Category Archives: Uncollected Anthology

Free story! “This is the World Calling”

BugAs part of the Uncollected Anthology series project, all the authors will be publishing their stories for free on their websites, each one for two weeks only!

“This is the World Calling” appeared in Issue 4, Heartspells.

Available from these fine retailers:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Omnilit | Smashwords | iBooks

Dayle HS cover small

Tansy and Ki’s families are two of the most powerful witch dynasties—and the feud between them puts the Hatfield and McCoys to shame. So why, then, did their parents not care when the two would run off and play as children, lost in their own little world? When they meet again as adults, Tansy and Ki’s mutual attraction makes it vitally important that they find the answer to that question.

 

This free story was available for two week only. If you missed this one, click on the links above. And please check out the Uncollected Anthology website (and maybe sign up for the newsletter!) to find out when the next issue will be available!

Want to chat about this post? Join me on Facebook or Twitter.

Uncollected Anthology, Issue 3: Heartspells

BugAmazingly, we’re already at issue number 3 of this odd and fun little project. The time really has raced by. With two issues under our collective belt, we decided to branch out a little and add a new twist: we invited USA Today bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch to be our very first guest author. As you might guess, she accepted!

This issue’s theme is Heartspells: urban fantasy romance. Once again, an amazingly gorgeous and diverse group of stories…just in time for you to start getting into the romantic, Valentine-y kind of mood.

I set my story on a rainy night in Vienna, drawing on my memories of the few days Ken and I spent there…

“This is the World Calling”

Dayle HS cover small

Tansy and Ki’s families are two of the most powerful witch dynasties—and the feud between them puts the Hatfield and McCoys to shame. So why, then, did their parents not care when the two would run off and play as children, lost in their own little world? When they meet again as adults, Tansy and Ki’s mutual attraction makes it vitally important that they find the answer to that question.

Buy it at any of these fine online retailers:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Omnilit | Smashwords | iBooks

The other incredibly fabulous authors—go check out their stories!

leslie Heartspells Cover Small

“Heartfire,” Leslie Claire Walker

— Vengeance is mine. —

Someone kills a woman in the alley behind Snake Bite Tattoo—a clear declaration of war against its dangerous proprietor, Malek, the serpent from the Garden of Eden made an immortal man. If he can work a spell in time to bring the woman back to temporary life, she can tell him who murdered her and why. He’ll track them down and make they pay. End of story.

But he doesn’t count on remembering that he once knew her, or the feelings that rise in him along with the memories. Or that the reason for her death and the declaration of war are not what they seem.

“For more than a decade now, I have adored the work of Leslie Claire Walker.”
— Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Michele HS cover small

“Lovebirds,” Michele Lang

Nancy gave up on love a long time ago, and lives a well-researched, rational life in Buffalo, New York. But winter gives way to spring, and the voodoo love store downtown sells not just lovebirds, but the potential for a different kind of life. When she finds the courage to say yes, love swoops out of Nancy’s dreams on borrowed wings.

“Lang is a writer to watch.”
— Booklist

Leah HS cover small

“The Midnight Gardener,” Leah Cutter

Joanie finally found her heart out in the backyard, hanging in an old fir like a Christmas ornament, covered in bees…

Now she must discover what it means to hold her heart open for another.

Annie HS cover small

“Love Stinks, Inc.,” Annie Reed

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

Dyte started her anti-Valentine’s Day business as a way to get even with her dad, none other than Cupid himself, after he scared away her boyfriend. She just never expected Love Stinks, Inc., to become quite so successful.

The last thing Dyte wants is the title Zeus plans to bestow on her: Goddess of the Chronically Single (her company’s profits were that good, and boy do the old gods have a thing about tithes and offerings).

With Love Stinks on the verge of a record-setting year, Dyte has two choices to avoid the dreaded title: admit her dad was right and she was wrong about the whole boyfriend thing (like that will ever happen), or find true love (without the benefit of spells or magical arrows) before the clock strikes midnight on February 14th.

Phaedra HS cover small

“Switchback,” Phaedra Weldon

Skylar loves Erin. Erin loves Skylar, only as a friend. Because Erin loves men.

Frustrated with her feelings and the impossible situation she finds herself in, Skylar seeks out a local witch for advice. The witch gives her a spell, with a warning, that once the spell is sealed with true love, there is no going back.

Kris Track 61 UA cover small

Guest Author
“Track 61,” Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Kessa possesses only small magic. But her skills allow her to help those who wield bigger magic.

Her latest job takes her deep into the bowels of New York City’s subway system, hunting for bits of history long since forgotten.

And what she finds deep down in the dark will both threaten her life and change it forever.

“Rusch is a great storyteller.”
—RT Book Reviews

Final Info

As a reminder, we do have a website and a newsletter, for the sole purpose of telling you when the next batch of stories is available.

Want to chat about this post? Join me on Facebook or Twitter.

Free story! “Desperate Housewitches”

BugAs part of the Uncollected Anthology series project, all the authors will be publishing their stories for free on their websites, each one for two weeks only!

“Desperate Housewitches” appeared in Issue 2, Winter Witches.

Available from these fine retailers:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Omnilit | Smashwords | iBooks

desperate cover web

Kimberly reigns as the witchy Martha Stewart of her neighborhood coven…until Philippa moves in across the street, with her snooty English pagan heritage and her magical one-upmanship. When the annual Winter Solstice ritual goes horribly wrong, can Kim and Philippa put their differences aside and bring back the sun?

This free story was available for two week only. If you missed this one, click on the links above. And please check out the Uncollected Anthology website (and maybe sign up for the newsletter!) to find out when the next issue will be available!

Want to chat about this post? Join me on Facebook or Twitter.

Uncollected Anthology, Issue 2: Winter Witches

BugI’m still so excited about The Uncollected Anthology, and chuffed to bits that we’re already at Issue 2 of these urban fantasy stories. This issue’s theme is Winter Witches, to get you thinking about the holidays ahead.

Wow, talk about a diverse group of stories! All urban fantasy, but all very different—and I loved each and every one of them. There’s a reason I suggested this project to some of my favorite authors. (It was because I’m selfish and wanted to read more stories by them, on themes I thought were cool and fun.)

Anyway, here are the deets on my story:

“Desperate Housewitches”

desperate cover web

Kimberly reigns as the witchy Martha Stewart of her neighborhood coven…until Philippa moves in across the street, with her snooty English pagan heritage and her magical one-upmanship. When the annual Winter Solstice ritual goes horribly wrong, can Kim and Philippa put their differences aside and bring back the sun?

Buy it at any of these fine online retailers:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Omnilit | Smashwords | iBooks

The other incredibly fabulous authors—go check out their stories!

Annie Reed  |  Leah Cutter  |  Leslie Claire Walker  | Michele Lang |  Phaedra Weldon

As a reminder, we do have a website and a newsletter, for the sole purpose of telling you when the next batch of stories is available.

Want to chat about this post? Join me on Facebook or Twitter.

Free story! “The Madness of Survival”

BugAs part of the Uncollected Anthology series project, all the authors will be publishing their stories for free on their websites, each one for two weeks only!

“The Madness of Survival” appeared in Issue 1, Magical Motorcycles.

Available from these fine retailers:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Omnilit | Smashwords

madness cover webThe Faerie Folk come when the veil between the worlds is thin, spinning their sticky-sweet glamour and stealing children away. The only thing standing in their way: a motorcycle gang made up of broken, lost people who managed to escape from the Faerie Realm after their own abductions.

Riding her enchanted steed, sworn to protect children, Alis mourns the loss of her own daughter, taken by the Fae. Abandoned by her husband, shunned by her friends, Alis now knows no family but her fellow riders, knows no joy except when she’s riding.

But freedom comes with a price…

This free story was available for two week only. If you missed this one, click on the links above. And please check out the Uncollected Anthology website (and maybe sign up for the newsletter!) to find out when the next issue will be available!

The Uncollected Anthology is finally here!

BugI am so, so very excited about this project!

Back in February, at the Anthology Workshop on the Oregon Coast, after I’d read nearly 300 short stories, I looked around the room at the incredible wealth of talented authors and thought, “These are some of my favorite authors, and I have all these nifty anthology themes in my head—not only do I want to write stories that fit these themes, I want to read their stories, too!”

Knowing it was a project I could easily go overboard on, I approached just a few author-friends to start—and to my delight, they were not only enthusiastic, but they were thrilled to be a part of this. At which point, we became a collective, with everybody tossing out ideas and volunteering for different jobs.

Since then, it’s been a lot of work and coordination and we probably broke the Internet once or twice with all the emails we fired back and forth, but the time has come to announce the launch of the very first issue of…

The Uncollected Anthology!

The idea is this: We pick a theme and write urban fantasy stories for that theme, just like any anthology. The difference is that instead of bundling all the stories together (and having to deal with accounting when it comes to paying everyone royalties), we each publish our own stories. If you like a story…if you like a theme…then we hope you’ll venture forth from there and buy the other stories.

Honestly? I’ve read all the stories in this first issue, and they rocked my world. I wouldn’t say that unless I meant it. These ladies really are some of my favorite urban fantasy authors.

The first theme is Magical Motorcycles, and all the stories are available as of this morning! If you woke up with your ears ringing, that was from all of us cheering that we’d made it to this point!

I’m so in love with these stories, and my friends who dove in with so much enthusiasm.  ::sniff::

Okay, you want the stories, right? Here’s the info on mine:

“The Madness of Survival”

madness cover webThe Faerie Folk come when the veil between the worlds is thin, spinning their sticky-sweet glamour and stealing children away. The only thing standing in their way: a motorcycle gang made up of broken, lost people who managed to escape from the Faerie Realm after their own abductions.

Riding her enchanted steed, sworn to protect children, Alis mourns the loss of her own daughter, taken by the Fae. Abandoned by her husband, shunned by her friends, Alis now knows no family but her fellow riders, knows no joy except when she’s riding.

But freedom comes with a price…

Buy it at any of these fine online retailers:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Omnilit | Smashwords
And it should be up on iBooks soon…

The incredibly fabulous authors—go check out their stories!

Annie Reed  |  Leah Cutter  |  Leslie Claire Walker  |  Phaedra Weldon

A few necessary shout-outs and links

We are partnered with Kobo books, for which I have to thank the wonderful Mark Lefebvre, Kobo director of self-publishing and author relations. Check out our group page on Kobo!

Stephanie Writt designed our UA logo and the template for our covers. She’s awesome!

Annie Reed and Michele Lang worked hard to hammer out a group agreement so we stay on the up-and-up. (Michele doesn’t have a story in this issue, but my fingers are crossed for the September issue!)

Finally, if you want more info, you can check out our website. We have a newsletter (quarterly, just to tell you when a new issue is available), and there are photos of us and all that jazz. Phaedra Weldon kicked ass designing the site!  ::applauds::

I hope you enjoy the stories.