In the Crescent – New Orleans is Calling You Home

It’s here! The newest addition to the Rewritten Realms publication family – InTheCrescent.com. New Orleans has called home her people, and she is calling you, too. Can you hear her?

If you enjoy stories of the paranormal, then click that link and get thee over there immediately! Set in New Orleans, arguably the most fascinating and haunted city in the United States, you will meet some of the usual suspects found in the Crescent City: vampires, witches, werewolves, and ghosts. You’ll also be introduced to other less familiar denizen such as fae, oracles, demons, and even a few colorful mortals who have compelling stories to tell.

You might even find a certain fae who shares a surname with yours truly. Want to learn more about Maggie Malone? Dive into her bio here, then watch for her stories coming soon!

Also, before I move on to other happenings, today I celebrate the man who put me on the path to writing. Happy Birthday, Andrew A. If not for you, I would not be doing what I love today. Thank you for believing in and guiding me. It’s been a slow journey, but step by step, I’ve been getting there and you’ve been there the whole time.

What else have I been up to, you ask? Well, lately I’ve been playing with some darkly delicious poets of twitter who respond to daily prompts from Quill & Crow Publishing using the hashtag #crowcalls. To see my offerings follow this link and scroll.

I leave you with my latest dark offering (inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s The Telltale Heart) until next time!

New & Two

Happy New Year! As is tradition, I will start out my long delayed update with a halfhearted apology followed by an explanation for my absence.

Mea culpa. I am admonishing myself for not updating more frequently. In fact, I will flog myself with a wet noodle as soon as I complete this overdue post. Remember, though, you can always find me on Twitter and Facebook (admittedly, I’m almost as bad about updating Facebook as I am this blog!)

Moxie by Proxy

With that out of the way, it’s time for deuxième partie de la tradition (Part Two) – Zee Explanation.

Just because I’ve been quiet, doesn’t mean I haven’t been writing. In fact, this month there will be TWO new publications coming out.

The first is Moxie by Proxy – a collection of fixed form poetry, written in precisely 140 characters, with a lagniappe of longer verses between sections. Like yours truly, some are funny, quirky, creepy, provocative, and a tad bawdy; others mark the seasons or touch on love, romance, desire, and loss. These bite-sized micro poems, penned between blog posts and novel writing, often contain bits and pieces of my works in progress.

Available on Kindle January 4th, 2021 and FREE for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. That’s right. I may not be easy, but I am cheap!

The second is Immortal Loves, available in print and ebook January 14, 2021. The Greeks have eight forms of love and all are included in this anthology, which features some of your favorite writers from the online magazine InThePantheon.com.

Immortal Loves in the second anthology in the Immortal series published by Rewritten Realms, a writer-owned independent publishing house. You can still support this project by donating to our Indiegogo campaign and score your copy as a token of our appreciation.

As always, your continued support and encouragement means the world to me. I thank you all sincerely. xox

Watch this space for more exciting news in the near future! Hint: A new online magazine is coming VERY SOON!

Immortal Fears

I know. I know! I’ve been very quiet. I feel you judging me.

In my defense, I’ve been VERY busy behind the scenes working with an awesome indie publishing company Rewritten Realms who will be releasing an anthology Immortal Fears on 8/25/20. Yours truly has a story in it! Now, don’t you feel bad for being so judgy? Well you should.

You can make it up to me by pre-ordering a copy. Go on. Do it now. I’ll wait. Just click here and grab your copy. Grab two to assuage your guilt. You were pretty judgy, after all. You know you were. Better make it three copies. They’ll make great gifts and you’ll sleep better knowing that you helped out some amazing indie authors.

Here’s a small sampling of the stories you’ll get in this amazing collection of scary tales from the writers at InThePantheon.com

IMMORTAL FEARS INCLUDES:

Olympus Confidential: the Deep Wild by CJ Landry
Hera has been kidnapped! For four terrified teenage Gods and Goddesses – Nike, Moxie, Hephaestus, and Ares – it is a race against the clock to find their mother. But to get her back, they must face and conquer their greatest enemy – themselves. Can they accomplish their feats and find Hera in time, or will the Queen of the Heavens be lost forever?

Reliving the Nightmare by Moxie Malone
Moxie, the forgotten goddess, defies her mothers to pursue her heart’s desire. Her single-minded stubbornness leads innocent lovers into danger when nightgoyles break free from Tartarus at the apex of Samhain. These vicious creatures, with an appetite for human flesh, are on the hunt and they are hungry.

Sacrifice to the Dark Elves by Jeanette Rose
Eros, God of Love and Sex, along with Dionysus, God of Wine, throw an epic rave in Olympus National Park for Halloween. A party to end all. Yet, nothing is as it seems. Samhain is a night steeped in mystery, the veil between worlds at its thinnest, and someone is reaching out.

Thanatos and the House at the End of the World by Marc Tizura
Thanatos, God of Death, has left the Pantheon. Broken after the second world war, he has taken to exploring alternate worlds. He comes across one of a barren landscape and a lone structure. The dead cry out to him from the depths of the decrepit Victorian house, their souls held hostage by a demon child.

A Soul for a Soul by Rashmi P. Menon
A dark shadow has descended on Artemis’ beloved Olympus National Park. When the sinister shadow starts reaping the souls of the mortals visiting the Park, Artemis sets out on a quest with her hunting partner, Orion, and the God of Death, Thanatos. Racing against time, Artemis must unravel the mystery of the dark shadow and retrieve the lost souls before it consumes them forever.

Want more? I knew you would. Check back next week and I’ll share some sneak peaks of other stories that you’ll find in this MASSIVE collection.

In the meantime, please consider donating to the Indiegogo campaign that will bring these tales to life.

Monsters


When I was just a little girl,
I feared monsters ‘neath my bed.

As a teen, they tormented me,
When they moved into my head.

When I was a fair young maiden,
They were those I might have wed.

But as I grew into full bloom,
They soon feared my wrath, instead.

Older, I search the day’s headlines,
Clipping stories that I’ve read.

“Gray Hairs Found Near Mangled Corpses!”
“Each missing both heart and head!”

Monsters no longer frighten me,
Night’s not something that I dread.

Monsters protect me when I sleep
With their parts stowed ‘neath my bed.

Hello, Dolly

Can you feel it, too?

Even in the south, in the sweltering heat, we can feel the shift about mid-August. It’s barely perceptible, but it’s there. It’s the sense that summer is giving way to the fall and soon darkness will have its way with the light. From light to dim to dark.

Also, the rhythm of our lives changes just a bit, doesn’t it? Thoughts of beaches and bathing suits turn to fall leaves and sweaters – from cold drinks to hot apple cider.

It’s instinctual, I think. At least, it has always been that way for me and mine. I can only presume that you, too, sense the veil thinning. The veil between this world and the other side.

Each day as we drifted closer to the fall equinox, the balance of light tipped in favor of the night. At the same time, the barrier between the worlds grew ever slimmer. It continues to do so right up until All Hallows Eve. Some believe that passing between the veil only happens on October 31st. That’s not true, though. That’s just when the weakest can pass unhindered. Stronger spirits and entities can pass much sooner. Perhaps that’s why our minds turns to darker things, spooky things, creepy things. Maybe we can sense them among us. Could it be that we hear their whispers in our ears?

I only ask, because this strange little poem came to me from nowhere. I do believe Halloween is upon us, friends.

I love my little dolly, sweet;
She’s my best and only friend.
I bring her other kids to meet
But, they don’t come back again.

I suppose they just don’t like me,
Though, I can’t imagine why.
We’re both as sweet as we can be,
‘Cept when someone makes me cry.

My dolly doesn’t like me sad;
That is when she’s not so nice,
Bad things happen when she is mad,
So, it’s best that you think twice.