Free Giveaway

Inspired by a friend of mine, who's hosting a giveaway of his own, once this blog has reached 50 followers I'll give away a previously published book of my own to five followers.  The winners, chosen at random, will be able to choose from any of my book already available.

For a list of my available books click here. Keep reading, and enjoy life.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, ...

My 10th publication is only days away from being released, so continue the countdown (or up) for the day you can get your greedy little mitts on "Strangely Funny" by Mystery and Horror LLC. The anthology will contain my short story "The Taste of Copper" about the surprisingly humorous first days of a newly changed vampire.

The books is currently available for pre-order here on amazon.com, as well as already released for the Kindle and other e-readers.  I've posted the cover before, but it's such a fun image, why not twice?

And just an FYI anyone who voted in the poll that chose "The Taste of Copper" to be written for the anthology is already obliged to purchase this book, have fun!

As always, keep reading, and enjoy life.

Free Giveaway!

... not by me, but it's a free giveaway nonetheless.  Head over to my good friend, Marc Sorondo's website to enter a chance to win a free anthology he's been published in. Follow the link here to find the terms and submit.

So go ahead, support a fellow author, get something good to read, discover a new 'second' favorite author, and feel good about it. Judging by the reaction, I may do the same for one of my books.

Keep reading, and always enjoy it

Good News Everyone! Tenth Acceptance

I know it seems like it's been forever since I've made one of these announcements, at least to me it does, but I can happily announce that I've signed the contract for a new story being published.

And I have all of you who voted in the poll I hosted several months ago to thank for it.  The chosen story, 'classic vampire with no teeth' has been accepted to be published in Mystery and Horror LLC's first anthology "Strangely Funny".

As soon as the book sees print you can be sure to read about it here. In the meantime, I leave this image of the cover to whet your appetite.

Niagara Falls

I had intended to post this story yesterday, however after rereading it I felt it was a little too depressing for Independence Day, so Happy Fifth!

Niagara Falls

“I know it's clichéd and ironic to say this at a funeral, but Nate really was always full of life.” Fabian says as he stands on the altar less than two feet behind my casket, and if he's half as sad as I expect him to be, he's hiding it expertly. I wonder if he feels he needs to put on a strong facade for my mom. Is it selfish to hope it is actually a false front and that he is genuinely upset at my death? Probably, but this is my funeral, screw etiquette. What else does my frat brother have to say?

“In college he was the de facto leader of our group, even after we'd grown into our own separate lives he was the one to bring us back. When we'd be out he was always the center of attention, not because he was the most charming or funniest of us, although now that I think about it he probably was, but simply because being around him made everyone else feel better. No one was allowed to be in a bad mood around Nate.” You always spoke so well in front of an audience, but that's not entirely true Fabian, what I always said is if on any day nothing goes as planned...

“He always said “If your day doesn't go as planned, change the plan.” I don't think I truly understood what he meant until the day he died.” I'll forgive you for interrupting me this one time buddy... jokes aren't as funny when no one else can hear them. “People always say 'live each day to the fullest' but no one does, I won't even pretend that Nate did, but what he did do was make the most with what he was given. He didn't come from a wealthy family, but his parents instilled in him from a young age strong morals that carried with him to his last day. These morals drove him to exceed at every academic level, eventually leading him to succeed professionally, although none of us ever understood what exactly it was he did.” That wasn't funny people, stop laughing. I am... was a National Operation Manager overseeing the country wide vended business services for... never mind. If you couldn't get it when I was alive, no point in trying now.

“Nate was the first of us to meet our wives, even if he was the last of us to actually get married. He met Amber on a trip we took our senior year of college, and they started dating almost immediately after.” You old softy, you are sad. Why else wouldn't you mention where the trip was to? “They might not have gotten married right away, but everyone close to them knew that what Nate and Amber had was legit and would last forever. Sadly, none of us knew how short forever was. After years of dating, two of my best friends tied the knot.” You hate that saying Fabian.

“Having dated for so long, and growing as close as any couple could, they decided the only place they could get married was at the same location they first met.” Again you're avoiding the location. Not saying the place doesn't make the events any less real man. I'm sorry this hurts so much, but I promise you'll be happy again, all of you here will. “While they waited so long to get married they seemed to have rushed to have kids. I'm sure if someone were to actually do the math, we'd see that their daughter, Courtney, was born less than nine months from their wedding, but we'll let them have that secret.”

Fabian chokes up at her name, his first real sign of what he's dealing with internally. “Forgive me if this sounds cruel, but Courtney's birth really was the beginning of their problems. Understand, I loved that girl as if she were my own...” No one's blaming you man, no one's judging you. You're doing good, not much more to tell. “She was an angel, but she wasn't long for this world. I don't know why, but she was taken from them, from all of us too soon. Her health problems started before she was even twelve months, and she passed on her second birthday. The unimaginable pain Amber and Nate must have gone through was too much for Amber's body. She soon became sick, almost like her heart couldn't go on without her angel and two short years later, on what would have been Courtney's fourth birthday she left Nate also.”

This is it Fabian, you're almost at the end, stay strong get through this and go home to your wife and kids, and love them like I never had the chance to do. “Being Mr. Sunshine, Nate tried to hide the pain he was in, but he couldn't fool any of us, a complete stranger could have seen the pain he was in. For two years Nate put on the face of a man who was content with his allotment in life. What none of us knew, but we should have been able to guess is that he decided to 'change the plan'. Exactly two years after his wife's death, and four years after his daughter died Nate took his life. The spot he first met Amber, and where he shared his nuptials with her, will always be the placed he jumped out of our lives, and I can't blame him. No one should have gone through what he did, but you'll forgive me if I never return there. Thank you, and cheers.” You seriously snuck a beer onto the altar? Well played sir, well played indeed. I'll have one ready for you when we see each other again, which hopefully won't be for many, many years. “Here's to Nate, I hope the new plan brought you happiness.”

 I wrote this story nearly three times before I had this finished piece. The first two times were variations of people going over the falls in a barrel which seemed too easy of a pick. I now know more about the first person to go over the falls than I’d care to, and attempted to create the first married couple to do so together, but again it all seemed like the easy way out. However, it wasn’t all for naught because it led to the story you just read.

While it is a rather depressing story, I feel at the core there’s a great lesson, and the main character said it beautifully, “If your day’s not going as planned, change the plan.” I was impressed with myself when I wrote that one, hope you were too, and appreciate the meaning behind the words.