Untethered Realms: Happenings in the Realm: Huzzizzle August 2014 #SpecFic #SciFi #Fantasy #Horror

Coming Fall 2014!

Nine twisted stories from nine twisted worlds.

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.

Cover by: EDHGRAPHICS

Graphic Artist Erin Dameron-Hill

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.