Total Pageviews

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

SPOOKY!

Apocryphilia, the 6th anthology offered by we of the Circle 8 Writers Group, is now available in both paperback and ebook. With this anthology, we herald the debut of two new Circle 8 authors: Derek Odom, from whose short storyApocryphilia the title of the complete anthology was given, and Mary Margaret McCurnin's  short story The Anonymous Ophthalmologist  is accented by three of her poems. And though all stories inApocryphilia are wonderful tales of the supernatural, Native Moon, by LL Darroch, recieved the Editor's Award for Best Story.
We define Apocryphilia as a person's Hell-bent drive toward self-destruction, which is so imaginatively portrayed in many of these stories.
Here is a peek under the covers of Apocryphilia at the authors and their works:
1) The Curse of Queen Milano, by Amy Browne:
Short (Paisley) story: A life-threatening curse has been put on Princess Paisley’s sister, Cadence, sending both princesses into the edge of evil Queen Milano’s kingdom for a cure.
2) Welcome to the Garden of Eden, by Andi Caldwell:
Short story: Two detectives, Moira Kelly and Ted Baines, persue the mystery of dozens of missing couples through a sinister door thatleads to a recreated Garden of Eden. Is the garden fake or very real?
3) April Fools, by Andi Caldwell:
Flash fiction: A warrior battles a demon and its familiar until dinnertime.
4) Apocryphilia, by Derek Odom:
Short story: A man returns to his childhood home and the creepy tree that wants him dead.
5) The Black Years, by Derek Odom:
Short story: A boy has one chance to escape his pedophileabductor, but it means leaving behind his love for the mystical unicorn that helped him endure.
6) The Anonymous Ophthalmologist, by Mary Margaret McCurnin:
Short story: Annie is drawn to a personal ad in Craigslist, hoping it offers a path to escape the men of her past, living and dead.
7) Dead or Alive?  by Robert L. Arend:
Short story: Michael is on the run after murdering an elderly woman for her purse, directed by a mysterious voice that only steers him into one mishap after another.
8) Twins, by Robert L. Arend:
Short story: Renee is an unemotional woman, unloved andunloving; an empty vessel for a soul who only wants to get the ‘life’ thing over with and reunite with the love she left behind on the day she was born.
9) Death Whispers, by Angel Sharum:
Short story: There’s a voice in Trevor’s head, telling him that, when it comes to Momma, he’d be better off dead.
10) The Reaper, by Angel Sharum:
Flash fiction: Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean you aren't being watched.
11) Mirror, Mirror, by Theresa Leschmann:
Short story: Alexis tires of waiting for the old man she married to die, so she decides to take matters into her own suddenly aginghands. But will she be able to look at herself in the mirror after?
12) Native Moon, by LL Darroch:
Short story: In her dream, her Native lover wanders the hot city night, watched closely by a wolf. She must fly on the back of an eagle to save him.
13) Johnny’s Balloons, by Amy Browne:
Flash fiction: Little Johnny wants more balloons that talk only to him.
14) Turbatio, by LL Darroch:
Flash fiction: Imprisoned in acloset, a struggle to escape.
15) Worms, by Robert L. Arend:
Flash fiction: Hell is a cheap coffin that leaks.
Poetry:
Bloodless, by Angel Sharum: vampires lurk on dark sidewalks...
Violent Love, by Angel Sharum: Divorce makes Daddy really, really sad….
The Haunting, by LL Darroch: On a stormy night,terror pounds on the door….
Dark Blue Dirt, by Mary Margaret McCurnin: Dreams ofmausoleums….
Forget the Dead, by Mary Margaret McCurnin: Hands soiled by ashes of death….
Smoke, by Mary Margaret McCurnin: Pets better remembered than lovers….
And, as always, all Circle 8 anthologies can be purchased in paperback or ebook at:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_at_ep_srch?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=Robert%20L.%20Arend#/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Angel+Sharum&rh=n%3A283155%2Ck%3AAngel+Sharum
and Barnes & Noble at: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/amy-browne




Friday, October 7, 2011

An Interview with Twin Trinity Media “Elements of Dimension” Anthology Contributing Author Robert L. Arend

Ted: Mr. Arend—
RA: Please, don’t be so formal. Call me ‘The Robert’.
Fred: I will do no such thing. There are millions of Roberts in the world, Mr. Arend. You are not ‘The’ only one.
RA: I’m sorry you feel that way. You, however, think it’s perfectly all right to start off being ‘Ted’ and then switching to ‘Fred’.
Alex: In the latest Twin Trinity Media anthology Elements of Dimension you are listed as the writer of David and the Outside and Creation. Why only two?
RA: I got a poem in it, too.
Renee: Yes. Astral Voyeur. I want to explore that a bit later.
RA: Hey, first you flip from one name to another, now you change your sex. What’s next? Species?
Lizard: In David and the Outside, you present a scenario of a self-sufficient, controlled and seemingly underground society where no one is allowed to go outside. Was that story rooted in some personal experience?
RA: Yes.
Snake: Do you want to talk about it?
RA: No.
Tooth: I take it the event was too traumatic for you?
RA: How would you feel if you were kept inside every day having to learn reading, writing and math, even history!
Lady Gaga: Every child has to go through that, Mr. Arend. It’s called school.
RA: (tear streaming down his left cheek) Why me! Geography was the worse. All I wanted to do is run and play outside. Go fishing. Put frogs in my sister’s bed.
Elvis: Let’s move on. Your poem Astral Voyeur is about a lonely man whose spirit leaves his body to travel to the home of an old flame. He can see her, but she can’t see him. Is that a metaphor for all the unloved people society refuses to see?
RA: No. It’s about that creepy feeling when you think you’re being watched. You probably are, especially when you’re naked.
Naked Playmate: Is that how you feel when you’re in the shower, Mr. Arend
RA: Yes. That’s why I only shower when “American Idol” is on. I know nobody’s watching me then.
Harry Potter: Finally, in your short story, Creation, you posit that we write, produce, cast and direct everything in our lives from beyond the universe.
RA: Yes. We imagine everything, including ourselves.
Bill O’Reilly: Am I just a figure of your imagination, Mr. Arend?
RA: Of course.
Sarah Palin: Then why can’t you make me disappear, Mr. Arend?
RA: Oh, but I can. (blinks) You were never real in the first place.
End of interview.

Elements of Dimension is available in paperback at:  http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Dimension-Science-Fiction-Fantasy/dp/0984209549