Another quick short story preview

So Listening In and Other Stories did fairly well during day #2 on Amazon. I'm very new to self-publishing, and likewise new to e-reader formats (got my Kindle Fire for Christmas), and so I am delighted to be learning while sharing my work with the world.

In that vein, another preview of a story from the collection:

Collecting Faces

If want to know, I’ll tell you what I’ve learned. I don’t have any credentials, but if you’re looking to learn about people, I know plenty.


Man has it all wrong. Men spend time trying to answer the hard questions- the meaning of life, world peace, can we save the planet? To me that stuff is meaningless next to ordinary questions. A job application, no matter how menial the job is painful to me.

Name- That’s easy. I go by Sara. Not my real name, but that doesn’t matter.

Date of Birth- I don’t have one. Actually, I’m sure I do, I just don’t know it.

Occupation- there it gets tricky.

What do I do? I collect faces. I might even have yours somewhere. I bet you didn’t even know someone had taken it, did you?

Do you have some questions of your own now, like ‘how does someone collect faces?’ That is the only question I have an easy answer to.

Listening In Preview

Yesterday, my short story collection Listening In and Other Stories published for Kindle. These are stories I have been writing, editing, and tweaking for the better part of 10 years, and I am happy to call them done and put them out there for the world.

Thus, I thought over the next couple of days I would share some excerpts with you in case you should be interested in reading more! This first excerpt is from a story called "The Soul Mouth." The entire collection can be viewed on Amazon here, along with Max and Menna, my novel which is currently on SALE for Kindle as well :)

The Soul Mouth

I imagined that death would be different. I expected to feel sadness as I left, perhaps nostalgia. I expected to find myself reliving happy moments from my childhood in my last seconds, imagined a single tear sliding down my cheek as my lungs filled and my heart beat for the last time. Not a white light, necessarily, but perhaps my soul being torn from my body to rest for a moment just above me, look longingly one last time at the Earth before finding its way beyond.


All I had right was the soul, and even that I was arrogant enough to believe carried on because it was too saturated by the beauty of the world, by our own human goodness, to be blinked out so easily. In truth, there are two kinds of souls, those driven by inertia, or those imprisoned by their own existence. Either way, we all carry on for the same inane reason—we don’t know what else to do. We are so lucky to come to this place, where there is no need to do anything, and yet no boredom either.

But no, there was no painful tearing from my body. One second I was staring into Katrina’s beautiful grey eyes. The splatter of my blood on her cheek spoils the otherwise perfectness of her face. The next second I was here.

The first thing I did was laugh, overwhelmed by the irony and futility of the world. While alive, we are silly creatures with silly rituals. Like funerals, everyone standing around, making arrangements while they whisper “she would have wanted it that way.” Even the ones here that were the most fastidious, the most over-bearing, the most impossible in life ceased to care about their own the second they came here.

Because here, despite the futility of our being here, despite our very ordinariness, it is brilliant white, and always warm and everyone smiles. I don’t know it if I am in heaven or hell. I can’t imagine why I would care.

My forray into self publishing...

I have to say, I am looking forward to the end of this year. 2011 was much better than 2010, but half of it was not kind.

I developed a wonky, rare stomach condition this year. My symptoms started in June, and it took until December 3 for a doctor to listen to me, diagnose, and resolve it. Two surgeries, countless tests, and lots of people telling me I was making it up stood in my way, but I am finally feeling better.

And I translated feeling better into some forward momentum on my writing!

During this weird illness, I've been toiling away at revisiting, revising, and rewriting a collection of short stories I wrote in college. Today, I am happy to say, they are available on Amazon for Kindle. Please feel free to surf over here and check out Listening In and Other Stories, seven stories about the damaged, the strong, the deranged, and the decent.

Also, since last I wrote, I turned 31. Man... 31. When I was 21, 31 sounded so ancient. I am staving of depression at being 31 and single and all that by reminding myself that I am 31, have two complete works of fiction available for sale, am shopping for a publisher for a third, and am about to finish my master's. In light of that, I am feeling pretty content!

Happy holidays all!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I am a Christmas junkie. I love it! I love giving gifts, baking cookies, hacking down a tree and moving it in my house. I am the girl of perpetual smiles at this time of year. More and more, however, I am looking around and realizing that my holiday glee simply isn't shared by all.

I've been told I am a good gift picker-outer, so I thought I would share over the next couple of blogs some of my recommendations for any story lovers on your list, should you be stumped. I've put together a store on Amazon that contains some of my favorite gifts here.

Your YA Book Lover:

Got a teen on your list you are just not sure what to buy for? If that teen loves to read, then I suggest one of three Lucky Press titles:

Guardian Spirit by Sarah Martin Byrd combines some beautiful myths with some harsh realities in this story of a woman and her children fleeing from an abusive man. According to reviews on Amazon:
"Within the story, Byrd masterfully entwines Native American magic with the steely reserve of a woman protecting her children, and creates a narrative that will have readers cheering, and hurriedly turning pages. I found this to be an engrossing, exciting read, and would highly recommend it to others."

My Beginning by Melissa Kline is the book for any budding sci-fi loving girls on your list. We're under-represented, us female nerds, and so I recommend nurturing it for the girl on your list. Reviews on Amazon:
"This book draws you in immediatley. The adventure and curiousity keeps you turning the pages. The anticipation of the ending made it difficult to put it down but the thought of it ending so soon made me want to slow down. I do hope for a sequel. Great read!"


And, of course, I have to self-promote a litte... it is my blog :)
 
Max and Menna by Shauna Kelley is my debut novel, about a brother and a sister struggling together against poverty, alcoholism, and neglect. Here's what Amazon readers say:
"Max and Menna went above and beyond my expectations. I just could not put the book down, reading into the late hours of the night, just to see what would happen next! It's a great story full of romance, courage, laughter, and heartbreak. I highly recommend this book!"
AND if you're in Maryland, I have copies I can sign for you!
 
Of course, I have to throw in Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card because I think EVERYONE should read that book...
 
And more gift giving ideas to come!