Realm of the Reaper: Dark Fiction Inspired By A Darker Reality

Sorry for the click bait headline, but I needed to get your attention. I've debated for a long time whether to go public with this. It's not something that is easy to talk about. However, I feel so many people struggle with it, and are ashamed, that it's time public figures like myself come forward to take away the stigma of mental illness. It's no secret that I've made that well known over the years. However, last year I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Things came to a head for me last fall at San Angelo Comic Con. It was a fun show and I was happy to see all my friends. However, I'd been under a lot of stress that year. Id had a string of shows that hadn't done well, book sales had been slow and I had just been struggling with all around fears of failure. I learned later, these kinds of negative thoughts are normal. About halfway into the show on Saturday, I suffered what I thought was a debilitating panic attack. I learned later this was...

I write at a slow pace. I'm not always thrilled by that fact, but it's a fact nonetheless. I write at a slow pace. There are a couple reasons for this: The first is that I'm the mother of three; the oldest is not yet seven, and the youngest is two weeks away from her first birthday. Between bus schedules, homework, visits to Grandma, resetting the modem so Netflix works, dirty diapers, bottles and finger foods, night terrors, and lullabies, it's amazing some days if I find the time to jot down a sentence or two, let alone crank out several thousand words. And that doesn't even touch on housework, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. The second is that I deal with chronic pain issues, and as I've mentioned several times before, live with depression and anxiety. Often there are days when I simply am not in the proper frame of mind to write; my brain just won't cooperate. I can sit there--in my bed, on the couch, or at my desk--and lecture myself on how I shou...

That's right! A new story is coming your way, and here's a taste, just a little tease, to whet your appetite. Six years ago, Rhianne made a careless mistake with devastating consequences. Stalked by guilt and an ever-present anger she can't evade, she takes each day as it comes, while maintaining a civil, but distant, relationship with her mother. And all the while, she is haunted by the presence of the baby grand and its deafening silence.  When Rhianne is pushed past her breaking point and forced to face her demons, will she find the redemption she so desperately seeks? Or is her past too deadly to escape? Keep your eyes peeled! A release date is coming soon!

A lot of times, authors get asked why they write, or what inspires them to write. It's a fairly cliche question, and I know many authors are often frustrated by it, because it can be a difficult question to answer. Answers are usually similar, and often can be vague: I just have to. I can't not write. I enjoy it. It's fun. It's my outlet. It's how I express myself. It's how I survive. For me, it's all of these things and none of these things. At different times, it's a different combination of a handful. There are times I do have to write; other times, it's just as easy not to. Sometimes, writing is fun. But more often than not, it's an extremely hard and emotionally taxing thing, and it definitely is not fun. One thing I can say for certain is that writing is how I survive. I suffer from clinical depression and anxiety, and for anyone who hasn't experienced those conditions, they can be almost impossible to accurately explain or descri...

Today was hard. It started with waking up. For several weeks now, my fibromyalgia has been acting up, keeping my pain levels higher than I'm used to--my guess is the ever-changing and abnormal weather is the culprit--and leaving me constantly fatigued. No matter how much I sleep, it's never enough; I'm always exhausted, and waking up is, quite frankly, a bitch. Getting out of bed is worse. The wrong places crack, and the right places don't. My muscles, tight from sleep, scream as I force them to move. And the little voice inside my head is an ever-present devil on my shoulder, taunting me with all the things I need to get done today, and I already know I won't. Which he follows up with, "Then why bother at all?" The urge to curl back up under the covers is nearly undeniable; it's so much easier to lay there and not move, to sleep and not think. The morning goes by fairly smoothly. I didn't get up until after ten, after all, and by then my hus...

It's April 1st, which not only means it's April Fools' Day--it means "Collected Easter Horror Shorts" officially hit the Amazon shelves. With stories by notable authors such as Jeff Strand, Jeff Menapace, Christopher Motz, Andrew Lennon, and Mark Fleming, this collection is guaranteed to please. It also includes several authors who are newer to the scene, but no less talented, including a strong showing by Stitched Smile Publications. SSP authors Lisa Vasquez, James Matthew Byers, Veronica Smith, and yours truly all have stories in this fantastic anthology that is already hitting the Amazon charts. If you're looking for something new to read, you should definitely give this collection a look. It won't disappoint. It can be found in the U.S. here  and in the UK here . I'll be posting a review very soon. If you buy a copy and enjoy it, I hope you'll do the same!