Guardians of Telesma and holiday greetings

Many of you will be celebrating the holidays this week and I'd like you to save me some stuffing... and a place at the table, if you don't mind! Remember to hug your family and friends, and savor the togetherness of life.

In the meantime, if you're looking for something new to read, may I present Guardians of Telesma. It's available for pre-order from Amazon and will be free to KindleUnlimited subscribers on Dec. 1st.

Blurb:

An ancient prophecy. A doorway between realities. A woman destined to save a world—or destroy it.

When Kate Ryan discovers an ancient artifact at a dig site, her life is changed forever. Swept across the boundaries of dimension, she’s plunged into an alternate world of magic, shape-shifting cats—and a prophecy calling for her death at the hands of the Guardian.

Draven, Guardian of Telesma, took an oath to kill the Outsider whom the legend warns will destroy his world. He hesitates as his attraction to this woman proves stronger than his sense of duty. Now he must protect his sworn enemy against his own people as he struggles to prove the prophecy wrong.

Kate faces an impossible choice. Stay and try to save those who refuse to accept her, or turn her back on them and the man who’s captured her heart? If she makes the wrong decision, will it bring about their destruction?

To read chapters one and two, click here!

Mayhem in the Air launch!

Tales from Untethered Realms. Ten stories of horror, the fantastic, the future, and macabre, all embracing the element of air.

From Amazon bestselling and popular science fiction and fantasy authors comes Mayhem in the Air, a supernatural anthology of ten thrilling tales. Meet hot robots, hungry winds and the goddess of chaos. Explore alien planets, purgatorial realms, and a shocking place where people bury the living with their dead. Mayhem in the Air is the second, long-awaited story collection from the dynamic and inventive Untethered Realms group.

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“A Strange Penitence” by Catherine Stine – A young artist pays a supernatural price when a drawing trip to North Carolina turns deadly.

“Mass Transit” by Graeme Ing – For Emily, mind over matter is not just a saying, but the gateway to her career among the largest starships built by man.

“A Tangled Weave” by River Fairchild – A TimePulse rips through the Great Tapestry of Life, leaving Earth’s history in a jumble, and Death and Chronos in a race to save the world yet again.

“Corrosive” by M. Pax – In a world ruined by pollutants, Bex sets off to establish a new homestead with her dreamy robotic man. Already farming her plot of land is another dreamy man with radical ideas, presenting new challenges as corrosive as the air.

“Saving Scrooge: A Short Story Prequel to the Saving Marley Series” by Gwen Gardner – Marley is sent from purgatory to save the soul of his old friend. Can he save his own in the bargain?

“The Silent Wind” by Christine Rains – A team of specialists must dispel a mysterious storm on an alien planet to prepare it for colonization. One by one the crew disappears until only a seasoned soldier remains. How can he battle a hungry wind that makes no noise?

“Paper Lanterns” by Cherie Reich: In order to keep his promise to his daughter, Mayor Alfred Merry must betray the woman he loves.

“Chaos. Hope. Love.” by Misha Gerrick – Although Eris is the goddess of chaos, her life has fallen into a nice and comfortable routine. Until someone from her past shows up in her bookstore.

“Cardinal Sin” by Julie Flanders: Beleaguered hospital workers bury the living with the dead in the midst of a tuberculosis epidemic and a seething spirit vows vengeance from the skies.

“The Ark” by Cathrina Constantine -Plagued with memory flashes of fiery explosions and running for her life, Fallon emerges from a drugged stupor to find herself in an airborne Ark, and the earth below is a drowning wasteland.

Explore these worlds here:

Amazon / Barnes&Noble / iTunes / Smashwords /

Just in time for Halloween!

Halloween’s a-coming!

This time of year is my favorite – and not only because of Halloween. That’s like icing on the cake. Autumn is the fading season. The time when shadows grow longer. The boards in the house creak.

The wind sighs a mournful tune.

And monsters come out to play.

We like to be scared. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because we think we can control our own environment. Stay safe in our cozy little bubbles. Be terrified by stories but feel secure knowing it can’t happen to us. Not really.

Never mind the strange noise you just heard. It’s only your imagination, after all.

Or maybe not.

In honor of the season, I’m proud to present Demon in the Basement. It’s on sale right now for only .99.

Thirty-two stories. Some long, some short. Some filled with irony, others with dark humor. More that will send you to hide under the covers, wondering if something’s coming for you next. I hope you enjoy them. I know I enjoyed writing them.

Oh, and one more thing before I forget… check the locks on your doors. You’ve been warned.

 

Thirty-two stories, including a novelette by the same title, to keep you awake at night.

A time-traveling Chevy, an ancient church of evil, a house possessed by black magic. Stories to fill you with dread, draw you into places you'd rather not go, smack you in the face with ironic possibilities.

Meet the monsters of myth, the creatures that lurk under your bed, the phantoms you thought didn't exist. Travel to the real Atlantis, strap in for the Bermuda Triangle. Terror lurks in the ocean, while an asteroid hides a secret.

Leave a nightlight on before you go to sleep. Something's coming for you.

Where to buy:

/ Amazon / Barnes&Noble / Smashwords / other links /

Polish Those Femur Bones...

...and get ready for the drum roll! 

Death and Chronos (and me!) are pleased to announce the launch of their new novella, Just Another Day in Purgatory.

What’s the book about, beyond the wacky fun and crazy misadventures of our fearless duo? It’s about friendship in the midst of insanity. Trying to find order in the middle of chaos. Living life on the edge and having fun while doing so. It’s about having someone’s back, no matter what.

I’d like to think it has heart. I hope you think so too. Best of all? It's only .99!

Blurb:

Hell freezes over. Heaven heats up. A resort springs to life on the banks of the River Styx and souls don’t want to move on.

Nothing scares our intrepid immortals—except a run-in with a scissor-wielding Fate after messing up the Great Tapestry. She’s the only one capable of cutting their Life Threads.

It’s just another day in Purgatory for Death and Chronos as they sort through the mayhem and keep the universe from spinning out of control. Be sure to bring along your helmet. You never know when Death might offer you a ride on his Harley.

Links:

Amazon / Apple / Barnes & Noble / Other Links

And if you haven't read the first one, Living the Afterlife - a collection of flash fiction, it's free!

The Rifters by M. Pax and my vacation in Settler, OR!

I recently visited Settler, Oregon and I gotta say, I loved the friendly, small-town atmosphere. Nestled between extinct volcanoes, Settler is an outdoor paradise with unspoiled views, plenty of recreational activities, and wonderful people.

Now, I must admit the odd lights pulsating in the night sky were weird, but I could get used to them. Some of the people are a bit off-kilter too, but that’s not unusual if you live in the wilderness. It would be a great place to escape to. Free to start over fresh in a new town.

There’s really only one thing preventing me from packing up and moving there permanently.

It’s the rumors; whispers that shiver their way up and down your spine in the dead of night as you sleep. Rumors of a phantom, bent on murder and leaving headless corpses in its wake. Rumors of a rift in the area that shatters time itself.

Now that I’m back, it’s hard to believe in the vibes I felt while there. I look at my vacation photos and a sense of peace steals over me. Maybe I only imagined the impending doom about to befall me if I didn’t escape. I can laugh at the strangeness of it all as the sun bathes me in light.

Nighttime is different, though. My dreams tell me the truth about Settler. I wake up trembling and can’t quite remember why.

All photos posted by permission of M. Pax from her Settler, Oregon page

About The Rifters:

The Gold Rush trickles to a fool’s quest and a string of stagecoach heists. In 1888, Earl Blacke decides to make a new start and become a better man. He escapes into the mountains, heading north. In the wilds of Oregon, a rift inside an ancient volcano opens and sends him into the future, into the present day. It also shaves forty years off his age, forty years to live over again and atone for what he’s done.

Starting over is hard to do. In current day New York, Daelin Long’s dream job at a publishing house goes the way of the dinosaurs her sister chases. With no money and nowhere else to go, Daelin accepts the librarian position in her sister’s dinky town in the middle of Oregon. Nestled inside ancient volcanic peaks, the town of Settler holds onto many secrets. Residents roam the streets with weirdly fashioned devices, and odd lights pulse in the night skies. People whisper of a phantom outlaw and start dying, murdered and missing their heads. On top of it all, Daelin’s sister is missing, and Daelin doesn’t know who to trust.

Earl knows more than he’s saying. He shares a notorious history with the phantom, one he’ll see remains buried. Keeping Daelin’s sister’s secrets is his only chance at redemption, and the only way to keep this world safe.

The Rifters is available for FREE! It doesn't get better than that so make sure you grab it. The second book in the series, The Initiate, will be available October 20, 2014. It’s up for preorder for a special price at iTunes, Amazon, and B&N. Check HERE for links. Giveaways and events are ongoing through October 31, 2014. Check HERE for details.

Links: Amazon / AmazonUK / B&N / Smashwords /Googleplay / iTunes / Other Outlets

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About M. Pax

M. Pax is author of the space adventure series The Backworlds, plus other novels and short stories. Fantasy, science fiction, and the weird beckons  to her, and she blames Oregon, a source of endless inspiration. She docents at Pine Mountain Observatory in the summers as a star guide, has a cat with a crush on Mr. Spock, and is slightly obsessed with Jane Austen. Learn more at mpaxauthor.com.

Double Negative

I'm happy to announce C. Lee McKenzie has another book out! It's called Double Negative, a contemporary/realistic Young Adult fiction.

Summary:

Hutchison Mc Queen is a sixteen-year-old smart kid who screws up regularly. He’s a member of Larkston High’s loser clique, the boy who’s on his way to nowhere—unless juvenile hall counts as a destination. He squeaks through classes with his talent for eavesdropping and memorizing what he hears. When that doesn’t work, he goes to Fat Nyla, the one some mean girls are out to get and a person who’s in on his secret—he can barely read. And then Maggie happens. For twenty-five years she’s saved boys from their own bad choices. But she may not have time to save Hutch. Alzheimer’s disease is steadily stealing her keen mind.

Buy from Evernight Teen here.

Tweet about it!

Bad grammar. Bad choices. No future, except prison. DOUBLE NEGATIVE @cleemckenzie http://www.evernightteen.com/double-negative-by-c-lee-mckenzie #YA  #YALit @UncommonYA

Going to prison wasn’t part of the escape plan. DOUBLE NEGATIVE by C. Lee McKenzie @UncommonYA @YALit @Y_A_Now http://www.evernightteen.com/double-negative-by-c-lee-mckenzie

Hutch McQueen will make you laugh and cry. C. Lee McKenzie’s new @UncommonYA DOUBLE NEGATIVE is out. http://www.evernightteen.com/double-negative-by-c-lee-mckenzie @YaTwts

Lee's even set up a giveaway! How cool is that?

Lee's website

Lee's blog

Double negative FaceBook fan page

a Rafflecopter giveaway