The Short and Long of It

This is my week to post on the Deadline Dames, so this post can also be found there. 🙂

Today, I’m feeling chatty. The first book in my new series, HOUSE IMMORTAL came out about a month ago, and I wanted to extend a big thank-you to readers and reviewers and bloggers for taking time to give the book a chance.

If you haven’t read it yet, I can say that it isn’t a “standard” urban fantasy, but more like a science-fiction-y urban fantasy. But even though it’s set in the future a bit, it still (I hope) reads like urban fantasy, with a strong female lead character, some butt kicking, some humor, some trouble that could spell out the end of a world or two, and a host of interesting people and places.

Publisher and Editor John O’Neill at Black Gate noted here, that it reminded him of “STITCHERY” the first short story he bought from me for BLACK GATE. I’m so happy he noticed! The series is based off of that short story, (albeit loosely) and Matilda, Neds, and Grandma were all first introduced in that short.

Now, the novel went quite a different way than the short story, so I think of the short story as an alternate timeline Matilda may have lived, but not the timeline she is living in the trilogy.

If you want to check it out (STITCHERY also was chosen for David Hartwell’s Year’s Best Fantasy #2) you can find it in BLACK GATE #2, or in my short story collection: A CUP OF NORMAL.

I feel very lucky to have started my writing career in short fiction. It not only taught me how to hone my skills, handle rejection, and create fearlessly, but it also brought me into contact with some great markets and generous people, editors, and publishers who took a chance on me and helped me grow as a writer. If you like your fantasy short stories full of adventure, then head on over to Black Gate and have a look around.

You never know what treasures might be waiting for you.