Author's Note

Have you ever walked into a room and felt sure there was someone there with you, but you were quite obviously alone?  Or heard something fall in the next room, and this time you can’t blame it on the cat because she’s curled up in your lap?  Congratulations, you may have experienced a ghost. 

Ghosts are popular topics for writers of all stripes, and why not?  A ghost can bring all kinds of goodies into a story – the spark for the story to begin, a way to impart information to your main character, an obstacle for your main character, spooky atmosphere, the list goes on and on. 

But I think ghosts are popular in story for another reason; because we all wonder what’s past the veil.  We’ve discovered the globe.  We’ve discovered the stars.  We’ve even discovered amazing worlds on the microscopic level.  But the one door that remains stubbornly shut is the one that opens onto the afterlife.  Is there a Heaven and Hell?  If so, what determines where you go?  Do we come back for multiple trips on this plane, or is corporeal life a one shot deal?  Does the afterlife exist at all, or do we just wink out when we take our last breaths?

Who better to answer these questions than someone who has been there?  Like Lewis and Clark mapping out the unknown wilderness, a ghost can being back reports of what’s on the other side.  What’s it like?  Are you happy?  Does it hurt? 

But why would a ghost even come back anyway?  The going reasoning is that the ghost must have “unfinished business” to want to hang around.  It’s usually something important, like fingering the person who murdered them or saving that last bit of energy to warn a loved one of danger, but I wonder if some ghosts stick around for more mundane reasons.  Can you imagine being stuck on this plane because you still have some checks in your purse that you meant to deposit, or you meant to clean the bathroom and never got around to it? 

Ghosts do make an appearance in some of my stories, and in both of the stories I have for available with Echelon Press, their unfinished business is very important.  In “Tony Came Home,” a ghost attends a birth, and in “Over the Hogmanay Threshold” a ghost works to save his grandchild. 

Buy them both here. 

Happy Reading!

Are you wearing green today?  Are you making plans to go out tonight to drink cheap beer gussied up with green food coloring?  Are you ready to claim to be Irish, even if you’re not?  This seems to be the way many Americans celebrate today, St. Patrick’s Day.  But my mind turns in a different direction…. 

Many of my stories are inspired by folklore and fairytale.  There are rich treasure troves of ideas in every culture around the world, just waiting to be mined for story ideas.  I’ve written about Baba Yaga from the Russian tradition, The Morrigan from Celtic tradition, and the Tooth Fairy, using bits and pieces from multiple world cultures (did you know the Tooth Fairy is connected to rodents in France?).  And yes, I have written about leprechauns of the Irish tradition.  A troop of proud leprechauns make an appearance in my short story “In the Town of Henry’s Fence” (as yet unpublished). 

One of the things that really fascinates me about these folk tales is that if you read the old versions, they often differ drastically from what we hear in our modern culture.  Quite often, the older tale is deeper, or more frightening, or just plain more interesting than the modern one.  Leprechauns of old wouldn’t be caught dead shilling for sugary children’s cereal or fresh smelling soap, and they aren’t just happy-go-lucky little men waiting to give you a pot of gold.  The leprechauns of old were solitary fairies, usually appearing as wizened old men, but only as tall as a child.  Leprechauns were cobblers, making or repairing shoes.  They are portrayed as mischievous spirits, and very fond of playing practical jokes.  Some of them did indeed have pots of money, but the old tales tell that the leprechauns recovered it from pots that humans had buried in times of war, and then either forgot about  or were unable to come fetch them.  But there’s nothing said about rainbows or forcing a leprechaun to reveal the location of his stash.  But the part that would probably sit most uncomfortably with modern American audiences is how leprechauns dress.  In virtually all the old tales, leprechauns did not wear green – they wore red. 

So this brings me about to my original point about my mind going in a different direction on St. Patrick’s Day.  I’m not thinking about corned beef and cabbage or green beer; I’m thinking about how I can place an old-fashioned leprechaun in a modern story, and how much fun it would be to watch the characters interact and have to change their preconceived views of each other as the story unfolds. 

While I’m working on that, you might enjoy some of my other tales -

Check out In the Land of Plenty under the Freebies tab on this site, OR

For an old-fashioned feel, try Hounds of Winter and Over the Hogmanay Threshold

For more modern stylings, try Tony Came Home and Frankie’s Diner

Happy Reading – and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Whoo-Hoo!  The fourth short story I sold to Echelon Press Publishing is up and ready for your reading pleasure as an ebook download.  This one is called “Hounds of Winter” and is one of many of my stories that has been inspired by one of my all time favorite musicians, Sting.  Here is the teaser description:

Winter is a treacherous season.  The ice can cut, the snow can blind, and the wind has teeth.  But some winters are even more perilous, some winters are inhabited by malevolent spirits.  Devlin finds himself alone in such a winter, his lovely FayLinn gone missing.  And when The Wild Hunt shows themselves in the area, he has an idea of where she’s gone.  What would be more dangerous: the winter wind and vicious hunters or the pain of abandonment and a broken heart?

It’s only $2!  Go download it now and get a good shiver!

http://tinyurl.com/houndsowinter

Ok, now that I have your attention…. I am participating in the 12 Days of Reading ebook promotion with my publisher, Echelon Press. Starting December 1st and running for 12 days there is a new holiday or winter themed short story released every day. The first 3 days have seen a horror story, a thriller, and a YA piece perfect for your tween reader. I have drawn the 6th position in the promotion, which falls this Sunday. I know Sunday is not usually a high traffic day, what with people having busy lives to begin with and now there is football and holiday preparations on top of it. So, I am running a promotion.

On the day my story debuts (this Sunday, 12/6) I will give away a free copy (pdf download) of my story to the most funny/touching/creative response to my blog post on the Echelon Shorts website (http://echelonpressshorts.wordpress.com/) posted in the first 24 hours.  I hope you’ll take a few minutes out of your busy Sunday to come visit my blog and make a comment, and maybe even win a copy of “Over the Hogmanay Threshold”!

Ready for great holiday ebooks? Join Echelon Shorts between December 1-December 12 as they celebrate 12 Days of Great Reads!

During this celebration, Echelon Shorts will be bringing you the best new holiday releases and posts each day from the authors. Find mystery and romance, mainstream and fantasy, thrillers and young adult stories. The release schedule includes short stories from Carl Brookins, Austin Camacho, Mary Cunningham, Lois Carroll, Christine Verstraete, Michelle D. Sonnier, Lance Zarimba, Karen Syed, Yvonne Walus, Jeffrey Martin, Vonnie Winslow Crist, and Regan Black.

Stop by http://echelonshorts.com to find these posts and stories, and for your chance to win free ebooks!

“Tony Came Home”
Now available at Echelon Press Shorts

There are times in life, like birth and death, that lie in the borders between what we know what we don’t, and that sometimes lie beyond what we want to know. Neither here nor there, neither this nor that, these spaces between leave room for unexpected visitors. In the stark light of the local hospital, Maxine helps her daughter-in-law Cheryl bring new life into the world, leaving the door open for one of those unexpected visitors and a peculiar kind of homecoming.

“Frankie’s Diner”
Now available at Echelon Press Shorts

In the New York underworld, people are not always who they seem to be, and places you go each day – the office, or even the diner on the corner of your street – can be anything but safe. And as Marcus finds out, even something as simple as a cup of coffee can be more than meets the eye.
In a world where time isn’t measured in minutes, Marcus finds out that sometimes your time is just up.

“The Price You Pay” Available from Allegory eZine

Everyone knows the hoary old saying, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” There’s also no such thing as a heroic act without a price to pay. Elena learns this first hand, the hard way. She must decide how far she will go and what she is willing to sacrifice to save the people she loves. What would you be willing to sacrifice?