Author ~ Echoes of Avalon

What’s better than reading a great collection of entertaining stories of speculative fiction? Writing, then publishing them with your best friends.

That’s precisely what Northwest Independent Writer’s Association (NIWA, for short) did when we banded together less than a year ago to form a co-op of writers from the Portland, Vancouver and surrounding areas. At the time when I helped co-found the organization I had thought at best we would lean on each other for support and help motivate one another to write short stories and share them at meetings over lots of beer (well, that does happen quite a bit too). But I had no idea that we would be on fire to publish an anthology of quality sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and Twilight Zone-ish stories.

I can confidently say that this is just the tip of the ice berg. Expect more from us in the future. If you’re a lover of speculative fiction, read on, and follow the links to your preferred means of literary entertainment….

“NIWA presents stories to chill the heart and warm the soul.

An old school sci-fi murder mystery in the vein of Clarke and Asimov; A mousy cubical drone with desperate hidden desires; A servant of evil hell-bent on a bargain to make himself immortal; The wasted land of the future holds more than a girl thought to find; Unannounced visitors push a wounded vet to the edge of sanity; A lonely man and a shopkeeper find faith in the smallest of articles; In war and peace, some scars never fully heal, and sometimes the monster in the woods may be your only chance not to become prey.

From the coffee stained, microbrew soaked Pacific Northwest comes a collection of speculative fiction from the Northwest Independent Writers Association. NIWA has assembled eight short pieces from up-and-coming local authors, ranging from stories to keep you awake at night, to tales of swords, sorcery, and humanity’s far-flung future.”

Magic to Mayhem: Northwest Indpendent Writers Association 2011 Anthology of Speculative Fiction
ISBN-13: 978-1466437173
ISBN-10: 1466437170
Electronic ISBN: 978-1-4659-2640-1

Amazon
Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Mayhem-Independent-Association-Speculative/dp/1466437170

Kindle Store
ebook: http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Mayhem-Independent-Association-ebook/dp/B005YVAIES

Createspace Store
Paperback: https://www.createspace.com/3706931

Smashwords (all digital formats – mobi, epub, stanza, etc):
ebooks: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/98718

I’ve written a new short story. I’ve long struggled with shrinking my stories down to manageable lengths. The upside of writing very descriptively is that I create beautiful scenes that leave no mistake as to what I’m trying to show. The downside is that these scenes can go on, and on, and on. With “In the Isle of the Beholder” I practiced packing a lot of info into a minimal amount of words and descriptions that, hopefully, evoke just as much emotion.

What is “In the Isle of the Beholder” about? It is:

” ‘Lost’ meets the ‘Twilight Zone’ on a secluded tropical island where a young girl, who has only known the island and her parents, is faced for the first time with the ‘Pale People.’ People she had always thought, until now, her parents had made up. Especially when describing them as wearing turtle shells for hats. But now they are here and threaten their way of life…and her definition of what is beautiful.”

And you can read it on this website under the tab “Other Writing.”