In Caves & Catacombs

You like free stuff, right?

...Because The Grave is completely free to download until Tuesday (May 22nd) starting tonight at midnight! And YES you can read The Grave before you read The Boat (book 1)!

The Grave is more of a novella than a short story, and it follows Damian, an Iraq veteran and his dog, Wolf, who have been living on the streets of Oceanside in northern California. When the viral outbreak hits their town, they must survive not only the infection, but the nuclear fallout after the majority of the town gets evacuated. This second installment is an indirect sequel to The Boat, and allows readers to experience the apocalypse from a new perspective, while setting the stage for the most exciting chapter yet in the In Caves & Catacombs short story series. 

More announcements will come soon about Book 3! To get details about upcoming releases, appearances and book signings emailed directly to your inbox, sign up for the monthly newsletter now!

A twist of the knife

"The Grave" has changed the entire direction of the "In Caves & Catacombs" series, and I love it. But the more you love something, the more frightened you are of it, for it, by it. It scares me because it's dark, but is it dark enough? Does it honor the veteran experience enough? Does it honor the struggle of being homeless enough? Is it, in and of itself, enough?

I'm afraid the truth is that it isn't enough. I fear that I haven't done it justice, and that bothers me. There's that twinge of regret, that twist of the knife, that if I held onto it longer, if I worked it more, that it could be so much better. The same goes for "The Boat", and the same will go for the next three or four installments in the series. Hell, the same thing will happen to the Efrenen Sea series. I could hold onto it for ten more years. Perfect it. Coddle it. Shield it from the light and critics alike. But it'll only make me fear it more. And I'm the most afraid of letting the fear hold me back from accomplishing all the things I want to accomplish.

Now that I've said it, it gives me peace. Because nothing I write is ever going to be good enough, and that's okay. My husband tells me that I'm too hard on myself, and he's right. I push and push because I feel like I don't measure up. But that's good, in some ways. Because that's what motivates me to keep going. I don't expect anything big to happen. I don't expect to be able to quit my day job to write full time. What I want from this venture is for people to read what I produce and to enjoy it. It's so simple--I just want to entertain you. And there's a darkness in that, all my own.

Bo Burnham hits the anguish of it absolutely perfectly... hang with this all the way through to the end (it really happens around the five minute mark, but seriously, watch the whole thing), and you'll see the connection: 

Full show available on NETFLIX.

I don't think I can handle this right now, either. So I'm going to go back to writing the third installment, God help me.

 

Book Release: The Grave is out!

Book 2 of "In Caves & Catacombs" is finally out! To preorder, click the book cover image to the right.

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The viral outbreak has reached the northern California town of Oceanside, where Damian, an Iraq veteran and his dog, Wolf, have been living on the streets for years. With the majority of the town either evacuated or infected, Damian, Wolf, and his long-time friend Frog must rely on more than their usual skills to survive.

An indirect sequel to “The Boat”, “The Grave” takes readers through the apocalypse with new eyes, bringing them one step closer to where it all began.

PRE-ORDER NOW

Download "The Boat" for free, now through the end of the week!

Looking for a new short story series? Get your copy of "The Boat" for free--it will be available today through April 28th in preparation for the upcoming launch of "The Grave" on May 2nd.

Reviews are appreciated!!

Updated Countdown: Two Weeks to the Grave!

I-suck-im-sorry.jpg

Okay so listen. I know I said Book 2: The Grave would be available for pre-order on the 20th (in two days, eek!). BUT! I am a writer of fiction, so... it'll be out for pre-order on May 2nd instead!

I know, two more weeks, but trust me, it'll be worth it. I'm taking it through the grueling process of edit-edit-editing and despite being thoroughly sick of it, I must to do my characters and story line justice. Indulge me, dear readers, and stay tuned for more announcements!

Book 2: The Grave Release Date

Alright folks, I am back at it and finishing up "The Grave", which is the second book in the "In Caves & Catacombs" series of short stories. In fact, I've made so much progress that I even have a pre-order release date:

May 1st, 2017

Woohoo! *tries not to panic about what feels like a lofty goal* In preparation for launch (and to make sure I stay on track), I will be releasing new, unedited, pre-release teasers here, so be sure to subscribe to get the latest information.

If you enjoyed the "The Boat", get ready for "The Grave", which will feature a whole new set of characters in the same apocalyptic universe setting, in a similar quick-read format. Here's a tidbit from Chapter Two:


        “Of course I’m listening,” she declared. “But you have to understand, this isn’t news to us. We’ve got three of them in the back right now that we’re tending to. It’s happening everywhere.”
        “So it is contagious,” he reached out his finger to scroll down the screen as he continued to read.
        “Sure as heck is. They say if it goes airborne they’re going to start quarantining areas to ‘clean it out’. You’re former military—you know what that means,” she waved the possibility off like it wasn’t real. “Right now it’s just like any virus, you gotta get all up in somebody’s business to catch it. Spit or snot, stuff like that. I don’t need to paint you a picture, do I?”
        He looked over the bright screen into her crows-feet framed blue eyes. They had the kind of brightness he used to see in the mirror. He frowned. Was she… excited by the possibility of the apocalypse? Or just excited to catch him up on the grim state of the world?
        “Nah, I think I got it. So don’t get up in anybody’s business that looks sick, huh?”
        “That’s right. If I were you, I’d skedaddle. Go to the beach or the woods, wait until this all blows over.”
        “Why dontcha come with me, Cyn? We could have a hell of a time on the beach.”
        He leaned over the desk again, approximating a wink. He hadn’t done it in so long, he probably just blinked.
        She guffawed, slapping her knees and waving him off, just like she’d waved off the possibility of martial law and government-sanctioned mass murder. Still, it was a better response than he’d expected.


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Announcing "The Grave", book 2 of "In Caves & Catacombs"!

More news! I've been deep in writing-land and as I move forward with my full length novel, I keep finding myself drawn to add more to the short story series, "In Caves & Catacombs". Enter "The Grave", book 2 in the series! An indirect sequel to "The Boat", the second installment in the series explores a new set of character experiences of the same apocalypse from the mainland in the USA. It focuses on Damian, a homeless veteran overlooked by the system, and his dog, Wolf, who find themselves struggling to survive as the world falls apart around them.

Look for a release date for book 2 to be announced in the coming month! Or, you can join my mailing list here.