New Book and a Giveaway!

I am squeeing excited to announce that my new book, Prophecy Moon, is now available.

I'm also giving away two signed copies drawn at random from comments left on this post. A third copy will be given to whomever jumps up and down/kisses up to me the best in their comment. How cool is that?

The winners will be selected from a hat by the judge below on Tue, August 17th.


If she doesn't wake up in time, never fear, I have two alternates standing by.


Amazon - Trade Paperback
Amazon - Kindle
Smashwords - Ebook
Amazon UK - Kindle


Description:

Loner Travis O'Conner becomes the unwilling champion of a mysterious seer who plunges him into another dimension. His only guide—a deck of Tarot cards in her possession.

He falls in love with a woman who may not be his ally, while battling wizards intent on destroying him. Must Travis lose his love in order to save his world?

Excerpt:

The doorbell rang as Travis fought with his tie. He took the stairs two at a time, still in his stocking feet. When he answered the door, an old woman stood before him, the white orbs of her eyes seeing nothing—or looking right through him. He couldn’t decide which.

The landscape behind her lie twisted and torn, burned metal skeletons framed in orange and black streaks. The scenery spoke of a different place, not the cloudless blue sky he witnessed minutes ago while looking out the window, admiring the garden behind their house.

He shied away from the doorway, although the ugly landscape seemed familiar also. The old woman smiled, the stench of decay surrounding her.

“Do you wish to stay in your pleasant dreams? Or do you want your reality back?” She swept one gnarled hand to the ugliness behind her. “Is this all you want? You alone have the power of change. Come to me.”

He slammed the door, heart pounding. Why? Travis crossed to the front window and stared. The empty doorstep opened onto a brick walkway, its edges lined with roses, Lessa’s favorite flowers. The sun shone down from a blue sky. The old woman had vanished.

“Who was at the door?” Lessa leaned over the banister, wrapped only in a towel.

“Nobody. Wrong house.” Something about that woman made him wish to have never laid eyes on her. He felt precarious, standing on the edge of a cliff. How could one brief encounter upset him so? Something bad was about to happen, he could feel it. Something that he couldn’t stop.

“Nonsense. Get over it.”

“Did you say something?”

“No. Just mumbling.” He ran back upstairs and slipped on his shoes, giving Lessa a kiss goodbye.

“No breakfast?”

“I need to get going.” Travis didn’t want her to see his agitation. It was nothing, a crazy old woman. Why didn’t it feel like nothing?

“Have a wonderful day. I might be a bit late tonight. I have hospital rounds after the clinic closes,” Lessa said, then kissed him long and deep.

An inner voice warned him to stay home, not step out the door—ever. Stay here with Lessa. Of course, that was impossible. He straightened his shoulders and opened the front door, feeling like he was headed for doom. The fresh breeze smelled vaguely of roses, the flower petals along the walk nodded in greeting. Everything was as it should be. Travis blew out the breath that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding and stepped onto the walkway.

Everything changed. Gone were the flowers, along with the blue sky. The air carried a foul stench that scratched the back of his throat. Baggy trousers that hadn’t seen soap for days replaced his suit. His polished shoes became scuffed boots, button-down silk now a torn t-shirt.

He turned but the nice townhouse had disappeared, apparently taking Lessa with it. As Travis collapsed in despair amid the rubble of a broken building, he remembered. This was his reality, not the nice clean environment and the beautiful wife. This is where he’d always been, living among the rats, doing whatever was necessary to survive. The old woman suddenly appeared before him.

©2010 Laura Eno

Love at the Muskoka River

Cathy Olliffe over at Life on the Muskoka River is doing a countdown to her wedding by posting different wedding stories on her blog. Today, she's featuring mine - which I forgot to tell my hubby about. Sorry, Rick! :)

You can read my story here. Thanks, Cathy!

Don't forget to send her your own story!

Under the Sea - #FridayFlash

Chronos had just stepped out of his kitchen with an apple when Death materialized in his living room.

"Excuse the abrupt entrance, but I came to warn you—"

A second being solidified, this one dripping on the new shag carpet. Chronos watched a Chilean sea bass flop around on the floor for a moment before raising his eyes to greet the unexpected visitor.

"Poseidon, always a pleasure." He grit his teeth in an approximation of a smile. "What brings you here?"

"You know very well why I'm here, you snarky timepiece."

Poseidon plucked the apple from Time's nerveless fingers and took a bite. Chronos licked his lips as he mourned the loss of his snack. It had been the last one in the fridge.

"You only fixed some of the wormholes."

As Chronos shook his head in denial, Poseidon waved his trident in the air, ripping the chandelier out of the ceiling.

"Did you bother to look underwater? I can answer that. No. My domain is beneath your notice. Two of my best sirens—gone. Entire schools of fish vanished, to be plundered in some alien universe. I should—"

"Poseidon!" Chronos waved his hourglass to get the irate god's attention. "I apologize. I'll get right on it."

With a flash of St Elmo's fire, Poseidon left in a funnel of water, washing a new puddle into the already sodden carpet.

"It might be best to back time up to the spot before he lost his sirens, my friend. He seemed pretty mad." Death picked up the sea bass by its tail. "Do you want fish for dinner? I could make a salad to go with it."

Chronos grinned. "Let me go take care of his problem before that apple hits him."

"What do you mean?"

"It was one of my special apples, soaked in a timing solution. Since he's not used to it, the solution's going to give him a real surprise in about an hour."

Death dropped his jaw in a laugh.

"A most delightful payback for leaving your carpet sullied. I'll come help you. Maybe I can pick up some kelp for the salad while we're there."

©2010 Laura Eno

Employee Relations - #FridayFlash

Lucien gathered his staff in the break room before the bar opened for the evening.

"I want you to be on your best behavior tonight. We have a dignitary coming in."

The new demon bartender looked confused.

"When you say 'best behavior,' do you mean best behavior as in human standards or worst behavior because we're evil?"

Lucien sighed. It was so hard to find good help these days.

"I know you're evil. I meant no screw-ups, got it? Death and Chronos will be in later—"

"But, boss, they're not dignitaries. We see them all the time on poker night."

Evil eyed the bubble-headed waitress with disdain.

"Stop interrupting me when I'm talking, Lilith…and get rid of the gum."

The succubus took the wad from her mouth and stuck it under the tabletop.

"As I was saying, Death and Chronos will be in later to make sure that everything is set up right for Gaia's visit. She only stops in once in a blue moon so I want everything to go smoothly."

"Will she be wantin' fancy snacks?"

Lucien wanted to wipe the sneer from the little Scotsman's face, but the soul from purgatory was the only cook small enough to fit in the minuscule kitchen. He puffed double-time on his cigar, trying to calm down.

"She wants tofu on the menu."

"Tofu? I quit." The cook threw his apron on the floor.

"Don't be a loon. You can't quit," Lilith said and cracked a new piece of gum she'd snuck in her mouth.

The bartender raised his hand.

"So you want us to be evil but not screw up, right?"

Lucien waved his hand and the floor opened, swallowing the lot into the flames below.

When Death and Chronos arrived, they found Lucien tending bar.

"Where's your staff, my friend?" Death asked.

"I'm a little short-handed tonight."

"You sent them all to hell again, didn't you?" Chronos laughed as steam spewed out of Lucien's ears.

Death grabbed the bowl of peanuts and tossed one into his eye socket, immediately snorting it back out through his nasal cavity.

"These are the worst peanuts I've ever tasted. What's wrong with them?"

Chronos sniffed the bowl. "They're not real peanuts. They're tofu."

©2010 Laura Eno

We're Baaaaack! - #FridayFlash

"That vacation was great, but it's good to be back." Chronos propped his feet up on the coffee table and passed the bowl of peanuts over to Death.

"Lovely nebula," Death said and tossed a peanut into his eye socket. "I'd go back there again. Do you think anybody missed us?"

Chronos shrugged. "Let's find out." He hit the remote and tuned in to CNN.

"…headline news." The frothy blonde attempted a serious look.

"Zombies are on the rise. Death seems to be on holiday, which could account for the increase in zombie activity.

Also reported are increasing errors in the space-time continuum, leading scientists to wonder who is at the helm? Wormholes are activating in suburban backyards, swallowing gym sets and the occasional toddler. At least one physicist predicts an implosion in the Earth's core within a month.

In other news—"

Chronos switched the TV off. "I guess they missed us."

Death rubbed his phalanges, dropping his jaw in good humor.

"Back to the old grind for us, my friend. Let's not run into Atropos until we've cleaned up though." His bones rattled as he shuddered.

He tossed a helmet at Chronos. "You want a ride on the Harley?"

Sighing, Chronos stuck the helmet on his head.

"I'll do anything to get that beast off my shag carpet."

©2010 Laura Eno

Fabulous Flash

I am honored to have received the Fabulous Flash Award from both John Wiswell of The Bathroom Monologues and Mark Kerstetter of The Bricoleur. Thank you both so much!

*goes offstage to dry her eyes*

The originator of this badge is #fridayflash's own Jon Strother of Mad Utopia, the founder of the group, to recognize excellence in flash fiction.

Now, I could award this to twenty-five people right off the top of my head, but the rules say I should pass it along to four, and state what I admire about their writing.

Kevin Mackey of KjM on the web
Kevin is a transplanted Irishman who has poetry firmly lodged in his soul. It permeates everything he writes, whether it's fiction or otherwise. He also posts Haiku on Twitter each day.

Angie Capozello of Techtiggers Soapbox
Angie has a series that astounds me with the amount of tension she packs into less than a thousand words week after week.

Valerie Valdes of As The Moon Climbs
Valerie has a weekly series and also writes beautiful poetry that speaks to me.

Rayna M Iyer of Coffee Rings Everywhere
Rayna posts daily drabbles that fascinate me. If you don't know, a drabble must consist of exactly 100 words. Hers never feel contrived or awkward in hitting the mark.

I hope you visit each one of the sites and perhaps make a new friend while you're there.

Happy Birthday - #FridayFlash - Birthday Contest

The candlelight glowed in the mirror. It gave her a soft, mysterious look. Katie felt the effect. She looked young and alive, a fitting tribute to her fortieth birthday.

Her family had already gathered around the table. She sat down to join them at the place they'd set for her.

One by one, they raised their glasses in a toast. Each spoke of how she had touched their lives in some way, or gave an amusing anecdote designed to bring a smile to each person’s face.

The table fell silent. She wished that she had the words to describe how much they all meant to her.

Her family raised their glasses one last time. She reached for hers, but failed to connect.

Her husband spoke, his eyes unfocused and full of tears. “Happy birthday, Katie. You left us much too soon.”

©2009 Laura Eno


This week's #fridayflash is also an entry in Deanna Schrayer's Happy Birthday contest. Join in the fun at The Other Side of Deanna.

Survivor - #FridayFlash

The final taping of America's latest reality show, Survivor: Continent, played to an unprecedented audience of 700 million worldwide. The numbers had remained steady throughout sixteen weeks of airtime. Ecstatic sponsors engaged in bidding wars for fifteen-second spots.

Who would be the last one standing from the original 435 men and women vying to win the challenge? Tonight's episode would answer that question.

A hush fell over the last two tribes as the moderator walked on deck. Sotto voce, he turned to the camera.

"We've read your letters and emails, people of the US. We've seen the demonstrations in the streets. Tonight, we give you what you've been waiting for. The vote was unanimous."

He turned to the remaining five women and four men, standing by the rail with little white life preservers slung around their hips.

"The people of this planet have had their say. There will be no survivor of Congress left."

Amid gasps and tearful pleas of "one more chance," the crew tossed the last of the tribes overboard. The cameras panned the dark waters, zooming in for close-ups as the preservers turned slick with oil.

"There you have it, ladies and gentlemen. Your voices have been heard at last. Stay tuned next week for our new adventure, Survivor: CEO."

©2010 Laura Eno

Many thanks to Mark Kerstetter of The Bricoleur for the inspiration for this story. Go read his post "Weather Report."

Awards, Awards!

Helen Ginger of Straight From Hel has awarded me the You Are My Sunshine Award. Thank you so much, Helen!

Valerie Valdes of As The Moon Climbs recently awarded me with both The Versatile Bogger and the One Lovely Blog Awards. Thank you for both, Valerie!

As some of you know, I've been knee-deep in writing and ignoring you all so I am begging forgiveness if I don't pass these on right away. I hope that you will visit both of these awesome blogs and enjoy them as much as I do.

Fast Food - #FridayFlash

This flash is Cecilia Dominic's fault...



No one noticed the shipments at first. Brief blips on the radar of life, happening somewhere else and of no consequence to the average person. A container full of heads here, a box full of legs there; minor oddities on a planet known for such things.

The junior reporter on the 6 o'clock news in Toledo finally discovered the missing piece. To his credit, he continued to broadcast until the end. Unfortunately, only his feet were filmed; the camera dropped at the beginning of the segment by a crewmember, whereabouts unknown.

Sadly, all that is known from the shot is that the aliens have very large feet. The reporter managed to capture a voice clip, a series of chirps and clicks, before the feed went dead.

Although linguists are still trying to translate the sound bite, a note was recovered from the scene. "People of Earth, we require more stuffed craniums and drumsticks. Don't send any more wings. They don't have enough meat on them."

©2010 Laura Eno