Return of the Djinn- Now in AUDIOBOOK!

"In The Age of Magic, Anything is Possible."

Audiobook

Return of the Djinn The Age of Magic, Book Three NOW IN AUDIOBOOK! What would the Age of Magic be without the Arabian Nights? Aladdin and his magic lamp; Ali Baba and the 40 thieves; genies and djinns and ifrits, oh my! Flying carpets, desert palm trees, and harems filled with voluptuous women. That Moorish architecture, and oh the clothes: turbans, fezzes, and curled pointy shoes. Belly dancers, and the Dance of the Seven Veils. The bazaar and the café. The magical city of Baghdad, with its spires, keyhole arches, and minarets glittering more brightly than the Emerald City of Oz. And then there's vampire Sharon Mordecai, a prominent character in every Halos & Horns novel since the first book but noticeably absent in the previous installment, the ninth book in the series. Where was Sharon? All we were told was that she was on a case with her spectral private investigator partner Kara Islington. Readers got a clue at the very end of the previous book when Ursula Fenris, teenage daughter of Sharon's BFF Pandora, was polishing an oil lamp she had been given by the mysterious proprietor of an even more mysterious curio shop. Kara's ghostly form wafted from the lamp's spout with the dire message that she and Sharon had been captured by a djinn. But how on Earth did they end up in such a predicament? *** Book 10 in the Halos & Horns fantasy series *** Book 3 in The Age of Magic story arc ***

Warriors & Wizards - Now in AUDIOBOOK!

"In The Age of Magic, Anything is Possible."

Audiobook

Warriors & Wizards The Age of Magic, Book Two NOW IN AUDIOBOOK! Taking place 15 years after the conclusion of the Halos & Horns story arc, The Age of Magic marks Lucifer's return to the series but much of the story follows the next generation: the children of Samantha (witch) and Lucifer (demon) Cypher; Pandora (vampire) and Cody (werewolf) Fenris; and Kita (kitsune) and Reggie (mortal) Forster. Alaric Cypher spends his summer before starting college in Japan with the family of the kitsune Kita, where he finds love and danger. Lucifer travels back to the ancient land of Thenesia to aid the barbarian King Caliban and the wizard Balthazar in their fight against the Dark Gods. Bartholomew follows twins Quinn and Ursula Fenris through a dimensional portal to the Otherworld, where the Morrigan is preparing for final battle with Hecate, the goddess of all witches. A traitor is discovered at Nosferatu, Inc., and Asabi returns to Siofra after Alterverse... but in a dramatically different form. *** Book 9 in the Halos & Horns fantasy series *** Book 2 in The Age of Magic story arc ***

ALTERVERSE - Now in AUDIOBOOK!

ALTERVERSE  -  Now in AUDIOBOOK format!

Book One in The Age of Magic story arc

"In a world without hope, in a land of darkness and despair, where chaos has replaced order, one boy leads a ragtag band of rebels against omnipotent forces."

Audiobook

The forces of Chaos have defeated those of Order and recreated reality. The result is a dystopian multiverse ruled by the Dark Gods and policed by vampires who serve as their high priests. Into this Alterverse comes a heavensent African, gender-switching, interdimensional traveler who now finds himself permanently stuck in female form and tasked with the unenviable job of restoring reality. He/She must locate 17-year-old Alaric, son of the imprisoned witch Samantha Twitch and the banished demon Lucifer, and help him form a rebellion. But in this altered reality familiar faces are not who they may seem and some who had died now still live. Pandora and Cody's teenaged children Quinn and Ursula join Alaric's nascent resistance alongside the demon Asmodeus, Grand Duke of Hell Eligos, Nitrate (an emotive from the Dreamscape), Kita the kitsune, and a Kunoichi (Japanese female assassin) against overwhelming odds, as they seek not merely to change the world but the entire multiverse, and overthrow the gods themselves. *** Book 8 in the Halos & Horns fantasy series *** Book 1 in The Age of Magic story arc ***

NOSFERATU, INC -- Now in AUDIOBOOK!

NOSFERATU, INC. - Fangs & Fur Book Three

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

Audiobook

First introduced in the Halos & Horns fantasy saga, these vampires and lycanthropes have their own stories to tell. Nosferatu, Inc. is a worldwide corporation set up to provide relocation services for vampires, who cannot remain in one place indefinitely, lest the "breathers" question why they never age. The battle for control of Nosferatu, Inc. begins as 5,000-year-old Malik, the first vampire and Regina, queen of the demonic vampires known as the Empusae, launch a global attack, while Dracula and his Legion of the Undead attempt a hostile takeover. The werewolf clans return, some to protect a pregnant vampire and others intent on destroying Nosferatu, Inc. And the Egyptian cat goddess Bast learns the secret of the mummy. . *** Book 7 in the Halos & Horns fantasy series *** Book 3 in the Fangs & Fur story arc ***

NIGHTSTALKERS - Now in AUDIOBOOK!

NIGHTSTALKERS - Fangs & Fur Book Two

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

Audiobook

First introduced in the Halos and Horns fantasy saga, these vampires and lycanthropes have their own stories to tell. Pandora's a carefree party girl who just happens to be a vampire. With her best friend Sharon Mordecai, a hybrid vampire; her boyfriend Cody Fenris, a werewolf; and Cody's sister Lupe, who transforms into a wolf, they run Nightstalkers, Inc., a private detective agency in Las Vegas. Pandora and Sharon also belong to Nosferatu, Inc., a worldwide corporation set up to provide relocation services for vampires, who cannot remain in one place indefinitely, lest the “breathers” question why they never age. When a Grigori unwittingly entrusts trouble-prone vampire Pandora with an ancient leather-bound box containing primordial evil, what could possibly go wrong? At least Pandora doesn't know her best friend slept with her boyfriend. Or that her werewolf beau has been targeted for revenge by one of his victims. Her BFF Sharon — the hybrid vampire infused with an angelic life force — has enough to worry about now that a deranged scientist/occultist is creating his own Frankenstein monster and requires an angelic life force to animate it. He's resurrected the spirit of Jack the Ripper to supply the body parts he needs from Las Vegas prostitutes. Should Kennedy be worried to walk the city streets? After a Valkyrie whisks the Nightstalkers, Inc. team of private eyes — vampires Sharon and Pandora, and lycanthrope siblings Cody and Lupe Fenris — off to the Otherworld dimension of the Fae to recover Thor’s golden gauntlets from the Dark Fae's leader, the Morrigan, the team will be forever changed. And how does that tie in with their new landlord Kitty Bast, an Egyptian cat goddess? . *** Book 6 in the Halos & Horns fantasy series *** Book 2 in the Fangs & Fur story arc ***

The Witches' Cauldron - Now in AUDIOBOOK

Book Four in the "Halos & Horns" series.

Audiobook

The Witches' Cauldron Picking up where To Hell in a Handbasket left off, the fourth installment of the Halos & Horns fantasy series finds the angel Gabriel and the demon Asmodeus fighting for their lives against usurper Baphomet and his demonic horde in his bid to take dominion of Hell; Lucifer brought for judgment before the Fates for the murder of an Eternal; and the witch Samantha Twitch joining forces with her sisters Drusilla and Calliope against the sorceress supreme Morgana le Fay and her Dark Fae minions. Will teen witch Emma regret her decision to stand by the changeling Damien? Can Damien find a way to halt his rapid aging? Will the critically injured Detective Mordecai survive? And if not, will he take the secret of his daughters to the grave? An attack on Nosferatu, Inc.'s Japanese headquarters by the ancient vampiric demons known as the Empusae not only threatens Lady Chiyoko's territory, but will change the young hypnalis Kaya's life forever. Meanwhile, one character must journey back in time to 17th century Salem in search of the secret to defeating Morgana le Fay. But what other secrets does the Salem coven hold? No one is safe. As the Halos & Horns saga draws to its conclusion, who will survive?

Book Three in the "Halos & Horns" series.

Audiobook

To Hell in a Handbasket Picking up where And a Child Shall Lead Them left off, the third installment in the the Halos & Horns fantasy series finds the angel Gabe Horn and demon Lou Cypher questioning their roles, as each embarks on a personal journey to discover his humanity. The cast of characters must adjust to the changes brought about at the conclusion of the previous installment. With the Devil taking charge of Heaven, Gabriel rebels, searching for answers in the most unlikely of places. As Samantha ponders his proposal, Lucifer finds himself a reluctant ruler. Síofra, the Irish changeling, must adjust to life hiding from Alaric in Japan with the ingénue Kaya, unaware of the girl's deadly secret. A familiar figure rises from obscurity to seize the reins of power at Nosferatu, Inc., while Morgana le Fay seeks vengeance for the fate of her son, Mordred.

And a Child Shall Lead Them -- Now in AUDIOBOOK!

Book Two in the "Halos & Horns" series.

Audiobook

And a Child Shall Lead Them Picking up where Paved with Good Intentions left off, the second installment in the the Halos & Horns fantasy series finds the angel Gabe Horn and demon Lou Cypher facing the Dark Gods in their bid for domination of the multiverse; Lilith, the mother of all succubi; and Armageddon! Ditzy vampire Pandora is dating a werewolf! Resident witch Samantha gives birth to Alaric, but is his father Lou or the warlock Mordred? All your favorite characters are back, along with some intriguing new arrivals. And meet the kids: Emma the Cockney witchling; Siofra, the Irish changeling; Asabi, the African emere; Kaya, the Japanese hypnalis; and Artemus, the boy vampire. But how long can even these supernatural children survive now that the ancient child-devouring succubus Lilith walks the Earth once more?

Paved With Good Intentions -- Now in Audiobook Format!

Book One in the "Halos & Horns" fantasy series.

Audiobook

Paved With Good Intentions Exiled on Earth, naive angel Gabriel and amoral demon Lucifer, in the human guise of “Gabe Horn” and “Lou Cypher”, form an unlikely partnership as private investigators in Las Vegas. Their adventures take them across the seven heavenly realms, into the nine levels of Hell, through the dream realm of the Dreamscape, and even through time to Camelot. Along the way, the pair encounter a wickedly funny assortment of angels, demons, witches, warlocks, vampires, and other supernatural creatures. Meet some of the most imaginative characters in contemporary fantasy, including an intriguing array of protagonists (Miss Twitch, a Salem witch; Emma, a British schoolgirl and witch-in-training, and Morgan Summers, a Dreamwalker) and antagonists (sadistic witch-hunter Nathaniel Thornhill, a golem, a Paiute Shaman, the corporate vampires of Nosferatu, Inc., trampires, gangsters, and nefarious demons). Some of the vampires include Sharon - she’s Jewish, crosses don’t bother her; Pandora - trouble follows her like a shadow; Claude - he’s too claustrophobic to use a coffin; and Artemus - a 10-year-old boy who’s been a vampire for nearly 457 years. But the real stars are the ultimate odd couple, Gabriel and Lucifer, whose comedic banter and improbable escapades will amuse and thrill readers and leave them asking for more.

The Age of Magic is Here!

 

I’m pleased to announce the third story arc in the Halos & Horns fantasy saga, The Age of Magic, has finally been collected in omnibus form. Hot off the presses, this new volume includes the novels Alterverse, Warriors & Wizards, and Return of the Djinn as well as an exclusive interview with the author. The Age of Magic Omnibus is 556 pages and, at its larger deluxe 7x10 size, will fit perfectly on your bookshelf beside the first two story arcs, the Halos & Horns Omnibus and the Fangs & Fur Omnibus. The softcover edition is available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and the ebook edition is available at Kobo, Google Play, Apple Books, and many other fine retailers. Please see my blog below for links to retailers.

 

The Age of Magic, Book 3: Return of the Djinn arrives next week!

"In The Age of Magic, Anything is Possible."

288 pages. Coming March 15, 2021. Paperback (Amazon) Kindle EPUB

What would the Age of Magic be without the Arabian Nights? Aladdin and his magic lamp; Ali Baba and the 40 thieves; genies and djinns and ifrits, oh my! Flying carpets, desert palm trees, and harems filled with voluptuous women. That Moorish architecture, and oh the clothes: turbans, fezzes, and curled pointy shoes. Belly dancers, and the Dance of the Seven Veils. The bazaar and the café. The magical city of Baghdad, with its spires, keyhole arches, and minarets glittering more brightly than the Emerald City of Oz. And then there's vampire Sharon Mordecai, a prominent character in every Halos & Horns novel since the first book but noticeably absent in the previous installment, the ninth book in the series. Where was Sharon? All we were told was that she was on a case with her spectral private investigator partner Kara Islington. Readers got a clue at the very end of the previous book when Ursula Fenris, teenage daughter of Sharon's BFF Pandora, was polishing an oil lamp she had been given by the mysterious proprietor of an even more mysterious curio shop. Kara's ghostly form wafted from the lamp's spout with the dire message that she and Sharon had been captured by a djinn. But how on Earth did they end up in such a predicament? *** Book 10 in the Halos & Horns fantasy series *** ***Book 3 in The Age of Magic story arc *** Available March 15, 2021. Paperback (Amazon) , (Barnes & Noble), e-book (Kindle), and e-book (EPUB), Ships Mar. 15, 2021 .

QuaranTeens Interview

Q: Tell me about The QuaranTeens.

A: It’s probably the most timely novel I’ve ever written. All of us. . . the whole world is in the grip of the devastating and deadly COVID-19 pandemic. No matter where you live or what language you speak, the coronavirus is constantly on the minds of every human on the planet right now. COVID is an acronym for COronaVIrusDisease and 19 indicates the year – 2019 – it was discovered. It’s a unique virus mankind’s never seen before and has no immunity against, and the worst part is scientists and epidemiologists say we can expect several new strains of coronaviruses in the years to come.

In The QuaranTeens, mankind has faced another of these in the near future, COVID-25, and they think the worst is over when, four years later, a super coronavirus – COVID-29 – comes barreling in and wipes out 80% of humanity. One of the Earth’s governments, realizing they’re facing an extinction-level event, rapidly constructs a massive underground biosphere they call “the bunker” and selects fifty infants and young kids to be the mankind’s last hope.

Q: Which country?

A: (Laughs). Well, that’s left open for the reader to decide.

Q: And you say “last hope” in the event there are no other survivors?

A: Right. So they’re sealed up in this bunker with a few adult scientists, all but one of whom die in the first months. The book opens a dozen years later–

Q: 2041?

A: Right, in the year 2041, when the kids are now teenagers and the only remaining adult has just died.

Q: So the kids are now in control of the bunker; sort of a Lord of the Flies scenario?

A: That’s one possibility. They obviously need to establish some sort of social order or society. But without adult supervision, they may also be curious about what lies outside the bunker’s titanium hatch.

Q: The virus? Other survivors? Zombies?

A: (Laughs). No zombies. Definitely nothing supernatural. This is strictly science fiction.

Q: But for a Young Adult audience?

A: Of course. The story revolves around teenagers so I think younger readers will relate to the characters. But I believe anyone 13-and-up will enjoy it. I had beta readers in their 30s and 40s that went wild over it.

Q: Tell me about these characters.

A: There are the twins: Covid, the quintessential hero, and his sister Corona, the adventurer. Kai is the rebel. Corbin is a cross between Dickens’ Artful Dodger from Oliver Twist and Michael J. Fox’s character Alex P. Keaton from the Family Ties TV series. Coralie is the loner. Lucian and Tristan are the entertainers, a vital role when you’re locked away in quarantine for your whole life. Lucian writes songs while Tristan is the group’s jester. Fiona’s a fair-skinned redheaded girl who becomes the group’s empathetic caregiver. Esme’s the needy girl who has to be in a relationship and will do anything for love. Blaine’s the needy boy who simply wants to belong and be accepted by the others. Nessa’s the youngest: she’s the innocent, filled with optimism and naïveté until reality comes crashing down on her. Ian’s the jock. Varian’s the older, authoritarian wannabe leader.

Obviously there’s no television or Internet, but they do have a library. Destine and Keiana are the most well-read of The QuaranTeens but while they’re the smartest, they have different motivations. Destine believes Covid should lead them and she endeavors to serve as his mentor.

Q: Sort of an Obi Wan to Luke Skywalker?

A: Yeah, or Merlin to Arthur but obviously her wisdom comes from book learning, not from age.

Q: A subtle plug for the benefit of books and reading. (Laughs).

A: (Laughs). Of course. Keiana, meanwhile, sees herself as more of a puppet master, manipulating those around her for her own agenda. Then, there’s Dax. She’s a mysterious character. Arlo and Nico are pair of sociopaths who would have felt right at home at Columbine.

Q: So those are your bunker rats.

A: Ouch! (Laughs). I like that term. I may steal it.

Q: Feel free. Does the story take place entirely inside the bunker or do we get to explore the post-apocalyptic world?

A: Both. One plotline follows what happens at the bunker while other plotlines follow the adventures of what we might call the ‘away teams’. The year 2041 isn’t that far from now but life has been changed dramatically as a result of the COVID-29 pandemic and its aftermath.

Q: In what way?

A: Having to survive in a world of scarce resources leads people to do things they ordinarily wouldn’t. There are scattered outposts of Raiders like the former trailer park where teen siblings Archer and Robin reside. There’s a domed city taken over by far-right authoritarians they’ve dubbed ‘Utopia’ . . .

Q: It sounds more dystopian.

A: One character asks what Utopia’s like and the response is, ‘It depends on who you are.’  (Laughs). I’ve written some fairly evil characters, especially in my Halos & Horns series, but Proctor in The QuaranTeens may be the worst yet.

Q: One last question. You just mentioned your Halos & Horns series and I know you have several other series—

A: The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer; Vampires Vs. Aliens;  Fangs & Fur; the Age of Magic; and my Reluctant Blogger series.

Q: Exactly, so will The QuaranTeens be an ongoing series or is this a one-off?

A: Or as we say on this side of the pond, a one-shot? That’ll be up to the readers. There’s no cliffhanger but the ending is left open to imply there are more stories that could be told. I enjoyed writing The QuaranTeens and if enough people enjoy reading it, then I’d certainly write more. But I am doing several series at present, so there’d have to be a fair amount of demand. 

Pre-Order Alterverse!

Alterverse

October 14, 2019

Pre-Order Now!

Pre-Order your copy of Alterverse today! www.amazon.com/dp/B07Y9GMV51

Music "Evolution" from Bensound.com

The Fangs & Fur Omnibus Edition

JUST PUBLISHED! The perfect jumping on point for new readers to the Halos & Horns fantasy saga, The Fangs & Fur Omnibus Edition is the second story arc in the series, focusing on the vampires and werewolves introduced in the first arc. Learn their origins, which span the continents and the ages; then follow the adventures of the supernatural private eyes of Nightstalkers and the vampires of the global corporation Nosferatu, Inc.

Pandora's a carefree party girl who just happens to be a vampire. With her best friend Sharon Mordecai, a hybrid vampire; her boyfriend Cody Fenris, a werewolf; and Cody's sister Lupe, who transforms into a wolf, they run Nightstalkers Inc., a private detective agency. Pandora and Sharon also belong to Nosferatu, Inc., a worldwide corporation set up to provide relocation services for vampires, who cannot remain in one place indefinitely, lest the "breathers" question why they never age. Other Nosferatu members include 10-year-old Artemus, the boy vampire; ex-KGB operative Valentina Petrovna; the maladroit, claustrophobic vampire Claude Gauthier; the vagrant "trampire" Seamus Callaghan; and the corporation's international board of directors: Lady Chiyoko in Japan, Callum in Australia, Isra in Dubai, Amadi in Africa, Magda in Hungary, and its CEO, the mysterious human known only as Remick. First introduced in the Halos & Horns fantasy saga, these vampires and lycanthropes have their own stories to tell.

All three novels in the Fangs & Fur story arc - Flashbacks; Nightstalkers; and Nosferatu, Inc. - have been collected in one huge omnibus edition. A perfect companion to the Halos & Horns Omnibus, this volume is 7x10 like its predecessor and features brand new cover artwork and an interview with the author. Clocking in at just over 600 pages, The Fangs & Fur Omnibus fills the gap between the previous Halos & Horns story arc and the forthcoming The Age of Magic story arc.

Available now on Amazon

May is National Short Story Month

Did you know that May is National Short Story Month? Amber Book Company plans to celebrate by releasing a new volume of my short stories entitled Shards: The Omnibus Edition. Many of you know me from my social commentary posts appearing on my blog, while others are familiar with my young adult science fiction series The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer. Still others think of me as a novelist or epic storyteller, pointing to my four-book fantasy series Halos & Horns and my current ongoing fantasy series, Fangs & Fur. There are even some readers who think of me primarily as a nonfiction author because of my internationally top-selling book Issues in Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law, my two Web design books, and my Collected Essays of a Reluctant Blogger and More Essays of a Reluctant Blogger books. But the truth is, above all else, I’m a short story writer.

Shards may sound familiar to you. My first short story collection was entitled Randoms. It was lovingly crafted, published in a hardcover edition with a dust jacket. Unfortunately, the printer had tremendous difficulty printing the dust jacket. Every copy rolled off the printing press with a slightly different hue, making each book and instant collectible and the source of much aggravation and vexation. Ultimately, and with great reluctance, we replaced the hardcover edition with a paperback. My second short story collection, Careywood, was a charitable effort published in a limited print run to raise money to restore a historic mansion. Then, in 2011, almost all of my short stories were collected in a giant 450-page paperback entitled Shards. This mammoth collection included the best of Randoms, the stories from the limited edition Careywood, and a host of new short stories, many of which had been shared in public readings but never collected in print. Shards was to stand as my oeuvre: the complete collection of my short story output.

At the time, it was the largest book I had ever written… Ironically composed of the shortest of stories. But with each new edition over the course of 10 years, Issues in Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law grew to 680 pages. After I completed the four-book Halos & Horns series, the saga was collected in a single omnibus edition, The Halos & Horns Omnibus, which clocked in at a whopping 904 pages. Suddenly, the 450-page Shards didn’t seem so big any more. And in the five years since its publication, I had written a few more short stories. I wanted to gather these new short stories into a brand-new collection but the Halos & Horns Omnibus had gone over so well that it was decided to create a short story omnibus.

We began with the original 450-page Shards and reorganized the stories by theme. Then we added 300 pages of new material. That’s right, 750 pages of short stories between two covers. Or 191,523 words if you’re counting. We kept the original front and back cover to Shards and christened it Shards: The Omnibus Edition. The themes in Shards: The Omnibus Edition include man’s inhumanity to man; technology in society run amok; freedom; conformity; slice of life; fear; prejudice; revenge; the inevitability of death; sadness and depression; darkness and light; lust; love; regret; repentance; pity; debauchery and selfishness; hubris; obsession; fusion fiction; Christmas; the quest; the trickster; discovery and wonder; alienation (stranger in a strange land); and farewell.

Admittedly Shards: The Omnibus Edition is a mixed bag. Some of the tales are downright hilarious. Some are frightening. And a few are disturbing. There are stories within this volume you will treasure… and others you may wish you had never read. Good writing isn’t about repeating hackneyed memes; it’s about pushing the envelope and extending the boundaries until the reader finds himself well outside his comfort zone. In Shards: The Omnibus Edition you’ll find stories that make you laugh and make you cry; stories you’ll want to share with your children; and stories so horrifying you’ll banish them to the deepest recesses of your mind. So join me in celebrating national short story month with Shards: The Omnibus Edition.

Nosferatu, Inc.

Nosferatu, Inc., the third and final installment of the Fangs & Fur story arc in the Halos & Horns fantasy series, is now available for eBook pre-order (paperback to be published Aug. 31). With the release of Nosferatu, Inc. readers can devour the entire Fangs & Fur story arc in one sitting or even catch up on all seven books (so far) in the Halos & Horns series.

May is National Short Story Month

Did you know that May is National Short Story Month? Amber Book Company plans to celebrate by releasing a new volume of my short stories entitled Shards: The Omnibus Edition. Many of you know me from my social commentary posts appearing on my blog, while others are familiar with my young adult science fiction series The Adventures of Mackenzie Mortimer. Still others think of me as a novelist or epic storyteller, pointing to my four-book fantasy series Halos & Horns and my current ongoing fantasy series, Fangs & Fur. There are even some readers who think of me primarily as a nonfiction author because of my internationally top-selling book Issues in Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law, my two Web design books, and my Collected Essays of a Reluctant Blogger and More Essays of a Reluctant Blogger books. But the truth is, above all else, I’m a short story writer.

Shards may sound familiar to you. My first short story collection was entitled Randoms. It was lovingly crafted, published in a hardcover edition with a dust jacket. Unfortunately, the printer had tremendous difficulty printing the dust jacket. Every copy rolled off the printing press with a slightly different hue, making each book and instant collectible and the source of much aggravation and vexation. Ultimately, and with great reluctance, we replaced the hardcover edition with a paperback. My second short story collection, Careywood, was a charitable effort published in a limited print run to raise money to restore a historic mansion. Then, in 2011, almost all of my short stories were collected in a giant 450-page paperback entitled Shards. This mammoth collection included the best of Randoms, the stories from the limited edition Careywood, and a host of new short stories, many of which had been shared in public readings but never collected in print. Shards was to stand as my oeuvre: the complete collection of my short story output.

At the time, it was the largest book I had ever written… Ironically composed of the shortest of stories. But with each new edition over the course of 10 years, Issues in Internet Law: Society, Technology, and the Law grew to 680 pages. After I completed the four-book Halos & Horns series, the saga was collected in a single omnibus edition, The Halos & Horns Omnibus, which clocked in at a whopping 904 pages. Suddenly, the 450-page Shards didn’t seem so big any more. And in the five years since its publication, I had written a few more short stories. I wanted to gather these new short stories into a brand-new collection but the Halos & Horns Omnibus had gone over so well that it was decided to create a short story omnibus.

We began with the original 450-page Shards and reorganized the stories by theme. Then we added 300 pages of new material. That’s right, 750 pages of short stories between two covers. Or 191,523 words if you’re counting. We kept the original front and back cover to Shards and christened it Shards: The Omnibus Edition. The themes in Shards: The Omnibus Edition include man’s inhumanity to man; technology in society run amok; freedom; conformity; slice of life; fear; prejudice; revenge; the inevitability of death; sadness and depression; darkness and light; lust; love; regret; repentance; pity; debauchery and selfishness; hubris; obsession; fusion fiction; Christmas; the quest; the trickster; discovery and wonder; alienation (stranger in a strange land); and farewell.

Admittedly Shards: The Omnibus Edition is a mixed bag. Some of the tales are downright hilarious. Some are frightening. And a few are disturbing. There are stories within this volume you will treasure… and others you may wish you had never read. Good writing isn’t about repeating hackneyed memes; it’s about pushing the envelope and extending the boundaries until the reader finds himself well outside his comfort zone. In Shards: The Omnibus Edition you’ll find stories that make you laugh and make you cry; stories you’ll want to share with your children; and stories so horrifying you’ll banish them to the deepest recesses of your mind. So join me in celebrating national short story month with Shards: The Omnibus Edition.

Nightstalkers! Coming in One Week!

Next week, the vampires and werewolves you only thought you knew return in a brand new adventure! First introduced in the Halos & Horns fantasy saga, these vampires and lycanthropes have their own stories to tell. Pandora's a carefree party girl who just happens to be a vampire. With her best friend Sharon Mordecai, a hybrid vampire; her boyfriend Cody Fenris, a werewolf; and Cody's sister Lupe, who transforms into a wolf, they run Nightstalkers, Inc., a private detective agency in Las Vegas. Pandora and Sharon also belong to Nosferatu, Inc., a worldwide corporation set up to provide relocation services for vampires, who cannot remain in one place indefinitely, lest the “breathers” question why they never age.

Nightstalkers is the second novel in the Fangs & Fur series, Previously, in Flashbacks (Book 1), readers learned the origins of the vampires and lycanthropes they'd come to love in the Halos & Horns series. Now, they're back in a brand new tale packed with action, adventure, drama, and laughs. When a Grigori unwittingly entrusts trouble-prone vampire Pandora with an ancient leather-bound box containing primordial evil, what could possibly go wrong? At least Pandora doesn't know her best friend slept with her boyfriend. Or that her werewolf beau has been targeted for revenge by one of his victims. Meanwhile, Sharon — the hybrid vampire infused with an angelic life force — has enough to worry about now that a deranged scientist/occultist is creating his own Frankenstein monster and requires an angelic life force to animate it. He's resurrected the spirit of Jack the Ripper to supply the body parts he needs from Las Vegas hookers. Should our beloved prostitute Kennedy be worried to walk the city streets? And after a Valkyrie whisks the Nightstalkers, Inc. team of private eyes — vampires Sharon and Pandora, and lycanthrope siblings Cody and Lupe Fenris — off to the Otherworld dimension of the Fae to recover Thor’s golden gauntlets from the Dark Fae's leader, the Morrigan, the team will be forever changed.

I had a lot of fun writing this new book, especially introducing two new characters: casino owner and landlord Kitty Bast (who also happens to be the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet) and Bartholomew J. Ruggles, who may turn out to be two of the most amusing characters I've ever created. Ever since I introduced the trouble-prone vampire Pandora seven years ago back in Paved with Good Intentions – in which Sharon chided her BFF that trouble followed her like a shadow and soon she’d need a box to carry her troubles around – readers have been asking me when will Pandora get her box? All I can say is be careful what you wish for!

So pre-order your copy now!

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B078KVZVYX

EPUB: http://www.books2read.com/u/49PXPp

Callum (& Pandora) - An Excerpt from Flashbacks

Off the Australia Coast, the Present:

Back on the deck, Pandora interrogated the men. “I’m looking for my friend. She’s a Gypsy, looks a bit older than me, more tanned, not quite as hot.”

“We’re just simple fishermen,” Donahue lied. “We haven’t seen any women.”

“Strewth, mate!” his companion exclaimed. “You know her mate will tell her different when he comes up from the hold. Look hun, there was a sheila we met in Africa who we gave a lift to. Brought her all the way to Oz at no charge, ‘cause we’re  really nice blokes. But she fell off the side of the boat and became crocodile bait. Now if you don’t want the same to happen to you, then I suggest you leave now.”

“Zip it and help me throw her overboard before her mate comes back.” Donahue lunged at Pandora.

The strawberry blonde vampire dodged to one side and sank her fangs into Donahue’s neck, draining his blood in seconds. She tossed his bloodied corpse over the railing and turned to his friend. He pivoted to flee, but Pandora leapt onto him, ripping his throat with her trenchant fangs. She slurped the last ounce of his blood from him and lugged his lifeless body to the bulwark, heaving it over the side of the ship. She gazed into the blue waters below at the blurry white forms surrounding the two bodies in a feeding frenzy.

Callum came up from the hold and belched. He was carrying two large sacks filled with  rhino horns and elephant tusks he had stumbled upon. His eyes followed Pandora’s gaze to the turbulent, and now crimson, waters below. “Great white sharks. The Aussie national fish. Impressive creatures, aren’t they?” He looked around the deck. “Where are our friends?”

Pandora scrunched her nose and grimaced. “They slipped.”

Callum gazed back into the water. “I see.” He turned to Pandora. “I saw signs that your mate, Lupe, was held captive in the hold. But it looks like she escaped, perhaps wounded.”

Pandora sighed. “They fed her to the sharks. We had our differences, but we were becoming friends. Lupe didn’t deserve to go like that.”

“No one deserves to cark it like that.” Callum gazed back into the ocean at the vanishing remains of the pair of slave traders and smugglers. “Well, hardly anyone.” He paused. “I’m sorry about your cobber, mate. I’m sure she was a fine sheila.”

Pandora grimaced. “I don’t know how I’m going to break the news to Cody. He and his sister were incredibly close.” Pandora noticed the sacks Callum was holding. “What’s in the bags?”

“We can’t leave their ill-gotten gain behind. Have you any idea how much these horns  would go for on the black market?”  Seeing the disapproving look on Pandora’s face, Callum added, “Naturally, I’ll have to turn them over to, ahem, the proper authorities.”

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

  Fangs & Fur, Book One: Flashbacks

Available in Paperback and Kindle editions.

Callum - An Excerpt from Flashbacks

Nosferatu, Inc.’s Australian Headquarters, the Present:

Callum wiped the blood from his lips as he returned to his office.

“Mr. Remick has left three messages for you, sir,” Kaiya said. “He’s also insisting you use the mobile phones the corporation keeps sending you.”

“Bollocks! It’s bad enough I have to listen to that earbasher drone on during office hours, but I’ll be damned if I’ll carry a phone with me twenty-four seven. I won’t be a slave to a ringing piece of metal. What’s the bloke want, this time?”

“He said it concerns a missing Nosferatu operative. He’s sending a team to search for her and he wants our help.”

Callum grimaced. “So, now we’re the corporation’s bloody Lost and Found Department? Get him on the horn for me.” Callum sat at his desk. “And Kaiya, bring me a cuppa warm blood, dear.”

The Australian director picked up the phone receiver. “G’day, mate. What can I do for you?”

“You might start by returning your calls,” Remick said. “I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.”

“Sorry mate, I had a late lunch. She didn’t show up when I expected her to and had to chase her down when she did. Hate it when my meals are uncooperative. So what’s your bother?”

The Vampires & Werewolves You Only Think You Know!

  Fangs & Fur, Book One: Flashbacks

Available in Paperback and Kindle editions.