Category Archives: Fantasy/SF

Sorcery, steampunk, ghosts, and magic

By Bundle, Dayle A. Dermatis, Fantasy/SF, Novels, Soul's Road Press

My new urban fantasy novel Ghosted is not yet available in stores, but it is available in this amazing bundle! I’m overwhelmed to be included in a bundle with these incredible authors.

Here’s the deal: You pay how much you want for the first four books. If you pay $15 or more, you get a bonus of six more books, including mine. That’s a steal.

You can also choose how much goes to the authors and how much to a wonderful charity, AbleGamers.

From Curator Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Sorcery. Steam. Ghosts. A touch of romance. Mythic creatures. Some truly violent bad guys. And one little black cat.

We have everything in this bundle that a fantasy reader could want.

Including magic.

We have magic in all forms, from the magic that gods use when they come to Earth to magic that a familiar inspires when she helps a man with limited ability keep his spells fresh. We have vampires and werewolves. We have parasols and tea and lovely chocolates. We have FBI agents facing killers and assassins who can kill with a blink.

A fantastic story for every mood, and steampunk. Not enough to call this a steampunk bundle, but enough that we could add “steam” to our subtitle. (We can also add “steam” for another reason. One or two of these books have steamy scenes, that have nothing to do with engines and everything to do with heat between humans.)

We also have new releases in this bundle. Usually writers contribute the first books in a series or a book that fits the theme but has been published for a long time. Four writers—Dayle A. Dermatis, Catherine Banks, Michelle Fox, and me—decided to put their most recent book in the bundle. In fact, Catherine and Michelle have contributed books exclusive to StoryBundle. You can’t get those books anywhere else!

(Note: This bundle offer ends on March 15, so you have a limited time to grab it.)

The Books and Authors

  • Alchemy and Steam (anthology)
  • Blood and Magic, Ann Gimpel
  • Poison or Protect, Gail Carriger
  • Familiarity, Kristine Kathryn Rusch
  • Rare Stakes, Michelle Fox
  • For Love or Vengeance, Caridad Pineiro
  • Ghosted, Dayle A. Dermatis
  • Specters in the Storm, Pauline Baird Jones
  • Valkyrie’s Vengeance & Hunger Moon (Ragnarok: Doom of the Gods 1-2), Melissa Snark
  • Alys of Asgard, Catherine Banks

How do you get your mitts on all these ebooks. Click right here to go directly to the bundle’s page!

About Ghosted

After former party girl Nikki Ashburne accidentally overdoses and briefly died, she wakes up able to see ghosts.

A good thing, because she lost all her other friends in the process. Now she runs ghosts tours of Los Angeles with her spirit-friends’ help.

So when someone starts exorcising the ghosts of Hollywood, Nikki scrambles to find the perpetrator before her livelihood—and her only friends—vanish forever.

Come for the ghosts. Stay for the snark.

Just keep your mitts off Nikki’s friends.

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

Let’s take a ghostly Ghosted tour!

By Dayle A. Dermatis, Fantasy/SF, Novels, Soul's Road Press

I thought it would be fun to pull together some information about a few of the locations in Ghosted. Enjoy!

Views of tombs in Hollywood Memorial Park in Los Angeles.

Hollywood Forever Cemetery

I love old cemeteries, and even though the Hollywood Forever isn’t the moss-encroached, ancient graveyards of Britain (where I’ve spent much happy times wandering about), it’s got a rich history and is wonderfully quirky. Not to mention being one of the most iconic cemeteries in the world, with a star-studded cast of permanent residents.

I mean, I’m writing a series about a woman who sees ghosts, and where are ghosts but at a cemetery? Except, maybe not in the way you think. Aaron Schwabach, for example. He’s not nearly famous enough to be buried there…

Los Altos Hotel

Fans of Buffy and Angel will recognize this as Angel’s Hyperion Hotel, which was featured in many episodes. I’ve never been inside (it’s an apartment building now), but there’s a wonderful courtyard just outside the front door, with a rectangular fountain that’s featured in the book.

Built in 1925, it was the home to many famous people of the time. It fell into disrepair, then was revived in the 1980s. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993. A place with a history like that just has to be haunted, doesn’t it? With ghosts from various decades? That’s why it became my model for the Ballington Hotel in Ghosted.

Roosevelt Hotel

The Roosevelt Hotel is one of the surviving Art Deco hotels in Los Angeles, and although it’s not much to look at from the outside, the interior is gorgeous, especially the Spanish Colonial-style lobby. I’ve attended a couple of shows in the Cinegrill bar, where part of The Fabulous Baker Boys was filmed. You know, that scene with Michelle Pfeiffer on the piano.

Allegedly, the ghost of Marilyn Monroe haunts the Roosevelt. Or is it Marilyn…? You’ll have to read Ghosted to find out what my answer is.

Santa Monica Pier

When I lived in Southern California, the best route to LAX from home was down PCH—Pacific Coast Highway, aka Highway 1. It’s an amazingly gorgeous drive, and one I’ve spotted in commercials and TV shows. Once, was delayed because they were filming something along the stretch near Mugu Rock in Ventura County. Speaking of Mugu Rock, I can’t remember which Iron Man movie it was in, but Tony Stark leaves his mansion in Malibu intending to head into LA, and then we see him blasting north past Mugu Rock. I fell out of my seat in the theater laughing. Um, no…that’s a hell of a useless detour!

Anyway. Driving to LAX, it was always a thrill to see the Santa Monica Pier, which has been featured in movies, TV shows, music videos…. In Ghosted, Nikki rides the iconic roller coaster. Ever wonder why there’s always one seat nobody sits in? Nikki knows.

I lived in Southern California for about 20 years, and other sites in Ghosted (and Nikki short stories, and future books) are ones I’ve visited, wandered about in, and experienced. If you have questions about other places in the book, let me know!

Aaaand remember, if you haven’t picked up the Sorcery & Steam bundle that contains Ghosted, it’s around only until March 15. $15 for 10 books, including two exclusive to the bundle. I’m overwhelmed to be in the company of these authors!

(Photo sources: Hollywood Forever, © Alessandro Campagnolo | Bigstock; Los Altos Hotel, Wikimedia Commons; Roosevelt Hotel, Jason Chang via Wikimedia Commons; Santa Monica Pier, Evasion Photography via Wikimedia Commons)

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

Uncollected Anthology: Heart’s Desires

By Dayle A. Dermatis, Fantasy/SF, Short Stories, Soul's Road Press, Uncollected Anthology

Heart’s Desires, the latest issue of Uncollected Anthology, is available now!

Discover how a vampire learns to love baseball, how a heart transplant starts some odd conversations, the perils of an ill-fated love spell, finding the perfect footwear, and learning to control awakening power.

Explore your heart’s desire.

Stake Me Out to the Ball Game – Guest Author Mindy Klasky
The Perfect Shoes – Leah R. Cutter
Heart Talk – Rebecca M. Senese
Love Flu – Dayle A. Dermatis
Real Girl – Leslie Claire Walker

 

Here are the deets on my story, “Love Flu“:

Isa juggles being a nanny to tween Gretchen, studying for her MBA, and honing her magical cooking skills. Time for romance? Hah!

Then Gretchen casts an ill-advised love spell, and Isa’s world gets turned upside down.

In ways nobody—including Isa, Gretchen, and Gretchen’s divorced parents—expects.

Sounds like everybody’s going to be in need of Isa’s special hot fudge sauce…

Remember, you can sign up for the Uncollected Anthology newsletter and get the full story descriptions and links well before I get around to sending them!

A bundle of bundles for your summer binge-reading pleasure!

By Bundle, Dayle A. Dermatis, Fantasy/SF, Short Stories

It’s summer, and when you’re lounging by the pool or on the beach, or hiding inside in blessed air conditioned comfort (because the sun, it burns, my precious), what do you want to do? Read!

Read all the things!

And now, if you’re a fan of fantasy and science fiction, you can!

StoryBundle’s latest offer is a bundle of bundles. Mmm hmm, you read that right. In total, you get 19 novels and 7 anthologies (I’m not counting up all the short stories in those anthologies), for the low low price of $15. That’s less than a dollar per book. With all that savings, think how many mocha frappacinos you can enjoy.

With the novels, you get the first three to four books in a series, for your binge-reading pleasure. These’ll last you all summer long—or a couple weeks, depending on how fast you read. 😉

There’s rousing space opera, light and funny romantic fantasy, gaming fantasy, Western time travel, and so much more.

I’m delighted to have stories in several of the anthology bundles, including Uncollected Anthology: Year 1 and The Faerie Summer Bundle. There’s also the Fantasy Bundle from Fiction River, and I know I have stories in a couple of those anthologies, too. Holy moly!

The list:

• The Digital Sea Complete Box Set by Thomas K. Carpenter
• Uncollected Anthology: Year 1 by Uncollected Anthology
• The Fates Trilogy by Kristine Grayson
• The Faerie Summer Bundle by Jamie Ferguson
• The Washington Witches Series, Volumes 1-3 by Mindy Klasky
• The Diving Series Starter Bundle by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
• Fantasy Bundle by Fiction River
• The Thunder Mountain Starter Bundle by Dean Wesley Smith
• The Science Officer Omnibus 1 – Volumes 1-4 by Blaze Ward
• Feyguard Books 1-3 by Anthea Sharp

This crammed-full-of-ebooks package is available only until August 9, so binge while the binging is hot (and so is the sun).

As a bonus, you can choose how much money you want to give to the attached charity, AbleGamers, which tailors game equipment and systems to help disabled gamers join the large online community of gaming, providing social outlets and entertainment for folks who usually struggle to participate.

Seriously, what’s not to love? You can get more info and buy it at StoryBundle to read on your favorite device, by the pool or hiding from the evil sun.

 

Two fantasy stories and a romance (and a cherry on top!)

By Dayle A. Dermatis, Fantasy/SF, Fiction River, Romance, Short Stories

I’ve been remiss in announcing some new publications, so here are three—two fantasy stories and one romance story—for your reading pleasure.

Still-Waking Sleep by Dayle A. Dermatis
literary alchemical fantasy short story

Fiction River’s latest anthology contains my story “Still-Waking Sleep,” which is one of the more unusual stories I’ve written. The editor of the volume said I created a new subgenre: literary alchchemical fantasy. Okay, I’ll take that!

Tangent Online reviewed the issue and said of “Still-Waking Sleep,”

“Dermatis has a love of lush language…that fits well into the story.”

(I recommend you read the issue before you read the review, because it contains some minor spoilers.)

Here’s what the issue is all about:

Humans prove great fodder for fiction. But what about the universe of possibilities offered by the nonhuman protagonist? The eighteen daring humans of Fiction River’s latest volume explore just that. From a goblin who must choose whether to risk everything for love to a heroic rat adventuring at sea to sentient underpants (yes, underpants), these nonhuman tales demonstrate why Adventures Fantastic says: “If you haven’t checked out Fiction River yet, you should. There’s something for everyone.”

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks
and in print: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

You can also check out the book’s product page here and learn more about the entire Fiction River series.

Girls That Glitter by Dayle A. Dermatis
urban fantasy short story

Fans of my Nikki Ashburne/Ghosted series, rejoice! For here is a new Nikki story. It has drag queens in it. It has a search for missing paperwork. And it’s my homage and fond farewell to the Sunset Strip House of Blues.

Here’s what the issue is all about:

Think you know a tavern tale when you hear one? Think again. The seventeen stories in this volume run the gamut of genre and mood. Bars filled with glitter and ghosts stand alongside taverns filled with orcs and adventurers. Exclusive members-only drinks served at the end of the universe war with coffee bars with strange employee policies in the Pacific Northwest. Dive bars, afterlife bars, gay bars—you name it, and you’ll find it in Tavern Tales. So, grab a drink and get ready for one of the most entertaining Fiction River volumes yet.

I love every story in this issue.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks
and in print: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The book’s product page
More about the entire Fiction River series

Leave a Candle Burning by Dayle A. Dermatis
romance short story

The second issue of Heart’s Kiss is out now, with my story “Leave a Candle Burning.” Hurrah!

About my story:

Claudia lives a vagabond life, crisscrossing the country doing research for a reality show about American myths and legends. Christmas finds her in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, at a small hotel allegedly haunted by the Lady in White, who leaves a candle burning for her husband, lost in the snow.

The ghost might not be real, but Claudia’s attraction to the mysterious Reese, who once lived in the Victorian house, definitely is. Will he be what it takes for Claudia to change her wandering ways?

You can buy the issue on Amazon or Barnes & Noble in ebook or print form, from Kobo in ebook, or purchase directly from the website. You can also subscribe to the magazine, which might not be a bad idea, because I have a story in issue #3 coming up, too…!

emagazine: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo
print: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Heart’s Kiss website

If you’d like to get this sort of information—and more!—directly in your In Box each month, you can sign up for my newsletter. The May newsletter has publication news about three additional new stories plus an upcoming novel! BONUS: you get a free short story every month! What are you waiting for? Subscribe today!

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

Heaven Has Eyes

By Dayle A. Dermatis, Fantasy/SF, Short Stories, Soul's Road Press, Young Adult

Cassie suffers from a chronic disease and hides her sexuality from her family.

Feeling alone and adrift in her new home in Southern California, she turns to crafting little white lies—and maybe little white spells.

But when her only friend disappears, Cassie discovers a deeper magic than she ever thought existed…and must choose whether to come clean once and for all.

Especially to herself.

“Heaven Has Eyes” combines myth and reality in a touching YA short story.

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

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

The Faerie Summer Bundle

By Bundle, Dayle A. Dermatis, Fantasy/SF, Short Stories

The Faerie Summer Bundle
20 faerie stories

The summer sun bathes the earth in warmth and light
Faeries dance under the moon at night.
Cross through the portal into a land ancient, beautiful, and wild.
See the wonders that enticed the stolen child.
Come away, O reader! To the Realm of Faerie.
But if you want to make it back home, you had better be wary…

This collection includes twenty tales of faeries and magic set in our world – and in others.

THE FLAT ABOVE THE WYND by Alexandra Brandt
SILVER DUST by Leslie Claire Walker
UNICORN MAGIC by Roz Marshall
BENEATH THE KNOWE by Anthea Sharp
LEXIE’S CHOICE by Deb Logan
FLOWER FAIRIES by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
PAULALEENA by Leah Cutter
ROLO THE GREAT by Annie Reed
THE FAKE PATH TO TRUE MEMORY by Brigid Collins
PROOF OF DEVOTION by Dayle A. Dermatis
BY DAWN’S BLOODY LIGHT by DeAnna Knippling
ONDINE by Brenda Carre
SNAP A TRAP, INC. by Louisa Swann
THE FAERY’S CHOICE by Jamie Ferguson
THE QUEEN OF MAY by Linda Jordan
SKYWALKERS by Marcelle Dubé
STORMRIDER AND THE LADY OF SOUL by Karen L. Abrahamson
THE BODY PLOT by Rebecca M. Senese
THE WISHING RING OF OLD QUEEN MAAB by Steve Vernon
HAWTHORN & WILLOW by T. Thorn Coyle

Buy it at any of these fine establishments:

Living With the Past

By Dayle A. Dermatis, Fantasy/SF, Short Stories, Soul's Road Press,

Former Hollywood party girl Nikki Ashburne sees ghosts—in fact, many of them are her friends. Okay, they’re kind of her only friends. Most ghosts stick around because they’re happy here and have no desire to move on…but sometimes, they need help.

Like when a decades-dead Marilyn Monroe impersonator wants Nikki to find her granddaughter. In Los Angeles.

Yeah. That’ll be easy.

Another story in the Ghosted urban fantasy series featuring Nikki Ashburne, “Living With the Past” originally appeared in Fantastic Detectives (Fiction River, 2014).

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

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

Haunted Bundle is 30% off!

By Bundle, Dayle A. Dermatis, Fantasy/SF, Short Stories

Sorry to keep flinging news at ya’ll, but I’m not responsible for all these deals and deadlines. I’m not complaining about them, mind you—I just didn’t choose to have them hit all at once!

The Haunted Bundle is currently part of a promotion at Kobo Books, where you can get it for 30% off by using the code 30BOX when you check out.

It’s normally $3.99 for 20 short stories, which is dead cheap already, and 30% off is…uh, math. Cheaper. An even better deal. A steal!

But you only have until Monday, February 27, to get the deal, so gogogo!

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

Run away with the Escapist Bundle!

By Bundle, Dayle A. Dermatis, Fantasy/SF, Mystery/Thriller, Novels, Soul's Road Press,

I feel like a kind of lame writer right now because I’m running out of ways to say I’m delighted, happy, chuffed, squeeing, running around the house without pants on flailing my hands about some piece of good news.

I am all of those things over the fact that I’ve been invited into to participate in Storybundle’s Escapist Bundle.

This bundle is based around the Fiction River anthology Recycled Pulp. The stories in the anthology (which is included in the bundle) were all inspired by pulp-like titles, but none of the stories are pulp. They run the gamut of genres, and they’re all unusual and a great read.

The authors in the anthology were asked to include a longer work of fiction that related to our short story. That was tough for me, because my story, “The Imperfect Otter Empire,” is a odd but touching story about a woman watching the otters at the Santa Barbara Zoo (and then Stuff Happens). I don’t have any novels quite like that.

So I suggested Waking the Witch, a gothic mystery with a hint of romance, and the bundle coordinator was on board with that. I think it makes sense. You tell me after you’ve read the story and the novel, okay?

Of the novels and collections in the bundle, I’ve read a few, and they’re marvelous. I’ve read at least something by every author in the bundle, and I’ve loved their work, so I’m pretty confident it’s all wonderful.

This bundle is available for only three weeks, so hop on board now, while you can. You can get any ebook format, worldwide.

For a mere $5 (less than $1/book), you get…

  • Waking the Witch
  • Recycled Pulp
  • Isabel’s Tears by Lisa Silverthorne, a novel about a magical inn
  • The Pale Waters by Kelly Washington, the first novella in a four-part epic journey
  • Hot Waters by Erica Lyon, a steamy sea adventure novel

For $14, you get a bunch of bonus reading material:

  • Rebecca Senese’s ten-story science fiction collection Tales of Possibilities
  • Thomas K. Carpenter’s Revolutionary Magic, a historical fantasy and the first in the Dashkova Memoirs
  • Annie Reed’s A Death in Cumberland, a moody police procedural
  • Nebula Award finalist Cat Rambo’s Neither Here Nor There, a double collection of alt-world and real world fantasy stories
  • New York Times bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s The War and After, five historical fantasy stories of magic and revenge
  • USA Today bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith’s The Slots of Saturn, the origin story for his fan-favorite superhero Poker Boy.

You can pay more, of course, if you think 20 novels/novellas/collections are worth more than $14 (seriously, just round it up to $20, why don’tcha?)—and you can choose how much of that gets donated to the charity SMART (Start Making a Reader Today), which promotes the love of reading for children in Oregon. That is a charity I can get behind one hundred percent.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to run around the house without pants on flailing my hands, then curl up and read some seriously good fiction. I hope you do, too. The reading seriously good fiction in the bundle part. But feel free to run around the house without pants on flailing your hands too.

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