Category Archives: Dayle A. Dermatis

What do Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, Elmore Leonard, and I have in common?

OMG OMG OMG flaily hands! My thriller story “The Scent of Amber and Vanilla” is an Honorable Mention in the The Year’s Best Crime & Mystery Stories 2016!

You know who else is on the Honorable Mentions list? Shirley Jackson, Stephen King,* and Elmore Leonard. Among others.**

Yes, I am running around the apartment screaming. No, I do not have pants on.

Eeeeeeeeeeee!

*Ironic note: The story was inspired by a writing exercise in King’s On Writing.

**Also, my friends Annie Reed, Kelly Washington, Dan Duval, and Angela Penrose have stories in the volume, and I know several other people in the Honorable Mentions list, so booyah! to all of you. I’m going to go lie down now.

Opportunities abound!

I have a whole bunch of exciting news! Hold on to your hats.

First.

I’ve been going to an anthology-writing workshop on the Oregon Coast for many years. First called the Denise Little workshop (because Denise was the editor buying for DAW Books anthologies) where we wrote one fantasy story ahead of time and one overnight at the workshop, it’s now grown into a seven-anthology workshop with seven editors, and we write six stories ahead of time—one a week for six weeks, on a variety of themes and genres.

I’ve attended ten of these. I sold one story at the third workshop, and then again at the sixth. This year, I sold all six of my stories.

For next year, I have been invited to be an editor!

I’m gobsmacked, delighted, a little scared, and a lot excited. I continue to cycle through these emotions every time I think about this.

My Year of Trust is part of the reason I said yes. I trust that Dean and Kris wouldn’t have asked me if they didn’t think I could do it, and I trust in my abilities and experience.

But still…holy moly!

(For more about the workshops, both on the coast and online, that WMG Publishing offers, click the links. As of this writing, there are two spots open in the Anthology Workshop.)

Second.

Speaking of the Anthology Workshop, one of the editors that past few years has been Mark LeFebvre, Director of Self-Publishing & Author Relations at Kobo Books and a published author in his own right. This year, he requested we do an Uncollected Anthology podcast for the Kobo website: an interview with me and some of the other ladies of UA: Leah Cutter, Annie Reed, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Leslie Walker, and Phaedra Weldon.

Obviously I think this podcast is worth listening to, but not for the reasons you might think. It’s freaking hilarious. It was recorded after a week of intense workshop sessions, and we were punchy. When I listened to it, I laughed out loud (and I was taking a walk at the time, so passers-by probably thought I was crazy), because I’d forgotten half the stuff we talked about.

So, highly recommended. It’s less than an hour long, and it’s really fun.

Third.

In which a colleague says nice things about me.

The “Fantasy in the City” bundle she speaks of is another exciting upcoming opportunity for me. A bundle is a group of short stories, or novels, or nonfiction, or even other electronic stuff, bundled together for one low price. It’s an opportunity for fans of one author to get a taste of other similar authors’ works.

In this case, it’s a bundle of twenty urban fantasy short stories. It’ll include my story “Living With the Past,” which is a Nikki Ashburne story set in my Ghosted series—and stories by phenomenal authors such as Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Leslie Claire Walker, Anthea Sharp, and Lisa Silverthorne, among others (I’ll post the full list when I know all the names).

This is my first bundle so I’m chuffed!

The bundle will go live Monday, June 20. I’ll have lots more information before then. It’s gonna be a blast.

Fourth.

There is no fourth. Three is enough for my writerly heart to handle!

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Uncollected Anthology, Issue 8: Out of the Woods

What a great lineup we have this time! Not only do we have as our guest author the phenomenal writer Ron Collins, but former guest author Rebecca Senese has joined the team as a full-time member, so we have a new story from her, too!

Our theme this quarter is Out of the Woods. Urban fantasy normally takes place in cities, but what happens when the city encroaches on the forest, or vice versa…when creatures come out of the forest or we humans go in…?

“Tendrils, Twining”

Widowed Penny ponders selling the beautiful Victorian home she and her late husband shared. After all, the yardwork is more than she can handle…this spring, it looks as though the forest is encroaching.

Surely it’s an illusion.

But what if it isn’t?

And when myth and magic collide with urban development, who will win and who will lose…and who will get caught in the crossfire?

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!

“Primitive Area,” Kristine Kathryn Rusch

By the time Sara finds herself in the middle of the Idaho Primitive Area, she knows she made a huge mistake. Her decision clouded by the blush of new love, she agrees to accompany Travis on a weeklong hike. Sara, the city girl, in the woods, camping. And just when she thinks things can’t possibly get worse, she discovers just how wrong they can turn—but in ways she never expected. Magical ways…

“Rusch’s short fiction is golden.”
—Kansas City Star

“Paulaleena,” Leah Cutter

Pauli, the most recent of the Paulaleena fairies, must creep out of the woods and renew the pact with the human mayor of the nearby city.

The pact that keeps the world safe from the Dark Ones.

The pact forged by blood.

When this human mayor insists on seeing the Dark Ones herself, they both get more than they bargained for.

“Lights! Camera! Action?” Annie Reed

Private detectives Diz and Dee have worked for some pretty odd clients. Leprechauns. Fairies. The occasional Greek God.

Even Dee’s mother.

But their newest client could be the oddest yet.

Horror movie director Morte (as in death; he had it legally changed) can’t find the star of his latest B-movie flick, currently filming in the woods outside Moretown Bay. The guy’s a method actor who needs to “live the part,” and he occasionally takes off to do a little research. Only this time he’s playing a werewolf, and the full moon is right around the corner.

Hollywood invades the offices of D & D Investigations in this latest addition to the Diz & Dee mystery series.

“The Reveal Within,” by Rebecca M. Senese

Marnie waited too long to sign up for a painting course and ends up in a wood carving class. What the heck does she know about carving wood? She manages to make it through the first session without gouging her arm but has to drop the class. Her learning to carve? No way. But something in the wood calls to her, urging her to reveal…what? Marnie wants nothing to do with the class but the wood has ideas of its own.

“Peculiar Magic, ”Leslie Claire Walker

Death. Resurrection. Hope.

Beth died at seventeen, helping to save the world. Her boss, Malek—the serpent from the Garden of Eden in human form—brought her back.

She hasn’t been the same since. She can’t recall the details of her death. The missing memory haunts her.

When the supernatural creature who killed her hunts her down once again, Beth must face the mystery of her death head-on. If she can’t solve the puzzle of her hidden memory, she may lose something infinitely more valuable than her life.

If you enjoy mystical YA urban fantasy with an apocalyptic twist, you’ll love “Peculiar Magic.”

“Peculiar Magic” is a stand-alone story set in THE FAERY CHRONICLES series. For more FAERY CHRONICLES magic, visit leslieclairewalker.com.

Guest Author

“The Bridge to Fae Realm,” Ron Collins

Jonathan Hale is a delivery guy by day, and an underground music critic by night. He’s on his own and just getting his life back together when he runs across Micaela Alandari. She’s a kick-ass fae woman with an interesting bloodline that includes a half-brother mired in a losing war effort on the fae side of the tracks.

While Jon’s worried about keeping his job, Micaela’s got bigger problems for him to deal with. If he can’t get his act together, it could mean the end of civilization on both sides of the Bridge to Fae Realm.

Want More?

We do have a website and a newsletter, for the sole purpose of telling you when the next batch of stories is available. Check them out!

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“Dyrnwyn’s Fire” now available

New fantasy short story available!

“Dyrnwyn’s Fire”

Hitler seeks the magical Thirteen Treasures of Britain. Vivian, immortal lover of Merlin, faces the task of waking him from his bespelled slumber to guard the treasures—even though seeing him again breaks her heart.

According to legend, the sword Dyrnwyn, one the of the Treasures, blazes with fire when drawn. A weapon? A test of worthiness? Or an opportunity for Vivian to rid her heart of this cursed love once and for all?

“Dyrnwyn’s Fire” originally appeared in the collection Written on the Coast.

If you’d like to purchase a copy of this story, it’s available in ebook format from these fine establishments:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Omnilit | Smashwords | iBooks

And if you enjoyed this story, check out the other stories in Written on the Coast!

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February means story releases!

Let’s start the month off with a bang!

You already know about “Rhapsody in Blue,” my urban fantasy—with a twist of romance—as part of the Uncollected Anthology project.

clowns coverI’m also chuffed to announce my story, “Queen and Fool,” in Clowns: The Unlikely Coulrophobia Remix. Now, coulrophobia is a fear of clowns, so be warned, this anthology of flash fiction about clowns is…disturbing. And when I say “disturbing,” I mean that in the best possible way.

Interesting fact: I wrote this entire story on a plane. I can’t remember where or when (I could dig back into my journal and suss it out, but I have other stuff to do, like, you know, writing the next story/novel), but I remember writing it and thinking “This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever written. If anyone’s looking over my shoulder, well, it’s their own damn fault.”

Thankfully, the editors were open to that weirdness.

I hope you are, too.

Buy Clowns: The Unlikely Coulrophobia Remix:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Buy “Rhapsody in Blue”:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Omnilit | Smashwords | iBooks

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Uncollected Anthology, Issue 7: Happily Ever Afters

BugI love stories and books that mash several of my favorite genres together…which means I love urban fantasy that speaks to my mushy romantic self. This issue of Uncollected Anthology, Happily Ever Afters, satisfies my cravings very well!

What happens when magic and romance collide? Any number of things…but they can only be, in the end, wonderful…happily ever after.

We are delighted to have USA Today bestselling fantasy author Anthea Sharp as our guest author this quarter. Anthea’s work is just amazing, as is her fiddle playing and her infectious smile. Her story will tug at your heartstrings.

All the stories are listed below—happy reading!

“Rhapsody in Blue

Rhapsody cover 2x3Liza feels psychic vibrations from used clothing—which serves her well in her job as a Hollywood costumer. A stunning midnight-blue 1920s flapper dress tells her Shawn is The One, but in her experience, most actors are cads…and even the nice guys will break your heart in their quest for fame and fortune.

Therein lies the question: Run away screaming? Or trust the dress and go with the dress…and her heart?

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!

“After the Wedding,” Kristine Kathryn Rusch

When Keisha married Ruben, she planned the perfect wedding—and the perfect wedding cake. But when an uninvited guest ruins the reception, it unravels not only Keisha and Ruben’s perfect day, but everything about their relationship.

Keisha’s mother always said Keisha led a cursed life, but she never believed in magic. So, when an unexpected event brings Keisha and Ruben back together again, Keisha must make a choice: hold on to her beliefs or place her trust in Ruben once and for all.

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

“Lost Stars,” Leah Cutter

Wilson’s house is infested by pesky stars that dive-bomb him when he’s cooking or trying to relax.

Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. Possibly it’s only one star. And kinda friendly, at that.

But it keeps coming at him. Disrupting his orderly life. Distracting him while he’s cooking.

He just has to deal with it. Make it behave.

He never considers the possibility that maybe it’s a sign…

Set in the same world as “The Midnight Gardner.”

Guest Author

“Guinevere’s Guest,” Anthea Sharp

Guinevere Gaunt (Gwen to her friends) is one of the last humans to carry the blood of the old bards. Half-trained and barely making a living playing the Celtic harp, she can’t afford to turn down her latest wedding gig, even though it means returning to the Fae Realm. It doesn’t hurt that the hot elf lord offering her the job also promises to be her personal guard. Unfortunately for both of them, old enemies lurk in the shadows, and the upcoming fae wedding is the perfect place to set a trap…

—USA Today Bestselling Author of fantasy & romance

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. Check them out!

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Reasons why you should come to my booksigning

Reasons why you should come to my booksigning in Salem tomorrow.

  1. The book, Sparks, is an amazing anthology of Young Adult fiction by some phenomenal writers. I haven’t read all the stories yet, but the ones I have? They will blow you away.
  2. It’s not just my booksigning—four of the authors will be there. That’s a lot of bang for your buck (and signatures in your book)!
  3. Author signings are an exercise in humiliation (I have stories) (personal stories).* So your presence gives you two options: (a) lessen my humiliation or (b) stand in the corner and witness my humiliation and giggle. Your choice.
  4. The book is a limited edition pre-release available only at this signing! So you will get a collector’s item!
  5. Boooooks! So many books!
  6. Reading is sexy!
  7. There will be cookies.
  8. I will probably wear something more formal than a Styx T-shirt.
  9. I might even wear makeup.
  10. Support local bookstores! Wooh!
  11. Did I mention how wonderful and positive and empowering the stories in this book are?
  12. And that I’ll be signing with authors Leslie Claire Walker, Kim May, and Sharon Joss?
  13. Plus, cookies!

Reader’s Guide Bookstore
735 Edgewater St. NW, Salem
1-3 pm

*Like, the time the only person who talked to me was a homeless guy. Who was not interested in my book. Or the time I sold one whole book…to two people who were going to share it. (Don’t get me wrong: I’m very happy they bought my book and I’m very, very happy when someone reads my book by any means possible, including borrowing from a friend and libraries, because my ultimate goal is to share my work with others. It was just that this was a huge signing with hundreds of readers…) Or the time my books didn’t show up. (Okay, that wasn’t humiliating, just kinda sad.) Or…

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First holiday story of the year

Sometimes you get an idea for a story but you just can’t figure out how to execute it. The underlying idea in this women’s fiction/crime story has haunted me for years, but I only recently figured out whose story it was to tell. I hope you enjoy it.

Clap Your Hands webEsme Blaylock, missing her deployed husband, wants to be curled up in her warm home with her baby daughter on Christmas Eve. Instead she’s at an upstate New York prison, assigned to interview Jennifer Duschanes, who poisoned her own children one year ago.

Jennifer sees a kindred soul in new mother Esme, and for the first time, reveals why she committed her heinous crime.

The truth will change Esme forever.

Available in ebook format from these fine establishments:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | Omnilit | iBooks

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Uncollected Anthology, Issue 6: Enchanted Emporiums

BugIt’s time for another magical trip into the minds of the Uncollected Anthology authors! Check out our new cover design, by the immensely talented Allyson Longueira…it’s perfect.

This quarter, the theme is Enchanted Emporiums: magic shops of all types. From a Manhattan bodega run by a two-thousand-year-old djinn to a magic shop that can cure a Halloween hangover, this issue gives you places to spend your hard-earned money—urban fantasy style.

Rebecca Senese is our Guest Author this issue. I can’t wait to read her story about a magical coffee shop! (Aren’t all coffee shops kinda magical when you need that hit of caffeine?)

All the stories are listed below—happy reading!

“What You Wish For”

Dermatis WYWF cover smallWhy does a two-thousand-year-old djinn own a convenience store and spice shop in Manhattan?

The world has changed, for one thing, and Wadid isn’t proud of some of the things he’s done in the past. But really, he loves that he can help the magical community—and enhance the cooking skills and palates of some of his customers.

That’s all well and good until two gunmen burst through the front door and threaten him and one of his customers. Wadid breaks his personal code and uses his darkest ability to make them go away.

Not that it matters. Because the next person who walks through the door is the last person he would wish for.

“What You Wish For” is kind of a sequel to my story “These Chains,” which appeared in Uncollected Anthology, Issue 5: Magical Libraries.

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!

Lang-Fear cover small

“Fear’s Mirror,” Michele Lang

Viv Levy, owner of the Sacred Circle magic store in New York City, knows she runs a big risk in her job. All kinds of supernatural currents, including quite dangerous ones, run under, through and above the streets where regular people walk. And evil often seeks a place of power…

A mysterious stranger seeks Viv’s help in dealing with a sinister magic mirror, and another stranger arrives when all appears lost. But will Viv herself have the courage to look into Fear’s Mirror?

An urban fantasy short story set in the world of the Ms. Pendragon series!

Reed HangoverCover small

“All Hallows’ Hangover,” Annie Reed

Teddy woke up the day after Halloween with the mother of all hangovers. The kind that comes complete with wagging tail and a lack of opposable thumbs.

Tabby owns a magic shop that carries just what Teddy needs, but Tabby’s dealing with her own brand of post-holiday hangover. The last thing she wants in her life is another complication.

Even if this particular complication has the cutest grin and the most soulful brown eyes she’s ever seen.

Leslie Gods cover small

“When Gods Hunger,” Leslie Claire Walker

Beth embraces her new, immortal life and forever job as apprentice to Malek, the serpent from the Garden of Eden cursed into human form. Neither immortality nor her magical gig changes her essential curious, risk-taking nature. In fact, the power Malek passes to her opens the door to greater risk—and more disastrous consequences.

When she takes a short cut with her new magic, she finds herself in Hell—or a hell, anyway. She comes under the watchful gaze of a new enemy—a power of Biblical proportions whose unrivaled skill at temptation threatens to trap Beth forever. Finding a way out—a way home—becomes Beth’s priority number one, but there are more lives and souls at stake than her own.

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

Cutter SweetShopCover small

“The Sweet Shop,” Leah Cutter

Tong Yi waits for something to happen—for his brother to return from the war zone, for his boss to trust him again, for his magical training to be expanded.

Something. Anything.

Then powerful wizard Uncle Bei takes him to The Sweet Shop—a magic shop more special and strange than Tong Yi has ever imagined.

Tong Yi finally returns to the war zone as well, delivering a message to a client he’d never expected.

But he must now make a decision about the war, about his place in it, about his magical training.

And everything, everything, has a price.

“The Sweet Shop” is a sequel to “Dancing with Tong Yi” and “War on all Fronts,” both also available from Uncollected Anthology.

Guest Author

Senese TMB ebook cover small

“The Magic Bean,” Rebecca M. Senese

After a safe life, an inheritance affords George the chance to leap for his dream: his own coffee shop. He even finds the perfect spot: a small, rundown shop.

Soon George is planning and polishing. Every day the shop looks cleaner, feels newer. Flaws melt away.

But every night strange images haunt him and threaten his sanity.

Is George’s desire to run a coffee shop a dream or a nightmare?

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. Check them out!

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‘Tis the season to be haunting!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And this year I even found a black T-shirt with that quote and witches and pumpkins and bats, etc., in orange on it. I bought one for Morgana for her birthday, too, because she has always been my partner in crime to go wandering through Michaels and Halloween stories cooing over things and singing that very phrase.

Related to this, I saw Crimson Peak last week, a movie I’d been slavering to see ever since reports came out that it wasn’t a horror movie, but a gothic. I love me some gothic. I eat up gothic novels with a spoon. I can’t stop thinking about Crimson Peak, and I’ll write something up about it soon-ish. I mostly loved it, but the wrong parts were wrong, and I want to see it again just to watch one particular arc because I wasn’t paying attention to it the first time ’round. When I told Ken I wanted to see it again, he said “For the setting?” and yes, I want to drool all over the costumes (which were, from what I’ve read, more period than I realized) and the houses, especially that house.

Because of the workshop I just came home from (see my last blog post), I’m behind in mentioning, pursuant to the season, I have several novels and short stories you might be interested in.

Although not as historically gothy as, say, Crimson Peak, What Beck’ning Ghost (romance) and Waking the Witch (mystery/women’s fiction) have old houses and ghosts and spookiness. Plus, What Beck’ning Ghost culminates in an All Hallow’s Eve ball, and Waking the Witch takes place in autumn, so they’re doubly season-appropriate.

WBG cover ebookTouch not the cat bot a glove…

The MacPherson family crest above the door gives Rachael de Young, genealogist and psychic, an unexpected chill. She doesn’t know that by crossing the threshold, her life will change forever. Because the MacPhersons are a family cursed by jealousy, betrayal, and fire….

Rachael grows closer to the truth even as she grows closer to the ghost of Jordan MacPherson, who died in the tragic fire…and could very well be the person sabotaging her research. But she must trust Jordan’s love in order to find the strength to face her own fears, break her one cardinal rule, and stop a madman before he can kill again.

wtw cover ebookWhat happens when four boys confess to the murder of a woman who died a hundred years ago…?

The violent encounter Rowan Everly survived in college jolted awake her psychic power to see past images while holding a related object. At the behest of a friend, she comes to the privileged prep school town of Millburn, New York, to investigate the current rape and murder, and hopefully clear her friend’s son’s name.

Rowan’s not sure she’s up to the task. Her deeply ingrained mistrust of men makes her question where her loyalties lie. The deeper she investigates, the less anything makes sense. The boys seem truly horrified by what happened—almost as if they hadn’t had control over it.

Her initial encounter with sheriff Toby Candusco isn’t pleasant for either of them. But his calm support of her, and his unwavering desire to see justice done, gives her the strength to not only face her fears, but to reexamine the core beliefs that shape who she is.

Only then can she face and destroy the real menace…and save everyone around her.

Short Fiction

My short-short contemporary fantasy story “The Pumpkin-Carving Contest” is in my collection Small Wonders: A Delightful Collection of Ten Short-Short Speculative Fiction Stories (it was originally published in Crossed Genres magazine).

Speaking of contemporary fantasy stories, how about the inconvenient haunting by “Some Old Lover’s Ghost”?

I’ve written a trifecta of stories about the Devil…all of which are funny:

Or if the spicier side of my writing is more to your bent, may I recommend “The Witch of Venice” by Andrea Dale. It includes a drink recipe…indulge and enjoy!

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