The Anthology “Fantastic Schools, Volume 13” is Out Now!

The latest Wisecraft Publishing anthology Fantastic Schools, Volume 13 just popped into availability yesterday, August 19th and features my fantasy short story The Battle of New Satins Castle (having nothing to do with stains).

The story has an interesting history. It was originally written for another Fantastic Schools anthology but didn’t quite make the cut (it has a “soft acceptance”). The publisher liked it but needed to find a place for it to live.

Time passed and I figured it had dropped through the cracks. Then indeed, this “general” anthology in the series (which is growing by leaps and bounds) came along and “New Stains” found a home.

The story is set in what I loosely call my Dragon Wars World. I’ve set other fantasy stories in the same universe but it won’t really take off until I find a publisher who will accept my first novel in that series. Then everything will begin to come together.

By the way, New Stains Castle is (almost) a real place (I changed the name slightly), the ruins of a castle in Scotland. Of course, I’ve highly fictionalized it and added plenty of ghosts and other supernatural beings. Scotland seems the right place for them.

Here’s an excerpt, the very beginning of the story to whet your appetite:

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Afterwards

hotel-frederick

PHOTO PROMPT © Lori Wilson

Glenn trudged up the steps of the old hotel. His overcoat covered most of the signs of battle, a scorched jacket and trousers as well as the blood. His face had a few bruises, but it was late and the light was low in the hotel lobby.

He casually nodded at the young night guy who was glued to his smartphone. Thank God for addictions, at least in this case.

He closed and locked the door to his room behind him and then set up his wards. That he defeated a demon tonight didn’t mean there weren’t others out there.

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Writing in Light

candles

PHOTO PROMPT © Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

“You want me to write about Hanukah on Christmas Eve.” Mike pressed send in the chat.

“It’s an optional extra credit writing assignment,” Charlotte replied in chat. “Anyway, I thought you didn’t celebrate Christmas.”

“Not in the traditional sense. I don’t believe Jesus was born anywhere near December. Besides, nothing in the Bible says to celebrate his birth,” he sent.

“The assignment is Hanukah,” she replied.

“Okay, how about this? The Hanukah candles held a double meaning for him, both indicating miracles, the burning of the oil to rededicate the Temple for eight days, and the Light of the World.”

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“The Book of Names” Soon to be Published

the book of names

Promotional image for my short story “The Book of Names” which will appear in the anthology “Shoot the Devil 3.”

If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi.

I have stories published in the anthologies Shoot the Devil and Shoot the Devil 2: Dark Matter.

Coming soon (I’m not sure exactly when, but ideally right around Thanksgiving which is tomorrow), my short story “The Book of Names” will appear in volume three: “Martyr’s Militia.”

Here’s a sample:

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My Short Story “The Other Place” to be published in the anthology “The Super Generation”

super cover

Promotional art for the Raconteur Press anthology “The Super Generation.”

If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi.

Update: You can now buy The Super Generation on Amazon!

My short story “The Other Place” will be published in the Raconteur Press anthology “The Super Generation.”

Imagine there was a one-time cosmic event that gave certain people superpowers. The event was never repeated and the superpowered people couldn’t pass their abilities on to their children. Only these people in their generation would be the superheroes and villains.

That’s the challenge each author whose stories are within these pages faced. Here’s a small example of my tale:

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My Microfiction Story “Stewie’s Mom” Accepted Into the Anthology “Hex”

hex

Promotional image for the Black Hare Press anthology “Hex.”

If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi.

A few weeks back, I saw a prompt over on the Black Hare Press Facebook page inviting people to contribute a 200-word story based on the word “Hex.”

I figured “what the heck” and carved out “Stewie’s Mom.”

I guess I missed the part about there being a competition with five prizes. No, I didn’t win (always a bridesmaid), but my story was accepted into the upcoming anthology “Hex”.

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Interviewed by Blackbird Publishing for my story: “No Place Like Home”

wild magic

Promotional image for Blackbird Publishing’s “Wild Magic Story Bundle”

If you like my work, buy me a virtual cup of coffee at Ko-Fi

As part of the Wild Magic Bundle promotion from Blackbird Publishing, I was interviewed by Jamie Ferguson. You can find the interview on their website, twitter account and Facebook page.

The interview starts out:

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Third Place in the “Building Your Brand” project

james

James

I participated in an online contest by writing an essay about how writers and other creative people can “build our brand”. Here’s the result.

Steven Lester Carr:

The panel of judges for the Building Your Brand project has selected the top three entries. First place and $50.00 goes to Elaine Marie Carnegie. Second place and $25.00 to Peter Astle. Third place and $25.00 to James Pyles.

Part of the money the winning entries received was part of a generous contribution of $25.00 that fellow Sweetycat Press member, Dawn Debraal, made toward this effort. Thank you, Dawn!

Thank you to all of you who submitted entries. Unfortunately there could only be a top three.

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Download “Clockwork Dragons” Anthology FREE for the Next Five Days!

dragon

Announcement graphic from Zombie Pirate Press

You don’t want to miss this promotion. Zombie Pirate Publishing is offering the kindle edition of their anthology CLOCKWORK DRAGONS: A Fantasypunk Anthology as an absolutely free download from Amazon for the next five days.

You can’t beat the price.

Features my steam/fantasypunk short story The Mechanical Dragon:

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