Wednesday, February 12, 2020

MY LINKS

FREE STORIES/POEMS

STORYBERRIES
In addition to hosting multiple stories and poems by me, this Australian site has a wide selection of stories and poems and is a great resource for parents and teachers (audio and video versions of most stories are also available).

This wonderful site contains all sorts of original children's poetry. The captain of the balloon is Jonathan Humble, himself an accomplished poet.

Some early attempts at writing my own fairy tales. Not my best work, but you might find them interesting.

"THE UNTIMELY DEATH OF A DELICATE DESERT FLOWER"
For those interested in Westerns, here's my attempt at writing one which ran on Frontier Tales in May of 2019. (Not suitable for kids, violence)

An unconventional love story which originally ran on Daily Science Fiction. (Not suitable for kids, sexual content)

Another site devoted to stories for young readers, Short Kids Stories, took a chance on this tale with a somewhat...unexpected ending.

A slightly chilling poem from Tales From the Moonlit Path.

"THE ONE I LOVE"
My humorous (but still, I feel, heartfelt) take on the Shakespearan sonnet was part of this edition of the Minison Project's Sonnet Collection.

A sort of sequel to The Untimely Death...(see above) which also ran on Frontier Tales.

An inter-dimensional love story which was published by Orion's Beau, a great resource for LGBTQ+-themed fiction.


And, if you like what you've read so far, here's where you can BUY my various writings:


THE ANTHOLOGIES

TIDBITS
"Number Three"
In this take on the wish-granting genie story, a man gets exactly what he wants...unfortunately.

YARNSWOGGLE
"The Most Important Day Ever"
Our hero goes about his day, keenly aware that it is, in reality, the Most Important Day Ever, even if no one else seems to have noticed.
"No Story"
A writer struggles to explain why he hasn't had time to come up with an idea for a story (Semi-autobiographical).

"Pair O' Dons"
What would you do if you met yourself from the future? That's the question this story seeks to answer.

"Alma's Race"
A young pilot has bet her whole future on a race across the galaxy, but something happens along the way that will change everything.

CROSSING BORDERS
"The Danny Jacobs Program" (Grand Prize Winner!)
My story about staying true to yourself, set against the backdrop of the Golden Age of Radio Comedy, won first prize back in 2019 and is the first story in this collection.

"My First Love(s)"
Can you remember your first love? How about your second? Third? Fourth? And how well do you remember them? 

"Memoir"
An entirely fictional account of my life was included in the first collection from Bullshit Lit.

"Gray Christmas"
It's a genuine honor to be in this collection which also features classic holiday-themed stories from Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell and many others.

"Nicole the Time Traveling Parakeet"
Nicole is the beloved pet of boy genius Hugo Wells. When she accidentally takes a trip in her owner's new time machine, there's no telling what will happen.

"Nibor's Report"
A team of alien researchers are ready to write off planet Earth, but one scientist's mistake could change the future of our world.


MY BOOKS
These are books 100% written (and, in many cases, illustrated) by me!





This is one of four storybooks published by Jade Maitre, the lovely person who runs Storyberries. It's a Hans Christian Andersen-esque fairy tale about an unlikely romance.

Illustrated by Poornima Dolamullage






Algy is a "recreational liar." Some people play tennis; he drives around in a beat up Volkswagen Beetle and tells outlandish lies to strangers just for the fun of it.

One day, he accidentally lies his way into a criminal conspiracy, almost completely derailing a top secret government investigation...which is being led by an old friend of Algy's.











A collection of poetry for kids of all ages (except 83 1/2). 


Collects many of the poems previously published on Storyberries and/or The Dirigible Balloon as well as some brand new ones and tons of silly drawings of cute cartoon animals.














A novella that tells the story of Daphne, who had some hard times growing up. Hard times that were made a bit more bearable thanks to her "imaginary friend," Uncle Charlie.

Who is Uncle Charlie? No one knows for sure. But if he touches your life, you can be sure that you'll never be the same again.












Mokey is a college girl with a problem: Her ultra-conservative parents have no idea she's a lesbian. So, to keep them from finding out about her long-term girlfriend, Nasim, she hires a man named Algy to pretend to be her boyfriend in this comic LGBTQIA+ romance.

(And for those who recognized the name, yes, it's the same Algy who features in Confessions of an Honest Liar. This is a sort of prequel to that other novel.)












When Shelly Hobbes was a kid, she wanted to be just like Sherlock Holmes when she grew up. Now she is grownup and she thinks her days of sleuthing are behind her. Until a baffling crime wave gets her back in the game.

This full-length novel is a continuation of the stories featured in my kids' novel: Shelly Hobbes: Master Detective (scroll down the page for more info).











Another collection of poems, but this one is more for grownups than kids. 

(Though, if I'm being honest, most of my so-called "proper" poems are still pretty silly.)














Little Princess Susie wants a baby brother, and she goes on quite a strange adventure to get one.

Illustrated by Nick Cave














Every little girl dreams of being a princess, right? 

Well, no, as it turns out that's not true as this story explains.








I'm also a playwright, ya know. In addition to my full-length romantic comedy, Scrambled Eggs, this volume also contains a few short plays, including one which won me a prize one time!
















Plenty of Thread is meant for grownups, but your kids can enjoy this collection of Shelly's early adventures. 

Includes kid-friendly mysteries suggested by A Study in Scarlet, The Redheaded League and The Hound of the Baskervilles.















A sci-fi/detective novella about Andrew Yancy, an Afro-Martian cop chasing a killer who leaves no evidence behind. 

Inspired by the tales of Anansi the Spider.











What if Snow White had met Three Bears instead of Seven Dwarfs? 

What if Cinderella had found the lamp instead of Aladdin? 

What if the third Little Pig had built his house out of gingerbread instead of brick? 

The answers to these and other stupid questions can be found in this collection of fairy tale mashups.












When a Fairy Tale witch suffers from amnesia, it's up to her best friend (who is a bat, by the way) to help her remember who she is.

Illustrated by Tatiana Ross








In this Christmas play, Santa's Workshop is an office not unlike yours...except that the meetings are about toys and reindeer, the boss is a jolly old man with a white beard and everyone who works there is an elf.
 







In this Teen Fantasy Adventure novel, Rapunzel "Zel" Ramirez follows her childhood teddy bear, Melville, into a magic kingdom where she must help to restore the rightful queens to the throne.