tap-tap… Does this thing work?

While updating the site recently, I appear to have crossed a wire somewhere causing some links to go nowhere and most of the images to fail to load.

Thanks for your patience while we sort out these technical difficulties!

– Leigh

Daughters of the Wind is live!

Daughters of the Wind - coverBloodline Chronicles: Progenitors: Volume 2

Janek, Grand Vizir of Kushar, has done the unthinkable, kidnapping the last known weather witches – the twin daughters of the Gerlachi king – in an effort to claim the gift of their bloodline magic for the Kushari people.

But rumors of weather witches in Kushar are spreading, sending Zoya, spymaster of Tzigane, on a quest to learn if they are, in fact, her queen’s missing sisters.

At the same time, the twins, chafing at the gilded cage of their long confinement, have demands of their own – demands which may disrupt Janek’s carefully orchestrated plans, thwart Zoya’s rescue efforts, and shatter centuries of fragile peace between their three countries.

Daughters of the Wind – volume 2 of the Progenitors trilogy
Available in print and ebook
from your favorite online retailers:
https://books2read.com/DaughtersOfTheWind

 

Virtual Oracle in “Pulphouse #12”

I am extremely proud to announce the publication of my short story, Virtual Oracle in Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, Issue #12. There’s a touch of other-worldliness in this one that borders on magic realism/mysticism. I hope you enjoy it!

Elizabeth had no idea that crashing the cocktail party would ultimately send her entire world tumbling down around her.

 

Available in both print / ebook from your favorite online retailers:
https://books2read.com/u/4AOVMN

Queen of Sand and Stone

Queen of Sand and StoneBloodline Chronicles: Progenitors: Volume 1

For centuries, the weather witches have ruled Nizam, protecting the oasis city from the devastating sandstorms that threaten its existence.

But the aging queen is dying, and Yolara, the heir to the throne, does not possess the gift of weather magic found only in her family line. Hers is the power over stone, the ability to command the shifting sands – but not the winds that drive them across the desert.

Will those who question Yolara’s right to rule be proven correct? Or can Yolara find a way to defend the city that does not rely on weather magic? Time is short, for the storm season is upon them, and the next storm could reach the city any day…

Available in print and ebook
from your favorite online retailers.
https://books2read.com/QueenOfSandAndStone

+-+-+-+

Silver Linings in “Obsessions”

ObsessionsWhen you start tossing ideas around, you never really know which ones are going to stick together in ways that make you tilt your head sideways, start to smile, and know you have to see where it takes you. So when the words the words “workaholic” and “ghost” stuck to my whiteboard, I knew I had to play with the idea.

I’m glad I did. Because while the ghost of Harold Oglethorpe never got that last in-flight cookie, his story, Silver Linings, did find a home in Mark Leslie’s wonderful anthology, Obsessions.

It’s a fun, quirky story, that I enjoyed writing. And, as editor Mark Leslie said in his introduction, “Like Mattie’s unfortunate workaholic colleague, I’m sure this tale will linger in the air long after you finish it.”

You can get your own copy of Obsessions from your favorite online retailer.

Burning Bright reprinted

Year of the Cat #4 - A Cat of Strange LandsIf you missed Burning Bright when it was first printed in Cat Ladies of the Apocalypse, here’s another place where you can find it. Year of the Cat #4 – A Cat of Strange Lands collects nine wonderful stories about cats in all sorts of different times and places.

From the book description:

Cats roam everywhere on the planet. Everywhere. Their breed names often betray their place of origin—or their strange origin story in some now-lost land.

This collection honors that feline diversity in odd ways as much as possible. And the strange lands that cats not only originate from, but find themselves in.

These cats prowl in a witch’s hut, an enchanted shop, post-apocalyptic cities such as Las Vegas and Seattle, as well as across an ancient land where they once ruled as gods.

You can pick up Year of the Cat #4 – A Cat of Strange Lands in print or ebook from your favorite online retailer.

Purr-fect!

The Door to Nowhere in Fiction River: Doorways to Enchantment

Fiction River: Doorways to EnchantmentIn another life, I had dreams of becoming an architect. So it would stand to reason that a trip to Southern California would naturally include a visit to the Winchester Mystery House. And, because it’s just the way I think, the first (and best) idea I had for the theme “Doorways to Enchantment” was of the mansion’s (in)famous “door to nowhere.”

From the editor’s introduction to the story:

The Winchester Mystery House is a gorgeous, weird, creepy, wonderful place. Heir to the Winchester rifle fortune, Sarah Winchester believed the only way to quiet the ghostly voices of the people killed by that rifle was to keep building on her house. To that end, there are doorways that lead nowhere, staircases that dead-end, and other disorienting features. It’s spectacular—if you’re ever in San Jose, California, go. You won’t be disappointed.
You won’t be disappointed by this story, either…

Combining my own architectural doodling, a review of the commonly-known history behind the house, and a magical story theme, led me through that otherwise unusable door and into Sarah Winchester’s secret life.

I hope you enjoy The Door to Nowhere, along with the many other wonderful stories in Fiction River: Doorways to Enchantment.

Burning Bright in “Cat Ladies of the Apocalypse”

Cat Ladies of the Apocalypse coverWith a name like Cat Ladies of the Apocalypse, how could I not have submitted a story for this anthology? And I am delighted to announce that my story, Burning Bright, made the cut.

Since I was a child, my cats-of-choice have always been of the ‘higher than us on the food chain’ variety. So when I sat down to write this story, my thoughts naturally gravitated to big cats. But the simple logistics of feeding an apex predator when you can barely feed yourself was an issue I couldn’t ignore. Inspired by my own ‘mini’ Maine Coon, Allie, who was the runt of her litter but still quite capable of (and willing to) take on the big boys, I shifted my focus to a posse of mousers in a farming community – and a small cat with a truly big heart.

Cat Ladies of the Apocalypse is a fun anthology and I’m proud to be part of it.

Available in print or ebook from your favorite online retailers.

Tendrils reprinted!

If you didn’t read Tendrils when it was first printed in Fiction River: Hard Choices, here’s another place where you can find it. Fiction River Presents: Space Travelers collects a handful of stories from previous Fiction River anthologies, all centered around space travel.

From the book description:

From little rovers exploring the planets where humans cannot yet go, to human explorers flung into realms of space/time beyond their knowledge and experience, to aliens who drop in for a visit to Earth for purposes only they can fathom—these travelers entertain, sometimes terrify, and always fascinate.

You can pick up Fiction River Presents: Space Travelers in print or ebook from your favorite online retailer.

Enjoy!

Where All Memories are One in “Alien Days” anthology

Alien Days coverThere is a scene fairly early in Memoirs of a Synth: Gold Record where Brianna uses the sticky label from a beer bottle to preserve the memory molecules given to her by Y’reui, an aged Callibrini Queen. The story in those molecules is never revealed in the novel – it has no bearing on the events of Brianna and Jerrold’s first adventure – but the Alien Days anthology gave me a perfect opportunity to share the tale.

Told entirely from Y’reui’s chemical-memory point(s) of view, Where All Memories are One recalls the events of Brianna’s first encounter with the insectoid Callibrini – and the disastrous results of that meeting.

This was a difficult story to write, not only because the events themselves were so very painful, but also because of the sheer challenge of trying to present the thoughts and multiple points of view of the insectoid characters in a way that we mere humans could wrap our heads around.

I hope you enjoy it.