Enter our mysterious realms where the stories are as varied and rich as the types of soil on this and other planets. Enchanted forests are knotted with roots and vines. Dreaded paths take us through stranger, unexplored places.
Investigate new worlds and a house frequented by ghosts. Come across witches and wizards and an assassin tasked to kill Death.
Meet hot robots, hungry winds, and the goddess of chaos. Explore alien lands, purgatorial realms, and a shocking place where the people bury the living with the dead.
Encounter paranormal detectives, imprisoned dragons, dark demons, cursed jewels, and handsome prophets. Search shifting worlds trapped in mirrors and a disturbing future where the president seeks to rid the world of Otherkind.
Experience a haunted ride on a riverboat, water sprites borne of pennies, preternatural creatures, ancient serpents, and the lady of the lake who lurks in dark waters.
From USA Today bestselling and popular science-fiction and fantasy authors comes Elements of Untethered Realms, a supernatural compilation of Twisted Earths, Mayhem in the Air, Ghosts of Fire, and Spirits in the Water. These forty thrilling tales feature authors Angela Brown, Jeff Chapman, Cathrina Constantine, Julie Flanders, River Fairchild, Gwen Gardner, Misha/M. Gerrick, Meradeth Houston, Graeme Ing, Simon Kewin, M. Pax, Christine Rains, Cherie Reich, and Catherine Stine.
Coming October 2018.
Isn't it beautiful? We're so excited to share with you all our collections of short stories together in one magnificent book. We're even putting it into print.
While this is our last project with our Elements anthologies, we're working hard on a new and thrilling venture. We're brainstorming and ironing out the details, and I'm dancing in my chair with how exciting it is. There are great things coming from Untethered Realms.
Spirits in the Water, an Untethered
Realms short story anthology is coming in October! My contribution to the collection is a
#CozyMystery.
You may have noticed that the world’s gone
a little crazy lately. #CozyReads are meant to entertain, but not
stress you out. If this sounds good to you, check out my sweet, fun, cozy and quirky
short story, Shake, Rattle and Row!
Shake,
Rattle and Row is
a sequel short story glimpse into my new series coming out in 2019 called,
Ask Crystal Ball.
A Riverboat Casino sounds like a roaring good time, but it can be murder for those who suffer with seasickness...
Harlow
Grayson is the journalist who unwillingly inherits Crystal Ball’s agony column after
Crystal is found murdered. Unfortunately, the agony column, called Ask Crystal Ball, comes with a nasty side effect: the ghost of
Crystal herself. Complete opposites, Harlow and Crystal never did get along,
even when Crystal was alive. Nothing has changed.
In this short story, Crystal
needs Harlow’s help to recover an item of sentimental value—but it comes at a hefty price.
***
I
jumped. “Crystal! Where’ve you been?” I
looked around to see if anyone was listening.
“Scouting.
Did you bring it?”
I
held up the pen. “Yes. But I’m not sure about this. It’s not right. We
shouldn’t be messing with this stuff.”
“Oh,
get over yourself.” She fairly bounced with excitement.
I
sighed and knew I’d regret this.
“Try
the gold ink this—”
“Shh,
I got this.” With my heart pounding, I pushed down the gold nub. A golden glow
descended over the room and cast an unearthly light. My skin prickled as latent
sparkles of ethereal energy settled over me. I blinked several times, adjusting
to the illusion of the veil merging between the mortal and spirit worlds.
Holy mother of— I crossed
myself. Although I’d done this before, I’d never get used to it.
I
surveyed my new—but somehow same—surroundings. I was still on a riverboat
casino, but it was more alive, if that even made sense, given that the room was
full of ghosts. A roulette wheel spun, and the clickety-clack of the marble
bounced from slot to slot until it found its sweet spot. Joyful shouts erupted.
Spectral women in flapper dresses and feathered headbands hovered over
gray-suited men in pinstripes playing cards and smoking fat cigars. And above
it all, the fog of cigar smoke clung to everything.
I
wrinkled my nose. Observing the two worlds together made me dizzy. Between the
smoke and the boat rocking, I felt green around the gills. I knew as soon as I
had stepped on board in my four-inch stilettos that this was a bad idea. And
trust me, a full figured diva on heels was no easy feat to begin with.
“This
isn’t natural,” I whispered to Crystal.
“Welcome
to my world,” said Crystal, hovering at my side.
Crystal
Ball—her real name—used to be my annoying coworker before she got murdered. Now
she was an annoying ghost. I unwillingly inherited her agony column—Ask Crystal Ball, if you can believe it—a
pseudo- psychic hocus-pocus bunch of baloney. But worst of all was that Crystal’s
ghost came as a nasty side effect of the job. My fate was sealed when I’d
picked up and used her favorite pen. Somehow the pen allowed me to see the
ghostly realms she saw. I’d never seen another era, though, until now. What
business could Crystal possibly have with the 1920s, and more importantly, why
involve me?
But
I had bigger problems.
“You
could have warned me.” I spoke into my digital voice recorder so it didn’t look
as if I were talking to myself. That and the press pass around my neck should
cover any awkwardness that might arise while speaking to my spectral sidekick.
“I
told you it was formal, didn’t I?” She eyed my gown and then perused the room
as if looking for someone. “Besides, what do you have to complain about? I’m
the one stuck throughout eternity in skin tight pants.” She squirmed and tried
to pull out a wedgie to no avail.
I could list several reasons why writing short stories are beneficial to writers. Practicing your craft, immediate gratification, and flexibility to name a few. And yes, all of those reasons are marvelous. I highly encourage authors to write short pieces.
But this is why I write short stories.
I want to escape into worlds I've never explored before. Some of them are awe-inspiring. The only science-fiction I've written has been in short form. I love strange planets, exotic aliens, and futuristic technology. I can play among the stars.
Some worlds are beautiful and happy. The perfect societies. What would life be like in a place where we had no environmental or political issues? What kind of problems would my protagonist have when all her family loves her? I love finding the flaws in what seems perfect and diving into hidden cracks.
Other worlds are horrifying. More than what goes bump in the night. What motivates that monster, if it really is a monster at all. Maybe it's fighting against something much more frightening. The tight suspense and hair raising terror. I love to scare myself.
I've written western, sci-fi, horror, steampunk, romance, sword & sorcery, mystery, and fairy tale retellings. I get to jump into these magnificent worlds and hop back out again. There's no limit on the places I can go in my stories, and through short stories, I can go to hundreds of them.
If you're an author, have you written any short stories? If you're a reader, do you read short stories?
Every house has its own personality. Its own history. Its
own tales of dread and horror… if you dare to listen hard enough. Old houses
have always creeped me out, wondering what untold stories hid in the shadows.
What might lie beneath creaking floorboards. How about you? Care to step inside with me?
Excerpt from Demon in the Basement:
Like a mouse, I stood frozen, considering my next move.
I’d intended to come in like a lion, all teeth and claws, but my brave plan
evaporated the moment I stepped inside. Fear of the unknown could do strange
things to a person, but fear of the known was far worse. I saw my death flash
before my eyes and knew who had put it there.
Perhaps the house feared me? That somewhat feeble thought
bolstered my courage, even though a part of me knew I was grasping at straws.
“Welcome home, Robert.”
The sibilant voice reminded me I wasn’t dealing with wood
and shingles, but rather an entity who wore the house as one would don a shirt
and pair of slacks. The fact that it hadn’t left in all these years must mean
its tether was here; no doubt the mysterious closet I’d never been able to find
as a teen. I meant to find it now, even if I had to dismantle the house piece
by piece.
My hand slid up the banister as I moved upstairs, memories
rushing through my mind, a thousand pictures of times I’d performed the same
motion. The smooth wood felt warm and inviting; lethargy stole over me so I was
tempted to give up and sit down to rest for a while. I jerked my hand free, the
house laughing at my terror.
By the time I reached the attic, my limbs shook and my
head drummed a rhythm of doom. I was a man in a desert, dying of thirst.
I must have slept for hours as the sun had passed overhead
and now lengthened the shadows of the trees outside the attic windows. The
electricity wasn’t on—for some reason I hadn’t felt the need to have it—and the
candles I’d brought were in my suitcase. Downstairs. I berated myself for that
foolish oversight even as I dreaded making the trip up the stairs all over
again. What made me think this would be quick?
My feet pelted down the stairs in time to the creaks of
the house as it laughed in victorious amusement. I walked out the front door
and breathed in the fresh air that I thought was lost to me forever, just happy
to be alive for the moment. I told myself I wasn’t finished, only regrouping,
and went back to the hotel after a quick stop at the store.
Tomorrow would be different, I told myself. With a bottle
of scotch on my nightstand, I drank myself to sleep so as not to dream.
Aside from the super-fun fact that I'll be going to The Colbert show's LIVE show on the opening night of the Democratic Convention (!!!!!!!!!! If you watch, see if you can find me in the audience. LOL) and may witness a Jon Stewart pop up appearance, I have other great news.
Last week, 21 Shades of Night, a boxed set of 21 paranormal and urban fantasy novels, in which I have my own novel, Witch of the Cards, hit the USA Bestseller list at #70!!! This, after a grueling two months of promo work. But it paid off. I am one proud author, and I'll savor it because I know that the rollercoaster goes up and down, and hopefully back up. Way of a writer.
I'm excited to announce that I have a new website under construction. A long time business acquaintance is constructing it for me and I can't wait to see what she comes up with. I have to say that even the temporary landing page is an improvement over the old website!
Gwen and I are on the same page. I purchased the theme and spent some time tweaking my website. mpaxauthor.com
I also now have story bundles available. The latest is the Journeys Collection. Three short stories about young women at the starts of their adult lives. "Omens and Lifesavers" won a contest and is based on real events that happened to me when I first arrived in NYC. They didn't all happen on the same day, a majority of them did, though.
Here's an excerpt:
Snow at the end of April struck me as ominous enough, but the naked man… Following my friend Nikki’s advice—Don’t ever make eye contact, especially on the subway—I averted my gaze, returning it square onto my book, Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut. His pages preached truths through ice-nine and Bokononism. He most likely wrote it in Turtle Bay.
The number seven train would take me to Grand Central Station. From there I would walk to Turtle Bay and my first job interview in Manhattan. My stomach flipped. If I can make it here, I can make it anywhere… Did that include dealing with naked men?
He held a newspaper, reading it, not covering himself. If Nikki sat beside me, she’d never notice. Not noticing such things distinguished real New Yorkers from tourists. I wanted to be a real New Yorker.
A huge congratulations to Catherine Stine! And Gwen's new site is fabulous, make sure you hop over to see it. Also, Mary's Journey's Collection sounds and looks amazing!!!
My news isn't as grandiose.
I've just signed a contract for my forthcoming book.
Incense & Peppermints
which is set in 1969. It's a YA read, but I'm positive it'll appeal to people who've experienced that time in history when the Vietnam War was a tinderbox of contention.
This isn't the cover, just a promo picture.
Here's the unedited blurb: Mary, a naïve sixteen-year-old is wary when
her brother offers her a solution to growing up in the form of a little pill.
The nerdy, honor roll student decides it’s time to fly, and shortly the rumba
going on in her brain should’ve been a forewarning.
Mary suddenly plunges into popularity and
meets the new hot boy, Michael Covington. He’s not flawless, mysterious healing
wounds cover his face. The scars hardly detract from his looks,
only gives him a dangerous appeal. She never imagined
herself sneaking out of the house after midnight to an underground fight club
and is embroiled in an event that has Michael beaten to a pulp.
And his affinity for groundless danger escalates with Mary clinging to him on
his motorcycle. In her delirium, instead of heart pounding panic, her pulse
spikes with incongruous bliss.
During a rock n’ roll party, a buzzed Mary is
blindsided in a dark bedroom. On Monday the gym teacher notices her bruises and
is on the proverbial warpath to accuse Michael of a crime. When Mary is
summoned to the Principal’s Office she learns Michael has a history, and
there’s much more to him than she ever imagined.
New experiences and new friends, Mary crosses
the threshold of adolescence with a bang. Will her sensible side triumph and
bring her down to Earth?
Ten thrilling tales of sci-fi, horror, and the paranormal in this awesome anthology. Meet hot robots, hungry
winds, and the goddess of chaos. Explore alien planets, purgatorial
realms, and a shocking place where people bury the living with their
dead. Mayhem in the Air is the second, long-awaited story collection
from the talented authors of Untethered Realms.
Join us over the next two weeks for a fantastic tour with exclusive excerpts and a giveaway with the chance to win a $40 gift card.
Only 99 cents for a collection of fantastic stories!
*
Contributing authors:
Angela Brown
River Fairchild
Gwen Gardner
M. Gerrick
Graeme Ing
M. Pax
Christine Rains
Cherie Reich
Catherine Stine
*
Twisted Earths is a collection of tales from Untethered Realms, a group of speculative fiction authors. The stories are as varied and rich as the types of soil on this and other planets—sandy loam, clay, knotted with roots and vines, dreaded paths through unexplored planets, and in enchanted forests, lit by candlelight and two moons.
M. Pax, author of the series, The Backworlds and The Rifters spins a tale called Patchworker 2.0. Specialists with digital interfaces are the only ones who can distinguish between biological energy and mechanical pulses, and “patch” AIs, which hold the world together. Patchworker Evalyn Shore meets up with an AI with deadly intent.
Cherie Reich, known for her epic fantasy series The Fate Challenges and The Foxwick Chronicles, presents Lady Death. Umbria, a beautiful and powerful swordsmith, is given an impossible task by her brother Leon when he asks, “You are the assassin. Are you scared to destroy Death when you are up to your elbows in it?”
Angela Brown is the author of the paranormal Shadow Jumpers and NEO Chronicles series. In her story, In The Know, Jacob, a loyal family man is struggling to stay out of debt when he’s hired to report on big plans for a future Detroit. He’s given a mysterious manila envelope with instructions to “open it alone” or pay the price. With switchback twists you won’t see coming, a debt of a much steeper cost is what he just might end up paying for his involvement.
Catherine Stine, author of the futuristic thrillers, Fireseed One and Ruby’s Fire, offers The Day of The Flying Dogs, a sinister tale of brilliant, troubled NYC high-school student, Theo. He experiences a day at Coney Island that includes drugs, delusions, a lonely capybara, Nathan’s hotdogs and a mind-bending lesson in our very twisted universe.
Christine Rains, known best for her paranormal series The Thirteenth Floor, gives us The Ole Saint, a story at once sweet, horrific and heartrending. Ezra longs to fit in and have boys stop calling him witch and freak, yet his unique supernatural skill sets him apart, and the last gift from The Ole Saint cinches the deal.
Graeme Ing, known for his young adult fantasy, Ocean of Dust presents The Malachite Mine, a gripping, scream-inducing ride. Whatever was Mary thinking when she accepted her husband’s gift of a most terrifying twenty-first birthday celebration in an abandoned Russian mine?
River Fairchild, author of her Jewels of Chandra series, presents A Grand Purpose. Rosaya and her cousin, Drianna are soon to be married off, but Rosaya is unhappy with her assigned match. She’s much more intoxicated by the older Firrandor, a wizard she hardly knows. When Rosaya is accused of killing an oracle boy, all bets are off, not only for her love, but her freedom.
Gwen Gardner, who pens the cozy paranormal mystery series, Indigo Eady, adds to her collection with Ghostly Guardian. Indigo and her rib-tickling ghost-busters must travel to a dangerous pirate-laden past in order to unearth a curmudgeonly eighteenth century spirit that is plaguing the Blind Badger Pub.
Misha Gerrick, whose War of Six Crowns series is forthcoming, gives us a story called Red Earth and White Light. Emily, a young ghost bride has long haunted a house. She longs to cross over into the afterlife, but she’s trapped in memories of lilies and betrayal.
Calling All Authors and Writers
I could use your help in getting the word out about this year's Realms Faire. The faire is about you and helping you gain some visibility for your work. It has several opportunities to help you do that.
Be a sponsor and donate prizes. This gets you listed on the Realms Faire scrolly and pages. The events giving away your swag will mention you.
Test your mettle in the joust. People will be cheering for you for five days straight. You will get a spotlight on one of the five days. You get a nifty badge. Limited to 10 knights.
Duel with words in Dueling Bards. You and your work are spotlighted on one day. Limited to 10 bards.
The Turnagain Arm, a prequel to Polar Night which takes place in 1917 during the building of the Alaskan railroad, is now available on Amazon for just 99 cents! Find out what vampire Aleksei Nechayev was up to when he first made his way to Alaska. It's safe to say it wasn't anything good.
DORIANNA Launches OCT 24!
Dorianna, Catherine Stine's YA horror/paranormal launches with Evernight Teen on October 24. You are invited to Come join the fun at the release party. Catherine, with Bewitching Book Tour's help, is throwing a Facebook party on OCT 29 with fun games, and two guest authors writing dark YA.
Also, stay tuned for the tour, with a Rafflecopter chocked full of UR and other authors who write amazing dark fantasy!
Twisted Earths is a collection of tales from Untethered Realms, a group of speculative fiction authors. The stories are as varied and rich as the types of soil on this and other planets—sandy loam, clay, knotted with roots and vines, dreaded paths through unexplored planets, and in enchanted forests, lit by candlelight and two moons.
M. Pax, author of the series, The Backworlds and The Rifters spins a tale called Patchworker 2.0. Specialists with digital interfaces are the only ones who can distinguish between biological energy and mechanical pulses, and “patch” AIs, which hold the world together. Patchworker Evalyn Shore meets up with an AI with deadly intent.
Cherie Reich, known for her epic fantasy series The Fate Challenges and The Foxwick Chronicles, presents Lady Death. Umbria, a beautiful and powerful swordsmith, is given an impossible task by her brother Leon when he asks, “You are the assassin. Are you scared to destroy Death when you are up to your elbows in it?”
Angela Brown is the author of the paranormal Shadow Jumpers and NEO Chronicles series. In her story, In The Know, Jacob, a loyal family man is struggling to stay out of debt when he’s hired to report on big plans for a future Detroit. He’s given a mysterious manila envelope with instructions to “open it alone” or pay the price. With switchback twists you won’t see coming, a debt of a much steeper cost is what he just might end up paying for his involvement.
Catherine Stine, author of the futuristic thrillers, Fireseed One and Ruby’s Fire, offers The Day of The Flying Dogs, a sinister tale of brilliant, troubled NYC high-school student, Theo. He experiences a day at Coney Island that includes drugs, delusions, a lonely capybara, Nathan’s hotdogs and a mind-bending lesson in our very twisted universe.
Christine Rains, known best for her paranormal series The Thirteenth Floor, gives us The Ole Saint, a story at once sweet, horrific and heartrending. Ezra longs to fit in and have boys stop calling him witch and freak, yet his unique supernatural skill sets him apart, and the last gift from The Ole Saint cinches the deal.
Graeme Ing, known for his young adult fantasy, Ocean of Dust presents The Malachite Mine, a gripping, scream-inducing ride. Whatever was Mary thinking when she accepted her husband’s gift of a most terrifying twenty-first birthday celebration in an abandoned Russian mine?
River Fairchild, author of her Jewels of Chandra series, presents A Grand Purpose. Rosaya and her cousin, Drianna are soon to be married off, but Rosaya is unhappy with her assigned match. She’s much more intoxicated by the older Firrandor, a wizard she hardly knows. When Rosaya is accused of killing an oracle boy, all bets are off, not only for her love, but her freedom.
Gwen Gardner, who pens the cozy paranormal mystery series, Indigo Eady, adds to her collection with Ghostly Guardian. Indigo and her rib-tickling ghost-busters must travel to a dangerous pirate-laden past in order to unearth a curmudgeonly eighteenth century spirit that is plaguing the Blind Badger Pub.
Misha Gerrick, whose War of Six Crowns series is forthcoming, gives us a story called Red Earth and White Light. Emily, a young ghost bride has long haunted a house. She longs to cross over into the afterlife, but she’s trapped in memories of lilies and betrayal.
Untethered Realms Now Has a Newsletter!
Keep up with giveaways, events, and all Untethered Realms is up to. Emails will only be sent when there is pertinent news.
The Rifters is Coming!
The official launch date is September 8th. I'm recruiting help. If you'd like to help and/or help spread the word, I'd be mighty appreciative. You can help with just a straight shoutout of cover, blurb, buy links, or you can add a little something-something. What is it? A little story about your trip to Settler, Oregon.
"But Mary," you say, "I've never been to Settler, OR." I say, "No one has. I made it up." There's info HERE about Settler to help and there's photos HERE to help inspire you, taken from all over Oregon. There's a FB page HERE which tells of the daily goings on in the town.
I'll be giving out prizes to those who help with a story on Settler. Two $25 gift cards to Amazon or B&N, signed paperbacks and handcrafted steampunk bookmarks by Dire Steampunk (aka Husband Unit), ebooks of the second book in the series The Initiate, and an ebook awarded to someone who comments on your post about Settler. All as a thank you for your awesome help. More about the giveaways and events surrounding The Rifters launch can be found HERE.
A story can be 100 words or less. It can be longer. Anyway, I'd be obliged. You can sign up HERE. Stories can be posted to FB or blogs. Either or both. Posts can be anytime in September through October 31st.
DORIANNA by Catherine Stine launches this October 24
from Evernight Teen!
Internet followers, beauty, power. It all sounded good.
Until it transformed into a terrifying reality Dorianna couldn’t stop
Dorianna is a YA paranormal twist for the Internet generation on Wilde's A Picture of Dorian Gray. When her father is jailed, her mother ships lonely, plain Dorianna to her aunt’s. There, Dorianna yearns to build a new identity, but the popular Lacey bullies her—mostly for getting attention from her ex, Ander.
Ander takes Dorianna to Coney Island where Wilson, a videographer, creates a stunning compilation of her. She dreams of being an online sensation, as she’s never even had a birthday party, and vows she’d give anything to go viral. Wilson claims he’s the Prince of Darkness and warns her the pledge has downsides. Dorianna thinks he’s joking. She has no idea of the dire consequences.
She’s thrust into the spotlight, and an incomprehensible nightmare. Not only is she prettier, she’s gaining harmful powers of manipulation. When her powers grow beyond anything she can control, she’s desperate but clueless as to how to stop it.
***Or in the words of the infamous Simon Cowell (Formerly on the American Idol and X-Factor shows): "The ratings come in, you’re
happy for five minutes, then the insecure madness comes in ... Your audience controls you,
you cannot control them."
To get details of the OCT 24 DORIANNA launch and tour, subscribe to my newsletter. And mark your calendars for OCT 27 to attend a Halloweenish Dorianna FB party with lots of prizes, sponsored by Bewitching Books!
Also, Private Internship, my new adult novel (writing as Kitsy Clare), launches Sept. 29. It's not exactly spec so I won't go into deets here, but hey, all love or attempts at it, are pretty much sci-fi in my book! Yours? Sign up for the PI book blitz here.
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