Leigh Saunders

The season of spring ushers in a time of rebirth; new life comes forth, trees emerge from their winter slumber and the cycle of nature begins again. Plans unfold, new adventures commence and the past is washed clean. At least . . . that’s the theory behind the Spring Surprise collection.

In this mixed-genre bundle, tales of hope, fresh beginnings and emerging dreams, dangerous new lives and daring schemes awaken the springtime in us all – and includes my story, Mother of the Waters.

In the spring of 1810, the death of his father – and discovery of an unknown uncle – sends fifteen year-old Samuel Harlowe from his simple life in England across the sea on a journey filled with dangers and wonders he never imagined.

And when a kraken attacks his ship, Samuel must choose to whether to let his crewmates perish in the watery depths, or to pay the price demanded by the Caribbean goddess, Mami Wata, the Mother of the Waters.

Drum Roll, please…!

Mirages & Speculations finished in TOP TEN ANTHOLOGIES list of the 2017 Preditors & Editors Reader’s Poll – landing solidly in FOURTH Place!

I am so very proud to have my own story – Spaceman Sid & the Tentacles of Peace – in this great collection!

Like a delightful gift that keeps on giving, One Magical Christmas is back again, this time part of the Christmas Tales collection.

Nick wants to plan a festive Christmas surprise for his girlfriend, Emily. Easy enough, right?

Wrong!

Finding a street vendor in Manhattan with a nice tree on the last Friday before Christmas – a huge challenge. And the tree he does find comes with some surprises of its own.

Have a happy holiday, and pick up a copy of Christmas Tales from your favorite online retailer.

I’m delighted to announce my latest release – a fun, pulp-fiction style short which is included in Mirages and Speculations, a collection of desert-themed fantasy and science fiction.

Over-the-top heroes and improbable adventures are at the core of the pulp fiction novels, action comics, and Saturday afternoon creature-features I grew up with. So when a red-rock, alien landscape on the cover of a favorite comic book caught my eye, I let my imagination wander, and my own inner fiveyear-old out to play.

Spaceman Sid and the Tentacles of Peace is an homage to the ‘Spaceman Spiff’ cartoon character from Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes comics. I hope you have fun with it!

Mirages and Speculations is distributed through BundleRabbit, and is available in print and ebook formats from your favorite online retailers: www.Books2Read.com/Mirages

I am delighted to announce that my short story, The Last First Time, is the Second Place winner in the 2017 Bethlehem Writers Roundtable Short Story competition!

I wrote this charming story during a Short Story Intensive workshop led by my good friend, Mary Robinette Kowal (who you may also know as one of the hosts of the Writing Excuses podcast), and am pleased to share it with you now. You can read it free of charge on the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable website.

Enjoy!

When I was invited to write a story for the Beneath the Waves collection, I knew that I didn’t want to write about the same sea-creatures everyone else would be writing about. Instead, I let my mind drift back to a vacation in the Caribbean a few years ago, and let my search through myths and legends lead me to the warm waters – with results I hope you’ll enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing!

In the spring of 1810, the death of his father – and discovery of an unknown uncle – sends fifteen year-old Samuel Harlowe from his simple life in England across the sea on a journey filled with dangers and wonders he never imagined.

And when a kraken attacks his ship, Samuel must choose to whether to let his crewmates perish in the watery depths, or to pay the price demanded by the Caribbean goddess, Mami Wata, the Mother of the Waters.

Available as part of the Beneath the Waves bundle, on BundleRabbit, or from your favorite ebook distributor (Kobo, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iBooks).

Around my house, we usually hold off on the holiday decorations until (much too late in) December, but since I just *happen* to have a story in this great holiday collection, I thought I’d break with tradition and share it with you now!

The short story, One Magical Christmas, is part of The Very Merry Christmas Bundle, a collection of twenty holiday-themed short stories.

Nick wants to plan a festive Christmas surprise for his girlfriend, Emily. Easy enough, right?

Wrong!

Finding a street vendor in Manhattan with a nice tree on the last Friday before Christmas – a huge challenge. And the tree he does find comes with some surprises of its own.

Available as part of the Very Merry Christmas bundle, on BundleRabbit, or from your favorite ebook distributor (Kobo, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or iBooks).

I’m not a huge fans of apocalypse stories – but when the opportunity presented itself to write a story for the Fiction River anthology, Visions of the Apocalypse, edited by John Helfers, I accepted the challenge,  and The Night of Brahma was the result.

People have been predicting the end of the world almost since the beginning, with speculations about the actual nature of mankind’s demise varying widely across the board. This led me to ask, ‘what if they’re all right?’– and as soon as the question formed in my mind, the structure for the story appeared, as if the universe itself had struggled with the same question, and we’d both suddenly discovered the answer.

Working with John was an amazing, educational experience. I am very proud of The Night of Brahma, and hope you like it, too!

 — Leigh

If you missed my short story, Paper Craft, when it came out in the Ragnarok anthology, That Hoodoo, Voodoo That You Do, I’m happy to announce that it’s making a second appearance as a “QuickFic” selection on DigitalFictionPub.com

I also have to brag a little, and post this review quote:

“…Paper Craft by Leigh Saunders, was a perfect way to round up the anthology. I loved the way the story was structured, alternating between the past and present, and thought the ritualistic element was fascinating.

I also couldn’t help but instantly like the main heroine, Tracy. She’s not a witch, or a sorceress, or a Voodoo Queen. No, she’s a woman using her extraordinary gift to help those around her. The final image of the story was beautiful and magnificently described, and will no doubt stay with you for a long, long time…” 

– S. R. Manev, Amazon reviewer

Browse on over to Digital Fiction Pub – and you can read Paper Craft and a whole lot of other great, short fiction – absolutely free!

Can’t beat that!

And if you’re looking for a collection of short reads to curl up with by the fire, be sure to check out Quickfic Anthology 1 – a collection of 44 short-short science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories, which also includes Paper Craft.

Happy reading!

I got into Steampunk because of the cool costumes and nifty gadgets – and then started reading about the amazing worlds they “came” from. So when I had the opportunity to write an original Steampunk short story for the WMG Fiction River anthology “Alchemy & Steam” (edited by the fabulous Kerrie L. Hughes), I couldn’t resist!

My story, “Heaven’s Flight” adds just a drop or two of magic to a world where gears and clockworks rule the day – and introduces some characters I guarantee you I’ll be writing more stories about.

ISBN 978-1-56146-627-6
ebook, $6.99
Trade paperback, $15.99

Available wherever you like to buy books!