Halloween Reads #WIPWednesday

Hey, everyone. WIP Wednesday means one of two things. Most of the time I write about a work in progress, but other times it’s a work in publication. Today’s post is about the latter. So, here we go…

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For those of you who have followed this blog for a while, you know I’m fascinated with full moons. Bet you couldn’t guess that by the blog header photo. Anyhow, Halloween is almost upon us. And this year we have a special treat for that day – a full moon. Not only that, it’s the second full moon of October, which makes it a blue moon. Those happen roughly every 2.5 years, hence the term, “Once in a Blue Moon.”

My first short story, The Blue Moon Murders was featured in an anthology collection, Unshod. It’s based on a legend that when a family member dies on a blue moon, three more will follow. You might guess there are multiple murders in this story. If you’d like to read, Unshod is free. It’s a western-themed book, but it’s not your typical western. Some stories are modern-day, others are historic. A little something for everyone.

Blurb:

An anthology of traditional and contemporary western short stories where the characters are lain bare.

• Feel the pain of a young Japanese girl who comes home from an internment camp after World War II and learns it’s easier to go with the flow than to fight the current.
• Struggle with an expectant mother on the cold winter prairie while she waits for her husband to come home from a hunting trip.
• Journey with a young woman to the Four Corners as she tries to connect with her Navajo ancestors.
• Try not to believe in the superstition of the blue moon—if one dies, three more will follow.
• Know that one way or another, life will change inalterably that day.
• Walk in the footsteps of an old cowpoke who thought he made the deal of a lifetime.
• Suffer the torments of a young lady who wants desperately to marry but seems destined never to wed.
• Walk the wild western paths and run from unimaginable dangers.
• Choose between an unhappy life of luxury or a happy life of simplicity.

Nine female authors pen western tales that you’ll want to retell around a campfire. These aren’t your granddaddy’s westerns. They’re the next generation’s, and they’re darn good.

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Click here to get your free copy.

Macabre Sanctuary is another collection of stories by several talented authors. You might guess with a title like that there are thrills, chills, and things that go bump in the night. My story is titled The Keepers House. Is it a ghost that inhabits a haunted island? Why is he interested in the lighthouse keeper’s home?

Blurb:

Thrills. Chills. Shadows and superstitions. Things that go bump in the night. Macabre Sanctuary boasts suspenseful fiction designed to elicit goosebumps and raise heart rates.

• Learn the lore of a haunted island.
• Grapple with the undead while robbing graves Halloween night.
• Endure a hazing ritual unlike any other.
• Deal with a demon at an All Souls’ Day celebration.
• See what happens when you court death in the wild.
• Battle zombies and cannibals in a quest to stay alive.
• Travel back in time to witness the birth of true evil.
• Fear prophetic nightmares made manifest.
• Come to terms with new ethereal realities.
• Befriend a feline to extend earthly life.

This collection from ten talented authors offers ghosts and demons, spirits and zombies, cannibals and killers… even a ferocious animal. Historical and contemporary tales of violence and fright keep readers on the edges of their seats. There’s something for everyone who loves spine-tingling, bone-chilling, blood-curdling stories.

Macabre Sanctuary is also free. Get your copy here.

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If you’re into time travel stories, check out Quantum Wanderlust. In this collection, some authors take you into the future, while others travel back to the past. My story Goldwings is about a Navy Aviator that travels back to 1943—during World War II.

Blurb:

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.

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Like the other stories, Quantum Wanderlust is free. You can get a copy by clicking this link.

Speaking of blue moons, there is a lunar event that’s even rarer. Every nineteen years or so, the month of February has no full moon. It last happened in 2018. Bet you can’t guess that I’m writing a story with that in mind? Cold Dark Night is the first book of my upcoming Legends of Madeira series. The planned release date is February 2021.