Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Check out the new Darker Times Anthology Volume Three- short stories and poetry from a bevy of  writers, all covering "dark" themes including horror.  And yes, I am totally biased - I wrote one of the stories included, so yeah, I kind of think it's worth reading.

I haven't blogged in almost a month because I've been struggling with my next Getaway Girls book.  It's always fun to write about flesh-eating scavengers, but they're not the most cooperative of characters. You give someone a lust of human flesh, superhuman hearing, and a hot body and suddenly they're out of control. Divas!

So here's a quick snapshot from my current book, The Getaway Girls: A New Orleans Tale of Monsters, Mayhem and Moms  - and hey, if you like it, you can read the entire first chapter for free on Amazon.com. Just a thought . . .



Beth hurried out of the casino and scanned the front entrance but there was so sign of Syd or Audrey. 
She walked quickly around the side of the building, her eyes darting back and forth to make sure no one was following.  Something moved in the darkness and she held her breath.
 “SYD!”  Audrey’s voice screamed.
“Audrey!”  Beth called out as she ran toward her friend.  Audrey’s dress was spattered in blood and dust, her brown hair hung in her face and dried red speckles dotted her cheek.
“Shit, you’re bleeding!” Beth said, but Audrey shook her head.
“No, it’s not mine. Chet killed a girl in the bathroom.  Syd and I were there,” Audrey panted, looking around the empty lot.
“Where’s Syd?” Beth demanded.
“I don’t know!” Audrey replied, “I left her in the bushes to go find her some clothes, and when I got back with this coat she was gone.”
“Why’d she need clothes?” Beth asked.
“Long story,” Audrey answered.  “Short version is that Syd just danced in the Burlesque Ball.  She’s wearing a g-string and pasties and now she’s disappeared.”
“Shit.” Beth bit her lip. “Naked and missing is not a good combination when we’re getting picked off one by one.” She turned back toward the casino entrance and beckoned. “Come on, let’s get a cab.”
“Where are we going?” Audrey asked.
“The Ninth Ward,” Beth replied grimly. “Declan told me to go there right before he flipped out.”
“What do you mean he flipped out?  Where is he?” Audrey looked around, suddenly realizing Declan wasn’t there.
“He went looking for you and Syd in the bathroom,” Beth said as they hurried toward the taxi line. “And then the place was on fire and Declan stumbled out looking like three kinds of crazy. He shoved me, acted like he wanted to fuck me or kill me, and then he said to head for the house.  He said Chet had killed some girl and told him that Carl had you and Syd.”
“Chet was there all right,” Audrey said, shuddering. “But not Carl.  Chet blocked us from leaving the bathroom, so we climbed through the air vents till we hit the stage.”
“Whoa, that’s so Die Hard!”
“It was so scary is what it was.” Audrey said, wiping a sticky strand of hair from her face.  “But I can’t believe we made it out of there to lose Syd in the bushes!”
“You didn’t lose her, somebody took her.  Let’s get out of here before we’re next!” Beth said, flagging down a taxi. 
The driver, a middle-aged black man wearing wire-framed glasses rolled down his window.  “Where you ladies want to go?”
 “We need to go to the corner of Clouet and Roman.”
The driver raised a graying eyebrow and looked Beth up and down. “You don’t want to go there, Miss.”
“Yes we do,” Beth insisted, reaching for the door handle.
The driver immediately pushed the automatic lock button and shook his head. “Not with me, you’re not. That’s just bad news waitin’ to happen and y’all ain’t got no business there.”
Beth opened her mouth again to argue when a shiny black van squealed to an abrupt stop behind the taxi.  The driver looked in his rearview mirror and swore.  He looked at Audrey and shook his head, mouthing the word, “Run!” before he gunned the gas pedal and took off down the street.
The door slid open and a white hand gestured from within, as an unfamiliar voice called out, “Get in now!”
Beth and Audrey looked at the door and didn’t move.
A man’s head popped out.  He was tall, thin, and dark-haired with cool gray eyes that scanned the women in quick appraisal.
 “Why should we get in with you?” Beth asked, as she and Audrey took a step back away from the curb.
The man took an iPad from the van and held it out in his hand for the women to see.  On the small screen they could see Evie draped across a couch, her eyes closed.
“Evie!” Beth cried.
The man answered in a smooth, lilting voice, “She is safe.  For now.”
Beth hesitated and the man sighed.  “Oh, all right.  We have the other one, too.” He tapped the screen and a different image appeared, a woman wrapped in a black cloak looking at once frightened and extremely pissed off.
“Syd!” Audrey said, and angrily demanded, “What have you done with her?”
The man pursed his lips.  “I’ve done nothing.  And I will take you to both of them, but I must insist that you come with me. ”
“This seems like a bad idea,” Audrey whispered and Beth nodded, just as a giant blonde hulk of a man emerged from the driver’s seat and moved swiftly around the corner of the van.  Beth looked up in surprise and his thick arm swept her straight into the vehicle, Audrey tumbling in beside her. The door slid quickly closed behind them and the automatic locks clicked into place, the sound chillingly loud in the dark, quiet interior.
 “Where’s Syd?” Audrey repeated as they huddled in the soft black-carpeted interior of the van.
“She’s with us,” the gray-eyed man replied from the front passenger seat.  “We found her naked in the bushes, where you left her.”
“I left her to go find some clothes!” Audrey said defensively.
The man shrugged. “If my friend was naked and Carl was on the hunt, I wouldn’t leave her in a shrub.”
“Hey, fuck you!” Audrey said, and Beth tugged on her arm.
“Remember, he’s got Syd and Evie. Don’t piss him off.” Beth murmured. 
The man gave a self-satisfied smirk to Audrey before turning his gaze back toward the iPad, where he’d changed the image back to Evie again.  He gave a luxurious sigh.  “I’ve been enjoying Evie’s company, she’s a delightful girl.”
Audrey glanced at the screen.  “She looks unconscious.  How exactly have you been enjoying her company?”
The man’s mouth curved up into a dangerous smile.  “Oh, I find women don’t always have to be awake to be enjoyed.”

Want to read more?  Check out The Getaway Girls: A New Orleans Tale of Monsters, Mayhem and Moms on Amazon.com.

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