*NEW* Book: The Tribe of Ishmael is FINISHED!

Afterlife Chronicles Book I

THE TRIBE OF ISHMAEL

~Horror/Dark Epic Fantasy~

There are no heroes. Only villains.

My name is Ishmael. Brilliant biochem genius. Undercover associate in the Maldini crime family. Blessed with a handsome face that occasionally gets accused of terrorism. My mother always told me diversification was good for my resume.

The last thing I remember is being on my way back home for my mother’s birthday party. But something happened, and now I’m on a strange train with a conductor who may or may not be a demon, and in order to figure out what the hell is going on, I teamed up with a girl who may or may not be a murderer. She’s not even the worst one aboard.

The worst one may be...me

Welcome Aboard the Sunnyside Express.
Next stop: the Afterlife.
Whatever you do, please don't abandon all hope. That wouldn't be as much fun.

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OH THANK GOD it's done.

Well. Draft numero uno, anyway. Clocks in at about 173,000 words. 349 pages in Microsoft Word. Someday my beta readers will forgive me :) Hey, they don't call it epic fantasy for nothing.

My freshman year, I read Dante's Inferno. It instantly wowed me with its sheer imagination. My reading partner and I admitted that there was something ghoulishly “fun” about taking a trip through Hell. Much of the fear surrounding “Hell” comes from the idea that it is so unknown; nothing we comprehend can prepare ourselves for the horror that awaits there. Dante kept that allure of horror alive by revealing just enough detail to enchant our imaginations, while keeping other secrets hidden. I found myself wondering about the demons who lived there on a daily basis. What would their cities be like? Did they think it was fair that they were being punished for their fathers’ sins? What does it even mean to be a demon? And that’s where Milton came in, weaving an accountable and yet sympathetic portrait of Lucifer and his followers. Toss in two humans with a heavenly host of secrets, and The Tribe of Ishmael was born. 

It bears saying that this is a work of pure fiction. It explores how we create our own heavens and hells, but it is not intended to represent any faith or religion. Although certain characters and concepts are definitely influenced by Biblical, Rabbinical, and Islamic literature, other parts are entirely the result of my hyperactive imagination *grins*.

So I've surfaced briefly for air to celebrate the manuscript's completion, but now I must dive back under into the editing world. I do hope to have this book available by the end of the year, and I will post a cover as soon as I'm able.

In Changeling Sisters Series news, I know many of you have been patiently awaiting for Book II, Year of the Tiger, to be available outside of Amazon.com. I'm pleased to say that I will be free of exclusivity clauses in late October. Look for the third book in the series, Year of the Dragon, to be released sometime in 2014. 

If you haven't visited yet, check out fellow author Sharon Stevenson's website, where this August she will be releasing a Top Five Kickass Heroines article featuring Citlalli Alvarez from the Changeling Sisters Series! She's also hosting a  Reader Survey with an Amazon gift card prize draw and conducting indie author interviews, so a lot of cool stuff happening there. Sharon is the author of the Gallows Series, which features a pair of demon ass-kicking twins. She's also launching a brand new series, Book I: Raised, on August 15th, so make sure to go check it out!

THANK YOU EVERYONE for your support, reviews, ratings, in general, for just taking a chance on my books. I love sharing these stories with you. As my fellow indie authors know: writing isn't a choice, it's what we do.