An anthology in the works!

I am re-opening this blog with a request for help combined with a bit of self-promotion. Don't worry, I plan to be around for more of my usual wit and charm as well.

The Pitch:
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I am doing a fundraiser for my family. And, in an effort to avoid the fees associated with sites like GoFundMe and the like, I am handling it all myself.

However, this won’t just be me panhandling. This will be me selling my creations. As many of you know, I like to write fantasy stories. For a long time I had had many up on Amazon Kindle. But, those sales petered out pretty rapidly, and honestly weren’t very strong to begin with. So, I unpublished them and have been trying to find a home for them. Unfortunately, the market for “reprints” (which is what they are, since they were previously published) is pretty lean, and never pays well.

I have mentioned doing this before, but I find the situation is calling for some urgency. To that end, I am in the process of putting all of my stories together, along with a few new, unpublished stories, into an anthology. Right now, the initial plan will be to offer it electronically. There will be two options, PDF and .mobi (the format read by Kindle). I may find others that I can do and offer those as well. I will also be looking into POD versions through Lulu (or someplace else, if anyone has suggestions).

Right now, the work is about 80% done. Each story will have a brief introduction discussing the background of the story’s writing, what inspired and motivated me, and where the idea came from. Additionally, they will all be put through a quick editorial review, combing out any snarls and fixing any errors, and maybe adding a bit of clarification if necessary. And lastly I will put together some artwork for the cover and maybe some interior illustrations (though those don’t always work well with Kindle formats).

At this time, I am going to open it up for pre-orders of electronic formats through PayPal (see also the link on the sidebar to the right). If you are interested, the price is $5.00. When you place the order, make sure you tell me your preferred format, PDF or Kindle. If you choose Kindle, include your Kindle Account email address, and I can send the .mobi file directly there, assuming I can still create one. If not, your Kindle app is actually quite capable of reading PDFs as well.

Thank you for taking a moment to hear me out here. I appreciate even just that. And, if you aren’t interested in the actual anthology, I totally get it. No worries. I just ask that you consider sharing this. That, in itself, will be a huge help.

The following is the Table of Contents:

“Blood from Sand”
A desert warrior and an escaped slave who is more than she appears battle the dark arts of a mad sorcerer who wants what she has stolen.

“Pekra”
In orc society, it is the females who choose their mates. Pekra sets her eye on one, but another has already marked him for her own.

“The Orc Way”
A group of orcs have been tasked with kidnapping a dwarf to learn the secrets of forging steel. The one they find turns out to be more than they had anticipated.

“On Pain of Delivery” (New)
A pregnant Pekra is left behind when her mate must make a journey for the clan. Her only companion is an outcast dwarf. When cabin fever sets in, all hell breaks loose.

“Severance”
An assassin takes a job, but to survive killing her target, she must battle the most dangerous foe she can imagine.

“The Darkest Seed” (New)
A strange fog arises, enveloping a Viking ship. What the fog brings with it is beyond even the most feared imaginings of these fierce warriors.

“The Gauntlet of Glowar” (New)
A mercenary is left for dead on a battlefield, but somehow lives. Yet, in order to survive, he must make a pact with an ancient artifact.

“The Keep of Glowar” (New)
Lead to an ancient, abandoned ruin by an annoying spirit, a warrior must confront the new tenants and their horrific leader.

“The Naked Dead” (New)
What started out as a routine cargo run turns into a horrific fight for life, as an intrepid space explorer must use his considerable skill and wit to escape certain doom.

“Blackskull’s Captive”
A young boy is captured by orc space pirates, and unwittingly leads them to their next victims. So, he decides that next time it will not be so easy for the brutes.

Thank you all!