Once Upon a Spork
I helped organize this anthology for my online writing group. It is a collection of eleven stories, one poem and one novella, ranging from malicious fey to malfunctions of science, cautionary tales of satire to fairy tale retellings. Once Upon a Spork features three of my short fairy tales. An Otter’s Gift and Of Sentinels and Heralds were written while exploring an idea for a contemporary fantasy. Torn in Three was likewise written to explore an absent mother in a historical fantasy I am writing with another friend.
The Essential Guide to Supervillainy
Shy senior Sadie Thomas isn’t the kind of person most people would look to for advice on how to be a villain. After all, her dream job is working in a library and she hangs out at the local ice cream store in her free time. Her idea of a nightmare is not being caught by armed forces or falling to a fiery death. No, her nightmare is being the center of attention.
It’s a nightmare that is quickly becoming a reality as Sadie pens the advice of Jonnie B. Bad for her creative writing project. Writing Jonnie’s advice isn’t the nightmare. With friends that hijack the marching band color guard and an enemy who locks her into a book drop, Sadie’s got inspiration drenching her in buckets. No, the nightmare is fellow band member Chance Mateer. Known for his wild zombie stories and mischievous pranks, there’s no way Chance is letting Sadie hide her writing when he becomes her editing partner. All it takes is one class period with Chance, and Sadie’s agreeing to publish her guide in the school magazine. Her one condition, anonymity, will come to haunt her more than straight out attention ever would. This story is being rewritten into a third draft.
Third Fencepost
Chance and his best friend Ali are staff-in-training at Camp Kinnickinnick, their long time summer camp. Chance is expecting a fun, challenging summer with pranks, bouts of mud zombies and epic all camp games. He’s also sure to run afoul of Jordan, an over competitive killjoy employed at the camp. When Bill, the camp director, announces his upcoming retirement and his decision to turn the camp over to Maya rather than Jordan, things start to take an ugly turn at camp. Ali and Chance are about to have a summer they will never forget.
This draft, finished in March 2011, was a collaborative writing project I completed with Kit Campbell. We had a blast writing it and expanding upon characters we had used in our separate novel projects. This novel is currently out with betas.
Jeremiah Was a Werewolf
Band trips are unforgettable. That goes double when a mosquito bites your best friend and then decides to take you on for dessert. That’s how Miah Robbins found himself to be the first werewolf infected in such a manner. Furious at his best friend once he makes the connections, Miah struggles though a month of danger, shock and change. His locker gets vandalized, someone’s feeding his little brother near fatal misinformation, and Miah’s symptoms leave a slew of needed repairs. Told in diary entries from three young teens, Jeremiah Was a Werewolf is a hybrid of humor, angst and suspense. This novel is currently out with betas.
Stickpin and Waddle
Thorley Stickpin is a jaded private investigator. He’s also a hedgehog. Business is slow in Wallington Square, nothing more than missing items and the occasional cat disappearance. Then the thefts begin, the ones where water is left behind at the scene of the crime. His acquaintance Eggbert Waddle starts accidentally throwing himself into danger and coming out a hero. Stickpin is getting hounded by a journalist who won’t leave things well enough alone. Life’s a headache–without factoring in his flamboyant cousin Karina.
This story is awaiting editing.
