The Dog With No Name and other stories

Hello everyone! It's time for new things over here at Splashdown Books, and I'm so excited to tell you about it. In this update: Brand new story releases by yours truly - one of them is free! - other refreshed and upcoming titles, and some great news for those of you who write.

Introducing The Vortex of Éire As many of you know, I've been working on my novel Mariah's Dream and hope to publish that in the near future. While you're waiting, dive into the world of Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 2079 and prepare yourself for the bigger story to come. The Vortexwill eventually span several novels, but for now, treat yourself to Mariah's Prologues, which introduce various characters and locations before their appearance in Mariah's Dream. I plan to release two in the middle of each month, until the novel is published and likely beyond. And yes! Every month, one of the stories will be free for a limited time! So please take a moment to check your subscription details and also add me to your address book, to make sure your updates get through.

The Dog with No Name Free on Kindle from May 15th to 18th only! One eventful night in Belfast, a soulful dog makes a split-second decision that will change his life forever. Add to Goodreads   Mothers of Belfast $0.99 on Kindle and Smashwords Three mothers. Three children. And a man willing to suggest desperate measures to keep them all fed in perilous times of famine. Hint: It involves a compost heap and a cyborg. Add to Goodreads These stories are approximately 3,000 words long, which would be about 10 pages in a paper book. If you don't have a Kindle, you can read the free story directly on the Amazon website using the Cloud Reader, or request a different format from me.

If you're wondering about the covers on the stories above, I created them from a combination of ink drawing, photography, and computer design. I love Celtic knotwork and this was a great way to bring it together with my writing. It'll also make it easy for you to spot items in the series! For Mothers of Belfast, I used the traditional "Motherhood Knot": doubled, and intertwined with a heart. The dots signify the three children, a symbolism you will often see in works of art in Ireland.

What's that with a brand new cover? An old favourite with a new look, and one of Splashdown's long-term best sellers. If you haven't read Kat Heckenbach's immersive young-adult fantasy Finding Angel, there's really no time like the present! That's a talking beetle, by the way.   Angel doesn't remember her magical heritage...but it remembers her. Magic and science collide when she embarks on a journey to her true home, and to herself. Available on Amazon and B&N in print and ebook. Also in audiobook.

Coming soon from Splashdown Books:  The Darby Shaw Chronicles Books 1-3 Liberty Speidel You won't want to miss the fast-paced adventures of a superhuman detective in a gritty future version of Kansas City. Murder doesn't have to be forever, if Darby's on the case. All 3 novellas are already available as separate ebooks, and Emergence, the story of how Darby discovered her powers, is free on Kindle*, Nook,Kobo and Smashwords (all formats). The compilation will appear in print and ebook, and also includes a bonus novelette not published elsewhere. *The Kindle book may not be free in all countries, but Smashwords has Kindle format.

For Authors Is the Time Vortex glitching? Is there a disturbance in the Force? Or maybe we just opened a wormhole to the Delta Quadrant. Things have changed at Splashdown Books, and you'll want to pay close attention if you are writing a novel. Of course we'll continue working hard to produce the best in science fiction and fantasy. It was the right time to adapt to authors' needs and I hope you'll like the result. Check out our brand new submission guidelines atwww.splashdownbooks.com/submissions - and let me know what you think! Also for authors, just in case you haven't heard, coming up on August 7-8 in St. Louis is a fine conference called Realm Makers. I hope to be there myself! You can find all the details at www.realmmakers.com.

Life with Grace I'm currently fostering two adorable wild kittens in need of social skills. Pretty soon, they'll be ready to go to their forever homes. The vegetable garden is still producing lots of silverbeet (that's chard, for the Americans) and yellow courgettes (zucchini) as well as the last of the feijoa crop, which I like to bake into oaty gingerbread. Autumn is a great time to go for walks, especially to my closest beach inside an estuary. An article I wrote about it was published recently: "Oruamo Creek" at The Island Review.