Passages by Emily Ward

 Kindle Price: $0.99


 Available from: Amazon , Smashwords , Barnes and Noble 


 Author's Website: http://emilyannward.com

A brother and a sister dealing with their uncertain circumstances. A girl deciding whether to confess about her involvement in her friend's death. A mother and daughter talking over pasta, both of them holding secrets. These are just some of the images from this short story collection. Centered around young adults from all different walks of life, Passages is about the struggles we all go through during one of the more important transitions of life.

This collection includes Melanie's Secrets, Death of the Sun, You Remember, and The Prodigal Daughter, and brand new stories Together, Fettuccine Alfredo, and The Rowe Boys. It's 13,000 words or about 52 pages.

Bio: One of my first stories featured a young girl whose doll came to life. The rest is history. I spent years writing mainly fanfiction (thank you, J.K. Rowling!), but have since ventured into originality. When it comes to fiction, I write mainly young adult, contemporary, and fantasy. I also write nonfiction, ranging from stories of my travels to thoughts on the Bible. Aside from writing, I love reading, traveling, learning about God, sociology, religion, and Reeses sticks. Currently, I live in Salem, Oregon with my husband Chris and our cats.

Excerpt  (from The Rowe Boys)

Moments like this, when his world revolves around him and not his brother, are rare. Mom is holding back tears, and Dad watches with pride. Friends and acquaintances he has known for years, most of them wearing matching blue gowns, gather around to give him hugs, phone numbers, and smiles. This is the last day they will step foot in this building as students.

Ethan scans the crowd for Mya, wondering if she’s seen Brian yet. He doesn’t want to see their reunion. His brother has been in Boston for his freshman year of college, and it’s been the best year of Ethan’s life. Brian’s been back two days, and Dad has already commented on Brian’s higher high school GPA and Ethan’s disappointing community college choice.

Mya finds them as Ethan is taking a picture with his Health teacher. She watches with a smile, and when Mr. Greer walks away, she hugs Ethan. Their large graduation robes separate them, and the scent of her perfume fills his nostrils. “You know what I was just thinking about?”

“That time Mr. Greer tried to make us run a mile for passing notes?”

“Yes!” Mya exclaims and laughs. She motions to the people around them, her sleeves billowing out. “I can’t believe we made it.”

“It’s a great feeling,” Ethan says.

Mya turns to Brian. “Long time, no see, Brian.”

Brian gives her a smile, small but affectionate. “Congratulations.”

“How’s college in Boston?” Mya tucks her hair behind her ear, takes a step closer to Brian.

He shrugs. “It’s good. Good football. Probably a better team than Hartfield Community.” He glances at Ethan, who thinks he should have stayed in Boston, if it was so great. “No offense.”

Mom must notice the jibe because she steps in and beams at Mya. “Hey, Mya!” she says. “Get together, I’ll take a picture!”

They pause, glancing at each other. “Go on, you three, get together,” Mom persists.

Mya stand in between the two of them. She wraps her arm around their waists. Ethan puts his arms around her shoulders, smiling at his mom’s camera. After Mom snaps the picture, they pull away slowly. She shows them the picture. Mya, as usual, looks stunning, her dark curly hair falling over her shoulders. Mya and Brian have taken so many pictures together, they naturally gravitate towards each other, and Ethan looks like a strange growth attached to Mya’s arm.

“I’ll see you at the party tonight?” Mya asks, touching his arm.

Ethan meets her eyes for a moment, nodding, and she disappears into the crowd of people.

Interview Questions with Emily Ward

What will readers like about your book?

It's a good collection of young adult contemporary stories. Some are about family, others about friends, some about romance. The characters are going through things we've all been through.

Why did you self publish?

At first, I tried to find magazines and literary journals for my short stories, but it's a very small market for young adult short stories. I heard about people self-publishing their short stories, and I put a few up on Smashwords for free. I had positive feedback, so I bundled seven of them and put them on Amazon. I have a novella coming soon and a fantasy novel in December. I love the creative control I can have and the knowledge that others are reading my stories.

What is your writing process?

For short stories, I try to have a scene in mind with a few characters and a conflict. I throw them together and start writing. The plot usually changes a few times while I'm writing. By the end, I try to bring some kind of resolution to the characters, whether large or small.

How long does it take you to write your first draft?

Short stories are obviously much different from longer works. It can be anywhere from a day to a week. One short story actually took me a few months, but that's because I stepped away from it for a while because I didn't know what I wanted to do with it.

What inspired you to write these particular stories?

These short stories have various inspirations. A few were written for a fiction writing course in college (The Rowe Boys and Death of the Sun) some were inspired by a prompt (Fettuccine Alfredo and Melanie's Secrets), one was a contest entry (The Prodigal Daughter). A lot of my inspiration comes from wanting to explore humanity through fictional characters and situations. I love fiction because it gives us a different lens through which we can view our world.

Nine Horoscope-in-Catsup by Phoebe Matthews

Kindle Price:
$2.99
Available from:
Apple
Amazon
Barnes&Noble
Author's websites:
http://phoebematthews.com

Nine Horoscope-in-Catsup Stories, Wicked Good book 1 is a collection of short stories previously published in magazines and anthologies. Included are: Horoscope in Catsup, Alakar’s Lover, Lorna Doomed, Apprentice Gone Bad, Sweetest Boyfriend, Neat Alyssum. Bearly Old Enough, Undead in a Dead Town and the popular Guard Dog?

Bio: Phoebe Matthews currently writes three urban fantasy series, Mudflat for BookStrand, the new Turning Vampire series for Dark Quest Books, and the Sunspinners series. Her current books and backlist books are described on her website. Phoebe has been published by Avon, Dell, Holt, Putnam, Silhouette and others.

Excerpt from the short story titled Neat Alyssum. Alyssum has asked Claire, the Mudflat astrologer, to meet her in the coffee shop.

“What do you know about Stu Taylor?” Aly asks.
“I don’t know anything about Stu except that he’s coming this way.”
Aly tucks her lips in between her teeth, like she’s sealing her mouth to keep from talking.
Stu Taylor sets down two cappuccinos at our table, leans in and smiles at Aly. Great smile, the kind that lights his whole face, except for those worry lines around his eyes.
“On the house,” he says.
Aly glares at him.
So I say, “Wow, really? Thanks so much. Very kind of the house.”
“You’re Claire, right?”
I nod and mention that I was in the same class with his sister. We chat for maybe thirty seconds and Aly still hasn’t unclamped her mouth so he heads back to the counter.
Plunking my elbows on the table, I lean toward her. “What’s the deal?”
Aly waves her hand at the coffees. “That’s the deal. The house does not give away drinks. He paid for them himself.”
I don’t know a reason in the world why Stu Taylor should buy me coffee so I have to figure he’s trying to impress Aly. Okay, I also saw the way he looked at her.
“Is that what you’re calling stalking, Aly? Because I don’t call a couple of coffees stalking.”
“He’s everywhere I go. He stops by my office and drops off a coffee and pastry. I told him not to do that. So now he comes in and leaves them on my desk while I’m busy talking on the phone to a client.”
As I am a coffeeholic, this sounds to me like a stalker I’d encourage. But that’s me. “Are you afraid of him?”
“Yes. No. I mean, he isn’t threatening me or anything. But I need you to tell me how to get rid of him.”
This is so not the usual question I get. But, hey, it’s her life. She gives me both their birth dates. I go ask the cashier for one of those little catsup packets they hand out with sandwiches. Then I go back to the table, tear the packet open, dip my finger in catsup and draw two circles on the Formica tabletop.
From the dates she gives me, I mark the planets and pop in the placements of sun and moon.
With a catsup-stained finger, I jab at the horoscopes. “You two aren’t a bad match.”
“I don’t want to know about matches. I want to know how to turn him off.”
“None of my business,” I say, “but is there any special reason?”
She nods. “He’s Mudflat. He’s a Taylor.”
Ho hum. Here we go. I live in Mudflat, the neighborhood in Seattle where old magic hangs out, passed down in families who have been here for generations. A bit of witch in one kid, a shade of wizard in another. The Taylor parents both have minor magic.
I look her in the eyes. “You think he has magic? Could be. What’s wrong with that?”

Interview with Phoebe Matthews

What will readers like about your book?
Short stories are easy to read on ereaders, especially on the commute bus to work.

Why did you self publish?
Most of the stories in this book were originally published elsewhere, either in magazines or anthologies over the past couple years. Most of the stories are based on characters in the Mudflat series. Some Mudflat fans asked if the stories could be put together in one place.

What is your writing process?
With short stories I am often asked for a short story to match a theme. CrossedGenres magazine asked for a cross of fantasy and contemporary reality. The result was Neat Alyssum. The story Lorna Doomed was written for Pill Hill Press for an anthology of zombie stories.

How long does it take you to write your first draft of a story?
With short stories, some take a few hours and some take weeks. All get put away for a while and then rewritten and polished several times. A story is done when I am completely satisfied with it. Also, I have an editor friend who does a careful check before the story goes to the publisher's editor.

What inspired you to write this particular book?
Requests from readers. The collection has been so popular, I am continuing it. The second Wicked Good book is titled Steampunk Man and More, and is available now. The third collection will be ready for release in October.

Evolvement by Isaac Sweeney

Kindle Price: 

$0.99
Available from: 

Amazon

Smashwords
Authors Website: 

isweeney.wordpress.com

These nine stories are sometimes funny, sometimes sad, unusual when necessary, and always insightful. The collection displays a variety of topics and genres, from young adult paranormal, to women’s fiction, to more cerebral musings on death and loneliness. The individual stories all present intriguing characters who find sometimes-unexpected ways to grow. The collection as a whole has an inspirational theme of maturation and personal development.

Evolvement consists of stories from the previously released ebooks Hard Creek Bridge: a short story, Wouldn’t Last Forever, and Against Her Fading Hour, along with three new stories.

Bio:
Isaac Sweeney has been a writer for as long as he can remember. He was born and raised in Virginia, where he still lives today. He has spent the better part of his life honing his craft and trying to share the gift of words with others.

A firm believer in writing as advocacy, Isaac has made a lot of friends and a few enemies with some of his works. His writing is unapologetic, but still subtle and insightful.

Excerpt 

From "Hard Creek Bridge"

Slim Jackson glided through Abe Lincoln University’s fall orientations and ‘Freshmen Only’ parties with ease and still managed to enter his second semester friendless and shy. During his first college winter break, he did all of the things that made him miss his country home when he left for school. He woke up every morning to Mom’s fresh bacon and eggs. He helped Dad chop wood in the evenings. Some afternoons, he would sit on the back porch and stare into the people-less forest. Now, back at school, there was no wood or fresh food. But there was especially no Mom and Dad.

Slim, a short, thin, young man, stepped off the bus to a crowded, unforgiving atmosphere, where socks matched every day, and peers cared about name brands. His thin, orange backpack was nearly empty and he carried his clothes in a shiny, brown duffel bag. He wore his late grandfather’s adjustable, blue, wordless cap over his shoulder-length brown hair. He wore that cap every day since his grandfather died twelve years ago. Slim always saw it as a bright blue symbol on his head, one that signified allegiance to another place and time. The only time he took it off was when he showered.

The bus dropped Slim off in a different section of campus than it did the first semester. He was never forced to walk this way to the dorm before. It was early evening and getting dark. Students would soon be tucked in their rooms to avoid the air’s chill. The streets were already quieter than usual. Slim walked beside a pothole-filled road. There was no sidewalk, so he balanced on the thin section of asphalt past where the road lines ended. He didn’t mind the stroll. He liked to walk alone. At least, that’s what he told himself. The road twisted through campus like string through a knot. Still new to campus, Slim just followed the arrowed signs to his dorm, but the road only seemed to lead him farther and farther away.

Slim kept walking, switching his duffel bag – which became heavier as he went – from arm to arm, and becoming angry as the weird road took him to unknown distances from campus. He found himself in a wooded area, surrounded by the bark and leafless branches of the trees of late fall. There was a slight comfort in this new area. It vaguely, for a moment, reminded Slim of home. But Slim was tiring fast and this new comfort soon left him. The road was barely big enough for cars. Not a hint of campus was nearby. Light faded quickly.

Interview with Isaac Sweeney

What will readers like about your book?
The content ranges from YA paranormal to flash fiction to romance. There is an underlying theme of maturation to tie it all together, but the collection has something for everyone.

Why did you self publish?
Self publishing is the way to go these days. I haven't ruled out traditional publishing, but self publishing is easier and faster for authors. Not to mention all that stuff about more royalties and all.

What is your writing process?
I think a lot. Then I put down a first draft quickly. Then I revise, revise, revise.

How long does it take you to write your first draft?
The writing is quick and I can get a first draft out in a couple/few days. But I've usually been "writing" in my head for a while.

What inspired you to write this particular collection?
I started this in grad school and I have since revised it many times, adding a story here, taking away a story there, changing the stories themselves. The stories, no matter how absurd or "paranormal," are all inspired by something real -- a struggle of mine, observations of a friend, something someone told me. This is the beauty of writing for me -- capturing life in this way.