Heck of a deal! #freebook #murder #mystery

Hey, everyone. A couple of years ago I got an invitation to contribute to an anthology of murder mysteries.

This is a little outside my orbit, but they didn’t care if mine was a speculative tale. I decided to give Jason Fogg another spotlight and my story came together.

Jason is a private detective who has the ability to turn himself into fog. This allows him to get inside places and poke around for evidence. Even openings like keyholes are enough for him to pass through.

Jason originated in the first Experimental Notebook, earned another tale in the second Experimental Notebook, and was part of the team in Viral Blues. I might trot him out again some day.

This brings me to Murder They Wrote. I am honored to appear beside some stellar authors in this collection. If you feel like diving into murder mysteries, this is the collection for you, and you might find a new favorite author in the mix.

The best news is this collection is absolutely free for a couple more days. Grab your copy now. I like to read anthologies as lunch-break material to stretch them out. (It’s okay if you want to read them all at once. You do you.)

Here’s the universal link and it should work no matter what country you’re in. http://mybook.to/Murder_They_Wrote

I hope you’ll check this one out. It’s rising on the list, but it will take a lot more “FREE” downloads to get us to number one.

Don’t forget to use those sharing buttons at the bottom. Maybe one of your friends might like a copy.

A very busy flex day

Today is my flex day, and it started out in a way I’m not a fan of. I had to get a hole drilled in my head. I probably need more holes, but this one involved filling a tooth the dentist had been watching for a decade. He also removed an old filling, replaced it, and fixed a chipped tooth I’ve had for about four years. None of that was a real problem.

Deep cleaning was a problem and hurt like hell. Then the lady only did one side, as if I’ll ever go back and do the other side. She doesn’t know me very well. Old What’s Her Face pointed out that I’ve never been in for tooth cleaning in the 30 plus years we’ve been together. I don’t see the point. In my case, there is no gum decay and no bone loss. I’m not saying it isn’t a valid procedure, but I just don’t seem to require it.

I wrote and sent out the last two posts for my Lanternfish tour. I planned on ending it in August, but it will carry into the first week of September.

I managed to play two rounds of pumpkin ball today. One at mid-day and one after supper. They’re still crazy about these things.

Tonight, I paid the invoice for formatting The Ballad of Mrs. Molony. This one is coming in October, and makes for a good Halloween themed push for me. October has always been good to me, so hoping I can keep some of that magic flowing.

Then I got an email that said Murder They Wrote is now available in the book store. I knew this was coming, but it looks like I’ll be doing promo into September this year. It could have been worse. At least it doesn’t overlap Lanternfish and Mrs. Molony. It will fit right in the middle.

Seven great authors came together to produce this anthology, and I’m proud to be included. That image up above is a purchase link if you want to get in early.

I was invited because they wanted a science fiction author involved. This posed kind of a conundrum, because I was right in the middle of drafting both Mrs. Molony and HMS Lanternfish. I actually had a character who could stand in perfectly.

Jason Fogg has been with me since my trunk novel days. He first appeared in public as a short story character, earned a second short in my second collection, then became a player in the novel Viral Blues.

Jason returns to short stories in Murder They Wrote. He also returns to his first person POV style. I don’t want to say too much here, because I have promo posts to write. This is just a first strike as part of my busy flex day.

I actually took vacation time tomorrow. I anticipated sore gums and wanted a day to kick back, maybe do some reading. Old What’s Her Face struck like a viper and now I have to take Frankie in for one of her vaccinations.

Sounds cute right? Dad and his girl going to the vet for something that isn’t an emergency. In reality it’s more like a cage match. She doesn’t like her harness. Doesn’t like riding in the car, and doesn’t like going to the vet.

Catch you guys later. I might be able to write some Jason Fogg promo posts before I go to bed tonight.

Interludes 2 #newbook #shortfiction

Hey everyone, I have a treat for you today. Harmony Kent has a new book to tell us about. Harmony is one of my partners over at Story Empire, so make her feel welcome. Using those sharing buttons really helps, too.

***

Thanks so much for having me over at your place today, Craig.

Hi everyone. It’s great to be visiting with you all.

While I’m here, I’d like to talk about my latest book, Interludes 2. This is a book of short erotic romance fiction. As with the original Interludes (which you can find HERE), the book contains 10 short stories, with the first tale totaling 1,000 words, the second one totaling 2,000, and so on up to 10,000 words in the final story.

For each story, I used prompt cards from a great creative tool called Storymatic.  Here’s what the set gave me to work with:

a) nurse, b) astronaut … c) best-selling author … conflict = surprise party

A and B relate to the main character. C relates to the secondary character. And the final prompt gives us the conflict.

From the above set of prompts, I came up with Moon Struck—a shifter romance in 3000 words.

Trapped on a ship orbiting the moon, a horny astronaut falls for a hunky author who has a secret.

Excerpt from Moon Struck:

‘What the hell? You just bit me!’ Rhianna pressed her palm to her oozing neck.

It was a bad idea to bring a civilian on the lunar mission. However, her bosses had made it clear that she either comply or lose her promotion. Until now, she’d thought the choice a no-brainer.

Until now.

What had he done to her? What else did he intend to do?

Kane backed away with his hands held out in front of him, palms facing forward and arms straight. Though he’d paled, a bright-pink flush burned high on his cheeks. ‘I’m sorry. I can explain.’

Rhianna strode to the bathroom, grabbed some toilet tissue, and wadded it against the stinging wound at the base of her throat. Again, but with less vehemence and more disbelief, she said, ‘You bit me.’

Kane hung his head. ‘I got carried away.’

‘No shit, Sherlock.’ She pulled the tissue away and examined it. The flow of blood had lessened. On the verge of panic, she dug deep for humour—though a tad on the dark side—to try and turn the tide, ‘You better not have rabies.’

At a whisper, he admitted, ‘It’s worse than that.’

Her hand slid from the puncture to her lips. ‘Don’t tell me you have HIV or … or … well, just tell me.’

Kane dragged his gaze up to meet hers. ‘I’m a werewolf.’

***

I had so much fun writing this one, and I hope you’ve enjoyed this little teaser. I’d love to hear what you think via the comments at the bottom of the page. Thanks for stopping by.

Interludes 2 Blurb

From author, Harmony Kent, another best-selling collection of short erotic fiction that will tickle more than your taste buds and wet [sic] more than your appetite.

With a range of genres and styles, this book has enough steam for everyone.

WIGGING OUT—contemporary romance in 1000 words. Two strangers. A crowded platform. A collision. And a wig on the floor.

STORM CHASER—ménage à trois in 2000 words. A sabotaged tire. A raging storm. Passion mounts.

MOON-STRUCK—shifter romance in 3000 words. Trapped on a ship orbiting the moon, a horny astronaut falls for a hunky author who has a secret.

THE CLUB—contemporary romance in 4000 words. An invitation and a host, who is so much more than he seems, bring excitement, enticement, and a choice to make.

NUDIST CAMP—contemporary romance in 5000 words. An older woman. A younger man. A gossip discovers their secret tryst. What will happen when it all gets laid bare?

INITIATION—contemporary romance in 6000 words. A pretty daydreamer arrives for her first day at university. A brutal initiation, and a man with an unusual issue, leave her reeling. Strange, the places you find true love.

THE INCOMER—contemporary romance in 7000 words. A divorced beekeeper has spent her whole life in or around her local village. Then a city-slicker architect comes to town. When two worlds collide, a big bang is sure to follow. Can you have a frenemy with benefits?

DOWN AND DIRTY—contemporary romance in 8000 words. On the run from a sadistic ex-husband, Ellie flees to a remote mountain town and takes a job in the mines. Wary of men, she resolves to keep herself aloof, but mother nature has a way of having the last word and will, quite literally, make the earth move if she has to.

REUNION—contemporary romance in 9000 words. A school reunion looms. Not wanting to arrive sad and single, Molly talks her long-time friend Adam into going with her. While the music plays, the sparks fly.

SOUL MATES—supernatural romance in 10,000 words. A bereaved woman seeks solace in remote woodland. All too soon, she discovers that she’s not as alone as she’d expected. And her heart isn’t the only one that needs to mend.

READER ADVISORY: This book contains explicit sex scenes and language hot enough to melt your book. For mature readers only.

Author Bio

After spending around thirteen years as an ordained Buddhist monk, living in a Zen Buddhist temple, and six years after a life-changing injury following a surgical error, Harmony Kent returned to the world at the tender age of forty.

Now, she is famous for her laughter, and has made quite the name for herself … she’s also, um, a writer … and fairly well known for that too. She’s even won a few awards. Harmony lives in rural Cornwall with her adorable husband, ever-present sense of humour, and quirky neighbours.

Harmony is passionate about supporting her fellow authors.

Links

Website: https://harmonykent.co.uk/

Story Empire (co-authored): https://storyempirecom.wordpress.com/

Amazon Author Page: author.to/HarmonysBooks

Twitter: @harmony_kent

LinkedIn: Harmony

Goodreads: Author Page

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/harmony-kent

Interludes 2 Pre-order Link: mybook.to/Interludes2

I’ve been kind of quiet lately

The work week has kept me pretty busy lately. That brings a certain amount of satisfaction, but it doesn’t make for good blog material. Fortunately, I was able to reblog a couple of good things, and I was up at Story Empire yesterday.

Still, that isn’t the same as fresh content. My daughter is visiting this weekend, and that’s always good. She’s also promised to give my son a haircut and I’m excited about that. He’s starting to look like that creepy girl from The ring. Maybe a member of the Manson Family.

We decided to rent a movie and watch it together last night. We went with ‘Birds Of Prey.’ Color me disappointed at best. Margot Robbie was so good as Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad, I didn’t see how this could miss. It missed. It felt rushed to market to capitalize on the prior success. Characters were under developed and it was kind of a mess. It wasn’t as bad as the second Ghost Rider movie, but it wasn’t good either.

There hasn’t been much writing time available, but I sent out a bit of Lanternfish for critique. I already have one sample back, but will save it until I have them all.

I forced a bit of time today and managed a thousand words of, well, it’s another new project. I was invited to send a short story to an anthology and committed. They like the idea of getting a speculative author to contribute something. These are all going to be murder mysteries.

There is a bit of a time crunch, but not too bad. Fortunately, I already have a private detective that I don’t need to create from scratch. It looks like Jason Fogg is on the case. If you’ve enjoyed Jason from either of the Experimental Notebooks, or Viral Blues, you might want to watch this space for more information as it unfolds.

I’ll probably continue to tap away at it this weekend. Lanternfish and Mrs. Molony are at points where they require more concentration. Right now, I’m still introducing characters and setting up the murder ideas with the Jason story. It’s easier to hack away at, and can be fine tuned later.

I still need to work up my next Story Empire post and get it scheduled. This will bring an end to my Character Archetypes, and I’m sorry to see it go. I may, or may not, do a wrap up post to it later on.

Hope you’re all finding something fun this weekend. Old What’s Her Face give up on finding a puzzle. It seems like everyone else got the idea before she did and there are none to be found.

Meet Michele Jones

Michele Jones is one of the masterminds behind AIW Press, and the two anthologies I’ve been invited to participate in. She’s also the author of one of the stories inside Quantum Wanderlust. She’s here to give us a behind the scenes of putting an anthology together. Let’s make her feel welcome and use those sharing buttons today. Thanks.

***

Hey Craig, thanks for having me. By the way, I love Lisa’s radio show. You have very interesting guests. If you don’t mind, I thought we could talk about putting together our newest anthology, Quantum Wanderlust.

I believe there are some similarities between producing an anthology and writing a successful story or novel, or producing a live radio show. It all comes down to planning.

Our team meets and discusses ideas and themes for upcoming anthologies. We’ve done holiday, westerns, and wanted something different. Thus, Quantum Wanderlust was born. Of course, the ideas that didn’t make the cut were filed for future use.

Once we have chosen the theme, we develop the concept that all submissions must adhere to. All of our anthologies have guidelines the selected authors must abide by, theme, word count, and of course they must not be offensive to the readers or the participating authors, therefore, we stay away from political and religious topics when producing the anthology.

After hashing out the details, we have a call for submissions. This includes reaching out to the authors that participated in previous anthologies. We provide the details of the anthology, such as theme, word count, deadline, editing process, and marketing.

After we have commitments from the authors, we create an online forum for information pertaining to the anthology. This is where we discuss the progress of the stories and the marketing we will be doing.

While that is happening in the forefront, we work behind the scenes producing the marketing material. We gather the author bio, and any links they provide for their work. As the stories come in we start the editing process. We review all content to make sure it adheres to our rules, and edit for grammar. Once completed, all edits are returned to the author for approval. Don’t be alarmed, any edit that we do will not change the author’s voice or the plot of the story.

Once we have all the finished pieces, we start the layout for the compilation. We come up with a one or two line short synopsis for marketing and we pull a quote to introduce the story.

I’ve read all the stories in Quantum Wanderlust. Craig chose to travel back in time and came up with a great plot twist in his story, Swift Wings. I chose to travel to the future in my story, The Fabric of Time, where one snag in the fabric can alter the future.

Don’t forget to pick up your free copy of Quantum Wanderlust at all the major sites. These thirteen authors will take you on some interesting time travel adventures. Oh, and if you don’t mind, please leave a review.

***

What if you had all the time in the world?

Thirteen authors answer that question with short stories about time travel. Go back in time to right a wrong, forward to see the future. No jump is too large, no method unfeasible, no lesson beyond learning.

• Visit the past to learn a family secret.

• See the formation of a future dictatorship.

• Assume responsibility for weaving the fabric of time.

• Travel back in time to WWII.

• Use a family heirloom to solve problems.

• Wear an inheritance to visit ancestors.

• Leave a dystopian future for the hope of something better.

• Make history come true in an unexpected way.

• Fight evil fairies to protect a chosen angel.

• Live with the childhood memory of visitors until the day they arrive.

• Seek medical help for a memory issue and get way more than bargained for.

• Discover that with great power comes great responsibility.

• Uncover the secrets of a pharaoh’s tomb and curse.

Do the characters observe or interact? Is the outcome better or worse than the original timeline? Read these stories to learn how far they go, how they get there, and what happens when they return.

The scope is virtually limitless, definitely timeless.

Pick up your free copy here

Bio:

Michele Jones lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and two spoiled dogs.

Along with her writing, family, cooking, and sports are her passions. She is a diehard Penguin, Steeler, and Pirate fan… really, a diehard anything-Pittsburgh fan.

Michele writes memoirs, short stories, romance, and poetry, but her passion lies in writing paranormal, suspense, and thrillers.

You can follow her online at www.michele-jones.com

Connect online:

Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest | Published Works | Goodreads

Guest Interview with Lisa Burton, Personal Assistant to Author C.S. Boyack, on Quantum Wanderlust

Lisa got an invitation to Michele Jones’ site today to talk about Quantum Wanderlust. This one is more like a coffee chat about my story and Michele’s story. Please visit her site and see how it turned out.

***

“Hi everyone. I’ve got radio personality and interviewer, Lisa Burton here with us today. Let’s give her a warm welcome.”

“Hi, Lisa and welcome. I’m super excited to have you stop by today.”

“Hi, Michele, so glad to finally meet you. I’m here today to talk about Quantum Wanderlust.This is a collection of short stories by thirteen awesome authors, and all of them deal with time travel.”

Keep reading here. We explore a couple of the stories in the anthology.

Try out a FREE anthology

I’m proud to be part of this anthology with a talented collection of authors. This time the theme is all about time travel, which is a science fiction standard. How could I not say yes?

I’d never tackled the subject before, and was a bit apprehensive. The publisher didn’t put any restrictions on me as far as travelling into the future or past. As long as time travel was the basis, I was left to my own devices.

I struggled with coming up with a cowboy story, but it just never came together for me. Then the Muse visited, and I changed directions. I hope you’ll enjoy Quantum Wanderlust, and I already have my copy.

The best part for you is this is a free collection. It is available everywhere, and this Universal Link will let you choose the vendor of your choice.

My story involved a lot of research, and I was at risk of becoming a victim of the Research Sirens. I have the dates right, the real people who appear in the story, specific locations, and even some of the research into the discovery.

Our book rankings depend upon a strange algorithm. My experience is that a cluster of downloads all at once will rank a book higher than the same number spread over a couple of weeks. I encourage you to pick up your copy right away, even if you wait for a snowy afternoon to read it. I already have mine.

Other things that help us are those sharing buttons at the bottom of this post. A few tweets and Facebook shares really mean a lot.

Of course, reviews matter too, and I would appreciate if you would leave one. This helps me garner more invitations to participate in future anthologies.

Now this wouldn’t be a C. S. Boyack project without some participation from my spokesmodel, Lisa Burton. Feel free to use Lisa’s poster as your telephone background or wherever you like. From Lisa’s poster, see if you can guess which story is mine.

Spring forward, fall back.

That reminds you of changing the clocks, right? When we talk about the passage of time, it’s usually in short bursts (seconds, minutes, hours) or slightly longer chunks (weeks, months, years).

What if it was limitless? What if you could go forward or back, in any size segment you wanted? Decades, centuries, eons? Would you go back and change your life? Go forward and see your future?

That’s the challenge thirteen writers faced.

Quantum Wanderlust is a time travel short story anthology. Characters travel forward and back—how far they go and how they get there make fascinating tales. Do they observe or interact? Is the outcome better or worse than the original timeline?

You’ve got to read the stories and see for yourself. The scope is virtually limitless, definitely timeless.

 

What if you had all the time in the world?

 

Thirteen authors answer that question with short stories about time travel. Go back in time to right a wrong, forward to see the future. No jump is too large, no method unfeasible, no lesson beyond learning.

 

• Visit the past to learn a family secret.
• See the formation of a future dictatorship.
• Assume responsibility for weaving the fabric of time.
• Travel back in time to WWII.
• Use a family heirloom to solve problems.
• Wear an inheritance to visit ancestors.
• Leave a dystopian future for the hope of something better.
• Make history come true in an unexpected way.
• Fight evil fairies to protect a chosen angel.
• Live with the childhood memory of visitors until the day they arrive.
• Seek medical help for a memory issue and get way more than bargained for.
• Discover that with great power comes great responsibility.
• Uncover the secrets of a pharaoh’s tomb and curse.

Do the characters observe or interact? Is the outcome better or worse than the original timeline? Read these stories to learn how far they go, how they get there, and what happens when they return.

The scope is virtually limitless, definitely timeless.

Dang that is a good looking sphinx. One more time, in case you missed the Universal Purchase Link.

I’m included in another Anthology

I was invited months ago to submit a story to an anthology. I spent a portion of the summer working on it, and we’re nearly ready to publish. Today is the cover reveal for Quantum Wanderlust. All the stories are about time travel in one way or another. Let me know what you think of the cover, and I’ll keep you posted when it actually publishes.

***

AIW Press is proud to reveal the cover for Quantum Wanderlust.

Spring Forward, Fall Back

That reminds you of changing the clocks, right? When we talk about the passage of time, it’s usually in short bursts—seconds, minutes, hours—. Or slightly longer chunks—weeks, months, years.

What if it was limitless? What if you could go forward or back, in any size segment you wanted? Decades, centuries, eons? Would you go back and change your life? Go forward and see your future?

We are excited to share thirteen short stories crafted by very talented authors that will take you forward and back through time.

If you could travel through time, what would you do?

Been super busy

As a matter of fact, I could be mental. If not, I feel close and it woldn't take much to get me there. My paycheck job has kept me super busy. It's three weeks of craziness that seems to happen every year. It won't end until after next week.

I worked my personal slate clean ahead of time. I even burned some vacation time to get it all done. Now my personal life is falling behind again. That means blogging, reading, writing, and all the peripheral activities that go with it.

My blog stats are down, Lisa's Facebook site is stagnant, and my FB page isn't much better.

I have half of a Lisa Burton Radio post finished, but there is more to do. I have about a quarter of another one. I just need to find time to work on them. This will have to be a priority over the weekend. If you've been cursing me in private, I will get the projects up to date this weekend.

There is a cool Lisa interview scheduled tomorrow, so that will help me out a bit. Gotta love the scheduler option in WordPress. If I get everything done, I'll be two weeks ahead. That means Lisa needs more guests if you're of a mind.

One awesome beta reader turned The Enhanced League project around in about six hours. She made some outstanding comments and suggestions. I feel like a slacker right now. I want to dive right into the modifications, but it makes more sense to get a few more reports before I work through it all. It's a good enough reason to put it off for a while.

I still need to update my banner image, but at least I got the wallpaper changed. I really need to get back on social media too. My footprint doesn't amount to much over the last two weeks. I'm sure this can change, but I need to address it.

Everything will get done, I'm certain of it. I just have to make time for everything life throws at me for a few weeks. I kind of know how a ping pong ball feels right now. In my personal life, I like to work on projects in some kind of order. Lately everything is shuffled together, but I think progress is happening.

On the good side, early reports for The Enhanced League are positive. Actually, they're awesome. Lisa's show is scheduled for tomorrow, and the subsequent interviews are partially done. The Lisa promotional posters for Enhanced League are looking awesome too.

Harmony Kent has an awesome tool for us over at Story Empire today. This post kicked my Muse in the pants, and I got a cool new idea. I even wrote it down so I don't forget. (Bonus!) I was also invited to contribute to another anthology dedicated to time travel. I've never written a time travel story before, and I already have a cool creepy new idea for it. It just needs some serious daydreaming time before I start writing it.

This weekend I'll work on the Lisa interviews, maybe apply a bit of triage to my social media accounts, get that banner updated, schedule my next Story Empire post, and write a new one for Chris Graham. If I accomplish any more than that, it will be gravy.

It sounds like a plan. If I'm lucky, it will carry me through the 12th. On the 13th we get to pick up Frankie and bring her to her forever home. I'm pretty excited about that part.

Aunt Ursula’s Atlas, on Lisa Burton Radio

Lucky you, you've just landed on Lisa Burton Radio, the only show out there featuring the characters from the stories you love. I'm your host, Lisa the robot girl, and today we have an interesting fairytale princess with us today. “Welcome to the show, Anatar.”

“Thank you, Lisa of Burton. It's a pleasure to be here.”

“My bio says you and your sister Eletay were orphans. How does an orphan get to be a princess? Were your parents banished or something?”

“No secret heiresses here, I'm afraid. Our family lived in a small village outside Chantain. I was only seven when our parents died, and Ella was nine, so I don't remember much about what happened. We spent several months wandering and working for food when we could find anyone kind enough to let us stay.

“If we were able to improve our lot, it was because I saw opportunities and grabbed them. But what it really comes down to is me and Ella. All we had was each other.”

“It's nice to have that kind of relationship. At least you still have some family around. What's it like growing up in a castle? There must be some fancy shindigs and beautiful gowns involved.”

“Growing up in the castle? Interesting question. To be clear, Ella and I were servants in the castle then. I got caught stealing food and they made us stay and work. Ella was upset, but I prefer to think of it as one of the opportunities I jumped at.

“Anyway, the king at that time was actually not royalty, either. He was a magician who usurped the throne. People who made him angry would wind up turned into statues, so everyone was afraid of him. There wasn't much entertaining. The court was more oriented to running Chantain and rooting out the nobles who were in hiding.”

“So he turned them into statues? Why didn't he just have them stuffed and pose with his boot on them?”

“Because then you could only lord it over one victim at a time. The king had the statues of his victims all over the castle and grounds. Some of them were defiant, but most of them were pleading for their lives. It was pretty terrible, and nobody could avoid seeing them.

“Mine and Ella's job was to keep the prince entertained. He'd caught me stealing, you see, and he used that to make Ella do what he wanted. At first, when we were all young, he made us sing and dance, tell folk stories, play games. He also pinched us and made us eat things like raw lemons. The other servants resented us because they thought we had it easy. They gave us the worst jobs when we weren't with the prince. “

“Sounds like life at the castle wasn't easy.”

“Luckily, Ella had a way of making friends with people. We would always help people with their chores, when we could. One day, the old gardener took me aside and showed me a spot behind the hedges where I could listen at the usurper's window. He was giving the prince magic lessons, and I followed along. That was my second opportunity.”

“You little sneakthief you.”

“Well, I had to. As we grew older, the prince got strange around Ella. He always wanted to have his hands on her, and there were more psychological torments, too. We both knew we weren't safe in Chantain.”

“Did you ever have to, you know, whammy someone?”

“It did come to that, yes. Ella and I saved enough to try and find another position. When we told the prince, he was furious and tried to make Ella kiss him. There was a big fight. He turned Ella into a statue, and then I turned him into a statue and forced the usurper to restore Ella… It was a mess.”

“Wait, I need to make popcorn. Kidding!”

“What's popcorn?”

“I'll show you later. It's good that Eletay wasn't badly hurt, but it seems like the magician got what was coming. So, is that how you two became princesses?”

“Since the magician usurped first, I figured why not. The people in the castle liked us better than the king, especially Ella. We've been able to make it work.”

“Now your story appears in a collection of stories. What other kinds of characters might readers meet?”

“People might have an idea that fantasy is all about the beautiful, rich and famous, but it's a very broad genre. Some of the other stories feature a disabled soldier, a woman with dwarfism, and a kind-hearted servant boy. Not to mention the goblin, the donkey, and the dragons. Even those who may seem to be typical beautiful princesses don't sit and wait to be rescued. They step up for themselves.”

“As your own story demonstrates. Are these stories meant for adults or kids?”

“We do reach out to young readers, say eight to twelve years. The stories we tell our children become their dreams for tomorrow, so it's important to offer a rich array of possibilities. That said, fairy tales are a beloved art form. Any reader who loves fairy tales will enjoy this collection.”

“It sounds fabulous. My boss has a whole bunch of notes on fairy tale structure, and it's a great way to plan a story. Thanks so much for visiting with us today, and I hope your future is brighter than your past has been.”

“All my plans are for Chantain, to protect my sister's throne and help our country grow. But I'll still keep my eye out for the next great opportunity.”

“Our sponsor today is Aunt Ursula's Atlas, a collection of fantasy short stories by Lucy D. Ford. I'll provide all the links and details on the blog site. Don't forget to hit those sharing buttons on your way out! Lucy will thank you, and you'll want others to share when your characters appear here.”

***

Purchase links:

Purchase hub on Draft 2 Digital: https://www.books2read.com/u/bxg6qP

Connects to Apple, Nook, Kobo, Scribd, 24 Symbols, Inktera, Angus & Robertson

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Aunt-Ursulas-Atlas-Fairy-Tales-ebook/dp/B01N0RIQSS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1483500975&sr=1-1&keywords=lucy+d.+ford

Web Site: www.debyfredericks.com

Blog: wyrmflight.wordpress.com

 

Deby Fredericks

Fantasy and Children's Writer

Children's Editor at Sky Warrior Books

My books: The Seven Exalted Orders, The Grimhold Wolf, Masters of Air & Fire from Sky Warrior

The Magister's Mask, Too Many Princes, The Necromancer's Bones from Dragon Moon