The release of Bound Spirits is still three months away, but for those of you who are hungry for the next Restless Spirits installment, here’s a look at the cover to wet your whistle. And for an appetizer (…I’m carrying this metaphor too far, aren’t I?) scroll down to read Read more…
So, I had all these posts planned for October, mostly revving up for Nanowrimo and explaining why you should do it and how to go about it, but work day-job need money to live blah blah blah busycakes. So have a free flash fic. PS: My books are still on Read more…
It’s the first day of fall! Hooray! To celebrate, here’s a free story to help get you in the mood for the Halloween season.
You think strange thoughts sometimes when you work the night shift. Coming home in the dark late at night, it’s easy to imagine that something in the darkness is out to get you.
If your imagination is like Tina’s, you might think how creepy it would be if the thin, dark gap between the wall and the vending machine at the end of the hall was really a doorway to some otherworldly dimension.
And then you might laugh the thought away as you grab your chips and resist the urge to run back to your apartment.
She was tired when the thought occurred to her, after a long night on her feet at the diner, and it was a nice distraction from worrying about getting mugged on the way home. Or worse.
Tina liked having the machine there. It was her one consolation when her budget had forced her to settle on the tiny basement efficiency. She almost hadn’t been able to afford even that, what with the landlady wanting two month’s rent up front. Thankfully, she’d relented. “Had a lot of trouble with drifters sneaking out without paying their rent,” she’d said, “but I guess you don’t strike me as a drifter.”
Anyway, takeout places were usually closed when her shift ended, and a bag of chips was better than nothing when she felt too tired to cook. She kicked off her shoes and turned on The Late Late Show and munched on her bag of Sun Chips. At least she could pretend those were kind of healthy. When they were all gone, she brushed off the crumbs, crumpled up the bag and headed to bed.
Happy prelude to a long weekend! Here’s a brief (and rough) excerpt of the short story I’m currently working on for submission to yet another anthology. *** He was shiny. That’s what first drew her notice. Other men were bland and monochrome and hardly worthy of attention. But this one, Read more…
Sorry for the blog silence. Lately my life has been split pretty evenly between doing the job hunt mambo and writing content for Demand Studios and spending what little free time I do have just trying to rest and recharge my batteries so I can do it all over again. Read more…
Finally! Without further ado:
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four
It was lunchtime when Shane returned to pick her up. They grabbed microwavable burgers at the gas station where they stopped to fill the car on the way out of town, but even then it was late afternoon before they reached the stretch of highway that led to the park.
“You’ve still got it programmed into the GPS, right?” Melanie asked as she consulted her map.
“Yeah. Our turn should be coming up soon.”
Melanie looked up from the map and looked out at the highway. Up ahead, she saw a billboard coming into view, and as they grew closer she recognized the ad for the marina. “This is it.”
Shane slowed the car and took a right turn, and they heard the familiar crunch of gravel under the tires. But after a few yards, as the gravel gave way to black tar pavement, he stopped the car. “This isn’t right.” He looked behind them, where they could still see the highway and the billboard. “Wasn’t there a Dead End sign?”
Welcome, Holiday Blog Hop visitors! If you’re looking for my Blog Hop Giveaway, click here! Or keep reading for a sneak peek at my new novel and a special Holiday Hop offer…
Dominion is out in the wild this week, folks… at long last. In lieu of posting the next installment of Eucha Falls for Story Time Tuesday (mostly because I haven’t yet had time to write the next scene), instead I thought I’d share a never-before-seen-in-public sneak peek at the new book. But first, here’s a handy list of everywhere it’s available.
The e-book is available on Amazon.com (as well as .ca and various international sites), Barnes & Noble, and Kobo .
The paperback is available on Createspace and Amazon. Createspace offers higher royalties, so if possible, I’d appreciate it if you’d buy it there, but you do what you gotta do. 😉
What about signed copies? I’m glad you asked. Because this week only, during the Holiday Hop, if you e-mail me at jmbauhaus@gmail.com and let me know that you purchased a paperback, along with your mailing address, I will mail you a signed bookplate FREE OF CHARGE. Unfortunately, I can only make this offer to domestic US residents. If you’re outside of the US and are willing to cover postage costs, by all means, contact me for details. This offer is also in effect for my other novel, Restless Spirits.
And what about signed e-books? Yes, that’s right–signed e-books! You can request a free virtual autograph for your e-books at Authorgraph. And I will do my best not to make my virtual signature look like a drunken five-year-old drew it.
On to the excerpt…
The following is the entire third chapter of Dominion of the Damned. You can also read the first two chapters here.
I’ve been remiss in keeping Eucha Falls updated for the past few weeks, mainly because I haven’t time to write it. But I finally knocked out the next scene, so… here it be.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three
“I have to show you something.” She and Shane both spoke at once as she opened the door to her room. They stood there blinking at each other, her with her hand on the door and him in the doorway with his computer bag slung over one shoulder.
She turned and headed for her desk, beckoning for him to follow. “Close the door,” she told him. “There’s something new on the video.”
“You should see this first.” He pulled up a chair and started unpacking his laptop. “I kept wracking my brain, trying to remember why Eucha Falls sounded so familiar, and I finally did some Googling. You’re not going to believe what I found.” (more…)
It was like watching a home movie in slow motion. Everything was colored in the golden, hazy light of nostalgia. Watching the sky and the trees go by out the car window, her parents in the front seat, Scottie with her in the back. It was one of the rare times when they didn’t fight or jostle each other for elbow room. They were too happy, too excited.
And then the bridge, and excitement and anticipation about what lay on the other side. They could already see it on the other side, the big red sign, all lit up, shining bright even in the day.
Then they were walking up the path, her and Scottie, hand in hand. She didn’t see her parents, but they had to be there, probably lagging behind. Fern greeted them at the ticket booth, the kindly, chubby old lady with the yellow, thinning curls and the smile ringed in bright red lipstick. “There’s my red-headed girl!” she said by way of greeting. “It’s about time you two were back with us!” She handed Melanie a balloon, which she passed along to Scottie, and waved them both through the gate.
With Blackwood Park being only a working title, I’ve settled on the actual title of my abandoned amusement park story: Eucha Falls. I’ve racked my brain trying to remember what the park in my recurring dream was actually called, but it’s just not coming to me. At any rate, this new title feels more fitting, and definitely less like a rip-off of Rosswood Park (and you get a cookie if you know that reference).
So here’s the next scene.
“You sure you want to watch this?” asked Shane.
Back in the safety of Melanie’s room in the small house she shared with two other renters, she had already booted up her laptop and plugged in the camera. “I’m sure.” As the video player opened to the beginning of the footage, she reached to click the start button, but Shane grabbed her hand.
“Mel, you don’t know what we’re going to see on here. Maybe I should watch it alone first. Then I can prepare you for… for whatever.”
“You mean for watching my brother’s murder. You think I haven’t thought of that? That I haven’t been thinking about anything else since we found this thing?”
“I know. I just meant—”
“I know what you meant.” She took hold of his hand with her free on and gently pried it away. She didn’t let go, but squeezed it as she said, “If that’s what’s on this tape, then I need to see it. I need to know.”
He didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. Melanie took a deep breath, and clicked Play. (more…)