Brian Fatah Steele and Y.K. Greene dark fantasy novels

BRIAN FATAH STEELE is an author of Horror & Urban Fantasy fiction, much of it often written with a "Post-Mythic" genre element. Along with self-publishing his own work, his articles and stories have appeared in myriad magazines and online journals. Steele lives in Ohio with two cats that are probably plotting his doom. Surviving on a diet primarily of coffee and cigarettes, he occasionally dabbles in Visual Arts and Music Production. He still hopes to one day become a Super Villain.

What is The Bleed Country? The space between words in a prayer and the last number in Pi. It is where faith & dreams are held safe, where unborn terrors lurk and all the answers are painted in colors that don't exist. There have always been Agents who protect Bleed Country, individuals granted powers who walk the under-roads known as The Scar and seek to keep the balance. But now cards have been thrown, and while the only true constant in this reality is change, it is coming faster and more surely than anyone could have predicted. Sides will be drawn for the battle of Bleed Country, and not everyone will survive. . .

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?: I attempted to combine what I found to be the best concepts in modern horror and urban fantasy.  Without straying into the realms of vampires or noir, I wanted to create a story that drew on my childhood loves of comic books and horror stories.  It's a more ensemble cast of characters, some with very defined roles and others in more grey areas.  I tried to make a fantastic situation as humorous, terrifying, romantic, and ultimately realistic as possible.

Q: Why did you go indie?: I've released multiple books now, and I enjoy having full creator control - especially over my cover art.  As a former Fine Arts major years ago at Kent State University, I not only want to have a say in my cover art, but I have the ability to create it as I feel it best represents my story.  Too many wonderful authors get their tales ignored thanks to poor cover design and artwork, and that's a shame.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?: My greatest influence has easily been Clive Barker.  The concepts of Brian Lumley, and the prose of Anne Rice.  H.P. Lovecraft dictates my imagination, but it comes out in the style of Grant Morrison and Warren Ellis.

http://brianfatahsteele.posterous.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Bleed-Country-wonders-walking-nightmares/dp/1451584385/

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/39883 

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Y.K. Greene is a former volunteer worker, teacher’s assistant, tutor, VOD editor, celebrity blogger, porn and sex toy reviewer. Current daughter, sister, wearer of really kick ass boots and novelist. She has weird ideas but she’ll try to keep them on the SFW side this time. Maybe. Probably. For a while anyway.

Death.

The scariest unknown in any one person’s entire lifetime. For centuries people have personified and anticipated the horror and the majesty of this unavoidable fate, even going so far as to invent legends of how to avoid it.

No one expects a harried, overworked and socially awkward business woman who loves her employees like the family she’ll never have. This Death has never been very good at games of skill or chance and is keenly self-conscious, always going the extra mile to make others comfortable around her.

Two mortals, Leo Kaylor and Jules Harper are about to meet a very different Death than they’ve ever dreamed of, and embark on a chaotic journey that will test the very meaning of friendship.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

So far I’ve gotten a lot of comments from readers loving this fresh take on Death, though everyone has a different favorite character they’re rooting for.

Q: Why did you go indie?

I enjoy unusual ideas and stories. Finding a home for those ideas and stories isn’t easy and rather than stress over finding them just the right home, I like to give them to the public quickly. Doing so allows me to keep working on new stories without one of the biggest stressor to creation.

Q: Who are your favorite authors?

I really love the works of Jaqueline Carey, Stephen King and Michelle West.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004KZOTM6

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B004KZOTM6

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/38743

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Until She Sleeps-- Tim Lebbon

Three hundred years ago, a witch who absorbed the nightmares of others was buried alive in a tomb below the church. After she is accidentally discovered, the nightmares begin to become reality and the killing begins. It's up to 13-year-old Andy to stop her before she destroys the town.

 

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

 

It's exciting, horrific, features compelling characters, a gripping storyline, and it also features (fleetingly) Fire Dogs ... creatures I used again in the short story I wrote for the Hellboy anthology Odder Jobs.  It has monsters galore, and supernatural creatures, and also a back story that isn't perhaps all that it seems.  I've always been proud of this novel, and am delighted to see it available again for the first time in years.

Q: Why did you go indie?

 

I've worked with indie publishers from the beginning.  And though I'm published by major publishers now, I still love working with the indie press.  Always will.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

 

Well, that'd be quite a list: Joe Lansdale, Stephen King, Dan Simmons, Paul Meloy, Algernon Blackwood, Arthur Machen, Clive Barker, Chris Golden, Michael Marshall Smith, Christopher Fowler, Ramsey Campbell, Peter Straub .... many more....  

Amazon
BN.com: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Until-She-Sleeps/Tim-Lebbon/e/2940012043405
Smashwords
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Phillip Thomas Duck-- One Quick Kiss

Phillip Thomas Duck has written several traditionally published adult and young adult novels.  ONE QUICK KISS is his second ebook, which he independently published.  He resides in New Jersey with his daughter.

One Quick Kiss: A collection of short stories about sex, love, and every emotion in between. From the light and whimsical, to the highly charged and erotic, this collection offers something for everyone who has ever been under the intoxicating spell of a relationship and desirous of…ONE QUICK KISS

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

Well, I don’t want to toot my own horn …okay well I guess someone has to, and it might as well be me.  Readers will enjoy my characters! I have such a great time writing the characters in my stories.  Many times throughout the process, the character will take over and lead the story in a direction I never even imagined.  Now that’s a strong character! Of course, the stories of sex, love, and emotional relationships in this collection will leave something for every reader to relate to. 

Q: Why did you go indie?

I decided to go the indie route after hearing many authors talk about the benefits.  Like them, I believed I did not have ultimate control over certain aspects of my product.  I really appreciate being able to make the decisions for my cover design, story, price, marketing, etc.  Also, the time period between completing a writing product and getting it to the public is drastically shorter.   

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

In the romance/romantic suspense genre, Eric Jerome Dickey has always been a favorite, as well as Margaret Johnson-Hodge. 

Link to web site or blog or Amazon/Smashwords

http://www.ExcuseMeMissPTD.blogspot.com

ONE QUICK KISS (Amazon) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004HW6BT6

ONE QUICK KISS (Smashwords) http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/36494?ref=Scott+Nicholson

Lori Titus -- Green Water Lullaby

Lori Titus is the author of Lazarus, a horror novella published in September 2010. She is also the Managing Editor of the short fiction website Flashes in the Dark. Her web serial, The Marradith Ryder Series, updates on FitD weekly.

 

Green Water Lullaby is a collection of paranormal stories all centered in the fictional town of Chrysalis, South Carolina. Betrayal, mysterious "animal" attacks, and magic are just some of the goings on in this town.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

 

The fast paced stories in this collection are perfect for e-reading, and the format makes it easy on the eye.

Q: Why did you go indie?

 

Indie allows more experimentation and access to be involved in the editing and marketing proccess.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

 

Tananrive Due, Kelley Armstrong, P.C and Kristen Cast.

 

http://www.sonar4publications.com/green.html

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Helen Smith-- Alison Wonderland

Helen Smith is an author and playwright. She travelled the world when her daughter was small, doing all sorts of strange jobs to support them both - from cleaning motels to working as a magician's assistant - before returning to live in London where she wrote her first novel. She's a long-term supporter of the Medical Foundation for the Victims of Torture and mentors members of an exiled writers group to help them tell their stories.


Product description:
When Alison joins Mrs Fitzgerald’s Bureau of Investigation as a private detective, her new job takes her on a series of loosely linked adventures involving an abandoned baby, a transgenic animal and secret tunnels under The Thames. She travels from London to the seaside town of Weymouth and back again with her new best friend Taron, a girl with a hundred candle smile. But someone is betraying her. Is it Taron? Is it Jeff, the sweet-natured inventor who writes her poetry? Or are there darker forces at play?

'Only occasionally does a piece of fiction leap out and demand immediate cult status.  Alison Wonderland is one... Smith is at the very least a minor phenomenon.' The Times

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

It’s a charming, thoughtful book that features several interesting characters and some memorable lines. 

Q: Why did you go indie?

I’m traditionally published but when Alison Wonderland went out of print I thought the best way to revive the book would be to make it available for the kindle. Getting it into the kindle store was a very positive experience so I followed it up by publishing an ebook edition of my second book, Being Light, which had also gone out of print. Both are now available in paperback.

Q: Who are your favorite authors?

Peter Carey, Kazuo Ishiguro, Liz Jensen, Chuck Palahniuk, Haruki Marakami, Muriel Spark, Graham Greene, Mary Karr.

Links:

Buy it on Amazon, in the Kindle store, Book Depository, Barnes & Noble or direct from Tyger Books.

My blog: http://helensmithblog.blogspot.com

Author page at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B001KE7ZJE

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Jason Chan--Bliss and Grief

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

My novel is called Bliss and Grief. Romance, fantasy, betrayal and forgiveness are the driving forces behind BLISS AND GRIEF.

Incubus Colton confesses his love to his human best-friend Daphne, knowing that it's forbidden for an incubus to fall in love.

He is immediately recalled to a nightmare world called Grief for punishment, where he is bound in servitude to a plant monster and forced to seduce dreaming girls to survive.

Colton must choose to stay in Grief forever or take a pill that makes him forget Daphne entirely.

As thoughts of the pain of neglect flood his mind, he impulsively takes the pill, and but then immediately regrets it when he relives blissful times with Daphne. Will he find a way to undo its effects before the police recapture him and take him to the torture chambers? Or is he destined to return home without love for the only girl he has ever loved?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003RWS7SU

Q: Why did you go indie?

Going indie means that the author can have a lot more control over the marketing of his novels.


Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

Well, I love the clarity of Stephen King's writing, the language of Anita Shreve and the brevity and insight of Alice Munro.

Debbi Mack-- Five Uneasy Pieces

Debbi Mack is the author of hardboiled mystery IDENTITY CRISIS, the first Sam McRae novel and winner of the 2009 Preditors & Editors Readers Poll for Best Mystery Novel. Her short stories have appeared in two of the CHESAPEAKE CRIMES anthologies and The Back Alley Webzine, where her Derringer nominated short story, "The Right to Remain Silent," was first published.

Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

The anthology consists of stories that I hope will not only entertain, but surprise readers with twists, unusual situations and even humor. For what it's worth, the stories are arranged roughly in the order I wrote them, so to an extent they reflect my development as a writer. In that way, I would hope each is better than the last.

Q: Why did you go indie?

Short story anthologies don't tend to be highly marketable to traditional publishers. And, let's face it, who's going to buy one from an unknown indie author? I think the market for short fiction is underdeveloped. You hear so much about people's diminishing attention spans, so it seems logical that short fiction should be an easy sell. Given the growing popularity of ebooks, I figured it made sense to release FIVE UNEASY PIECES on my own as an ebook.

Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?

I got the idea for the first story, "Deadly Detour," while reading Dashiell Hammett's "Continental Op" short stories, so he was an influence. I've also particularly enjoyed some of the Akashic Books Noir Series of anthologies. Another collection I particularly liked was A HELL OF A WOMAN, the anthology of female noir. Among my favorite short story writers in the crime fiction genre are Loren Estelman, Donna Moore, Christa Faust and Ken Bruen. A totally random selection, but generally representative of my preferences.

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Five-Uneasy-Pieces-ebook/dp/B003URRSQE

Jessica Billings-- The Girl Born of Smoke

Jessica Billings is currently going to school in Michigan, but will always consider herself an Oregonian. She likes photographing
bugs and majored in biology and education at Oregon State. She is now pursuing a master's degree in environmental engineering. She learned to scuba dive when she was 14, but refuses to dive into the frigid waters of Michigan.


The Girl Born of Smoke: Aurora never asked to be a born a wizard. If she was only normal, her family would still be alive, she never would have fled her home, and there wouldn't be a war being fought in her name. And the visions...maybe those would be gone too. Instead, she's haunted by the memory of her sister and suspects she may be losing her mind.

With two opposing armies searching for her, Aurora is determined not to tell anyone her secret or use her magic. She finds this resolve tested when her best friend is mistakenly identified as the wizard and kidnapped. In her struggle to rescue him, she finds evidence the two armies may be connected, controlled by a single individual with his own agenda. With loved ones on both sides of the war, she is forced to decide who she can trust as she tries to stop the fighting. But, can she even trust her own sanity?

What will e-readers like about your book?
I have fun intertwining science with fantasy and I enjoy a good plot twist or two. I refuse to let my characters fall into "good" and "evil" roles, so readers have to decide for themselves who the good and bad guys are. Most people find that those definitions are constantly changing throughout the book.

Why did you go indie?
I liked the idea of being completely in charge of my book! I submitted query letters to a few agents, but almost all the responses simply said that in this economy, they weren't accepting any new authors. Fair enough, but I wanted to get published, so I went Indie.

Who are your favorite authors in your genre?
When I was younger, I loved Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and after I met them at a booksigning, it made me even more determined to eventually publish my own book. Nowadays, I enjoy Neil Gaiman, Orson Scott Card, and Ursula Le Guin a lot. I am currently obsessed with the Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins!

At Amazon

Debra L. Martin-- The Quest for Nobility

Like most authors, Debra L. Martin has a day job, but her first love is writing. Her passion for writing started when she was in high school. Her English teacher had a knack for inspiring his students to think outside the box to create stories that would draw the reader into your world. She has been writing stories for enjoyment for years and completed her first novel in 1990.

It wasn’t until 2006 that she began writing science fiction/fantasy with her co-author, David W Small. Together they have completed two novels in the “Rule of Otharia” series and numerous novellas. Writing with a co-author is challenging especially when they live on opposite coasts. Coordinating time and work efforts is difficult, but with email, Instant Messenger and Skype, they are able to enjoy a successful partnership.

“The Quest for Nobility”: The idyllic life of royal teenagers, Darius and Dyla Telkur, from the planet Otharia takes a horrifying turn when their parents are murdered. With their cousin appointed as Regent until Darius comes of age, it doesn’t take the twins long to figure out that he’s bent on stealing their throne one way or another. To escape their cousin’s wrath, they flee to the only safe place they know where no one will find them – the forbidden and quarantined planet Earth.

Safe on Earth for the moment, the only way for them to return home is to find an ancient 10K traveling crystal left behind by their Otharian ancestors who visited Earth 1500 years ago. Enlisting the help of a London university archeologist, they begin their search for the crystal from clues buried deep within the Arthurian lore of Merlin and Lady of the Lake. What they find instead is evidence of a secret trade pact between Otharia and Earth that was established centuries ago. Before Darius and Dyla can understand what it means, they’re in jeopardy again; this time pursued by those on Earth who want the secret to remain hidden. Who is behind the trade pact and what is being traded are the questions the twins need to figure out while trying to stay one step ahead of the Earth assassins.
Time is running out for the royal pair. They must find the traveling crystal and open a portal home soon before their cousin is crowned the next Duke of Telkur and their lives are forfeited.

Q: What will your readers like about your work?
I think readers will enjoy our novels because my co-author and I create fast moving action-packed stories. We strive to keep the reader turning the pages through tension, challenges and the conflicts our characters face.

Q: Why did you go indie?
It was very discouraging hearing from a number of agents that they liked our book and thought it had commercial potential, but they just didn’t love it enough to offer representation. When Amazon offered the chance for authors to self-publish their works, it was the perfect solution for us.

Q: Who are your favorite writers?
Patrick Rothfuss, Brent Weeks, Peter Brett and Joe Abercrombie.

You can find the book on Amazon
and on Smashwords.
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David H. Burton--The Second Coming

David H. Burton: Indie author, adoptive father of 3 boys, manager of chaos, science and technology geek, person of the queer persuasion, and purveyor of sacrilege.


The Second Coming: Five hundred years have passed since the Earth shifted on its axis - a catastrophic event that wiped out civilization and released the powers of the dead back to Earth. With technology long abandoned, a dark age has shrouded our world once more. Travel to a future of blood sacrifice, demons, witchcraft, and an immoral God that has returned to reclaim his former dominion.



Q: What will e-readers like about your book?

I think that it’s a fresh take on old fantasy elements and it keeps the reader guessing. The line between good and evil is quite blurred in this. It also ties in some ancient myths that will engage even those readers that tend not to read fantasy.

Q: Why did you go indie?
My agent and I sub’d this book last year to major publishers. The most common comment we heard, despite the fact that the majority of editors really enjoyed the writing, was that they thought the book “too risky” or that their impression was that there wouldn’t be a market for it. Also, a number of houses were starting to turn their attention to a more “urban fantasy” market.

Since my book seems to cross genres (paranormal/fantasy/horror) and had no relation to urban fantasy, it didn’t seem to be the right fit. So we came to the self-publishing decision together as a strategy to show there’s a solid readership for the work.



Q: Who are your favorite authors in your genre?
Easily Robert Jordan, Weis & Hickman, Terry Brooks, Tolkien, and George R.R. Martin.

Vicki Tyley-- Thin Blood

Based in rural Victoria, Australia, Vicki Tyley writes fast-paced mystery and suspense novels in contemporary Australian settings.

Vicki has traveled extensively, spending a year touring the world before terrorism was an influencing factor. She has lived in the central business districts of large cities, suburbia, idyllic seaside locations, rural areas, bushland, and remote desert mining camps.

In the lead up to her writing career, she worked in a multitude of different industries including banking, stockbroking, importing and wholesaling, human resources, mining, hospitality, civil engineering, and toys, in predominantly accounting, IT and management roles. All these life experiences are brought to bear in her writing.

Thin Blood: Craig Edmonds, a successful stockbroker, reports the disappearance of his wife, Kirsty. What starts as a typical missing person's case soon evolves into a full-blown homicide investigation when forensics uncover blood traces and dark-blond hairs in the boot of the missing woman's car. Added to this, is Craig's adulterous affair with the victim's younger sister, Narelle Croswell, compounded further by a recently acquired $1,000,000 insurance policy on his wife's life. He is charged with murder but, with no body and only circumstantial evidence, he walks free when two trials resulting in hung juries fail to convict him.

Ten years later, Jacinta Deller, a newspaper journalist is retrenched. Working on a freelance story about missing persons, she comes across the all but forgotten Edmonds case. When she discovers her boyfriend, Brett Rhodes, works with Narelle Croswell, who is not only the victim's sister but is now married to the prime suspect, her sister's husband, she thinks she has found the perfect angle for her article. Instead, her life is turned upside down, as befriending the woman, she becomes embroiled in a warped game of delusion and murder.

What about your book might appeal to readers?

Thin Blood is a fast-paced Australian murder mystery with red herrings, twists and turns galore. It’s written in an easy-reading style. In one reviewer’s words: “The story flows so easily that before you know what's happened, fifty pages are gone. It practically reads itself.”

Why did you go indie?

It was an experiment. I’m an Australian writer with an American agent: Robert Fleck. After a lot of effort, he’d been unable to sell Thin Blood, in large part because most of the publishers refused to even look at the book. “Americans don’t want to read Australian mysteries,” he was told.

Last October, with nothing to lose, we decided to release Thin Blood electronically on Smashwords. That received such a good response that Suspense Magazine selected me as their featured New Author for April. At the end of April, we made the novel available in Amazon’s Kindle store.

It’s an experiment that’s paid off. As of today, with sales in excess of 20,000, it's the #1 Mystery title among all non-free titles available on Kindle, and reached #6 among all paid titles on Kindle, regardless of genre.

Who are your favorite writers?
In no particular order: Harlan Coben, Michael Robotham, Tess Gerritsen, Mark Billingham, James Patterson, Lynda La Plante, Patricia Cornwell, Erica Spindler, Lisa Gardner, Carol Smith, Kathy Reichs, Michael Palmer and many, many others.

From Vicki:
“To celebrate Thin Blood’s release on Kindle, I’m offering it for the introductory price of US$0.99 (normally US$3.99): Thin Blood at Amazon
For Kindle readers outside the US who get slugged with hefty surcharges when they buy from Amazon, use coupon code KP64D at Smashwords: Thin Blood at Smashwords. Limited time offer. Expires 30 June 2010.

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