Notes From the Lizard Lair

Short Fiction

OK, I’m taking the plunge. I’m making my short fiction available online – some of it for free, some for sale. If you hop on down to the story list below, you can sample a few pages, read the freebies, and help encourage a striving artist, if you like, by buying a short story.

If you want to catch my thoughts on writing short stories, you might like to read this blog post.

If you want updates on what’s new on this page, please subscribe to my newsletter (form’s in left-hand column).

 Freebies

Dragonsword.  Ok, ok, it’s not short (it’s a full length fantasy novel), but it is free, so I’m listing it here, too. You can read an excerpt here as well.

Li-Wan’s Revenge: A Ghost Story.  In my Asian-inspired setting, they celebrate an occasion called the Day of Return, a time when the veil between worlds is thin and ghosts may encounter the living. This is a tale of murder and ghostly revenge often told around that time of year. It’s  perfect reading for Halloween, or any time you want a tale of haunting vengeance.  Special bonus: this story is illustrated in color by artist Emily Vitori.

Chip in For a Mocha

Short stories you purchase here help to keep me in mochas, scones, Bic pens and graph paper, and many other essentials that fuel the writing of more good stories. There’s a certain symmetry to that, and if you care to join in on this cycle, you will have my gratitude as well as my stories.

The Transformation of Gerick Bare-Skin.  In my novel The Truthsayer’s Apprentice, the bad guys hail from the Duchy of Nimm, a mountainous, rugged place with a somewhat nordic culture.  This story visits Nimm and takes us to the backwoods, where certain clansmen are known for their were-animal powers. All except for Gerick, who should be a werebear, too….but isn’t.

Read a sample. The “look inside” preview at Amazon shows too little of the story itself for various reasons. If you want to see a decent chunk for a preview, this is the sample to read.  Buy at Amazon.
 

Bookish Things

These are stories like the above (same mocha rule applies, too!). They’re just…longer. This section includes novellas and anthologies.

If you want to read my fiction in these books, you’ll have to buy the whole enchilada, but if it’s an anthology (rather than a novella or story collection I wrote), I can promise you they’ll also be chock full of great tales in addition to my own work.  You can sample some of my writing at the links below.

No Man’s Land: Defending the Future Vol. IV. This is a unique collection of military science fiction all by women authors, introduced by award-winning milscifi author David Weber (creator of the Honor Harrington series).  The book and its component stories have been nominated for the 2011 Tiptree Award. I’m an Army vet myself, and bring my own military sensibilities as well as my sf craft to my short story, “Live Fire.” In this tale, a young weapons officer aboard a Sa’adani ship deals with duty, honor, and treachery as she is challenged with unexpected disaster.

Print edition.  Kindle edition.  Read a sample.  Related blog posts here and here.

Demon Lovers: Succubi.  This is an anthology scheduled for release on 12/1/2011. More details soon. The book site at the title link is not yet live but will be around Nov 1. Updates to follow.

Sa’adani Tales.  This is a work in progress planned for 2012 publication. This book is a collection of folklore from the common culture that spans my fantasy and science fiction settings.  You can read more about the project here.  Li-Wan’s Revenge, under Freebies higher up on this page, is one of the stories that will be appearing in this book.

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