Glass & Ashes

I’m excited to have a story in another wonderful anthology. This one is a group of speculative fiction re-imagining Cinderella. Glass & Ashes is available on 15 November, 2018 through OWS Ink and can be purchased through many outlets.

 

If the shoe fits …

 

This is from the Back cover:

“What if?”
It’s something people love to ponder. Now, OWS Ink has asked the question, “What if Cinderella was a little bit different?”
A different type woman? A different shoe size? A different type of hero? Or maybe a villain? What if she was never even a human?
And our authors answered. Prepare to read Cinderella stories like you’ve never imagined. Stories where Cinderella makes a different choice altogether, where she uses magic to make her own happy ending, and somewhere even magic can’t help her avoid her fate. So grab your drink and curl up with our new versions of this classic fairy tale.

 

 

Book Info:

Title:  Glass and Ashes

Author:  OWS Ink, LLC

Publication Date:  Nov 15

Paperback Price: 9.99

*3.99 pre-order

Digital Price:  3.99 

Pages: 320

ASIN:

Ebook ISBN: 9781946382504

ISBN-10: 1946382507

 

Print ISBN: 9781946382498

ISBN-10: 1946382493

 

Buy Links:

Amazon Kindle:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07HMS43X4

Amazon Paperback:

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/897626

Draft 2 Digital https://www.books2read.com/u/4DlkEe

Universal link books2read.com/u/mBPRZD

 

The stories in the collection vary in approach. One of the contributors, Bryant Laslo, provided an insight into their story, and I hope you’ll enjoy this peek:

Who is Modiry The Forge?

Modiry is an enigma of a woman. She is legend to many. A fairy godmother who appears to grant wishes to the good little boys and girls. To others, she is a specter to be feared; something that is used by parents to make sure the little boys and girls are indeed good. The truth, as in most things, is somewhere in between.

Her age is unknown as her appearance has never changed, at least to anybody’s recollection. Appearing to certain people who find their paths in life facing a crucial moment, Modiry has an uncanny knowledge, not only towards events that she claims will transpire in the future, but what exists inside individuals: their thoughts and desires.

In addition to her apparent clairvoyance, she exhibits some ability to affect the physical world around her, causing objects to appear out of thin air.

However, her most potent trait has always been her ability to manipulate. Combining her insight into the future and individuals, Modiry is often able to sway a person into one choice over another, sending them down a road that perhaps they would not have chosen completely on their own.

What is her purpose? How does she choose who she will appear to and when? Is her intention solely to help a person work through a difficult time and better themselves, or is there a larger, darker agenda to her actions?

While far from the main character in Ella of the Cinder, Modiry The Forge is the catalyst which sets the entire story in motion. Read this short story in the upcoming Glass & Ashes anthology to find out more about Modiry and her true objective!

 

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Book Spotlight – “Carousel of Nightmares” by Kerry E.B. Black

via Book Spotlight – “Carousel of Nightmares” by Kerry E.B. Black

Happy Equinox Birthday, King and Wells!

Happy Birthday, Stephen King and HG Wells!

written by Kerry E.B. Black

The Autumn Equinox is a good birthday for a writer, apparently.

Today, Stephen King, horror expert extraordinaire, celebrates. With over 50 novels and hundreds of short stories and non-fiction works to his credit, Stephen King holds such a special place in the literary world that he’s a household name. On 10 September, 2014, President Obama presented him with the NEA’s National Medal of Arts. Not a bad birthday gift, eh? Born in 1947 in Scarborough, Maine and raised by a self-sufficient mother, Stephen King credits his wife, Tabitha, for the completion of his first novel, Carrie. (He had thrown the beginning into the trash. Tabitha retrieved it and encouraged her husband to complete it.) His works have seen adaptions for big and little screen. He’s even acted within some of the adaptations. He published several works under the pen name Richard Bachman. Stephen King’s garnered prestigious awards and encouraged new writers. He said, “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”

“Nothing leads so straight to futility as literary ambitions without systematic knowledge,” said another literary great. Also born on this day in 1866 was H.G. Wells, the Father of Futurism and Science Fiction. Herbert George Wells published such brilliant works as The Time Machine, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Invisible Man, and The War of the Worlds. Hundreds of essays, articles, nonfiction works joined this Londoner’s expansive body of fiction works. His writing explored issues of social class and economic disparity and predicted the rise of major cities and development of suburbs, economic globalization, and military conflict. Many of his tales inspired theatrical and silver screen productions. Most famous was the 1938 presentation of War of the Worlds by Orson Welles that inspired panic throughout America. HG Wells died 13 August, 1946.

Also born today were Chuck Jones of Bug Bunny fame (The Warner Brothers Halloween specials bring macabre glee to many) and Ghost buster Bill Murray.

*First published at Halloween Forevermore

Games Omniverse – Epic Workplace

You have to read Charli Mills’ latest piece at Carrot Ranch. What a fabulous campus! I must visit sometime. Her challenge is to create a 99 word piece about another Epic Workplace, so I mentioned Games Omniverse. http://www.gamesomniverse.com/  I love writing for them! (There are folks closer to my age but so much “hipper” and “with it” at Games Omniverse. They seamlessly blend in with the young culture.)

September 6: Flash Fiction Challenge

 

 

Games Omniverse – Epic Workplace

Written by Kerry E.B. Black

They’re all so much younger than me, but I find their Millenial energy invigorating. I know they look on me as the Grandma of the bunch. They turn eye-rolls when I’ve fouled another computer task and hide their smiles when I say something about “me me’s” instead of saying “memes.”

Yet somehow, I bring something to the group. I’d never be so vain as call it wisdom, and my experiences aren’t always helpful. However, it works. When they need copy, I pound on the keyboard until some small magic occurs, and the Angel in charge nods. “This’s good. Thanks.”

More exciting news!

Carousel of Nightmares by Kerry E.B. Black

I’ve been working with Tree Shadow Press, and it looks like a collection of my short scares geared toward younger readers will be out this autumn!

Care to take a ride on a carousel where not everything is merry as it goes round?

Reckoning

I’ve been lax about posting my 99 word https://carrotranch.com participation here, and for that, I’m sorry. Charli Mills’ latest prompt involved magic, so I’ve explored a bit more of my W.I.P. novel, “Wolves at Bay.”

 

Reckoning

by Kerry E.B. Black

 

“Where is your wife, Ward?” The magistrate’s robes flapped like a gaping hole.

“She took our son to visit her family.” Thank God she fled.

But what of Nina? Legs twisted like gnarled, unsupportive vines. Defenseless. Her only crime saving his infant’s life.

The magistrate rested a heavy hand upon Ward’s shoulder. It pressed like a stone. “Your wife will be tried. She consorted with a witch to save your son.”

Fire erupted within Ward, but he struggled to keep calm. “She didn’t. I fetched the woman who nursed our son. My wife had nothing to do with it.”

 

 

My First Novel!

I’m THRILLED to announce sometime this autumn, I’ll be a NOVELIST!

My YA novel, Season of Secrets, will be available through Rhetoric Askew.

 

 

I’m so excited and hope you’ll spread the word! (Of course, when it comes out, I hope you’ll read and enjoy it, too!)

 

Squee!

Happy Birthday, H.P. Lovecraft

Happy birthday, H.P. Lovecraft

written by Kerry E.B. Black

One of the twentieth century’s most influential horror writers, H.P. Lovecraft, would have celebrated his 128^th birthday today, if he hadn’t taken Death’s hand to start a new adventure on the Ides of March, 1937. (Howard Phillips Lovecraft was almost 47 years old when he died.)

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Lovecraft began writing horror stories at the age of eight.  It wasn’t until he turned 31 that he published in a professional magazine. Three years later, he became a regular contributor to “Weird Tales” magazine. Unfortunately, this ingenious author of “The Call of Cthulhu,” “The Shadow Out of Time,” and “At the Mountains of Madness” found supporting himself with the written word illusive.

As a child, Lovecraft experienced hardships. When Lovecraft was three years old, his father Winfield Scott Lovecraft succumbed to psychosis and was institutionalized. Winfield remained in the Butler Hospital until his death in 1898. Young Lovecraft recited poetry by the age of three and wrote complete poems by six. His grandfather Whipple Van Buren Phillips encouraged Lovecraft to read such classics as “The Arabian Nights” and “Bulfinch’s Age of Fable,” and he retold gothic tales of terror to his grandson. Lovecraft suffered Night Terrors.

Lovecraft started school late, and he missed a lot of school due to illness. He left school in 1908 without graduating after having a nervous breakdown caused in part by his aversion to mathematics. After ending his academic pursuits, he lived for five years isolated with his mother. He wrote poetry and in 1913, a pulp magazine published a critique of Fred Jackson’s love stories. The ensuing debate garnered the attention of the United Amateur Press Association, and he joined the UAPA in 1914. He published a story, “The Alchemist” in “The United Amateur” in 1916. He mentored and corresponded with many contemporary writers, including Robert Bloch (Psycho).

His Mother died in Butler Hospital in May, 1921. For two years, he married Sonia Greene and moved to New York. After, he returned to Providence. There, he lived in a Victorian house on Barnes Street. (He used the address in “The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.”) He fostered a friendship with Harry Houdini.

He died impoverished of cancer. In 1977, his fans bought a tombstone of his own in Swan Point Cemetery. Inscribed thereon is the quote, “I am Providence.”

H.P. Lovecraft’s writing continues to influence writers, including Stephen King. He is called upon by modern writers to serve as a character of cunning, occult knowledge, and guile.

*first published at Halloween Forevermore

Sketches

Sketching quick 99 word stories at https://carrotranch.com is a useful and fun experience. Writers should check the challenges.

Carrot Ranch Literary Community

Captured quickly at the moment, a sketch can linger. It teases the mind with what has been included, as well as left out by the artist. But who is the artist? The one who creates a visual on the page or writes the vision imagined in the mind?

Writers took to their sketchbooks this week to draw stories of those who draw. Enjoy the resulting sketches.

June 28, 2018, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story that is a sketch or about a sketch.

PART I (10-minute read)

Rainy Day Sketches of a Very Small Village by Bill Engleson

There are two tables and five chairs on the General Store porch.

The location affords a front row seat on not much.

I relish looking at not much.

A delivery truck departs.

Chips.

Our community eats a ton of chips.

I certainly do my bit.

Bite?

There’s…

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