Magenta Shaman - Now on Kindle

I've been hinting about her for a couple of years now. The wily, travelling spirit of Brighton-born Magenta Sweeney; natural shaman, fighter and defender of souls. Yet she's not without her own dark side.

I finally took the decision that this series of short, urban-fantasy stories would genuinely be suitable as individual e-books on Kindle. It's been a learning process but now - the very first Magenta Shaman episode in the series is available to download from Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. 

Please enjoy it, review it and let me know how you feel about both Magenta herself, and this first story. There are many more.

The original cover artwork is by my husband Laurence Ranger, and has been adapted by me. We both hope you like it.

I must give my thanks to various members of the UK's Writers' News and Writing Magazine's online forum Talkback for voicing their experience in publishing to Kindle, as well as to Tony Cowin and Lee Hughes for such valuable and honest critiques, even though this is an urban fantasy - outside of each of our horror genres. 

My special thanks go to my husband Laurence for believing in Magenta and offering his own extensive esoteric knowledge and sublime artwork - Magenta is a part of both of us.

Magenta Shaman - Amazon Product Description:

A natural shaman by birth, Magenta Sweeney travels through trance-induced realms to deliver souls from demonic threat.

But Magenta also has an earthly life in modern-day Brighton, a strange and cosmopolitan city caught between the rolling hills of England and the Sussex coast where she lives with husband Tom.

Every journey Magenta takes is unique. Her intricate knowledge of herbs and poisons guides her when to heal - and when to kill. Yet before she faces each challenge she must meet with ancient and terrifying entities that will unlock her passage into other dimensions, but not without question - or sacrifice.

This first episode in the Magenta Shaman short story series finds Magenta’s relationship with Tom at breaking point as she takes greater risks to help those waiting for her. Under pressure from The Protegians, a mysterious group of earth-bound guardians, the shaman is sent on increasingly dangerous missions by their intermediary - a suave, arrogant man known only as The Judge.

Will Magenta survive the fight to expel a deadly demon from a foetid, volcanic pit? And will Tom stand idly by when he finds his wife's body, broken and lifeless on their bed?

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Download Magenta Shaman on Kindle from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

If you don't have a Kindle you can download Kindle for PC, iPhone, iPad and Android for free from Amazon.

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Erin Cole's Beltane Breakfast Interview with Lily Childs

Friend, fellow horror-writer, Predictioneer and February Femme Fatale Erin Cole was kind enough to invite me over to her blog for a natter recently. And she has chosen today - May 1st - Beltane - to post the interview; a date that means a lot to me for many reasons.

To take a little nosey...
Interview with Spinetingler Award Nominee Lily Childs

There's also a new, previously unpublished short story Wraiths and Stays to tickle you, as well as some exciting news about my first Kindle publication which is hanging in the ether as I write.

Hope to meet you there. And Erin, thank you for the place on the couch.

Sun-up over Eastbourne at Beltane 2011

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Lily's Friday Prediction

I opened an old notebook this morning and discovered something tawdry I'd jotted down a few years ago. The writing was terrible, but the complete story shone through and I know I can do something with it. Not only that, I'd illustrated it - probably because at that time I didn't feel able to describe a central character properly.

I love it when we come across a nugget from the past and can shape it. In this instance I'm referring to writing but it works with life experiences too.

Congratulations to John Xero for his powerful winning entry from last week's Prediction challenge, Who pulled the trigger on the Universe Gun? Stellar writing from everyone; well done all.

This week's words are:

• Cult
• Neglect
• Syrup

Rules

The rules are: 100 words max flash fiction or poetry using all of the words above. Please add your entries in the Comments box below. You have all week until 9pm UK time on Thursday 5th May to enter.

Winner will be announced next Thursday or Friday. If you can, please tweet about your entry, using the #fridayflash hashtag, and blog if you feel like it.

Where will your pen take you this week, I wonder...?

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Prediction Winner

My oh my, but did these words have everyone exploring their own mysteries. I am spellbound. Quickly, let's sum up and then I'll do my darndest to make a decision.

• Michael kicks off with a horny non-starter who ends up with a lot less than he's hoping for in Been Meaning to Tell You.
  
• Asuqi's Twisted Silk continues the 'bedroom theme' revealing the thoughts of a Master of consensual hard slaps.
  
• Aidan is the first to expose the arachnid angle and introduces the now popular concept of Spider Sex in The Chilean Recluse Invasion.
  
• David has us over a barrel with his lady's weapon (sorry); the victim finding himself in the Wrong Place At The Wrong Time.
  
• Chris provides a webbed creation myth of silken proportion in the sparkling The Eonic Web.
  
• John fires into the mists of chaos to evoke change through entropy in Who pulled the trigger on the Universe Gun? Later, in Thief fear creeps cold through Ellen's core as her assailant disappears.
  
• Antonia takes us into a ghostly wild west where no-one messes with a gunslinger in Death Wears Boots.
  
• Colleen (ravenways) seeks her lover across time and space in her untitled journey where pleasure and rebirth combine.
  
• My Prism sees a shattered husband take advantage of accidental light to rid himself of his lazy wife, while the alien Forty-Niners rever the cosmic power of the number seven.
  
• Ally reveals the true-life horror of an earthquake and tsunami victim that, in a double tragedy loses her baby before she too is swept away in Surge.
  
• Reba slices skin after taking her fill and reading the signs in creation myth Re-surrection.
  
• William provides the next instalment of his Plague series where the gifts of magic are accepted and the spell is ready to begin in After the plague PT 3.

Well, this is the first time I've felt tempted to say "Everyone's a Winner" but that sounds like we're playing Bingo. I mean it though, these are all exceptional works of fictional art - well done to everyone for allowing us to read from the gifts of your imaginations.

My winner, however is John Xero with the sci-fi chaosphere that is Who pulled the trigger on the Universe Gun? Many congratulations John, I love how this twists and crawls back and forth between creation and chaos, causal and accidental.

Runner-up is - everyone, and that's not a cop out, as I hope you will all agree.

There'll be a new challenge in the morning, and I promise the words will include neither 'royal' nor 'wedding'. Sleep well mes amis.

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Lily's Friday Prediction

It's already hot, hot, hot here in the seafront town of Eastbourne and I'm craving English strawberries. But first things first, for 'tis Friday which means a Prediction Challenge.

As mentioned in yesterday's Prediction Winner post - and just to forewarn you - there will be no Prediction on 27th May and 3rd June. A bit of breathing space for us all - and who knows - I may be in touch about that Prediction anthology idea during that time as, at the end of May the challenge will have been running for a full year! And what a year it's been.

Many congratulations to joint winners of last week's challenge A.J. Humpage for The Unwatered Well and Reba Kovar with Truth and Consequences. Stunning fiction, both.

This week's words were selected for you by my daughter:

• Silk
• Trigger
• Universe

Rules

The rules are: 100 words max flash fiction or poetry using all of the words above. Please add your entries in the Comments box below. You have all week until 9pm UK time on Wednesday 27th April to enter.

Winner will be announced next Wednesday or Thursday. If you can, please tweet about your entry, using the #fridayflash hashtag, and blog if you feel like it.

Enjoy the long weekend - fiction fingers at the ready!

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Prediction Winner

Life has been horribly demanding for many of us lately and I've had a series of apologies from regular Predictioneers who have been unable to contribute these past few weeks. You're not forgotten; The Feardom's doors are always open. However, in a major attempt to catch up myself, I'm announcing that there will be a two-week Prediction break at the end of May. Details to follow soon.

As for this week, I am shaking my head (you can't see it, but I am). You knock me out, and the quality of writing continues to rise. How can that be? No, I know exactly how - such talent...

So to summarise this week's outstanding fiction (sorry for lack of links):

• My Children of the Sand were 'Children of the Damned', blond and bored of playground competition between rival mothers.
  
• Erin Cole exposes the sibling hunter for what he truly is; and fortunately 'deals' with the problem in A Shot To The Left
  
• In Eaglewing & Mastermind to Save the Day? Aidan Fritz parades his nemesis Super Heroes across a perverse and illogical world.
  
• Antonia Woodville's Spring Sacrifice glides us through a beauty found only in this floral season before declaring the 'sacrifice' that man chooses to make of beast. Poor beast.
  
• Pixie J. King treats us to a glimpse of her realm in Beautiful Prison, where the victim - despite everything - will not survive,
  
• The Unwatered Well plunges us into filth and flesh until we drown in bilious and noxious liquid. A.J. Humpage goes full-scale horror.
  
• Monsieur Allinotte invites us back into the doll-like world of vampiric Ma petite homunculus, ma fiérté. Michaud va mourir, c'est sur.
  
• RR Kovar, Reba creates as if from the whisper of Mother Nature herself in the poetic Truth and Consequences. Meanwhile she misleads us into believing we are amongst naughty children in boarding school, until skin starts to smoke and a vampire flies to his exquisite death in Sunshine Laws.
  
• David Barber chills, making us all face our innermost demons as a judgemental reflection in the murderous Your Reflection?
  
• We hang from a spout of fear that captures mankind's perception of sin whilst evacuating The Devil beneath in John Xero's galactic, tremulous Tower.
  
• Ravens feed with relish at the bound body dealt up by Steven Chapman in his debut, untitled Prediction entry (entrée) as nourishment.
  
• William Davoll has us by the fragile bits - not once but twice. The Devil Inside forces us to linger inside the mind of a psycho-killer as he stalks and tortures his victims. In Pilot Error - OMG what a clever, and oh so Easter-timely play on words the Christ figure is only crucified because of a joke - a heckle. How our history might have been different without a Comedian from Coventry. ;)
  
• Kim slips in at the last moment with a fight. A carefully-planned and terrifying observation of the preparation, the circling of combatants in a raw pit as they attempt to blindside each other in The Pits.

A winner? Well, do what you will but - it's me! No, not really. I have two joint winners - as Antonia said last week, everyone else truly is a runner-up. Not a cop-out - a reality, and testament to your talent.

So - the winners are A.J. Humpage with the visceral, claustrophobic and hopeless The Unwatered Well, and Reba with the first (as if I could choose between them) of her entries Truth and Consequences, a beautiful birth.

But seriously, a huge well done to everyone; you are so inspiring.

Sleep well lovelies; I'll be back.

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Interviews and Kindle News

This week I read another great interview with the wonderful Jodi MacArthur over at Spinetingler Magazine where we're both nominated for the best short story on the web award. But that's by the by - Predictioneer and Wicked Woman's Booty author Jodi gives her best - as always - in the magazine's Conversations with the Bookless series. Go see...

Another great read is with Lori Titus, an amazing psychological horror writer who is also editor for Wicked Nights Publishing and runs her own radio show. Author of the novella Lazarus and anthology Green Water Lullaby (I've got it - it's extraordinary), she was interviewed by the hospitable Richard Godwin in his Chin Wag at the Slaughterhouse. The probe provides a great insight into what inspires Lori's beautiful and edgy prose. While you're at it, check out Richard's website and consider buying his novel Apostle Rising - it's my bedtime read at the moment - and I'm freaked. Can't pick it up - and then can't put it down.

Lastly, my own news is that I hope to have a short 7k word book coming out on Kindle at the beginning of May. It's been ready for a while but I finished the cover this evening. The original artwork is by esoteric artist Laurence Ranger and sits on my wall. He's approved my graphic manipulations and I'll display the cover here as soon as the Single book is out.

Related to this is my interview coming up over at lovely fellow horror writer Erin Cole's dark and wondrous place on 1st May - Beltane to my pagan friends. I'll be revealing what the Kindle premier will be and Erin will also be publishing an unpublished story of mine, Wraiths and Stays. Can't wait. Thank you Erin!

Oh, and girlfriends? I bought shoes. Black things with leather roses. Thought you'd like to know.

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