Wednesday, April 17, 2013

New Blurbs for the Emily Kane Series--Short and Sweet

Three new blurbs for the titles in the Emily Kane Adventures:

Girl With A Blade

Emily Kane studies martial arts, but she never thought she'd have to use them... until her home is destroyed in a night time attack.

When her family goes into hiding she stays behind, even if it means fighting off the black-ops team who attacked her home.

She's determined to finish high school, but also to find out what her family isn't telling her about why dangerous people are hunting her.












Girl Punches Out


Emily desperately wants to lead the normal life of a teenager. But events are conspiring against her. 

When foreign agents force her to fight it may not be possible to enjoy the innocent pleasures of childhood anymore.

"The angel of death can hardly have friends. And the prom, what about Danny? He can hardly have a Valkyrie for his date."













Defending herself against foreign agents is one thing... but when it's family, the violence rises to a new level.

A mysterious "uncle," her father's cousin, shows an interest in Emily and her friends, and it has her family worried.

But for Emily, he may be the only way to connect with the memory of her father. The cost of trusting him may be more than she can afford to pay.












With the help of her "Granny," Emily Kane had the strength to fight off the black-ops teams hunting her. 

Now she needs to find some relief from Granny, and to reconcile herself to the violence she had to unleash. 

She hopes to find spiritual renewal in the crowded pantheon of the Hindus and Buddhists of Nepal. But the spirit of violence is not far behind her.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

New Short Story--Emily Kane in Nepal, in search of the Mountain Gods


The High Road to the Mountain Gods

I just published a new short story--about 13k words--as a new installment of the Emily Kane Series. It's available now for $0.99.

The story takes place in Kathmandu, where Emily travels after high school graduation. She's looking for some kind of spiritual renewal after the violence she experiences in her senior year. And she's also seeking some respite from the attentions of her "Granny,"Amaterasu, the Goddess of the Sun. Perhaps she can hide out from her in the crowded pantheon of the Hindu gods.

Things start to get sticky when a little orphan boy who idolizes her begins to attract the attention of some not so nice folks. Emily thinks she can protect him, at least for a little while, if it comes down to that. But can she also teach him how to avoid fighting with the bullies at school?

The High Road to the Mountain Gods is available at AmazonBarnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

New cover idea and title for the Third Book

Book 3 is almost complete and I've been thinking about the title quite a bit lately. The original idea was to name the book after Emily's sword, Kusanagi. And since the great swords of the classical period in Japan are said to have whistled through grooves cut into the blade, I thought the title should be "Kusanagi: The Song of Death."


But as the story developed, it struck me that the title should not focus so much on the sword. I'd rather have the title refer to the girl holding the sword. So now the title that appeals to me is something like "Girl With a Blade," or "The Girl Takes Up Her Sword." Let me know which of these seems better to you... or if you have something else entirely in mind!

In the meantime, here's what the cover might look like. Let me know what you think.