Sunday, July 14, 2019

Strange Streets: My Best Kept Secret

Strange Streets is a foray into dark fantasy romance where the narrator discovers the object of his unrequited love is not the person he initially thought her to be. A story of 5,380 words, it forms part of my ebook, Rowan Dreaming.

Oddly enough, those who reviewed the ebook make no mention of Strange Streets, and I believe the story to be just as compelling as its companion piece.

I developed the idea when a detour took me through Carlisle, Pennsylvania and I was delighted by all the little odd shops, delis, and restaurants that peppered the main streets. In my story, James and his adopted cousin, Darcy, enjoy a hobby of visiting small, obscure shops in various small towns:
...for the last two years, when she was not assisting her parents in the daily routine of running the family farm, we would take an occasional Saturday and explore the streets of any nearby town or village. Darcy had no interest in malls or the predictable sameness of the chain stores. Instead, she reveled in shops that stood on what she called "strange streets," the tiny little shops and eateries with their quaint, special eccentricities that existed only off the main thoroughfares 
Over the months, we had wandered through Greencastle, Newville, Waynesboro, and other assorted burgs and villages throughout south-central Pennsylvania and even ventured into Maryland. My Ford, always threatening to breathe its last, took us on many an adventure and I took delight in following my enchanting will-o-the-wisp, sharing in her joy when she would find some inconsequential, yet eccentric treasure.
However, in Carlisle, they discover an extraordinary street and an otherworldly adventure that changes both their lives.

The Kindle ebook is yours for a mere 99¢ and can be read immediately on your phone, computer, or tablet with a free Kindle eReader. And Strange Streets is bundled with the novella, Rowan Dreaming, another dark fantasy romance that takes place in Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania.:
It was just a ball-jointed doll and for pawnbroker, Auden Gray, it was just another item to sell. Until Auden found his business partner dead with the doll in his arms. Investigating, Auden discovers the doll serves as a gateway to a dreamworld so seductive, men die under its spell. And Auden's time is running out as his resolve to discover the origin of the doll crumbles under the allure of Rowan, the dreamworld's sole resident.
The ebook can be yours at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, or whatever Amazon serves your country.

Thank you for allowing me to entertain you. I look forward to doing it again.

And please remember to leave a review, even if just a short note of affirmation. Reviews on Amazon are an independent author's bread and butter.







Wednesday, July 3, 2019

My Free Online Stories


As I write to entertain, I have been guilty of posting stories for free on this blog and here is an easy master list for you to easily find them. If you are entertained, as a I hope you are, please feel free to purchase any of my collections at your nearest Amazon and please do not forget to leave a review. Needless to say, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED! Feel free to link to the stories, but please do not cut and paste, download, or copy.


Complete Short Stories


  1. Gray Matter: A Dark SF Story in Six Paragraphs
  2. The Man Who Loved A Doll: A Parable
  3. The City of Sarkomand, A Guide for the Traveler
  4. Child of Sorrow
  5. Quatermass vs. the Aliens
  6. Nightmare
  7. Fake Memory Challenge--Sixteen Tiny Tales
  8. The Sinister Minister's Thanksgiving Confession
  9. Molly's Christmas: A Story For Children
  10. The Star: A Super Short Christmas Story
  11. A Lord of All Futures Christmas Tale
  12. Diesel-Punk Super Short For Your Amusement
  13. Revelstone 2020: A Cyberpunk Story
  14. Adrift Off The Great Red Spot, 22°51'23.14"S, 98°49'24.40"W
  15. Sheila: A Morality Tale
  16. Jenny, Sweet Jenny
  17. Kill Your Darlings
  18. Timely Revenge
  19. Fifteen Super Short Stories
  20. Wolf Hunter: A Short Story
  21. The Curse: A Flash Fiction of 450 Words
  22. Summer Games: A Short Story
  23. Wild Carrot (humorous short story)
  24. Lair of the White Rabbit (Vignettes)
  25. An Exercise in Insanity (44 Super Short Stories)

Desperate Attempts at Humor (Please Don't Hurt Me)

  1. The Psalter of Saint Brumphrey the Unstable
  2. It Is The Month Of March And My Heart Yearns For Paris
  3. A Writing Exercise From 2011 (Zombies)
  4. Cheerful Company And A Merry Time
  5. Meditating On The Afterlife
  6. The Detective, The Dame, The Diamond, and the Dog
  7. Trekking With My Mother Through The Kohl’s Bra Aisle
  8. Rabbit Barf Cookies or "Get That Man Out of the Kitchen!
  9. Paranormal Romance? Let Me Give It A Shot. Oh, Man, I'VE OFFENDED MYSELF!
  10. The Horror... The Horror... (Teaching at a Homeschool Co-op)
  11. The Many (Supposed) Faces Of The Rev. Craig "Alan" Loewen
  12. Almost ALL My My Little Pony Satires
  13. Spells From Loewen’s Dark Grimoire
  14. My Schnuffel Bunny Intervention
  15. What Is A Bodice Ripper Genre Story?
  16. A Christmas Carol Parody
  17. When It's Superbowl Sunday and You Have No Life
  18. A Day In The Life of Detective Nick Weaver
  19. The Tea Experiment: What Hath My Madness Wrought?
  20. The Rotwang Convention For Mad Scientists
  21. Pepsi
  22. Winter Tales from the Blizzards of 2015 and 2016
  23. Grey Ghost and Doom Storm Reminisce
  24. 10 Pointers When With A Werewolf
  25. My First and Last Interview
  26. Belinda McFate: The Literary World's Weakest Female Character
  27. My Road Trip - Day 344
  28. The Most Common Cause of Death Among Literary Characters
  29. Mrs. McGillicuddy's Home for Unwed Cats
  30. Case Study: Counseling Transcript of Client Blanche Thibodeaux

Fragments

  1. Faydra: A Tale From the Fractured World
  2. Slender Man: An Excerpt From An Old Work
  3. Grave Gate Sample
  4. I Dream of a Cat at a Parisian Bistro
  5. When Imagination Calls (Story Excerpt)
  6. Rat Hunt: A Story Excerpt
  7. Rat Hunt Segment #2
  8. The Lord of All Futures Story Excerpt
  9. Elysia House
  10. Sister Unicorn: A Fable For Adult Children
  11. Doll Wars: The Prologue
  12. The Hunters Three: An Experimental Story
  13. The House: An Excerpt
  14. The Lord of All Futures Story Excerpt

Poetry