky, then hurried from the dormitory to the field next to the stable, where she took her place in line with the other couple of dozen maidens. The air felt comfortably warm, even this early, and the dewy grass tickled her bare feet.
On her left stood a girl about her own age, thirteen, and on the right a blonde child no more than seven or eight. Mali remembered seeing her brought in two days earlier but hadn’t learned her name yet. The little one glanced from side to side, fidgeting and biting her lip. This must be her first day at horn harvesting. Mali squeezed her hand and gave her an encouraging smile.
The little girl’s mouth dropped open when a stable hand unlatched the broad doors and the unicorns trotted out. Mali smiled wider, recalling how thrilled she’d been at her first sight of the creatures, when she’d been not much older than her new companion. Though they had the bodies of horses, as common lore claimed, they didn’t look very horse-like otherwise. They had cloven hooves, sapphire eyes, short, wiry manes, and tufted tails. Their heads resembled those of stags except for the single horn, as long as one of Mali’s arms. In the early morning sun, their white and silver hides shone, and their horns gleamed with iridescent swirls of rainbow hues.
The herd milled around, puffing and snorting, until each animal halted next to a girl or young woman. Girls, mostly, with very few past twenty years and only two older than that. As usual, the herd slightly outnumbered the maidens so that a few had a pair of unicorns sidling up to them. Only one each chose Mali and the girls on either side of her. The floral aroma of her unicorn’s breath filled her nose. She stroked his silken coat, relishing her favorite moment of the day. If only time could stop here.
Once the animals settled down, the wizards, eleven of them today, strode into the field. Four lived in the manor at the center of the ranch, while others came in from town each morning. Mali kept her eyes facing forward instead of watching the men work their way down the row. It was bad enough to have to see the process when a wizard reached her spot in line. A gasp drew her gaze to the little girl beside her, who had obviously been watching.
“What are they doing?” the girl asked, her brow furrowing.
Mali clasped her hand again and whispered, “Don’t worry, it doesn’t hurt the unicorns.” Or so she’d been told, and she’d seen no indication otherwise. “That’s our job, to keep them calm so the wizards can do their work. Hush, now, so you won’t upset them.” She patted her unicorn, which was shifting his feet restlessly in response to the disturbance. “I’m Mali. What’s your name?”
Tears trickled down the girl’s face, but she answered softly, “Nessa.” The animal that loomed over her, a mare, bobbed her head up and down and stamped her feet.
“Pet her and make her feel better,” Mali told the child.
Nessa splayed her hand on the unicorn’s leg. “I don’t know how.”
At that moment the nearest wizard, Master Tegvan, finished with the maiden on Mali’s left side and stopped in front of her. He didn’t wear star-spangled robes or a long, white beard like mages in storybooks. Not at all ancient, probably in his thirties, he wore emerald green trousers and tunic and a neatly trimmed, auburn beard. Though he didn’t quite smile at Mali, as usual he had a less forbidding manner than most of the wizards.
After four years at the ranch, she knew her role without prompting. Stroking the unicorn’s flank, she murmured to him until he sank into a waking trance. Without the maidens’ influence, the unicorns would never allow men, even mages, this close to them. Master Tegvan lightly clasped the unicorn’s horn and muttered the cryptic words of the spell. Silver light flashed from his fingers.
The horn came off cleanly in his hand. Its glowing colors faded.
The unicorn’s head drooped. His blue eyes grew dull, and his coat turned pale gray. Though his mutilated forehead didn’t bleed and he showed no sign of pain, Mali hated this moment. As always, she could barely blink away the tears that threatened to fall.
-end of excerpt-
*****
My Publishers:
Writers Exchange E-Publishing: Writers Exchange
Harlequin: Harlequin
Whiskey Creek: Whiskey Creek
Wild Rose Press: Wild Rose Press
You can contact me at: MLCVamp@aol.com
“Beast” wishes until next time—
Margaret L. Carter
Welcome to the January 2020 issue of my newsletter, “News from the Crypt,” and please visit Carter’s Crypt, devoted to my horror, fantasy, and paranormal romance work, especially focusing on vampires and shapeshifting beasties. If you have a particular fondness for vampires, check out the chronology of my series in the link labeled “Vanishing Breed Vampire Universe.” For my recommendations of “must read” classic and modern vampire fiction, explore the Realm of the Vampires:
Realm of the Vampires
Also, check out the multi-author Alien Romances Blog
The long-time distributor of THE VAMPIRE’S CRYPT has closed its website. If you would like to read any issue of this fanzine, which contains fiction, interviews, and a detailed book review column, e-mail me to request the desired issue, and I’ll send you a free PDF of it. My e-mail address is at the end of this newsletter. Find information about the contents of each issue on this page of my website:
A complete list of my available works, arranged roughly by genre, with purchase links (gradually being updated as the Amber Quill and Ellora’s Cave works are being republished):
This is my Facebook author page. Please visit!
Facebook
Here’s my page in Barnes and Noble’s Nook store. These items include some of the short stories that used to be on Fictionwise:
Barnes and Noble
Go here and scroll down to “Available Short Fiction” for a list of those stories with their Amazon links:
Kindle Works
Here’s the list of my Kindle books on Amazon. (The final page, however, includes some Ellora’s Cave anthologies in which I don’t have stories):
Carter Kindle Books
Here’s a shortcut URL to my author page on Amazon:
Amazon
My Goodreads page:
Goodreads
Happy New Year!
One of my favorites of my own novellas is “Fantasia Quest,” in which the heroine and hero get trapped inside the beta test of a hyper-realistic computer roleplaying game. Fortunately, when I wrote the story, I hadn’t viewed or read any of several anime and manga featuring “stuck in a game” premises, such as the excellent SWORD ART ONLINE. If I’d known how often that plot premise had been used already, I might not have dared to write it myself. But, then, as often pointed out, there are only so many plots in the world. I’m currently following the novels, manga, and anime of RE-ZERO, whose hero isn’t literally stuck in a game, but he’s trapped in a predicament reminiscent of game-death outcomes. So “Fantasia Quest” came to mind. It’s in the collection DAME ONYX TREASURES, which you can find here:
In the excerpt below, Rolf, Carrie’s partner, is one of the game designers; Graystreak is her flying-squirrel familiar; Zack is a rival at the game company; Rolf’s “singing sword” plays show tunes.
Our first interview of 2020 features romance and mystery author Sadira Stone.
*****
Interview with Sadira Stone:
What inspired you to begin writing?
Even as a tiny child, I entertained myself by spinning tales in my head. Most kids do, I’m sure, but mine were elaborate fan fic epics based on TV shows like Batman and Star Trek. I’d fill my school notebooks with scenes and doodle illustrations in the margins. Eventually, I started writing stories based entirely on my own characters. I wish I’d kept those early scribblings.
What genres do you work in?
I’ve published two contemporary romance novels and one horror short story. I have a couple still-unpublished cozy mysteries.
Do you outline, “wing it,” or something in between?
With each project, I become more of a plotter. I’m still trying out different techniques, from sticky note collages to scene cards to beat sheets. However, I always end up revising the outline as I write, since the characters insist on having their say.
What have been the major influences on your writing (favorite authors, life experiences, or whatever)?
Joining the Romance Writers of America was the best investment I’ve made in my writing career. Romance writers are a generous bunch, and through RWA I’ve learned so much about the craft and business of writing. Of course, I read top sellers and award winners in my genre to learn what works and what readers enjoy. Also, listening to romance reader podcasts teaches me about how readers react to various tropes, styles, subgenres, etc.
How have your experiences with serving in the Army and living in Germany affected your fiction?
I wish I had some warrior-woman tales to tell, but I was an army legal clerk working in the JAG office. After my enlistment ended, I returned to the U.S. to get my teaching degree (English, French, German, theater), then went back to Germany where I taught high school to the kids of U.S. military families. Thus, I’ve travelled more than most public-school teachers simply because I was stationed there. Working with military families introduced me to people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Perhaps this helped me craft believable characters who don’t all look and sound alike.
What kinds of research do you do in writing mystery?
Poisons, car chases, how to escape when bound with duct tape, rigor mortis, firearms, arson, police department hierarchy and jurisdiction…I’ve found cops to be very generous in sharing their experiences and correcting my misperceptions.
Please tell us about your new book.
Runaway Love Story, Book Two in the Book Nirvana series, takes readers back to Clara’s bookshop in Eugene, Oregon, where we meet Laurel, her newest employee.
Chasing a big-city art gallery job, Laurel detours to Eugene, Oregon to help her spitfire great aunt. An eccentric, ninety-year-old artist with day-glo hair, Maxie is the only family member who supports Laurel’s artistic ambitions. But Maxie recognizes early signs of dementia and makes the tough choice to move into assisted living.
While on a run, Laurel is harassed by a group of teens until a tall, broad-shouldered hottie rescues her by pretending to be her boyfriend–with a kiss that makes her wish it were true, even though Doug seems to be the opposite of what she’s striving for— no flash, no glamour, just a solid, kind, generous guy who teaches high school and coaches cross country. Turns out, his mom, who suffers from dementia, lives in the same retirement village as Maxie.
Their surprise connection sizzles, but Doug can’t leave Eugene, and Laurel can’t stay without surrendering the career dreams that have sustained her for so long.
Doug’s only hope: To convince Laurel those big-city lights have nothing on her inner sparkle—a task that gets more complicated when a viral Twitter post about their love story spirals into Crazy Town.
Buy links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Apple Books
Google Play Books
Kobo
What are you working on now?
Love, Art, and Other Obstacles is the working title of Book Three in the Book Nirvana series. This one features my youngest couple yet: Margot, twenty-two, is a senior in graphic design at the University of Oregon and has worked at Book Nirvana since the beginning of the series. In Runaway Love Story we meet Elmer, age twenty-six, a buff, tattooed, ginger-bearded ceramics artist. Great-aunt Maxie arranges for them to compete for the same art grant.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Learn your craft. No need for expensive courses if you’re a beginner—just check out the many excellent craft books and blogs available.
Read widely in your genre. Learn the rhythm of that type of story, and what readers expect.
Get other eyeballs on your work before submitting or publishing it. You’re too close to the story to see all the problem areas.
What’s the URL of your website? Your blog? Where else can we find you on the web?
Visit Sadira on All the Socials!
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads
BookBub
Amazon Author Page
Pinterest
Instagram
Author Newsletter
*****
Some Books I’ve Read Lately:
THE CASE OF THE SPELLBOUND CHILD, by Mercedes Lackey. In this new installment starring psychic warriors Nan and Sarah (with their ward, Suki) Sherlock Holmes is still presumed dead. Aside from Dr. Watson and his wife, with whom Nan and Sarah continue to work on paranormal cases, they are among the very few people who know Holmes is alive. The Great Detective, however, doesn’t play a major part in this novel, in which the Watsons, Nan, and Sarah investigate the disappearances of children in Yorkshire. First, however, the book has two bait-and-switch opening episodes. In the first chapter, a sociopathic petty crook named Alf gets murdered by an accomplice. Discovering himself to be a ghost and learning his powers and limitations, he plots revenge. The two heroines don’t show up until a supposed fellow ghost, really an ally of theirs in astral projection form, tricks Alf into appearing to Sarah in her role as a medium. One of her gifts, as readers of the series know, is to help or force ghosts to cross into the next world. The next incident, which also looks as if it might be the main plot but isn’t, involves a young woman committed to a mental institution. Suspicious of the circumstances that brought her there and wondering whether she’s being mistreated, the Watsons investigate with the help of Sarah and Nan. Finally, the story proper begins with two Yorkshire siblings, Simon and Ellie, whose frazzled, enraged mother reacts to their rambunctious behavior by throwing them out on the moor with orders not to come home until they’ve collected enough food to make up for what Simon accidentally spilled. They stumble upon a tempting cottage in the middle of nowhere, like Hansel and Gretel. Along with a handful of other children, they become captives of a terrifying figure they call the Dark One. It turns out the victims have been chosen for their magical potential, and the Dark One preys on them by draining their magical energy to fuel his or her own powers. Like Gretel tricking the witch, Ellie ingeniously works toward her escape, determined to bring help and free the other children. Meanwhile, the Watsons, Nan, Sarah, and Suki, along with their preternaturally intelligent pet birds, follow a convoluted web of clues to discover the fate of the missing children. Robin, aka Puck or the Oldest Old One, lends his help, naturally. The investigation proceeds plausibly and suspensefully, and the true nature of the Dark One is piquantly surprising. The heroes are delighted to have saved a group of children while bringing to justice a slimy energy-draining magician who used stolen powers for such mundane crimes as stealing jewelry. Not every case, as they agree at the end, has to involve saving the world.
THIRTEEN DOORWAYS, WOLVES BEHIND THEM ALL, by Laura Ruby. Set in Chicago during World War II, this novel tells the story of Italian-American teenager Frankie, her sister Toni, and their brother, consigned to an orphanage for several years even though their father is alive. When he remarried, he left them there, supposedly temporarily. Although the Guardian Angels Orphanage doesn’t treat the children like Oliver Twist in the workhouse, Frankie’s day-to-day existence is dreary enough to engage the reader’s sympathy. With boys and girls segregated, the sisters see their brother only once a week. Their father moves out west with his new family, and their brother eventually joins them. The book begins with a 1946 framing scene, when Frankie has won her independence, holding a job and moving into her own place (however cramped and poor) with Toni. It then follows her life at the orphanage from 1941 through 1945. The novel’s fantasy dimension comes from the narrator, a ghost haunting the orphanage, observing the girls while unable to interact with them. Few living people sense her presence, and she has very little power to affect physical objects. For a large part of the story, it might as well be a realistic historical novel aside from the unusual narrative perspective. Later, the ghost’s own past plays an important role, as she begins to remember her earlier existence while developing the power to move things and actively haunt some individuals. After leaving the orphanage and attempting to live with her father and his second family, Frankie, with the ghost’s help, has a violent confrontation that leads to her and Toni’s climactic flight from their toxic home. This emotionally harrowing but ultimately uplifting story conveys a strong sense of its historical milieu—not surprising, in view of what the author reveals in the afterword: The book is based not only in broad outline but in many specific details upon the real-life childhood and youth of the author’s mother-in-law.
THE NEW TESTAMENT IN ITS WORLD, by N. T. Wright, with Michael F. Bird. I’d been awaiting this book for a long time. I’ve often wished Wright, a distinguished New Testament scholar, former Anglican bishop, and now a professor at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, would publish his theories about the authorship and dating of the Gospels. Well, this overview does that for every book in the New Testament, along with a detailed summary and analysis of each one, accompanied by sections on the life and theology of Paul in connection with his epistles. That project, however, comprises only three parts of this nine-part volume. The book also covers how to read the New Testament, its historical Greco-Roman and Jewish background, the life and mission of Jesus, the Resurrection in its cultural as well as theological context, the making of the New Testament canon, and a final section (specifically directed to practicing Christians) on “Living the Story of the New Testament.” Although much of the content reprises material from Wright’s SURPRISED BY HOPE (on Christian teaching about the afterlife) and his monumental, four-volume “Christian Origins” series (which begins with THE NEW TESTAMENT AND THE PEOPLE OF GOD), THE NEW TESTAMENT IN ITS WORLD brings together Wright’s work on those themes in one convenient location, written in a more popular style than the weighty “Christian Origins” tomes. The present book also includes a lot of additional material that makes it definitely worthwhile for anyone interested in first-century Christianity. In short, in my opinion this is the most comprehensive, readable overview of the New Testament one could ever hope for. Unfortunately, the availability and pricing have already gone wonky since the book’s publication only a few months ago. Granted, it’s a huge volume (almost 900 pages not counting bibliography, etc.) lavishly adorned with illustrations and maps, so no wonder it originally cost over $40.00 on Amazon. Now, though, the hardcover version is available only from third-party sellers, admittedly at more affordable prices. But the cost of the Kindle, which was reasonable on release date, has risen to the $40.00 range. Still, if you’re interested in the subject matter, do get a copy if possible. There’s always the library.
*****
Excerpt from “Fantasia Quest”:
They hardly needed the map on this stage of the journey, with only one trail through the forest. The horses’ hooves left prints in the damp loam, and sparkling raindrops dripped from the leaves overhead. She felt the solid bulk of her mount’s torso under her and the leather of the reins in her grasp. To make the scene fully lifelike, the program needed only woodsy aromas, which she missed, and sore muscles from riding the whole day before, which she didn’t mind doing without. When they’d traveled two or three virtual miles, Carrie worked up the nerve to question Rolf. “You really didn’t have a clue they were canceling the beta test?”
“You said they postponed it, not canceled, right? Anyway, like I said, your message was the first I’d heard.” He stared straight ahead at the path rather than looking at her. Not that a computer-generated face would necessarily reveal a lie, anyhow.
“What if those twinges of pain were signs of an underlying problem in the code?”
“They’d have caught it at a way earlier stage.” A hint of impatience tinged his voice. “There’s nothing to worry about. If I’d thought there were, I would have canceled our session myself.”
“Fine, you’re the professional here.” Still, she mentally reserved the right to bail out if anything more serious went wrong.
After a clash with a pack of wolves, which Rolf’s bladewarden gift persuaded to accept a truce, Carrie’s acid darts made quick work of clearing a cluster of bushes that fired thorns. While the adventurers paused to pluck out the handful of thorns that had lodged in their clothes, Carrie said, “Would it be tempting fate too much to point out we’re getting challenges way below our level?”
“Yeah, it would. Trying to throw us off guard for something tougher, I’d say.”
Something tougher confronted them shortly afterward. The path narrowed, funneling them toward a rocky outcropping with a jagged hole opening into it.
“Another cave?” she said. “Or tunnel? Do we have go in?”
“What do you have in mind?”
She unrolled the map. “It seems the path continues in the same linear mode on the far side of this patch of forest. Is there anything in the program that would stop us from cutting through the trees?”
He arched his slanted eyebrows. “Sneaky. I like it. With luck, nobody thought of preventing that move.”
They turned toward the area where the gaps between trunks looked widest and the undergrowth thinnest. No more than five of the horses’ paces into the forest, the wooded landscape morphed into a solid barrier.
“Obviously somebody did think of it,” he said. “I should have figured they wouldn’t waste code on the chance players might wander off the path.”
“Big surprise. I guess it’s the hole in the rock or turn back.”
“Which isn’t an option.” When they faced the dark entrance again, he said, “We’ll need your mage light.”
She conjured the usual floating globe. They dismounted and led the horses. Just beyond the cave’s maw, the space opened up enough to let them walk side by side. “Looks like a tunnel,” Carrie said. “Would have been nice if the map had told us about it.”
Several paces on, a gossamer veil shimmered across the span. A web. Desiccated corpses of two birds and a bat hung in the network.
Rolf’s fist clenched on the hilt of his sheathed sword. “Damn. If the spider that spun this is hanging around, I don’t want to meet it. This has to be a surprise Zack planted for me.”
The tension in his voice reminded her of the arachnophobia he’d confessed. “I’ll get rid of the web.” Surrounded by rock, the strands could burn without endangering nearby plant life. At her arcane word, flame shot from her wand and engulfed the web. It blazed for a second, then crumbled to ash.
Graystreak volunteered to scout to the end of the cleft. When he glided back to Carrie’s shoulder, he said, “It’s a tunnel, and there’s a spider guarding the other end, all right. A big one.”
His face set in a strained mask, Rolf glanced at her, then back at the web. “How big?”
“You don’t want to know,” the squirrel muttered.
“I’ll find out in a second anyway. It’s not like we have an alternative.” Rolf whispered to the horses, patting their necks and commanding them to stay put. He drew his sword and strode forward.
At his side, Carrie flourished her wand to the sword’s lyrics of a spy thriller title song about a villain with a spider’s touch. Fifty paces in, they glimpsed a multi-legged lump silhouetted against a patch of daylight at the far mouth of the tunnel. It shambled toward them with a scrabbling of claws on rock. Once inside the passage, its eight eyes glinted scarlet in the dimness.
Rolf halted, a visible tremor in his upraised sword arm. The shaggy thing in front of him looked like a tarantula the size of a pony. Venom dripped from its fangs. It headed for the bladewarden, who only stared as if paralyzed.
Carrie cast an acid dart at the spider. It shuddered when the dart sizzled in its bristle-covered torso but turned toward her only for a second before looming over Rolf. He still didn’t move.
It’ll bite his head off for all I know!
“Rolf, do something!”
He took a step backward, his sword arm frozen. Shouting his name again, she charged between him and the spider. She flung a spray of rainbow dazzle at the monster’s head, blinding it. It staggered in confusion, but not before its mandibles nipped her arm. Pain stung her, brief but sharp.
She stumbled and fell to one knee.
“Crystal, no!” Rolf surged into action with a yell of rage. He sliced off two of the spider’s legs before she managed to struggle to her feet. Though he hadn’t stopped shaking, he brandished his sword between her and the monster. In spite of its temporary blindness, it scored a glancing bite on Rolf. With his mouth twisted in revulsion, he cut off a third limb.
She aimed her next acid dart at the thing’s slavering mandibles. In these close quarters, she couldn’t deploy fire or ice without hurting herself and her partner. The half-lamed spider lurched sideways.
Scuttling noises diverted her attention. A quick glance to left and right revealed a pair of four-foot-long centipedes, one on each side. Their pincers looked as lethal as the spider’s fangs. The sight made her skin prickle and her stomach turn queasy. Rolf whirled around to hack at one, then renewed his assault on the spider. Carrie launched a barrage of shadow bolts at the other centipede. The wounds oozed white fluid but didn’t slow down the crawling things.
She switched the wand to her left hand, drew her dagger with her right, and invoked a spell that converted the blade into a rapier that shone with an azure glow. The transformation wouldn’t last long, but long enough to deal with the centipedes and possibly maim the spider. She stabbed one centipede just behind its head. Sparks scintillated and the creature convulsed before shriveling up. With a shout of triumph, she dispatched the other one the same way.
-end of excerpt-
*****
My Publishers:
Writers Exchange E-Publishing: Writers Exchange
Harlequin: Harlequin
Whiskey Creek: Whiskey Creek
Wild Rose Press: Wild Rose Press
You can contact me at: MLCVamp@aol.com
“Beast” wishes until next time—
Margaret L. Carter
Welcome to the December 2019 issue of my newsletter, “News from the Crypt,” and please visit Carter’s Crypt, devoted to my horror, fantasy, and paranormal romance work, especially focusing on vampires and shapeshifting beasties. If you have a particular fondness for vampires, check out the chronology of my series in the link labeled “Vanishing Breed Vampire Universe.” For my recommendations of “must read” classic and modern vampire fiction, explore the Realm of the Vampires:
Realm of the Vampires
Also, check out the multi-author Alien Romances Blog
The long-time distributor of THE VAMPIRE’S CRYPT has closed its website. If you would like to read any issue of this fanzine, which contains fiction, interviews, and a detailed book review column, e-mail me to request the desired issue, and I’ll send you a free PDF of it. My e-mail address is at the end of this newsletter. Find information about the contents of each issue on this page of my website:
A complete list of my available works, arranged roughly by genre, with purchase links (gradually being updated as the Amber Quill and Ellora’s Cave works are being republished):
This is my Facebook author page. Please visit!
Facebook
Here’s my page in Barnes and Noble’s Nook store. These items include some of the short stories that used to be on Fictionwise:
Barnes and Noble
Go here and scroll down to “Available Short Fiction” for a list of those stories with their Amazon links:
Kindle Works
Here’s the list of my Kindle books on Amazon. (The final page, however, includes some Ellora’s Cave anthologies in which I don’t have stories):
Carter Kindle Books
Here’s a shortcut URL to my author page on Amazon:
Amazon
My Goodreads page:
Goodreads
Happy winter holidays to all!
My one Christmas story, “Little Cat Feet,” appears in my collection DAME ONYX TREASURES. Only $3.99 in e-book format!
My tale was inspired by the legend that animals can talk on Christmas Eve (as immortalized in the song “The Friendly Beasts”). A teenage runaway and a stray cat help each other. There’s an excerpt below.
Herewith I’m interviewing Colleen Driscoll, author of children’s books and romantic thrillers.
*****
Interview with Colleen Driscoll:
What inspired you to begin writing?
That is an interesting story. Ten years ago, I was bed-ridden with a terrible stomach virus on Christmas Day. By the time I felt better two days later, I was upset because I had missed having Christmas with my husband and four children. My mind wandered and I began imagining what the elves did at the North Pole. The idea of writing my first children’s story struck me. I was fortunate to find a publisher for the book and the book was published two years later. When I was launching that book, I met other authors and decided to write a novel.
What genres do you work in?
Besides my children’s books, I wrote my first novel—a romantic thriller.
Do you outline, “wing it,” or something in between?
For my children’s stories, I think about the idea and then I start writing. For my first adult novel, I started out “winging it,” writing out scenes that I thought played important parts in the story. Then I filled in the empty holes. It was a learning process and I wouldn’t recommend it. Currently, I’m writing the second book in the Euphoria trilogy and I have an outline. I have learned from my mistakes from the first book and have a better idea of what publishers and editors want.
What have been the major influences on your writing (favorite authors, life experiences, or whatever)?
My children have influenced my children’s books, and my life experiences working in the clinical laboratory certainly have a major influence on my writing. Barbara Parks was one of my favorite children’s authors. In the adult circle, I love reading Robin Cook’s medical thrillers and like the idea of introducing controversial medical issues into writing.
What do you think are the particular challenges of writing for children?
The biggest challenge is writing topics that are unique and interest large groups of children.
Did you deal directly with the illustrator(s) of your books, or did the publisher make the arrangements? How does the process work?
When my publisher contacted me regarding my first children’s book, she said I could use the company’s illustrator, but I would be in the queue behind the other authors under contract. The publisher gave me an option to use my own illustrator if I didn’t want to wait. I am a very impatient person, so I contacted an art teacher whom my sister recommended, and he turned out to be an illustrator! After some necessary paperwork, the illustrator sent me the first sketches after two months. Five months later, he completed the illustrations. The experience was wonderful and exciting. He was great to work with and I met him a year after my book was published; I conducted an author visit at the school where he worked. It was a cool experience for the students that day to meet the author and the illustrator of a book.
Did you have direct involvement in the production of the audiobook versions, and how does that work?
Two of my children’s books are in audiobook. I went to a recording studio and recorded the story using my family as the voices of the characters. For the first book, Piper the Elf Trains Santa, I also used the recording studio to record the Piper the Elf Theme Song, in hopes that the story will be made into a children’s Christmas show someday. When the second Piper the Elf book was released, I learned more about the requirements needed to put the audiobook on Amazon. My publisher was very supportive. The recording studio followed the required specifications, and my family recorded the voices in the story Piper the Elf and Santa’s Rockin’ Band. I also recorded three additional original songs that related to the story. Then I submitted the recordings and the publisher did the rest, making it available on Amazon. My newly released thriller, Finding Euphoria, just had an audiobook version released last month. The publishing company submitted my name to the pool of narrators and someone auditioned for the book. After the contract was signed, the narrator taped the audio version of the story. The process took a few months for the narrator to record the story and then I had to review the recording and request any changes. Once that step was completed, the audiobook was accepted on Amazon.
What is your latest-released or soon-forthcoming work?
My latest released book was Finding Euphoria, a romantic thriller, which released this past March. I also have an illustrator working on illustrations for my next children’s book.
What are you working on now?
I’m currently working on the second story in the Euphoria trilogy—Losing Euphoria, Trust No One.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Join a writer’s group and don’t get discouraged with writing. There is always a home for your story.
What’s the URL of your website? Your blog? Where else can we find you on the web?
Colleen Driscoll
C. Becker
I’m not a big blogger. Between my other life’s duties, I have to give up certain aspects that some writers do. All of my books can be found on Amazon. My Christmas children’s books can be found in the Headline Books website:
My novel is found on The Wild Rose Press and all the major retailers, Amazon, Kobo, iTunes, B&N.
*****
Some Books I’ve Read Lately:
GWENDY’S MAGIC FEATHER, by Richard Chizmar. This sequel to GWENDY’S BUTTON BOX, written by Chizmar and Stephen King, returns to Castle Rock when Gwendy, now age 37, is a Democratic Congresswoman from Maine and married to a photojournalist. The story takes place in December 1999, building up to the Y2K millennial turnover, with brief flashbacks to catch up on how Gwendy got to her present status. It’s told in the present tense (even the flashbacks), annoyingly, since there’s no apparent narrative justification for that choice, but I got used to it quickly enough to enjoy the novel. Gwendy has had a very successful life, for the most part. As an author, she has enjoyed excellent sales and lucrative movie deals. She finds her service in Congress fulfilling and lives happily in her home town when not required to be in Washington. At present, her mother is in recovery from cancer, while Gwendy’s husband is working in a war zone and may or may not make it home for Christmas. Meanwhile, the U.S. is embroiled in a crisis with North Korea. This novel takes place in an alternate America with a President clearly modeled on the Current Incumbent. At this point, the button box Gwendy has managed to keep out of her mind for the past couple of decades inexplicably shows up again. She fights the temptations to eat the magical chocolate candies it dispenses or push any of the buttons. Even so, the box seems to grant her some sort of clairvoyance that either didn’t exist before or remained latent. That’s where her personal story intersects with the local mystery of three girls who’ve disappeared, with no indication of whether they’re alive or dead. I quickly got emotionally involved with Gwendy, and the other characters, major and minor, are vivid and engaging. Like the previous book, GWENDY’S MAGIC FEATHER has an intimate, gentle tone despite the backdrop of various crises. The titular feather makes only a few brief appearances but does play a pivotal role. I still haven’t decided whether the mysterious “Richard Farris” is an incarnation of Randall Flagg or just an in-joke allusion. His role as tempter would suggest the former, yet he seems far more benign than Flagg in his various appearances throughout King’s canon. Farris’s reassurance to Gwendy that her accomplishments and choices are her own, not engineered by the button box, hints that both the “magic feather” and the button box itself may derive their energy from some innate psychic power she unconsciously possesses.
ANNO DRACULA 1999: DAIKAIJU, by Kim Newman. Coincidentally, the latest novel in Newman’s long-running alternate history series also takes place at the end of 1999, in this case entirely on New Year’s Eve as the world anticipates a Y2K catastrophe. While I don’t consider any of the later installments in the series up to the high standard of the first two, ANNO-DRACULA and BLOODY RED BARON, I’ve enjoyed reading them. This one, for my taste, suffers from consisting of nearly nonstop violent action. I skimmed a lot of the scenes for that reason. Nevertheless, it does perpetuate the fun of spotting pop culture references and contemplating how the twentieth century would have developed differently with vampires as an openly embraced feature of the zeitgeist. Doubtless I would have appreciated the book more if more of the allusions had been familiar to me, but the ones I did get were entertaining—for instance, the passing mention of “Hamish Bond,” a British secret agent who, as a drunken womanizer, is assigned to missions where he can do the least possible damage. Vampire princess Christina Light (aka the Henry James character Princess Casamassima) throws a lavish New Year’s Eve party in the titular Daikaiju, a skyscraper in Tokyo shaped like a giant dragon. Hint—its resemblance to a gargantuan monster from a Japanese SF film isn’t accidental. We also get references to the Bund, a vampire enclave within the city, a clear allusion to the manga series DANCE IN THE VAMPIRE BUND. Principal characters include, among others, an amnesiac man with a cybernetic left hand that talks back to him (surely inspired by VAMPIRE HUNTER D), a human agent of the Diogenes Club, and a katana-wielding Japanese schoolgirl who’s actually an ancient vampire but still thinks and behaves like a schoolgirl. A mysterious terrorist organization drives the action, and secrets are revealed as the hours advance toward midnight. Fans of this series will want to add this novel to their bookshelves.
DRACUL, by Dacre Stoker and J. D. Barker. I liked this book more than I expected to. I could hardly pass up reading a DRACULA prequel co-written by Bram Stoker’s great-grandnephew, although I was skeptical of how well the literary pretense that the novel’s events really happened (and that those traumatic experiences explain the writing of DRACULA) would work. The research into Stoker’s family and early life appears thorough and credible, as one would expect. The framing narrative, set in 1868, begins with Bram Stoker trapped in a tower, struggling to stay awake and fend off the vampire threat lurking outside. We then revert to his childhood, when he suffered from an unidentified disease that kept him largely bedridden until the age of seven. He and his sister Matilda covertly investigate their nanny, Ellen Crone, whose state of health and apparent age mysteriously fluctuate. The reader soon realizes she’s some kind of vampire, although she seems to be a benevolent one, at least to Bram, since she heals him of his chronic illness. After she unaccountably vanishes following several eerie events, the action skips to Bram’s young manhood. He’s working in a civil service position and beginning his side gig as a theater critic, his true enthusiasm (which later led to his lifelong role as actor Henry Irving’s manager). Both Matilda and Bram imagine they catch glimpses of Ellen, who doesn’t appear to have aged, as well as a man they know to have died years earlier. Their brother Thornley’s wife, meanwhile, is deranged and getting worse. The three siblings eventually become aware of the existence of vampires, with the help of distinguished linguist and Eastern European specialist Arminius Vambery (whom, according to Stoker’s real-life biography, he didn’t actually meet until much later, and who is sometimes cited as a possible inspiration for Van Helsing in DRACULA). A wild, suspenseful plot follows, with layers upon layers of dark secrets unearthed. Bram, of course, survives, although the family doesn’t get through without severe trauma and lingering scars. Although I remained emotionally distanced from the characters and the plot, I have to acknowledge the creeping horror and the atmospheric writing. The concluding Authors’ Note maintains the illusion that this collection of documents (journals, letters, memoirs, etc.) constitutes an authentic discovery that reveals the secret biographical sources of DRACULA. While I hope no reader would take this conventional literary device for truth, stranger things have happened. I was mostly able to suspend disbelief in the documentation—I’ve been a big fan of epistolary narrative structure since my first reading of DRACULA, at age twelve—but some aspects strain credibility too far. Thornley somehow transcribes after the fact, from memory, Vambery’s oral translation of a crucial manuscript? Bram’s writing his memoir while trapped in a ruined tower besieged by vampires is also a bit hard to accept. Nevertheless, most DRACULA fans will probably find points of interest in this deeply researched horror novel.
*****
Excerpt from “Little Cat Feet”:
Just as Lauren was working up the nerve to try a door on one of the deserted rowhouses, she heard a noise from the alley next to it. Her first impulse was to run the other way. She definitely had no desire to meet anybody else prowling the night, somebody who might be a mugger or a crazed drug addict. When she heard the sound repeated, though, she paused. A screech…no, more like a yowl. It reminded her of an enraged cat. Another noise mingled with it—laughter.
Lauren tiptoed to the alley and peeked around the corner of the building. The wan glow from a nearby street lamp cast just enough light into the shadows to reveal two dark-haired boys who looked her age or a little older. They stood over a super-size garbage can. The cries came from there. Definitely a cat. One of the boys held a broom, which he kept poking into the can.
“Hey, what do you think you’re doing?” She mentally cursed the way her voice wobbled.
One of the guys, lean and wiry with a buzz-cut, flashed a grin at her. “Who’s asking?”
“What’s in that can?” Glad she sounded a little more confident this time, she marched up to them.
The second boy, taller and broader with his black hair in a ponytail, said, “None of your business. Get lost. Unless you want to have some fun with us.” He made a grab for the front of her jacket.
Dodging, Lauren peered into the can. It was almost full of water. Inside, a cat paddled frantically. An orange tabby, as far as she could make out the color of its sodden fur in the dim light. Its cries drilled into her skull like an ice pick stabbing her eardrums.
A flush of anger flooded her cheeks. A pulse hammered in her temples. “Let it go!” she screamed.
The cat scrambled to the edge of the can and hooked its claws over the rim. The pony-tailed boy jabbed the animal with the broom to force it back into the water. With an inarticulate shriek of rage, Lauren seized the broomstick and threw her whole weight against it.
“Yo, bitch, what do you think you’re doing?” The boy fought to wrestle the broom out of her grip.
From the corner of her eye, she saw the cat scrabbling at the edge of the can again. Meanwhile, the other boy grabbed her arm. Whirling around, she smacked him with the bristled end. He yelled a curse and gave her a hard shove. She staggered, and the hefty guy wrenched the broom out of her hands and tossed it on the ground.
The cat leaped free of the can and dashed out of the alley. The thin boy slapped Lauren across the face. With tears of pain and fury blurring her vision, she faced the two punks, her fingers curled as if she had claws herself.
“That wasn’t nice. We had a bet,” the guy with the ponytail said.
Breathing hard, she glowered at him. “What bet?”
“How long a cat can tread water before it drowns.” His hand shot out to grab the collar of her jacket. “You should pay for screwing up the game. Let’s see what you got for us.” He tugged the zipper down to reveal the sweatshirt she wore underneath.
When she tried to pull free, his friend caught both of her arms and twisted them behind her. The pain forced a scream from her. Why didn’t somebody hear it and come to her rescue?
Come here? Who am I kidding?
The bigger boy clutched her pendant. “Yo, what’s this? Real silver?”
Her heart pounding furiously, she said, “Don’t touch that.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.” He broke the chain with a quick jerk.
Lauren writhed in the smaller boy’s grasp. “Give that back!” she cried. “It’s my grandmother’s!”
“Yeah? What’ll you give us for it?” the boy with the buzz-cut asked. Relaxing his hold, he snaked one hand down her front to squeeze a breast, hard, through her shirt. Her head reeled with fear and anger. She kicked the larger boy in the shin, then wiggled around to face the smaller one. She drove a knee into his groin. He doubled over, groaning.
Hey, that really works!
The hefty guy was reaching for her. She shoved the palm of her hand into his nose. The crunching noise made her stomach lurch, but he stumbled backward. Thank God her mom had made her practice those moves.
Mentally giving thanks for her time on the girls’ cross-country team, too, Lauren bolted for the street. She sprinted around the corner and ducked into the next alley she came to. There, she dropped to her knees behind a dumpster and huddled in the deepest pool of shadow.
Unless she got super lucky, they would find her sooner or later. Probably sooner. The snow wasn’t falling heavily enough to cover her tracks right away. Meanwhile, those jerks had her pendant. Grandmama’s pendant. Fresh tears welled in her eyes. She choked down a sob to keep from making a noise that would give her away.
Now that she’d stopped running, the cold hit her anew. She hugged herself and shivered while the wind spattered her with damp snowflakes. She heard the two punks yelling to each other as they searched along the street. Another sound cut into her misery, a low hiss.
Glancing up and rubbing her eyes with a gloved hand, she found the orange tabby staring at her. Its pawprints lined up beside her own footprints. With a flick of its tail, the cat paced toward the far end of the alley.
A female voice said, “This way. Quickly, before those two catch up with you.”
Lauren looked frantically from side to side, searching for the woman who’d spoken.
The cat trotted back to her and rubbed insistently against her leg. “Get up! What are you waiting for? Follow me.” She headed for the alley’s outlet again.
Okay, that cat did not talk. I’m dreaming or losing my mind.
Nevertheless, the animal acted as if it wanted to lead Lauren somewhere, and it wasn’t like she had a better plan. She hauled herself to her feet and hurried after her feline guide. Around the back of the rowhouse that marked one side of the alley, the cat led her to a stoop and a boarded-up door. Behind the boards, the door stood an inch or two ajar. Picking its way up the three concrete steps, the cat nudged a spot where the planks had been broken to create a narrow opening.
-end of excerpt-
*****
My Publishers:
Writers Exchange E-Publishing: Writers Exchange
Harlequin: Harlequin
Whiskey Creek: Whiskey Creek
Wild Rose Press: Wild Rose Press
You can contact me at: MLCVamp@aol.com
“Beast” wishes until next time—
Margaret L. Carter