Indie Author Spotlight - Toni Lombardo

 
The YA Author Club is expanding is author presence and bringing on new talent every single week. This week, we are introducing the newest member of our team, Toni Lombardo. She is not an indie author, and she does not plan to become one. She's working hard at establishing herself within the traditionally published world. We wish her the best of luck in her efforts and thought it might be kind of cool to offer our fans/friends/followers a new voice within the club. 
Instead of posting information about indie publishing, Toni will take a few minutes every few weeks to fill us in on her trials and tribulations as she journeys toward the Big Six.

Also... leave us a comment and let know which Big Six pic you like best #1 (first one) or #2 (second one). The one getting the most votes/comments will be the one we use to introduce Toni's posts from this point forward.

Social Media Sites for Toni:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/write_to_live
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IamLifewriter

Without further ado, we are pleased to introduce Toni Lombardo:

Hello there blog readers! Toni here, I am going to talk about myself now.  Hope you don’t mind.

Okay, so first off I am a twenty something (21)  and striving to be a writer!  I am currently(ish)  a student at a community college (although at the moment I am taking a break from school)  and my plan is to major in meteorology.  Of course I’ll have to transfer to a four year.  In some moments I want to major in English, because I am in love with words (a good thing for a writer, right?) .  I would like to teach an elective class in a preppy school to do with the appreciation of old timey writers (Stoker, Melville, Shelley, etc.) and introduce the kids to modern day writers who I think are fantastic such as John Green (The Fault in Our Stars) , Jay Asher (Thirteen Reasons Why) , *clears throat* T.R. Graves (not kissing up, she is actually really great, like go read her books now!) .

I have been writing since I can remember.  I wrote short stories or was forced to by teachers, but I always enjoyed it and nine times out of ten exceeded the length required or well wanted (sometimes they weren’t happy) .  My dad also made up stories for me when I was little, I hope to one day publish and anthology of them (I do attribute that to my love of the plot) .  I actually sat down to write a book when by hand when I was fourteen? Maybe? But I gave up on that book (I will one day reapproach that book, but for now the characters and I are not mixing…it’s not my fault blame them)  to write what I wanted to publish as my first.  I started that book when I was fifteen and finished it when I was sixteen and went onto the next.  I am on the third in the series and am currently rewriting the first book.  I was young when I wrote it and afraid of words like sex, so I would dance around the word.  Plus other things I wrote in it are just cringe worthy and embarrassing.  Trust and believe if a writer says their work is cringe worthy it is…we are our biggest critic yes, but if we can make ourselves cringe it is pretty correct to believe that the reader would wonder what the heck the writer was thinking.

I spend my days working at a clothing store.  I love it.  I work with kids ranging from size 6-20.  I love working with the girls who aren’t societies standard of ‘beauty’.  It’s great because you can see the kid coming in so self-conscious (because they are a size 16 not 12 like their friends)  and leave smiling because you told them they are beautiful and helped them pick out clothes and raved over how amazing the kid looked and sometimes the kid even hugs you.  I know this sounds like I am saying ‘oh look at me.  I’m so great.  Blah, blah, blah.’  That is not my intention.  Today’s society is so messed up, these kids are so self-conscious at such a young age, and they are getting bullied.  Their parents telling them they are beautiful is one thing, when a someone else makes a big deal about it the kid feels good.  I think it’s a thing everyone should do.  Encourage people, because one day you will need it.   Okay enough about my job.

I also spend my days plotting up stories and plot twists.  I like listening to music and sometimes it even inspires or curbs scenes. I like going to the gym and reading, it is where I get most of my reading in.  In one day at work…working on stock in the back room, five new book ideas came flooding in.

I have one dog, a Beta named Platelet in one tank with a snail, eight goldfish all named after characters in my books and a Plecko and a snail in another tank that is huge.  I have the plecko and snails to help keep the tanks clean.

I’d like to write more often and I need to.  It is the best and worst thing in the world, if you are a writer you will understand that sentence; if you are not a writer ask one that you know.

I use Twitter and Instagram and Facebook to interact with writers and friends and share stuff about my books and from time to time excerpts! 

I hope to change the publishing world by introducing them to new styles of writing!  And once you get to know me you know I don’t just dabble in things, I jump in whole heartedly with both feet, and most of the time without a safety net.   I am beginning to blog under the supervision and guidance of Graves (I just love her) .  Please come back bi-weekly to join me on my journey of publishing and writing on my blog series called Toni’s Big Six Journey. 

It can be found here: http://yaauthorclub.blogspot.com

Listening to: Wishing Well by Ben Moody: All for This

Quote: “Just know, when you truly want success, you’ll never give up on it. No matter how bad the situation may get.” - Unknown

Spotlight Interview Questions:

1) What is your all-time favorite book and why?

“The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green (TFIOS) .  It is just perfect.  I cried on every page and went hysterical at Chapter 21.  I re-read the book within two months and re-experienced all that beautiful pain (readers of this book will get it #nerdfighter) .  Also, I bonded with my IBBF (internet best friend forever)  over this book.  We’ve known each other for a little over two months as of 7.12.2013, but it is one of the greatest friendships I have had.  So, beyond being a great book it brought me a great friend.

2) Is there an author you could be compared to or popular fictional characters your book's characters could relate to and why?

Oh gosh, this is a biggie.  I don’t really know.  I have my own style, but some of my darker pieces, like “The Tale-Tale Heart” which is a re-doing of “The Tell-Tale Heart” by E.A. Poe for a final English paper, have been associated to Poe.  I’m actually about to start a second mirroring piece of his, that T.R. Graves is up-to-date about.

As far as characters…People are going to think TFIOS for some of my characters, because I talk about the book ALL the time and it is a book about kids with cancer.  But my book is about a kid or two with cancer but there is more of a story to it than that, just like Green’s.

As far as my characters relating to other characters…oh I don’t know, never thought about that.  I’ve read books with characters that reminded me of mine, but never really thought about it that way.  I think Devon would like Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher.

3) Can you give us your favorite quote from one of your books and explain it?

“If you don’t know, you do not deserve to know!” –Devon

Oh my, how can I explain, Devon?  Okay so in this scene Devon just found out something in his family. Sorry for being vague, don’t want to give away plot points. He is really struggling in his life at the moment and this news was just devastating.  Like a lot of teens Devon struggles with the idea of self-harm and when his brother is talking to him he (Devon)  hints to wanting to hurt himself, and when his brother doesn’t get the hint he says the above quote possibly angrily. 

4) What types of things/people/music inspires you and makes you want to keep writing?

Things that inspire me to write…I don’t know.  Sometimes I just see something, okay I was in a store the other day and saw a beautiful all glass frame, free standing.  I saw it and instantly knew it belonged to a character in one of my W.I.P.s, and when I got home it was already done the character would have it in their house.  So it is just kind of random, if I see something and it attaches to a character, I say it inspired me.

People- My best friend Anne is who I write for along with a few other people.  Anne is my muse and my ‘first reader’.  She keeps me going when I don’t want to write and pushes me to finish projects. So she inspires me as well as Graves, Green, Asher, and others.

Music!!! Ahh, such an inspiration!  Don’t want to say too much here because this topic is going to be a whole blog post for me!

What makes me want to keep writing—my characters.  I get a points where I miss them and I physically feel missing them, I feel pain of sorts.  Sometimes just thinking and plotting and writing notes just does not suffice, so I write to subdue the longing for interacting with them.  And I love writing, so that helps.

5) Describe your typical writing day or week.

They are random.  I write whenever and wherever.  At one point I was writing (more than this at home)  every Friday night at the bar in Red Robin, where one of my friends works.  I would buy an unsweetened peach tea with EXTRA regular syrup and she kept me in well supply.   It was a great writing environment and the support was great!

6) Is there a food or drink do you have to have when you're writing?

I love, love, love peach tea, but I can’t have too much caffeine otherwise I can’t sleep.  So at one point it was that, but now….yeah, it is still that, I just can’t have it all the time.

7) Can you tell us what you're working on right now (& possibly provide an excerpt & cover) ?

Sooooo many things! The book I am working on to get published first is Life’s Not a Fantasy I have a cover idea, but no cover yet!  An excerpt? Sure!  Here is the introduction.  It is written by Devon:

It wasn’t ever supposed to be like this.  Our family was always so torn apart, even before what I’m, about to write.  Dad was out fighting for ‘our safety’ but was never home...he was a ‘lifer’.  Mom chose her favorites and clung tightly to them, and I fell to the bottom of that spectrum.  I was okay with it though.

I was always the ‘untypical typical’ teenager, meaning I was or still am the loner.  I’ve done my fair share of stupid things, but more on that later.

He, Cameron always held us together.  He was our rock.  He could make or break our family and now his name resonates with pain.

How can one name ruin everything?  How can one name bring so much pain?

It’s been days, moments, but his name already feels like a curse. 

Thanks for reading!  Hope this was entertaining.

Keep writing,

Indie Author Spotlight - K. C. Blake

Author Bio:   K.C. Blake is a ninja on the keyboard.  When she is locked away in her office, pounding out another story, no one dares disturb her.  She probably wouldn’t hear them anyway.  They don’t get it.  They think she’s in her office, but she’s lost in another world.  Sometimes she is fighting vampires or hunting ghosts.  Sometimes she is running with a werewolf pack or falling in love with a misunderstood creature.  Her books appeal to lovers of the paranormal.  Whether you are twelve or fifty, you will fall in love with her stories.

Website

Twitter: @kasiblake

VampiresRule Fan Page

K.C.Blake Fan Page

GoodreadsPage

Interview:

1) What is your all-time favorite book and why?

City of Bones.  I love the way Cassandra Clare writes, so visual that I can see it, and I love her awesome characters.

2) Is there an author you could be compared to or popular fictional characters your book's characters could relate to and why?

I don’t think my characters are like any other characters I’ve read about.  My writing is my own.  I’ve been told I have a unique voice, a unique way of writing.  Some people love it and some of don’t.

3) Can you give us your favorite quote from one of your books and explain it?

This is a hard one. I can’t think of one off the top of my head, so I will use one that people have put on Goodreads as their favorite.  It is from Vampires Rule.

“Stop!” she screamed. “Don’t hurt him.”

“Back off!” Billy shouted.

She yanked harder on Billy’s arm.

“He isn’t a vampire anymore, idiot. Look! Do you see that big, yellow thing up in the sky? That’s called the sun. It’s shining down on him, and he isn’t exploding. His fangs are gone. He’s as human as we are. Case closed.”

Billy stared up at the sky, his jaw slack. “Not possible.”

Jack mumbled, “They don’t call me Jackpot for nothing.”

“What?” Billy blinked at him.

“Private joke.”

I think it’s pretty self-explanatory.  Jack was a vampire and now he’s not, and his brother just found out.

4) What types of things/people/music inspires you and makes you want to keep writing?

There isn’t any certain thing that inspires me.  Once in a while a movie or book will speak to me.  Sometimes a person I know will say something that sends me into a ‘what if’ daydream.  As for music, I love listening to songs while I write.  What I listen to depends on what sort of scene I’m writing.  I need a song that captures the emotions of the scene.  Then I can picture it in my head, and I’ll listen to that song a hundred times if I have to in order to finish what I’m working on.

5) Describe your typical writing day or week.

Within five minutes of waking I am thinking about whatever book I’m working on.  I might listen to music and daydream about it for a while, or I might jot down some notes.  Usually I spend time on-line before pulling my book up on the computer.  I check email, do some research, and play games (lol) before starting to work.  Then I work on and off all day until I get a chapter finished or am too tired to keep going.  I take breaks quite often.  If I don’t, my eyes and head hurt so bad the next day that I can’t work at all.

6) Is there a food or drink do you have to have when you're writing?

No.  Eating and or drinking distracts me from the writing.  If anything, once in a while I will have some chocolate, something I can just pop into my mouth.  I’ll use it as a reward.  I get one after I finish a certain amount of pages.

7) Can you tell us what you're working on right now (& possibly provide an excerpt & cover)?

I am editing a book called Bait, the first in a new series.  Here is the blurb for it:

At sixteen, Bay-Lee Bishop is not your typical girl.  The last thing she wants is to be popular, but flying below the radar isn’t easy when you’re the tallest girl in the eleventh grade.  She works hard to keep a steady C point average, never raises her hand in class, and avoids extra-curricular activity of any kind.  The other students would be stunned to learn she’s living under an alias as she and her uncle move from town to town, just barely staying a step ahead of the monsters hunting her just because she’s Van Helsing’s daughter.

Life is weird.  Then it gets worse.  A reaper uses her closet to cross over with a dire warning the day before she’s whisked away to her new school.  This time it’s the school she was always meant to attend, a school that trains hunters.  

This is what she’s been waiting for her whole life, only it isn’t anything like she imagined. The other students hate her, something evil is killing hunters, and her mentor refuses to give her the slightest bit of help.  Determined to make her father proud, Bay-Lee focuses on her training.  Nothing is going to distract her.  Not border monsters or wraiths or the boy with jungle green eyes.

For Bay-Lee, love is not an option.  But try telling that to her heart.

Excerpt: (keep in mind this book is still being edited)

At some point during the night a stranger crawled into Bay-Lee’s bed while she snored softly, unaware.  The mattress springs squeaked in complaint beneath the additional weight as he reclined on his side and stared down at her face in the moonlight.  It bothered him that she continued to sleep.  After all the stories he’d heard about this girl, exploited rumors verging on myth, he’d expected more from her.  Shouldn’t she be able to sense danger?

This was Van Helsing’s daughter?  She looked insignificant, vulnerable beneath the green sheet.  He could snap her neck so easily—and maybe he should.  The world would continue on, undisturbed, but the dark cloud hanging over his head would finally dissipate.

A fraction of moonlight filtered through partially open curtains, not enough to see clearly, but it didn’t matter because he’d seen pictures of this girl on Van Helsing’s desk.  Her features were burned into his retinas.  Every time he went into the office he tried not to look at the photographs, purposely pointing his gaze elsewhere.

There was something about her, something unsettling which inevitably pulled him back to stare at her reproduced image.  She looked like an average girl at first glance.  A pretty face framed by dark hair that nearly reached her waist, parted in the middle and layered stared back at him.  Of Brazilian descent, her eyes were the darkest of browns, nearly black.  They hid a mountain of secrets.  She had attitude to spare and the camera caught it, recording it for future historians—if the prophecies were correct, they would want to study her.

She possessed a ‘bite me’ expression that must drive vampires crazy.

Fortunately, he was not a vampire.

Her mouth bothered him the most. Full lips haunted his dreams with a secretive smile curving the ends and a bottom lip that begged to be nibbled on. Sometimes, when he wasn’t carefully controlling his thoughts, he wondered what she would taste like.  In his dreams, when he wasn’t fully in control of his mind, he kissed her without ceasing.  He wondered what would happen if he kissed her in real life.  Would it stir something deep in his soul?  Would the prophecy come true?

Something hard lodged in his throat and he swallowed.  It was a near miss, so he swallowed again.  Kissing her shouldn’t even be a blip on the radar. This girl was the reason he didn’t have a home or a family.  It was her fault he’d grown up on the outside looking in, her fault people whispered behind his back, and her fault he was destined to die young.

Bay-Lee stirred in her sleep.  Mumbling, she pushed against his chest with two fingers.  “Go ‘way.”

Cute like a box of kittens, for a second he forgot to hate her.  His heart momentarily softened—not for long.  The unfamiliar sensation was enough to wipe the half-smile from his face.  Delivering a mental kick to his brain, he reminded himself this girl was the last person in the world he could let his guard down around.  She was worse than trouble.  If he wasn’t careful, this seemingly harmless meeting would lead to his total destruction.

Ready to wake her, he leaned in close and whispered her (fake) name.  Like him, she was forced to live under an alias.  Michelle.

Vampires Rule:  FREE

They don't call him Jackpot for nothing.

Jack has always beat the odds... until now. When a werewolf tried to kill him, vampires saved him. When he got tired of life as a vampire, another attack gave him back his mortality. Now Jack just wants to live a normal life, but what's normal about having a hunter for a girlfriend, a brother who wants to stake him to be on the safe side, and a werewolf building an army to rule the world?

Amazon

Smashwords

Werewolves Rule: $2.99

The second book in the Rule Series

Amazon

Smashwords

Shifters Rule: $2.99

Third book in the Rule Series

Amazon

Smashwords

Crushed: $2.99

The Noah sisters rule Titan High with their beauty, brains, and magical powers.

Each year they play a secret game: Crushed. The girls pick their targets carefully and blow enchanted dust into the boy’s faces, charming them, but this year Kristen makes a grave mistake. She chooses the wrong boy and almost dies that same day. Coincidence? Maybe.

But something isn’t quite right about Zach Bevian. He doesn’t behave like a boy who’s been Crushed. He goes from hot to cold, from looking at her with contempt to asking her out on a date. She doesn’t know what to think. Does he hate her or is he truly falling for her? Is he trying to kill her, or is he trying to save her?

Amazon

Smashwords

Witch Hunt: $2.99

A magical game of Hide n Seek begins.

Find the missing player and win.

The game resets, everyone forgets, and they start to play again.

Starr Hughes hasn’t believed in magic since her mother died. As a reporter for the school paper she’s only interested in cold, hard facts. When she hears rumors that the mysterious It-Squad members are about to play a secret game, she is determined to learn all about it, especially since she’s been in love with one of the members half her life. Hiding under the headmaster’s desk, planting bugs, and breaking into a fellow student’s locker are all on her to-do list.

Starr is about to discover that witches not only exist, but they need her help. Someone is using the game to steal their memories, their powers, and maybe even their lives.

ATTENTION: Although this is the second book in the series, each book has its own set of characters and can be read as a stand-alone book.

Amazon

Smashwords

Bait:  (coming Summer 2013)  FREE

If you don’t think monsters in the closet are real, ask Bay-Lee.

At sixteen, Bay-Lee Bishop is on her way to a new school, a training ground for hunters.  Before she leaves she gets an unexpected visitor, a reaper with a warning: It kills you on your birthday.  For years she’s dreamed of becoming a great hunter so she can avenge her mom… but school is nothing like she imagined.  The students resent her, a border monster is running loose, her mentor refuses to help her, and hunters are dying on their birthdays.  If she’s going to live long enough to reach her goal, she’ll have to solve this mystery before the day of her birth arrives.

The last thing she needs is to fall in love.  No problem.  Bay-Lee is focused and determined.  She barely notices boys.  Then she meets Nick Gallos, a gorgeous boy with jungle green eyes, a reckless heart, and a past darker than her own.

Indie Author Spotlight - Rachel Coles

Rachel Coles - Author of Pazuzu's Girl, Into the Ruins, and Beyond The Veil

Rachel Coles lives in Denver with her family in Denver, Colorado. She works in public health disaster preparedness. She enjoys researching mythology to incorporate into story-telling. Her family and friends share her enthusiasm for fantasy and science fiction, she is the proud mom of one of the youngest Trekkies in the state.

Social Media Sites:

Author Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads

Spotlight Author Questions:

1. What is your all-time favorite book, and why?

I'm not sure I could pick a single one. One of my favorite series is Dan Simmons' Hyperion series: Hyperion, Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, Rise of Endymion. I loved those books because they were complex, and when I put the last one down, it felt like my brain had changed after reading them. Mind-blowing. The series explored human evolution, not just physical, but religious and cultural, in the kind of time-span covered by Dune. It also explored artificial intelligence, in a different way than anything I'd read before. I also loved reading Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. I always enjoy reading that because Discworld really picks you up and carries you away in the story. And that world is hilarious. Terry Pratchett takes typical tropes like vampires, dwarves, werewolves, etc, and turns everything on its head. He's a really fun read, great for escaping. But I would say that the book whose phrases stayed with me for decades was either Something Wicked This Way Comes, or The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. He was one of the most poetic writers I'd ever seen, and really impressed upon me the power of words.

2. Is there an author you could be compared to or a popular fictional character you could relate to and why?

I have been compared to Neil Gaiman once or twice, because of the mythological content of some of my stories. That absolutely makes me feel honored. He is another one of my favorite authors, and I have to admit that I've emulated him in a lot of ways. As for characters I could relate to, I guess I would have to say Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit. I come from a family of Hobbits, pretty much. We're mostly little people who love to eat and talk, and eat and talk, and eat and talk. I'm mostly not exaggerating. When I went to my aunt's retirement party, we stopped at a deli and got pounds of meat, knishes, whitefish salad, bagels etc, on the way to her place from the airplane. Two hours later, we went to her party at which we didn't stop eating, talking, and dancing for five hours. And when we got home, we cracked open the leftovers and ate again, chatting around the kitchen table. And that was just the beginning of the weekend. Elevensies/luncheon/afternoon tea/dinner/supper, they all ran together. Somehow I'm not 800 pounds. That's why I think we're secretly Hobbits. I am specifically a bit like Bilbo Baggins because I like telling stories, I am a creature of habit, and don't normally go for anything unexpected, but every once in a while, I throw my hands up, give in to my wild side, and get into trouble.

3. Can you give us your favorite quote from your book and explain it?

My favorite quote, spoken by Pazuzu, is "I will do whatever I have to do to protect you, even if I do it poorly in your eyes. You are young and angry and nothing is as simple as you imagine." I like it because Pazuzu's Girl is partly about what it means to be a parent. Whatever his other flaws are, he loves his daughter, and insists on being a dad, even if it means Morpho is mad at him. It reminds me of what I have heard some parents say, 'It's not my job to be your friend, it's my job to be your mom/dad.' I'm sure that I will someday have this conversation with my daughter when she is a teenager, because I had it with my parents at some point.

4. What types of things/people/music inspires you and makes you want to keep on writing?

Everything. I'm a space cadet and cannot stop daydreaming, and every experience I have somehow wends its way into a story. But specifically, I'm a child of the 80's. I mostly listen to 80's music because even though it's corny often, there was an optimism then, and now a nostalgia. It's energetic, bittersweet, and just kind of grabs my emotions. I write best when I'm caught up in some emotion or other. People who inspire me to keep writing are my family and friends. My daughter was the reason I started writing. She loves to hear bedtime stories, particularly scary stories. And when we had burned through all of the remotely age-appropriate scary stories we could find, we started making them up together. I started writing them down, and kept going. My husband who is my best friend is really supportive and beta-reads my stories. The writing group I'm part of, we critique each others material, and have peer-pressure writing nights and get each other to write (pssst, just a few words, you know you want to, all the cool kids are doing it...)

5. Describe your typical writing day or week.

My writing can be kind of scattershot. I have weeks where I'll sit up until midnight after my daughter goes to bed, and write every night. Other times, it'll be only on peer-pressure writing night, when I take my daughter with me to Panera and she plays Minecraft, while we all write, though I often have her write me a story on her iPad too.

6. Is there a typical food/drink you have to have when you write?

Well, I don't know if I have a particular food or drink, whatever I'm in the mood for at the time. Usually iced tea of some kind. I've gotten into the habit of eating a Panera sandwich and soup, and one of their brownies. I love eating their brownies when I'm writing, and am sad when they're all out by the time I get there. Their chocolate chip cookies are nice, gooey, and chewy too. But I can't eat those every time I write, or I'd need a forklift to get me to the restaurant.

7. Can you tell us what you're working on now, possibly an excerpt?

I'm working on a sequel to Pazuzu's Girl. For now the working title is Iron Butterfly. But I will probably change it, because there are really four main characters: Morpho-- the demon Pazuzu's daughter who is also part Sidhe, Ereshkigal--ruler of the Underworld, Ninhab Agresti--Morpho and JD's high school principal and future consort of Ereshkigal, and Marduk--ancient god-king of Babylon now a CEO.

From 'Iron Butterfly'

The tunnel went on in darkness for a ways. Morpho couldn't tell how long. She had the feeling of rough walls on either side and above. The ground felt like loose dirt underneath her sneakers. But light grew ahead, and slowly they emerged out of the tunnel. There was sky overhead, but it wasn't like any sky she'd ever seen. There was a moon like the moon outside in the regular world, except bigger, and brighter. It was clearer, and looked somehow like a bowl of molten silver dripping little pearls into the rest of the sky. The sky around the moon was deep emerald green shading into black velvet, which was littered with rainbow swaths of stars.

“Whoa.” JD stared around him at the thick bushes and trees. Their leaves were bronze and teardrop-shaped, with an iridescent sheen. Other bushes looked periwinkle blue in the glow from dozens of insectile motes that flitted away through the trees. The forest went dark, and she had somehow gotten the impression that they hadn't been alone when they had come out. “Okay, then.” JD whispered. He kept going along a faint trail. “That was cool. Like Tinkerbell's family.”

She looked back at the tunnel, but there was only foliage behind them. “Tunnel's gone...Of course.” She muttered. “Okay.” She followed him until the trees thinned out to a broad plain of rolling grass-covered hills. The trail widened into a road that threaded through the swells of land. They had been walking for about five minutes, cresting the first hill when the baying started in the distance to the left. It got louder quickly as whatever made that sound came closer, but as she stared out at the hills, she couldn't see anything, at first. Then a form took shape in the low mist that cloaked the valleys. As it got closer, it looked like a woman riding a chariot, that was drawn by the largest dogs she had ever seen. They were the size of horses, so black the light of the moon just sunk into their fur. Their ringed yellow and red eyes shone from their heads like lamps, and their sharp teeth were as black as obsidian. She didn't get as far as noticing what the woman looked like.

“Oh hell!” Morpho and JD turned and ran.

“Change, Babe, change!” JD yelled to her. “They won't be able to chase all of you!” he panted. “Or maybe you could test your Cuisinart wings move!”

She changed into a cloud of butterflies with razor wings and flew up into the sky above the chariot to get a vantage point, but the chariot had gained on JD. Then just when she thought that it couldn't get worse, the chariot split into three. Three chariots, three sets of hellish dogs, and three women. They circled JD.

Leave him alone! She thought, as she dived at them. But the woman in the middle raised her hand, and suddenly, Morpho was human again as she slammed down onto the ground in front of the figure, whose hand was still outstretched toward her. Morpho couldn't move, not even to turn her head, so she had a moment to see the women who had captured them. The tallest one had blazing red hair, not just Irish red, but so red it was almost like flames drifting around her head, barely restrained in long braids that were bound by delicate chains ending in tiny golden balls. She wore a gold circlet with swirls across the band. Her eyes were blood red. The woman to her left had a face very much like the red-haired woman, enough to be sisters. Her hair was as black as the messenger Raven's wings, almost as black as the hell-hounds' fur, absorbing light. Her black irises were like two holes in her eyeballs. Her nose was long and slightly curved, and her lips were thinner than her sister's. The last woman was as pale as her sister was dark, the shortest of the three. She had pure white hair, as long as the other two. Her skin was the color of bone, and the eeriest part was her eyes. They were completely white. There were no pupils or irises, just milky white all the way across. They were terrible to look at, and oddly beautiful.

The red-haired one spoke. “You certainly are curious little creatures, aren't you? Lugh told us you were coming. I warned your mother that you would be too curious for your own good at some point. I told her you would be your father's child.”

“Who are you?” Morpho choked and strained against the force that held her head down. It released suddenly, and she sat up, spitting soil.

“I am Nemain. We are the Morrigan. We rule here. You would do well to show us some respect. Especially since you are trespassing.”

“Lugh is here? He told you about...us?” She glanced at JD. The dogs stood in front of him, a low rumbling growl issuing from their throats.

“Yes, though Macha saw that you would come.” She nodded at the white sister.

“Uh, sorry, we didn't mean to trespass.” JD gulped, looking at the length of the dogs' teeth.

The black-haired sister turned to her sibling, opened her mouth and a caw bordering on a shriek came out. It wasn't amiable, like Raven's caw. It was sharp and dangerous. Her nose seemed longer and her lips and white teeth seemed sharper.

Nemain studied JD. “Badb says you are young and...cute, like a lapdog. She wants to let you live, for now. Very well.” She reached over Morpho, as if her arm simply stretched and grew. Her long-fingered white hand grasped the back of Morpho's shirt and hauled her up as if she were a kitten, into the chariot and dumped her at her slippered feet. Badb took JD. His face was frozen somewhere between terror and the goofy look he got when he stared at his busty guitar girl posters. If Morpho had been closer to him, she would have smacked him. But then, the chariots took off with a lurch and they were moving so swiftly she didn't have a chance to do anything but slit her eyes against the wind as they flew. Everything turned grey and when she looked down at her hands, they seemed insubstantial, like mist. The dogs, JD, Badb and Macha, all of them seemed to blend into the grey so their edges blurred. She didn't want to turn and see the red-haired queen behind her. And then, they slowed to a halt. Now, they were in a circle of grey stones so tall, the shadows they cast from the moon must have spread across the plain they were on for a mile. And across the shadows, filling up the plain behind them were hosts of fairies of all kinds. At least that's what Morpho thought they were when the chariots pulled around. There were some very powerful looking fairies around a semicircle of thrones in the center of the stone circle. Their thrones were all different too. One of them was made of what looked like carved amber, inlaid with gold in the same swirling designs as the red-haired queen's circlet. Another was made entirely of silver, another of pure gold, shining in the moonlight. Another appeared to be made of woven branches and soft emerald moss. Lounging in the amber throne, was Lugh, their erstwhile legal guardian. He had a gold circlet around his forehead, the only thing controlling his wild tawny locks. He wore what looked like a fine red linen tunic with gold embroidery and woolen plaid leggings.

“Hi, luv! Took you long enough.”

“You knew we were coming.” Morpho said.

“I've been livin' with you for almost a year. And I know your mama.”

“So...you're not mad? That we, uh, poked around and, uh, followed you?”

“I didn't say that.” His pale eyes flickered for a moment with golden light. “But you're my cousin's girl. I'm under a geas that I'd look after you if something happened to...the other side o' yer family.”

“Under a what?”

He smiled grimly. “Geas. An oath.”

“Oh.” She swallowed, somehow deflated.

“Relax, I like you. I like yer boy too,” he nodded at JD, “or we'd be havin' a very different conversation right now."

 “Do you vouch for them, Lugh Lamfada?” The man who sat in the golden throne boomed. Though he was seated, he was obviously tall and powerfully built. His hair was silver. He had none of the other marks of advanced age, but Morpho could tell he was old. Really old. Not crusty though. He radiated power. He had the bearing most jocks took steroids to try to look like, with half the brains.

“I do, your Highness.” Lugh inclined his head.

The Morrigan hauled her and JD out of their chariots in front of the King. Then the chariots collapsed into a single throne made of black sharp rock and padded with what Morpho seriously hoped wasn't human skin. There were six heads tied by the hair onto the sides of the throne. And instead of three women, there was only Nemain now. She stared at Morpho. Her expression was somewhere between contempt and curiosity. Either way, it was unsettling. She said nothing.

Pazuzu's Girl - Morpho Wilson thought her life was difficult enough. Her father is Pazuzu, the Mesopotamian demon of plague and the Southwest wind. As a teenager Morpho struggles against her father, while trying to adjust to high school in a new neighborhood. The family is constantly moving in an attempt to elude Pazuzu’s murderous ex-wife, a demoness known for killing children.

Then something unique happens. A socially-impaired classmate becomes so intrigued by Morpho that he pursues her, despite the mystery surrounding her family and the danger that accompanies it.

But before their romance can grow the demoness tracks Morpho down, and now only needs an ancient artifact called the Tablet of Destiny to complete the destruction of the world. The tablet confers on its owner the ability to control the fate of everything and everyone on earth.

Once the tablet is discovered in the Middle East, the oldest and most powerful gods begin a battle for its possession, with the human population caught in the middle. Morpho, her family, and her new friend must decide, do they escape from the horrifying demoness or fight for their own destiny. How far will Pazuzu go to save his daughter from a hellish fate? Will his banishment from Heaven so many millennia ago end up being a curse...or a blessing?

Into The Ruins is an urban fantasy anthology featuring life-changing or world-changing events. They feature everything from comic horror, as in Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, horror, as in Mushrooms, historical fantasy, as in Plagues, science fiction, as in Whistles, and finally a fun animal story, as in Beergarden.

In Diary of a Duct Tape Zombie, Detective Nate Mallon investigated vice, when he was alive. Being a police officer was his life. Even dying didn't dampen his enthusiasm for solving his last case. However, there are others who aren't ready to be dead yet, and they aren't trying to solve cases. They are at the center of them.

In Mushrooms, Kallie and Mark Sangiovi didn't live complicated lives. They enjoyed their humble home in Denver, fresh food, and most of all: each other's company. But one strange summer in 2011, everything changed. What begins with an invasion of ants, and summer colds, brings them to the brink of death, in a few days. And they aren't the only ones. During this time, Denver becomes an eerie city, populated by the sick, whose imperative is to bite the people closest to them. The city grows still as the epidemic progresses, and Kallie and Mark leave the human race behind.

In Plagues, Miryam, humble daughter of Hebrews, doesn't have many aspirations as a slave in the city of Ra'amses. It might not be much, but the stability of her husband, child, and home are enough for her to live her life as it is. Her brother, Moses, raised in the Pharaoh's palace and 'touched by God', has grander aspirations for their entire people. But there are many sides to the growing conflicts. The political situation deteriorates in Mitzrayim with the rising power of Ramses, and the advent of terrible environmental disasters. And Miryam finds that her friendship with her Egyptian neighbor, Acenath, means as much to her as her religion.

Beyond The Veil is an anthology of ghost and spirit stories that encompass everything from vengeance, closure, or justice from beyond the grave, to portals from which sinister things can enter our world. Take a ride through these stories and explore some of the possibilities of existence beyond life.

Bees of St. John:

Shana Latray needs a vacation. Her life as a telecommunications service provider feels like a dead end. St. John of the Virgin Islands seems like paradise, but behind the frozen drinks, and the beaches, is a complicated history of invasion and ancient predators. Shana Latray realizes quickly that nothing, from the warm, friendly locals, to the ever-present bees among the profuse tropical flowers, are at all what they seem.

Kisses:

Terry Cooper always hated Valentine's Day, more so since losing her husband. In fact, she hated it so much, she inadvertently put a curse on it. Now, dreadful things are happening on this romantic holiday, as anyone who is kissed will die. And in the midst of this crisis, is a strange ancient ghost warning Terry that only she can revoke the curse. But she doesn't know how. What she does know is that if she doesn't find a way, for hundreds of people across the city, their Valentine's Day kisses will be their last.

Tribulations of a Jewish Vampire:

Becoming a vampire was not on Leah Horowitz's list of life goals. Contrary to all the romantic and dark hype about the sexy life of vampires in the movies and books, Leah's life, when she was turned after her fatal motorcycle accident was anything but glamorous. With no guidance but her still human wedding-happy cousin, her orthodox Jewish aunt, and skeptical mother, she almost dies as her culture and her needs as a vampire clash.

Full Circle:

Life for Jim Red Eagle and his family is unfair. He is an auto-mechanic in his Lakota community, who runs a simple honest business. When his son is involved in an accident that leaves him paralyzed, and he can't seem to find anyone who can help them, he starts falling apart. As he sits in the hospital chapel, wondering what to do, a mysterious Irishman shows up. As the two men get to know each other, and the man's shocking history are revealed, Jim finds that good deeds in the past can return in forms he never expected.

The Muse:

Do you ever feel like statues can hear you, see you, feel your presence? Eliza Shourd is a sometime sculptor, filling credits with an art class while she works through another degree. But after falling asleep by the Platte River in the middle of the night, and waking up to a disturbing drawing she didn't remember doing, her life, and her art takes a turn for the dark. When people in her life begin disappearing, she returns to the river to find out why.