Cover Reveal

From the minds of Writers, Poets, and Deviants, comes the next terrifying anthology — “Creepies 3 – Nightmares on Deviant Street“.

This edition is creepy stories, which is something we do best. I’ve contributed two of my finest new works to this book, and I’m very proud of them. But I’m also eager to read what everyone else dreamt up in their twisted nightmares! If you enjoy the stories I’ve shared from time to time, I anticipate you will like this book a lot.

But stay tuned, publication doesn’t happen instantly and it’s not available quite yet. It will be published sometime early in fall of 2019. Don’t worry — I’ll let you know when and where you can get it.

Reminder – If you need more fresh fiction in your life, you can check out my new series on Patreon under my pen name – http://www.patreon.com/Willa_Greenstone
I’d sure love to have more loyal fans and subscribers – it would move me further toward my eventual goal of being a self-sustaining author – which would mean I’d have more time and resources to create more and better fiction.


Patreon Launch!

Upcoming Character in #HeroesOfDolantia

Exciting news – I’ve launched a new pen-name — Willa Greenstone — and begun posting my new series on Patreon.
www.patreon.com/Willa_Greenstone

Why Patreon, you ask? Well, because it offers me a lot of features that I want, in an easier format for me to use. Which means I get to spend more time creating stories. And you, the fan, get exclusive early access to new stories as they’re being created!

Additionally, subscribers will get all sorts of special features like flash fiction, character sketches, dragon pictures, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of my creative process. So come on past – it doesn’t hurt to look. Stay if you like what you see.

Redbird of Midwinter

Candle and cardinal

My grandmother loved Christmas, and she also loved cardinals. Where I grew up in central Illinois, they were everywhere. Bright red birds with a jaunty crest, that lived alongside the chickadees and blue-jays and nuthatches in the woods behind my house. Bright as holly berries or blood-drops against the snowy winter-land, they showed up on her Christmas cards as a constant reminder of her love for us.

And so, this Midwinter (our first in this new house), I found a cardinal to add to our Yule decorations. We’ve survived the moving process (barely!), but like the winter-laden land around us, all is quiet. The darkness is like a blanket around us as we wait for the winter solstice, when the sun turns around and the days begin to grow longer. Spring will come, and the world will wake and bloom with riots of color. But until then, the candle’s steady glow and the bright bird of promise keep us warm as we rest and recover.

Winter magic

When the weather clears, we can have beautiful winter days in Washington state. Days like this one, that seem like pearls, or birthday cakes. When that happens, we learn to take advantage while it lasts — a sunny memory to carry us forward when the rains and cold return tomorrow.

The beach was full of people enjoying the mild weather, playing and hiking along the narrow Dungeness spit. We didn’t make it out to the end today — maybe a mile at most — before the daylight began to fade. Heading back up the path toward the car, I stopped to take this gorgeous panorama of pinks and blues.

Barely visible in front of a glowing Mount Baker, you can see the tiny, historic lighthouse that clings to the tip of the spit. It’s a full five miles out along a rocky ribbon of land that nearly disappears at high tide. Behind it, Mount Baker — an active stratovolcano in the Cascade volcanic arc — rises some 75 miles distant. The Strait of Juan de Fuca, calm and placid today, reflects them like a mirror.

Holiday Anthology goes on sale!

Tinsel Tales 2

Another fine anthology in the Writers, Poets, and Deviants collection. This book features twisted holiday tales — inside, you will find more than just Christmas stories. WPaD is proud to present our favorite fiction from holidays all year round, from Halloween to Arbor Day, ranging from sentimental to a bit on the dark side. An entertaining read for any season.

My contribution is a horrifying little tale from the darkside, titled Krampusnacht. You can’t run from a guilty conscience. Krampus will always find you.

I have to admit, trying to write a holiday story was tough for me. Maybe because I’ve never been a big fan of the super-sweet stories that abound during this season. I have nothing against the holidays, I enjoy the renewed companionship of family and friends as much as the next person. But it’s just not my style for storytelling. So this is not any sort of typical, heartwarming tale of magic and gifts and coming home. It’s the dark side of the coin — a cautionary tale against caring too much about oneself and not enough for others.

Krampus, after all, is said to kidnap and punish naughty children.

Weirder Tales on sale now

Weirder Tales cover

A new book of short stories by WPaD is out, and it features two more of my stories.

The first is titled “Collect Lucky Treasure”. Two friends play a friendly game of AD&D. But when they decide to go for the special bonus treasure, they flip the lucky golden coin and get more adventure than they bargained for.

The second is a short piece title simply “Jim” that I wrote in response to a flash fiction writing prompt. What would you do if you got a postcard from a friend whose funeral you attended just last week?

Check out these and more stories, available from Amazon.

What’s in a September?

With the autumn equinox, as the days stand equal to the nights and the light is balanced with darkness, we can no longer pretend that summer isn’t over.

The air is crisp some mornings, and though it hasn’t frosted yet, the trees are already sensing that it’s time to prepare for winter.

And so like the stag, we should take on the bright colors of celebration. Harvest time has arrived. The apples are getting ripe on the trees, squirrels store nuts, and birds nip at dandelion puffs. The world prepares for the cold, dreary days to come, and so must we.