First of all, it was October: Where to find me in October

Yes. October will be busy for this writer! On Friday October 12th I will be with the Flint Area Writers at the Flint Art Walk. Stop into the Lunch Studio to browse our books, and hear new short fiction from our members. We'll be there 6-9.

On October 27th we will also be busy. From noon to 9 you can find us at the Flint Fright Film Fest with our books. Stop by the table and say hi. We will also be at the Flint Literary Festival at the Flint Public Library. We will be talking about Finding Your Pack from 11-12. What does it take for form a writer's group and what can you get out of one. Also, our Vice President, young adult author K C Karr will be talking about Taking Your Writing Online at 3-4.

Come on out to see us, as many times as you can. We will be happy to talk, and there will be lots of books to buy too!!

Writing Roots: Original Friends

“They were in the wrong place at the wrong time, so naturally they became heroes.”Leia Organa of Alderaan, Senator

Last week something unexpected happened. I got to go to the Detroit Institute of Art’s exhibit of Star Wars costumes. It wasn’t unexpected that I went, but the circumstances were.

For the first time in more years than I can count, my original friends, the people who got Star Wars (at thirteen) as much as I did, were all together. In the last forty years, we have changed, gotten married, or didn’t get married, scattered to different corners of the world, not spoken, spoke too much. But to spend time all together? No. This was a special occasion. 

But why is this a writing post? Because Star Wars.

I was thirteen when Star Wars came out. It was the first movie I saw by myself, and when the credits rolled, I walked across the hallway of the mall to buy a notebook and pen. It took the rest of my ten-dollar weekly allowance, but I couldn’t help myself. I’ve never been without a one since.

Something about Luke Skywalker, staring into the double sunset on Tattooine spoke to me, made me scribble words down. And then, at the end of junior high I found others like me. We discovered that we all wrote stories about the people we saw in the background of the universe. Then we wrote them together. We wrote for each other and made each other better story tellers. These people gave me what I needed to keep writing. They saw me through high school and college. We never gave up those stories, even if some of us don’t write anymore.

This past Sunday as we walked through the exhibit (setting off alarms, accidentally, I assure you), it was almost like the old days. Almost, because the next generation was there, with us. Our history was caught up in those costumes in a way that I didn’t expect. I give a lot of credit to George Lucas for lighting my pen on fire when I was a kid, but I don’t think I’ve thanked my original friends properly yet. Even if we aren’t always together, they are all there, in my brain always, in the low light of twin suns.

Review of Alondra's Experiments, by Loren Rhoads.

Alondra’s Experiments: http://amzn.to/2Bv7Cor

Alondra is a young witch who travels the world fighting monsters.  Of course she meets men along the way.  In this collection, she hooks up with a vampire, combines absinthe and alchemy in Prague, and finds the limits of what she will do for love in the final story, which is called Valentine.

My review:

This is the first collection in the Alondra Stories series. Alondra is a young witch living in modern times. Each story in this series is a chapter in her life.  They are told with rich description, emotion and magic.

First is Shattered Rose, which gives a dream like view of a San Francisco night. Alondra is a young woman in love. Her boyfriend is a 300-year-old vampire. Alondra loves Jordan, but she wonders if their love will last centuries.  This story is lovely and romantic with a dash of spice, and blood. I love it.

Next is Catalyst, which finds Alondra a bit older, isolated and in mourning for her mentor, who raised her. Victor is not dead yet, is determined to find a cure for his mortality. She is in Oslo, preforming Alchemy. One vicious winter night, she leaves her work in search of other people. She meets a fellow practitioner who claims to know how to help her attain her goal. Alondra's desperation to stave off the inevitable, and her drive to do something, even sacrifice herself to save her parent is heartbreaking. It's something that almost all of us face. Also, the magic is beautifully written. 

Last is Valentine. Alondra is still on a quest to save her mentor. She has been driven to a dark decision: to save a life, she must take a life. She tracks an immortal whose heart, she believes, will cure Victor. This story takes place in Oslo. Alondra seduces the immortal, Simon, but it doesn't go as planned. Again, I loved the beautiful description here, and the loneliness shared by the characters.

I'll be honest, this is just a fraction of what's good in these stories. And the best part is, there are more. One and Two are available on Amazon right now, and I think there are more planned. Because they follow a single main character they are less like traditional short stories and more like serial chapters of a book, much like Charles DeLint's Newford stories. This is a good thing for readers, because it means there are more Alondra adventures in store.

Your Cruel Fingers Close My Eyes.

Have I mentioned that I'm working on a prequel to Black Light? It's true. It's for anyone who ever wondered where Albrecht Christian came from.

In Black Light we meet him as a man who appears to be in his forties, haunted by his past. He chooses Trace to fill the void he feels. 

When I began Black Light I was Trace's age. Albrecht Christian was the oldest person I could imagine. I thought he was the villain of the book.

Albrecht politely, but firmly, declined.  In fact, he showed me that there was no villain. It was the combination of Albrecht and Trace that precipitates the events of Black Light. Yes, Albrecht is a a monster, but a reluctant one. 

In the frenetic world of rock and roll he is the one flash of elegance. It's as though he strayed away from an old black and white movie. And more than any other character in Black Light, he chose his own fate He twisted the scene, right under my pen. 

It was that moment, I think, that I fell in love with him. 

So, "Your Cruel Fingers Will Close My Eyes" began from my fascination with him. He tells Mica  his story, briefly in the Black Light. He says, "I was raised to be a Prince, but I'm the monster in this story."

Now I'm giving him the fairy tale he deserves. Where the monster can also be a prince.

Albrecht, being Albrecht,  he hasn't made this simple. I've sent much longer than I ever expected with this story, but I think we're nearing the end now. I hope to have it out and into your hands by early June. 

If you're curious, and you haven't read Black Light, there's a link to the left that leads you to Amazon. I also have signed copies for anyone who needs one, which I'm happy to send out. 

Grief

My Dad will have been gone four years this July. It was a long and hard death for him. He'd been diagnosed with Alzheimer's nearly 20 years before. He outlived my Mom by five years, and struggled to the very end in a body that literally disintegrated around him. My sister and her son took care of him and I helped when I could. But in the end we could only wait until he gave up.

I don't remember everything that happened then, but this is what I do remember:

Reading saved my life. My oldest best friend, Loren Rhoads was finishing up her space opera trilogy, In The Wake of the Templars, which she had sold to Night Shade Books. The fact that my friend had made a sale to a major publisher was literally the best thing that happened in.... it seemed like years.

She was on the tightest deadline I could imagine--it was months, where I take years to finish anything. Loren was doing it.

In the midst of all of that, she started sending me the book in progress, chapter by chapter. Now I couldn't tell you if it was one a week or a day, but it seemed as though, I woke up every day to something new, something exciting. Something that wasn't me at work, carrying my phone around all day waiting for the CALL.

My last memory of my Dad was that last day, sitting by his bed, trying to get him to wake up and take some water. It's also of Raena and her adventures. No More Heroes was so much more than a distractaction. It was a story that I could hang on to, in spite of everything. As I read Loren's story, I even had hope that there would be a time I could write my own again. I don't think I ever thanked her properly for that. 

Find all of them here

When Knowing Comes, brand new today!

~~~Brand New Release~~~

When Knowing Comes (Secrets of Windy Springs Book 2)

Valarie Savage Kinney

Release Date: March 10, 2018

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Knowing-Comes-Secrets-Windy-Springs-ebook/dp/B079VWL25Y

Twisted magic pervades the enchanted forest at Windy Springs Renaissance Festival. Strange physical symptoms plague Keisha as her second season of vending at Windy Springs begins.

Violence and destruction bring fear to the festival as long-harbored secrets threaten to emerge. When stunning truths are unveiled, Keisha struggles to come to grips with a new reality. Will her relationship with Rogan withstand the coming changes or will the darkness he reveals about his past destroy the promise of their future?

When Knowing Comes is the second book in the Secrets of Windy Springs series. Grab your copy today and find out what mysteries await within the magical forest at Windy Springs.

About The Author:

Valarie Kinney is a writer, fiber artist and Renaissance Festival junkie with a wicked

caffeine addiction. She resides in Michigan with her husband, four children, and two

insane little dogs. She is the author of Heckled, Slither, Just Hold On, and the

Secrets of Windy Springs series, as well as short stories in various anthologies.

She can be followed on Twitter @kinneychaos.

Social Media Links:

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ValarieSavageKinney/

Facebook Reader Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/931457066949510/

Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8146083.Valarie_Savage_Kinney

Twitter - @kinneychaos

New Contemporary Fantasy from Loren Rhoads!

Check out this new collection from Loren Rhoads. A few weeks ago, I got to ask her questions about her stories. Read the interview below!

Alondra DeCourval travels from San Francisco to Prague to Olso, encountering magical creatures and searching for the limits she will go to for love.

Alondra's Experiments

 So, how long have you been writing your Alondra stories. I've been a fan forever.

Loren Rhoads: I wrote the very first story in high school. Thank god it's still unpublished. The first story that was published appeared in Not One of Us in 2008. That story -- about a fox spirit in Tokyo -- made the long list for the British Fantasy Award that year.

I remember that! It's a beautiful story. Alondra is such a great character, and you've been carrying her with you for a long time. Where did she come from?

Loren Rhoads: To be honest, I wanted to write a story about a red-haired witch. I had the hubris to think I could spin the trope and add something new to it. Actually, she's one of my favorite characters to write for.

The magic in her stories is so great too. I always learn something that I didn't know about magic.

Loren Rhoads: Wow, that is the nicest thing anyone's said to me all day!

I’m glad. It's true. What are your favorite monsters? What are Alondra's?

Loren Rhoads: Alondra has a thing for older men, so she's not sensible when it comes to the tragic backstory. She keeps getting tangled up with vampires and other immortals.

I mean, I like tragic. Also it keeps your commitment down.

Loren Rhoads: This is true.

I also like that the stories take place all over the world. You're very good at setting the scene. Where do these three stories take place?

Loren Rhoads:  The three in this book are set in Golden Gate Park, Prague -- including a visit to Franz Kafka's grave, and Olso. Olso is the one I haven't been to, so it took a lot of research

Which I know you love. I can't wait to read them. Do you see a more collections in Alondra's future?

Loren Rhoads: Thank you so much for asking that. I will have another collection of stories out sometime in April. It will be called Alondra’s Adventures.

Aha! I'm so glad to hear this. Something to look forward to.  I'm so envious of everyone who gets to read these stories for the first time!

The Alondra stories have appeared in Best New Horror #27, Strange California, Sins of the Sirens, Fright Mare: Women Write Horror, The Haunted Mansion Project: Year One, The Ghostbreakers: New Horrors and more.

Loren Rhoads is the author of 199 Cemeteries to See Before You Die and Wish You Were Here: Adventures in Cemetery Travel. She blogs about graveyards as travel destinations at CemeteryTravel.com.
Loren is also the author of The Dangerous Type, Kill By Numbers, and No More Heroes, a space opera trilogy set after a galactic war has wiped out much of humanity.
She is the co-author (with Brian Thomas) of the novel Lost Angels about a succubus who sets her sights on an angel and ends up possessed by a mortal girl's soul. 
Loren likes long walks in the moonlight and old graveyards. She remembers when men walked on the moon.