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    Sunday, March 25, 2012

    Six Sentence Sunday: "Fixed", Part 4

    Modern Fae Cover for "On the Shelves"
    Here it is, your last Six Sentence Sunday entry for the month of "Fixed", my story in The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity. And because I am evil, it is a cliffhanger. If you want to read more, well, you just have to buy the book. ;-)
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    “Just as I thought,” she said. “Prepare this animal for surgery. I need to operate immediately.”
    His head shot upward. Backed against the steel bars, he couldn’t help seeing past her glamour. The lines scoring her forehead and bracketing the corners of her wide, lipsticked mouth floated like a painted veil over a pale, ageless face as perfect as a marble Madonna.
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    Sunday, March 18, 2012

    Six Sentence Sunday: "Fixed", Part 3

    Modern Fae Cover 1400

    Last week I fell down on the Six Sentence Sunday job. Hey, a girl and her sweetie get only one anniversary a year. But I'm back with a third selection from "Fixed", my story in the fabulous anthology The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity. Enjoy!
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    Even the kittens shut up, pressing their bodies to the wet plastic floor of their cage. A chill brushed his spine, lifting fur that had just begun to relax. Jack’s ability to sense magic was no better than human. The difference was he knew it existed and taught himself to read the warning signs in other animals. This one was lit up in neon. He hunkered down and tried to think cat thoughts; the last thing he wanted was to attract any kind of magical attention.
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    Thursday, March 8, 2012

    Thursday 13, Modern Fae-style


    You already know about “Fixed” my story in The Modern Fae’s Guide to Surviving Humanity (aka #ModernFae in the Twitterverse), the wonderful fantasy anthology edited by Joshua Palmatier and Patricia Bray. (My blurb and an excerpt can be found here, if you somehow escaped my blog the first time through.) But what you may not know is there are thirteen (yes, exactly thirteen—for Thursday, no less) other wonderful reasons to buy the book. To quote the web site’s table of contents:

    “We Will Not Be Undersold” by Seanan McGuire
    Dan discovers the sinister reason why the employees of Undermart are always cheerful and ready to help consumers buy the latest cheap plastic imports. But when his snooping takes him to Oberon's realm, Dan must pay the price for his trespass.

    “The Changeling” by Susan Jett
    Marisol Martinez thinks her son Tomas died in childbirth, until a midwife tells her it’s been stolen by the fae. Now she needs to save her son from the fairy’s clutches...by heading into the hill hidden in...Brooklyn?

    “Water-Called” by Kari Sperring
    The water spirit Jenny had once ruled a wide expanse of marshland, but now she was hemmed in by the modern world of concrete and drainage canals. But when a killer dares to hunt in Jenny's realm, Jenny ventures into the modern city, and returns to her old ways.

    “The Roots of Aston Quercus” by Juliet E. McKenna
    A copse full of dryads is threatened by the construction of a new road, right through their heart. But how can they save their precious trees without exposing themselves to the world? All they have is their copse...and their memories, built up over hundreds of years.

    “To Scratch an Itch” by Avery Shade
    Young Autumn Sky has been told to always, always act normal. But when a storm threatens her roof garden, she acts without thinking, using powers she didn't know she had...endangering not only her family, but all of the fae as well.

    “Continuing Education” by Christine Smith
    Stuck in a dead-end career, Lee had returned to college, seeking a different life. But when a fellow student disappears, she learns that the picturesque brick and ivy buildings of the old campus hide ancient secrets, and corporations aren't the only ones recruiting students.

    "How to Be Human” by Barbara Ashford
    Is there anything more pathetic than a menopausal faery? Yes. A menopausal male faery leading a motivational seminar. For humans. At the New Rochelle Radisson. And when some of the local fae youngsters stop by to cause trouble, Finn rediscovers his own passion, and that his talks may apply more to the fae than the humans he’s glamoured his whole life.



    "How Much Salt?” by April Steenburgh
    Cut off from his clan as humans claimed the beaches once reserved for selkies, Dan finds a new home--and a new place to hunt--when he joins an aquarium show.

    “Hooked” by Anton Strout
    A rogue fairy lures unwary New Yorkers to their deaths in the heart of Central Park. But her latest victim is more than he seems, and the predator has just become the prey.

    “Crash” by S.C. Butler
    Where would a crafty leprechaun hide out in the modern world? Wall Street, of course! And Janet has just found the end of the rainbow. But stealing the leprechaun’s "gold" has consequences that she couldn't have imagined.

    “A People Who Always Know” by Shannon Page and Jay Lake
    Someone is stealing the changelings and returning them to the fae world before their time. Hestia, the former queen of faerie, knows who is behind the kidnappings, but proving her suspicions requires her to venture into the mortal world.

    “The Slaughtered Lamb” by Elizabeth Bear
    Edie, a drag queen werewolf, has always been an outcast--from the fae and her pack. But when the Wild Hunt rides through the streets of Manhattan, she ends up learning that times have changed, and perhaps the pack needs her after all.

    “Corrupted” by Jim C. Hines
    Jessica had spent years as an FBI agent, protecting humans from rogue fae. But the years--and the steel of modern life--have taken their toll, threatening to turn her into one of the very monsters that she hunts. When the rogues threaten to destroy the fae realm, can Jessica find the strength for one last case?

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    Photos of The Modern Fae’s Guide in the wild at the Tustin Ranch, California, Barnes and Noble taken by the wonderful Catherine Gross-Colten on March 7.


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    Sunday, March 4, 2012

    Six Sentence Sunday: "Fixed", Part 2

    It's getting closer and closer. The Modern Fae's Guide to Surviving Humanity goes on sale March 6.  To whet your appetite, here's another Six Sentence Sunday snippet from my cat shifter story, "Fixed". Enjoy!

    He feinted right. With a triumphant woof and the crackle of dead weeds, his pursuer plunged into the brush. Jack veered left, gaze locked on the outdoor balance beam. If he could run the dog into the log . . .
    “Look out!” a female voice screamed.
    He turned just in time to see a bicycle twice his height tearing up the center of the path.

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