Check out the sweet cover art by Jessica Lucero!

I just released a short digital collection of dark urban fantasy called Blood, Magic a & Concubine. The collection  is approximately 20,000 words in length and is a mere .99 cents. It will be available on Amazon for the Kindle, Barnes & Noble for the Nook, and other online retailers soon. Currently, you can find the ebook on Smashwords, which also offers a free preview. I will update the post as soon as it is live in other areas. Here’s a little bit about the 3 stories.

“Blood, Magic & a Concubine”: Johnny Stone is a wizard who fixes things and makes problems go away in the sprawling subterranean city of Underbelly. When someone kidnaps Manny the Goon’s girl, he enlists Johnny to find and rescue her. But Manny is holding back information, which doesn’t make Johnny’s job easy, not even when he enlists the help of a Nordic god.

“The Naughty List”: Seven-year-old Janie’s life isn’t so great. Lyle keeps coming back and being mean to her and her mom, and now Mom spends all of her time sleeping in her room. Thankfully, it’s Christmas, and in her letter to Santa, Janie asked for help with Lyle. When Santa and his elves get the letter, they are eager to help. Things might not go so well for Lyle.

“Under the Skin”: Kagan wakes up in a pool of blood. It isn’t the first time he’s woken up and found shredded human remains, and he fears it won’t be the last. He’s already killed someone he loves, even though he doesn’t remember doing it. There is something inside of him. He can feel it. Heeding the advice of a Navajo shaman, as well as the constant urging of the things living within him, he and his sister set out for the New Mexico desert to see if he can find answers.

Blood, Magic & a Concubine also includes an Excerpt from Breaking Glass, an upcoming novella featuring Thomas Rhymes.

When I say short, I mean short. Each of my stories, “Worst Thing I Ever Did” and “Rorschach’s Vampire”, is just 200 words long. In fact, all of the stories in the anthology conform to the brutal (and fun) short word count.

Order A Pint of Bloody Fiction

• Dawn of the Pale Riders – Post apocalyptic horror/fantasy/western novel - yeah, that’s a mouthful, but I think it should work and be fairly entertaining. I’m finishing up the outline over the next few days.

• Aberrant Nation – Comic book that also has a post apocalyptic vibe. I’m working on the first story arc, as well as completing all of the character descriptions, backgrounds, etc. I want to have the first issue written, along with all of the other background material by early January.

• Promotion for Meat City & Other Stories – This collection of my short fiction should be out sometime in early 2010, and I will be promoting it as much as I can. If anyone has any unique ideas for promotion and exposure feel free to send them along.

• The Killing Box – Horror novel that is still in the research and development stage. It has magicians, ghosts, demons, and other fun stuff. I might even add a sexy librarian . . . I just don’t know yet.

• The World Next Door – Middle grade fantasy novel that is almost complete. The first draft is done, but it needs some major rewrites.

• Custodian serial – This is the urban fantasy serial that I want to add to this site, free of charge. I enjoy the characters and world that I’ve created, and I hope to write a novel with the characters at some point in the future.

• Short stories – Even though short stories don’t pay very much, I like writing them and I know that some people enjoy reading them. I want to write and publish at least 10 short stories this year.

• Untitled horror screenplay – I’ve got the idea, but it still needs work. This is something that I probably won’t even begin until well into the summer.

• Freelancing – I gotta eat and pay bills, you know.

• Find a literary agent – I’ve neglected looking for an agent for years, but I think it’s about time that I try to find one. As soon as I complete a few more manuscripts, I will begin my hunt in earnest – and I’ll let everyone know how it all pans out. It can’t be that hard, right? : )

Well, that’s my list for now (subject to change according to my whims and fears).

What is everyone else working on for 2010?